It is extraordinarily difficult to describe the spiritual world with our earthly words and to imagine it within an earthly mind. In essence, it is completely impossible, because we are speaking about a different nature altogether. But let us try.

We must detach from everything we currently see, feel, and understand, and imagine that pleasure exists from bestowal and that this is the only pleasure that can possibly exist. It is felt only in acts of bestowal, in the Creator.

The Creator wanted to create a creation that would highly value the state of the Creator. And therefore, He created creation with the desire to enjoy and implanted the smallest pleasure of all possible pleasures inside it, a spark, a “thin candle.”

This is a deceptive sensation, because in truth it is impossible to feel pleasure within egoistic desire. It is given this spark only to maintain life so that it can somehow exist. And by means of this tiny spark, our entire world lives.

But true pleasure is possible only from acts of bestowal; this is a law of nature. Yet in order to become capable of appreciating this quality, the loftiness of bestowal, we begin, from the black point of creation to build enormous vessels of receiving, like black silhouettes on a white background.

It turns out that we construct the evil, egoistic beginning from a single tiny black point called “the tip of the letter ‘Yod.’” And when we work on this black point, trying with all our strength to turn it toward acts of bestowal, precisely because of this it grows in the opposite direction, in the form of receiving.

We reveal within this tip of the letter “Yod” all the other letters, all the qualities, everything that exists, because in this black point we become completely opposite to the Creator. And therefore, the more we try to resemble the light, the more we become convinced of how opposite we are to it, revealing more and more details. This is how we inscribe all the letters, within which all qualities, spiritual Partzufim, worlds, and all existing connections are contained.

And the main thing is that in every state we build the combination of the right line with the left line, that is, with those desires we revealed thanks to our efforts to attain bestowal. The more we strove to bestow, the more we revealed our egoism, the left line. But despite this, we still attempted to compare those egoistic desires we revealed within ourselves to bestowal; that is, we tried to transfer them into the right line.

By doing so, we drew upon ourselves the light that returns to the source so that it would act upon those black letters that are revealed within us, give them a clearer form, and reveal all the components of the interaction between the light and the desire, the entire TANTA (Taamim–Nekudot–Tagin–Otiyot).

Thus, moving from below upward, from a point sketching out the contours of letters and, within them, the full TANTA—all the sensations from the entry of the light into the vessel and its exit, we ultimately attain the light that is revealed within the desires. We advance in the reverse direction, from below upward.

When the worlds descend from above downward, everything happens in the opposite sequence: first occurs the striking unification (Zivug deHakaa) in the head of the Partzuf, then the TANTA, the entry of the light into the vessel and its exit, and at the very last stage the letters (Otiyot) are formed, and ultimately, we reach the black point that lies at their foundation.

And in exactly the same way we build our path from below upward, only in reverse. By revealing in the right line the extent to which we are capable of resembling the light, we thereby establish balance between the material that is within the letters, their thickness, and the light that is outside the letters, around them.

Those black contours of the letters that we ultimately see against the background of the white light is the middle line that we have arrived at.

In the middle line, two forms of prayer come together. On one hand, the “general prayer,” a request on behalf of many. And on the other hand, it is such a general prayer through which we all integrate into Malchut and clarify the common goal as one person. To the extent that we are able to combine these two components, this prayer will also enter the middle line.
[91114]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/24/12, Rabash, “The Importance of a Prayer of Many”

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Comment: They say that men change the world and women improve it.

My Response: There is something in that; I agree. A woman organizes the world. She tends to connect it together, to make it more convenient, more comfortable, just like she wishes to arrange an apartment. This is how she sees the world.

A man, no. He breaks forward. He needs changes in the world, leaps, perhaps even rather extreme “surgical methods.”

Women generally do not go for that, and therefore they are more suited for governing the world.

In general, governance should be in a pair. We know that in every family the wife quietly commands, and the husband carries out. And if he does not, then it is not a family. Usually, it is always this way. If a man understands this, it is good. It is said in the Torah to Abraham: “Do as Sarah tells you.” This is correct. I think this is how one should educate.

