Comment: You said that a person attains the names of the Creator to the extent of their correction.

My Response: I usually give the following example: to catch a radio wave, you must create the same frequency inside the radio receiver. This is called the resonance effect. Otherwise, you cannot pick up the external waves. There are millions of waves across all possible ranges outside the receiver. How do you catch something specific?

Each receiver acts like a transmitter in a sense; it does not merely receive. First of all, it has to generate the wave you want to pick up from the outside, i.e., the same oscillation frequency. Then, from what is outside, according to the law of similarity of form—in this case, the matching frequency—you catch the corresponding external wave and perceive it as sound. Thus, you need to match the qualities with what you want to experience.

Our eyes and ears are designed to detect a certain range of external influences because inside us there is a mechanism capable of producing the same frequencies that are outside.

This mechanism consists of nerve fibers, at the ends of which there are receptors, sensors, specific to each type of frequency. Heat, cold, and pressure are, in general, different frequencies of wave vibrations that I perceive according to the similarity of form in my vessel with what is outside.

How can I claim that the Creator is just and merciful if I do not first acquire the property by which I can find out what “just” and “merciful” are? That is, first of all, I must make a correction, and in accordance with this, I will be able to feel that the Creator really is like that.

Sometimes we say that a person doesn’t have a heart. It is just that his feelings are so undeveloped that when he sees someone crying and suffering, he does not feel bad or even understand it.

For example, an infant, even if someone is crying next to him, has no idea what this means. His sensory perception is not yet developed enough to understand that something very serious has happened to an adult, which has led him to such intense distress.

Later when the child grows up and develops the inner vessels capable of feeling sorrow or joy, he will be able to perceive what is happening in the world around him.

This is what happens with everything. We perceive everything only according to similarity of form.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/14/26, Rabash, “What It Means that ‘Law and Ordinance’ Is the Name of the Creator in the Work”

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Question: Can we say that the period of preparation is necessary so that we can come to feel the need for a connection with the Creator?

Answer: Of course. First and foremost, a person must feel the need for it. This is called the recognition of the evil of egoism. How else can I know that something good is being concealed from me?

In the article “What Is, ‘There Is None Holy as the Creator, for There Is None Besides You’ in the Work?,” Rabash illustrates this with the following example: the son of a wealthy man is kept in a basement. He has nothing, lives in misery, and receives only a small amount of food that is lowered down to him from above.

The son curses his father for his cruelty and for the life he has prepared for him. But when he is finally brought out and shown that there is another way of life, you can imagine the confusion he experiences.

We go through similar states as well. A person does not understand at all what is happening to him. He feels lost and unhappy until he begins to study and draw conclusions from the state he is in.

What does it mean to study? After lamenting his twenty years of imprisonment, a ray of light penetrates the basement, and he begins to see that everything had been done for his own benefit.

Why then did he have to suffer for twenty long years? Because only in this way could he appreciate and accept the goodness that was prepared for him. The Kli must be ready for the revelation of spirituality.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/3/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘There Is None as Holy as the Lord, for There Is None Besides You,’ in the Work?”

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Question: In the greatest state of Lo Lishma does a person begin to desire the next stage, Lishma?

Answer: No, at the peak of Lo Lishma a person does not want Lishma, because he does not understand what it is. The greatest Lo Lishma is when I want to bestow to the Creator, to be with Him, I love Him to such an extent that I do not feel myself. It is like in love, the sensation of it fills a person so completely that it suppresses their will to receive. There is a lot of egoism there and even aggression, but it is extinguished by the feeling of the necessity of connection with the beloved.

How do I use my study? Each time I want something, I understand that I can realize it by means of study, in the course of which I receive the forces to realize what I want. At the same time, I must come to study with some desire. Suppose today I want by means of study to change this or that.

Study is about the specific payment you want, or power you seek in order to bring about a change within you?

But if you arrive without a precise definition of what you want to change in yourself, the study is futile. What is the purpose of the light’s arrival? You and your friends awaken it, and it simply circles around you and leaves.

By the effort that you apply during study, you draw the upper light upon yourself, which brings life, health, strength, and all that is best. And if you just sit and study, and you have no demand for these forces, then why did you come to the lesson?

