The Zohar, Chapter “VaYigash (Then Judah Approached),” Item 102: …“A voice is heard in Ramah [also means ‘height’ in Hebrew]” Voice is the Nukva which ascended and is heard in Bina, which is called Ramah (the height), the Upper world. “In Ramah” means that the Nukva dresses Bina’s left line, as it is written: “And in that day did the Lord, the God of hosts, call to weeping, and to lamentation…” This is caused by the awakening of the large vessels that are located there. They block all its lights, and this is the second correction. Then, “The river shall be drained dry,” meaning the two Temples are ruined.

The breaking of the common soul was necessary for its later correction, so that through the process, the design of the Creator could be understood. In the science of Kabbalah, we study everything that happened in the Upper Worlds, all the preparation for the creation of our world. Only beginning with our world, do we start the corrections, which occur from below upward.

We should view our history exactly like that. The ruining of the First and the Second Temples and all that we have gone through during history was only the preparation performed from Above downward. And only now we are beginning the correction, the ascension from below upward.

It is written in the Talmud Eser Sefirot and the “Preface to the Science of Kabbalah,” all that takes place in the Upper Worlds including the breaking of the common soul was implemented from Above downward by the will of the Upper Force without any interference by the lower one.

The lower begins to act only now, after the mixing of all the desires and after the last exile, now when the possibility of (space for) free will arises, now when The Zohar is revealed, and now that all the conditions for ascension have been arranged.

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A question I received: How can we demand correction at present when we are entirely in egoistic desires?

My Answer: Of course, we can’t demand correction at present. If I’m an absolute egoist, how can I ask for correction? However, what’s demanded from me is to ask for a bit of bestowal to the extent that I’m able to ask while still in egoism. This means that while you’re in Lo Lishma, (that is, in a lie, in the ego, in your desire for pleasure, and in thoughts about yourself), you are making a weak cry that you want to be giving.

Of course, it’s a lie, and you don’t want to love others, to give to them, and become similar to the Creator. You simply don’t know what bestowal is, and because of this, you are able to say these words. If you knew what it was, you’d run away immediately. The truth is concealed from you so that you don’t know what you are asking for. Bestowal is so opposite to your nature that it’s really death for your present desires and qualities.

In the science of Kabbalah, we study the relationship between Lights and desires. There is a vessel or desire with the Light opposite to it. Beside this, there is another state in which desire is not true but false, and the Light which is opposite to it is not Direct but Surrounding. This is exactly the state that we’re in now. However, for now, we ask that this Light come and bring us this desire to give as if we want to become giving, and it works because of this.

The system is designed such that, from our current state in which we do not want the next state, but nonetheless are asking for it, we can come to this next state, we can start wanting it, receive it, and be in it. This is caused by Reshimot, the spiritual genes, which remain in us from the corrected state that later shattered. These Reshimot awaken Lights in the World of Atzilut that are far from us. We can attract them to influence us, and then they are called Surrounding Lights.

Certainly, we’re in a lie and don’t want bestowal or to love our neighbor. It is true. The Torah does not hide this fact from us. On the contrary, it tells us that the Creator is concealed and the spiritual world is concealed because if you saw it, you would never want it.

Thus, spirituality is concealed so that you can imagine that it’s good for you even in your egoistic desires. When you imagine some egoistic reward for yourself, as if you want the spiritual world, the Light still influences you and changes your desires and thoughts from receiving to giving. This is how it works. The system was designed exactly for this process.

It works in this way not only in our state when we ascend from this receiving level to the first degree of giving; after crossing the Machsom (the barrier to spirituality), we ascend from state to state according to the same principle: by desiring the undesirable. Although, at those stages “a person’s soul teaches him,” and we have some support because we are already in the spiritual world.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/2/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: What is “The Fathers’ Merit”?

My Answer: There is a part in the general system of souls that has already completed its correction. They are called the Patriarchs. This part exists in a corrected state, filled with Light. These were very luminous souls, which is why they were able to fully correct their parts in the general system of Adam HaRishon.

