The Zohar, Chapter “VaEra (And I Appeared),” Item 90: …“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart” means with both your inclinations—the good inclination and the evil inclination, so the bad qualities of the evil inclination will become good… Then there will certainly be no difference between the good inclination and the evil inclination and they will be one.

In our world we aren’t aware of the qualitative difference between good and evil, and therefore we don’t understand that they define and support each other and cannot exist one without the other. We would like to immediately annihilate all the evil and leave only the good, meaning whatever we consider good at this moment.

Spirituality, however, is revealed upon the contrast of opposite qualities, rather than through attempting to eliminate or destroy one of them. Both qualities exist in order for us to discern both of them, and the spiritual state is built from both of them – the Light and darkness together.

Initially we do not have the right inner definitions; we don’t understand what is Light and what is darkness. Once we identify them and can tell what is Light and what is darkness, and once we choose the Light over the darkness, we can then fully use all of the Light and all of the darkness to build our spiritual state.

We do not erase either one because if we were to remove one of them, the other would disappear as well. We build the middle line from both of them. In our world this structure does not exist. This phenomenon, the middle line, is unknown to us. We always strive to eliminate anything we don’t desire or feels unpleasant to us. It seems to us that there is no room for them in the world.

However, in spirituality, there is room for everything and everything has to remain forever. Only when both things unite with each other in the right way, is there room for the existence of both and one does not exist without the other.

Therefore, the wicked and the righteous, reception and bestowal, faith and knowledge are all built one upon the other. Therefore, they are equally important for attaining the goal. It is written, “A person must be grateful for the bad just as for the good.”

The correction of evil lies in using it correctly, together with goodness. Then the two participate equally and together to reveal their Source, the Creator. The middle line, the soul, is created from both of them. It is the revelation of their Source, the Creator.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/3/10, The Zohar

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Lag Ba’Omer (the 33rd day of the Omer) is a special day, when the Light starts to enter Malchut from the Upper Sefirot. The Light comes to us from Infinity, passing through the World of Adam Kadmon, then the World of Atzilut, then through Partzufim Atik, Arich Anpin, Aba ve Ima, and Zeir Anpin, until it reaches the souls.

Zeir Anpin contains seven Sefirot, each of which contains seven Sefirot. Altogether, 7×7=49. Malchut is the 50th Sefira. That is how we count the days of the Omer, the entrance of the Light into Zeir Anpin, and on the 50th day, into Malchut. That is when our souls, which are included in Malchut, begin to receive the Light.

The unification (Zivug) of Zeir Anpin with Malchut takes place on the 50th day, but the Light enters Zeir Anpin completely on the 33rd day, when it enters Sefira Hod de Hod. Thus, there is Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, and Netzah, with seven Sefirot inside each one of them. This adds up to 28, and there are five more Sefirot in Hod (Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, and Hod), which equals 33 (Lamed Gimel – Lag).

On this day we celebrate the entrance of the Light into Malchut of Zeir Anpin, meaning the Upper Light enters the system beneath which it already relates to the souls. If it reaches this place, then there’s no doubt that we will receive this Light. We begin to feel it and to prepare for its revelation.

The time from the 33rd day until the 50th day is already preparation. The Light continues to descend lower down and adapts itself for entering the souls. A person who is already in the spiritual world feels this preparation, which takes place before the reception of this special Upper Light, called Zohar.

That is why we celebrate this day. Rabbi Shimon left this world because he completed his mission. He no longer had anything to accomplish in this world because he passed the Upper Light through all the Sefirot down to Malchut de Zeir Anpin. With this, he completed his work.

Together with his students, he conducted the entire Light of Infinity through himself like through a special filter, preparing it to be received by our souls. This is the main work they accomplished. Now, when we look inside this book, even without understanding the words, with our desire we unite with the system they prepared for us, and through it we receive the Light.
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From the lecture in honor of Lag B’Omer 5/01/10

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On Lag B’Omer we celebrate the passing of the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, author of The Zohar. He was a special person and the revelation he made signifies the giving of the Torah, the science of correction, to the whole world.

Humanity developed from one generation to the next in birth pangs until it reached Abraham, who revealed the science of Kabbalah above the crisis that developed in Ancient Babylon. Then the nation of Israel waited for the Egyptian slavery and the Exodus from it, followed by the construction of the First and Second Temples, as well as other ascents and descents. All the horrible events that befell this nation and all human history in general appear to be one never-ending trial.

However, the entire path that we went through until the arrival of Rabbi Shimon was just our preparation for correction. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the nation of Israel finally lost the sensation of spirituality and entered exile from it. But then we received this gift from the heavens, marked by the arrival of a sage from the times of the Temple (a Tana), a Kabbalist of great stature. His special soul incorporated all the previous souls and united them within itself. That is why, together with his students, he was able to attain an extraordinary height, the final correction in his generation.

