A question I received: How can I conduct my point in the heart through the group, which functions as a spiritual amplifier?

My Answer: There are external means that we use: books, the group, the teacher, our study system, and connections around the whole world. These are the conditions that Kabbalists have fixed for us. If we realize them by building external boundaries for ourselves, and bring our desire for spirituality into this system, then this desire begins to grow.

Initially, I have just my single point in the heart. Then, I give it to my friends, thus receiving from them the points that belong to them. This system of connection between us, the souls, already exists. Everything is already prepared in advance during the descent of the worlds from above downwards, in order for us to ascend from our world to the World of Infinity.

All I have to do is tune into this system: Lower myself, see all others as corrected, and desire to receive the Light of Correction through them. Then I will receive desires for bestowal from all the other people, which will increase my desire. This will happen even though I initially had only my own small point in the heart, which probably wasn’t even aimed at the right goal. Yet, I invested in the group, desired to be a part of it, and therefore, I performed an act of bestowal. In response, I received a real force from others, a real desire to bestow.

You suddenly see that you really desire and value this. And then you start to experience fear: “Will I be able to attain bestowal to the Creator or will I complete my life in vain?” These are still egoistic thoughts, but they are already concerning how to attain bestowal. This is called “Lo Lishma“: When one a) aspires to give, and b) thinks about profiting.

It turns out that through the group you receive a more internal direction – to the Creator. But when you aspire to the Creator, you come closer to faith, and thus begin to draw the Surrounding Light upon yourself. It’s not that the Light changes, but it’s you who change, and therefore, the Light influences you differently. Now it can give you the quality of bestowal. When you acquire this quality, you begin to rise above your egoism.

This is what you wanted to achieve from the very beginning, but the Light arranged everything so that it happened according to your own desire, rather than by force. Suddenly you feel how you are filled by the quality of faith, meaning the quality of bestowal, Bina. It gives you freedom from your ego! And it’s not that it liberates you from your egoism, but it gives you the power to ascend above it. That’s when you rise above the Machsom.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/27/10, Article, “Love of Friends”

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A question I received: Why do 90% of the obstacles I get pertain to my physical body (I’m hungry, I’m tired, and so on)? After all, corporeality is far less important than spirituality and contains only a small spark of life.

My Answer: You’re asking why we weren’t given the opportunity to work with spiritual desires, lights, and screens, instead of the corporeal ones. But to the extent that you begin to view the world in waves of bestowal, you naturally stop noticing this world. It stops being the determining world for you. You continue to exist in this world and connecting with people, but without this world being connected to the spiritual world, it loses its meaning. It is merely a consequence, a reflection, of the spiritual worlds that project reality to you.

There is a special technology that projects three-dimensional, holographic images in the air via laser beams. They make all kinds of figures appear in empty space. In a similar fashion, this world is presented to you in illusory images, for this world is but an imprint of what exists in spirituality.

It is our egoistic desire that projects this world for us. For the time being, it can only exist in this form that does not disappear until the very end of correction. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai could be sitting here with us and he would be seeing our corporeal world despite being fully corrected himself. Indeed, this world will only disappear from our senses following the general, final correction.

This world pertains to the general desire to receive pleasure. It is an egoistic desire, yet it is not against the Creator. It is simply a desire to lead an animal life and receive pleasure.
Therefore, it is not considered criminal and does not require correction. You simply need to use it like an animal and shape it into a desire to bestow – the soul.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/10, The Zohar

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The Creator demands of our souls to unite. Our distancing from each other and feeling as strangers constitutes the entire corruption. The correction, on the other hand, lies in perceiving ourselves as being parts of a single body. Yet, if we simply perceive ourselves as parts of a body working together, it’s not enough.

I have to become incorporated into everybody, they have to become incorporated into everybody else, and so on till infinity! It resembles a holographic picture where each element contains all the others in itself.

We are still unable to imagine this sensorially because we are opposite to such a picture. The breaking of the vessels resulted in us feeling completely separate from each other. We can’t even understand how it is possible to incorporate into each other when there is no “I,” which unites with all the others and becomes a single whole.

When our points in the heart unite, this illusionary reality of physical bodies fades away; only our desires remain. The more correctly each of us attempts to imagine our unification, the closer we move toward the true picture of reality, the only one there is. We only have to draw closer to it and reveal it. This is how we gradually heal ourselves from all these material illusions that envelop us.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/30/10, The Zohar

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A “friend” is not just any person; he is a companion who stands opposite me. I gradually acquire love for him in order to reach love of the Creator. This formula is rigid and doesn’t change. First I appeal to the Creator, and in order to connect to Him, I have to unite with my friends.

