Questions I received on Kabbalah books and how to study them:

Question: Why do Kabbalists advise us to read The Book of Zohar even if we don’t understand or attain what is written there?

My Answer: You can find the answer to this in item 155 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”

Question: Five years ago you started studying The Book of Zohar with us. When do you plan to resume teaching The Book of Zohar?

My Answer: We study it for about an hour every week – see the media archive.

Question: The books that help to correct us are the books of the Ari, Baal HaSulam, and Rabash. But I cannot read them yet, and I’m not sure if I will be able to in the future. Can’t I advance by reading your books?

My Answer: Of course, my books also contain the force of spiritual advancement, but the books of our Teachers – Baal HaSulam and Rabash, are more universal and their Light is more powerful. Nevertheless, I agree with you that my explanations are closer to you and easier to understand. My advice is to read the texts of our Teachers, and then study my explanations.

Baal HaSulam did the same thing – he based his teaching on the texts of The Book of Zohar by Rashbi and the texts of the Ari. He took these books as a basis and wrote his commentaries to them. This is also how I teach: first we read the original texts, and then I give my commentary on them.

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The Book of Zohar. Chapter “The Torah and Prayer” (abridged)

180. Rabbi Shimon opened (the way for the Light) and said: “It is written that Hizkiyahu (Hezekiah) turned his face (property of bestowal) to the wall (Screen) and prayed to the Creator (raised MAN).” Let us see how great and potent the power of the Torah (force of bestowal) is, and how high it rises above all (the egoistic disturbances). For he who engages in the Torah (self correction) has no fear of those Above or below (forces, obstructions), nor of any hardships or illnesses of this world, for he is connected to the Tree of Life and learns from it each day (realizes that all the obstructions are meant to help him learn to be similar to the Creator).

181. For the Torah teaches man how to walk a path of truth; it teaches him how to return to his Master and cancel what is predestined for him (correction through suffering). And even if man is shown that what is predestined for him cannot be canceled, it is nonetheless completely canceled and annulled, then disappears at once and does not prevail over him in this world. Hence, man should study the Torah day and night (when the Light shines or does not shine for him), and never abandon it (as a means of correction), as it is written: “Contemplate Him day and night.” Whoever abandons the Torah (his corrections), it is as though he abandons the Tree of Life (the ray of Light that connects him to the World of Infinity, to the root of his soul)

“Contemplate Him day and night” – “Him” implies the Creator! In another place in The Zohar, it is said that Hizkiyahu’s prayer was accepted by the Creator, for nothing (no egoistic desires) separated him from the wall (the Shechina, the sensation of the Creator, akin to the Wailing Wall).

182. Come and see – such is the advice given to man: when at night (powerless) he goes to bed (in the state of lying down, the body and the head are equally important – there’s no control over self), then he must accept the Creator’s governance from Above (above his reason, which is egoistically opposed to bestowal, and wholeheartedly entrust his soul to Him (rise above his egoistic desire). Thus, man is immediately spared all the (egoistic errors) illnesses, slander, and evil eyes, and they will no longer have power over him.

183. And in the morning (when the Light shines for him), when he rises from his bed (the head rises above the body and controls it), he must bless the Creator (for this) and enter (with his properties) His house, and bow before Him (take all the conditions of the Upper Nature upon himself) in fear and trepidation (because he will not be able to do it without help from the Light), and only then should he pray (attain the ability to be grateful, so that his “I” would agree to it). He should take advice of his holy Patriarchs (forces of the Upper degree), as it is written, “By Your great mercy shall I come into Your house, to bow in fear of Your holy greatness.”

184. Man cannot enter the house of prayer (reveal empty and uncorrected desires within him) unless he first receives permission from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov (the three lines), for they have corrected the prayer to the Creator (so that he could follow the middle line). It is therefore written, “And in Your great mercy shall I enter into Your house.” The aforesaid refers to Avraham, for his property is mercy, the Sefira Hesed (the right line). “I will bow before Your holy chamber” refers to Yitzchak, for thanks to him Malchut is called Heichal – chamber, the Sefira Gevura (the left line). “In fear and trepidation” refers to Yaakov, for his property is the Sefira Tifferet, called “fear” (the middle line). And man must first enter into these properties, and only then enter the house of prayer to raise his prayers. Such a state is described by the verse, “Here is My slave, Israel, by whom I am adorned.”