Baal HaSulam writes that never in history has there been any attainment higher than the one achieved in the times of Rashbi and his generation. The likes of it can only happen again at the End of Correction, and we are now standing at its threshold.

Zohar is the name of the Light that becomes revealed in GAR of the World of Atzilut, in its root, which is a special place – the "concealed mind" of the system of Arich Anpin. Rabbi Shimon was unique in that he was able to connect this incredibly high level with our world. His attainment placed him on the level of the Final Correction, just as before the destruction of the Temple, yet at the same time, he lived a regular, material life in the times after the destruction of the Second Temple. This was when the nation fell completely from the level of brotherly love to unfounded hatred, and this fall caused a complete disappearance of the spiritual sensation.

Because Rabbi Shimon united these two entirely different poles within him, he was able to write this great Book, meaning to make a revelation. Without it, we would not have the opportunity to correct our souls and attract the Light that Reforms.

From the lecture in honor of Lag B’Omer 5/01/10

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Baal HaSulam, Introduction to the Book, The Tree of Life (abridged): “Deliverance from suffering” and the “arrival of the Messiah” means attainment of the Creator, as it is said: “and they shall teach no more every man to his neighbor, saying:  Know the Lord; for they shall all know Me, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”

When the children of Israel receive complete knowledge, the fountains of intelligence and knowledge will flow beyond the boundaries of Israel and water all the nations of the world, as it is written, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord…. And shall come unto the Lord and to His goodness.”

That is why The Zohar says: “Because of this Book, the sons of Israel will be redeemed from exile.” Only through the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah to the masses will we be granted a complete redemption. As the sages said, “the Light of this book Reforms.” Only The Zohar contains the Light that enables a person to return to his Source.

Therefore it is our obligation to first disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah to the masses so as to become worthy of the arrival of the Messiah. The dissemination of Kabbalah and the appearance of the Messiah are interconnected. This is why we have to open schools and write books in order to accelerate propagation of this wisdom among the masses.

The Creator’s actions are laws of nature and cannot be changed. According to our sages, “If they do not attain it on their own, suffering will help them,” and whatever reason doesn’t do, time will. In other words, the path of suffering helps us to detach ourselves from our egoistic behavior and climb the ladder of perfection.

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The Zohar, Chapter “VaEra (And I Appeared),” Item 6: …each degree comprises GAR and ZAT, which is ZA, and there is attainment only in ZA of each degree, even in ZA de [of] GAR, called Daat. However, no one can attain in the GAR of each degree, even in the GAR of the degree of Assiya.

We perceive everything inside of Malchut. Malchut is called “the Creator’s image.” Presently we do not see the true picture of the world, but only what enters our five senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch) and is presented in our brain. We receive an impression from the information delivered to us by our senses, and sense reality that seemingly exists before us within, in the back of our brain.

The same happens to Malchut. Baal HaSulam explains in “Preface to the Book of Zohar” that along with Malchut, there exist the first nine Sefirot; however, Malchut does not know what those nine Sefirot are. She attains these Sefirot after including them within herself, sensing them as something that appears before her.

Thus, Malchut discovers the first nine Sefirot to the extent that she is able to act like them, from below upward. When Malchut becomes like Keter by repelling the Direct Light and forming the Reflected Light, from within the Reflected Light, she attains the fact that before her are the first nine Sefirot, that is, the lower one begins to act outside of itself, outward, and sees what is happening in the Reflected Light.

The same applies to us in this world. We see something that exists before us in accordance with our ego, depending on what is beneficial to us and what isn’t. Whatever doesn’t affect our ego, cannot bring us benefit or cause harm – we do not detect.

This stems from the spiritual roots: Malchut senses the first nine Sefirot only to the measure of the Reflected Light, which the Direct Light imprints within itself. This is the picture that appears to Malchut as though existing before her. Nothing else exists as far as she’s concerned, for she doesn’t sense anything above that.

If Malchut were to have the desire to enjoy of the Root (0) phase, she would not detect before her anything other than the Root phase. If Malchut were to have a greater desire to enjoy, she would see before her a wider picture of reality. Everything is determined by the thickness of our desire (Aviut) and the Light it reflects. That is why nothing in Kabbalah speaks of what truly exists in reality, for everything depends on the measure of one’s attainment.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 4/28/10

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The Zohar, Chapter “VaEra (And I Appeared),” Item 41: Also, the south grips to the east because the warmth in the south grips to the warmth in the east. And the east grips also to the north because its moisture grips to the moisture in the north. It turns out that south and east are tied to each other through the warmth in both; the east and north—through the moisture in them; north and west—through the cold in both; west and south through the dry in both; and all are included in one another, hanging down in one another.

