Question: If a considerable part of humanity starts to unify as we do during Kabbalah conventions, then there should be less suffering in the world, correct?

Answer: Our actions are undoubtedly fruitful. It’s also true that today suffering manifests in the world in a lighter and more cushioned form than it would without our external and internal efforts. But how much lighter it is remains unclear to us because we don’t see the connection between our actions and all kinds of events.

Therefore, we can’t say by what percent the flood or fire rate went down thanks to our convention, but it most certainly did. The picture of our influence can be visible only if we develop the same collective sight as an integral environment (society), meaning if we reach at least the first spiritual level, the first degree of oneness.

Question cont.: So, in egoistic sensory organs we will never see how through our unity we prevented a terror act or a natural disaster, will we?

Answer: You can see it on the condition that you have the screen and your goal is to reveal the information not in order to satisfy your curiosity or gain internal peace, but to bestow to the others thereby. You need knowledge so you may go above it: First, you feel the necessity to go above reason, and afterward, in accordance with this, the upper (global, integral, spiritual) knowledge unfolds.

Question cont.: In that case, I shouldn’t blame myself that because I didn’t put forth sufficient effort to unite, something bad happened, should I? It doesn’t help my correction, does it?

Answer: It is a system of nature: If this information were necessary for you, it would be revealed to you since everything works according to one program and moves the world to the final correction.

At present, you cannot see it, but later on, you will reach a state when it will become possible. However, if such knowledge isn’t required in order to bestow, you won’t want it to be revealed to you. If it isn’t for bestowal, why do I need to see and know?!

Eventually, you will see the world from end to end; you will know everything! And you will say: “I don’t want any of this! I will take as much knowledge as I need for bestowal so that I can rise above it in bestowal.”
[34978]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/9/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Everything is comprised of two triangles: the upper one with the Direct Light and the lower one with the Returning, Reflected Light. The triangle with the Upper Light is diminishing due to the descent of the worlds from Above downward so as to supply the creature with the place for existence in which it can realize its bestowal, raise the Reflected Light.

We can make a cut at each level and see these triangles: Depending on the strength of the Direct Light, the creature is capable of raising the Reflected Light. The higher we rise, the greater the Direct and the Reflected Lights are.

It seems to us that we live in some kind of world, but in reality, there is nothing beside desire and the Light, and we always carry out the work of the Creator whether we want to or not, realize it or not, are aware of it or not, or agree with it or not. We always work for the Creator, the only difference being our willingness or not.

The still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature operate without awareness, by natural instinct. But at the speaking degree, we have to comprehend, attain the root, agree with it, and only then act correctly.

Hence, while we were developing as “primitive people” having remained so over thousands of years until very recently (with the exception of Kabbalists who revealed the upper world, starting with the first “man,” Adam HaRishon), we advanced under the pressure of our egoistic desire that pushed us to evolve.

We applied a lot of effort throughout history. We worked hard to harvest the land, produced various things and products, fought, invented machines and new technologies, built houses to only destroy them later, carried out revolutions in all areas and levels of life. In short, we exerted effort to exist, to receive the Direct Light. These efforts were our “Reflected Light” in the spiritual worlds.

This is the essence of our material development. It is material because it took place inside the egoistic desire.

In our perception of reality, it seemed to us that we produced concrete and fixtures, relationships in the society, crops, but essentially, we produced the Reflected Light and inside it, received the Direct Light. Meanwhile, it seemed to us that we worked in the material world, surrounded by our machines, factories, houses, fields, and products.

This is how it seemed to our egoistic desire, whereas in reality, the desires (Kelim) with the screen and the Lights at the still, vegetative, and animate degrees were at work. And we all behaved like obedient children, carrying out everything that the Creator wanted. Nobody could escape this since that’s how the will to enjoy and the Light that acts upon it work.

And when we reach the speaking degree, considerations become completely different. This is why we no longer have the strength… The Creator tells us: “Do it yourself, alone!” And I’m at a loss: “Do it myself, while nobody is forcing me…?”

The Creator awakens me only occasionally and awaits the Reflected Light from me. Now, He wants me to do it by myself. This is the work we have to complete.
[34827]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/8/2011, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: A person can only feel one thing at a given moment in time. How then can we experience disappointment and joy simultaneously?

Answer: Two opposites are inherent in us: Our egoistic desire and the altruistic spark, the point in the heart.

If we begin to fan the spark correctly, then it pulls us toward bestowal, the Creator, while the desire pulls us in the direction of the animate world, simply wishing to be fulfilled. If I position them one against the other, if I am ready for my desire to suffer for the sake of raising my point in the heart, then my work already unravels in two different directions.

The more my desire for pleasure is restricted, the higher the point in the heart ascends above it to bestowal. It is on their opposition that I build my Kli.

I have to give all my energy to the point in the heart in order to plant it in the group and raise it there. As for the material desire, come what may. I don’t pay much attention to it, confining myself to the vital necessities.

Therefore, we must definitely “split” into two so that eventually a screen, Masach, will emerge between these two parts. Then we will go on to doing real spiritual actions.
[29128]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/8/10, The Zohar

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Question: What are “round” vessels (Kelim de Igulim), and how do they participate in our work?

Answer: “Round” vessels are the storage, archive of all desires, which we need to extract from there and correct. They are desires of the World of Infinity, still before the restriction. Through them the Upper Light can influence those who still don’t have a screen.

Souls that have a screen work with “straight” vessels (Kelim de Yosher). They are situated in “straight” unification with the Upper Light. However, if I don’t have a screen, I cannot influence the Creator.

