A question I received: Perfection always emanates from the Upper One; the role of the lower one is to figure out his attitude towards perfection. The Zohar says: “Everything that occurs Above is perfect. Everything, whether it is a miracle or a judgment, is one whole and occurs in one place. It’s not split into two, where one half is a miracle, and the other, a judgment.” Why is that so?

My Answer: When we play with a child, we use various images so that he can discern within himself various states and relationships, react correspondingly, and thus grow.

We undergo changes all the time. Our advancement is built upon our perception of Upper properties that are not always enjoyable. Particularly by triggering within us unpleasant feelings, the Upper One compels us to grow. As Baal HaSulam writes in his story about a servant, the Creator assumes the form of a rebel, robber, or murderer.

What is the purpose of the system of the worlds? It serves as our permanent educator. It is a system of filters that hides the infinite, benevolent, and perfect Light from us. By passing through the worlds (filters), the Light educates us.

We constantly face (oppose) this system, yet each time it has an impact on us in the best possible way. It gives us exactly what we need at each given moment. Our job is to find within ourselves the correct reaction to it. If our reaction is right, the system encourages us: “Good for you! Now, you’ll be getting the next impact!” If our next reaction is adequate, the system encourages us once again: “Wonderful! Now you’ll get the next one!” This is how we advance.

To us it seems that the Creator constantly changes His attitude as if he wants us to see Him from different angles: sometimes He turns to us with his benevolent side and sometimes we see His “evil” side. It is similar to the theatrical masks that consists of a laughing and crying face.

This is how the Upper One constantly relates to the lower one in order to raise him; this is how the system of worlds treats us.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/7/10, The Zohar

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The more the Creator awakens us, the bigger His expectations. The Creator woke several million people who at this time study The Zohar and He waits for their correct, conscious, and voluntary reaction that would manifest their readiness to “wake up.” “Awakening from below” (Itaruta de-Letata) has to become equal with the “awakening from Above” (Itaruta de-Leila). When these two processes coincide, the Light of the Creator fills us.

First, the Creator sends us an impulse from Above to inspire us; we open the book and begin to read and to study. Later on it becomes too difficult for us. But why, what is the reason? It’s because this sensation also originates from the Creator. He stops inspiring us and gives us a chance to “awaken from below.”

The Creator imposes a burden that is equal to our initial inspiration. He seemingly says: “Wait! I don’t need you. I didn’t call for you. Forget it, it’s not for you. Calm down!” He plays this game on purpose after He already “woke us up.” It is as if He made a mistake and then changed His mind: “No! Stay asleep, don’t wake up.”

By slowing us down, He wants us to replace His awakening by our own voluntary effort to wake up. Otherwise everything happens “at His expense” rather than through our own effort. What good does that do? This way, our spiritual vessel doesn’t get ready for the Light.

That’s why we feel like we reject spirituality. However, was our previous desire really ours or were we just granted the chance to go through such circumstances from Above? Now that you’re convinced that you don’t want spirituality – that is the real you, your desire to receive pleasure to which you can add the same sense of awakening that you first experienced.

The Creator woke us up, we turned His awakening into “our own”; we acknowledged and made it available to other people. Then together with others we make attempts to attract the Upper Light. We use this situation as an amplifier: Our request grows in direct proportion to the number of people to whom we managed to transfer this knowledge by working against our own egoism. We receive “620 times” more in return; this is how many times stronger our own advancement toward the next degree becomes.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/8/10, The Zohar

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The nation of Israel originated in Babylon, where Abraham revealed nature’s Upper Force and then started to disseminate this knowledge about the Creator, the goal of creation, and the purpose of man and society. It was all done to enable us to ascend above our world, rather than be like all the animals that merely live and die, over and over again.

Abraham discovered how to ascend above this world and the life cycles of the mortal animate body. He attained the Upper, spiritual dimension, which is above this entire animate life. Abraham then began to disseminate this knowledge to all the inhabitants of Babylon, gathering thousands of people around himself. The group that he gathered came to be called “the house of Abraham.”

This group went through a lengthy path and grew until it came to be called “the nation of Israel.” This is not a regular nation like the other nations of the world that unite in a natural manner. “The nation of Israel” can be joined by every person who aspires to unity in order to reveal the Creator – the force of bestowal and love.

Therefore, this group (or nation) can be in one of two states: exile, which is when they want to unite, but they haven’t yet attained it; and redemption, which is when they attain unity. They then attain the state of being as one man with one heart through a mutual guarantee (Arvut). Thus, they reveal the Creator within themselves (in Hebrew the Creator is called Boreh, which comes from the words Bo – come and Reh – reveal). They proceed to ascend up the ladder, reaching greater and greater unity and attaining greater bestowal until reaching the Final Correction of the ego, transforming it to love for the neighbor. This is the state of adhesion, Dvekut.

Eventually, all of humanity will have to join this group and join the Creator together with them. Today we have already gone through four exiles and three redemptions. We are now standing before the final redemption, meaning the final, full revelation of the Creator to every single person in the world.

