Four questions I received on supernatural phenomena

Question: Why do we always see the same side of the moon?

My Answer: Because this is how Malchut is positioned relative Zeir Anpin in the World of Atzilut. Forces descend to us from the World of Atzilut and this is how they manifest in the matter of our world. After all, everything taking place in our world is determined by the Upper Force, which originates from ZO”N of the World of Atzilut. A micro-dose of this force begot our entire universe, by breaking through to our material level from the Upper Level. It gradually became coarser and decreased its speed of operation, and hence produced energy and then matter. So matter exists only because of the Upper Energy present in it, or in other words – “by the word of G-d.” And it exists only in order to realize the “word of G-d” in matter – this is what man must do, since he combines both types of energy, the spiritual and the material. And after this will happen, the universe will cease its current existence, which is an egoistic co-existence (or opposition) of these energies. Incidentally, science now confirms that the universe isn’t infinite or eternal (although when I was in school, we learned that it is infinite and eternal).

Question: Does the notion of Satan exist in Kabbalah?

My Answer: Satan is one of the egoistic forces residing within a person. All forces exist only within the person, and they are all egoistic.

Question: As a Kabbalist, can you tell whether time travel is possible?

My Answer: It’s not possible in the physical sense. However, it is a normal phenomenon in the spiritual space, which is entirely above time, space and motion – as Einstein said, because it is higher than our light, and exists in the spiritual Light.

Question: Does Kabbalah agree that man has an aura?

My Answer: Yes. An aura is a field of energy that surrounds every creature, whether still, vegetative or animate. But it bears no relation to spirituality. Moreover, it’s impossible for a person who hasn’t attained the quality of bestowal by studying Kabbalah, to see spirituality, the quality of bestowal, but any person or camera can see and photograph the aura.

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Eleven questions I received on the future of Kabbalah, the birth of the last generation, and spiritual leaders of the future

Question: Based on item 12 of Talmud Eser Sefirot, which describes the process of the soul’s conception, can we say and imagine that the current state of humanity – the approaching global crises, are like labor pains during the birth of the last generation?

My Answer: The forces pressuring us are the labor pains that are forcing us to leave our previous state.

Question: Is there a connection between the process of the fetus turning from the state of “head up” to the state of “head down,” the union of Keter and Malchut, and the efforts of Kabbalists?

My Answer: Absolutely, because humanity must change its approach to the world, its purpose and values, and start preferring bestowal to reception, love for one’s neighbor over love for oneself.

Question: Are Kabbalists responsible for making sure that the last generation will be born normal?

My Answer: Yes, because people won’t change without the dissemination of Kabbalah. [Read more →]

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A question I received: What does Light mean in the spiritual sense? What is the difference between the Light in the lower spiritual worlds compared to the higher ones that are closer to the Creator?

My Answer: Everything that is received in the Kli (the soul) is called Light. See this definition in Talmud Eser Sefirot. The difference between the Lights is not the Lights in and of themselves, but the vessels, Kli, the desires they fill – the measure of bestowal, the force of correction.

Likewise, the light in our world is simple and white, but it consists of the seven lights or colors because potentially it can be revealed by the seven kinds of Kli. However it doesn’t exist on its own. There is no Light outside the Kli; there is no Creator outside creation.

We only study matter and its form. We are unable to study the abstract form and the essence since we can’t attain them in a reliable way. In outer space, there is no light, but only darkness, because there is no object that could stop it or reflect it – there is no Kli.

Thus, when light goes through glass, which absorbs one of the light’s components, it is perceived as the absorbed light. If the glass absorbs red waves, then the light is perceived as red. So we don’t sense the Light in and of itself, but only its expression in the soul. More accurately, the soul’s or desire’s reaction to something external in the spiritual world is called Light. In other words, the Light is the property of bestowal which the soul has attained and which it now senses. So we don’t see the Light, but the properties of the Kli or soul, which are expressed through something called Light.

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Two questions I received about using Kabbalah incorrectly and the possible outcomes of doing so

Question: Is there a chance that someone will start studying Kabbalah “too early,” and then not have the time to develop his ego, in order to then defeat it and transform it to the will to bestow? After all “The Light is only born out of darkness.” While one’s will to receive develops, one can use this time to build his career, create a family and provide for it, so that later he would really be able to concentrate on studying Kabbalah and growing spiritually (for example, after he’s forty years old).

My Answer: A person should test Kabbalah as soon as he hears about it, because one must develop everything harmoniously from the early years: family, children, work, etc., as well as spiritual development. Otherwise he will grow up to be an animal and his entire life will have gone to waste. Kabbalists do not put any age restrictions on revealing Kabbalah. Moreover, they write that if it were up to them, they would teach Kabbalah to children from an early age. My students and I teach our children Kabbalah while they are still babies – after all, this is the most necessary knowledge a person can have, and without it he’s just a miserable animal. With this education we protect our kids from drugs and other problems; they stay with us and do the same thing their parents do – it’s been tested!

