Light comes to us from Above and awakens specific parts of the common soul in order to advance them according to its program. This program is very complex and assumes that the souls will awaken in a specific order and combination among them like parts of one body. This is invisible to the eye, but according to the inner structure of the soul they are all connected with each other. The Light connects them together so they will perform the mutual work of searching for the quality of bestowal.

These are people who are complete strangers, very different from one another, and have completely contrasting material qualities. Yet, we have to believe that this is all arranged from Above. We have to leave behind everything that prevents us from uniting and search for a means that can help us accomplish this. The search will enable us to understand that the only basis for unification is bestowal, which is above reception. Nothing but this can unite people.

This path is very inconsistent, as if we are traveling across a very uneven road and our car is constantly thrown up and down by all the potholes and bumps. Yet, despite everything it has to keep going and advancing forward. The more we advance, the greater is the frequency of bumps and the more sensitive we are to them. In other words, the changes taking place in us are more drastic and significant. The truth is that they were the same before, but we did not notice or feel them very much.

It is impossible to advance down this road unless you even it out. Then our car will roll along quickly and easily! The only way we can smooth out every pit and bump on this path is to have a common opinion in the group and unity among us. This is the only thing that will fill in all the pits and unite us together, making our path smooth and even.

There is no possibility to advance spirituality without evening out the road. The disturbances and problems that arise before a person who desires to advance individually, or worse yet, a group of individualists, are so great that it is impossible to overcome them. The car will inevitably get stuck and it will be impossible to get it out. A person will remain in the same place; his life will be over, and he still won’t complete the path or attain the goal.

Therefore, our work must be aimed at unity. Then we will reveal that we can attain all the results precisely through unity! Our spiritual advancement on this path depends only on this. All the efforts and revelations happen only in one direction inside this connection that unites us all.

Everything depends on how much a person values the connection among the friends above all the problems that become revealed, and he understands just one thing: “There is none else besides Him.” All the disturbances come from the Creator. He gives rise to these inner pits and bumps inside us, confusing us in a thousand different ways. We have to imagine that all the problems come from Him and their only purpose is for us to unite.

Therein lies the secret to success! This is the basis upon which everything begins and all the rest is built.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/15/10, “Concerning the Importance of Friends”

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Question: During the Congress, how can we keep from forgetting that the Light influences us if we work correctly, that darkness is an integral part of the work, and the group is what holds us up during a period of darkness?

Answer: Before such a big Congress as we are to experience in a few days, as well as during and after it, a person goes through various states: ascents and descents. One should be happy that changes are occurring in him. And the more rapid and intense these changes are, the better it is.

Our only concern should be uniting with others instead of searching within ourselves and analyzing our feelings. We should constantly try to merge with the common field, and place ourselves under the influence of the group without any extra reasoning.

Set aside all the clever discernments for now. The Congress is not the time to sit alone in a corner and check what this or that state means. Otherwise there will be “more talk than action.” At a time like this, actions are of the greatest importance, as it is written, “We shall do and we shall hear!”

Everything at the Congress will depend on how much you include yourself in the group like a little child who is among adults. He doesn’t think with his head; he just wants to imitate them. As they laugh, I laugh. As they cry, I cry. As they listen, I listen. And I do this because I want to receive inspiration from them! Then it will not matter who is a beginner and who is knowledgeable and experienced; who is small and who is big. Just try to tune into the environment and you will feel how you receive the power of bestowal above your reason.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/10, “And There Was Evening And There Was Morning”

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There is no Light without a vessel, and no fulfillment without a desire. The Upper Light is in a state of complete rest; it fills and surrounds creation entirely. Everything depends solely on our desire, our vessels of perception. If we yearn for this particular fulfillment, we will perceive it. However, if our desire does not correspond precisely to the frequency or quality of the fulfillment (meaning there is no equivalence of properties between the desire and what fills it), then we don’t feel fulfillment. Multiple examples of the corporeal world attest to this.

We have to bring our desire to the Upper Light to be filled. To do this correctly, the desire has to correspond to the Light, that is, to be in bestowal. How are we going to acquire this force of bestowal? Kabbalists say that the power of bestowal exists in every person, but is very small and remains this way in the person alone.

It can grow only if a person unites with the others. If he wishes to attain bestowal and is willing to do whatever it takes in order to receive from the group and the friends their desires to bestow, then he acquires from them many such desires. He does so in the degree in which he annuls himself and exalts the friends in his own eyes. In this way he is able to receive from them a greater desire to bestow, in both quality and quantity. And if a person possesses the desire to bestow, then the Light during the reading of The Zohar will work on him; it will begin to organize his desire and fill it.

Therefore, preparation to reading The Zohar should take place in the group, in the mutual “incorporation” into each other, in order to form a strong desire. In this case, we will succeed. We can accelerate time and shorten it, without the need to submerge ourselves in prolonged corporeal suffering. We can transform earthly suffering into the torments of love, which means suffering from not having the qualities of bestowal, from not having the desire to give that we must attain. We can work with the group and friends, and in doing so acquire such a will.

