Laitman.com » Daily Kabbalah Lesson

The Desire That Will Turn The Desert Green

admin.bb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:56:55 +0000

Question: At the end of February, once again we are going to the Arava desert. How can we manage to not erase what we already achieved the first time?

Answer: This cycle is different from the previous one. You will see that the first time everything became realized suddenly, like in a naïve and unsophisticated child. We succeeded then, but this time the success is possible only after multiple problems, greater contemplation and fluctuations.

After all, each time the desire becomes more cunning and gives greater resistance. No matter how high you rise, your evil inclination rises above you. This is why we cannot repeat something that already happened.

The most important thing is to be involved in this, to prepare and to understand that we have to unite and there is no other choice. Otherwise, there is no use to even start. There is no need to go to the wilderness if we are not bringing a real desire. This desire appears in the broken heart.

In the desert, the one that wins and survives is the one who really sticks to the path. On one hand he is devastated, but on the other hand, he has the end of the thread. This thread is the unity with the friends. In the end, we are not exiting the desert, but rather it turns into the land of Israel flowing with milk and honey. We will receive all spiritual abundance right at the “spot” if we unite. Then the desert, which lies between us, will turn into the Promised Land, into the intention, the yearning for the Creator. There we will reveal Him.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/3/12, The Zohar

The Wisdom Of All Wisdoms

admin.bb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:19:14 +0000

Question: How can I convince myself about the urgency of spiritual work if we constantly lose the direction and strength on the way?

Answer: On the contrary, I must constantly worry for the correct direction and strength for the work. We only need to clarify these things according to the laws of creation, and this is what we learn.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is a wisdom that includes all the wisdoms. It investigates the one general nature. But humanity, in the meantime, doesn’t understand that it exists in this global network. It exists in darkness and is immersed in complete unknowingness.

In order to clarify the surrounding world, humans divide it into separate parts and match them to the scientific disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, etc. In this way we have “scratched out” nuggets of knowledge from the mountain of darkness we are in.

The wisdom of Kabbalah, on the other hand, explains each field in terms of one law. It doesn’t refute the general, traditional sciences. All the laws that we discovered with the help of traditional sciences belong only to a small area of our perception, in the egoistic desire, which is opposite to the nature of creation. Therefore, we must understand that in Gmar Tikkun (the end of correction), when this desire disappears, we will find other laws that transcend time, movement, and space. There is another physics and chemistry; everything is different. This reality exists only temporarily, until we enter the real and wide perception of the world.

Our entire world exists only so that we will exit it and find independence. It gives us a base, a beginning point, central and independent, and disconnected from the Creator. It is farthest from the world of Infinity, the most deeply immersed in darkness, but it is specifically from this point that we begin our advancement.

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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/24/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

One Reward For Everyone

admin.bb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:47:30 +0000

The laws by which we are moving toward the goal of creation, are not similar to those laws that are moving people without a point in the heart. They belong to the AHP (Awzen, Hotem, Peh – Ears, Nose, Mouth), whereas we belong to GE (Galgalta ve Eynaim – Skull and Eyes).

We must attain feeling and intellect; we need to know the system, understand it, and know how to operate it, imitating the laws similar to the Creator according to the law of the “head,” in order to attain the thought of creation. We need to manage the entire creation as if from the position of the Creator. This is the task of the head.

The Creator created the world of Ein Sof (infinity) and we, in our work with the line and circles, build the head surrounding Ein Sof where the thought of creation is found and is concealed from us today. We work within Malchut of Ein Sof and build our desires in it. By this we move on the line; we constantly build new heads in similarity with the Creator, until after all the acts, we attain Him.

Then all these individual heads combine to a general head, which is the attitude, the thought, the beginning of creation. We reach this point from which everything begins and is included in it. This is the work of Galgalta ve Eynaim.

The desires of the AHP help us with this ascent. They constitute the same “matter” from which we ascend until we complete our task. Of course, they are included in the shared system with us, and they have all that they need. But in this system there is a part that makes decisions and a part that executes them, until finally at the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun), all the differences will disappear. And then all will merge into a whole through the collective action called “Rav Paalim ve Mekabtziel.”

In the meantime, we don’t understand how the parts that belong to Galgalta ve Eynaim and AHP will connect to each other. In the meantime along the way, there is a clear “division of labor”: The reward is the same for all, in that we are all equal. Moreover, in Gmar Tikkun the greatest lights will enter the greatest Kelim, the desires of the AHP.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/24/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

The First Barrier To Eternity

admin.bb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:17:45 +0000

It is hard for a person to overcome the “barrier” (Machsom), an obstacle, and adopt the approach that Kabbalah teaches which is so contrary to his habitual, egoistic perception. But if he rises above his egoism to bestowal, love, mutual responsibility, and guarantee with respect to the fellow person, it would mean that he has acquired spiritual power.

