Question: Is it possible to hold on to the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) during the day, when I come out of the group and the lesson into the external world?

Answer: The law of any physical field states that the intensity (of light or any other stimulus) decreases proportionally to the distance of the source squared. When you move twice as far away from the source, the intensity decreases by four times. But if you come twice as close, then the intensity increases by four times.

In the spiritual world there is no source of Light because the Light fills the entire universe. Therefore its influence is the same no matter where you are. You think that you come out of the lesson and enter the outside world, while in fact, all the spatial changes take place inside you. You go from one desire to another. All the “places” are your desires. You are traveling inside yourself.

Therefore, everything depends on how much you awaken the Light inside the desires. The Light is present in them equally and fully. It doesn’t matter where you are – out on the street or at the lesson in the group. I might be physically present in the group, but be far away in my thoughts. The degree of my connection with the Light depends only on the intention: How much do I desire to be connected to it?

From the talk on the Light that Reforms 9/8/10

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The general and the particular connect and plug into each other. Hence, those who are coming to us today, by uniting with us,  are able to use our experience of inner work and receive our understanding.

We witness how easily the new generation learns to use all modern devices, cell phones, and computers, which we had discovered and developed with such hard effort. But the young come to the plate ready to easily gobble it all up without paying any attention to us.

It is the same in spirituality: Those who come study Kabbalah will be able to achieve even greater success than we did since they “stand on our shoulders”! The first obstacle on the path is disappointment in one’s own capacity and ability to feel joy in descent. This discernment is possible solely with the assistance of the Upper Light, and not in dealing one on one with it, but rather in working through the group.

That is where the breaking between us unfolds, which I need to correct. I have to become a bestowing one in regard to this breaking, but I am incapable of it. Then, the Light comes and gives me an opportunity to connect with the others, and within them to find the Creator so I may bestow to Him.

This predicament has to unfold before me in all its depth, and I have to expect salvation from this innermost point. Such is the picture we should visualize, and then we will certainly find ourselves standing before the spiritual ladder leading upward.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/6/10, Shamati #42

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All our corporeal properties are related to the animate level of existence, but we have to build a human within ourselves, which means to become “similar to the Creator” (Adam) and exist in bestowal. Bestowal, however, can be realized only in the group, in love of friends, in order to attain the Creator. Through our relationships, we create a desire similar to the Creator: the place where the Creator is revealed.

Hence, all the personal qualities and capacities that are embodied by our corporeal form don’t have any relation to spirituality. In regard to spirituality, I work solely with the point in the heart and should disregard the rest of my “earthly” properties. I cannot succeed in my quest for the Creator through them for they are secondary, and I strive to work “above them,” always preferring bestowal to reception, “faith above reason.”

The essence is the point in the heart. I must connect it with the others, with the friends. So, now I have to make the correct decision and determine that I want to reach success not in the material world, but in the unity of the points in the heart. It is the place where the Creator will be revealed as soon as it becomes similar to the Creator in the very least.

I have to constantly ponder this question. Only this determines how successful my spiritual advancement is.

Hence, this point is regarded as the Beginning of Change (Rosh Hashanah). It is the decision which should always signify a new beginning.

As a matter of fact, the line of trajectory we are moving by consists of multiple points. A spiritual path is a sequence of dots, and each of them has a “nip,” a “gap” in motion between the previous and the following points. Thus they create a single spiritual trajectory line.

In order to continue moving along with the others, in the same direction, in each point of the trajectory, I have to be totally opposite to the previous and the future states of existence. Only then can we adhere to this line of trajectory.

Therefore, in each point, at each moment of my life, I must make up my mind for the Beginning of Change within me.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/9/10, “Rosh Hashanah”

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Had we been corrected in the World of Infinity, all the influences from Above (from the worst to the best of them as felt in our desire to receive pleasure or our matter) would not change our attitude toward the Creator in the least. This is because our desire would be under the First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph), under the screen, in bestowal, or the Reflected Light.

Then, we would use all the states that we go through, from enormous fulfillment up to total emptiness, with the sole purpose of justifying the Creator, of glorifying, honoring, and thanking Him. This is because in these various states ranging from emptiness to fulfillment, He gives us an opportunity to determine our attitude toward Him as something that is independent from what we receive from Him, without any connection with our desire to receive pleasure or our sensation in it.

