The Zohar, Chapter “Bamidbar (In the Wilderness),” Item 36: …south is Hesed, and grips to the east and depends on it as a branch with its root. This is so because the hidden Daat is the beginning of the sun, whose essence is Tifferet, called “sun” and east. But with its ascent to Yod–Hey it becomes Daat. In the beginning of the Daat in upper AVI, a root is made for the disclosure of Hesed, by which the upper AVI mate and elicit the Hesed (Love and Mercy).

We have to extract correction and remedy from every word in The Zohar. The Light will transform our properties according to its source. This should be our attitude to the reading. On the other hand, we have to try to understand what we read with more clarity.

Everything originates from the first HaVaYaH (Yod–Hey–Vav–Hey). The basic structure is the four stages of the Direct Light and everything clothes on these stages: the four letters, the three lines, and Malchut which receives from them. Everything comes from this connection.

First of all, we have to aspire to correct the breaking in ourselves so that every moment and every word from The Zohar will penetrate us like a balm or a healing remedy. After all, the Torah is created as a “seasoning” for a desire, as a remedy for its correction. When I want to connect with the text to reveal it, it opens up and connects with me as one whole.

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A question I received: What is the “Surrounding Light”? Is it a mystical force?

My Answer: The Surrounding Light is the Upper Light present within the connection among us. It just so happens that we don’t feel this connection; on the contrary, we feel separated. It’s as if we are asleep or unconscious and do not sense our corrected state. I am connected to others, but I am no longer aware of it, as if I had fainted after a hard blow to my head.

At this very moment the Light is present within the connection among us. The more I desire to regain my “lost” connection with others, the stronger the Light acts upon me. That is, the Light is as strong as my desire.

I remain inside the system filled with the Light where everyone is united into one whole, but I don’t realize it. Then I start to apply efforts to get back into this system. In a physical world, if I feel dizzy to the point of fainting, I try very hard to shake myself up and to hold on. Similarly, I apply all my inner effort to regain the perception of the spiritual world and recover the sense of my connection with others.

The Light that influences me in accordance with my desire to attain the corrected state is called the “Surrounding Light.” Currently I am in Malchut of the World of Infinity, completely connected to her. The problem is that I have 125 layers or steps of “lost consciousness” compared to the real state in which I am already present.

This desire impacts me only in the event that I want to regain my consciousness. We are like a child who dreams of becoming an adult and because of this desire he grows up.

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The following is an excerpt from Rabash’s article on the holiday of Purim, “Concealment and Revelation”:

“Darkness is the Babylonian exile, which the nation of Israel brought upon itself because the Creator (Zeir Anpin) was asleep. The sinner Haman, who was a great astrologist, cast lots (Pur) to determine fate. Haman and his ten sons are the ten Klipot (impure forces) because he knew that the Creator slept and thus His upper governance did not protect the nation of Israel (those who aspire toward the Creator). Therefore, Haman thought that the time has come to annihilate the nation of Israel.”

Haman is our entire will to enjoy, which stands opposite the entire Light of Hochma. He knows that the Light is about to be revealed. However, he doesn’t know that this can only happen in the middle line, and that later even that will be revoked when the transition to the state of the First Restriction (Tzimtzum Alef) takes place. Malchut unites with Zeir Anpin in the middle line and they ascend to Bina, where they attain the state of the End of Correction.

Annihilating the nation of Israel means annihilating the intention of “for the sake of bestowal,” which holds a person back from receiving the Light of Hochma egoistically. Mordechai is the intention of bestowal, but if he acts alone, without the desires of Haman, then it is just bestowal for the sake of bestowal. That means he blocks the Light of Hochma, preventing it from being revealed.

In other words, if a person does not work in the middle line, then even his best actions of bestowal will block his path of development. This is why Mordechai needs a connection with Haman. When they start to argue with each other (an argument between the intention of bestowal and the egoistic desire), they come to understand how they are able or unable to unite.

