A question I received: What is “mutual guarantee”?

My Answer: Yesterday during the Lesson for Children I gave the following example: Every person possesses a very small egoistic force. We can’t reach the spiritual world with it because spirituality entails total bestowal. The spiritual world exists one degree above our world, which means that we have to be stronger by one degree than we currently are.

How can we transform a small, egoistic force into a big, bestowing one? By uniting! We have to unite in the form of a mutual guarantee, that is, to unite overriding all the borders. How?

Suppose there are 50 people, of varying stature. If everybody incorporates himself or herself into the smallest one, he becomes a giant, his height reaching 60 feet and weight 2000 pounds. And what will happen if everyone joins the biggest one, who is taller than everybody else? The result will be the same: There will a 60 foot, 2000 pound giant. In other words, there are no small or big ones in mutual interconnection; rather, everyone becomes equal.

In that case, when will they enter the spiritual world? If they are incorporated into each other, they will do it together. This is what is called “mutual guarantee.”

This is how we should relate to our common spiritual vessel (the soul, Kli). There is no difference between the souls that comprise it, neither in their “height” nor in their “weight.” If new students connect to us, they become worthy of receiving everything that we achieve. Such is a special, miraculous force that mutual guarantee contains.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: What does “triggering the soul of a righteous“ (Ibur Neshmat Tzadik) mean?

My Answer: This means that a person who wishes to reach a goal and seeks how to accomplish this suddenly feels that he is being helped and supported. He feels a higher soul  clothing in him like NHY de Ima clothes in Zeir Anpin. It is like in our world when a baby is born, there are always grown up relatives around him, those who love and sustain him.They take responsibility for him. And the child reciprocates with his love and loyalty.

Thereby, the law “I Was Borrowed On, and I Repay” is fulfilled. This means the person accepts their assistance and caring and then compensates or pays – not directly to them, but to the other souls. This is how the cycle is completed. Similarly in our world, a baby is born and his parents take care of him, and when the parents get old, the child, now grown up himself, looks after them and his own young children too, thus linking all generations with the previous and the following levels.

Only this arrangement of linking all the levels gives us an opportunity to ascend. Actually, it is impossible to ascend from step to step without the external help. Every time I ascend to a new spiritual step, I am reborn. To ascend, I need assistance from the group (through mutual guarantee), from the Creator (who works on us through the group), and from the special souls (our teachers and helpers).

It doesn’t matter whether they are in our world or are helping us from the system of souls. We receive help from all the Kabbalists who corrected themselves. Their corrected souls have already reached the common system of Adam HaRishon in the World of Infinity, and they are helping us. Thus we ascend. This system of help is called the shepherd of the mules; it is the common soul (the collective help) helping to correct our “donkey” (our matter).

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 6/2/10, Article, “Which Degree Should One Achieve”

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A question I received: What are the three lines?

My Answer: The left line is the uncorrected desire that must first be restricted (Tzimtzum Aleph). The right line is the force of bestowal, the force of Light. And the middle line is the result of the work of combining them, connecting the two lines.

Our entire work lies in the middle line, and all of Kabbalah’s materials speak of this. The right and left lines are given to us from Above, from nature or the Creator. If we don’t work in the middle line, we remain as animals, acting by compulsion of these two reins: the right and the left lines. However, when we receive the first spark from the middle line, called the point in the heart, it is an opportunity, an invitation, to gain control over our lives, and to stop moving like a horse, maneuvered by two reins from above.

We need to assume these reins and to become “human.” The point in the heart is the beginning of the human within us that will rein his animal, and move toward similarity to the Creator. The spiritual work consists solely of driving oneself, from within the point in the heart, toward merging with everybody else.

Then we relate to all our qualities as conditions given us from Above. We no longer identify ourselves either with our body and its inherent qualities, or with the Light, given to us to correct this body. That is, we relate to these two lines, the right and the left, as perfection created by the Creator, as an invitation extended from Him to begin to build ourselves.

I no longer worry, rejoice, or get distressed over the left or the right lines, instead I relate to the states given to me as an opportunity to properly combine these two lines and move forward, driving my animal and aiming it straight to the goal.

