A question I received: Baal HaSulam writes in his article “The Last Generation” that altruistic deeds will lead to a better society only if they are made “for the sake of the Creator.” Please give an example of an altruistic deed and explain how one must aim his thoughts, or what image one must have in mind, in order for his deeds and intentions to be for the sake of the Creator. Your explanation will be important for work I am doing with a group of children.

My Answer: In order to really attain the intention of bestowal, of “not for oneself,” to come out of ourselves and have goals that serve others, we need a field in which to work, a place and model that we can use for correcting ourselves. We have to become similar to the Creator even though He is concealed from us. That is to say, the Creator cannot be that model because He is concealed from us. However, He broke the only creation He made, the soul, into many pieces – particular souls. Within each of these parts, He created a perception of self, its “I,” and of others opposite to it. This is our egoism.

When we unite, and when each of us fights his own egoism within, we will then be able to see whether we are attaining spirituality – the quality of mutual bestowal and love. Then we will discover that we cannot attain it and will turn to the Creator. We will discover Him and His readiness to correct our desires, provided that we are mutually responsible for one another and support each other in this regard – and if we turn to him precisely through this force of “Mutual Guarantee.”

Baal HaSulam writes that in our times, this is the necessary condition for entering the Upper World or the quality of bestowal. Hence, all altruistic deeds can only take place inside the group or virtual society, among friends who desire to attain mutual aspiration and support – the mutual guarantee.

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A question I received: By disseminating Kabbalah you ascended spiritually and enabled Rabash to ascend even higher. This is why during his life Rabash did everything to make sure that you would continue to disseminate Kabbalah once he is gone – this was the purpose of his life. Before his death Rabash instructed you to continue disseminating Kabbalah. Does your dissemination of Kabbalah today play any role in Rabash’s afterlife?

My Answer: All the souls are absolutely interconnected. Even in our world studies already reveal that every one of us knows everyone else through a sixth acquaintance. Baal HaSulam explains that all the souls in our world go through correction over the course of 6,000 years, in the form of one Partzuf:

• At first, during the first 2,000 years, the world, common soul, Kelim Chabad are corrected with the Light of Nefesh;
• Next, over the second 2,000 years, the world, the common soul, Kelim Hagat are corrected with the Light of Ruach;
• Finally, over the last 2,000 years (and we are living at the end of this period), the world, the common soul, Kelim NHY are corrected with the Light of Neshama.

By correcting ourselves we receive the smallest Light – Nefesh, but due to our correction in the first souls (the forefathers, the great Kabbalists of the past), our corrections reveal the greatest Light – Neshama. The Kabbalists of the past prepared all the conditions for our correction, but it is we who correct the broken (devoid of a screen, of the intention “for the sake of bestowal”) and the mixed (Bina and Malchut) Kelim (desires). Hence, we and our actions are the most important in the process of creation’s development. We raise the entire universe up to the Creator!

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Three questions I received on sharing one’s personal attainments, staying connected with the Creator on every new level, and overcoming disgust of Kabbalah:

Question: Why is it harmful to share your personal attainments with others? And if so, what is meant by “attainment” in this case? Is the prohibition only on sharing one’s “communication” with the Creator, or are there other forbidden topics? Is it harmful for people to share their experience of going through different states, such as how they came out of descents, and their relationships with the environment? I feel that other people’s experience really helps me, and enables me to discover new perspectives on how to do inner work in Kabbalah.

My Answer: You cannot bring your personal relationship with the Creator outside of you. The Creator is envious! This can be compared to a situation where you love someone, or your intimate relationships, or how much money you have in the bank, and so on. There are things that you don’t want to share with everyone.

In Kabbalah, there are several reasons for the prohibition:

• One does not speak with anyone about the things he holds most dear;
• Any person can harm your spiritual path with his thoughts and desires, even unintentionally;
• Corrections are done through the intention, not through words.

Question: On every new level, what can help me stay connected with the Creator, and perform a correct analysis of my thoughts and desires, considering that everything starts from zero on every new level?

My Answer: The only thing that can help is a framework that you set ahead of time:

• systematic studies for 1-3 hours a day;
• dissemination for 1+ hours a day; and
• attending a gathering of friends once a week together with other people who are physically near you.

Question: Over the last week or two, I feel disgusted during the morning lessons. But I also feel an inner urge to persist in studying and coming to the morning lessons. This also happens in relation to the friends in the group. How should I deal with this situation?

My Answer: You should overcome yourself, but without breaking or forcing yourself – only by raising the importance of the goal, “The Attainment of the Creator.” You should see all the disturbances as a mountain that you have to climb in order to reach the goal, the Creator.