If he really were able to rise above himself, it would mean that he is above the restriction because he diminished his egoism and achieved a spiritual attitude towards fellow man, spiritual perception, the upper world.

A person does not understand and does not feel that through this path he can reach the eternal, perfect upper dimension instead of the limited reality, which he now feels. All this is quite close to us, and that is why it seems so simple and primitive: Any love towards the other, which we instill in our children is to prevent them from fighting with each other.

This is the first obstacle, which takes years to overcome. But we have to understand that each stage of spiritual work requires time until we learn and accept it. It depends on how much a person can be included in the group, through which he accelerates his development.

If he is impressed by others and strives to absorb as much as possible from them, enters the group with the eyes closed, then he begins to see how effective this tool is. In this way, he can get the desire of the higher dimension.

A spiritual vessel is built by the quality and quantity of relationships with others. The quantity is determined by the fact that eventually a person must unite with all souls because all together we make up one soul: Malchut of the world of infinity.

And the quality is determined by the fact that he must unite with them through complete reception and bestowal, so that everyone’s desire is linked with the others like a cogwheel, and turns all of them; everyone depends on him, and at the same time, he depends on everyone else.

Connecting in this form, everyone is transformed into an integral part of the overall system. Everyone depends on him and he turns everyone, but he turns them according to the overall program, their collective desires, and everyone’s individual desire. This is the perfect system that we must achieve.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/3/12, Writings of Rabash

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 02.07.12

bb_editor — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:45 +0000

Writings of Rabash, “Come to Pharaoh,” Lesson 2
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Beresheet (Genesis,” “A Prayer for the Poor,” Item 194, Lesson 56
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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 6, (Starting with: “We find that because of…”), Item 26, Lesson 18
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“Introduction to the Study of Ten Sefirot,” Item 79, Lesson 37
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The Whole Kingdom Is For Unity With The Creator!

bb_admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:57:51 +0000

We are in a state where precisely the “prayer of the pauper” can save us. This means that a person has nothing and he does not need anything, besides one thing – to revive his soul. He does not ask for anything beyond this.

We are going out to the desert, which reflects our inner state, because the desert is poverty. And we don’t desire anything, other than to acquire the point of contact with the Creator, to revive our soul.
In return we can receive all the benefits of our current level, instead of the drop of unity with the higher level, which is always called the Creator for the lower level, creation.

We lack desire for the higher level, a desire just to unite with the upper one, to feel that we are inside of Him like a drop of semen that begins to develop.

This should be our intention while reading The Book of Zohar.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/6/12, The Zohar

Useful Pondering Over A Bowl Of Soup

admin.bb — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:50:19 +0000

Aspiration is something that goes beyond ordinary desire. Desire is given from Above. It becomes revealed within me and I begin to want something. Let’s say a desire to eat some soup has appeared within me. I realize this desire and fulfill myself. My “me” is totally absent here. A desire simply became revealed and it realized itself.

Aspiration is called something that originates not from my desire for the fulfillment that is currently given to me, but rather, it is an additional desire to give pleasure to the Host who gave me this soup. This additional desire appears above the fulfillment. After all, He also gave me this desire for the soup. I want to show that I want this soup because He is giving it to me. This is called an aspiration.

I discern that I received the desire from the Creator and that the fulfillment comes from Him too; all of this is in order to create a connection between us. However, I don’t want to receive this fulfillment in a direct form. I agree to receive it only for the sake of my attitude toward the Host. I make a restriction on the fulfillment that He brings to me, but this is also terrible because it’s like pushing away the Host. However, I’m going for it for the purpose of rising and using this fulfillment, but only because it comes from Him.

I reveal the aspiration for the soup and the desire for the soup itself, which comes from the Creator. I do it only after my decision to receive for His sake. This means to reveal “the initial point of the letter ‘Yod’,” the head of HaVaYaH, Keter.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/30/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

When Will We Finally Exit Egypt?

admin.bb — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:43:53 +0000

The wisdom of Kabbalah only speaks of inner work, correction of the soul, revealing the Creator to the created, and all the images in its stories constitute different types of desire through which we view the world. The desire to bestow is called Israel, (Yashar-El, straight to the Creator). “Israel in exile” is the desire to bestow with an intention of self-benefit. “Nations of the world” are the egoistic desire to receive.

If the desire “Israel” is in exile, its intent becomes egoistic, meaning it becomes bestowal with the intent of “in order to receive.” Hence, Israel in exile can gain much greater benefit than the “Egyptians,” than the regular desires to receive. That is why it has been said that after the sons of Israel descended to Egypt, they multiplied, became rich, fattened, became important, and had plenty of onions, garlic, meat, and fish.