Question: I’m scared, I think that I won’t be able to resurrect, I’m afraid that I’m not doing enough, that I lack strength and desire.

My Answer: The worst thing that can happen is that you won’t attain your full correction in this life, and then you’ll return into this world again to “finish correcting yourself.” You will definitely return if you don’t finish the correction, because in the final and perfect state, we already exist in “state 3,” and it must be really attained by everyone!

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Baal HaSulam – Letter from page 61

Before making an action, a person mustn’t think of private governance, but on the contrary, he must say: “If I don’t do it for myself, then no one will help me.” But once the action is completed, he must inquire and believe that he did not perform the action with his own force, but with the force of the Creator, who planned everything for him ahead of time and performed the action, and hence he was obligated to perform this action.

Hence, before he starts the day to earn his daily living, he must get rid of the thought of his private governance, and say: “If I don’t do it for myself, then no one will help me,” and then do everything necessary to make a living just like all the people.

But at night, when he comes home with the earnings, he mustn’t think that he earned them with his own efforts, but he should think that even if he had been idle all day long, he would still have them. It’s because the Creator planned this for him ahead of time, and hence it had to happen.

And even though our mind perceives this as a contradiction, and we can’t accept it in the heart and mind at the same time, man must believe that this is how the Creator has made the universe, and this is what the Kabbalists tell us about the Upper Governance, which exists above time, space, and development.

The source of this seeming contradiction lies in the singularity of the governance through two ways [Read more →]

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A question I received: I have a question about our group development. It looks like everyone inside the group as well as outside has lost his mind. Many have dropped studying, left the group, are afraid of getting attached to the group, and are scared of Kabbalah. There are many doubts if it is an authentic path to the Creator and it becomes more difficult to remain concentrated. I would like to know what it means and how a person can overcome these doubts.

My Answer: Groups without a strong spiritual leader cannot exist because group members are people who are not corrected and have a big ego. Their hearts are filled with egoistic desires though they have “the points in the heart,” which are just the points yet. And so hidden (for them) competition kicks in – a game who’s the first, who’s the chief, etc. It’s said in this case, “Separation of sinners from each other is good for them and for the world.” I spoke a lot about it on the last American congress. I think that people should gather together only for mutual dissemination actions; meaning, the actions geared towards outside (of the gathered). All other connections lead to disagreements. You are too “young” to ascend spiritually together. But if you contact each other only relative to work in dissemination then you can be of help to yourself and to others. Kabbalah is for the ones who are ready give themselves up, give up their egoism for the sake of mastering the quality of bestowal. But this is a gradual process and you have to take into account your nature. Otherwise you’d be as in the saying that thousands come but only singles (a few) left. If there is a group of people aspiring to one goal there must be a guide, a shepherd, a leader, a king. That’s how the world is created. Therefore, if there is no undisputable authority in the group there could be no group and our practice proves it.

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Questions I received on intentions and actions

Question: I have a question about the Light that returns one to the source. Do I have to desire for it to influence me while I am studying Kabbalah? If yes, who will influence me, and what will it influence?

My Answer: The Upper Light will influence your aspiration to correct your egoistic intention “to do everything for your own sake” to the altruistic intention to unite with all the souls, and with the original vessel of your soul, and in it – in the quality of bestowal and love – you will unite with the Creator.

Question: Should I intend to bestow before every material action I make?

My Answer: You should always try to remember, in your thoughts and feelings, that “there is none else beside the Creator,” that He acts inside and outside of you, and that all His actions are “good.”

Question: During one of your lessons someone asked a question about one’s intention while performing material actions (such as eating, drinking, and etc.), and you responded that people shouldn’t think about this. But shouldn’t I intend to bestow before every action I make? Right now the only intention we can have is to receive, because we don’t have a screen, yet at the same time, isn’t the correct intention for me to demand a screen from the Creator, in order to be able to give to Him?

My Answer: The best thing to do is to keep holding on to the thought that “There is none else besides Him” and that He is Good and so are all of His actions. I’m afraid that by trying to keep the intention to unite with the Creator while making material actions, you will only make mistakes. You will think that you already have the correct intention, the same as how religious people think. Besides this, you’ll begin thinking that with your actions, you are raising something up to the Creator, and correcting your soul. This is Chassidut. You will start believing that your food is asking you to eat it in order to correct it, and that by eating the food you are correcting yourself just by saying a blessing beforehand, instead of correcting yourself to the level of the blessing – love and bestowal.

After all, the realization that one’s intentions are evil also come to a person under the influence of the Light, the Light of the Torah, which only surrounds us when we study authentic Kabbalistic texts. You should pursue this intention during the lesson and when you disseminate, but not when you eat. You can’t even imagine where the hidden stumbling blocks lie, and how you will veer off from the true path to psychology, Chassidut, or mysticism without even realizing you are doing so. Follow the Kabbalists’ advice! Read Rabash’s articles about the group for beginners – his first twenty articles.

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Three questions I received about virtual groups and the World Kli

Question: Soon we – the virtual group – will be hosting a Yeshivat Haverim (friends’ gathering) with the purpose of joining the common Kli. What should we aim for as the next stage of unity between our group and the world Kli?

