Question: After the convention I have a feeling that it was all like a dream, and it’s difficult to realize what happened. How would you sum up the results of the convention?

Answer: This is not easy. If you had known Rabash, you would know how closed he was, concealing himself and not wishing to give any explanations besides the most necessary ones. Yet it is clear that he wanted to give as much as possible to his students, since it is written, “A cow wishes to feed more than the calf wishes to suckle.”

But the problem is the student’s readiness level. The teacher cannot give him an “unripe fruit” since instead of being help, this will harm him and bring him to a halt, a descent, confusion, and then it will take him a long time and great efforts to get out of this state. Everyone will pay dearly for that—both the teacher and the student, as well as those who have to unite with him into one system. This is a very complex calculation.

That is why it is written, “Raise a lad in his own way.” That is to say, the teacher should not give to the student according to the student’s infantile demand, “Give me!” But should do so correctly and deliberately, as befits his level of development.

Clearly, this constantly evokes pressure in the relationship between the teacher and the students. They are shouting to the teacher, “Give to us!” They don’t understand that he can only give them the method but not the actual fulfillment. They will have to receive the fulfillment themselves by realizing this method upon themselves.

Therefore, some people do not think that they are advancing well. Some cannot justify this method and perceive it. Or they might even understand it with their mind, but are not ready to agree with it in their heart. As a result, they start to disregard the teacher, the method, and the sources. And nothing can be done about it—that’s how life is.

I think that we already overcame very difficult stages, and whoever has stayed after this, out of the thousands of people who have gone through here, will go forward. And whoever left might still come back. We are waiting for everyone, the whole world, to join us.

But in the future there won’t be a choice either: all new levels will always be revealed from the side of the vessels, empty desires. Therefore, you must only strictly carry out the advice of the sources and teacher, and after realizing this advice you will receive answers and fulfillment yourself! Fulfillment cannot come from above to an empty place, if there is no vessel.

Let us hope that we have now gained a better understanding of these principles and the order of our work. Many new people took part in the Convention, who do not have the experience we do yet. But by tuning into the common unity, they will be able to learn these principles quickly, just like any new generation relies on the experience of the previous one and receives from it. And we will be happy to give them everything we have so that by tuning in to our world group, they will immediately become just as experienced and knowledgeable as us, and even more so.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/15/12, Writings of Rabash

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Question: I would like you to be with us as long as possible.

Answer: First, when people treat each other nicely, they think that it’s good to be near each other. I don’t know whether this is a better place—to be next to you.

Second, if you talk about me, the teacher stays with his students as long as they need. As soon as this need disappears, there is other work, he is transferred to another place.

So, there is nothing terrible here. You have to think only about how to realize what’s written in the primary sources and that’s all. Whether there is a teacher, no teacher, it doesn’t depend on us. And the most important is what we are doing now. If there are such groups, if women actively help them, support, directing towards the center of the group the desires to reveal the Creator, then everything will be fine.

There is no need for a teacher: The Creator, the Light will teach you. In reality, this is what we are trying to “catch” here—the method of working with the Light.
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/25/2012, Workshop 4

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 People who study with us for years ask me: “Well, when will I finally…? What will be in the end?”, and I don’t know what to answer them.

You are in the upper world already, start feeling it! And if it is concealed from you, do what you have to do so that it will be revealed! After all, I will not give you this key!

Why do you all see in me someone who executes things and not a guide? I cannot fulfill anything!

Suppose I were a coach of an athlete who has to participate in the Olympic games. I can’t participate in his place. I am a coach. I can advise him and show him, I can give him different activities to carry out: psychological, physical, massage, etc., everything that an athlete needs. But I cannot participate in his place. It is the same here!

A Kabbalah teacher is like a school or university teacher, he brings you out into the world. Then you have to reach your own goal by yourself, attain your own achievements using the knowledge you received from your teacher. It is the same thing here.

So it is futile to ask me: “When?” You should only ask yourselves.

I can even sit here on the stage and not say a word for two days, while you are working on your internality. This would be a wonderful convention! We could transmit it all over the world, and our friends all over the world could do the same thing. We will get to that state. You cannot even imagine what force would reside among you then. This could be an amazing experience!

So only internal concentration!

And on the outside, the help of the friends and my instructions.
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/25/2012, Lesson 5

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Question: How do you feel about the goal that stands in front of you?

Answer: My goal is to make such a group that will clearly follow a straight line towards adhesion with the Creator and lead the masses, pulling more and more people.

This process will take place when the group goes through several early critical stages, like a young child who has to grow, reach adolescence without getting lost, and be able to help himself: getting dress, putting on shoes, finding a job, and settling into life.

This is the state in which the group should exist in the spiritual world, to advance on its own, knowing that this movement is due only to the pressure from below, which it ensures by the dissemination among the general population.
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From KabTV’s “Foundations of the Integral Society” 3/18/12

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Kabbalists give me “advice in the dark,” and in the end I’m like a child before a yet unexamined reality.

