The modern person has all the comforts of this world, but we are still unsatisfied – in fact, more so than before. In the past, if a person had a loaf of bread a day, he could not dream of anything more. Compared to that, look at all the things a modern person needs. Yet, is he satisfied? No! And everyone’s asking: Why?

Satisfaction is not to be found on the regular, human level, and none of the new toys we get will help. We want to dope ourselves with “stuff,” but the emptiness that surfaces in us comes from a completely different place – our lack of similarity to the Creator. That is why we cannot fulfill it with anything other than the sensation of the Creator!

This emptiness gradually forms inside us and accumulates to a specific measure in order to “explode.” That is when a person comes to understand that he can no longer suppress that emptiness. He has to fulfill it since otherwise his life will seem worse than death. It is impossible to find fulfillment for this desire in this world because it is a need to reveal the Upper World, the Creator!

Yet the body’s protective forces compel us to search for ways to confuse ourselves. People take drugs, alcohol, or fill their lives with empty, fashionable things or trips. Thus, like ostriches, we hide our heads in the sand to escape the problems.

That is how the protective force of our ego operates, wishing to prove to itself that it is fulfilled and to conceal the emptiness that never can be filled. Why think about the things we could never attain anyway and spoil our lives?

But this cannot go on for long! For now we still manage to confuse ourselves on the “animate” level in order to avoid feeling the unfulfilled need on the “human” level. But the cover up will unavoidably blow up.

In different periods throughout history similar states brought about revolutions, wars, and dramatic, tragic solutions. Let us hope that in our case the solution will not be so cruel. In our case, we have to rise from the level of our world, the “animate” degree, to the level of the Upper World, the level of Adam or the Creator. This is not in our power and humanity is starting to go crazy from its own futility.

On our egoistic level it was possible to ascend from one degree to the next by way of revolutions, wars, new regimes or religions, and new technologies such as book printing, the steam engine, the Internet, and so on. All of this provided fulfillment for a certain segment of time, but now egoism has exhausted itself and the need to reveal the Creator demands precisely the spiritual fulfillment. We are revealing a new inner desire: to reveal the One who controls us.

From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/2/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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The egoistic desire constantly chases delight and knows no boundaries, thus leading itself to death. There is no way for it to survive. Even within the complete righteous, the still, vegetative, and animate degrees strive towards and approach death.

This is our whole life: From the very moment of birth we begin to move towards death. The egoistic desire is unable to exist in any other form since it nourishes itself from death rather than life.

However, we can acquire the desire to bestow. It is completely separated from our egoistic desire to receive and represents the soul that exists apart from the body, regardless of whether the body is dead, alive, or born again. All of these states occur solely at the level of this world, while the soul lives in the spiritual, Upper World.

In other words, we are now transitioning  to an entirely new type of existence, which is not associated whatsoever with our previous ways of life. We will not be able to continue based on previous education, culture, or values unless they are directly necessary for our essential bodily needs. So-called “human” values will simply cease to exist because we will no longer find fulfillment in them. And on the animate level we will exist as all animals do, consuming no more than is necessary for life.

Thus, the whole life of humanity will change radically, and no one will force us to it. Rather, all these fulfillments – be it fashion, movies, or mass media – won’t give us the sensation of life. It will be reduced to the necessary existence of the body, and for everything else people will search only on the truly human level. It is a qualitative change that has never previously taken place.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/30/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Question: If the breaking of the collective soul is a natural and necessary process, why then is it called “falling into sin?”

Answer: We call any downfall “sin,” but do we really sin? In our world, it is considered a sin when I think that I can resist an act that I know is unacceptable, but still do it. But it isn’t really so because if I knew for a fact that it is prohibited, I wouldn’t do it.

Actually, sin is when I am overtaken and overpowered by the forces of separation. Sin is the state itself but not its cause. The cause always lies with the Creator. It is He who created our evil egoistic inclination.

How else can the evil inclination be created if not through “falling into sin?” First, it is necessary to ascend to the highest degree, fall from it, to receive impressions from all the degrees of ascent and our current state, and to cultivate the egoistic desire by means of the breaking of the soul. In fact, if it weren’t for the breaking, egoism would have remained at the animate level. Conversely, through the breaking, it grows to be a “creature,” “the evil inclination.”

Before the breaking, it was just a will to receive pleasure, an animal. If a lion, for instance, wants to kill a deer, we don’t consider it to be an evil inclination; a lion is simply moved by instinct, a desire to be filled.

So, when does the evil inclination appear? It appears when we ascend, receive forces of love and unity there, then fall with them and the forces turn into their opposite: unfounded hatred. Now the desire to feel pleasure, which includes all the informational data (Reshimot) that are pushing it toward this unfounded hatred, is called the evil inclination. From this moment on, it wishes to use everyone else to their detriment because that is what it enjoys.