As we see, everything is in our hands. We can actually condense time to zero. The Creator created only the point “existence from absence.” The rest He handed to us, so that we increase our desire from the size of the point in the heart to the expanse of Malchut of Infinity. This is only possible if we unite. Therefore we only have a single opportunity to attain the desire for the Light: to strive to be together within our small desires to bestow.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/6/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: I’ve studied the Torah, speak five languages, listen to your lessons, and have become more or less familiar with the Kabbalistic terminology. Typically when a person studies a language and learns the words, reading something in that language is enough to understand it. Yet when the lesson is on The Study of the Ten Sefirot, I read the text and don’t understand a thing even though I know all the terms. It might as well be Chinese to me. What’s going on?

My Answer: You need to continue learning this language. The word “language” originates from the notion of a “weighing scale” with the measurement pointer located directly in the middle. As you continue to attain spiritual concepts, your language will continue to take shape, in between good and evil.

When we build the middle line within ourselves, we begin to understand and feel the different gradations of qualities. Until we attain a sensation of the spiritual, we never retain anything from the study, no matter how long we keep at it. It’s as useless as repeatedly explaining the taste of a dish to a person who has never tasted it.

Each and every one of our perceptions is a taste. From the Light that entered the desire (Toch Kli) with the intention to bestow, the Kabbalists have “tasted” (Taamim) every concept existing in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, in accordance with the law of equivalence of form.

The First Restriction is at work, preventing us from receiving the Light since we have no similarity to it. Without the screen, the intention to bestow, we cannot sense the Light. Therefore, as long as we are missing the screen, it is impossible to understand the text, for everything is attained via sensation. Hence it is written: “Taste and see that the Creator is good” (Psalm 34:8). We have to “taste” Him, and this attainment takes place within.

This is why it is a genuine problem. No matter how long we study here, this language invariably escapes us. Yet on the other hand, it prepares us to start sensing it. Subsequently, these sensations begin to appear within us and we begin to understand the text. Eventually we will no longer need to study, and will suddenly know the names for everything even without reading about it in the books. We’ll know the name of a spiritual phenomenon simply by feeling it. How, who will teach it to us? No one.

As the Light clothes our desires, it transfers its impression to them in four phases, Taamim (tastes), Nekudot (vowels, dots accompanying the letters), Tagin (crowns above the letters), and Otiot (letters), building a Gematria within us (the numerical value of words).

This Gematria then turns into a word. We “read” and suddenly realize that one desire is called “tree,” another desire is called “sun,” and so on. Moreover, we come to know this for a fact, regardless of where we live in the world or whether or not we speak the language. Thus, we begin to understand it.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/16/10, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

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It may seem that it’s more enjoyable to read The Zohar peacefully, without exerting any effort. But we must demand the intention for every word, and it’s not simple. We shouldn’t consent to simply read The Zohar and let the words “flow” through the ears. Rather, each word should be an opportunity to “break into” the text, an entrance into it.

As I’m reading, I have to see every word as a niche for filling myself with the intention, unification, and connection. I have to realize that every word can add to this connection.

This is the only way we should read The Zohar. Then the Light will come and unite the two opposite properties, Abraham and Isaac, as well as everything that is included between them, into the property of the middle line called Jacob or Israel.

The miraculous property of The Book of Zohar lies precisely in the middle line which unites good and evil together. And it is precisely in their correct connection that we reveal the Creator, the source of everything.

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A question I received: How can I remain in the inner work and in the correct intention during the Zohar Convention 2010 when we will be in over our heads with various work like taking care of kids and other things?

My Answer: One has to understand that all the obstacles are for his own good. This includes obstacles like one’s spouse, kids, work, finances, debt, health problems, close or distant people who are against him, his own doubts, and not annulling himself completely in his heart and soul. This is the very oil which can’t light up on its own, but only when a person is constantly overcoming obstacles under continuous tension.

The spiritual world becomes revealed only by overcoming. If one abandons these efforts, the fire immediately dies. You have to be above the ego. You have to sense that you are in the right and left lines simultaneously in order to find the middle line. This is the very wick that ignites. It seems that the Creator ignites it, but this isn’t so. You have to rise in order to ignite it. It is written, “You will kindle the candles.”

The left line comes to give you the opportunity to exert the force of overcoming and reveal the Light. It isn’t revealed to humiliate you and throw you down. You always should be confident that the left line exists in you to the same extent as the right line in order for you to aim yourself toward goodness, Light.

If a person is put in a situation where he fails, this only happens in case he has a special role and the calculation in relation to him is being made from special levels. However, this shouldn’t happen to us. It is only possible during the preparation stages, which we already have passed and which include our previous life cycles.

Currently, we exist in the period of revelation. If we try as we are supposed to during everything we encounter, then there shouldn’t be any failure. Any possible failure can happen only if we fail to realize our free choice. It’s written that we should always see ourselves as half-sinner and half-righteous. We always have an opportunity to aim ourselves and the entire world toward the good. A person isn’t given obstacles that exceed his capabilities to aim the world toward the good.

