Question: How can a person ask the Creator for help and wish only to bestow without receiving anything for oneself?

Answer: That is exactly what we ask for. I ask the Creator to give me the ability to bestow. To bestow upon the Creator means to bestow upon the group, as it is written: “I dwell among My people.” It is one and the same.

There is no other Creator. “I dwell among My people” means that He is revealed within the group. The collective force of the group is called “The Creator.” To bestow upon the group as a whole is to bestow upon the Creator.

We tend to think about this in ordinary, earthly terms, and so it seems to us. “What is so special about the group? What can I possibly give them? This is nonsense!” But if you were truly able to come out of yourself and bestow upon others, you would reveal the higher reality rather than this world. We simply have not yet attained it.

One might ask: “Haven’t many philosophical movements also promoted devotion to society? Have they not claimed that the voice of the people is the voice of God?” But that is not the same because they did not use the reforming light, the inner force contained within the collective.

So what does the wisdom of Kabbalah ultimately say? You have nothing but desire. Within that desire lies a unique force called “the Creator” concealed there from the outset. You can awaken this force within the group if you genuinely wish to advance toward it by bestowing upon the group. There, within the group, you resolve all your relationships—with yourself, with the group, and with the Creator. Everything takes place within the group, in the bestowal that you acquire outside yourself.

There is no difference between bestowing upon the group, and bestowing upon the Creator. Bestowing upon the group refers more to bestowing upon the vessels (Kelim), the desires of others. Bestowing upon the Creator means becoming more integrated into the general force of bestowal that reigns within those desires.

We must free ourselves from religious concepts, from the lingering belief that there is some Creator ruling somewhere in the heavens and influencing us from there. Notice how deeply rooted this stereotype still is within us! But there is no higher force outside of us! That force exists within the group, in the connection between us. There is nothing beyond that reality that you reveal. Outside of reality, there is nothing.

As you delve more deeply into these concepts, you begin to understand that this is, in fact, a very materialistic approach.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/11, on The Book of Zohar, Yitro (Jethro)

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Right and left, mercy and judgment. Israel are to the right and the idol worshipping nations are to the left.

Israel, even when they are wicked and yielding, they are on the right; they do not cling to the left, and never mingle with it.

This is why it is written, “Save with Your right hand, and answer me,” for when the right ascends, Israel—who cling to it—rise and are crowned in it.

Then the left side and all who come with it surrender, as it is written, “Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy” (The Book of Zohar, Chapter “Shmini,” Item 25).

We do not need to concentrate on the left line, because if you begin delving into those desires, it will seem to you as though you are clarifying something and rebelling against your evil qualities. But in the meantime, you become connected to them, and that is not good.

We should try not to notice them, as though they do not exist. We do not want to deal with them. Instead, we should constantly strive toward the right side! And when you aspire toward the spiritual goal, toward adhesion with the Creator, toward the upper degree, toward bestowal, its light will correct you and your egoistic desires (the left side).

You yourself will never be able to fight against them, and it is better not to engage with them at all. The left line awakens within you only so that you will cling even more strongly to the right line. This is our path.

But a person turns to the left line and imagines himself a hero, capable of working with these desires and defeating them. No! The Creator will defeat them for you! The Creator fights this battle, not you.

We do not have the strength for it. One who aspires to the Creator is small and weak; he is incapable of fighting on his own. The Creator arranges everything for us. All we need is to want it to happen—to ask!

Therefore, all our work is called the Creator’s work, because the upper force, the upper degree, the Creator, performs all the actions, while we only express our desire for them to take place.

Our entire work is to desire this in advance. This is called: “I awaken the dawn,” like a horse that obediently moves forward, sensing the rider’s desire even before the rider gives the command.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson on 11/1/10, The Book of Zohar, Chapter “Shemini”

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The Book of Zohar and The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES) are two truly monumental sources of spiritual power. The Book of Zohar with the Sulam (“Ladder”) commentary, and TES, which is a commentary on all the writings of the ARI, are two foundational works.