When you come to a lesson, even if you do not yet know why, just as your friends do not know what they are awakening the forces around for, then the light itself builds the desire in you. Gradually you begin to feel what exactly you must desire. But in order to use study more quickly and effectively, you need to come prepared with a specific desire in mind.

When one of my students calls me and asks how to play a role in the theater because he is struggling, frustrated, and torn apart, I give him some advice. But the best advice is that when you have problems, something hurts, or things are not working out, come here, study, and that very light that comes will give you the answer to everything, including how to play the role.

Just think how down‑to‑earth this example is, yet you already believe that from your study of the Torah you gain the strength to improve something. The only power that exists in this world is the light that comes from the upper world. In other words, this is the only possibility to change something in your state.

There is no other means: You will not find such a screwdriver, fork, or pliers with which you could tighten something in yourself and thus change. Only the light can do this.

And although it has a general influence on the soul and advances it, I must define what I want from it, so that I catch this surrounding light and, using it like a screwdriver, tighten something in myself in order to change. This must be more or less clear to you, and you need to know this before you come to study.

In principle, we understand this: We gather in groups, discuss and clarify what our desire is, and begin to study, knowing exactly what we want from the surrounding light. And if nothing changes in me, then I must voice my discontent as to why it did not change anything in me: “Where are Your promises? Show me where I am at fault and why You did not do this for me.”
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/26, Rabash, “What Should One Do If He Was Born with Bad Qualities?”

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 195

Chapter 19. Fear and Joy

Fear and joy are opposites. How can they be connected? Baal HaSulam writes in the Introduction to The Book of Zohar that the first action, the first correction, is called “fear.” There are commandments of the Torah, which are commands of the light, commands of correction, and which form the path that ascends from this world to the end of correction. This path is divided into corrections. The first correction we must attain is fear.

The Zohar asks, if the Creator is good, perfect, does good, and exists above any self-consideration, then why should a person fear Him? In this world, fear is usually attained through force. Indeed, it seems unfitting for the Creator, who is absolutely perfect, to demand fear.

The Zohar then explains that there is a type of fear called “fear of this world,” where we are afraid of punishment that could come upon us or our family in this world. Then there is fear of punishment in the next world, a higher level of punishment (and fear), but one that is still punishment. Later, when we correct our vessels into those of bestowal and acquire a screen (Masach), we completely stop fearing the Creator because we see that everything is good and does good. The Creator becomes revealed, and we understand that our previous fear of punishment did not stem from the Creator’s ability to punish, but from our own uncorrected vessels.

In truth, punishment from above is nonexistent. The only punishment is disconnection from the Creator. Then, we reach a different kind of fear, one that is related to bestowal: the fear of not being able to bestow. This fear itself is a correction. It enables us to build vessels of bestowal from our soul. Then, within the revelation of this fear, we receive fulfillment called “love.” Love is a result of fear. The greater our fear of being unable to bestow, the more the upper light fills us and brings the sensation of love, equivalence of form, connection, and adhesion (Dvekut) with the Creator.

Therefore, fear is a correction. Since we are initially made of a will to receive and this will must be aimed in order to bestow, otherwise we cannot feel pleasure, the correction lies in vessels of bestowal, or what is called “fear of the Creator.”

What does it mean that the correction must be fear, vessels of bestowal? If we receive pleasure in the will to receive, the pleasure immediately cancels the desire. For example, when one begins eating while hungry, the food is tasty and enjoyable. But as one continues to eat more and more, the pleasure diminishes, even if the food is the most delicious. Even exquisite delicacies will not add to the pleasure felt in the first bite. This is because the pleasure that enters fills the will to receive and cancels the lack.

Therefore, it is impossible to be both completely full and satisfied, meaning enjoying one hundred percent, and still feel pleasure. Once the vessel reaches saturation, it stops sensing fulfillment. This can also be seen when we yearn for, dream about, and pursue something for a long time, yet soon after we attain it, it loses its taste and feels ordinary. This does not have to do with time. Instead, the pleasure filled the vessel, and the lack, i.e., the hunger and the appetite, disappeared.

