We work on our desires during the night, in the darkness of the exile, having no strength. While still in the darkness, we prepare ourselves to greet the morning, meaning we find the desires we can sacrifice.

We are not talking about the physical sunrise or sunset, nor do we refer to pieces of flesh of sacrificial animals. We speak only about the use of the Light of correction in which a person can see himself as a sacred vessel.

In other words, a person will reach the Temple, come to the burnt-offering altar, and become ready to work with his desire by raising it to the level of bestowal. The elevation of the parts (“pieces”) of our desire to the level of bestowal is what is called “offering.”

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/25/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: Why were Aba ve Ima so blind to not have noticed the “stony heart” in the world of Nekudim, and consequently to have performed an action that resulted in the breaking of the vessels? Why wasn’t it clarified to begin with?

My Answer: Clarification is only possible when one requires it. If one doesn’t feel a necessity for it, what is there to clarify? Clarification follows the breaking of the Kelim, when they have all intermixed, when we find ourselves in front of fragments of desires, and don’t know how to sort them.

It is then that the Upper Light descends and illuminates what is what: which desires belongs to the right line, which to the left, which desires are on top or at the bottom, and so on. The desires are assigned Sefirot in accordance with the screens they lost, the Lights that departed from them, and with the Aviut that remained in them.

Everything was prepared for this action for the sake of bestowal; however, it wasn’t known in advance what would happen. This is because the property of Malchut de Malchut, which refuses bestowal, has never been revealed in creation before.

Malchut de Malchut reveals itself at this point because it meets GAR of the Light of Hochma (an enormous Light of the End of Correction). The desires, which were “built from nothing” (Yesh mi Ayin) and constitute the most inner core of creation were not revealed until that time because the Upper Light had always ruled over these desires.

“The breaking of the vessels” means that the Upper Light ceases to control the desires. As an example, imagine that you are constantly under my influence and control; I ruled over you and dictated to you how to act for the sake of bestowal. Suddenly, it is clear to you that I no longer control a certain quality of yours. In other words, you found a point of independence from me within you. Hence, you revealed something that doesn’t depend on and relate to me.

You’re not a slave; the Upper One doesn’t have complete power over you. He cannot control your stony heart by obligating your desire to act for the sake of bestowal. It is the beginning of your point of independence. That’s why the breaking is not a bad thing; it opens the door to the correction and ascent of humanity.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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A question I received: What is a real spiritual vessel (Kli)?

My Answer: A real Kli is a desire that is ready for correction. My task is to fully discern which part of my desire I can correct for the sake of bestowal, and which part I can’t correct and must simply restrict.

Suppose I am given a desire and I discern that I can correct 20% of it for bestowal, and that I have to restrict the other 80% of it, making Sof out of it, meaning the end of the Partzuf. This means that I corrected that entire desire. Both kinds of desires are always present, and I have to understand what to do with them.

However, there may be desires awakening in me that are unclear. This is because the Light that reaches me is insufficient to illuminate all the desires and all their details. This is why I am left with desires that aren’t discerned, called Hash, Mal, and Noga.

It’s as if I am in a fog and I cannot touch part of these desires. I only have to revive them as Klipot in order to support life in them. I have to make these compromises due to my own weakness and inability to perform the correction.

The desires that I have discerned are called “root, soul, and body.” They differ from these other desires, called “garments and castles,” which appear as if they’re not my own, real desires.

Later, at the very end of correction, these desires will turn into my own, real desire. It will join that which is called “brain, bones, and veins,” and will become my unified spiritual vessel. I will then see that all of reality is inside me, as opposed to the way I see things today, when it seems that there is me and a world outside of me.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/25/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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The Zohar, Chapter “BaHar (On Mount Sinai),” Item 3: At midnight, a northern wind awakens and a flame of fire comes out of the lower altar, Malchut. Then the gates open and low Dinim, Dinim de Nukva, gather in their holes and that flame walks and wanders, and the gates of the Garden of Eden open. Finally, that flame reaches and divides into several sides of the world and enters under the wings of that rooster, and it calls.