At every moment my animal throws itself this way or that, in a direction unknown to me. And I have to imagine the goal to myself: the Creator, merging with Him, and being equal to Him in properties as much as I can imagine it to myself. I have to try see my environment as a perfect, balanced system, linked and interconnected with all parts equal and in mutual guarantee, so as to be filled by the Upper Light.

Having clarified the goal, I have to correct my animal, so as to guide it in the proper direction via the two reins. This work does not stop for even a second. Every time I imagine the spiritual goal more clearly and in greater detail, and, accordingly, in greater confusion, for light is known only from darkness. I have to always strive toward this goal, that is, to plant myself in the general system as its inseparable component.

Therefore, when I read The Zohar I need to act like a car driver, pushing the gas pedal, watching the road, steering the wheel, and feeling the brakes, all at the same time.
Similarly, when I listen to what The Zohar speaks of, I want to imagine all of it before me. As though being on a tour, I try to move along with The Zohar and participate in it.

In other words, I want to know what it is that I study, to connect to this material, to be in this process. To know is to merge, as it is written: “And Adam knew Eve (his corrected desire).”

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/1/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: The chapter we’re reading in The Zohar is called "Command" (Tetzaveh). What does "command" mean in spirituality?

My Answer: This refers to the command that has been assigned to us. To join the work of the Creator, we first have to try to recognize our desire and the reason for our creation. We need to feel our state as being opposite to the Creator in order to become "creatures."

However, this isn’t enough. This is just the first recognition of one’s nature. After that, a person has to try to become similar to the Creator. Then, he’ll discover he’s incapable of doing so. When he nevertheless presses forward and strives to reach the next level of recognizing himself, he discovers that he has no desire to become similar to the Creator. Besides being opposite to the Creator and unable to become similar to Him, he doesn’t even want it.

Yet, while undergoing this process, each time a person raises the significance of the Creator, the importance of the goal, and sees his own state as low and insignificant, he continues to search until he finally realizes that there is a system of connection between the souls, and from it, he can receive additional strength. Then, he indeed will desire and be able to reveal all his opposition to the Creator, his lack of the desire, and the opportunity to become similar to Him. Along with it, he will feel a pressing need for correction, for attainment of bestowal for the Creator, which will exceed many times the one he could have reached by himself.

Then, equipped with this "heavy ammunition" which he obtained through the power of the group with the property of the mutual guarantee (within which the Creator exists as a guarantor and supports all this system), a person comes and appeals to Him. He now has something to appeal with. Before this, he couldn’t make a correct appeal.

This is the way a person reaches the influence of the Light that Reforms. He has realized his free choice and has come to the state in which the Creator grants him the strength. Then, within that Light, he begins to see what he needs to correct, as it is written, "In Your Light we will see the Light." A person begins to see the Creator’s command: to correct all his 613 uncorrected properties, one by one.

Now one understands how each property, force, and desire is corrupted, how it can be corrected, what he gains by this correction,and how he influences the entire common system.  Through the common system, the Creator is revealed. Thus, he gradually goes through the entire process of the Torah and commandments. He corrects all his desires by the intention to bestow for the sake of bestowal and even by the intention to receive for the sake of bestowal, which is not for the sake of pleasure, but rather, for the sake of the Upper One.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 5/31/10

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We exist in a system called the only creation, Soul, or Adam. This system was created by the Creator. We are connected within it by permanent ties like the organs are in a body. Our mutual connection is filled with the life of this system: Light. The system is called the World of Infinity because everything in it is boundless and perfect.

In the World of Infinity, all of its parts are bound by love and filled with Infinite Light. However, the Creator covers this infinite world with reductive filters, one after another, as if spoiling everything. It is similar to drawing a beautiful picture and then placing a dirty, plastic film over it which mars the view of the picture. Then, with additional, successive layers, through 125 layers of plastic wrap, the original picture looks even dirtier. These are the 125 layers of reducing the properties of bestowal and love that connect us in the system of the World of Infinity.

We are located in the outermost layer and don’t perceive the preceding ones at all. Thus, within our layer, the system of connection is completely ruined. Instead of feeling love that binds us in the World of Infinity, we hate each other, don’t perceive our mutual connection, and are separated, divided, and broken. From this lowest state, the Creator wishes to bring us back to the very first, which is illuminated and good, so that through all these layers, filters, and worlds (“world” in Hebrew is Olam, concealment) we return to Infinity.