We give advice to little children in the same way, and they obediently follow the instructions because for now they do not know anything about the given subject and they trust the adults completely. Instinctively, a child believes us, as his nature instructs him to do, he or she follows us, with what we call the “eyes closed.”

We must follow Kabbalists the same way. Of course this causes discomfort; we are grown people, we want to feel and understand. “Wait, what exactly am I doing? Why do I do this and with what purpose? Where is this coming from?” Everyone has many questions and excuses.

It does not matter. If we were children, the upper world would open up before us in no time. But then we would be like “angels” there, not higher than “animals.” But if we wish to attain the degree of the Creator, then we cannot make all our actions and take all our steps through our natural aspirations, we must do it through faith above reason—in other words, against our egoism.

This constitutes all the complications. I am given a certain advice, but I fail to see logic in it because my mind and feelings pertain to this world. I do not see or feel that this is the exact way I need to act.

I am told: “Even if you do not understand it, you need to know that this is the way things are there in the upper world, since there, everything is directed towards bestowal, when here, everything is directed towards reception. There everything is in unity, and here everything is in separation. There everything is eternal, perfect, and aspires towards balance, while here it is the other way around.” But words do not help me. I am still standing on the foundation of this world, and I need to acquire the upper world from here.

Yes it is difficult on one hand, but necessary on the other. I do not need to transition from one world to another; instead, I must live in both worlds in order to be independent in relation to the Creator. It is similar to what the guest says to the host: “I want to be like you. You are a giver and I want to give. You give to me and I want to give to you. I depend on you and I want you to depend on me.” So I also need to be independent standing before the Creator.

We cannot even imagine it: On one had there is none else beside Him, and on the other hand there is something independent. And this state exists only because we assert ourselves in both worlds: I constantly build the upper world above this world. This is why the journey is so difficult. After all, my every action, my every step, must oppose my desire and understanding, everything I know and everything I have gathered and collected over the course of my entire life.

Everything is the other way around. Even when we speak about love and unity, in reality it is not the kind of love and unity we are accustomed to. They lie above our nature. In other words, I must reach a state where I do not seem to exist. It slightly resembles a mother who selflessly gives herself to her child.

But here I need to go to the end in full, limitless unity in relation to the entire world. And this, despite all the obstacles, is when I discover that all the desires to which I must fully give myself, are opposite to me, hate and reject me. As the Aviut (the thickness of desire) grows, I am shown the distance between reception and bestowal, and then I reveal the entire burden concealed in unity.

And all this is to acquire independence at the height of the Creator.

This is why we need to agree with everything we experience. And even though our nature, the nature of this world, rejects all the forms of the spiritual world, we must agree with this. The spiritual form is opposite to me, I hate it and do not accept it, but this is the way things need to be. I must understand and love it; I must prepare myself for it with the help of the group, the environment. This is exactly where we are going: towards this contradiction, to make it desirable so it would serve as proof of the fact that we are advancing towards the truth.
[72045]
From the Arava Convention 2/25/12, Lesson 7

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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

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Question: What does it mean for you to be a disciple of Baal HaSulam?

Answer: I try to be his disciple by constantly scrutinizing his works in order to find something new and aim at the goal more precisely every time. Yesterday’s truth may prove to be completely incorrect in my eyes, up to the point of becoming opposite.

In addition, we realize the words of Baal HaSulam at the corporeal level too, to the extent that we understand his works such as “The Nation,” “The Last Generation,” and others. We also build the work in the group in accordance with Baal HaSulam and Rabash.

Thus we constantly rely on their books and try to ensure that their advice give direction to our lives. This is what’s meant by continuing the path. And it pertains to not me alone, but to each person present here: We all need to be disciples of Baal HaSulam, allowing him to direct us toward adhesion with the Creator.

Consequently, we need to perform a check on our readiness to adjust the direction and realize the path with the help of books, the group, the teacher, and the Light that Reforms, until we reach adhesion. And the most important thing on this path is critical analysis.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/15/2011, “Introduction to TES”

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There are many ways we can check our desire in which all the clarifications take place: “What for? Why? Where does it come from and where is it leading to? By what means can I advance? How can I check whether my goal is the right one? What are my true intentions? Could it be that it is simply my egoistic desire and personal interests that naturally attract me, and that everything that is against them repels me?”

A very close and thorough examination is needed here. At the same time we should be careful not to be too absorbed in these clarifications because it is part of my work, only half of the “half a Shekel” that is my part. The other half should be expressed in action. The action is studying together with the group, feeling the friends, and the examination during the study: Is it in the same line of thought with everyone else, in contact with the teacher and the group?