The most special corrections are performed in the state called “night” when a person feels darkness, lack of strength or interest, when spirituality does not attract him much, he is tired, he wants to forget everything and fall asleep, and he is fed up with everything – in short, when he does not feel the importance of the spiritual goal.

The work at “night” is crucial. It is written that King David “got up” at “midnight” and took upon himself the “northern wind,” the great restricting powers of overcoming and correcting egoism (“Gevurot” and “Dinim“). Precisely using these unpleasant “northern” powers he “played the harp” and in this way he welcomed “dawn,” which is the manifestation of the Light in the soul.

During all the work at “night” he was bringing himself to the state where he was turning the very desires (Kelim) in which he sensed darkness, lack of power, and separation from the Creator; he “cried and screamed” into desires or “vessels” for the Light. That brought about “morning.”

In spirituality, there is no morning, evening, or afternoon. We perceive the entire reality within our desire. This is why we reveal the “Light” in our corrected desire which formerly was dark and empty. Then the Light of Hassadim shines in it, and this is called “day.” When the Light of Hassadim cannot shine, meaning we don’t have the intention to bestow, it is called “night.”

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 4/22/10

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The cornerstone of spiritual work is a constant concern about the environment. The greater its importance in my eyes, the more I will strive to attach myself to it, to absorb myself inside it. Every time, these external circles will enter me more and more, like waves that accumulate, until I extend over the whole Malchut of Infinity, and perceive everyone as myself. The whole huge desire (Kli) will become my own, and the Light or the Creator will be revealed inside this single desire.

Everything depends on the intensity of a person’s work within his environment, their influence on each other, and a mutual demand. This is how we determine the speed of our development.

A person is unable to advance on his own. The environment is the only means for advancement. Every time a person moves closer to it, he ascends with its help.

It is necessary to completely realize the importance of the environment. The construction of the whole desire (Kli) comes from the separation of internal and external parts. All the clarifications are made between these parts, between a person and the environment.

For the time being, we are unable to reveal this and we are still unable to understand exactly where the correction of the desires occurs. However, when we draw enough Surrounding Light to ascend to the spiritual world, we certainly feel that spiritual work between the environment and me has already begun. The clarifications and corrections occur only there.

From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/10, Shamati #225

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A question I received: What should a person do, if he feels that the environment which he chose for his spiritual development does not promote his growth?

My Answer: Today, two conditions make our physical association with a particular group unimportant. The first condition is that, at this time, the whole world has to attain correction. Because of this, the second condition is that a virtual connection among us gives everybody an opportunity to contact us through the Internet, books, and television. That’s in addition to having an opportunity to connect to or join us physically for training, coming to a convention in order to participate in various activities together, or studying at one of our campuses.

It’s not like in prior times when a person was limited by living in one place and could bond only with his immediate surroundings. Today, you can stay connected with the whole world. You can see and hear us, or come and visit us; the rest depends on you.

Today is the time when everybody in the world has to attain correction. Places and distances do not limit us at all. We desire to clarify who we are and what we belong to, under whose influence we live.

Everybody is granted freedom of will and, thus, everything depends on an individual. At this time, we’re in the process of building a virtual system on the Internet for Kabbalah students that will enable everybody to stay truly close.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/10, Article “The Freedom”

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A question I received: Baal HaSulam writes that he asked the Creator to lower him from high spiritual levels in order to be able to bring Kabbalah to people. What does this mean?

My Answer: In order to bring Kabbalah to people, one must actually be on the highest possible level, but at the same time, be able to descend to the lowest levels in order to convey everything necessary to others. When I select a teacher for my children, I don’t pick some schoolboy, but a qualified pedagogue, even though all he has to do is teach them the alphabet. That’s because he is closer to the source of Light. Thus, if a Kabbalist asks to be lowered from his spiritual level, this does not mean that he refuses it, because refusal would mean refusing bestowal to the Creator. The higher a person is on the spiritual rungs, the greater is his bestowal to the Creator.

However, in order to bestow to the lower ones, he is willing to create an additional Partzuf Searot (“hair”). Yet, at the same time he himself does not descend, similar to how an adult plays with a child and behaves as a child at that time. When he comes down from his level, he does not lose anything. It’s only in relation to the lower ones that he is closer to them and is able to be in contact with them.