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A question I received: By disseminating Kabbalah you ascended spiritually and enabled Rabash to ascend even higher. This is why during his life Rabash did everything to make sure that you would continue to disseminate Kabbalah once he is gone – this was the purpose of his life. Before his death Rabash instructed you to continue disseminating Kabbalah. Does your dissemination of Kabbalah today play any role in Rabash’s afterlife?

My Answer: All the souls are absolutely interconnected. Even in our world studies already reveal that every one of us knows everyone else through a sixth acquaintance. Baal HaSulam explains that all the souls in our world go through correction over the course of 6,000 years, in the form of one Partzuf:

• At first, during the first 2,000 years, the world, common soul, Kelim Chabad are corrected with the Light of Nefesh;
• Next, over the second 2,000 years, the world, the common soul, Kelim Hagat are corrected with the Light of Ruach;
• Finally, over the last 2,000 years (and we are living at the end of this period), the world, the common soul, Kelim NHY are corrected with the Light of Neshama.

By correcting ourselves we receive the smallest Light – Nefesh, but due to our correction in the first souls (the forefathers, the great Kabbalists of the past), our corrections reveal the greatest Light – Neshama. The Kabbalists of the past prepared all the conditions for our correction, but it is we who correct the broken (devoid of a screen, of the intention “for the sake of bestowal”) and the mixed (Bina and Malchut) Kelim (desires). Hence, we and our actions are the most important in the process of creation’s development. We raise the entire universe up to the Creator!

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A question I received: Do you really think that the time has already come to implement Baal HaSulam’s dream about the State of Kabbalah in a virtual space?

My Answer: I see that everything is already technologically ready in the Internet and people’s consciousness has developed so they feel the need to exist in a spiritual society. According to research (published by Reuters in the news article, “Porn passed over as Web users become social”) people today are already more drawn to virtual communication (social networking sites) than to sex (pornographic sites). This clearly indicates that the modern society, the youth, has a demand for communication. It’s because the desire for sex is the fundamental desire of the animate level, the foundation of the egoistic desire. And if it is being voluntarily replaced with the desire for communication, then the time for correcting egoism has come!

Baal HaSulam’s words about the future society (see the article “The Future Generation” and the newspaper “The Nation“) must already be implemented in the virtual space. Of course, this is just the beginning, but I’m sure that as soon as we’ll be able to offer people a good platform for spiritual communication, then the masses will aspire to it. I look forward to receiving your ideas and technical proposals!

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Two questions I received on why things become more confusing when you study more, and how to tell that you are on the right track:

Question: When I started watching lessons on youtube and beginners lessons at the Ari Online Learning Center, everything was so clear and simple and made sense. But now that I am much more engaged and I started reading a lot of articles and the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” everything became much harder and more confusing, to the degree that sometimes I think of posting a question but I can’t even express it in words! Does this mean that I am not on the right track?

My Answer: Many articles will tell you that these states are precisely the states leading to revelation. It’s because we don’t reveal spirituality through knowledge, but through equivalence of form. As long as my qualities are different from the qualities of the thing I want to attain, I imagine it in my mind, speculatively, and I understand it more or less.

But as soon as I start approaching it through equivalence of form, then I can no longer build “mental” pictures because my feelings override them. Hence I am confused, don’t understand anything, feel dumb, and in general I don’t know “where, who, or why?”

All you have to do is continue, and suddenly the fog will clear away and a new picture and understanding will emerge. This will be once again followed by fog, and then clarity – and so on, many times over!

Question: As a student who did not attain anything yet, how can I know if I am on the right track or not?

My Answer: Precisely by the states I described above – constant confusion and clarifications in your mind, and sensations of ease and heaviness in your heart.

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A question I received: What is the Kabbalistic meaning of the Jewish holidays that are coming up?

My Answer: According to the program of creation, all of life is the process of correction of the created egoism so it will be used for love and bestowal to people, and from there – to the Creator. There is no other purpose, meaning or fulfillment in life. This process is comprised of regular actions of correction – the weekdays, and special actions – the Sabbath and holidays.