The intention of bestowal enables the desires of Haman to be used. However, these actual desires will not be fulfilled, and this is why a clash occurs between Haman and Mordechai. This story is talking about how a person can create the right unity between two conflicting forces or two opposite intentions. It is also describing the battles, confusion, and doubts that await us on the path of correction until we find the right method.

This is what “Megillat Ester (The Scroll of Esther)” tells us about.

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Every new state is born only under the condition that the former state completely exhausts itself, similar to how a grain planted in the soil needs to rot completely in order for a new stage of life to be born from its former state, which is then perceived as unneeded and useless. This is why it is written about the holiday of Purim that Zeir Anpin sleeps while Malchut becomes immersed in darkness due to this. Only from this state of darkness do we attain the greatest Light, the state called Purim, which corresponds to the End of Correction.

If Zeir Anpin does not bring Light to Malchut, we feel that we are in exile and cannot tune into Malchut and unite. However, suffering and darkenss force us to demand strength from Zeir Anpin to accomplish our unification, in order to tune into Malchut, the one common soul. This is how we give rise to our next degree.

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A person who consciously seeks spirituality is influenced by different developmental laws than a person who walks the natural path. It’s similar to the difference between classical physics, which deals with large material objects, and quantum physics, which studies elementary particles. The difference between them is like the difference between light and dark. Regular physics speaks of matter, while quantum physics speaks of light, because a quantum particle is a particle of light. In other words, it is a different level of nature, even though it is still within the boundaries of this world, and it differs greatly from what we are accustomed to.

With regard to spirituality, if the sparks of correction aren’t awakened within a person, he is corrected in a similar fashion as all of nature – by being incorporated inside those who do have the spiritual spark, those who aspire toward spirituality and ask the question, “What is the meaning of my life?” Some carry out the spiritual work, while others help them either by supporting or by hindering. Thus, all advance together.

That is why the science of Kabbalah must be disseminated among all people, for as long as it hasn’t in some way reached even one person, he will not participate in correction. It’s similar to how at first glance it seems that humankind bears no relation to what happens in some galaxy millions of light years away from earth. But in fact, we simply don’t yet understand just how dependent we are at the end of correction on every gram of matter, even at some distant star, because it too must be part of us in order to result in perfection, Malchut of Infinity.

This principle applies all the more so to every person in this world, even one who leads the simplest existence and doesn’t have a care about spirituality. This person, nonetheless, pertains to the process of correction to whatever extent he is able, and therefore, we must bring the knowledge of Kabbalah to him as well.

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The Zohar, Chapter “Tazria (When A Woman Delivers),” Item 95: This is when the sinner gives strength to the Sitra Achra (evil inclination) to extend from the left, from above downwards [meaning egoistically], as did Cain. Then the serpent, called “sin,” which crouches at the door of Malchut, discloses the first point, which is hidden in Malchut, and all the lights depart from the root of the soul of the sinful person…

A person starts his correction from the lowest critical point when the serpent and Malchut, which is unable to receive any Light, are revealed. This serpent has a very important mission. This is why “the sin crouches at our door” is written in a good rather than in a bad sense.

The Creator prepared a serpent to help us enter the spiritual world. The serpent causes us to make the most basic revelation: that we are unable to receive the Light inside our egoistic desires. Don’t even try; you will be beating your head against a brick wall and will never succeed. Leave your egoistic desires because you won’t be able to do anything with them. You have to rise above them in order to “leap” above this world. This is what the serpent is explaining to a person.

The serpent comes like an angel sent to us by the Creator in order to push us towards correction. Yet, we should be grateful to the serpent for its help.

This snake comes as medication; indeed, it is not a coincidence that the snake is a symbol of medicine and poison is the basis of all medications. The Creator guides us using bites from the two serpents until we suddenly feel the nature which is above our own. We then understand that we have to rise above both of these serpents, thereby finding the One who governs them.

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If we want to make spiritual progress, we need the help of an egoistic force called “evil.” In fact, if not for this evil force revealing itself, we would remain in one place having nothing to do. Since the right and left lines oppose each other, they alone cannot help us progress in this way. Thus, we need an external trigger, which is the interference of evil. Its purpose is to push us toward the birth of a new life.