In other words, all desires received the filling they wanted. After all, they were working in bestowal in order to receive: They used the force of bestowal to benefit egoistically. And of course, they succeed more than “the nations of the world.” As it written, the nation of Israel mingled with the other nations, learned their ways, and achieved greater success because they know how to use bestowal even in order to receive.

That is why it is very difficult to exit the ego; it requires special work. A unique force is required to extract the egoistic desire to bestow from Egypt, the desire which is so advantageous to Pharaoh who can’t receive the same from his own people: the simple, egoistic will to receive.

Israel on the other hand, work for their own benefit, using the spiritual force to fill their corporeal desires. Surely, the ego doesn’t want to lose them; they become the primary means for receiving its fulfillment, which can’t be received from anything else. Nothing can provide such great fulfillment.

And so, how can Israel’s desires become disconnected from the ego? They have to undergo two corrections because they work in bestowal with the intention of in order to receive, not just the Egyptians (the desire to receive), rather the will to bestow, which learned from them, hence, it fell even lower than Egypt. Egypt doesn’t have the option of using the force of bestowal for egoistic fulfillment.

Everything begins from the moment the Egyptian king dies and those desires that worked in bestowal for self-benefit suddenly stopped feeling fulfillment in that way. There’s nothing to work for any more; our king died, disappeared! That means, I stop feeling why I’m studying and working. I don’t see the reward any longer. And then, “And Israel cried out from the work.”

At first, we knew the purpose of our work; we worked hard and gained egoistically. We were faithful slaves of the ego and wanted nothing beyond that. And now, all of a sudden, hard work begins without the clarity of knowing why. We don’t feel the purpose in egoistic bestowal: That is help arriving to us from Above. The development reaches a state in which we’re incapable of enjoying that, we cry out in desperation and then begin to search.

Indeed, if there’s nothing to enjoy, “This life is worse than death.” There’s no life, no sense of fulfillment. And if there’s no pleasure, a person is prepared to commit suicide, rather than feel the emptiness. Then the work of exiting Egypt begins, which lasts “many days.”
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/5/12, Shamati #159

Who Is The Teacher For Me?

admin.bb — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:05:45 +0000

Question: At what stage should we introduce students who study through virtual courses of the Education Center to veteran students and the groups?

Answer: I don’t think it’s possible to restrict this connection in any way. In general, it’s best not to intervene; it should occur by itself. And certainly some of our experienced friends need to assist the teacher in working with new students, by giving lectures, answering their questions, and helping establish communications with them. However, the veterans need to be careful not to show themselves as “big” since by doing so they would undermine the image of the teacher in the eyes of the students and prevent them from the possibility of learning in the correct manner.

It is possible only to learn from a “great man.” Conversely, if you think he is small, then you are already the teacher and he is the student. Thus, it is very important that the assistants don’t stand out, but remain as assistants to the teacher and display a respect for the teacher. They will set an example for the students and will elevate respect for the teacher in their eyes, and this will help the students receive more from him.

After all, in the wisdom of Kabbalah, the material is comprehended according to the importance of the teacher. The more the student annuls himself before the teacher, thus he will be considered a better student. We are not talking here about knowledge that I comprehend with intelligence, but specifically about how I see myself as small in comparison to the teacher, or the teacher as great in comparison to myself. The greater the gap between us, the more abundance will descend on me. There is no measurement for abundance in itself. I define its intensity precisely according to the same greatness that I elevate the teacher in my eyes. This is very important. The assistants need to correctly build the relationship of the new students to the teacher. Success depends on this.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/5/12, Learning Kabbalah

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 02.06.12

bb_editor — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:08 +0000

Writings of Rabash, “Come to Pharaoh”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Beresheet (Genesis),” “A Prayer for the Poor,” Item 192, Lesson 55
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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 6, Item 26, Lesson 17
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“Introduction to the Study of Ten Sefirot,” Item 79, Lesson 36
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Everyone Has The Right To Learn

bb_admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:23:02 +0000

Question: People who recently found out about Kabbalah have doubts about whether or not it should be studied methodically. What is the use of regular, systematic study of the science of Kabbalah?

Answer: Throughout history the only people who came to Kabbalah were those who felt a burning worry, a burning desire. A person could not hold himself back. It was important to him to find out what the essence, source, or meaning of life is. And according to this desire, he “ended up” with the science of Kabbalah. And that’s because everything we see in the world is a spiritual force field in which we move. If the spiritual desire awakens in a person, being an aspiration to the Light, to bestowal, to the Creator as the source of Light, then he finds Kabbalah by moving to it naturally, similar to a charge in an electromagnetic field.