If we are not building the middle line, then forces (of north and south) which are opposite one another are growing. Because they don’t come to reconciliation through the middle line, they collide and try to cancel each other. This causes an explosion. Then just like a volcano explodes in Iceland in our world, a war becomes ignited within a person or outside between people. Everything happens because these two lines, the right and the left, reached some magnitude and collided rather than united peacefully into the middle line.

People are the ones who have to perform the connection through the middle line at our level. Then peace will also come to all the previous, lower levels. We have ready the capability for us to create the middle line. If we are not building it then a short circuit occurs between the two poles and this leads to disorders on all levels: inanimate (problems with ecology), vegetative, animal, and human, or at all levels at once. This all happens because we did not reach the correct connection in the middle line.

The left and the right lines conceal a great danger when they are in direct connection with one another. If the Light and the vessel connect without the screen then the “breaking of Kelim” occurs, but only at lower levels. The Zohar says that even though North and South, East and West are opposite to one another, each of them still has a capability to complement the other. However, if we don’t provide a connection for them through the middle line, they will meet anyway, out of balance and lacking peace, like enemies….

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/29/10, The Zohar

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Zohar, Chapter “BaHar (On Mount Sinai),” Item 66: …there are two creations in man, creation for good and creation for bad. With the Torah, he separates them and the Creator gives him a soul from Him, to dominate over both—the one that is good and light, the next world, and the one that is evil and dark, this world—as it is written, “And He blew into his nostrils the breath of life.”

Our entire reality stems from the separation between darkness and light when we can truly “filter” the qualities that pertain to this world and to the world to come. We begin to build ourselves through discernments, by distinguishing the qualities for the sake of bestowal and those for the sake of reception.

All that we study in our world is our animal existence, meaning our nature. Why animal? This is because an animal doesn’t grow, but always remains at the same level with respect to its perception.

Therefore, until we begin to use the Light so as to build ourselves, by distinguishing the bestowing qualities from those of reception, until we amass these bestowing qualities, desiring to dwell in them, and build ourselves out of them, we exist only in this world.

Just as drops of semen begin to form into an embryo in the mother’s womb, so we must try to utilize the group, the environment, the study, the intentions, and various actions to continually add and accumulate the qualities of bestowal within. This is how a spiritual body will be formed.

Every time we reveal yet another part in bestowal and wish to gather them all together, this is called our next reincarnation. Indeed, we see our new life every time and a new opportunity to keep gathering and adding to us the qualities of the human level that are similar to bestowal and the Creator (the word “man” in Hebrew is “Adam” which is from “Edome,” similar).

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/26/10, The Zohar

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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaEra (And I Appeared),” Item 41
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The Zohar, Chapter “BaHar (On Mount Sinai),” Item 78: And even though he is called “a son,” a firstborn son to the Creator, as it is written, “My son, My firstborn, Israel,” He should not exclude himself from being a slave, serving his father in all the works that glorify his Father. Thus, every person should be a son to his father, to search in His secrets and to know the secrets of His home, to exert for them and to be as a slave to his father.

Everything depends on one’s properties and desires. In small desires, when a person doesn’t have anti-egoistic screens, he is a slave. Upon acquiring big desires and the screens, he is a son. Yet not a single spiritual degree, no matter how great it is, erases the previous ones. Nothing disappears in spirituality: the degrees co-exist without cancelling one another.

What’s the benefit of preserving small degrees (Katnut) on a big degree (Gadlut)? In the Final Correction, they all come together into one picture that contains all previous degrees and attainments.

The reason is that once we begin to understand our previous states and correct the “wicked” (sins and transgressions), they don’t disappear. We see how wrong or right we were on these degrees, how we blessed or cursed the Creator. The entire scale of properties – both extreme right and extreme left, from the past or the future – join together, offering us the full might and richness of revelation.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/26/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: Do we attain the properties that we read about in The Zohar during the preparation period or after crossing the Machsom?

My Answer: We begin to discern within ourselves various reactions to all these names and terms even before crossing the Machsom. To the extent that we want to rise above our desire to receive pleasure, we begin to differentiate between the giving and receiving desires. Ultimately, there is nothing more to scrutinize.

It is said, “In the future the angel of death will become an angel of sanctity.” This means that there are no bad or good desires, only the desires for the sake of bestowal or for the sake of receiving. Everything depends on the way we use them. “Haman,” “Terah,” “Abraham,” “Elazar,” “Rachel,” and “Laban” differ only in their intention  and in strength.

Therefore, by trying to keep one’s intention for the sake of bestowal – to learn, understand, and discern it through the group – a person will also react differently to every name and definition, so much so that that he will reveal their “tastes” or sensations: pleasant and not so much, shining and irritating. He will start discerning various shades in them.

However, after the Machsom, a person attains them in a clear and precise manner. Then they are clothed in him and he discovers them in practice.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/26/10, The Zohar

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