As a result, we would only thank Him for the opportunity to rise above our desire, our nature, in faith (bestowal) above reason (fulfillment), in “bestowing in order to bestow” (Galgalta ve Eynaim or GE) and in “receiving in order to bestow” (GE plus AHP – Awzen, Hotem, Peh). This way, we would accept all states for a single purpose: to use them in order to feel Infinity in each state.

That is, we would have a completely corrected intention regardless of the measure of fulfillment and sensation in the desire, from absolute void and tremendous suffering to complete fulfillment which shifts one’s entire attention from the Creator to one’s self. If we corrected ourselves to such a degree, we would be in the World of Infinity.

We determine our rung on the spiritual ladder in relation to complete correction, the World of Infinity. We do so according to our ability to justify the states He gives us, to exist above the sensation that we feel in our desire, to hold the intention, and be in connection with Him, the Giver, in order to become similar to Him based on any sensations.

The Creator gave us a point of adhesion with Him. However, to counterbalance it, He also created in us the desire to receive pleasure, and He is constantly increasing it. This desire annuls the point of adhesion. Yet, we have to use the desire that pushes us away from adhesion and to increase the connection with the Creator precisely with its help. This is how we advance.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/6/10, “And Jacob Went Out”

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The purpose of everything that we feel in our reality, be it positive or negative, is to form us along the spiritual ladder. There is nothing that would be created for any other purpose or that existed by itself. Everything in this world – thousands of surrounding objects, actions, or forces – exists for a single purpose: my spiritual development. I incorporate, consciously or not, all that surrounds me into myself and hence ascend.

Indeed, if everything came from the World of Infinity down to the level of our world where it seemingly exists without being connected into a single whole, then how could objects and actions of our world not be bonded by a single purpose from which they descended down to us? How can there be anything in our world that has not come to it from the World of Infinity? And if it did descend from the World of Infinity, it means that it originated in unity that existed there and afterward, by descending down, took the form of the breaking, distancing, and isolation.

Hence, by climbing the spiritual ladder a person has to raise the entire reality, all of “This World,” along with himself. It is said that by ascending spiritually, a person elevates (corrects) the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature along with himself.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/6/10, “And Jacob Went Out”

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It’s very easy to determine whether the path is a spiritual one: Everything that we agree with does not relate to spirituality! It is specifically the contradictions that our mind and senses do not accept, that are undesirable and repulsive to us, that relate to spirituality. We should work on these in particular.

If I sense that a certain state won’t bring me any benefit either in my senses or mind, then by rising above this particular state, I can start building spirituality. Most likely, in this state it will be impossible to “buy” me, and I won’t look for a selfish profit; rather, I will need the Creator’s help in order to rise above it. In other words, I constantly check myself: How much does my body resist my work? And for me this is the sign of my correct spiritual advancement.

Further on, I need to examine what I’m doing it for. Perhaps I want to overcome myself and pursue some personal goals. Or maybe I want to find love of the Creator which is repulsive to my “body,” my egoistic sensation and mind. And I’m searching for love that is built on hatred toward egoistic thoughts and desires about oneself.

Often, however, we are not trying to transcend our bodies and regret that we are unable to work according to our mind and feelings contained in the body. Instead of looking for a state that is beyond our sensations and mind, we wish to be in it.

First and foremost we need to push the body “down,” along with its feelings and mind, and be above them, not to take them into account. That is, I take them into consideration, but only in order to rise above them. Then it’s called faith above reason. But instead, I regret: Why is everything not revealed within my reason so that I can act as a sensible person and know that I have intellect and personal strength to advance correctly…

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/30/10, “When A Person Knows What the Fear of God Is”

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The Zohar, Chapter “VaYechi (Jacob Lived),” Item 103: “In the light of a king’s face is life, and his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.” This is so because when they accept the face of the Divinity of the Creator and engage in those Merkavot [chariots/assemblies] from which the animals of the world come, the animals that carry the Merkava [singular of Merkavot], as written in Ezekiel, it will be said about them, “In the light of a king’s face is life.”

Everything depends on the illumination from Above. However, just like everything, “Above” is “inside a person.” It is inside our sensations although it belongs to the “higher,” more advanced states.

In the spiritual world (or sensation), there is no time, space, or motion. The only difference between everything is a greater or smaller importance relative to the quality of bestowal, the Creator. If I acquire a force or quality that brings me a greater quality of bestowal, then to me this state is more important or “higher” than the previous. It is called “illumination from Above.”