This happened in every generation. However, today is a special time when not only individuals, but masses are discovering that our world is empty. They feel this from the suffering and inner emptiness, and then they also ask the question about the meaning of life. However, their question is aimed not so much at the source of life as at the cause of what is happening: Why do they feel bad and where could goodness come from?

This desire is vested into the garments of our world. It does not yearn for ascent or the search for the source of life, its force, its Governor. A person just wants to know how to arrange his life to avoid losing everything. His family is falling apart, his children are strangers to him, he has no job, everything is vanishing into thin air, and who knows what will happen next? This is driving millions and even billions of people to the same Source, although on a lower level of desire.

Therefore, today we accept everyone to the study of Kabbalah. If a person wants to study and find out some things, then let him come and study. At first we present the science of Kabbalah to him in an easy, friendly form and talk about “rights” rather than “responsibilities.” But later a person sees that just like in any other area, here he also has to exert efforts, and he has to do it more and more. In order to acquire something important, one has to work a lot. This is not a secret, but a person first has to see that there is something to gain here.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/5/12 on Kabbalah Learning

Forward, Toward Concealment

admin.bb — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:52:31 +0000

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 51: …One concealment relates only to the concealment of the face, while the posterior is revealed to them…. Item 52: Concealment within concealment means that even the posterior of the Creator is hidden from them, as they do not believe in reward and punishment….

Am I on one of these levels? No, in the meantime the Creator is absent from my picture. I don’t feel that He exists and I don’t feel that He doesn’t exist. I simply don’t feel anything. This means that it isn’t the level of concealment yet.

In the time of concealment, I don’t feel that there is someone and that he is concealed from me. This allows me to inquire: Why and for what reason is he concealed? What is this concealment in itself? How can I remove it? Could it be that it is better if I conceal myself from Him so that He will start to reveal Himself? But I won’t conceal all of me from Him, only my desire to receive, my ego. If I conceal the part of the heart, which is controlled by self love, then perhaps I will be able to reveal the Creator and to connect to Him.

So the concealment is already the beginning of the work and the test: I find out under what conditions I can remove the concealment. It is about the preparation period for the action that will reveal the Creator to me. Now, however, we are preparing for the preparation.

Question: What is the benefit of this stage?

Answer: Advancing towards the state in which we feel that He is concealed.

So what should I do in order to discover His concealment? I have to understand who I want to reveal, who the Creator is. The Creator is the attribute of bestowal. That is, I have to discover that the attribute of bestowal is concealed from me. When I really want it, I will feel that it isn’t in me, and to achieve it I have to work with the friends in the group.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/2/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Studying The Laws Of Creation On Ourselves

admin.bb — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:45:42 +0000

The Creator’s purpose is to do good to His created beings. The pleasure that comes from the Creator can only be felt by two opposites, when we see Him from a point that is opposite to the good. Then, in this gap between the empty vessel and the Light, we can all feel His goodness.

It cannot be done differently according to the way we see it. Therefore, there was the shattering of the vessels as preparation. Thanks to the fact that we work on the correction of the vessels, we begin to feel the gap between the corrupt vessel and the correct one.

The corrupt vessel is called the desire to receive for itself, and the corrected vessel is the desire to bestow upon others. The correction begins from the level of this world, from the complete detachment from the feeling of the connection with the Creator.

All the laws we have to discover, to determine, and to fulfill are the laws of society. In it we learn these laws in the process of our work, as it says: “There is none wiser than the experienced.” Therefore, the moment a person is given the urge to correct himself, he begins to look for the meaning of life that is actually in the corrected vessel, and then he is brought to the group so that he will be able to put together his spiritual vessel and feel the purpose and meaning of life in it.

We learn on ourselves all the laws of reality by our gradual connection in the group. This is what the whole wisdom of Kabbalah is dedicated to: It tells us about how Kabbalists correct themselves and connect with others on the corporeal and the spiritual levels. In fact, there is nothing but the correction on which this wisdom is based.

It takes a long time until we agree to hear this, then there is a long period in which we hear it but cannot implement it, or don’t feel the connection between the world and what we should do.

During that time the Light influences us in small portions, until we finally begin to feel that we have no choice and that we have to fulfill what we hear. In doing that there are many degrees and states.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/2/12, Writings of Rabash

“I Seek My Brothers”

admin.bb — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:09:57 +0000

“The prayer of the poor” is exactly what we need if we want to go to such an action like the convention in the desert: to look for the right deficiency, for the necessity. After all, we don’t need anything besides the deficiency. We exist in the Light of Ein Sof, in the Creator’s desire to bestow. But we don’t have a vessel that can receive this bestowal.