It should be said that these are not merely books, but sources that present the spiritual system itself. Therefore, when I study them, I draw the light from there and its influence upon myself.

Question: But you study them as a Kabbalist who has already attained spiritual perception?

Answer: Not necessarily. It does not matter.

Even people who understand nothing of what they are reading, by reading these sources, studying the inner system in which they exist, draw upon themselves an illumination of the light that brings them closer to spiritual degrees.

To what extent must they pass through these degrees and understand them? To the extent of their soul’s capacity, until they attain the world of infinity and take their place there, the place from which they descended to the level of our world.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Properties of our generation” 9/30/10

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It is said: “I created the evil inclination, and I created the Torah as a means for its correction, for the light contained in it returns to its source.”

From the perspective of creation, I take my egoism, my evil, and from the other side, the Creator, I take the force of bestowal, the light, and from these two components I build my new structure, which is called “human,” (Adam), that is, “similar” (Domeh) to the Creator.

My egoism resides within, yet outwardly it resembles bestowal, that is, internally it is reception and externally it is bestowal. Therefore, this action is called “reception for the sake of bestowal,” and such labor is known as working in three lines: the right, the left, and the middle.

The right and left lines descend from above, from the Creator, and the middle rises from below upward, from the human being.

Regarding the left line it is said: “I created the evil inclination,” about the right: “and I created the Torah as a means for its correction,” and about the middle: “for the light contained in it returns to its source, to the good,” and you become as good as I am.

I am good and do good, and you too; therefore, you will be called “human,” one who is similar to the Creator!
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/10, Rashbi, Zohar for All “Lech Lecha”

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There is no permission to inform a person how much longer is one given to live in this world; one is not to be informed of this. But Rabbi Shimon was in great joy on the day of his demise, and there was great joy in all the worlds because of the many secrets he had revealed then (Rashbi, Zohar for All, Vol. 3, VaYechi, item 157, “When His Time Comes to Depart from the World”).

The departure of a righteous person is like the purification of a Partzuf. When a person leaves their degree and passes from world to world, and especially when leaving the lowest degree, this world, it is a great joy.

Although it does not appear so to us and we think we are living in a wonderful world, we simply have not yet seen anything else besides it. But one must reveal the spiritual world, as it is said: “You shall see your world in your lifetime,” and then we will understand where we truly are.

If a person completes their mission, they no longer need to return to this world, as was the case with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who attained final correction. This means that from then on, he exists only in the upper dimension and no longer reincarnates into this lower, corporeal form.

But one who has not reached their final corrected state in this incarnation must be born again and live in this world.

It is clear that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai rejoices not because he has finished his work and can rest, but because he brought the Torah, that is, the light that reforms, to the whole world. And this, of course, fills him with joy.
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From a lecture for the holiday of Lag Ba’Omer, 5/1/10

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On Lag Ba’Omer, we mark the departure of the great Kabbalist Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of The Book of Zohar, from this world.

He was a truly exceptional individual. The revelation he brought forth signifies the bestowal of Kabbalah, the science of correction, to the whole world.

Humanity developed from generation to generation amidst the pangs of birth until it reached Abraham, who revealed the science of Kabbalah in response to the crisis that broke out in ancient Babylon.

Subsequently the people of Israel faced enslavement in Egypt and the exodus from it, the construction of the First and Second Temples, and a succession of ascents and descents. All the terrible misfortunes endured by this people, and all of human history, can appear to be one ceaseless suffering. But the entire path we traversed until the coming of Rabbi Shimon was only our preparation for correction.

After the destruction of the Second Temple, the people of Israel completely lost the sensation of spirituality and went into exile from it. Then we received a gift from heaven: the arrival of a man, a sage of the Temple period (Tanna), a Kabbalist of enormous stature, who thanks to his special soul, included all previous souls within himself, and united them in one.

Therefore, together with his students, he was able to attain extraordinary heights: the final correction in his generation.