In other words, in a human appears a sensation of another human (which animals don’t possess), and he enjoys when the other suffers. That is genuine egoism! In contrast, good is when I turn this hatred into love. Yet, a relationship with the other is necessary in both cases.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/10, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Question: Are you saying that the fact that I egoistically use my neighbor right now causes a sandstorm in India?

Answer: Yes! We need to understand that all problems occur due to a lack of connection among us. And this does not mean that by drawing away from you I immediately cause some hurricane that brings sand. However, by being in opposition to you, I bring disparity into the balance of forces in nature.

All the forces of nature exist in unity, interconnection, balance, and universal harmony. That is, except for the human being whose growing egoism and unwillingness to consider others turns us into an active negative element which disrupts the balance of all the forces (of still, vegetative, and animate nature). The solution to the problem is to become an integral part of nature, like all its other parts.

We reveal that the world is in unity and complete interconnection; it exists as a locked system where everyone is connected to each other. This means that we are obliged to unite as “one man with one heart.”

You could object to this and say that we are incapable of this. However, there is the science of Kabbalah and by utilizing it we rouse the force of unification. Humanity will inevitably reach this conclusion, and we are already close to it. If we have already entered this period, from now on everything will occur very quickly.

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

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Question: Kabbalah says that the reason for all the problems in the world is man’s egoistic desire. But what is the connection between me being an egoist who’s opposite to the Creator and the extreme heat in Moscow or the ecological crisis?

Answer: We are all inside a closed system or sphere called “the Creator” where all the parts are connected through mutual bestowal. That is the law of existence of the entire system as well as each of its parts. We can see this on the example of the human body, the ecosystem, and so on. I exist inside this system like an embryo inside a mother’s womb, and I feel good to the degree I am connected and equivalent to the system and bestowing like it. And vice versa: To the degree I am disparate from it and have different qualities, I feel bad.

Proximity and separation are not defined by distance, but by equivalence of form. If I have a small egoistic desire, then even if I am different from the system, I feel small problems. But if my desire increases, then so does my sensation of discomfort.

Since man’s egoistic desire constantly develops, his opposition to Nature’s system, the Creator, also increases, and thus it is inevitable that man will feel worse. This will continue until he begins to understand what the reason for his suffering and problems is.

I will receive blows of fate from all sides until I understand that it is systematic and not accidental. The problems with the ecology are not accidental! I can no longer keep ignoring them. Similar problems will take place all over the world and in all forms. They will shake people up and make them stop and think, “Apparently, there must be a reason for this?”

As the desire grows, it feels suffering and creates a mind by its side in order to avoid the suffering. A person becomes smarter and shrewder. He learns to connect the causes and consequences and inevitably begins asking, “Why is this happening? Where are all of our problems coming from?” Usually people ask, “What did I do to deserve all of this?” And that is already a subconscious question about the Source of what is happening (Nature, the Creator).

People will reveal that what is operating here is the general law of the universe. Call it “Nature” instead of the Creator; either way it requires us to constantly and consciously maintain balance with Nature, which means we have to have the same quality of bestowal as the whole universe since all parts of the universe exist in universal connection and integral unity.

That is why there is no choice about the matter. Humanity is a cancerous tumor inside all of nature, and it is obligated to cure itself. Eventually, under pressure from all the problems, we will reach this realization. It’s already very close.

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

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Question: What should we tell ourselves when Pharaoh’s questions overcome us?

Answer: A religious person does not suffer from these questions, he is content by the fact that he receives knowledge by studying the Torah. However, a person who studies Kabbalah constantly checks: Why am I doing this, where am I, and when will I reach the purpose of creation? That is, one exists in a constant state of inner analysis.

The environment that surrounds him also exists within the same circumstances, the same scrutiny, and it influences him. In addition, the environment is not just comprised of people that directly surround him, but of thousands of people all over the world that study Kabbalah and think in one direction. They all move synchronously, as though they are swept up by a powerful wind or by waves of a tsunami that approach one after another.

Therefore, these questions emerge in every person: “Who is this Creator, and why should I listen to His voice? Who am I doing all this for? What does this work give me?” That is, why am I doing all of this? Is it in order to reach bestowal? But what will that do for me?

These questions come from Pharaoh, our ego, and they are very fair and correct. It is written in The Book of Zohar that Pharaoh was smarter than everyone, and the greatest wisdom was accumulated in Egypt. Pharaoh personifies the whole spiritual vessel, the whole desire that was created by the Creator. Therefore, when the Creator wishes to draw the person (Moses and the nation of Israel) closer to Himself, He says: “Let’s go to Pharaoh!” Where else would a person get the desire to reveal who he is? Only from Pharaoh. The Creator says: “I will go with you Myself.”