Comment: Forty years ago, the company Xerox conducted large-scale research in its sales department about who sells better. It turned out that women are better salespeople than men. Since then, management’s attitude toward women has become more favorable.

In a study involving about 3,000 managers, several characteristic qualities distinguishing men and women were identified: their differences, advantages, and disadvantages.

The first is power and leadership as strengths. Men are interested in official recognition of their authority. They push forward forcefully and therefore often reach greater career heights and salary levels compared to women.

Women are more focused on internal processes. It is important to them that the work be structured as they envisioned, and it does not matter who formally stands at the helm.

The downside: men, striving to satisfy personal ambitions, are less loyal to the company.

Women may not desire power less than men, but they are often inclined to indecision in the struggle for the leadership chair.

My Response: This is natural. A woman by her nature is not inclined to conflict; she is inclined toward peace, ready to concede in order to preserve the environment, the company where she works, her place, and so on. A man may destroy everything in order to achieve his authority. For a woman this may be completely foreign. Naturally, women are ready for all kinds of sacrifices, while men are not.

In general, in most cases women are preferable. Perhaps the only area where this is less significant is the army, and even there not in planning. In developing military plans, I would involve women as well. Their absence there seems to me necessary to address.

Ultimately, I do not see where a man has an advantage over a woman except in precise implementation.

Comment: The second factor is locus of control depending on gender.

Researchers concluded that as men age, they increasingly rely on their own experience and skills. Men have an internal locus of control and therefore often higher self-esteem than women, who give greater importance to image and others’ opinions.

For example, when problems arise in a school, a female principal gathers teachers and parents to discuss and find a solution together.

My Response: Yes. Men tend to use a more forceful method.

The downside: relying on oneself makes a man less flexible and can lead to excessive self-confidence.

A woman may be more vulnerable due to an external locus of control. Business often demands rigidity, and therefore women in high positions sometimes adopt masculine qualities and constantly balance between personal life and professional duties.

Answer: The main thing is the collective. If the collective understands that, in principle, it is better off with a woman leader than with a man, then the whole collective benefits. Where is the question for this answer?

Question: The next factor is internal corporate processes. A businessman creates a team. Men are more result-oriented. They value employees who are more effective and produce better results.

A woman boss creates a family. She senses the mood in the collective, concentrates on overall comfort. Women tend to have more developed emotional intelligence for creating such an atmosphere.

The downside is that a man may reduce efficiency due to a weak individual approach to each member. A woman may become overly concerned with what is happening in the collective. How can this be balanced?

Answer: We do not manage to do this even in family relations, much less in today’s mixed collectives.

This requires a truly wise collective, where everyone understands the nature of men and women. By discussing everything together, they rise above their egoism.

Here there are no personal gender relations in the usual sense. They reason as clear psychologists: how they can connect in the middle line, not feminine and not masculine, but precisely in the middle. And the middle line is the most effective, correct, and possible combination of these two lines.

This is very difficult. One must constantly work on it. It cannot be done once and for all. Therefore, within a collective there should be such a person, or perhaps even a pair, who would constantly support the mutual complementarity of the inner aspirations, decisions, and visions of the male and female parts. Otherwise, the collective will not be truly effective.

Comment: The next factor is strategy for earning money.

A male leader is naturally less patient and wants quick profit “here and now.” Therefore, he is ready to take risks, to use creative approaches that push business forward.

A female leader often makes decisions more thoughtfully and conservatively. She thinks more long-term and strategically.

The downside: men, due to their need to take risks, are inclined to make rash decisions and incur serious financial losses.

My Response: But they enjoy risk. For them, risk is itself a kind of reward: “I may lose, but I took the risk! I was in it!”

A woman by nature must act thoughtfully. She must care; stability is primary in her—maintaining stability now and in the future. A man does not have this in the same way. For him, the main thing is to leap forward.

Both movements are absolutely correct; only their mutual complementarity is problematic for our society.

Comment: The fifth factor is communication style.

Men are excellent orators who inspire the masses. A woman wins in close-range communication. Women are naturally better at reading nonverbal behavior, possess strong listening skills, and are more sensitive to their own experiences.