But now how do we correct ourselves? We will be able to reach correction by attaching ourselves to them. If I strive to do this, I am called righteous for I want to come to the same state as them to justify the Creator and the creation. And that is when “the fathers’ merit” begins to influence me (otherwise it does not), and I receive from them the Light that returns to the Source.

For this I need a system called the Kabbalistic group, so that within it I could realize the advice given by these Kabbalists (fathers). They tell me what I need to do to place myself into their corrected part within the general system of souls. This is called “to make use of the fathers’ merit.” They have given me Kabbalah (the Torah), told me how to achieve correction, and how to utilize the correction they’ve already made in the general system. I need not torture my body; I only need to draw the Surrounding Light onto myself through their corrected system.

My choice lies only in connecting to the group, through which I can aim myself at the corrected system, called “fathers.” “Fathers” have made corrections within the broken system of Adam HaRishon, and thanks to these corrections anyone can, regardless of time or situation, use the right environment to become like the fathers to connect to them so as to receive from there the Light that returns to the Source, thereby utilizing the power of the light they had attained.

In our Kabbalistic group we want to become like that corrected group of souls, called “fathers.” Therefore, everyone ought to say: “When will my actions be like those of the fathers?” Thus we will have an example how our group can connect to their group.

In this lies our entire choice and inheritance of the fathers’ merit. If our group enters the corrected part of Adam HaRishon, called “fathers,” equalizes its qualities with theirs, and connects to them, in so doing we will make use of their “merit” and return to the corrected state that exists there.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/3/10, Article “Ancestral Merit”

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Although we were all born with our special root of the soul on different degrees, and with a different desire, each person can adopt the desires of others due to the fact there is a mutual inclusion of souls.

In addition, it is written that everyone can ascend to the degree of Moses. However, how is this possible if I was born with a minor root of the soul? Everything depends on the person! Even if a person is born with not a very high root of the soul, one can still unite with higher desires, correct them, and ascend to the highest level.

This is called that the Creator sends him a drover of donkeys (donkey – Hamor, from the word material – Homer) which is a soul that helps him unite with higher desires, as well as to correct them. Then every person can ascend to the degree of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the greatest souls, as well as to the degree of Moses, the greatest of all the prophets.

Therefore, when a person is born (gives birth to himself!) in the spiritual world, he can receive the desires from all the others, and by using such a desire, he can become just as important as the most elevated soul. And in this regard, the souls do not interfere with one another. They all ascend to the same, maximum level of correction – the complete Light of NRNHY.

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Every soul while correcting itself improves the condition of the collective soul, and by doing so, it helps all the others to correct themselves; they, in turn, also contribute their corrections to the common soul. First, everyone must realize the root of his soul by bringing his spiritual gene (Reshimo) to its individual, final correction (Gmar Tikkun Prati). Our individually corrected state is then our complete engagement in the collective soul of Adam HaRishon.

So, what is the common soul of Adam HaRishon after all? Is it all me, or am I a part of it? The common soul is all me, and all the others are perfect already. It is from them that I draw the desires which I must fulfill. I’m like one small organ in the body which has to provide for the entire body in all its parts with my share and my work. Hence, the whole body is revealed in relation to me, but only to the measure in which I fill it.

Suppose that I’m related to the vascular, lymphatic, or nervous system; I am uncovering only the parts that are related to that system. In this way, I disclose the entire system of Adam HaRishon in relation to me. I adjoin this tremendous desire of the common soul to myself. In relation to the others, I become like a mother, ZAT de Bina, or in other words, like “the cow that desires to feed its calf.” In fact, I must fill them with the fruits of my labor.

So, I begin to pull all their desires into myself. These unfilled desires have empty spaces that require my filling. They are unfulfilled because I haven’t accomplished my work. When I do, I begin to feel the entire system of Adam HaRishon.

In fact, this is my spiritual vessel or my will. It seems to be located in others, but it is mine. It turns out that I’m working like the Creator who wishes to fill the creatures. I act as bestowal in relation to this foreign desire, and they are, for me, the receiving ones. So, I unite with them and treat them with love like the Creator treats the entire collective soul.