For pleasure not to be accidental, temporary, and fleeting, but eternal, it needs to grow along with the fulfillment and not disappear. As fulfillment increases, pleasure must increase as well, so that they support each other’s growth. How can we achieve this? We can achieve this by transforming our vessels into those of bestowal. That is, if we add an intention to bestow to the will to receive, the vessel attains a status above time and space. Then, even when the lack becomes filled, when the “stomach” is full, if the intention is to bestow, the more we become filled, the more we give, and the desire to give continues to grow.

“Above time” means that as we are filled more and more, our lack, appetite, and hunger do not diminish but increase, because we can give more. Therefore, we need to add intention to the will to receive. This intention makes the will to receive eternal. It does not vanish before the light that fills it, but instead it becomes eternal like the light itself when equipped with the intention to bestow.

This is the whole essence of the wisdom of Kabbalah—knowing how to receive. If we learn how to do this correctly, we begin to receive incessant pleasures and ascend from level to level, from strength to strength. We acquire more lack, correct it further with the intention to bestow, fill it more, and again increase the lack, and so on, progressing until we reach unlimited fulfillment, which is called “the end of correction.”

The end of correction does not grant the vessel a fixed capacity. If the vessel had a fixed capacity, it would cease to enjoy, even in order to bestow. Fixed bestowal cannot exist. On the contrary, bestowal must constantly grow, otherwise it is not bestowal. Therefore, we reach a state called “Ein Sof” (“infinity,” or literally, “without end”). In Ein Sof, we can expand our vessels unboundedly, along with intentions and fulfillment.

Then we arrive at true fear, which is the question of whether we can bestow. That is, as more deficiencies are added, can we establish a screen over them in order to bestow and through it receive in order to bestow?

This is the essence of true fear. As a result, we receive fulfillment from above, the light of the Torah. When the light of the Torah fills this fear, together they create a sensation called “the joy of the Torah,” a feeling of joy. By correcting our vessels, we receive fulfillment, the upper light called “Torah,” and reach joy.

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 30 “Three Prayers” (1985) (7.29.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 2, Part 6, Item 20

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3rd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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Question: On one hand, it is said that we should begin the work with “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” On the other hand, we say that we should always begin with “There is none else besides Him.” So how should one act correctly?

Answer: When I say, “There is none else besides Him,” I am speaking about my general approach, how I relate to what is happening to me.

Without a doubt, it is sent to me from above, and it means that I agree with the upper governance and accept the burden of the upper Malchut upon myself. This is what distinguishes me from an ordinary person on the street.

After I have said, “There is none else besides Him,” I say, “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” That is, relying on the fact that this has come from the Creator, I now detach myself from His action.

If I were to remain immersed in His action all the time, I would remain at the zero level of Aviut, nullifying myself and nothing more. Therefore, I emerge from this self-nullification and begin, through my own efforts and my own actions, to examine all these states; that is, to act independently.

I make my own corrections, as though everything depends on me.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/17/26, Rabash, “Who Needs to Know that a Person Withstood the Test?”

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Question: Is it possible to escape from evil for a month, or at least for a week?

Answer: I do not think running away from evil for a week or a month would help, because you would very quickly find that you need the disturbances of this world. You have not yet absorbed enough of them.

How can you verify this? Go to some remote village, isolate yourself there, begin studying the wisdom of Kabbalah, study the authentic sources together with your friends, and you will see that after a day or two at the most, boredom will set in, and you will have nothing to do. I am certain that this is exactly what will happen.

Question: Do we not provide one another with enough material for internal work?

Answer: No. You will not even feel the need to work with one another. I must constantly receive the disturbances of this world. Then I will have the need to connect with my friends in order to overcome these disturbances and attain spirituality. Otherwise, I will have no need for society, let alone for studies.

Do you think your studies will become more productive if you isolate yourself by withdrawing from this world? No, they will not improve, and your studies will not become more effective—they will not truly exist at all. The studies will become completely theoretical, with no real necessity for them. We have no possibility of advancing toward spirituality unless we remain connected with everyday life.