The downside: men often do not pay attention to details and may lose negotiations over obvious matters. Women, with an external locus of control, spend considerable energy analyzing how others perceive them.

My Response: A man does not see what is near. He does not read faces or subtle actions—the things a woman notices, absorbs, and orients herself by. A man does not see them.

In everyday life, this is an astonishing ability of women, to sense the surroundings. Like an animal going out to hunt and sensing everything around it with its whole body, so is a woman. A man is not like that. He is goal-oriented; his main thing is to reach a specific point, he sees nothing else.

We are created differently; nothing can be done about that. A person and his qualities cannot be remade. We correct egoism, help a person rise above his egoistic nature, but not above his inherent qualities. A man remains a man, a woman a woman. We must only understand how to combine them correctly.

Therefore, we must choose the proper combination of our actions.

Question: What should leaders, men and women, take into account in their work?

Answer: A proper leader must assemble a collective of several men and women, ike a board of directors, who will correctly understand the collective itself, through discussion properly understand its tasks, correctly understand their own nature, and determine how to combine it in such a way as to develop the middle line, which optimally accounts for both approaches and yields the best result.

And still, this result will naturally be neither feminine nor masculine, but intermediate. It will always be some kind of compromise.

We must learn to live precisely in the middle line.
[241862]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 2/26/19

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Lesson on the Topic “Winning the War” (3.1.2022)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 2, Part 5, “Ohr Pnimi,” Item 40

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3rd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

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Question: For strengthening the group, what is more important, disseminating Kabbalah or our inner work?

Answer: I don’t think one can exist without the other. If a person understands how important inner work is, how will he express this importance? By the fact that we will simply sit together and study?

I don’t think that is enough. And Baal HaSulam, in the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” writes that the Messiah will come precisely from widespread, mass study of the wisdom of Kabbalah. I do not think one can express the desire to deepen inner work in any other way than through dissemination. How else can we be connected to one another? How else can we perform a joint action? You for me, and I for you.

By engaging in dissemination, we sort of draw the Creator; He is found between us. After all, we are gathering in order to advertise the Creator to people. And this is a very effective action alongside the closeness and corrections in which we already find ourselves.

This must be done. From my experience, I see that very large groups, even those that were connected to Rabash, unfortunately ceased to exist solely because they neglected dissemination.
[353506]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/24/26, Rabash, “Purpose of Society – 2”

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Question: What does it mean that a person resembles the actions of the Creator?

Answer: It means that he strives to perform the same actions of bestowal. He reveals the Creator’s action upon himself, and this is usually perceived as negative with respect to the will to receive pleasure since the Creator is first revealed by adding to a person an additional desire to receive.

On the one hand, he sees this desire as evil, because by its form, the intention for self-reception, it distances him from the Creator. Yet in itself this state is positive because it is the Creator’s invitation to draw closer to Him to the height of that very desire, by correcting it to the intention “for the sake of bestowal.”

Thus, in every action and in every state, a person must not lose connection with the Creator. Otherwise, he immediately begins to engage in himself, that is, in the desire within him that is not aimed toward the Goal.

After passing through all these stages and striving within his desire to match the Creator’s intention (the Creator desires only to bestow) a person corrects that desire to bestowal. Then it becomes as if common to both of them: the inner part of the Partzuf (Toch), where the Creator and the created being meet and exist in adhesion.

That is, one must view desires as a means, as something not truly “mine.” I have a head (Rosh), where I wish to be together with the Creator in intentions, and there is a body (Guf), where the Creator and I are found, meaning our actions in adhesion.

We are speaking about the “head” of the soul and the “body” of the soul, the Partzuf. One must see the soul as a part of the Creator from Above, where He and I are merged. This is the place of adhesion in actions, and afterward also in thoughts.

Thus, first, I feel the Creator’s influence upon me, within me, inside that desire. Accordingly, I begin to build the Rosh. And when I have established my “head,” relating to the Creator in that desire just as He relates to me, it turns out that I have performed an action in the “body,” as He does. Through this, I begin to attain the “head” of the Creator, His intentions and thoughts toward me.
[352961]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/9/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that Before the Egyptian Minister Fell, Their Outcry Was Not Answered, in the Work?”

