Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Main Kabbalistic Sources: The Works of the ARI

And the same words that were said about the Rashbi should be said about the ARI himself—that his predecessors [even though they knew more than the ARI] were not given permission from Above to disclose the interpretations of the wisdom, and that he was given this permission. And also, this does not distinguish any greatness or smallness at all, since it is possible that the virtue of his formers was much greater than the Ari’s, but they were not given permission for it at all. For this reason, they refrained from writing commentaries that relate to the actual wisdom, but settled for brief intimations that were not in any way linked to one another.

For this reason, since the books of the Ari appeared in the world, all who study the wisdom of Kabbalah have left their hands from all the books of the Ramak, and all the first and the great ones [Kabbalists] that preceded the ARI, as it is known among those who engage in this wisdom. They have attached their spiritual lives solely to the writings of the ARI in a way that the essential books, considered proper interpretations of this wisdom, are only The Book of Zohar, the Tikkunim [Tikkunei Zohar] and following them, the books of the ARI.

[Since Baal HaSulam wrote complete commentaries to The Book of Zohar and the ARI’s books, our generation studies both sources through his works.]
– Baal HaSulam, “Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Main Kabbalistic Sources: The Book Of Zohar

An exception is Rashbi and his generation, the authors of The Zohar, who were granted all 125 degrees in completeness, even though it was prior to the days of the Messiah [before our time]. It was said about him and his disciples: “A sage is preferable to a prophet.” Hence, we often find in The Zohar that there will be none like the generation of Rashbi until the generation of the Messiah King [our generation]. This is why his composition made such a great impact in the world, since the secrets of the Torah in it occupy the level of all 125 degrees. [This is not because the world understands it, but rather because the Upper Force is in it.]

Hence, it is said in The Zohar that The Book of Zohar will be revealed only at the End of Days, the days of the Messiah. This is so because we have already said that if the degrees of the students are not at the full measure of the degree of the author, they will not understand his intimations, since they do not have a common attainment. [The need for The Book of Zohar arises at the End of Days of egoism’s development, when humanity begins to realize that its path is corrupt and wants to correct itself. This is because one can draw the force, the Light of Correction only when he reads The Zohar with the correct intention: to correct oneself.]

And since the degree of the authors of The Zohar is at the full level of the 125 degrees, they cannot be attained prior to the days of the Messiah. It follows that there will be no common attainment with the authors of The Zohar in the generations preceding the days of the Messiah. Hence, The Zohar could not be revealed in the generations before the generation of the Messiah. [Egoism was not developed enough.]
– Baal HaSulam, A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar

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Nothing disappears in spirituality. On the contrary, the differences between the souls become even more vivid. Every particular soul possesses special qualities that create the entire wealth of perceiving the Creator. This happens precisely by virtue of connecting with the opposite qualities of other souls. That is how the mutual perception of the Creator becomes 620 times greater than the perception of a separate soul.

The size of our spiritual vessel (Kli) is not defined by its quality, but quantity. That is why every soul is revealed more powerfully and uniquely. This is similar to stem cells which are universal and can be used like building blocks to build everything else. The heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs can all be built out of this basis called the stem cell.

The same thing is true in spirituality. For now each of us lives inside the “stem cell” of his own soul. Later we will begin connecting to the general system, the group, or the system of souls that we reveal in the group, and by attaching them to us, we will then connect to the Creator who becomes revealed in the system of souls. That is when we will also begin to attain ourselves: Who we are, what we belong to, what our soul is, what my mission is, and what my main quality is out of the entire sum of qualities accompanying it.

Therefore, when we advance in spirituality, every person becomes more and more connected with everything, but at the same time he stands out more and more, becomes more unique because by connecting with others, he increases his own “stem cell.” That is why Baal HaSulam writes in the article “The Freedom” that every person must develop, rather than suppress, his unique qualities. By virtue of every person’s uniqueness, we will attain a huge, perfect vessel of the soul in which we will be able to perceive the entire spiritual world and the Creator 620 times greater than at the beginning of creation.

From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/1/10, The Zohar

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Following the Paths of Kabbalists

As far as spiritual life is concerned, there is no natural obligation on the individual to abide by the society in any way. On the contrary, here applies a natural law over the collective, to subjugate itself to the [spiritual] individual [in order to thereby reach the goal themselves].”
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

While most of humanity is undeveloped, and the developed ones are always a small minority, if you always determine according to the will of the collective, which are the undeveloped, and the reckless ones, the views and desires of the wise and the developed in society, which are always the minority, will never be heard and will not be taken into consideration. Thus, you seal off humanity’s fate to regression, for it will not be able to make even a single step forward [toward the mandatory goal of their creation].
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Following the Paths of Kabbalists

