Religious schools instill an attitude of respect in children towards the teacher and spiritual leaders from early childhood. This tradition comes from spiritual principles. But since mostly secular people come to Kabbalah, it is very difficult for them to change their attitude towards teachers, which they have become accustomed to in school and college.

We are not used to attributing a higher degree to the teacher who gives us spiritual attainment. We think that a teacher recites things written in books and sometimes provides more detailed explanations.

It is incomprehensible and unnatural that in the Kabbalistic approach you receive spirituality through the teacher. But in Kabbalah, adhesion with the teacher precedes adhesion with the Creator. It is impossible to attain greater trepidation in relation to the Creator, than the kind that you feel in relation to your spiritual teacher and the group. This is the way a person builds himself; this is why the entire world has been given to him.

But you need to work on it; otherwise, you will not attain the goal. Lack of respect for the teacher is a modern problem, which shows us how much we still need to correct ourselves. This is not a coincidence, but an enormous addition of egoism, which needs to be corrected.

This additional egoism is additional distance, which separates us from the Creator, and it shows through the fact that we don’t respect the group or the teacher and thus distance ourselves from the Creator.

When I was a student, what helped me correct my attitude was that I was always imagining the higher system where we all exist, but which is concealed from us. And in this system, every one who is lower is absolutely attached to his upper. The actual system did not break; the breaking only took place in our perception. Our entire work consists of bringing ourselves to the point where we are able to perceive and reveal the actual system.

And once the spiritual system becomes revealed, the connections between all its parts will also be revealed to us. The ladder of spiritual degrees does not change, and when one soul becomes revealed first, and another one is revealed after it, this order remains forever. And this is why we will always receive through the great spiritual fathers, Kabbalists, who have lived before us and completed their corrections. We will always receive through Baal HaSulam and Rabash.

And if you continue this path and once merit spiritual attainment, you will receive it through me. This is the way the spiritual ladder is.

We need to work on this, otherwise a connection will not appear between us. It is written: “Make yourself a Rav (‘Rav’ means big) and buy yourself a friend, and justify every person,” and all this is preparation for the adhesion with the Creator. Naturally, the teacher does not need the compliments that a student needs. But the student needs to prepare himself for the revelation of the Creator.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/4/12, Lesson About the Greatness of the Rav

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