Therefore, the Creator calls and awakens us. Previously, He developed us through egoism so that we could understand and feel more, and manage our lives better. However, when we reach a certain maturity, the Creator begins to advance us qualitatively. It isn’t enough for us to evolve by increasing our egoism anymore. Now we have to become similar to the Creator in our attributes, to receive an equivalent type and form of desire, and not just cultivating it as during our previous history. This is why our current state of development is so special.

By making an effort to align ourselves with the innermost layer, by becoming strongly connected to each other, we draw the Light of the Creator, which shines on us from afar as the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif). We become corrected in it in order for love and bestowal to reign among us.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/28/10, Shamati #16

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Arvut (mutual guarantee) takes force when I swear that from now on my part in all others will always be fulfilled. It seems rather simple, but for me to achieve this I need to spiritually adhere to everyone and sense their desires. Since we are connected in our souls, I have to discover where my part lies inside the desire of the other and he certainly must receive something through my soul, like it works in a common physical body.

Where then is that hollow area which I have to fill according to the system that exists in the World of Infinity? I have to take care of it, and so must each of us with regard to the others. There is no soul where I don’t have a part and need to fill the space. Nobody can fill it except me; it’s a special space, a unique range, which only I can fill. And I assume responsibility for it, just let me do it!

I don’t need anything but that. Like a mother who takes care of her baby who desires one thing only: an opportunity to provide care. Try telling a mother to pass her child to someone else. Even if she is a queen and has numerous attendants who would be happy to assist her, she still enjoys feeding her offspring. She receives pleasure from doing it herself. We too have to perceive our bestowal onto others as pleasure.

Thanks to our bonding with each other, within each soul there is a space that I must fill. My soul contains 7 billion parts; outside of it, there are an additional 7 billion souls, and in each one of them I have to fill my space (as do each of us). From my point in the heart, I fill in my parts in all other souls, and each of them has to fill his part within me.

This is called the mutual penetration of souls. Each has a root from which one acts. And all other desires in me except the root are foreign. They are present in me only because I contain them all.

Originally, I am just a point. I need the others to give me fulfillment in all these desires and only then will I live! As for me, I have to use these desires to understand the others and repair the hole in them that only I can fill. When I plug these other desires into me, I see their needs and fill them from my point in the heart. You feel me through my desire plugged into you, and you fill in your space within me from your point in the heart. This is called Arvut. There isn’t any other opportunity for all of us to be fulfilled. It is the only way.

From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/18/10, Article “Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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Baal HaSulam writes in the article “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” that all those who aspire to the Creator are one nation where everyone is responsible for one another. This is called mutual guarantee. The Torah (the Light of Correction) was given to this nation only after every person was asked: Do you agree to carry out the commandment of love for the neighbor?  “Love your neighbor as yourself” means to take care of others no less than our nature forces us to take care of ourselves. This is the condition that enables us to draw the Light of Correction upon us. The Light will come and correct our spiritual vessel only if we reveal that we want to unite in this way.

Mutual guarantee is when, having ascended above our own desire, we already comprise one unified body, one organism, and we all depend on each other. To do this, every person must have an anti-egoistic screen and be in the spiritual world on the level of bestowal (Hafetz Hesed), while also treating his material life as a necessary component for his spiritual life.

Operating in mutual guarantee, every person fulfills another and understands that he has to be connected with the others. His entire life takes place for the sake of this, like it happens with the cells within one’s body. Every cell and organ of the body lives in order to carry out its function in relation to the common organism. The meaning of its life is love and bestowal. When we perceive this connection among us, this is called spiritual life.

If we desire to unite in this way, then we will receive the force to carry this out!

From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/18/10, Article “Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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When we read The Zohar, we should expect salvation. Baal HaSulam writes in the “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 155:  “Indeed, there is a great and marvelous quality concealed in Kabbalistic books, worthy of being publicized.” In other words, by studying The Zohar we can unite with the Source, the Creator, Who exists in other dimensions.