Even though one has a soul, he is not ready to know Him, “Until the spirit be poured upon him from on high.” However, one must lend an ear and listen to the words of the sages [about how to reject one’s egoism], and believe in them [their directions, while annulling oneself] wholeheartedly.
– Baal HaSulam, Igrot (Letters), Letter 19, pg. 70

And since the more developed in the generation is certainly the individual, it follows that when [the time will come and] the public [having no other choice] wants to relieve themselves of the terrible agony and assume [spiritually, in bestowal and love] conscious and voluntary development [rather than by force through the path of suffering], which is the path of Torah, they [the masses] have no choice but to subjugate themselves and their physical freedom to the discipline of the individual, and obey the orders and remedies [the method of correcting the egoism] that he [the spiritual leader] will offer them.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Following the Paths of Kabbalists

This means that through adhering to wise disciples [annulling himself before them], it is possible to receive some support. In other words, only a wise disciple [he who attains the Creator with his corrected qualities] can help him, and nothing else. Even if he is great in the [regular] Torah [and not Kabbalah], he will still be called “a commoner” if he has not been rewarded with learning [in the equivalence of form in bestowal] from the Creator’s mouth. Hence, one must surrender before a wise disciple and accept what the wise disciple places on him [the guidance of how to achieve the quality of bestowal] without any arguments [neutralizing his ego in all aspects], but by way of above reason.
– Baal HaSulam, Shamati #105, “A Wise Disciple Bastard Precedes a High Priest Commoner”

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Rabash, “The Purpose Of The Association“: We have gathered here in order to create a group in which every one of us will aspire to give pleasure to the Creator. However, in order to achieve this we must first learn to give pleasure or bestow to man. In other words, we must learn to love our neighbor. Only by suppressing one’s own egoism is it possible to carry out this Commandment of love for one’s neighbor.

Sometimes Rabash’s articles appear confusing and disorganized. We don’t understand why he suddenly cites quotes from one place and then from another. Yet, we have to understand that a Kabbalist does not do anything accidentally. He expresses what he feels, and his sensation is the Upper Light clothed into a corrected Kli. If we were in his place, we would write exactly the same thing!

Therefore, even if it seems to us that this text was written in a fashion that does not suit us, we have to understand that if we ascended and stood in his place, we would write the same exact words. This is called following the method of Rabash and Baal HaSulam.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/29/10, “The Purpose Of The Association”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Following the Paths of Kabbalists

The most successful way for one who wishes to learn the wisdom is to search for a genuine Kabbalist and follow all his instructions, until one is rewarded with understanding [in his corrected desires] the wisdom [of the Creator’s revelation] in one’s own mind, meaning the first discernment [from the Creator himself]. Afterwards, one will be rewarded with its conveyance mouth to mouth [in a mutual screen, attainment, adhesion], which is the second discernment, and after that, [internally] understand in writing, which is the third discernment. Then, one will have inherited all the wisdom and its instruments from his teacher with ease, and will be left with all one’s time to develop and expand [his revelations of the Creator].
– Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of Kabbalah and its Essence”

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Question: The ARI was the “Messiah son of Joseph.” Who will be the second Messiah, the son of David, and when will he appear?

Answer: Baal HaSulam calls the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah “the call of the Messiah’s horn” across all the nations. The Messiah is a force that corrects souls. Will it manifest through the actions of a certain individual or will it take place at the level of governing forces? Does it matter? The fact is that this whole process is called “Messiah ben David.”

Nowadays the knowledge of Kabbalah is spreading across the whole world and this is leading the world to the general correction. That is why this period of time can be called “the time of the Messiah.” It has already begun. The people of the world have to realize that all problems and catastrophes are caused by our lack of correction. The realization of the cause of the events that happen to us is by itself a revelation of evil inclinations, but it occurs under the influence of the Upper Light. Therefore, it is related to the time of Messiah.

Spiritual liberation (Geula) is in fact a revelation of the united force of bestowal. It is written that “the Messiah will lead the whole world to Jerusalem to teach the Torah.” “The Torah” is a force that releases the property of bestowal in us and “Jerusalem” is a desire through which we attain contact with the Creator. Revelation of the Light that corrects this desire is implemented through the Messiah’s power (unless we all achieve total liberation) through the power of the Light that progressively reveals itself.

However, the Messiah will not come until we achieve a certain level of dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah in the world. He cannot descend until the world as a whole fully understands the necessity of correction.

From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/4/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions on the passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Following the Paths of Kabbalists

The RAMBAM said that if a thousand blind walk in a line along the way and at least one of them is able to see, then they are certain to take the right path and not fall into the pits or obstacles since it is the sighted one who leads them. But if the sighted person is missing, then they are certain to stumble over every hurdle along the way, and they all will fall into the pit. [The task of spiritual leaders is to lead the generations towards the Creator by the path of the Torah. It is the responsibility of the masses to follow their spiritually sighted leaders.]
– Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 57

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