However, I connect only with that section of the soul which is related to me or to the system that I am to fill. In this way, I attain the state where I feel myself as the whole Adam HaRishon and, through it, I discover the whole Creator. As I identify myself with the collective system of Adam HaRishon with which I am able to unite, and as I contribute my work to each part, I unite with all these parts in the corrected form.

In fact, everyone is corrected but me. It turns out that I disclose Adam HaRishon for what he is, and I acquire the life of this common soul which is the Malchut of the World of Infinity. This is the manner in which every person must realize themselves. They must correct their individual attitude, their personal egoism, and absorb the desires of all others, feel that they are his, fill them, and, through them, attain the entire system of Adam HaRishon. In this, they discover the whole Creator.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/2/10, Article “Which Degree Should One Achieve?”

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Baal HaSulam explains that the study of the Torah (Kabbalah) differs from all other activities in this world. No special qualities of this world can help a person study the Torah, be it intelligence, wisdom, creativity, a sharp mind, erudition, or knowledge. Only the Light, by acting upon a person, can help him advance. This advancement is in correction and not the accumulation of knowledge.

Therefore, the study of the Torah can be likened to a medical procedure that we undergo. Our coming to a Kabbalah lesson is similar to a person who comes to a doctor for a treatment. If a person desires it and prepares himself each time, expecting that it will make him better, then after many procedures (many Kabbalah lessons), the correction occurs.

Thus, we also need to check ourselves and determine if we approach the studies with the correct intention. Our intention is particularly important while studying The Book of Zohar since this is the most powerful and effective means for working against our nature. It is also necessary to check and evaluate ourselves after the lesson, after this “medical procedure.” “Have I advanced in some way toward the goal, toward love and bestowal, and toward the willingness to unite with the group? Do I feel an increased greatness of the goal?” If so, I feel the importance of the goal, the significance of spirituality, and the Creator to a greater extent, and this gives me energy and the desire to advance.

How much we understand The Book of Zohar is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if a person doesn’t know the original language of The Zohar or if everything it tells us about seems very distant and unfamiliar. Even people who have studied the Torah in its simple interpretation their whole lives, also don’t know what is written in The Book of Zohar. They are even more confused than those who have never studied the Torah.

Thus, we should open our hearts (rather than our ears and minds) to receive the medicine. It’s needed so that our egoistic heart can be transformed into an altruistic one, under the influence of “the wonderful quality” (Segula) contained in The Book of Zohar. We should accept every word that we read in The Zohar as a drop by drop infusion. Indeed, the Light comes to us drop by drop, and thus, they are called “drops of fortune” (“Mazalot,” from the word “Nozel” – dribble). For this reason, we should wait patiently for this medicine to affect us, drop by drop, until we reach “complete success.”

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/2/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: When evil prevails and everything looks gloomy, where do we find strength to ask the Creator for help?

My Answer: Even if a person finds strength within himself to surmount a “downfall,” it will be an egoistic achievement. It won’t help his correction. Overcoming and advancement are possible only through the power that comes from the group.

You fell because the Creator gave you an additional desire which triggered a bigger connection with other souls. A bigger desire is not added into your “point in the heart,” but rather through its revelation as the wrong connection with other souls. You sense that you made one more step forward, but at the same time you know that it’s false and you have to correct it.

Correction is only possible under the condition that you are willing to be inspired by the group, acknowledge the benevolence brought about by unity, and ask the Upper Force to connect you with others. Only under these conditions will your correction be in the right place.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/1/10, Writings of Rabash

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A question I received: If only Kabbalah is necessary for the correction of the soul, why did the sages of the past create so many commentaries on the Torah, Mishna, and Talmud? How does this all help us?

My Answer: If, after several years of studying Kabbalah, you reach the correction for sake of bestowal (Lishma), you’ll be able to open the Talmud and delight in it. You’ll begin to understand all the laws described in it according to their inner essence, the science of Kabbalah. You’ll grasp what these great sages of the past wrote about.