My Answer: As the next stage of unity between your group and the world Kli, you should become maximally included into the common Kli. This way you will receive from the common Kli the realization that you are unable to attain the goal, the Creator, and in addition, the realization of the greatness of the goal that you will receive from them will give you such enormous forces to progress that even when you will be in a descent, you will feel as if you’re on a pillow of forces (Arvut, mutual guarantee). However, all this will happen only if you will really become a part of the group!

Question: How can we realize the principle of Arvut among us in the virtual group?

My Answer: The surest way to do so is to include yourselves into the common Kli and learn from them while working together on disseminating Kabbalah. Through this action, you will definitely be performing an act of bestowal, love for your neighbor, and hence you will evoke Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light), the Light of the Upper Level toward which you aspire – and it will start pulling you up to that level.

Question: How can I think about all the friends at the same time? After all, I’m only capable of concentrating on one thing at a time, but there are millions of friends around the world, and I’ve never even met most of them.

My Answer: You should be thinking about the whole group in general, about all the millions of people, about unity and the common goal, about how many people are striving towards it, and about how the Creator – who is one for everyone – is directing us to Him. Instead of envisioning people and bodies, you should envision the desires to unite together and to unite with the Creator. Imagine that these desires are together regardless of distance and quantity. You will gradually begin feeling this common desire or force more and more vividly! And this will be your Kli. It’s because inside one’s own soul, a person can only receive the initial aspiration toward the Creator, but he receives all the rest of the fulfillment within the souls or desires of his “neighbors,” whom he adds to himself through love, according to the condition “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” It turns out that this is the condition for creating the inner vessel in order to receive the Light of Infinity.

The Virtual Group will be hosting the Yeshivat Haverim this coming Sunday on Kabbalah TV, 7:00pm Israel time [Time Zone Converter].

Related Material:
Lesson: The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee) [17-11-07]
Lesson: The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee) [17-11-07]
Lesson: The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee) [17-11-07] – Transcript

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Two questions I received on the subject of faith above reason

Question: A person who studies Kabbalah works in faith above reason before the Machsom (barrier). How does this notion change for this person after he acquires the screen? And does he even need it once he starts perceiving the Creator?

My Answer: It’s only after the Machsom that a person is able to work in faith above reason. Before the Machsom he only aspires toward it, but he can’t act in such a way yet. It’s because faith is the property of bestowal that one acquires above the Machsom, above egoism (knowledge, reception). “Faith above reason” = “bestowal above reception.”

Question: When a person attains a certain spiritual level and he desires to rise even higher, to even greater equivalence of form with the property of bestowal, and when he is on the path of faith above reason, does he use the previous level in his actions, or does he refuse to use it as well?

My Answer: He already considers the previous level as completed and egoistic compared to the next level. And this happens every time. The Upper Level is called “the Creator,” and it changes every time. Today, a person attains the Creator of yesterday, and acquires a new Creator, whom he will attain tomorrow.
[1474]
Related Material:
Chapter 1.10 in the Book The Path of Kabbalah: Faith Above Reason
Chapter 5 in the Book Attaining the Worlds Beyond: The Purpose of Studying Kabbalah

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Two questions I received about prayer

Question: You said that the Creator is inside us and that there is nothing outside us. Then what are the influences that make a person feel awe and wonder? And if the Creator is inside us, then whom do we thank and whom do we pray to?

My Answer: We pray for ourselves, in order to change and to feel that we are givers. To pray (in Hebrew: Lehitpalel) means “to judge oneself.” We don’t do this for the Creator, but for ourselves. These are our entreaties for the quality of bestowal and love, which we call the Creator. It’s forbidden (because it’s incorrect) for us to envision Him – this property – in any form other than as this property, without an image or matter. We are filled by the Upper Force, which has no form, volume, or matter. However, we don’t feel this. We will feel it to the extent that we acquire this property. Our objective is for our desires to begin “bestowing” instead of “receiving.” When we aspire to this quality, we evoke the influence of the Upper Force on us. This force is in a static state, and only our desire to become similar to it places us under a greater influence by it.

Question: We are the will to receive, and in order for our desire to change, for us to desire to act “not for the sake of ourselves,” we have to ask the Creator to help us. But how can I tell that the Creator hears my request when I ask Him to change me? What kind of change should I be feeling?

My Answer: The changes in one’s understanding that one’s nature is evil, until one finally reaches the desire to come out of one’s nature – this “realization of evil” happens under the influence of the Creator’s Light. And then the “Action of Goodness” takes place – one’s intention during every action is changed to “love and bestowal.” The Upper Light of correction affects you to the degree that you desire to correct yourself. But you cannot develop this desire on your own; you can only get it from the outside, from people like you who aspire toward the same goal. By “buying” their desires, you will be able to evoke such powerful Upper Light onto yourself, that it will change you and make you a “giver,” and then you will immediately feel this property, that is, you will reveal the Creator!

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