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Shamati #79: “Atzilut in BYA”

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When it comes to being persistent, the men have something to learn from the women. Women never cease asking – how can they be equal to men? The sensation of inferiority subconsciously weighs down on them. It comes from the “Creator’s curse” described in the Torah. Hence, it is present in every woman and she feels it in everything.

In spiritual work, our desires are “the woman within us,” whereas the intentions of bestowal that we have to acquire over these desires are “the men within us.” Our “inner women” have to desire to acquire their “inner men,” to unite with them and give birth to sons – the corrected souls filled with Light!

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A question I received: When I started studying Kabbalah, I was fascinated and dedicated, and everything was all right. I had downs and ups, but after a down there was always an up. The problem is that some time ago I started feeling depressed all the time. I can`t stand my reality, I feel sick, I am moaning all the time, and I can’t reach balance. I’m still trying to study with my virtual group, but because of my work, I can’t watch morning lessons. I also feel that my intention is worth nothing now. I don’t even know where it is. I feel confused and weak. Also the people around me keep telling me that I have changed, that I’m aggressive and nervous, and that I am thinking only about myself. And I feel that this is true, but I can’t change my behavior.

Is all of this natural for a person studying Kabbalah or I am doing something wrong? What can I do to pass this and be better for everybody around me and for myself, because I feel that I hate myself as well?

My Answer: We all go through states like this. Kabbalah compresses all of your future states for many years ahead, leading you through them over a shorter period of time. Hence, it isn’t easy to live through this period. Everything inside you changes suddenly and drastically. You get thrown from Light into darkness, from joy into depression, and so on.

The only thing that will help is to lower your head. In other words, regardless of your thoughts and desires (your mind and heart, and the sensations in them), cling to the group as the only source of salvation in this world given to you by the Creator. Organize systematic, daily studies for yourself, and spend all your free time participating in dissemination. Accept the fact that this life was given to you in order to come out of it and enter the Upper Life.

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Shamati #50: “Two States”

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The Book of Zohar. Chapter “Among All the Sages of the Nations of the World, There Are None Like You” (abridged)

161. Rabbi Elazar said, “It is written: ‘Who would not fear the King of the nations of the world!’ What kind of praise is this?” Rabbi Shimon replied: “This has been said, but one should not understand the verse, ‘For among all the sages of the nations of the world, and in all their kingdoms, there are none like You,’ in its simple, literal interpretation. This is because it naturally gives rise to evil intentions of sinners. Therefore, their folly must be clarified.

A philosopher came to me and said, “You say that your Creator governs the entire Heavens, and that all the Heavenly hosts are unable to attain Him, nor come to know His dwelling place. However, this does not add to His greatness, as it is written, ‘among all the sages of the nations of the world, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.’ What kind of a comparison is this when the Creator is compared to man, who is nothing?’”

162. Furthermore, you claim, as your Torah says, that “There had not risen a prophet since in Israel like Moshe.” There are none in Israel, but there is one among the nations of the world! So I claim the same: there is none like You among all the sages of the nations of the world, but among the sages of Israel there is one like You. However, if there is one like Him among the sages of Israel, then He cannot be the Supreme Ruler.

163. Rabbi Shimon said to him, “You object correctly that there are those among the sages of Israel who are similar to the Creator. For the Creator resurrects the dead back to life, yet Eliyahu and Elisha came and resurrected the dead back to life! The Creator causes rains to fall, yet Eliyahu came and abolished rains! The Creator created the Heavens and the earth, yet for Avraham the Heavens and the earth were revived.”

164. “The Creator governs the sun, yet Yehoshua came and stopped it. The Creator issues His decree, yet Moshe immediately issues a decree of his own, and it is carried out. The Creator wishes to punish, and the righteous of Israel annul His verdict. Moreover, He bid us to closely follow His ways and to be like Him in every way.” The philosopher then went and became Israel, and lived in the village of Shachalayim, and they called him Yosi HaKatan (Little Yosi). He studied the Torah a great deal, and was among the sages and the righteous of that village.

165. And now the time has come to take a closer look at this verse (to understand the inner essence of it). It is written that all the nations of the world are nothing before the Creator. Yet, how does this exalt Him? Hence, it is written: “Who sees the King of the nations of the world?” Yet, is the King of the nations of the world also not the King of Israel? The Creator wishes to elevate Israel (the property of love and bestowal toward others, similarity to Himself); this is why He is called everywhere “the King of Israel” (in accordance with man’s intention towards the Creator: Israel = Isra-El = straight to the Creator). The other nations of the world (egoistic intentions) say (about man) that they have another King up in the Heavens (egoistic goals), for it seems to them that He governs only them, and not us (they claim that the governance over the property of reception and the property of bestowal, seeing as they are opposite, does not descend from a single Upper Force).

