The only thing created in the whole of creation was the desire to enjoy and nothing exists but this. The Light, the quality of bestowal, created this desire for pleasure as opposite to Itself. The Creator, the quality of bestowal, wants the creation, the desire to enjoy, to feel Him, to understand Him and to reach the state of perfection.

The perfect state is to be in equivalence to the Creator, to the Light, to the quality of bestowal. Therefore, after creating a desire to enjoy, the Creator left it neither empty, nor filled it in an unchangeable state, but rather embedded in it His quality, a desire to bestow. The Creator did not just give the feeling of pleasure or lack of it (suffering), but embedded in it His quality, so that there would also be the understanding of what receiving and giving mean.

The ability to discern bitter from sweet is called “feeling,” and the ability to differentiate between receiving and giving is called “mind.” Mind is also a feeling, a sensation that is inside the desire, but this already exists as “reason.”

It turns out that the desire was created to perceive:

• fulfillment or lack of fulfillment as sweet/bitter
• receiving or giving as false/true

Since the creation consists of two parts, the creation and the Creator, or the quality of creation and quality of the Creator, therefore the desire (the creation) permanently exists in the identity of this relationship to itself.

These two components build inside the desire four possible combinations (states) that the science of Kabbalah calls the “Four-letter Unpronounced Name of the Creator” (Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey). This matrix includes all revelations of the Creator within the creation, from the simplest to the most complex forms.

Each of the four increasingly advanced stages includes all preceding stages, growing out of each previous stage to the next one. It is in this manner that the desire to enjoy comes to its full development.

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A question I received: Baal HaSulam wrote that the spiritual worlds differ only with respect to their material. What does that mean? Is it because the same exact forms are imprinted into different material?

My Answer: Yes! We think that desires differ in size, that they can be big or small, but in reality, the desire only changes with respect to its essence or quality. Looking at the four phases of creation (the four phases of Direct Light), we see that desire develops not in size, but in quality.

We do not assess the size of desire according to its volume. We’re always looking at its quality, the extent to which it is similar to the Creator; this is why differentiates the level of Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida. The size and quality of a desire are actually inversely proportional. The higher a desire’s quality, the smaller its size, much like the shape of a pyramid.

There is a great quantity of ordinary materials, qualities and people in nature, while their premium counterparts are rare. In spirituality we focus on the quality of the object rather than its size, and on acceleration rather than speed. The size of a desire is determined by its quality, not its quantity. This raises the question: If a desire does not change quantitatively, then what makes it change qualitatively? The answer is that it’s because of the Upper Light that influences it from within!

What is the difference between a great desire and a small one? The only difference is the extent to which the desire is similar to the quality of bestowal. If I’ve grown over the course of a month, it means that I’ve become more bestowing, not larger in size. But we can also say the opposite: The more a person grows in spirituality, the less he “puffs up,” as it is written: “Wisdom is for the humble.”

Spiritual changes are exclusively qualitative, both with respect to objects and time categories. Qualities are determined exclusively by intention – “reception” or “bestowal.”

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The entire material of creation is desire created by the Creator, who also sends the Light that fulfills the desire. Man is the correct correlation between the Light and the desire, and since man’s actions most always come from desire, his actions are therefore determined by the Creator.

However, if we aspire to reach connection between us by helping each other, acting “against the Creator” who created this separation between us, it truly becomes our own action.

The quality which the creature acquires by this action is called “a soul.” This soul doesn’t initially exist in us, and the Creator cannot give us a soul. Rather, a soul is created by our desire to connect above our egoism.

All states descending from the World of Infinity to our world (the last stage) exist in us in the form of records, which can be realized only by our efforts towards unification. Our descent resulted in separation, and our ascension is the action of moving towards unification.

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A question I received: What changes between one spiritual world and another?

My Answer: The change happens in the desire or force that is in control, the value system relative to the Giver and how important He is. This determines everything.

