We need to work with Rabash’s articles, dividing them into sections and examining them. Every article is built according to a specific scenario, like a movie or a novel. It has a setting, a conflict (a problem), the development, the investigation of certain conflicts and discrepancies, and a resolution at the end. Along the way we usually encounter several difficulties, which help clarify the initial question and formulate conclusions. The entire course of the article corresponds to one’s inner (psychological and spiritual) structure so he could understand and internalize it.

You should read an article (or two short articles) a day, in the morning and in the evening. It does not matter if you become confused as long as you remain in this material all the time. The effort alone will attract the Light that Reforms. That same Light will clarify all the questions, including the proper order and system, as well as the stages that one needs to go through. All of this will become clear, and if it remains unclear, then you’ll understand why it is so. But it is the Light that illuminates everything we want to find out.

I do not conduct theoretical research; rather, I wait for the Light to illuminate for me the author’s mind in one thought. What does he want to say here, what is his plan? Just one single thought! What was Rabash thinking at that moment? The entire article is one single thought, and I want to understand it. This can only be done with the help from Above, once I am visited by a “muse.” Kabbalists call her “Light.”

From the Talk on Working on Rabash’s Articles 6/15/10

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From Rabash’s article, “Love of Friends”: And a certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying: ‘What seekest thou?’ And he said: ‘I seek my brethren. Tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the flock’” (Genesis, 37).

A person who’s lost his way in the field of life cannot live like that for a long time. He seeks advice and people who are similar to him, his brothers. He feels that he has to find another path, but not on the corporeal dimension where he exists like an animal; rather, this path should help him above this life and become human.

That’s why he is looking for those who “feed the flock,” meaning control their animals. He wants to join them and become their brother so that they teach him how to be a “shepherd” and how to rise above the animal within him.

He feels that he’s lost his way in the field, that he is that very “animal,” the wondering donkey (“donkey,” Hamor in Hebrew, is derived from the word Homer, “matter, substance”). A person wants to elevate a human within him by freeing himself from the “animal’s” rule. That’s why he seeks people that control their “animals” and who can help him strengthen himself on this path. They are his brothers, and he is looking for them!

A man “wandering in the field [desire]” refers to a place from which the crop of the field [life’s results] … should spring. “Animals” (people without a higher goal) are wondering in the field to sustain themselves here and now. But how do I find the path that turns me into a “human” and acquire “…the crop [spiritual power and knowledge] of the field to sustain the world [bring it spiritual life]?

And the works of the field are plowing, sowing, and reaping. This is the work of a “human” through which he gets fulfillment. It is said about that: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.…” It stands for the hard work that we do with tears in our eyes, getting good results only at the end. We have to press forward despite the tears and all the heaviness, and hence need strong support from the environment. … and this is called “a field which the Lord has blessed.”

[Read more →]

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In the article “The Purpose of Society,” Rabash writes that man is born as loving only himself, and hence he can’t make the tiniest move without serving himself. Yet without renouncing egoistical love in us, it is impossible to reach the adhesion with the Creator, the equivalence of His properties.

Therefore, the group is necessary for in it the desires and strengths of each add to one another. Everyone is then able to use this immense common force in order to renounce the egoistical desire that prevents him from fulfilling the purpose he is born for. This group must consist of people who have a common purpose. Then together, they will comprise one huge force that enables each of them to struggle with himself.

In order to receive the collective power from the group, everyone must contribute his strength to it and renounce himself, that is, only see his friends’ strengths instead of their weaknesses. If he considers himself just a little higher than them, he cannot unite with them, bring in his force, and receive the collective one.

Plan

1. Human nature – love of self.
2. The purpose of creation – adhesion with the Creator through the equivalence of properties with Him.
3. It is impossible to fulfill the purpose of the creation on one’s own, but only within the group and through its power.
4. In the group, all must be equal in the purpose, means, and one’s own annulment. Annulment is only possible by exalting the friends.
5. The greatness of the environment is reached in words and actions.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/20/10, Article “The Purpose of Society”

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Rabash’s article, "The Purpose of the Association:" We have met today to establish an association of those interested in following the path and method of the author of the “Sulam” (Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag), the path of ascension from the level of an animal to the level of man.