166. It is written: “Who would not fear the King of the nations of the world?” That is, their Supernal King is there to threaten and persecute them, and do with them as He pleases (so strictly does the Creator manifest in egoistic desires). Hence, He should be feared. And all fear Him, Above and below. For it is written that among all the sages of the nations of the world (the angels that rule over these nations) and in their Kingdoms (Above) there is none like You. There are four Kingdoms Above that rule over all the nations of the world (the universal egoism, so as to bring it to correction) according to the Creator’s will. And there is no one who can do even the smallest action without His personal instruction (because the end goal determines every action). The sages of the nations of the world are the forces that rule them from Above, and all the wisdom of the nations of the world comes from these rulers. “In all their Kingdoms” means that the Creator’s will rules over them.

167. Yet, among all the sages of the nations of the world and in all their kingdoms, who among them can do it if not You, who will do it better than You! For You excel over them all in both properties and deeds. Hence, it is written: “There is none like You.”

168. Rabbi Shimon (joyous over the revelation that everything stems from the Creator) said to his friends: “This wedding (unification of souls with the Creator) must be a wedding for all of you, and each of you should bring a gift (his own part in the common Malchut) to the Bride.” He said to Rabbi Elazar, his son: “Present the Bride (Malchut) with a gift, for on the following day Zeir Anpin will look as he enters the wedding canopy (the common Screen with Ohr Hozer) at the sound of these songs and praises of the sons of the wedding canopy (the souls exiting exile into adhesion), who stand before the Creator.”

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A question I received: Originally Adam had only one woman, Eve. Will we return to monogamy when corrected? Or will we not care when we are corrected?

My Answer: Sexual union in our world comes from the spiritual union between the Upper Light and the soul, called “Zivug de Hakaa” by means of a screen. In this spiritual union between the soul and the Creator (the Kli and the Light), the Creator or the Light is the male part which bestows, and the soul or Kli is the female part which receives. In the process of correction the soul (Kli) acquires the property of bestowal, and then it is ready to accept the Light in order to satisfy the Creator’s (the Light’s) desire “to bestow.”

The process of union (merging, Zivug – spiritual coupling) happens in the common desires of both “to fulfill the other with pleasure,” to feel pleasure only to the extent that will give pleasure to the other partner. Hence, what happens is a constant comparison of common desires and intentions (in the Rosh of the Partzuf, before reception inside its Toch), which becomes expressed in our physiology as the movements of sexual intercourse, preceding the outpouring of the Light of Hochma (Ohr Pnimi, semen) into the soul (into the Kli, from the Rosh into the Toch of the Partzuf).

These alternating and progressive mutual movements are meant to create a complete desire in each spiritual partner, by way of interrupting and resuming contact. This creates the possibility of wholesome pleasure: when this level is attained, the Light passes from Peh to Toch – the pleasure enters the desire, as written in the Torah: “As an arrow hits the desired target at the desired time, in the desired woman, and in the desired place.”

Thus, when one’s soul attains full correction, one views sex as the physiological expression of the spiritual connection. And if there is no spiritual connection, then there is no incentive or reason for a bodily connection.

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A question I received: I read that Rabbi Nachman said the following about a Mikveh (ritual immersion): “When a man immerses in a Mikveh (a basin filled with rain or spring water, or in an ocean or river), his enemies are destroyed, and all his troubles and disturbances disappear, which prevented him from serving the Creator.” Is this talking about a combination of a Kabbalist’s inner work with the corresponding mechanical actions of his biological body?

My Answer: It means the following: “When a man immerses all his desires into the property of bestowal, then all his egoistic intentions disappear and nothing prevents him from being similar to the Creator.” There is no need for any physical actions of the body, because when a Kabbalist’s body dies, his soul still continues to feel its existence through similarity to the Creator.

The soul exists outside of the body, independently of it. It does not incarnate into the body, and it cannot be affected by any physical actions performed with the body. The soul is a part of the Creator from above, whereas the body is a form of existence of protein matter.

Everything that Judaism advises one to do with the body is a tradition, a framework that helps one remain externally similar to the Upper World. But unfortunately, today – when it’s necessary to come out of the spiritual exile, the same framework that helped the Jewish people survive through the exile is holding them back from the correction they must perform today.