I, too, never stayed away from Rabash for long. Sometimes it lasted three days, but only occasionally. Of course, during the day I spent many hours with him, yet I still did not separate myself from ordinary daily life.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/14/26, Rabash, “What It Means that ‘Law and Ordinance’ Is the Name of the Creator in the Work”

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Question: If we say that everything comes from the Creator, does that mean that a person does not really exist at all?

Answer: The fact that everything comes from the Creator does not negate the existence of a person. A person is the sensing element.

As we study, the Kli (vessel) is the desire to receive delight from the Creator. The Creator fills the Kli with His presence.

All fulfillment that comes beyond what is necessary (everything that appears after the first stage of the four phases of the expansion of the direct light) arises from the sensation of the Creator, from the sensation of the Host Himself, rather than from what He has prepared for me to receive.

The Kli is the organ that perceives spiritual reality. Accordingly, the degree of the Creator’s concealment or revelation corresponds to the degree of emptiness (darkness) or fulfillment experienced within the spiritual vessel (Kli).
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/3/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘There Is None as Holy as the Lord, for There Is None Besides You,’ in the Work?”

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 194

Why Is Love of Friends Considered the Most Important Action, Even More Than Actions Such as Being Content With Little and Other Corrections?

This is because in Kabbalah it is known that a person cannot correct themselves. What can correct us is the upper light if it comes to us from a more corrected state and illuminates upon us. Only in such a way does it correct our vessels. Therefore, we should not act on our own to correct the vessels, as if we had an adjustable wrench in our hand with which we open, close, and repair. Instead, we must invite a “repairman” to come and fix the system. This is the kind of light we must invite.

Therefore, we do not perform direct actions for correction. We do not look for where the screen is, bring it, place it over the will to receive, and hammer in a few nails so that it will not come loose, between the will to receive below and the screen above, like in diagrams, so that the will to receive becomes covered by a screen. Instead, we look for the means that will bring us a screen that will bring us correction. This means is not an approach to the correction itself but an approach to the one who corrects. This matter presents a great obstacle to people before they begin to understand that we must seek the corrector and not the corrections themselves. Without the corrector there will simply be no correction. It is exactly like a washing machine that breaks down and you try to fix it yourself without any knowledge of how to do it. It does not work. You will have to invite a specialist who will bring the required part and know how to install it in the proper place. Therefore, we must look for the right “person” who knows how to do this work. This “right person” is the upper light.

Therefore, the actions that must be performed are not actions relating directly to the vessel itself, but actions through which we can draw the lights most beneficial for correction. Kabbalists tell us that the most beneficial surrounding light for correction comes when we read a Kabbalah book during study with the intention of reaching our root, the place where we, our action, the study, and the Creator are in adhesion at a single point. Kabbalists also say that in order to sit and study with the correct intention, intention itself is most important.

How do we reach such an intention? Kabbalists describe several means for building the correct intention. Baal HaSulam writes in the article “The Freedom” that the society comes before everything. Without society, we cannot unite our desire toward the goal and strengthen it, and our intention will be smaller than what is required to attract the surrounding light.

If we torment ourselves with statements such as “I am not okay,” “I am stingy,” “I am lustful,” “I am ambitious,” or “I am cruel,” then we invest ourselves within our bad desires to receive. A person is where their thoughts are. From that place, nothing is left for us except to get drunk or take drugs in order to dull the terrible pain we feel. Self-flagellation is useless. Therefore, it is written: “The fool sits with folded hands and eats his own flesh.” Such behavior is true foolishness because it does not aim us in the right direction. By looking at the filth within ourselves, we do not clean it. When a part in a car breaks down it must be repaired by a specialist who brings a new part and knows how to install it.

Many times, we constantly turn our gaze inward to our vessels and make ourselves miserable. Our inner state is spread before our eyes and we do not know how to detach ourselves from this sight, and we sit, grieve, and mourn over ourselves. Society must influence each and every person to come out quickly from this bad state, because from it we develop the “speech of the spies” about the Creator.

From a Talk on the Article “What Is the Substance of Slander and Against Whom Is It?” – Part 2, 6/13/2002

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