I labor in love of friends because that is the necessary condition for attaining love of the Creator. A friend and the Creator are linked because with respect to my desire to receive pleasure, they are equal. The Creator and my friend are equally distant from me, and I relate to them in the same way.

The Creator is pure bestowal. I hate my friend as much as I hate bestowal, and therefore, I reject them both. If I don’t achieve this attitude and view my friend and the Creator in the same way, then I can’t work properly. It is similar to aligning one’s eye to aim at a target. If my aim is more toward the Creator, or more toward my friend, then it is no longer precise. I must aim precisely at the target, so that he who aspires for the Creator (Isra-El – straight to the Creator) and the Creator (the Light of correction) merge into a single whole.

A Kabbalistic group is a spiritual vessel, a system of souls, while the Creator is the One who fills it. The vessel becomes just like the Light. Then I realize that it is one and the same since there is no Light without a vessel (Kli).

Everything merges into one. The group becomes the model of the Creator for me. In my attitude toward them, I learn how to relate to Him, whether to love or to hate him. Certainly the only way to relate to the Creator is with bestowal. So, I am presented with the group to test how much I can bestow. My ego is what creates the distance, the disparity of form between the Creator and the group. If it weren’t for my ego, then there would be no difference between them.

So why do I feel a difference now? It is only because I receive pleasure from the Creator and nothing from the group. That is the only difference.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/10, Article, “What does ‘Love Thyself as Thy Friend’ Give Us?”

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A question I received: When a spiritual descent comes, I can immediately understand that I have to go through it and submerge myself in it, can I?

My Answer: You are yearning for the corrected state, and only then you fall. Otherwise, if you are trying your best to attain a good state, you won’t be able to discover your egoistical downfall.

A downfall is not an error on the path, but uncovering in oneself an additional new egoism. It is as if you picked up a barbell, gathered all your strength to lift it; lifted 200 pounds; and suddenly it fell! What happened? You suddenly realized that they had added another 2 weights to it, 10 pounds each. This why you faltered and fell; you felt their heaviness.

Now that you experienced the additional weight, you know what you need the strength to overcome. This analogy in spirituality translates to your knowing what you need to rise above, knowing what to ask the force of correction for. You fell with the weight of these added desires, the additional 20 pounds. You felt the weight and heaviness of the additional desires that were revealed to you that opposed your will. Now, you have these new Kelim (spiritual vessels, instruments). If you now ask for additional strength for them, you will be able to lift the 240 pounds.

This means you will not be able to receive the burdening of the heart until you succeed! Only when you succeed, can you receive additional egoistic desire. Of course you will fall. This, however, is a sign of your success! Now you have managed to receive additional strength for correction.

You might ask: So, when do I succeed if every time I get up I am immediately thrown right back down? Why not let me spend a little time enjoying my achievements? Why don’t I receive the medal I deserve? Then I can continue. That isn’t possible. This is done on purpose, so that you learn to enjoy the work itself and see a reward in the fact that you were given a chance to give a little more.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 5/26/10

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The Zohar, Chapter “VaYikra (The Lord Called),” Item 83: … as it is written, “Behold, your king will come unto you,” certainly, and not you to Him. He will come to you to appease you; He will come to you to raise you; He will come to you to complement you in everything; He will come to you to raise you to His palace, to bond with you in everlasting bonding, for all times, as it is written, “And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.”

Should we raise Malchut from the ashes on our own, or does the Merciful Creator raise the fallen tent of David for us? Do we need to wait in exile and then everything will become revealed from Above? Or do we need to recognize that the King has come, done his work, reaches out to us, and we need to grab on to Him and ascend?

There are people who say that everything will come and become revealed from Above, that the Third Temple will “fall down” from the skies, and we don’t need to do anything but just keep waiting. This is the “Galut” (the time of exile) type of thinking.

Kabbalists, on the other hand, explain to us that we had to force ourselves into exile (from the level of spirituality) for a specific period of time, until the end of the 20th century. Then, from Above, the Creator returned us to the Land of Israel and revealed the method of correction which is Kabbalah and The Zohar. He created all the conditions for the freedom of will, and the Giving of the Torah from the Above took place. Now, people need to receive the Torah and realize it in their correction.