Therefore, it’s not important what kind of work you’ll be doing during the Convention. It doesn’t even matter if you’ll attend the lectures. What’s important is how you’ll sense all the desires which come to unite and how you’ll “kindle yourself” from the connection. All our work is internal. It also doesn’t matter how many people will unite there and for how many days. With as many as are there, you should say, “If we unite as we have to, we will kindle the candle.” Therefore, everyone who can, should participate. It’s not realistic for one person to accomplish this fear, but together, it’s easy.

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The Zohar, Chapter “Ki Tissa (When You Take),” Item 81: …for a thing that requires disclosure, to be revealed later, needs a place for hiding and covering, first. First, it must be concealed from the eye, and then the craftsman lets his craft be shown. Thus, what needs covering later needs to be revealed first. This is so because “God has made them one opposite the other.” All that exists in the degrees of holiness has its opposite in the Sitra Achra (impurity).

Everything will be disclosed through its opposite; the advantage of the Light is revealed from within darkness. The Creator cannot disclose Himself to the creature until the creature reveals His opposite form and learns through that opposite form about what the direct form is.

We can perceive only darkness. We read black letters on a white background, meaning that we feel what is missing. What we reveal is not the Creator, but His absence. We are unable to reveal His properties. Our entire work amounts to revealing Him from His opposite side, as it was said to Moses: “You shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

That is why a person who truly wants to attain the revelation has to go by faith above reason and acquire the power of bestowal, Bina. However, he is unable to reveal this force of bestowal, since he does not feel it. He can reveal it only under the condition that he feels a lack within him, within his darkness, his egoistic desire. This lack is a need for bestowal. We have to reveal it from the opposition, because we always come from the side of the darkness, from the side of egoism and see the opposite of everything. Upon revealing the spiritual world, we will say: “I saw a reverse world.” We don’t even realize how opposite to us spirituality is.

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The Kli (vessel) is a form imprinted by the Light inside desire. It is the vessel’s attempt to reach a special state in order to attain fulfillment. If I’m looking for some specific form of fulfillment, that means my desire has already acquired the “form” and property of what I desire.

This Light is already present in me, but it exists in the shape of an informational record (Reshimo), in the form of emptiness, a hollow figure.  I don’t feel it as fulfillment, nor do I sense pleasure.

In spirituality, these states are adjacent to each other. The same applies to the material world: when I want something, and I can see it and sense it, then what else do I need to do in order to get it? I have to make an effort!

In other words, I have to add a new twist to my already existing desire so that it becomes possible to reveal the “big Light” which we call fulfillment within the small Light called “Reshimo.” The size of the Light depends on the size of the desire.

I feel a deficiency in fulfillment because the Light already exists and is shining on me from a distance, waking my Reshimo and forcing me to strive towards it. The difference between Reshimo and fulfillment depends only on my desire, since the Light is eternal and permanent. Reshimo is the Light within me that has not yet manifested within my desires.

I must accelerate my efforts to increase the intensity of my desires and reveal the fulfillment that already exists within me. Because of the low intensity of my desires, I sense them as Reshimo, as a lack of fulfillment.

I exist in an ocean of eternal, constant and endless Light, but I can’t feel it since I don’t have contact with it, nor do I possess any common qualities with it. If even the smallest bit of desire towards the Light arises in me, I start feeling the Light.

On one hand, the slightest of feelings confirms that the Light exists, but on the other hand, it makes me regret the fact that I don’t sense it to its full capacity. The regret that I feel as a result of not sensing the Light at its ultimate level is called “Hissaron” (a lack of fulfillment), and it pushes me to try harder to reach the Light.

When I start increasing my level of effort, the Light that I felt in my weaker desire as Reshimo turns into fulfillment. The Light is unchangeable, but as my desire grows, what I desire becomes real.

I am always inside an ocean of Light, and the entire difference is whether I can expose myself to it on a smaller or larger scale.

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A sensation is an impression of a desire, the matter of creation. We think that sensations are only feelings, like love or hate. But in fact, sensations are reality itself!

Vladimir Lenin once gave his own particular definition of matter: “Matter is objective reality, perceived by our senses and existing independent of our consciousness.” He couldn’t be farther from the truth with regard to matter’s objectivity and existence outside our consciousness.

Every object exists relative to us and only in our consciousness, to the extent that we perceive it with our consciousness. Matter is the desire to receive (be filled with Light) created by the Creator (Light, the quality of bestowal).

At different levels, matter aspires to different forms of fulfillment. For instance, the still level wishes to preserve its form, the vegetative level already wishes to attract the beneficial and repel the harmful, and so on.

The Light did not create anything besides the desire that perceives itself.

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Even if you still don’t have a screen or a desire to bestow, but want the desire to do so, then you can try to instill your point in the heart inside spirituality and attach it to the Upper Level. That is how you will become as a drop of spiritual semen placed into the mother’s womb, the AHP of the Upper Level. By desiring to be there in order for the Upper One to raise you, you will start developing as a spiritual embryo.

You have to cancel yourself and desire to turn into a tunnel through which the Light will flow onto the whole world.  In this way you become a conduit and not an obstacle for the Light. Right now you are locked inside yourself, and you have to open yourself up! This revelation happens with the help of the Light, Ohr Makif.

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