It is written, “As the Mikveh purifies the impure, the Creator purifies Israel.” Immerse into the Creator, the property of Bina, the waters of bestowal and mercy – and you will become pure!

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Shamati #79: “Atzilut and Bya”

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A question I received: I would really appreciate it if you would explain the following quote from Baal HaSulam’s article, “The Freedom”:

“Whereas if there is no such spark in man, but all the sparks of his essence are dressed in bestowal of contentment to their maker, then it is neither absent nor dead. For even when the body nullifies, it only nullifies from the aspect of reception for self gratification, in which the will to receive is dressed, and has no right to exist but through it.”

I don’t understand – how is it possible that when this body dies (which you said is perceived as changing one’s shirt), the desire to bestow does not die with it? When I die, then even if I will still have the desire to bestow, I won’t be able to bestow anymore – I won’t be able to realize my desire!

Or suppose that instead of dying, I survived a car accident or a serious disease, but I lost my limbs and had brain damage; then even though I am still alive, I will not be able to bestow! Without a body you can’t bestow to your friends or participate in dissemination. So how does one’s desire continue to exist and be realized if the body no longer exists?

My Answer: Here’s an explanation of Baal HaSulam’s quote that you cited: “Whereas if there is no such spark in man, but all the sparks of his essence are dressed in bestowal of contentment to their maker, then it is neither absent nor dead. For even when the body (egoism) nullifies, it only nullifies from the aspect of reception (the desire) for self gratification, in which the will to receive is dressed, and has no right to exist but through it.”

The desires remain. What changes is their intention or “clothing.” We live inside these desires, and we also perceive our body, or its presence, inside a certain desire, which becomes revealed in our “I” for a period of time (our life), and then decreases and disappears. This is what gives us the feeling of life and the gradual death of the body.

Read the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar ” and you’ll see what Kabbalah means when it says:

• The death of the body – the death of the egoistic intention
• The revival of a body – the birth of the altruistic intention

We only perceive our animate body until we correct our entire soul; that is to say, until we correct all our desires from “for myself” to “for others, for the Creator.” Then the perception of the body will disappear, because the desire in which we perceive this body will be corrected into bestowal, and it will become eternal because it helped us correct all the other desires.

Take this as a foundation: There is only the Light and the desire, and you feel everything (this world or the world to come) inside the desire. Everything depends on the desires – their size, quality, and similarity to the Light.

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Questions I received on women’s spiritual advancement:

Question: Dear Rav, I have a practical question. How do a woman’s Reshimot differ from a man’s? Or is it more that she endures the states of her man in the Hisaron (lack)?

My Answer: A woman is the desire, and a man is the correction of the desire, the intention of bestowal. In our world, a woman waits for a man to do something, such as to marry her, and her part in this is relatively passive.

This comes from the spiritual roots: When the soul acquires the intention of bestowal, it is called a man, whereas a soul that’s unable to bestow is called a woman. The parts of the Kli or soul are also called male and female for the same reason.

So, without paying attention to your gender in this world, start being a man – that is, actively participate in your private correction and humanity’s common correction! Otherwise, regardless of your gender in this world, you are a woman.

On the other hand, a woman’s desire is very strong and steady. Hence, one has to be a strong woman on the inside (have a strong desire), and a strong man on the outside (have a strong intention).

“A woman never has enough clothes” – this reflects the soul’s correct desire for correction, an aspiration for beautiful clothing – the Light of Hassadim, which reveals the woman’s (the desire’s) beauty. In other words, the Light of Hochma is revealed in the Light of Hassadim.

Question: What should a woman do when she studies Kabbalah together with her husband?

My Answer: Study separately just like everyone else, and study together with your husband for at least fifteen minutes a day.

Question: How should a woman act toward the other men in the group?

My Answer: The group bears no relation to her!

Question: What should she do to help the group advance?

My Answer: Help disseminate in every way possible together with other women, and study.

Question: What should a woman’s attitude be to the men’s and women’s Kli in the group?

My Answer: All the women together are helping the men and studying – whether on their own, together, or with their husbands. Women don’t have a group, but they unite in order to combine their efforts in dissemination, to help one another, and to study. In other words, they can unite in every way other than to implement the principle “love thy neighbor” among them.

Question: Recently I heard that women should not watch the second part of the morning lesson (the Talmud Eser Sefirot) in real time, because there is a chance that their female essence may change.

My Answer: Nonsense. A woman does not have to study Talmud Eser Sefirot, but she’s not forbidden from doing it!

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