We have to deduce the fundamental principles from this article:

1. What does it mean "to assemble"?

2. What is "the method of Baal HaSulam"?

3. What is "the human level"?

4. Was man created to experience pleasure or fear before the Creator?

5. The condition for attaining all of this is equivalence of form with the Creator.

6. The will to enjoy by itself is not bad. It is the matter of all creation. The evil inclination (Yetzer Ra) is our unwillingness to unite and to correct the breaking of the common soul into parts, our individual souls.

7. We must not destroy the egoistic desire, but only correct its intention from "for myself" to the intention of bestowal, "for others." Inside our desire to receive, we are always opposite to the Creator, but inside the intention to bestow, we join Him.

8. Adhesion with the Creator takes place through equivalence of form with Him. The way to attain the intention to bestow is by working with the group. This task is achievable and verifiable, and the common desire to bestow that we create together is our common soul, which the Creator fulfills.

9. Any state we are in consists of two opposite states, and as we advance, the gap between them increases. On one hand, I continually reveal how insignificant I am, and at the same time, I continually reveal the greatness of the goal.

I have to unite all of this inside one point. Thus, I will feel the breaking between the souls which will force the Upper Light to correct me. Then bestowal will reign between myself and other people.

This is called "the giving of the Torah, the Light of Correction." After that the One Who Gives the Torah becomes revealed as well inside our corrected attitude to our neighbor, inside the common spiritual vessel (Kli).

From Part 3 of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/16/10, "The Purpose of the Association – 1"

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A question I received: How should we work during the day on building a Kabbalistic group, a vessel that we prepare to be filled by the Creator’s Light and revelation? How do we assess our personal state and that of the world group?

My Answer: We should interpret the Creator’s message which we receive from Baal HaSulam and Rabash as a single appeal: to unite. Rabash discloses this state, this point of contact, and tells us what it involves. However, it can only be reached by combining in oneself all opposite qualities.

These qualities seem different to you because you are not perfect. Yet the more you engage in this work, the sooner you will see that everything contracts into the single point which is called unity. Everything merges in it: you, the Creator, your efforts, the group, correction of the evil inclination, the greatness of the goal, your own insignificance, and the intention for bestowal with the egoistic inclination below it. Everything unites into one whole.

It is incorrect to take one item from the article and lock onto it. Rather, everyone should work on the entire article during the day: Read it a number of times and prepare a summary. Suddenly you’ll discover that with the synopsis you’ve prepared the subject can be examined from many different perspectives.

However, simply engaging in this work is most important. It attracts upon us the Light that Reforms. A person is not required to make correct and clever conclusions. As we advance, we become less and less successful in making reasonable conclusions as we feel more shattered and unfit. It looks as we are moving in an opposite direction, but this sensation is given to us by the Light that comes to awakens us!

Every day we have to set  a new task for everyone of us. If someone fails to perform it, he immediately lags behind. By the next day, he won’t be able to continue together with everyone because we move consecutively from one state to another. One can’t leap over several states and make a running jump onto a high-speed train.

Now that we have started this work, we should make sure that we perform it every day, regardless of our mood. We have to support each other to ensure that nobody falls down because anyone who is in descent prevents others from the proper understanding and learning.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/16/10, Article “The Purpose of the Association – 1”

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A question I received: This weekend there will be a convention in North America, titled The World Zohar Convention, where our friends from the whole world will gather. You once said that when you were in a similar situation of general inspiration, you asked Rabash, “What do we lack for attaining the goal?” He answered, “An attack!” What is an attack and how can we attain this state this weekend at the Convention, or even now, at this very moment?

My Answer: During a spiritual attack, one does not think about when will it finally be completed. An attack is when I gather all my forces and act with them.

In our world an attack is a concentrated blow, followed by a chance to rest. However, spirituality is perfect and therefore it cannot be transient. If your desire is authentic, then it is eternal! Therefore, a spiritual attack means a mobilization of forces, where you must continually concentrate them more and more, without a break or a breather. (Actually, you do receive a “breather” from Above, such as the state of “Hanukkah,” which comes from the words “Hanu-Koh,” stop here. This happens during a shift in one’s means for further advancement.)