It is like they have no choice. They need to turn to Pharoah, to get the strength from the egoistic desire since without it advancement is impossible. Where else would they get this wisdom? Only from Pharaoh, from the Light of wisdom, the Light of Hochma that exists in these desires.

Therefore, it is good that Pharaoh’s questions emerge in us. We just need to work with them.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/3/10, Article, “These are the Generations of Noah”

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Excerpts from my upcoming book, A Guide to The Book of Zohar

Truth be told, we are not very successful at connecting all positive and negative things to the Creator or at understanding that everything comes only from Him and only for the sake of a positive goal. Therefore, our work consists of asking Him for the strength to connect everything to Him as to the only source.

Our ego grows constantly, becoming stronger, worse, and crueler every time. This forces us to turn to the Creator increasingly often to receive continually greater strength from Him to overcome our egoism. This is so that our ego will not confuse us, causing us to think that there is someone else besides Him and that He is not just good and does good.

Thus, due to this growing ego, we ascend higher and higher until the entire egoism that is concealed within us is revealed, and we reach complete adhesion with the Creator by becoming just like Him.

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 20: Because of the sin with the Tree of Knowledge, the impure forces were given control over man. This is why the order of the universe is very confused. Sinners beget evil, decreasing the Light’s abundance for the people. This naturally leads to destruction and suffering. But if they increase the abundance, then the separation for the receivers increases even more, as the sages said, "If a person has one hundred coins, he wants two hundred, and if he has two hundred, then he wants four hundred."

It is man’s nature to always chase pleasure, but by doing so he only increases his desire to receive. All of life is an endless pursuit of pleasures which you can never attain. And the small bits of fulfillment that we do receive are given to us so we would keep pursuing and increasing our desires.

It seems to us that we run after pleasure, but we are running after even greater desire! We barely touch our object of desire, and the next moment we feel that we need twice as much! When we experience pleasure for a moment, we increase our desire two-fold, and thus the pleasure itself turns into desire. This continues on and on until we grow disillusioned.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/19/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 19: Egoistic reception of pleasure carries a drop of lethal poison, and thus we increase our debt two-fold… As a result this takes the last remaining spark of life away from a person, as if he is met by “the angel of death, bearing a drop of poison on the edge of a sword, and the person obediently opens up his mouth, swallows the drop, and dies.”

We are creatures, and we have to turn the Creator’s pleasure into our pleasure for the sake of bestowal in order to enjoy twice as much: both from the pleasure and from adhesion with the Creator. It will be sweet and true simultaneously. However, in the meantime, we are acting in the completely opposite way and are receiving pleasure from double falsehood. We are “opening up our wound” and enjoying the fact that we are bringing ourselves closer to death!

This is directly counter to true life since our inner system must work opposite to the way it currently does. We must change to receiving, but for the sake of bestowal; yet, with us everything happens in the opposite way.

It turns out that a person manages to enjoy his suffering and even to be proud of it. The power of all the impure forces is built upon this. However, spirituality begins precisely above this.

Otherwise, the angel of death eventually comes and takes the last drop of life from a person. Why does a person die? It is because he severs the connection with the Light, with bestowal, which was given to him by nature, like a small fire that, according to the plan of creation, he must develop into greater bestowal, eternal life, a great fire, Light. However, we squander this spark on egoistic life and we die instead of developing it and acquiring true life.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/18/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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A question I received: How will a memory (Reshimo) about a past pleasure help me if, today, I’m unable to receive my favorite dish from the Host and need to limit myself to less?

My Answer: This is a fair question from the perspective of healthy egoism. However, you need to perform a calculation on how much pleasure you can bring to the Creator rather than on how much you can fill your belly. A memory of the past will allow you to perform an act of bestowal without making a mistake.

I came to visit Him knowing that I could accept only the pleasure that I would be able to return to Him. I did everything I could and left. The next time I come to Him, I’m weaker because I already have experienced the pleasure and now I desire it. After all, the hunger comes during the meal. The Light weakens me, and now I want to continue this pleasure. It would be easier not to start at all than to start and then stop.

In other words, when you come to the Host for the second time, you can’t receive the same pleasure for the sake of bestowal anymore. Therefore, you’re forced to receive less in order to give pleasure rather than receive pleasure. You evaluate the same pleasure that you received before according to the strength that you have now in order not to err.

This difference between the impressions from the Light and from the desire (Reshimo de-Hitlabshut and Reshimo de-Aviut) allows me to receive the maximum of what is possible and only for the sake of bestowal. I receive a lesser amount of Light (for example, the Light of Haya instead of the Light of Yechida), but I receive the same pleasure due to the fact that I give the full 100% of what’s possible despite having less strength.

From the perspective of egoism, there’s a difference in the pleasure, and from the perspective of bestowal, there is not. The force of the anti-egoistic screen does not depend on me. I do the most that I can in my state and in such bestowal, everyone is equal, the great and the small alike.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/23/10, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

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