In the spiritual world, attaining a level is a very difficult action because it is opposite to movement toward the Creator, upwards. One has to connect with the uncorrected desires and prefer their correction over engagement with something higher. This requires inclusion into the general scheme of the souls’ connection; one has to feel the importance of their general correction.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/22/10, “Peace in the World”

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Baal HaSulam “The Gatehouse of Intentions”: The meaning of back-to-back is that there are judgments there, which are corrected by concealment…He established them with illumination of covered Hassadim like the illumination of HGT, which conceals the NHY in them so they cannot awaken and draw illumination of Hochma according to their nature​.

How can we appease the receiving desires, which want to be filled with the Light of Hochma and don’t understand anything else? How can we prevent them from impeding our work? We can’t destroy the desires. We can only correct their usage by changing our intention. Here the correction called “back-to-back” or “from the reverse side,” takes place.

You have to show the receiving desires that you can only bestow. Then they leave you immediately, as if they disappear, recoil. However, as soon as you begin to engage in receiving for the sake of bestowal, these desires reappear instantly and begin to demand for their own sake. For this reason, while transitioning from Katnut or Hafetz Hesed to Gadlut, we have to “stock up” the power of withstanding our egoism.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/20/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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A question I received: What is a Klipa (shell)?

My Answer: After the breaking of the vessels (desires) in the World of Nikkudim, the broken desires, which can be used, are chosen for building the worlds of ABYA. Whatever is left is called “Klipa” (shell) or the impure desires. Klipa are the desires that cannot be used (corrected) for the sake of bestowal until the End of Correction.

A Klipa manifests in the process of clarifying the cause of illness and isolating the rest of the body from it. The whole body (the broken soul) is aching: the head, legs and arms, the heart and the lungs. Why is that? I discover that some small, sick area poisons the entire body because everything in the body is connected.

If I isolate the source of the disease from the rest of the body, the part called “Klipa,” the rest of the body can be revived and corrected. I constantly make sure that the bad part doesn’t mix with the body, doesn’t interfere with it, and spread the disease over it again.

This is our work with Klipot (plural of Klipa). We clarify them in each property. In the soul’s body, the disease affects each cell and organ; therefore, I have to separate the source of the illness and cleanse and correct the rest. I then replenish everything possible except for the affected place which I pull out or cut off from myself.

In other words, Klipa are the desires which I have to discern, separate from a healthy body, and not use anymore. Then I can correct the body. After I perform this work 100% and completely divide the desires into two parts, the healthy and the sick, the End of Correction (Gmar Tikkun) arrives. I then see that the Klipa can be corrected as well.

How do I know which desires are good and which are Klipa? The Light of AB-SAG comes and separates the desires which can be used from the Klipa. It shows us whether each particular desire is for the sake of reception or bestowal. Based on this, we can determine the place of each desire and build a ladder from them, in accordance to the similarity to the Light.

When the Light illuminates all the desires, we can easily see which ones are closer or further away from the Light and which ones are opposite to the Light completely. We only need the Light in order to see this.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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A question I received: What is the meaning of the law, “Nothing disappears in spirituality?” Does it mean that no matter how far away we move from the impure desires, Klipot, they still remain with us?

My Answer: We must discern: In what regard is it written that nothing disappears in spirituality? This law means that all the corrections we perform are saved. Thus, they accumulate, even though they disappear from our field of vision. It seems like I don’t have anything left from what I did yesterday. I went inside a treasure trove and left with a cupful of gold, but it was taken away from me. I was left with nothing! But now I’m told, “Come back in and start filling it anew!”

However, in spirituality, nothing disappears. Later on I will reveal that everything I went through was accumulated in my “account.” Thus, “nothing disappears” means that corrections or actions of bestowal do not disappear.

We talk about this because people think that everything they attained, disappears. Yesterday I was successful and felt wonderful. I felt a force driving me forward and felt love for my friends, but today I am empty and feeble. Yet, I have to believe that nothing disappears in spirituality; everything remains!

On the other hand, this entire world and all our successes in it do not really exist. They only appear to exist in order to enable us to find out what bestowal and love are, starting from the opposite quality.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/21/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot

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