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Relations between friends must be businesslike and directed only toward correction. This is how we test the group. No matter how many disturbances we are still destined to encounter, can we turn them into something useful? This is the greatness of the group.

And to what extent we will be able to receive numerous disturbances and turn them into strength depends on how we all resist these disturbances and help one another.

And all of this is in the mind. Of course, I may perform various material actions, but ultimately all these things lie within, because they build a spiritual vessel within us, which is no longer something material.

We are speaking about thoughts through which we increase desires that connect together, pass from one to another, and then all of us receive even more of these desires, and each one receives them from the other also in the form of a disturbance until he attaches them to himself. In short, each time it is work on attention, which is called intention.

As it is said: “A commandment without intention is like a body without a soul.” Thus, clarification means that a person must be sensitive to this each time. Everything comes only from inner attention to where my heart and mind are right now, on which point I am focused.

It is as if I am moving the beam of a flashlight from one thing to another, examining within the given situation how I must relate to it, what I must increase, what I should pay more attention to, how to attach this to myself, in which direction to turn, how to expand the existing connection.

This is inner work. Imagine how focused a person is on this within himself and to what extent he cannot be disturbed. Only through this does he grow.
[353365]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/18/26, Rabash, “According to What Is Explained Concerning ‘Love Thy Friend as Thyself’”

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I remember asking myself this question: “And what comes next?” Well, next you go to school, then to college, and so on. Since I did not have an answer to this question, I did not really want to study, and in general, I did not want anything. I was quite often in a state of apathy.

Question: Because there was no answer? Did the answer arise from this “I” that demanded growth?

Answer: Of course. What do I live for, why? It was a terrible feeling that everything was meaningless and useless, yet you were forced to do it.

Question: So, in fact, our life is the formation of this “I” within a person?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Then the question is: does this “I” have a connection with that upper force you are always talking about?

Answer: Yes. It is in the question: “For what purpose?” This question is transmitted to everyone, but in certain doses. The one in whom this question arises truly seriously can evidently develop it and receive answers.

Question: If we try to think and fantasize a little, are there “threads” from above leading down to a person’s “I”?

Answer: Yes.

Question: And how can we determine when a certain “I” will play out, and when another “I” will jump out?

Answer: For that, one must reveal one’s soul, that is, one’s entire connection with the higher degree. Then you will know why you are being pulled in exactly this way and not another.

Question: And precisely at this time?

Answer: In everything.

Question: Is it programmed which “I” will jump out, and which one will be slightly dulled?

Answer: Absolutely everything is programmed. The beginning of creation, the end of creation, and its intermediate states, practically all are known in advance. Only one thing is unknown: how a person, in realizing their freedom of will, will realize their personal participation in all of this.

This realization is not determined in advance, it is given to a person.

Question: So does actually everything not depend on a person? Does something still depend on them?

Answer: Yes.
[352967]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 2/9/26

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Question: When you are asked a question, what does it evoke in you?

Answer: A very strong reaction! Sometimes I suddenly start to boil over, or on the contrary, it throws me toward either a scientific presentation, or a psychological one, sometimes humorous, and so on.

A question causes very strong changes in me. Moreover, it can outwardly be, general or ordinary. There does not seem to be a difference between the questions, but inside, I feel a very strong storm tossing me from wave to wave. Therefore, the questions and answers produce huge inner work in me, a kind of inner disturbance.

Question: Does it look like you are getting some kind of injection of selfishness from this person?

Answer: Sure. Necessarily. This is exactly what is meant. I get a wide, strong contact with the audience that asks this question, and based on the breadth of this question, I connect to this audience. It is a lot of stress, like docking in space or something. And according to this docked module, I am already working.

Question: Do you get any content from this?

Answer: I get great satisfaction from clarifying the issue. Because this is an opportunity to fill those souls, those empty vessels that are now connected to me.

The question is the definition of emptiness, and I fill these voids. It gives me great pleasure; not egotistical, like ordinary lecturers. After all, I know how much people who listen to me will make progress even if they do not understand the answer. Even if they cannot realize it yet, it is already written down in their souls.
[352658]
From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Answer to any Question” 9/12/10

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