A question I received: How can we imagine human life in the spiritual world, completely devoid of suffering?

My Answer: We are unable to picture this since anything that we would imagine would be egoistic. The notion of the spiritual world is finding pleasure and inspiration in bestowal, in love for the others. However, it’s not for personal pleasure or inner peace, but for the greatness of the action itself.

So how can I feel the greatness of bestowal? I plead that the Light will let me feel it since I am incapable of doing it myself. However, I am even incapable of wanting it and asking for it. So what do I do? The environment can compel me to do this; it can force me to have a desire for something that is unnatural and generally opposite to me.

The environment can oblige a person to do anything. A person is even ready to commit suicide in order to look great in the eyes of the others. Everything depends on the environment. It can instill desires that are against a person’s ego, and his ego will go along with it.

This is due to the fact that the human degree within us is higher than the animal degree, and in order to achieve one’s desire on the human degree, to satisfy one’s ambition, a person is willing to kill the animal in him. An animal is incapable of this, yet man is. It’s because within him, there is a human degree upon which influence can be exerted. It is completely dependent on the environment.

The environment needs to influence each person in such a way that he will desire to ascend above his egoism. By influencing each other in this manner, they both will ascend constantly.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/21/10, Article “Peace in the World”

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The cornerstone of spiritual work is a constant concern about the environment. The greater its importance in my eyes, the more I will strive to attach myself to it, to absorb myself inside it. Every time, these external circles will enter me more and more, like waves that accumulate, until I extend over the whole Malchut of Infinity, and perceive everyone as myself. The whole huge desire (Kli) will become my own, and the Light or the Creator will be revealed inside this single desire.

Everything depends on the intensity of a person’s work within his environment, their influence on each other, and a mutual demand. This is how we determine the speed of our development.

A person is unable to advance on his own. The environment is the only means for advancement. Every time a person moves closer to it, he ascends with its help.

It is necessary to completely realize the importance of the environment. The construction of the whole desire (Kli) comes from the separation of internal and external parts. All the clarifications are made between these parts, between a person and the environment.

For the time being, we are unable to reveal this and we are still unable to understand exactly where the correction of the desires occurs. However, when we draw enough Surrounding Light to ascend to the spiritual world, we certainly feel that spiritual work between the environment and me has already begun. The clarifications and corrections occur only there.

From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/10, Shamati #225

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A question I received: What should a person do, if he feels that the environment which he chose for his spiritual development does not promote his growth?

My Answer: Today, two conditions make our physical association with a particular group unimportant. The first condition is that, at this time, the whole world has to attain correction. Because of this, the second condition is that a virtual connection among us gives everybody an opportunity to contact us through the Internet, books, and television. That’s in addition to having an opportunity to connect to or join us physically for training, coming to a convention in order to participate in various activities together, or studying at one of our campuses.

It’s not like in prior times when a person was limited by living in one place and could bond only with his immediate surroundings. Today, you can stay connected with the whole world. You can see and hear us, or come and visit us; the rest depends on you.

Today is the time when everybody in the world has to attain correction. Places and distances do not limit us at all. We desire to clarify who we are and what we belong to, under whose influence we live.

Everybody is granted freedom of will and, thus, everything depends on an individual. At this time, we’re in the process of building a virtual system on the Internet for Kabbalah students that will enable everybody to stay truly close.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/10, Article “The Freedom”

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The environment and the teacher are the only factors that define the future of a person. At every given moment, a person should evaluate the state he is in as if he already has everything he needs and his only responsibility is to connect with the right environment. Such an environment is always nearby and available; our task is to make the right choice. This is the only freedom of choice we possess. The rest is consequential and results from the choices we make.

Hence we shouldn’t worry about anything except for where we receive “nourishment” from, who we connect with, and who influences us. In other words, we have to think not about ourselves but, rather, what environment we’re connected to. If a person wants to control his growth, life, and destiny, he has to think only of who he’s in touch with.

However, these thoughts aren’t natural for us. We constantly think of ourselves, "Who am I, why, and what will happen to me? What is the reason for my life?" We direct those questions within and all of them are correct. Yet how are we supposed to answer them? What do we connect their solution with?

Kabbalists explain that the solution depends solely on the environment. That’s why we have to turn our attention to external forces that control us since it’s their influence that defines our future.

In fact, they’re not “external” but, rather, comprise a unified system of souls, an integral part of our spiritual body. This is where the breaking of the vessels occurred and what needs to be corrected. It’s the only place where we can make changes since we are unable to alter our other desires. It’s similar to digging into an archive and reading a record of events that are already predetermined. We can only influence our environment in some way. It’s a pity to waste our attention on anything else except this.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/10, Article “The Freedom”

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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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Shamati #1 “There Is None Else Beside Him”
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Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Item 44
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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “BaHar (On Mount Sinai),” Item 14
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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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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “BaHar (On Mount Sinai),” Item 1
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A question I received: Kabbalah says that a person must always strive to be in a better environment. So what specifically should I do?

My Answer: You have to try to worry at every moment about the fact that you are entirely dependent on your environment. Within this worry you will start to have thoughts and desires to connect with others, and you will reveal that the environment contains everything.

Even though these people are still uncorrected, they contain the corrected system. They don’t even feel it themselves yet, but you will reveal it through searching. Spirituality already exists in its corrected state, but its revelation depends on our desire, as it is written, “Every person judges others to the extent of his own defect.”

You have to strive to feel the influence of the environment. This influence carries energy, understanding, and the need to turn to the Light, the importance of the goal. It has everything you need to attain the spiritual goal. Thus, everything depends on your attitude to the environment; everything depends on you!

The whole world and all humanity were created by the Creator in order to give every person the opportunity to advance independently by creating the right inner attitude to the group. Otherwise, you will move toward the goal by the path of suffering.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/22/10, “Peace in the World”

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