This is what is referred to as “help against you.” It acts by the evil force working devotedly, evoking a chain of states within us. Therefore, a leap to a new state and transition to the Upper Level is impossible without it.

That is to say, everything is ready for Malchut to give birth to new souls, except that she’s unable to do so. In order to achieve birth, the evil must evoke itself in Malchut, giving her an additional egoistic desire. Only then is she able to deliver and connect with the Light on a new level.

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The system of nature is perfect and divine. To the extent that we wish to belong to it, we each pour our “glass” of desire into the common capacity, Malchut, in order to join it even slightly.

However, today, we are situated outside of this system. There is only a minimal glimmer of life’s spark inside us that revives us in our world (this spark is called Kista De-Hayuta). Our situation is similar to what happens when a splinter gets inside our body. The organism encapsulates it to protect itself, isolating the sick place from the rest of the body, which is healthy.

This is where we now reside – inside this abscess.

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At our current level, we don’t need to delve into details but should simply work together tending to our common spiritual vessel into which everyone adds their own part. When we ascend to higher levels, we will need to clarify precisely which of our parts we are connecting together in the same way as in the human body where there are tissues, matter, and cells connecting together. The organs connect, discover their respective functions, and provide specific things to the others.

For now, however, we’re only talking about uniting our desires toward one goal. We need to concentrate on one thing only: We all want to reveal the Creator simply because we want to feel good. We want to attain mutual bestowal where He will bestow to us and we will bestow to Him and to each other. This is in order for our spiritual “basin” to come alive and sustain itself. Within this basin, we will exist together as one organism without any separation between us.

The Light must solder us together into a single whole so that my “I” will vanish. Every one of us adds his own drop of water, but inside the basin, one can no longer feel which water belongs to him because everything is collective. Then, our mutual connection above our ego begins. One part coalesces with another as if connected by vital arteries in one living organism. Life in the body is like life in Malchut of the World of Infinity: Malchut is filled with Light and its life is collective, relying on mutual bestowal among all its parts and to the Creator.

Imagine that we are all one person. We are his organs and we all want this person to live because by living, he bestows pleasure to the Creator. Then, we begin to reveal that we’re not just some disconnected part like a part of a brain, for instance, but we’re a part of the brain that’s included in all the other organs. How else would we be able to care about others? Inside every cell and bone there is a brain particle, and in the same way, we will feel included in everybody without exception. We lose our individual identity, but on the other hand, we acquire more opportunities to think about others beyond our ego, while our ego continues to reveal itself in new ways.

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The Zohar, Chapter “Ki Tissa (When You Take),” Item 56: The sinners that have created that nation on the outside – the mixed multitude (Erev Rav), and the holy nation attached to it; they have sinned in the mother –  Malchut, as it is written: “Rise, make for us gods.”

The mixed multitude (Erev Rav) are those who use bestowal in order to receive. On the one hand, they carry out the Creator’s will – they bestow, which is why they are called “fearful of the Creator.” However, they bestow for their own benefit, which is why they are also called “the Pharaoh’s agents.” Erev Rav are people that observe the commandments and fulfill all of the Creator’s demands, but only for their own well being in this world and in the world to come.

Surely a god, to make them another god (that is understood by egoism) instead of Malchut, who is called “God” (Elokim). Instead of this glory of Israel, meaning Malchut, who was over them like a mother over the sons.

“Israel” are people who have an intention that is “straight to the Creator” (Yashar Kel). The whole purpose of their work is for the Creator, and not for themselves. The Erev Rav are those who want to and are prepared to work; they have the strength to complete what is required of them with complete devotion, but in return they want money, respect and power. They are unable to work without these things, and they are the reason for all the exiles. The problem with the Erev Rav is that they do the same actions as Israel, talk about the same things, use the same Upper Force, share the same desire to enjoy, but for their own benefit. They say, “We are prepared to fulfill all of the Torah’s commandments, but only if it benefits us.”

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