But this is what we need. How can we know for sure what the Creator wants to bestow upon us? What should we ask for? In the Torah it says about the beginning of the spiritual path: “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.’”—the connection with others. How can we reach this connection if everyone feels hatred towards others and they don’t know where they are, they don’t understand that they are preserving their beastliness, going out to the field to hunt or to herd, while the one who wants to resemble the Creator is looking for a human (that resembles the Creator) and wants to see that “human” part in another?

As a result a person begins to discover the exile, Pharaoh, and the need to leave his control. It is all revealed in the connection among people.

Therefore, if we want to go out “to a field that God has blessed,” in order to do this kind of work and to feel that we are in the desert and should reach connection, then in that connection we can reveal that we hate one another and that Pharaoh, the snake, is among us. And this will evoke us to ask for the Creator’s help. Let’s hope for this to happen.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/2/12, The Zohar

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 02.05.12

bb_editor — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:00:39 +0000

Shamati #159, “And It Came to Pass in the Course of those Many Days”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Beresheet (Genesis),” “A Prayer for the Poor,” Item 189, Lesson 54
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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 6, Item 24, Lesson 16
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Lesson Topic: Kabbalah Learning
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All Desires Are Needed, All Desires Are Important

admin.bb — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:02:59 +0000

Question: Should we get rid of all our corporeal desires in order to reach the level of the “poor man?”

Answer: We shouldn’t get rid of any desire. We should only ask for correction, and nothing more. The upper Light knows what to do better than we do. I don’t have to get rid of anything. Even if I see my worst attributes, I mustn’t get rid of them because it’s as if I would be cutting off my arms and legs. I don’t correct myself; it’s the Light that should correct me.

If I come to you, and attack you, shout at you, and insult you, I mustn’t “shut myself up.” I have to pray for the upper Light to perform this correction because that will be a real correction and not something that is done under pressure. This is a huge difference.

Baal HaSulam says that if you suppress something by that you are destroying this part in the world, and due to that the world will never be corrected. It will require much more effort to bring it back to the way it was and to correct it.

Similarly, we sometimes use medicines in order to suppress an illness and to conceal it inside, and this is even worse than if an illness is seen clearly and thus can be cured. This is how a snake operates: It hides inside and you don’t see it, but then it crawls out.

Therefore our attitude to transgressions, to quarrels between people and to different conflicts is totally different: Let them be as they are, yet above them we should build the correction because now is the best time to correct them.

If a person wants to cover up the negative revelations and to hide them, it’s the worst thing. There are people who are afraid of quarrels and conflicts, they are afraid of such revelations, and it’s bad because that isn’t aimed at correction.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/2/12, The Zohar

Seduced By The Light

admin.bb — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:27:46 +0000

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 59: Hence, when one is granted repentance from fear… now he evidently sees that there is Providence of reward and punishment. It is clear to him that all the suffering he had ever felt was a punishment from His Providence for the sins he had committed.

Why is Providence being revealed to us? It is because it cannot spoil us. Each time we get an adequate measure of concealment that prevents us from blaming the Creator and His Providence within our desires that were initially destroyed and by doing so, we descend even more.

The step that is good for us is being concealed from us for our own protection. Just like parents who “diminish” their love to their children and start demanding more from them. They demonstrate “cruelty, insolence and stubbornness” to the extent that the wellbeing of the child requires. They regret that they have to “limit” their love, but there is no other way. This is called “suffering of Shechina” which has to be concealed from the lower ones.

However, when a person reveals His Providence, which is based on reward and punishment, he rids himself of any limitations. Now, he can misbehave like a child who suddenly realizes that his parents love him unconditionally and endlessly and that’s why he drops all barriers.

Kabbalists wrote a lot about this situation. As it is said, “The one who spares the rod hates his offspring.” It is essential to use rigidness and perseverance while constantly balancing between judgment and mercy.

The Creator has to conceal Himself from those who have receiving desires. He can open Himself only to bestowing desires, although, it is true only in regards to His Providence rather than to the Lights. By all means, it is also the Light, but it deals with intelligence rather than with feelings.

This stage is the starting point of human development. It should be clear to us that we advance only while acquiring the correct screens and powers. Thanks to them, if the Creator manifests Himself as absolute goodness and is ready to fulfill all of our desires, we won’t lose our independence. At the time of concealment we protect ourselves, and even more so.

When we were in concealment, we had nothing to “steal”; now, we have something to steal and should hold back from doing so. While in concealment, we don’t regard the Creator as good and benevolent. Our duty is to prevent ourselves from being spoiled by this sensation. It’s prohibited to undermine one’s fear because of the Creator’s abundance and our attitude towards the Creator. On the contrary, our fear has to continue growing: “Will we be able to give to the Creator at such a high level? Are we capable of rising above everything that is being revealed to us?”