Baal HaSulam writes that there was never a greater attainment in history than in the time of Rashbi and his generation, and something similar can occur again only at the end of correction. We stand on this threshold now.

“Zohar” is the name of the light that is revealed in GAR of the world of Atzilut, in its Keter, in a special place, in the “concealed mind” of the system of Arich Anpin. Rabbi Shimon was unique in that he was able to connect such an exalted spiritual level with our physical world.

Through his attainment, he was on the degree of the final correction as it had been before the destruction of the Temples, and at the same time, in ordinary material life, he existed after the destruction of the Second Temple and the complete fall of the people from the height of brotherly love into unfounded hatred, that caused any sensation of spirituality to disappear.

Because he united those two vastly distant poles within himself, he was able to write this book, that is, to make the revelation.

And without this book, we would have no possibility to correct our souls and draw the light that returns to the source.
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From a Lecture for the Holiday of Lag B’Omer, 5/1/10

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The holiday of Lag Ba’Omer (the 33^rd day of the Omer) is celebrated in honor of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of The Book of Zohar, who passed away on this day.

In The Book of Zohar, in the chapter “Idra Zuta,” portion “Ha’azinu,” the passing of Rabbi Shimon is described as follows: “For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore” (Psalm 133).

Rabbi Aba said, “Rabbi Shimon did not finish saying ‘life’ before his words subsided. And I wrote, and thought to write some more, but I did not hear.

I did not raise my head for the light was great and I could not look.

Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Aba took him from his place on the bed that is made like a ladder in order to raise him on his bed. The whole house was filled with fragrances. They lifted him to his bed, and only Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Aba served him.

After the bed left the house, it rose in the air, and fire was blazing before it. They heard a voice: “Come in and come and gather for the celebration of Rabbi Shimon”

The Zohar uses such vivid descriptions because it is written in the language of Midrash (allegory). But of course, it is not speaking of physical death, it speaks of the soul’s departure, which enters the state of the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun). That is why this is such a significant event, and why the entire system that includes his students receives such a special light.

It is not describing the death of a person, but rather the thinning of a spiritual Partzuf. First, the light enters and clothes the Partzuf, forming within it Ta’amim, Nekudot, Tagin, and Otiyot. The clothing of the light in the Partzuf and its departure make the vessel fit for use. In this way, the soul of Rabbi Shimon reaches its final action, its last degree, the collective end of correction. This is what The Zohar tells us.

All the other companions, the souls that depended on him and emerged from his Partzuf, which was filled with light and was now releasing it, then received all the light that departed from him. These were the ones who were attached to him, connected to him, who participated in the drawing of the light, and in its departure.

The departure of a Kabbalist means that all the light he had drawn into his soul together with his students, and accumulated for the sake of all humanity, is now being released and transmitted to all other souls. Now this light becomes like a glow, a surrounding light, which he bestows upon others. His departure symbolizes this transmission of light.

That is why we celebrate this day with such joy, because we have received this upper light, called “Zohar,” which is capable of correcting all souls, uniting them, and raising each one to the level of the Creator.

This is why this day is called the Festival of Light, the light that returns us to our source, the light of correction. Each person must ask themselves: “Am I truly using this light?”

This light has been given to us, but are we using it, and are we realizing our potential through it? That is what it means to take part in the celebration of Lag Ba’Omer.
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From KabTV’s: Lag B’Omer, 5/17/11

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Question: How can you check how much you have advanced after a lesson?

Answer: The main thing is to clarify: What do I want—for my own sake or for the sake of bestowal? Do I have a connection with my friends in this? Do I need them or not? Do I work from my egoistic desire or from the intention to bestow, from the side of the Creator or the creation, above my egoism or within it? All advancement is based on such self-analysis.

It may be that after a good lesson, these clarifications reveal my bad state to me, but they will be more precise, and that means that I am advancing.

Every day should bring a simple result: tomorrow or by the next lesson, I must come with a more clarified desire.