The only thing that exists in the whole universe is the desire to enjoy, which can follow two principles: its personal benefit or the benefit of the Giver. It’s like in the example of the guest and the host, where the guest’s state is called Beria, Atzilut, Yetzira or Assiya depending on the guest’s reaction to the Host. For example:

• If he is in the World of Assiya, then he consumes the whole meal;
• If he is in the World of Yetzira, then he has doubts as to whether he should eat and how much should he eat;
• If he is in the World of Beria, then he makes a calculation and knows that he won’t make a mistake; he will be able to show the Host that he gives Him pleasure;
• If he is in the World of Atzilut, then he consumes everything like in the World of Assiya, but he is sure that he does this only for the sake of the Host! After all, they have united with one another until there are no differences between them.

And all of this is talking about a person’s inner state.

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A question I received: What is the goal of creation, and where are we on the spiritual ladder leading to this goal?

My Answer: The goal of creation is to reach adhesion with the Creator. Kabbalah uses various techniques in order to express the essence of categories and qualities of a concealed world that the reader does not perceive.

In order to discern the difference between the Creator and the creation, we say that the Creator is “above” and creation is “below” with regard to the importance of their qualities. We then measure the distance or height between them, although it is not a physical distance, but a difference of qualities, the degree of man’s separation from the absolute Creator.

If a person does not have even one desire that is similar to the Creator (the quality of bestowal), then he hasn’t reached even the first degree of the ladder between him and the Creator. If he has made at least a minimal portion of his desires similar to the Creator, then he ascends to the first degree. If he is able to use a greater portion of his desires for the sake of bestowal, then he ascends to the second level.

These “portions” are set for us from the beginning. They are precise and always differ from one another by ten Sefirot. Each time, I receive a strictly defined addition of desire, and by correcting my intention from reception to bestowal, I ascend.

Eventually I will have to make the entire desire that was created in me similar to the Creator. However, this desire is presently concealed from me and becomes revealed to the degree that I am able to use it for the sake of bestowal. This is why the entire universe is divided into three worlds:

• This world, which I perceive just like everyone else, even within the desire “for my own sake”;
• The world that is concealed from me, which is a desire that I am still unable to use for the sake of bestowal, and that is why that world does not become revealed to me;
• The Upper World that is revealed to me, which is a desire that I am able to use for the sake of bestowal, and that is why I perceive the Creator within my equivalence of form with Him.

Everything takes place inside the one, common desire that was created by the Creator. There is nothing in existence besides this desire. Everything that is concealed and revealed constitutes one created desire. Therefore, that which is concealed from me today will become revealed to me tomorrow. And thus, one more part of reality will shift from being concealed to revealed.

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It is written that the entrance and exit of the Light in and out of the desire creates in the desire a recognition of the Light and Its Source. So how many times does the Light have to enter and exit my desire in order for me to start being conscious of myself, my state and my actions? And where is the beginning of my own desire, discernment, freedom of will and intention?

The Light’s entrance and exit, and Its interchanging influences create a desire (Kli, vessel). The desire become more and more complex due to the various influences of the Light, and gradually starts to understand its own state. It begins to make its own decisions independently of the Light regarding how to desire It and how to aspire for It.

Spiritual life is evaluated by the frequency of the Light’s entrance and exit in and out of the desire. It depends on the frequency with which a person evokes these actions, as well as how he tolerates and uses them.

This is similar to our material life, where the rate of things always increases. With the development of technology, the clock rates used by computing devices increased from Hertz to Megahertz and to Gigahertz, and the frequency spectrum of communication devices rose from radio waves to microwaves and to optical laser frequencies.

In spirituality, a person is like a device that is measured by the frequency of his movement, his “start – stop” intervals, or the Light’s entrance and exit in and out of his desire. The more a person advances, the happier he is about the changes taking place within him and the more he knows how to use and control them.

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A question I received: Why do we need the material world and corporeal bodies if the spiritual desire (Kli) is not inside the body?

My Answer: What other reality would you live in before entering the spiritual world? Precisely this illusory reality gives you freedom of will. This imaginary reality is extremely important because every time we fall, we ascend into spirituality precisely from within this reality. We enter spirituality “from nothingness,” similar to “Yesh Mi Ain,” a new creation.