Revelation of the Creator weakens us greatly since it compliments desire. It’s as if the Creator tells us: “Do whatever you want. There are no restrictions. You are welcome to have half of the kingdom or the whole kingdom.” This is where the problem lies: Are we capable of avoiding such confusion?

The most important thing is not pleasure, but rather illusion and complete disarray. All of a sudden we soared into the skies: “Everything is fine; we can do whatever we want; it’s easy! Previously, we didn’t realize that everything came directly from the Creator and was permeated with love. Moreover, we are in complete agreement with Him and He indulges us in our caprices…” That’s where we can get into trouble.

That’s why we have to constantly work on our desires until we reach the level of bestowal. When the Creator reveals Himself to us, we still carry on our path. However, this completely wide-open revelation” is only a trick, an invitation to the wrong side to us to continue expanding the screen and using ingenuity against the evil inclination, against Pharaoh.

It’s as if the Creator and Pharaoh approached us together as in the “Scroll of Esther,” where it is even harder to tell who the Creator is and who the Ahasuerus (the king) is. The king supports Haman, while Mordechai sits at the gates in the street, and we don’t know for sure which of them is right.

At times like this, we cannot endure without the right environment that evokes us to life.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/26/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

It Will Come Gradually

admin.bb — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:51:21 +0000

Question: If I read the text while listening to The Zohar, I cannot concentrate on prayer. What is better: to read or to pray?

Answer: It is better if you do both, but you cannot accomplish it at once. It takes a long time. It is similar to working with some novel device or entering a new society. Initially, we don’t know anything about them. We start exploring their behavioral patterns and reactions to the environment and eventually analyze the initial data and our impressions; we figure out what impacts this mechanism and what doesn’t.

Gradually, we begin to sense the nuances of the system; we learn how it reacts to external factors. It doesn’t matter whether it is a human society, a family, a person, or a machine. All systems react to external influences.

When we study the upper system: Aba ve Ima, ZON, worlds of BYA, and Atzilut, we gradually start assigning our own properties to them under the influence of the surrounding Light. We can tell the difference between Aba ve Ima (Father and Mother) and ZON, which occupies a position that is lower than Aba ve Ima or the worlds of BYA; we distinguish between right and left lines, and recognize Arich Anpin with its “brain partitions” and “hidden intelligence.”

We begin sensing definitions. It’s as if we know people that belong to a certain group or as if we connect a familiar person with a concrete sensation: pleasant or unpleasant, intimidating or not.

When we get to know The Zohar and other Kabbalistic books, we link Kabbalistic notions of internal and external nature with our own sensations. Thus, we begin to assemble all images into one picture, no matter what we read: a weekly chapter of the Torah, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” or The Book of Zohar, which is written in an allegorical language. We start collecting all images into one picture.

It’s about the upper system to which we belong and its influence upon us. It doesn’t matter what time and place we are talking about: Egyptian slavery, wandering in the desert (as described in the Torah), shattering of the worlds, or correction described in the “Study of the Ten Sefirot.”

Not only do we start to understand that all sources talk about parallel events, only using different languages; we also begin to connect them to ourselves. First, we thought that everything was outside of us and that some upper system was somewhere else, whereas we are here in this world. But later, our self-vision starts to differ and we recognize that everything is within us and about us. The whole Torah is instruction (Orah) that helps us enter the authentic system in order to avoid the state of unconsciousness and keep us away from the condition of living without any clue of where we really are. This is how a person gradually advances.

When we open The Zohar or any other Kabbalistic book (The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Tanakh, Midrash, or Psalms), it depends only on the person and his in-depth sensation that all these sources speak about him, the Creator, and the buffer that connects them together, that is, the world, humankind, the group, and our teachers, the great Kabbalists, the authors of the books that connect us with spirituality.

Then, it doesn’t matter what “language” we are using and what style we cling to; all that matters is whether we have enough time and a suitable place for authentic actions. We feel that we stand across from the system that facilitates revelation of the Creator to us. This system is both external and internal and the Creator stays inside of it until “Israel” (the people), the Torah, and the Creator connect into one whole as all of us always strove to attain.

It will come gradually.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/26/12, The Zohar

Cry Out From Emptiness

admin.bb — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:18:59 +0000

Question: How can we protect ourselves at the time of the Creator’s revelation if our Reshimot (informational genes) and desires change and are being renewed at every given level?

Answer: This is true, but we shouldn’t overlook the initial principle that states that the only thing we have to do is work on our desires and demands; the result will come from Above. It doesn’t make a difference if we face even a thousand confusing situations. All we do is prepare a desire for each state.

There is total confusion around us; we cannot trace internal connections and don’t understand a thing. We don’t have to understand: All we have to do is to want. We are not obligated to comprehend the situation and assemble fragments of the whole picture into one. Our task is to want to connect them together with the help of the Light that reforms. The more confusion there is, the better.