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/29/10, The Zohar

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Question: How do I tell the difference between imagined reality and true, spiritual reality?

Answer: There cannot be any imagined reality! We live in a solid, material world. There isn’t any spirituality here. Spirituality can only be revealed in selfless connection among us. If we elevate our unity from the still level of Nefesh to the level of Ruach, we will experience spirituality (Ruach means “spirit”).

Why do we call this degree spiritual? It’s called spiritual because it’s the first degree at which we breathe life into our connection, into our oneness. That’s when we can call it spiritual. At present, this state seems “dead” to us. I have to unite with someone? I don’t like this idea; it’s “dead” in my eyes. That’s why my present condition is called “still,” and I reside in it because I don’t have a choice and I don’t see the way out.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/27/10, The Zohar

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Question: When I was driving back from the Convention at Beer Sheba, I was looking at my GPS as it was guiding me and warning me about hidden cameras on the intersections. I thought, why is it that there is no navigation system like this in the spiritual world which would predict our path for us? Instead, we need to rely only on Kabbalists’ instructions and the prophets’ warnings.

Answer: There is no navigation system like this in the spiritual world. This is because in your world, you are always “traveling” in the same egoistic desire, which is sometimes larger and sometimes smaller. That is why you are able to make certain assumptions about the future as well as to rely on the experiences of others. People even create tools for you which show you the way and are able to spell out the entire process and every step of the path for you. This enables you to see ahead of time what it means to become big and grownup just like they would spell it out for a child who wants to grow up and become a pilot.

However, in spiritual development we go through states where we are unable to predict and imagine things ahead of time. This is why there cannot be a navigation system of any kind there. It is because we do not see the next image ahead of time and we lack the instruments of perception to see these images. Instead, we are shown an undesired, opposite image. If you can understand that your lack of desire to connect with others is the future form that you need to turn into its opposite, this would serve you as a spiritual GPS. It exists, but it shows us the opposite image, one that is unpleasant to our ego, the desire to receive pleasure.

From that point on, everything depends on the way you will accept all these states. However, when you encounter something like this, you usually turn around and go back, thinking that the goal is there. You think, “The spiritual goal is not very easy or pleasant. Why should I go there? It would be best if I roll it back a little.” As soon as you turn aside, you immediately acquire the GPS of all the tools of this world such as everyone’s support, the benefit of social opinion, and everything else. This is how people get themselves into trouble.

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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/3/10, ”Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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The only thing that can help a family stay together is a strong society that keeps both spouses together and directs them toward spiritual growth. Because they both go through different states, ascents and descents, they have to be a part of this society and to understand that spiritual advancement is impossible without each other. Then they will understand that they need a partner. The society of the future will take great care of marriages, but to do that we need a powerful influence from our environment.

We have already received enough blows from Nature to make us understand that it is essential for us to achieve balance. We have to establish good relationships between all of us. Only this will revive harmony and normalize Nature so that heat, cold, magnetic fields, and a thousand other parameters will come into balance. This world will feel like paradise, even on the material level. To feel this way, it is extremely important to achieve equilibrium. We have to observe a very simple condition where everything stays in mutual connection on all levels (inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human).

One of the prerequisites to achieving equilibrium is the establishment of the right types of connections within a family. Kabbalists rejected unmarried men as their disciples because a man without a wife is only “half a body.” It’s impossible to correct “half a body.” Previously, this requirement was very strict. Nowadays, everything is simplified. Everybody is permitted to study since we are undergoing a transition period and cannot obligate people to marry; it’s beyond our power. However, I hope the time will come soon when the next generation will realize that we have to observe material order and have a family in order to achieve balance with Nature.

Only by aspiring toward one spiritual goal can we preserve a family. Our egoism has grown so much that the usual material connections with children, family, and household cannot connect people to each other any longer. Everybody has a job, can afford a place to live, and be completely independent. A person feels relatively self-sufficient and doesn’t need his wife’s or children’s support. It is different from the past when no one could survive without a family. Now a person has the supermarket, modern-day household appliances, and health insurance.

Therefore, only a higher goal can elevate a person above the animate level and bring him to a “human” level (“Adam” is a derivative of the word “similar”). It is the only thing that makes a person similar to the Creator, reveals eternity, and raises us above life and death. It is the only thing that can ensure internal spiritual connection in a family. However, it is not accessible for everybody yet.

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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/10/10, A Lesson On Current Events

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