This Convention offers great opportunities of advancement to all the students all over the whole world. Although we are getting together at the Convention in North America, there will be a direct broadcast of all the lessons. And of course, they will be devoted to the unification of this entire great desire, the spiritual vessel (Kli).

Let us hope that everyone will understand that the science of Kabbalah speaks precisely of this unity, rather than red strings, spells, and so forth. Through the unity of our desires we attain life in the eternal dimension. Let us hope that we will succeed!

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/5/10, “Matan Torah”

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The Works of Rabash, Vol.3, Dargot Sulam Articles, pg. 1774 (abridged): With regard to spiritual attainment, the society is divided into the majority and a chosen few. The majority need to be educated, taught how to mechanically observe the Torah and commandments. The education that a person receives compels him to perform these actions.

A person justifies his actions, why he performs them, by citing the way he was educated which includes the customs he learned from the environment in which he was raised. This is why education, habit, does not allow a person to refrain from keeping customs, since habit becomes a second nature. Therefore, all the habits, words, and actions that a person acquires as a result of education are not difficult to observe.

However, if a person wants to perform actions that he hasn’t become accustomed to in his childhood, his body questions every, most minute action: “Why are you doing this?” or, in other words, “What makes you do it?” If a person does not receive support from the environment, he has to look for it in the Creator.

This is why such a person is chosen and doesn’t belong to the majority. He needs the Creator’s support, as it is said, “One who comes to cleanse himself (of egoism), receives help from Above.” He is unable to receive help from the environment and thus compels help to come from Above.

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A question I received: How can I fulfill someone’s desire if every person likes something different?

My Answer: It has to be an inner attitude to another person: You have to care for them the way you previously cared for yourself. You should demand for the Upper Light to make your friend just as important as you deemed yourself in the past, egoistically, for your own sake.

Don’t do anything artificially. We have to let the Upper Light do all the work. It makes the corrections. All we can do is ruin things! We don’t have the strength or the understanding to do anything. Therefore, if we try to change, we only do so externally and artificially, and that is not correction.

Rabash gives an example using a parable about cats that were supposed to be trained to be noble and important waiters, in order to prove that it’s possible to change one’s nature. But when the cats saw running mice, they threw away their trays and rushed to catch them. We are the same: We perform externally beautiful changes until we blow up and violently jump on each other. These are certainly not the changes that Kabbalah speaks about.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 04/27/10, “Matan Torah”

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A question I received: How can I become similar to the Creator if He has no form?

My Answer: The Creator has no form as we usually understand it in this world. The Light has no form, and neither does the upper degree. Rabash writes that all the worlds, when they’re not revealed in our desires (Kelim), are the Light of Infinity.

There are no worlds that exist outside of man. In relation to one’s inner system or the Soul, the “worlds” is an external system within him. Because of this, we give form to everything including the Creator.

The Creator (Bo-Re) means “come” (Bo) and “see” (Re). By changing and improving our qualities, we build an external form out of our uncorrected desire to receive pleasure. As we correct our attitude toward this external form (that is, correct our egoistic desire), this external form connects into us.

Each degree initially appears as external to us. Then, through our work with our environment, we have to raise its value in our eyes and see it as supreme and desirable. In so doing we attain love for a new degree from hating it. We desire this degree and change our selfish attitude toward it to aspiration to give to it. Thereby we attain this Upper degree. We as though absorb it or “turn a hating one into a loving one.”

We do this again and again until we incorporate the entire universe into ourselves and start perceiving it to be ours.

From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/01, Shamati #225

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A question I received: What is a Kabbalist’s position on sports and a healthy lifestyle?

My Answer: Kabbalists are in favor of healthy lifestyles. Baal HaSulam used to like to swim out to the ships in the harbor. My Teacher Rabash and I would frequently go to the gym, the sauna, and swim at least 400 strokes in the sea. I currently ride a bike for 1.5 hours, swim 400 strokes, power walk for 1 hour, and work out every morning. A person needs to take care of his body, otherwise it can’t serve him.

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