If we regard our work incorrectly, it seems that we don’t advance at all. We get more and more confused and frustrated; looking back, we are frightened by events in recent years, and looking forward, we don’t see even a glimmer of hope. Rabash once told me: “If at the time you leave a lesson you don’t feel more empty than the day before, it means that the lesson was unsuccessful.”

The lesson should end with a sensation that we don’t have anything. “What do I do?!”—I cry out. My cry has to resound.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/26/12, “Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Completing The Creator’s Creation For Him

admin.bb — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:56:39 +0000

Question: What is a good indicator that we are on our way?

Answer: A good indicator is one’s discovery of the deficiency from which the spiritual Kli (vessel) is constructed. As it is written, “God will complete for my sake.” This means that, in response to this deficiency, the attribute of bestowal will truly arrive. Through it, our spiritual Kli will be filled.

We were given the initial Kli, HaVaYaH, about which it is said, “I the Lord do not change (Ani HaVaYaH lo Shiniti),” “Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey,” or the four stages of the direct Light. We can broaden it only by attaining the root through the tip of the “Yod” through which all of the HaVaYaH is filled to the same extent to which we open to Her the place of fulfillment, our deficiency.

The fulfillment is measured by the extent of bestowal that is acquired by this HaVaYaH (Yesod of Neshama – foundation of the soul). The soul (Neshama) is filled with the letters: “Yod-Vav-Dalet” (the complete spelling of the letter “Yod”), “Vav-Yod-Vav” (the complete spelling of the letter “Vav”), “Hey-Yod” (the spelling of the letter ”Hey”), and so on.

How can the Kli of HaVaYaH, the “skeleton” of the soul, be filled with letters? After all, the letters are also Kelim. Does that mean that I seemingly fill a pail with empty cups? Is that called filling? I wanted to be filled by the Light! The bestowal that the Kli acquires is specifically called the Light. It fills it, and it doesn’t need anything else.

Therefore, the acquiring of deficiency for the desire to bestow is the essential preparation of the person himself. When the desire to bestow arrives, it will fill the Kli with longing for bestowal, for love. There is no other filling: only this!

When a person is filled with the attribute of bestowal, he studies the Creator, the upper force, and becomes like Him. It is especially in this that he feels the fulfillment, that is to say, the filling is the Masach (screen) and the returning Light.

This is what we need to long for, to prepare for. All the work is just for this purpose. The main problem is not to become confused and not to replace the real fulfillment from bestowal, from the desire to bestow, the desire to love, with other fillings. No other fulfillment is able to give us more from this corporeal life than the very “small candle” and the awakening to spiritual life, meaning a kind of weak luminescence that stimulates the desire to receive and forces it to search for real fulfillment.

Therefore, all of our work is to search for the correct deficiency, and thanks to it, we become familiar with the Creator. That is what we can add to His work.

The Creator created the desire to receive, and we add to this desire our new correct form. We take this raw material and sculpt from it what seems to us as good and correct. Thus, we complete the creation.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/30/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Penetrating Love Through Barricades Of Hate

admin.bb — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:14:13 +0000

If I feel indifference toward the friends and nothing disturbs me, it is a sign that I haven’t begun to discover hate and certainly not love. However, if I already feel repelled by them, it is the influence of the upper light that is shining on me to show me my evil, my ego.

Not everyone is ready for this kind of work: It is possible that a person may connect with others and feel good; it’s pleasant, it’s interesting to go to the desert with everyone with all that hugging, and he doesn’t feel any hate. Hate can only be revealed by the Light that reforms.

Does it surprise you that this is the way It reforms you? Yes, this is the way to Him.

It is important not to despair that you have discovered hate that repels you. Don’t shout, “Where is my advancement? What kind of reward is this for my efforts?”

If you continue despite everything, if you want to connect with the friends because there is no other choice and Kabbalists advise you to do so, if you annul yourself, then you will understand that it is possible to reach bestowal and the revelation of the Creator only through connection. But you see that by yourself, you cannot connect and then you realize that connection is only possible with the help of the Surrounding Light.

The hatred towards the friends also comes from the Light, but this happens without our request. It is the revelation of evil. In order to correct it, a person must relate to the upper force purposefully and ask It to be revealed so that we will have the opportunity to connect with others.

There are many ascents and descents, disappointments, and a long period of helplessness on this path when you can’t annul yourself or turn either way. We are purposefully being exhausted this way until eventually the Light from Above comes to help us, and we begin to appreciate the friends. Here too you should check whether you appreciate them for no reason or whether you appreciate them because you appreciate the Creator.

