Many people ask me: what should I do with my desires, and how should I fight the disturbances?

The breaking or corruption means that the unified creation (the soul, the Kli) divided or broke into many antagonistic parts. Their correction lies in gathering all of them together in spite of the force of their rejection. In other words, the force of unity (the Light, bestowal, love) must be stronger than the forces of mutual rejection (egoism, hate). These forces, however, don’t annul each other, as it is written: “The hero is not the one who kills the enemy, but who makes him serve him.”

Thus, we shouldn’t look for the evil inclination in our daily affairs, but only in our resistance to unifying our desires toward correction, which is equivalence to the Creator. As soon as a person’s ego matures enough for the person to begin correcting it, a point in the heart appears inside him, which is the beginning of his aspiration toward unity. He is then brought to the group, where the Creator bring together all those who are ripe for correction.

If a person participates in the group in order to unify the individual aspirations for the Creator into one strong desire for unity, this evokes the force of correction during the study. Then the force shines on the common aspiration for adhesion between us and the Creator, who is the force of bestowal and love. That sets off the process of “pursuit.”

A person feels as if he is riding a fervent stallion that’s running amok, carrying him forward, and the person is helpless to do anything. The stronger you become in the group, the quicker you correct this, and the faster and stronger you enter inside the group on the next level. This, in turn, reveals your ego to you even more and you find yourself flying ahead on the stallion’s back once again. That is how you quickly reach the end of correction.

Some day the race will be over, because the forces of the ego are not limitless. Each person has his own measure, the capacity of the soul, and he has to reveal and correct all of it.

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A question I received: When the Final Correction is attained, will the lower spiritual objects continue to feel that they are lower?

My Answer: Malchut of Infinity divided into worlds, Partzufim and Sefirot, and then it received Light through one, thin tube (Kav), while the remaining part of the Sefira was filled by the Surrounding Light. As a result of this work, which is performed over six thousand years, everyone unites into one organism, where there is no difference between its parts: the levels, Partuzifm, Sefirot, and souls. But they all continue to exist, each one according to its predestination. Their unification does not revoke the differences between them.

If all the special qualities and differences between the spiritual objects were erased, then the power of their unity would be lost as well,  since it’s determined by their spiritual difference (R), the “pressure” or “force of the electric current” – the similarity of intentions. There has to be opposition, a spiritual resistor, with a “plus” and a “minus” at both ends. The force of unity is determined by the might of the opposition and the might of the electric current.

So, on one hand, it’s necessary to attain the most powerful Light (NaRaNHY), but on the other hand, the entire thickness of the desire must work in order to conduct this Light. This is why nothing ever disappears, and all the differences between the Partzufim, Sefirot and souls remain. On the other hand, they all unite without any difference between them with regards to their intention and love.

Our minds cannot understand how these two conditions can exist simultaneously, since our minds can only understand “reception.” But when we begin to perceive both reception and bestowal, then we will understand that this is possible, and two opposites will be able to unite together.

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A question I received: The current global crisis has affected many people. However, when the blows were over, people did not listen to the science of Kabbalah. Instead, they decided that the difficult times have passed and now a good period is starting, which will make everything fall back into place.

My Answer: This is understandable. The crisis is worsening, but since no one has a solution, people just keep quiet about it. This is the same in every country.

We receive many blows for performing dishonest actions, but we still cannot stop doing them. That means that the blows were not strong enough to teach us the correct way to behave.

Why don’t we learn from our past mistakes? You would think that it’s as simple as one, two, three. If only minor blows could immediately help us reach correction! However, our egoism is constantly developing and becoming bigger. And since we become more egoistic, the previous blows cannot force us to act properly.

Let’s say I stole ten dollars and was punished. Now when I look at ten dollars, I remember the punishment, and this holds me back. However, what will happen if suddenly I find 100 dollars in front of me? I’ve never been punished for 100 dollars before, so 100 dollars is not connected to punishment in my mind. So I steal the 100 dollars and receive punishment.

But what about a thousand dollars? It’s the same thing! This is how we are built – like animals that only know the things they’ve felt. This is why it is written: “A person cannot carry out a commandment (an action of bestowal and love for one’s neighbor) unless he first breaks it (finds the opposite action in him).” First you have to stumble and fall, you have to “steal,” and then you have to repent and correct what you’ve done. This is something that happens only after one receives blows. Without them, it is impossible for a person to change.

The science of Kabbalah explains that each desire develops according to four stages, from the time it is born to its final form. We consist of a desire and an intention. Therefore, there are four possible combinations of the desire and the intention, because there is a total of four combinations from two variables: “you desire something and intend it, you don’t desire something and don’t intend it,” and so on. (See “Inner Reflection” in Talmud Eser Sefirot).

A person has to go through four stages of blows and clarifications in order to reach the last stage, where he desires to use his egoism only for the sake of selfless, unconditional bestowal and love. This is why it is impossible to learn from one small blow. It’s because there is a law acting between the desire and the Light.