This is what we call “the king has come to the queen.” He gives her everything. However, now she must take a step toward the king and express a desire to unite with him, instead of merely continuously lying in the dust without making a single action on her own behalf. After all, the king compels her to act and reaches out to her, revealing his desire.

This is what those who study the external Torah, the religious, and those who study the inner Torah, the Kabbalists, argue about. There’s nothing to add to the external observance of the customs as the entire addition happens on the inside, that is, in the intentions, the discernments of the desire, and revelation of the evil inclination which needs to be corrected.

From the 1st of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/16/10, The Zohar

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The Zohar, On Major Corrections

Adam was the first person to reveal the order of actions that lead to spiritual success. He passed on this wisdom to his disciples “mouth to mouth.” And everyone can add to his friend (Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”).

One: The Creator is One, all of reality is included in Him at all times; everything stems from Him; He is perfect despite the seeming imperfection of creation. Kabbalists call this investigation “One.”

Abraham laid down the basis of this investigation. In his Book of Creation, he arrived at the conclusion that there are not two different authorities of good and evil, but rather everything is ruled only by good (Baal HaSulam, “The Character of Kabbalah”).

The Book of Zohar, Preface (abridged)

1. Abraham is the root of mercy in the souls. That is why he corrected the common soul (Shechina) and made it suitable for fulfillment by the Light of Mercy.

But if the Light of Mercy (Hassadim) stayed in the souls of Abraham’s disciples (the “people of Israel,” the group he created), they wouldn’t be able to exercise their desire to receive pleasure. That is why the correction of mercy didn’t bring the Thought of Creation to completion. This is because the main idea behind the Thought of Creation is to please the creatures specifically by receiving fulfillment from Him.

2.  This is the reason why Abraham (the property of bestowal) gave birth to Isaac (the property of receiving). As a result of Abraham’s correction, Isaac discovered the existence of the common soul which was in the state of a complete perfection filled with the Light of Mercy. He then sensed its desire to receive the entire perfection that was pre-determined by the Thought of Creation.

In other words, Isaac awakened in it the desire to receive from the Creator for the sake of bestowal which means that the desire to receive emerges only because of the desire of the Bestowing One; if the Bestowing One didn’t desire it, the soul wouldn’t possess even the tiniest desire to receive anything at all from Him.

This type of receiving for the sake of giving is considered bestowal since it is a quality that is not supported by egoism. It completely corrected the general desire (Shechina) to receive the entirety of abundance that was programmed at the time of creation.

3.  However, since the world was not ready for complete correction, the villain Esau appeared and corrupted the process of correction.

Esau didn’t follow “receiving solely for the sake of bestowal” as per Isaac’s correction; he sinned by receiving “for his own sake.” Even when he came to understand that the Bestowing One didn’t want him to receive, he still continued to receive pleasure for his own sake and that’s why Klipot “bonded” with him.

Since Jacob was aware of Esau’s “defect,” he corrected the Soul within the property of trepidation. That’s why it is said: “his hand grasping Esau’s heel.”  As a result, the corrections of Abraham and Isaac were united and no wrongdoing occurred.

4. But this correction was not final since it resulted from fear of sin that comes from “Esau’s heel.”  When complete correction takes place, the fear of “Esau’s heel” is annulled, and trepidation appears out of the greatness of the Creator. Jacob’s fear serves to correct all generations of the people of Israel until complete correction is attained.

5. Everybody has to go through correction, and by doing so perceive the soul created by the Creator. This means obtaining the “qualities of the forefathers.”

Only after the acquisition of such properties, correction of the soul commences; it takes off from the same place which Jacob left for us, meaning elevating trepidation to a degree at which it depends solely on the greatness of the Creator. Afterward, the Upper Light is attracted through this elevated property of trepidation to guide us towards complete correction.

6. The reason for all afflictions that emerge in this world is exclusively to correct the desire to receive within souls so that they become ready to receive all of the abundance included in the Thought of Creation.

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The Zohar was revealed only during our times since we have now gone through the inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels of our development and reached the human level (human, "Adam" – from the word "Edame," which means "similar" to the Creator). Therefore, presently we feel a crisis, helplessness, despair, and disappointment in our lives. This is precisely why The Zohar is being revealed: so that we could realize our connection, reach the same system of connection between us as exists in Malchut of Infinity where we are all connected as one whole.

The first stage of correction is called "don’t do to another what you hate." This is the level of Hafetz Hesed (not wanting anything for yourself), the "return from fear (trepidation)." The second stage of correction is even higher; it is the level of "love your neighbor as yourself," the "return from love," receiving for the sake of bestowal. We have yet to perform these two corrections, and they both are realized in the relationships between people.