Israel, the Torah, and the Creator should always be joined into one, and then this aims you in the right direction. Israel (you) is full of hate; the Torah (the upper Light) reforms you, helping you build the love on top of the hate. And then in the middle line, when you correctly connect the right and the left, you reveal the Creator and it all merges together into one.

This is the focus of our work.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/31/12, Writings of Rabash

There Must Be A Balance Between The Mind And The Heart

admin.bb — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:31:24 +0000

At certain moments we are able to feel a yearning for bestowal, for giving, for closeness, for embracing, for the unity of the hearts, but the next moment we cool down. This is because we are not corrected, and our impression comes from the ego.

The ego agrees to give in for a moment and adhere to another egoistically to feel the connection. Then, I feel proud that I managed to connect, and this is what holds me. However, a minute later a new Reshimo (reminiscence) cools down my enthusiasm.

Sometimes, a person is ready to jump off the tenth floor. For a moment, he is ready to do anything due to the despair he feels in his broken heart, but the next second he already regrets it and begins to think logically. It happens this way because it stems from the one and only egoistic desire a person has.

How can we be in the corrected state for a longer period of time, both in mind and heart, and not regret the decision we took, even though it is higher than us and against our nature? How can we consciously throw ourselves as if we were stepping out of the tenth floor into open air, and, while hanging in the air, know what is happening to us, be ready for it and want it to happen?

This isn’t a rash, crazy step coming from the despair of a broken heart, but from a clear, rational decision. This can only be done if you have another force, the force of bestowal, acting against the force of receiving. The Light that influences a person enables him to hold himself this way and to reach an informed decision.

A spiritual action never takes place according to the heart’s desire alone; it should be deliberate, calculated in both the heart and the mind. The more the upper Light operates and shines upon a person, the more he is able to make the right decision, giving his own life, his soul, and, at the same time, sticking to the decision for a long time, until he completes that level and rises to the next level.

With regard to the present level, he will never change his decision. When the next level comes and a desire grows, he will fall and rise again to the next state. The sign for such advancement is a constant feeling of happiness.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/29/12, Writings of Rabash

Are You Ready To Attack?

admin.bb — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:06:49 +0000

We want to prepare for a congress in the Arava desert, if it will take place. After all, we can’t designate dates for congresses according to the calendar, but only according to our readiness. Thus, every day during this month before the congress, we must assess ourselves: Are we really ready to go and attack?

Let’s use a tailor as an example. He receives orders from people, and sews pants, shirts and hats for them. This is the way he earns a living, and it is enough for his sustenance. Is it worthwhile for him to advertise himself, or not? If he is a good tailor and can show off his work, it is worthwhile to promote himself.

However, if he doesn’t prepare the right advertising slogans, doesn’t know exactly how to sell himself, and isn’t confident of success, then it’s preferable for him just to keep quiet and remain as is. After all, if he advertises himself knowing that his work isn’t very good, then he won’t even earn the same living that he earned before.

Therefore we need to think hard before we are going to take a leap, to grow spiritually: Do we have the means in hand in order to rise, or not; do we have the deficiency, the need, the readiness? Are we equipped to go out to attack?
[68032]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/30/12, The Zohar

All In Good Time

admin.bb — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:33:12 +0000

Question: Many people in Israel support our message, so why doesn’t the whole country hear us?

Answer: The message cannot be heard in a vacuum. There must be “air,” the attention of the hearts, through which the sound waves are transmitted. Otherwise, you’re just silently opening your mouth and no sound comes out. The desire that can pick up your words and carry them to a distance isn’t ready yet. This is the whole problem.

So what can we do so that this desire will appear? We can distribute our materials in the streets and at the events we hold, which is what we do, but this is not enough. It isn’t by chance that Kabbalists kept quiet until our time, until the egoistic desire started taking on the form of the general crisis. It wasn’t even a prohibition, but simply an inability to communicate something to the people.

Even if the wisdom of Kabbalah were opened before them, they wouldn’t have seen anything. Using the example of current events, we have been talking about the problem of unemployment for a long time, but only now it is beginning to emerge. Everything is delayed; we are always ahead of things.

We can only make efforts to do our best in dissemination, making sure that it doesn’t turn into “unripe fruit.” Everything must happen all in its time, so that people will understand our ideas correctly. Otherwise they will have the impression that it is just empty talk.

Therefore we should wait a while. We don’t want them to suffer, of course, but still the serious problems must reach the headlines, so that we can come out with our ideas. People need to hear from us what they are ready to hear.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/1/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 02.03.12

bb_editor — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:17 +0000

Writings of Rabash “Love of Friends”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Beresheet (Genesis),” “A Prayer for the Poor,” (Start with: “Yet, she still has some correction”), Item 187, Lesson 53
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Preface to the Book of Zohar, Item 26, Lesson 14
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