Spirituality (or a connection with the Creator) has to be entered from outside, from “nothing.” Man is the only animal that is not governed completely by Nature. Nature allows man to make mistakes and leaves an “empty space” inside him, giving him freedom in order to enter the spiritual world “from nothing,” or from a negative state.

If we were completely governed by nature, then we would not have any questions. Everything would be predetermined ahead of time. But because we have been granted a certain degree of freedom, it makes us aspire to and be able to feel the beginning of the spiritual desire (Kli), which is opposite to ourselves.

If we were completely controlled by our egoistic nature, then we would never be able to feel the nature of bestowal. But since egoism’s control over us leaves us this empty space, by feeling it and not understanding ourselves, at that moment we begin to feel the beginning of the altruistic nature. That is how one enters that nature as “something out of nothing.”

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A question I received: How can the desire to receive take on the form of bestowal?

My Answer: In my desire to receive, I can only receive and am not able to give anything to anyone. I am not the source of delight or the Light, as it is only the Creator who bestows since He does have the Light.  However, by receiving from the One who loves me in order to please Him, I become a giver! The action of receiving doesn’t change, since I, as a created being, can only receive. I am only adding a correct intention to my pleasure and it therefore allows me to fill another with delight.

However, the bonds of mutual love help me to convert the pleasure of reception into the means to bestow to someone else.  This is just as a guest helps himself to a meal in order to please the host. The desire of another becomes primary for me, as I am then receiving pleasure in order to please him.

This is what Kabbalah teaches us; how to receive in order to become a giver.

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A question I received: Is there one prayer or several types of prayers?

My Answer: A prayer is a desire you raise in order to be corrected. You raise it to the Upper Level or Partzuf, the Creator, requesting and demanding correction.

The number of requests for correction you raise determines the number of different prayers. There’s a specific number of prayers depending on the states a person goes through on each degree.

That’s why Kabbalists were able to compile a prayer book for us, called “Sidur,” meaning “Order,” (for example, the way things are ordered or organized in a statute). There they described the precise order of ascent from this world to the World of Infinity, as well as all the intermediary states.

It’s a book of instructions. When you read the prayers in it one after another, they reflect the order in which you have to address the Upper Level in order to correct yourself. Any transformation can happen only under the influence of the Upper Level.

There is a special order for each day (for each Sefira or degree) , and if you want to go through a spiritual “day,” then this book tells you the order in which you have to raise your desires for correction.

If you correct yourself over the six “days” (degrees), then you will go on to different prayers (corrections), called the prayers of Shabbat, and then to other special states (days, Moadim) and holidays.

There are many states, and each one has a corresponding prayer, meaning ascension of a desire to its correction. It’s because there’s a change in your state of adhesion to the Creator. The prayers never stop in the spiritual work.

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In the material world, a mother knows when it’s time to feed her baby. But when it comes to our spiritual ascent, a baby (a person who is in the initial stages of becoming a Kabbalist) has to ask the mother for food himself. He has to know how to turn to the Upper Level in order for It to raise him up to It and fill him with Light.

Everything happens according to the lower one’s (the person’s) desire to become similar to the Upper One (the Creator). In the spiritual world, all actions take place either according to Reshimot (informational records which determine one’s state), which are realized in us without our choice, or by us adding our desires for correction to the Reshimot. That is to say, we can add our own prayer or plea for correction.

We don’t have to ask for this artificially. That won’t help. If one’s desire is ripe, then it will elicit the influence of the Light of Correction upon it.

The Upper Partzuf (the Creator) is in the state of absolute rest and never changes. Only our inner Reshimot (the data about our state) undergo changes. This is why we feel that we exist in a changing world, but actually, it is changing inside us relative to an unchanging background – the White Light, the Creator.

Reshimot that awaken in us without our participation do not advance us in the spiritual world. We simply tread in one place, until repeated suffering makes us smarter and forces us to look for spiritual development. Our problems are caused by Reshimot that unravel naturally.

However, if you join a society that engages in spiritual development, then you will receive Reshimot from it, which come from your connection with other souls. You will receive these Reshimot by virtue of your own efforts, and they are the Reshimot that you have to correct in order to reveal the Upper World. How? By raising them through your prayer for correction.

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