From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/11/10, “Exile and Redemption”

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At every given instant we are sent different states (desires and thoughts) from Above. At all times, we need to search for ways to maintain ourselves in harmony with nature, in revelation with the Creator, to reveal the quality of bestowal in us. In this manner, we begin to cultivate ourselves.

This is exactly how children grow in our world. A child constantly looks for ways to learn about the world. A child looks for qualities and connections, how he can relate to the world, and how he can take part in it.

We need to do the same thing with the desires and thoughts inside us. We need to understand what kind of forces influence us, how to react to them properly, and how to reveal their Source. The Source is revealed in the aspiration to identify it in everything in the world, as “There is none else beside Him” and He is good that does good.

Like in our world where a child cannot grow up if he does not follow a grown-up’s example, we too cannot grow up in the spiritual world unless we find our Teacher, the Creator. This search continues at every instant, as we learn the force of bestowal from Him.

We try to set an example for our children so that they will copy us; the Creator acts the same way in regard to us (within us) in the spiritual world. He shows us examples of how to reach bestowal, Lishma, from egoism, Lo Lishma. Therefore, we need to examine His examples and become similar to them in order to raise ourselves through faith above reason every time.

We need to acquire a new, higher mind, a new quality of bestowal in order to be able to understand Him. Then we will see that in every moment, we are being taught how to bestow. In other words, I am receiving examples from Him of how I need to correct myself, and through them, is how I ascend from one degree to the next.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/10, Shamati 22

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A question I received: Since the end of the Passover holiday, I feel horrible from the realization of my own evil. How do I deal with this? What should I do?

My Answer: We need to get acquainted with our nature. A person has worked hard during the holidays; he put in effort, aspiring to reveal the Creator in himself, to come out of egoism, and now the darkness of an even greater egoism has been slightly revealed to him. This causes him to feel weakness, fatigue, and a lack of interest for the Upper World…What should one do?

One should rejoice in the fact that a bit more evil has been revealed and that one has an opportunity to “clench his teeth” and turn to the group, the studies, and to the Creator. The opportunity is precisely now, when one has no strength, no desire, is not in the mood, when his eyes are closing, his brain doesn’t work, and all his feelings are foggy. This is wonderful! This is precisely the kind of state that a “Creator’s worker” should experience, since then one can ask for mercy, for strength from Above.

This doesn’t mean crying and pleading to the Creator to have mercy on you. In fact, this will not help. We are situated in a system where everything is precisely measured out, and we are given sensations, thoughts, strengths, and weaknesses, which are necessary for us at any given moment.

Now, I need to gather all of them into one and realize that it’s the hardening of the heart, about which it is written “I have hardened his heart.” The Creator took me by the hand, led me to Pharaoh (which is my heart) and He is showing me how much He hardened it.

Now the choice is mine: Will I be with Moses (the point in the heart) or with Pharaoh (the heart)? If you moan and groan, saying “I am tired, I cannot go on, I am sick of everything…” this means that you are under the control of Pharaoh, you are his slave.

However, if you grab onto the Creator’s hand (since He offered: “Let’s go to Pharaoh!” meaning that the Creator is next to you, and you merely need to recognize Him), then you have the strength to oppose Pharaoh.

Try to grab onto the Creator! Try it, and suddenly you will see how close the Creator is to you. After all, it is written “The Creator is near broken hearts.”

From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: What specifically should I do when I feel a “hardening of the heart“?

My Answer: Without extra emotions, try to clarify this state: Who does this, why, how does He control you and organize your environment? Don’t fall; try to be in control of the situation that you are in so that you are able to create a point of contact with the Creator. Also, as the Creator told you, “Let’s go to Pharaoh because I hardened his heart,” now you may demand from Him. Now is precisely that moment when you may demand help from Him. After all, this is why He brought you to Pharaoh.

The Creator will never answer you while you are in a state where you feel well and everything around you is illuminated. You will not receive anything in such states! After all, while you are in such states you do not need Him. You can thank the Creator for His kindness, but all this is just complete egoism.

When will the Creator hear you? He will hear you precisely during your bad states (the Gate of Tears, Shaar Hadmaot). Otherwise, at present, why does He exist and why did He bring you to such a state? Only in such states do you really need Him! They are all given to you only in order for you to grab onto the Creator’s hand. You are small, and you stand beside Him and say, “Did you harden his heart? Now help me! I am scared! I don’t want this! I don’t know what to do! Have pity on me!”

And what does the Creator say? He says, “I hardened his heart because I wish to be revealed to you. I want you to see My greatness. I will become great through Pharaoh!” The Creator can be great in your eyes only under the condition that you are afraid of your ego, Pharaoh. You don’t know what to do with it and you are subjugated by it. Then, if the Creator can rescue you from this state, you will begin to respect and value His power and greatness. In this manner, we learn who the Creator is.