At present, their language simply confuses you and conceals the world of the truth from you. Later, you’ll understand it all because you’ll reach the degree at which the sages wrote their commentaries. You’ll experience the same states that inspired them to write them. For you, these texts won’t be any different than the Kabbalistic articles.

Using words such as a “bull,” “donkey,” “cow,” “harm,” “Temple,” the “Great Assembly (Sanhedrin),” “fields,” and “property,” the sages expressed the process of the correction of the soul. The entire Torah speaks solely about the correction of the soul and its equivalence with the Creator; it is all names of the Creator.

When one commentator argues with another, this depicts the eternal argument between the left and the right lines, the measures of reception and bestowal, and clarifies how to combine them correctly. The Talmud explains the spiritual processes in the most precise details. Right now you are so tangled in them because you think that it’s talking about a thousand different opinions. Later, you’ll understand that this is not a thousand points of view, but a look at the same, single phenomenon that can be corrected from a thousand different angles.

These are not sages arguing between themselves, but the souls of the common system explaining to you how each quality is related to all the others, or, in other words, how each organ, an individual soul, is related to the work of the collective soul Adam.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/31/10, Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot

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“Preface to the Sulam Commentary,” Item 31, 32:  …The right line keeps to the Hassadim, and wishes to cancel the Ohr Hochma in the left line, and ordain the Ohr Hassadim alone. Conversely, the left line, which keeps to Ohr Hochma, wishes to cancel the Ohr Hassadim in the right line and ordain only the Ohr Hochma. Because of this dispute, neither of them shines, since the Ohr Hassadim in the right line is deficient of Ohr Hochma, like a Guf without a Rosh, and the Ohr Hochma in the left line is complete darkness because Ohr Hochma cannot shine without Hassadim.

And there is no correction to this dispute except through the middle line, created by the lower one that ascends there for MAN, in the form of the middle line. A Zivug from the Upper Light is made… and it compels the left line to unite with the right line.

The two lines, left and right, are prepared for us from Above, but the middle line is for us to prepare. We raise our request (MAN) for the screen, and thereby achieve correction: The left and right lines come together, complementing each other, and reach a compromise. It has to do with one’s freedom of choice. A person connects into the existing mechanical system of the left and right lines, and begets a new quality that did not exist before: the desire to be similar to the Creator.

I use faith above reason, the desire that is totally independent of anything that may happen. I don’t worry about the left or right line, neither about Hassadim, nor Hochma; my only goal is to unite with the Creator. For this reason I do not perceive it as a compromise (one line cannot annul itself before the other), but only as a means to attain unity. This is why a compromise is possible.

It’s similar to approaching two people having a furious argument and being unprepared to change their opinions even slightly. However, I have no intention to unite and reconcile them. I have a more exalted goal: to attain something higher. Yet, I do this by using the power of both these lines.

I set a goal that is above all: to make myself similar to the Creator and merge with Him. In this case the two lines can merge and complement each other because they feel perfection in relation to this goal. Each of them does not attain what it desires; however, its involvement in attaining this goal calms it down.

The middle line shines for them. It is small compared to them, but it attains the Creator’s perfection. This is a higher perfection than what they could attain on their own because this perfection comes from merging with the Creator.

From the 2nd Part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/30/20, “Preface to the Sulam Commentary”

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The instruction says that first one has to study the Torah, Mishnah, and Talmud, and only then embark on the Kabbalah studies. This is correct provided one already deserves to study at the level of Lishma, that is, if one has corrected himself completely.

However, one first needs to reach the correction of his soul. We exist for this purpose, and herein lies our entire work. The Torah (the Light of Correction) is given to us specifically to this end, as it is said: “I created egoism and gave the Torah for its correction.”

The order of correction is as follows: First, you need to reach the level of “Lishma” (attain the property of bestowal and love, enter into the spiritual world) in the shortest and most effective manner. Then, you are free to study the entire Torah, since the soul that you have acquired will teach you itself. Nobody will be able to tell you what to do. You will see, understand, and attain everything yourself.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/31/10, Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot

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