The second half of the “half a Shekel” ends when a person receives the change from Above. All our efforts should end in attaining an open deficiency that waits for salvation from Above, like Nukva, the female desire that opens herself to receive the correction.

This is how we should prepare ourselves for the lesson. Here a lot depends on the greatness of the source from which we receive this bestowal, from the immense height of The Book of Zohar and its authors. The mechanism that operates in The Book of Zohar is the world of Ein Sof because it passes the upper Light from the head of Zeir Anpin, the Light of Ein Sof.

If a person works on all the levels: in his feelings, his connection with the group, with the teacher, with the state of the world, with the systems of the worlds, with the upper force, and connects it all to the one mechanism that he operates now, then there is hope that his awakening and his action will evoke an awakening from Above. And his prayer (MAN) will draw the response (MAD) from Above.

The prayer (MAN) (Mei Nukvin – female waters) is the desire, the deficiency. The response that comes from Above is MAD (Mei Dhurin – male waters), the power to overcome. We have to feel that we turn the weak, meaningless, painful, and defective state into bestowal, power, and correction, and feel inside us how our MAN turns into MAD
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/11/12, The Zohar

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People who have spiritual attainment know the laws of the universe and understand the nature of the masses. They not only have knowledge, but also experience of their own development, which also began from the lower, inanimate level. They have gone through inner corrections and have learned empathy, concessions, love. They have acquired the necessary “toolkit” to take care of the masses. They always act for the good of the people rather than for their own benefit because they live in a different, spiritual nature.

Question: What is their care for the world aimed at?

Answer: They want to “raise a lad in his own way.” In his own way, but to raise him, meaning to gradually cause him to advance by means of studying, explanations, and examples rather than by suffering. These sages carry out the main work, attracting the Light, while the masses receive the benefit from it.

Today the masses suffer: some are left without jobs, some are hungry, some have bad health, problems with their families, children, and so on. In the meantime, the sages attract the Light that reforms and teach people on a simple, accessible level, enabling the Light to flow to the masses and correct them.

As a result, people receive the Lights of Nefesh and Ruach, while the Lights of Neshama, Haya, and Yechida remain with the sages at their higher degrees, according to the reverse order of the Lights and vessels.

Thus, the masses receive fulfillment which precisely corresponds to their desires. People want good children, well-being in their families, a sure pension, health, activities, a good household, a pleasant vacation, safety, etc. They don’t have desires of a different level, and they don’t need them either.

Only later, as part of the general process, will the masses begin to join the sages, and then a mutual inclusion will occur. But again, it will be passive on the masses’ end.

Thus, the great ones descend for the sake of serving the people, but they don’t descend on the inside. Precisely their high degree allows them to pull the masses up, level by level.

Question: Doesn’t this entail a danger of unwillingly causing harm?

Answer: Can a loving mother harm her baby? After all, we don’t attach a policeman to every mother. This is a mother’s nature: to take care of the baby. And the mom doesn’t just take care of the baby, but is imbued by his desires. So can she harm him? All her thoughts are focused on what will give him pleasure, what will benefit him. What formula, temperature in the room, water bottle—a mother does not disconnect from this wave of love even for a moment.

Similarly, the upper one does not have his own desires. He receives desires from the lower one and works on them. Love obligates him to do what is good for the one he loves. I can love either him or myself. If I love the neighbor, then I ascend above self-love, and then I use everything I have to serve him, leaving only the necessities for myself.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/3/12, “The Freedom”

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The system is arranged in such a way that a person in search for the meaning of life always finds a teacher. If now some person awakes on the other side of the world in a life full of all the material joys, yet he begins to suffer and eat his heart out due to not being able to find the meaning, he will undoubtedly “accidentally” find us on the Internet. Or, he’ll fly to some other country and suddenly discover our book at some store.

This will happen without a doubt, since it is all a field of desire. We don’t need to look at people, books, some material objects—they all are manifestations of the energy field that exists in constant movement to achieve inner balance.

I am not worried about any person in whom the point in the heart is revealed because the moment that he needs to, he will find all that is necessary for him. I remember how once a friend and I would sit together every evening, reading Kabbalistic books and trying to study them on our own. Obviously we didn’t understand anything. And suddenly I told him, “Let’s go to Bnei Brak and find ourselves a teacher.”

I remember that moment perfectly. First I uttered the phrase, and only then did I begin to think about what I had just said. This is how it works: Instantaneously, in a flash, when the required inner potential in a spiritual charge is achieved and you come into contact with the pressure of a new field, your charge and this field reach such congruence to each other that you begin to flow on a different level of this field, Light. And this flow once again brings you to state of balance, but now on a different degree.

But physically this new state of balance is expressed in your finding a teacher, your coming to a place where you can receive fulfillment. A Kabbalist looks at this and sees everything that is happening inside, like he is watching a computer screen from the other side, from the inside.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/19/11, “The Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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