Pharaoh gives us the measure of the Creator’s greatness and power. For example, Pharaoh weighed you down with a weight of 20 lbs. and the Creator released you from it. Then you evaluate the Creator’s strength to be 20 lbs. directly against Pharaoh. After all, the Creator, the Light, has no form. Your desire (Kli) gives Him form. This is how you advance. Therefore, only such states are positive.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/10, The Zohar

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“The people of Israel will not return to their land until they are completely united.” The people of Israel are a group that Abraham once organized by selecting them from among the Babylonians. He wanted to correct the whole world but managed to gather just a few thousand people in this group.

However, the Torah does not speak about historical events, rather about internal states through which a person passes. The property of Abraham within us takes a part of our desires and leads them to a partial correction, and then to a shattering (a fall of the Temple, or descent from the spiritual level to exile).

Exiles are required in order for desires that have been in spirituality (Israel), to mix with the rest of desires that did not go through spiritual ascent and shattering (called “nations of the world”). After mixing together and becoming included in one another, all of them are prepared for corrections. In other words, everyone now has a part that has been in spirituality, and a part that hasn’t.

Those who went through the ascent and shattering must be the first to undergo corrections because they contain Reshimot (data about previous states). After this others will awaken. Everyone must come to understand that the “Israel” within, meaning the desires aspiring to the Creator, will not attain their land (Eretz) or corrected “desire (Ratzon) “straight to the Creator” (Isra-El), in which the Creator becomes revealed, until they all unite to become “as one man with one heart.”

This is the requirement Kabbalists tell us about. We must implement it in a small part of the soul inside each of us, as well as in a big part of the soul among all Kabbalah groups in the world, and in yet an even bigger part of the soul, which includes all of humanity. Thus, this necessary requirement begins to be realized starting from a very material level.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/6/10, “Inheritance of the Land”

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A question I received: If a person concludes that there’s no need for Kabbalah since he has a good job, a family, and everything is fine in this life, then how will that person reach spirituality?

My Answer: It means that the time hasn’t come yet. We disseminate the knowledge of Kabbalah for everyone, and anyone who needs it will use it. However, in order to aspire to spirituality, corporeal suffering is completely unnecessary. A person reveals spirituality only under the condition that it is the only thing one lacks.

The words “exile” and “freedom” differ only with the letter “Aleph,” which means “Ruler of the world;” a person only lacks the Creator and doesn’t take anything else into account. One could have endless possibilities in this world, but this has nothing to do with the desire to reveal the Creator. For example, I never had any material problems, yet the need to reveal spirituality gnawed away at me as though I had nothing at all in this life.

It’s written that Jews in Egypt built great cities of Pithom and Raamses. They had everything necessary on the material level, but they possessed nothing with which to revive their souls. Therefore, they cried out from that work since they couldn’t achieve spirituality.

Hence, the instrument for spiritual revelation is only the need to reveal the Creator so that a person would be governed by the quality of bestowal. If all that one lacks is bestowing to everyone, then such a person is ready for spiritual redemption. Redemption is when one is able to not think about himself, and to give to everyone else.

We’re approaching the Independence Day holiday in Israel and we need to know this. After all, we can only be independent from our egoism. A “free nation in its land” is freedom from our egoistic desire, which will be governed by the quality of bestowal. Only then we’ll be free.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/6/10, “Inheritance of the Land”

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Spirituality is the quality of bestowal that is revealed in the bond between souls. This is the only thing the Kabbalists write about, as there is nothing else. There is no other reality.

We exist in a universe and the space between us is filled entirely with bestowal. This whole system with all its internal connections is called “the Creator.” And every one of us who wants to uphold this system and observe its laws is called the “creation.”

Presently we are not creations, and we do not pertain to the Creator’s system. Indeed, a creation is one who desires to be connected with others. He wants to actualize the system just as it exists from the standpoint of nature, which is concealed from us.

We currently exist in this system and observe its laws 100% of the time though we are entirely unaware of this fact. Even now, we exist in a completely corrected state called “1,” which is a state before the descent into our world.

Everything is already working perfectly but only from the standpoint of the Creator. We have lost perception of this state and must now bring ourselves to consciousness: To desire to return there and reveal our true location and function. The return of this system to this previous state depends on our desire, preparedness, and efforts.

Then we will reveal the same state wherein we already exist, but this realization will enable us to feel it as state “3.” It will appear to us as clear, deep, and full of perfection. This state is 613 times greater than the original state. We only need to correctly understand this system and ourselves within it so as to begin the work of revealing our true state, our true life.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 4/2/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: Why does a person possess properties that make him think, understand and act differently?

My Answer: Otherwise we wouldn’t be independent. We have to include within ourselves two opposites, the Light and the darkness, and they have to co-exist within us. Otherwise, we won’t become similar to the Creator. We have to keep our “own” properties and at the same time be similar to the “Creator.”

The more we advance the bigger these two opposites become within us. They rise up like two monsters. In fact, they constitute two lines, two pillars that extend from Above, from the Creator, onto us.

All our confusions, worries, problems, hesitations, and fluctuations from side to side, from left to right are meant to outline our new shape using the desires to receive and to bestow. The contradiction between material and its shape will remain in place and will only grow larger. In the opposition of these two properties within ourselves, at the border which divides them, in the endless separation between them, is where we reveal all the secrets of creation.

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