It does not matter whether I have a desire or not; it is given from above. The question is whether this state becomes clearer.

It is possible that the clarification will lead me to a dead end where everything becomes unclear, as if shrouded in a fog. But this also means greater clarity and a more precise clarification.

The light that comes to me during the lesson provides me with discernments; it does not matter whether they are positive or negative. It allows me to make a more precise analysis in order to evaluate myself, my state in relation to the Creator and the goal in all directions.

The light affects the desire; when it illuminates the desire for me, I see more within it.

Even if I suddenly stop distinguishing anything in it at all, and I feel complete confusion and fog descends unlike anything I have ever experienced before, this is also called seeing more. These are also degrees of understanding.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/6/10, The Book of Zohar

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Every morning before the lesson we rise to our feet anew and open a fresh page. The same can happen during the day as well.

It is said: “Let the old things you have already heard appear in your eyes as new every day.” Each time a person must feel like a new creation, again and again entering into contact, beginning the spiritual work, and drawing closer to the Creator.

With each such renewal, he realizes Reshimot until a sufficient number of them accumulate. This number is not known in advance, but the counter keeps ticking, the gears keep turning, and the digits after the decimal point change; at some moment the main wheel on the left will click over from one number to another.

So it is with us. Therefore, should be glad to renew our contact, our intention, and our striving toward the goal.

It is said: “The end of the action lies in the initial thought.” Already now I must hold in my mind the goal that I hope to reach in the end. Where am I heading? What exactly do I want? Each time I must imagine this anew more precisely, more clearly, more understandably, more tangibly.

In the final goal all my thoughts and efforts, desires and disappointments converge, fuse together, and become complete. My work ends at the point of the final contact, and this point is called the “drop of unity.”

In it, I myself, the entire reality that I feel, and the Creator, that is, the quality of bestowal, the upper force, all become one whole. This is the state I must already imagine now.

Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) offers another formulation: A person must direct himself toward the unity of Israel, the Torah, and the Creator. Call it whatever is convenient for you. The main thing is that we think about the final point of unity.

And the more clearly that I imagine it in feeling and in mind, the greater joy it should give me. Because then I undoubtedly realize the current Reshimo and consistently advance toward the end of the action.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/12/10, Preface to The Book of Zohar

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Why did the Kabbalists choose the “language of branches” for their explanations?

Let us assume that I have attained the connection between the root and branch at the very first degree, and someone else understands it at a higher degree, and a third person at an even higher one. It does not matte; the branch remains the same branch.

A child knows that if you put a plug into an electrical outlet, the toy will work. I know that there is electricity in the outlet that comes into the house through wires. And a person who is even more technically educated knows that there is a power station somewhere, and so on. But we are all speaking about the very same process regardless of how much each of us understands it and how far each one “looks into the root.”

The roots continue in the same direction toward their upper source, but the branch, in our world, remains a branch. The “language of branches” is taken from reality itself; it is impossible to invent another language. And this one does not need to be invented. It turns out that this language is prepared for us by nature for communication within ourselves, between us, and with the Creator.

Moses, in his book The Torah, was the first to describe the entire path of spiritual ascent, at all degrees, in this language. The Book of Zohar gives commentary and supplements the language of Moses with its own language.

Rabbi Shimon passed through the same degrees as Moses, which every person must pass, and in his description, he added a greater connection between branch and root. Therefore, The Book of Zohar is so effective in drawing the light (the surrounding light, Ohr Makif) from the root to its branch (to us).

Baal HaSulam described the connection between the root and the branch even further by adding Kabbalistic definitions and the connection in the three lines.

All of them speak about the same visible picture and its roots, but each Kabbalist adds the description of the connection in his own way, thereby increasing the power of ascent (the descending surrounding light, Ohr Makif), and also paving a path for us to pass through the degrees of the upper world.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/10, Rashbi, Zohar for All, Vol. 6, “Shmini”

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