The Light creates a desire, and the desire acts precisely according to the program that is placed into it by the Light. If it is the desire to enjoy, it wishes only to receive pleasure. In order to teach it to be bestowing, the Light always has to influence the desire through four stages.

Only on the last stage does the desire realize that it is receiving. As a result, it feels shame and performs a restriction. This happens with every spiritual action.

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Two questions I received about humanity’s previous correction and survival of the Jews:

Question: If I understand you correctly, humanity has previously existed in the corrected, ideal state several thousand years ago. What was the reason for the appearance of egoism that led to the downfall and “destruction of the Second Temple?” Could egoism and imbalance again appear when humanity reaches a new balance by correcting itself?

My Answer: Only part of humanity, the people of Israel, went through correction and breakage so that correction can take place again in our times. This time, however, the correction will include the entire world.

Question: Did the Jews survive as a single nation because of Judaism? If they didn’t survive as a nation, then would Kabbalah not have been revealed in our time?

My Answer: Everything goes according to Nature’s plan. Therefore, the Jews, who were part of the Babylonian civilization, survived in order that today, they can bring a method for everyone to change themselves in order to achieve the level of the Creator. Yes, we do have to change that much according to Nature’s plan!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: What happened in Ancient Babylon?
Laitman.com Post: Israel Are Those Who Aspire Straight To The Creator
Kabbalah Today Article: Havoc in Modern-Day Babylon
From Chaos to Harmony: “A Reality of Wholeness and Infinity. Nature’s Plan”

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The hard times are still ahead of us. Let us hope that the world will have time to go through them by way of realization, before they are expressed in matter. In that case, we won’t have to go through the correction in matter, but in our awareness.

One way or another, this will all happen in a few months. What I expected to happen a year ago will still be revealed. There are great cataclysms approaching, and it’s important to make them be expressed through our understanding of the situation, rather than through material suffering that will last a long time and affect us in the flesh.

Instead of all this, people can awaken immediately, understand what is happening, and respond to it maturely. The modern communications systems give us an opportunity to let the masses quickly understand the essence of things and to elicit changes in their consciousness.

In any case, there are great changes coming our way. In the first half of the 20th century, Baal HaSulam already wrote that the whole world is one big family and people have to unite. Even though a Kabbalist is not subjected to time, he nevertheless saw and felt this, but we still don’t.

The world has been able to lie to itself, pretending that it’s not in crisis. But all the money has been burnt up and the cash register is empty. The world’s bankruptcy has gone global. I believe that the upcoming year holds a great deal of work that we will have to do, and people will sincerely start paying attention to the method of changing the world – Kabbalah.

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Bina contains the entire Light of Hochma, but only in order to prefer the Light of Hassadim over it. In other words, it prefers bestowal over fulfillment. What does this mean?

It’s when I don’t want anything except to bestow! Someone gives me a million dollars, but I refuse to take it. They can give me 100 million or a billion, but I’ll still refuse it. This is called preferring Hassadim – bestowal – over reception.

It’s impossible to measure bestowal; it has no bounds. The only way to measure something is when it is inside the desires of reception. If I am able to receive a billion dollars and I want this money, but I prefer bestowal, then this is the measure of my desire to bestow. However, if I don’t have a desire to receive, then I don’t have anything with which to measure the desire to bestow.

These two opposite desires must come together: I need a great desire and a sensation of a great pleasure that I can receive, and at the same time, a screen over the desire. That way, I will prefer bestowal over anything else. But how can we possibly attain this correction?

Only the Light – Ohr Makif – is able to grant us this correction. When I prefer the Light of Hassadim and reject the Light of Hochma, then according to this, I measure the height of the Light of Hassadim, even though it expands outwards. The Light of Hochma, on the other hand, expands vertically, from Above downwards.

In and of itself, Bina has no height. If you want to bestow, go ahead. You shouldn’t care how much you bestow and to whom. But the height of bestowal is measured by the desires of reception, which are opposed to bestowal and can be overcome by it.

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A question I received: Why doesn’t the Creator awaken all the souls simultaneously and give everyone equal freedom of choice?

My Answer: Every soul receives freedom of choice according to its root. When each person corrects himself, he will see that he has nothing to complain about and that everyone is equal in the general corrected system of souls.

However, everyone differs by their individual correction; some souls are higher and others are lower. However, all the differences fade when everyone unites in love and mutual bestowal at the end of correction. In the meantime, however, during the process of advancement, there are differences between us, and they are necessary because there would be no movement otherwise.

Creation advances because people build a higher system within. We build our similarity to the Creator, and this can only be done as long as there is a difference among the inner parts, the souls.

The Creator created 613 desires with the help of 613 Lights. This means that right from the start, creation includes a multitude of different qualities. Otherwise, inside our egoistic material, it would be impossible for us to attain bestowal, love, and a feeling that the Creator’s quality is important.