We exist in our dimension, in separation from Him, while The Zohar creates a connection between us and Him, the higher dimension. From there, to the extent of our aspiration, we receive the Light, the remedy that flows into us one drop at a time, like an infusion.

The Torah does not demand anything unrealistic. After all, the Upper One knows us better than we know ourselves; what is expected of us is measured according to the way we’re created. One is told: “Sit down with a book. You must connect with your environment because that is your spiritual form.”

Currently a person is on his or her own level. One is an egoist and doesn’t care for anyone, wanting nothing except egoistic pleasure. A person doesn’t even know what exactly is wanted, but the Upper One knows it well. It is He who creates these desires, even the most disgusting qualities in a person. And only occasionally do we slightly feel what He does.

Having created all of this in within us, the Creator expects just one thing: “Try to unite with Me just a little bit, based on all the things given to you from Above.” A person has to reveal the present state, and just wish to become like the Upper One.

However, in order to become like the Upper One, one needs to imagine the state when he and the group are together in a state of mutual bestowal, mutual guarantee. Imagining our self and them as one whole means we want to feel this state of the Light already operating between us in a single whole. We want to feel that we’re together and the Light is fulfilling us because we become like the Light to the extent of our unity. This is the state that we need to imagine.

It is clear that we are not together or connected with one another, but we are trying to connect, which means we want to grow spiritually and become like the Upper degree. Thus, to the extent of one’s aspiration, The Zohar creates a connection between that person and the Upper degree, injecting this infusion, which are drops of Light called “drops of luck” (Mazalot) that flow towards him.

There is no other difference between a person and the Upper degree, aside from the fact that one is better connected with others on the Upper degree. Try to imagine this upper state, the inner connection of mutual bestowal with everyone, which is called the “Upper Light.” This force, the Surrounding Light that rears a person like an infant, influences from that same state that one imagines, dreams of, and aspires to.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 5/13/10

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I can desire correction for bestowal only if the environment supports me in this. The desire to bestow manifests and acts only in my connection with the others, and thus I need their assistance in the form of “mutual guarantee.” To the extent that I support them, they support me. This is a system. To the extent that I activate it, I receive from it.

By desiring to join the group and connect with the others, I trigger a counter-reaction toward me. The others pass me the correct forms of our connection without even being aware of it. Since we exist in a network, they show me the type of connection we have.

This connection is not simply a desire to bestow; rather, it is a guarantee that cements our connection. This results in response to my request. Then, I turn to them with my prepared vessel (Kli), with a prepared system of connections that consists of 613 (Taryag) elements. Without knowing it, I activate the whole system. Thus by connecting with each other we revive the whole system among us.

Mutual guarantee is a very deep concept. It refers to life and the activation of the inner system of connection between us. We only need to retrieve it from within and start using it.

Otherwise, I can scream about my desire to be connected with the others, but how can I know how to do it? Do I understand how to connect with each person and with everybody all together? It is because I awaken them that they begin to influence me and pass to me the forms of our connection. They may be aware of it; it’s not important. We nevertheless activate this system of connections.

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

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Advancing toward spirituality occurs only by disproving everything that is corporeal, egoistically reasonable and pleasant – by pushing it away. “Spiritual opinion is opposite to the opinion of an average man,” it is opposite to your current state in the feelings and the logic.

Ascending to the next spiritual degree is like jumping into a chasm while relying completely on the Creator. However, this is not fanaticism; it is acquiring the quality of “faith above reason.” “Jumping off a roof” means that I elevate bestowal above reception. How much am I able to give without leaving anything except what is necessary for myself? If in spite of my desires, my concern for myself, I am able to rise above this in the intention for bestowal, in unification with the group and the world, this means that I am trying to be “above reason.”

By reason we mean desires and thoughts that are roused in me every second by my egoistic qualities. Therefore, I need to try to constantly direct myself to bestowal and unification with the group. After all, only by uniting with each other do we achieve a common field of our mutual bestowal, forming our common desire to bestow, where the Creator is revealed.

We create a field of the Light of Hassadim, the force of a mutual guarantee between us, and in this field, the revelation of the Light of Hochma occurs.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah lesson 4/20/10, The Zohar

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