The Torah divides the holidays (the special actions of correction) into Hagim (Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkoth) and Moadim. Moadim means “holy gatherings”; they are holy because “bestowal” is called holiness. This is when special corrections are done through greater unity (gatherings) of souls, and this is how the souls attain a special degree of closeness with the Creator. The great Kabbalist the Ari describes these states in detail in the book Ta’amei Mitzvot. However, in our time there are no Moadim because there is no Temple and we are not on the level of the gathering of souls into a single soul.

In addition to this, there are holidays that follow the dates of the calendar, that is to say, that follow the direct implementation of the program of correction. These are the Sabbath, Rosh Hodesh (the new month), Rosh HaShana (the New Year), and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement of egoism). So altogether there are five holidays: Pesach (in April), Shavuot (in June), Rosh HaShana (in September), Yom Kippur (in October), and Sukkoth (in October). Each holiday corresponds to a specific level of ascent along the 125 steps of the ladder of ascent toward the correction of the soul, from the egoistic level of our world until the soul’s absolute similarity to the Creator – the World of Infinity.

All the special days are states of ascent due to a special connection between the souls, where the souls attain greater unity in order to become One, like the Creator. All the holidays have been passed down to us from the time when the people of Israel were on the spiritual level and performed acts of correction according to the Creator’s design. However, in our time, instead of correcting egoism and unifying our souls, these actions have been replaced with ritual prayer gatherings.

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My articles are now being published in a monthly Mexican magazine – “Mercurio XXI,” which has a circulation of 35,000.

Please tell your Spanish speaking friends about it. Thank you in advance!

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Our friends in Columbia have created a new blog where they publish articles, news, photos, and videos about Kabbalah.

The most rigorous spiritual development is taking place in Latin American countries.

Good luck to you, and may you succeed! Only together!

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News Report (translated from membrana): Valeria Fuso, a young Italian designer, has created an “Experience Recorder” – a device that will enable people to exchange their experiences online. The “glove of perceptions” is equipped with movement and temperature sensors, photo and video cameras, and an audio recorder. The device can work in automatic regime, capturing every moment of the user’s life. The novelty device also has an option of immediate and independent access to the Internet via Wi-Fi. The data received over a period of time is transmitted into the user’s blog.

My Comment: Other new technology that’s being rapidly developed is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), where everything is done through voice, including commands, communication, and so on. It is very convenient to use it while moving around, for example in telephones.

All human communication will soon come down to a virtual connection. The external attributes are fading away, and people’s “inner content” and connection with the environment are becoming more important. This will be followed by a need for a spiritual connection – a connection between man and the Creator. This also determines where our priorities are going with regard to the dissemination of Kabbalah in the world.

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Questions I received on Rav Ashlag’s descendants and how to get one’s family involved in Kabbalah studies:

Question: Are Rav Ashlag’s descendants involved with your center?

My Answer: No.

Question: Where do they live?

My Answer: Mostly in Bnei Brak.

Question: Do they carry on their father and grandfather’s teachings in their own way?

My Answer: No.

Question: What do they think of you carrying on their father’s teachings?

My Answer: I’m not interested in what they think, because I received instructions from my Teacher.

Question: Are your wife and children involved?

My Answer: Yes. My son is in charge of book publication and distribution around the world (with the exception of Israel and Russia). My eldest daughter has a PhD in biology and is married to the manager of our Russian dissemination department. My youngest daughter is doing her dissertation in Kabbalah and is about to be married to my student. I am sure that my grandchildren will also follow this path because they live in this environment at home. My grandson watches lessons together with my son every day. Besides, their time will be the time of humanity’s spiritual development.

Question: How do we involve our spouses and children?

My Answer: Lovingly. “There is no coercion in spirituality.” Kabbalah is not a religion – there is no persuasion, intimidation, or convincing. Love is the only means to show them that the correction of the soul is the best possible thing and it’s necessary to all.

It is written, “The Torah is not inherited.” Every person realizes it within to the extent of his desire and efforts. This is how one reveals the Torah, the Upper Light, or the Creator within. Moreover, history shows that the spiritual heirs of the great Kabbalists were usually not their physical heirs.

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