At the end of correction, we will connect all the individual souls or qualities, and we will then reveal one perfect system – the Creator (HaVaYaH). However, the reason we are able to attain this one system is precisely in virtue of all the numerous clarifications that led up to it.

Within this One, there are no longer any differences between the parts of Malchut. The differences were necessary only to comprehend Him and become like Him.

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In order to enter the spiritual world, one has to perform a “restriction” (Tzimtzum) on one’s egoistic desires. Malchut (the quality of reception) has to become completely incorporated in Bina (the quality of bestowal) and submit to its power.

There are no obstructive barriers or curtains separating the permitted from the forbidden. There is no coercion in spirituality. There are no walls or “No entry!” signs, or situations where you want something and someone on the outside is forbidding you from it.

We cannot crush any of our desires or forbid ourselves from wanting. What we need is an inner correction within the desire itself.

The desire remains, but at the same time, we gain a new feeling that it is important not to use it egoistically. We realize that there is an opportunity to put the desire to a higher use, for the sake of bestowal, in order to benefit others.

Although the desire was created as desiring fulfillment, it can be corrected so it won’t receive anything besides what it naturally needs to consume, because it feels the importance of bestowal. For instance, have you seen a trained lion in a circus? Why is it that instead of gobbling up the trainer, the lion obediently opens its mouth and allows a person to put his arm or even his head inside? Doesn’t the lion want to bite it off? Yes, it does! However, the lion feels that this person is very important because he feeds it. Therefore, the lion suppresses its natural desire.

In the same manner, we preserve our desire to receive pleasure. It just begins to feel the importance of the quality of bestowal, and therefore, it wants bestowal to govern over it.

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Our world is like a single spiritual body that develops and goes though correction over the course of 6000 years. This time can be divided into three periods, each lasting 2000 years, starting with the first man – Adam.

The first desires (or Kelim) to be revealed are the thinnest, or the egoistically weakest ones; they are called ChaBaD. They are followed by the desires with a medium strength of egoism – HaGaT. And during the final 2000 years – our time, the most egoistic desires – NeChY – are revealed.

The thin Kelim were very elevated souls – the Patriarchs, the nation of Israel that came out of Egypt (Galgalta Eynaim). However, they could not reveal greater depth, wisdom, and the Light of Hochma, because they lacked the depth (thickness) of desire.

On the other hand, over the last 2000 years, we were in exile from the quality of bestowal and love, in egoism, and we are now approaching freedom from the power of egoism over us, even though our egoism is actively developing now.

It turns out that our most egoistic desires (Kelim NeCHY) can draw the most powerful Light – Hochma – into the system of One Soul of Adam. In spite of the fact that our minds and feelings are very limited, when we make a slight effort and perform a correction on our low degree, we draw an enormous Light into our higher Kelim – HaBaD, and great corrections occur there. This is how the system of souls of Adam works according to the law of reverse correspondence of Lights and Kelim.

Therefore, while we make great changes in the system of souls, we don’t even know or understand what we’re doing. We are like infants who just smiled or put two blocks together, and the grown up parents rejoice over our small success.

So, we don’t know what Light we draw into the higher souls; this will only be revealed at the End of Correction, when everyone begins to feel this Light. Our souls are the worst, most egoistic, but that is why through our correction, we bring the most powerful Light – the Light of Hochma – into the world. This is a Light that the world has never experienced before.

This is why our correction is called redemption. Through our simple and small work, we carry out the redemption and bring life into this whole system! The whole past, our whole history, and all the great Kabbalists of the past – all of this was only the preparation for the correction that you and I now have to perform.

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The fatigue we feel is deliberately sent to us from Above. It seems to us that there is nothing good about spirituality and today’s lesson is talking about the same thing as yesterday. And this fatigue we feel will only get stronger. If a person does not receive energy from his environment (the group and books), then he will not be able to continue advancing spiritually.

However, the greatest forces come from disseminating this knowledge to other people. When you do, you will come out of the lesson revived and much stronger than before. It’s because you connect to the desires of many people and you all experience the material together.

Inside your new desires, you reveal the world on a deeper level, and you experience this revelation as new energy and strength, a revival of your soul.

However, if you do not feel pleasure and the force of life from the lesson and dissemination, then you are not connecting with the desires of the friends. The correction lies only in unifying the broken connection between the souls. We have to correct what was broken. As soon as we attain the first connection with one another, to this degree we will immediately feel the Upper World.

The Light, the sensation of connection, bestowal, and love does not appear from some place, but it appears inside us as soon as we attain this quality. This quality comes from the Creator and envelops us.

The fact is that we are always immersed in an ocean of Light! That’s why we don’t feel that there is water all around us. We can only feel it inside our glass. So connect several souls together; you will then form a vessel and will feel the spiritual world!

This is so simple. When it finally becomes revealed to a person, he is taken aback because he sees that it was always right under his nose, and he wonders: why didn’t I do this ten years ago?

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