Then the Creator is revealed in our corrected relationships to the extent that we love and bestow to the neighbor, as it is written: "From love for the neighbor to love for the Creator." Not a single correction can be carried out in any other way except by realizing it in a group of Kabbalists (i.e., those who desire to reach the level of a human being).

In the relationship between them, they build a system of Malchut of Infinity as they wish to feel the Light of Infinity, the Creator, in it. The Zohar needs to provide us with the strength for this, this desire and the inner attainments. Therefore, while we read The Zohar we need to try to be in the intention that we are all one whole that our points in the heart, the desires for the spiritual, unite as one. From these common desires, we build our spiritual vessel, the Shechina, Malchut of Infinity, in which we will feel the Creator.

We need to feel that we are together, like the authors of The Zohar, the group of Rabbi Shimon, and within this system of connection between us, we should try to imagine what this Book is telling us about. After all, the only thing written about in The Zohar is the connection between us. Although this is described in various forms and images that seem to be from this world, it is only the forces of our soul that are described in The Zohar.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/21/10, The Zohar

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Baal HaSulam writes in the article “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” that all those who aspire to the Creator are one nation where everyone is responsible for one another. This is called mutual guarantee. The Torah (the Light of Correction) was given to this nation only after every person was asked: Do you agree to carry out the commandment of love for the neighbor?  “Love your neighbor as yourself” means to take care of others no less than our nature forces us to take care of ourselves. This is the condition that enables us to draw the Light of Correction upon us. The Light will come and correct our spiritual vessel only if we reveal that we want to unite in this way.

Mutual guarantee is when, having ascended above our own desire, we already comprise one unified body, one organism, and we all depend on each other. To do this, every person must have an anti-egoistic screen and be in the spiritual world on the level of bestowal (Hafetz Hesed), while also treating his material life as a necessary component for his spiritual life.

Operating in mutual guarantee, every person fulfills another and understands that he has to be connected with the others. His entire life takes place for the sake of this, like it happens with the cells within one’s body. Every cell and organ of the body lives in order to carry out its function in relation to the common organism. The meaning of its life is love and bestowal. When we perceive this connection among us, this is called spiritual life.

If we desire to unite in this way, then we will receive the force to carry this out!

From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/18/10, Article “Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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A Question I Received: When I read The Zohar, my mind keeps seeing superficial images. How can I remember that all these things are happening inside me as the text speaks about connections between us?

My Answer: To tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter. "Time does what the mind does not." The time is for studying and growing closer with the friends. When, during the lesson, a person isn’t able to think (with his head) about the goal (with his heart), let him listen to his heart.

Most important is to constantly hold on to the thought of what you want from the study. Torah does not have an affect without this. The Torah influences according to one’s intention. As it is written, "I created the evil inclination and gave the Torah as a spice." Do you have an evil inclination? Bring it and then you’ll receive the Torah as a spice to it (the means for its correction).

However, how does having this spice help you if you lack the evil inclination? Kabbalists give us simple examples. Do you have soup? Would you like to add pepper, salt, and all kinds of seasoning? Go ahead, but how will you benefit from having salt and pepper if you don’t have the soup? By themselves, salt and pepper taste disgusting.

In our case we first need to prepare the "soup." Without it, there’s no need to ask for seasoning; we wouldn’t even be able to ask for it. It’s during the process of making the soup (in the group) that the need for seasoning arises (for the Light to unite us). Only those who need Torah have (discovered) the evil inclination.

This is why we need to approach the reading of The Zohar and all our lessons with the proper intention, with  knowing exactly what we desire, or, in other words, with a prepared evil nature. With the evil revealed in you, you have something to correct; you will receive correction for it. If you haven’t discovered the evil within, you first need to look for it. If you feel righteous, the Torah is not for you; it is for the sinners for their correction. This is why the one who is greater than the others is the one who discovers a bigger egoism within, a greater evil, and he has something to correct.

Thus, it doesn’t matter how much one understands during the lesson. "It’s not the wise who studies" (Lo ha-Hacham Lomed). What matters is feeling that one has something to correct in the connection with his friends.

We need to unite into one desire, the soul of Adam, and we must become brothers in our goal. Even though we now hate one another, don’t want the others, and disdain them, we understand that unity is the goal. This is why we wait for the Light to come and bring us back to the source where we will become one complete desire, and the Creator will become revealed among us.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/17/10, The Zohar

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