And how can the Creator influence me? He influences me through “round” vessels since He exists everywhere, in all desires. Through them He can influence me since I, too, have “round” vessels which I still haven’t “straightened out,” directed them to the Creator.

Therefore, there are two types of Upper Governance: individual and general. I exist under the individual, private Governance if I am able to be connected to the Creator in mutual bestowal. In that case, He gives to me, I give to Him, and we work together completely “straight”: “the measure of suffering (effort) determines the measure of reward,” meaning the screen determines the whole profit, and this is how I advance.

Meanwhile, the “round” desires indicate that I am unable to overcome anything. I don’t even know or understand that I am receiving since the whole world does it. Until a person acquires a screen and starts working “in the line,” he is controlled through the “round” desires, meaning he receives without thinking, like everyone else.

The Light reaches us through the “round” Kelim and rouses a “straight” reaction in us because we have no other opportunity to respond to the Creator. If we react properly and in a “straight” manner to the way He influences us through the “circles,” we enter into contact with Him. We reveal the Creator as a Giver and receive the whole fulfillment in a “straight” manner, with the help of the screen.

And if not, then we are sent various disasters and misfortunes through the “round” desires. The “circles” control and turn us in all directions, but if we establish a “straight” connection, we take the control into our own hands.
[28594]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/3/10, Explanation of the Article, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Question: Does the perception of reality depend on the environment?

Answer: If I wish to see a different, more advanced reality, compared to the corporeal reality of this world, I can see it only on the screen that I build from our mutual connection. Wishing to build a different reality, I must connect with the friends’ points in the hearts and create a network between us as it was before the breaking of the collective soul. This network of communication between us is the screen on which I see the picture of the world.
[25253]
From Kabbalah for Beginners, “Perception of Reality,” 10/20/10

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Question: When I enter spirituality, will I be able to visualize my more advanced states?

Answer: The problem primarily lies in the current states. In proportion to my acquiring the screen, the Light paints pictures for me. The spiritual world is an image of my equivalence to the Creator.

At present, I don’t perceive the spiritual world because I don’t possess an adequate degree of equivalence with the Creator. Between me and Him there is a screen. And on this screen, instead of my equivalence to the Creator, I see this world, my projection, an imprint of my uncorrected properties, and my inadequacy with the Creator.

As I get corrected, a new picture unfolds for me, which is called “the corrected me,” “the Creator illuminating me,” or “the world where the Creator and I are together.” They all are one and the same picture, depending on how we view it.

Spirituality is an image of the form of my equivalence to the Creator.
[24324]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/20/10, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

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Question: There are less than two weeks left until the Convention. How can we use this time most efficiently?

Answer: We have to use the days that remain to prepare: See and hear more, including music and songs, work with the article summaries that talk about the unity of souls (“Matan Torah,” “Mutual Guarantee,” “The Peace,” “600,000 Souls,” “One Law,” and so on). Most importantly, we have to try to feel that we are going towards unity.

We are about to make an attack on unity, and if we attain a powerful inner and outer pressure in order to feel how we are coming together, we will thereby awaken the Inner Light inside ourselves. Then we won’t remain with our external desire which is operated by the Surrounding Light, but will put forth all our efforts so the Surrounding Light will turn our vessels or desires from outer to inner, and then the Light will become revealed inside them as Inner Light!

The difference between these two Lights is vast because the Surrounding Light influences the external desires that aren’t yet connected and which are outside of the screen connecting us. The screen is a force enabling us to be above our egoistic desire so I could give to my neighbor and connect to him (“bestow for the sake of bestowal” or “receive for the sake of bestowal”).

If I acquire a screen over my will to enjoy, the desire to unite with everyone into one soul, then I transform from an outer vessel of the soul to an inner one. Instead of receiving an awakening from the Surrounding Light, I will feel the Inner Light inside of me! This is called the first spiritual level. This is the state I expect and plan to receive at the Convention.

Obviously, in the last days before the Convention there are many disturbances awaiting us: Suddenly you will lose the desire or the opportunity to attend, and then it will come back again; suddenly you will have no energy to get up for the lesson, will experience problems at home or at work, bad moods, and anything else. Yet we have to understand that this “burdening of the heart” is necessary! It is like crossing the Red Sea, like running away from Pharaoh, coming to Mount Sinai where we reveal hatred (Sina) and separation between us.

All of this is actually necessary for us. We have to bless these states and accept them with love and understanding! I hope that our friends all over the world will understand this and accept it precisely in this way. After all, it is precisely by virtue of correcting this separation and heaviness (Aviut) of the desire that we ascend.

If we don’t have these obstacles then we won’t have anything to correct! How, then, will we ascend, and what will we step over?
[24959]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/10, “600,000 Souls”

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The Creator conceals Himself. But instead of tearing off the “cover” and revealing Him, I build His image in myself. The screen that He placed between us remains, but I make changes within myself which create in me the properties of the Creator, His image. Only in this way, having built His image within myself, can I see Him because by Himself, He is beyond any image.

In the darkness of my egoism, I build a shining image of the properties of bestowal and love, an image of the Light. The Creator remains just as hidden by the screen, but underneath the screen, I create His image as if He were standing before me. I shape the Light of bestowal (faith, Hassadim) and exist within it, not discovering the Creator on the other side of the screen.

I ask the Creator to not remove the concealing screen, but rather to allow me to exist in the shade, in darkness, so that the darkness will become like the Light for me and I will appreciate its importance. In fact, precisely because of it I am able to create out of myself similarity to the Creator, to become independent. Having hidden Himself, He has created a place for my similarity to Him. And to the measure of this similarity, the screen dividing us becomes transparent, and our images coincide.

The darkness helps me for otherwise the Light would fill me, nipping all aspirations in the bud. I would not feel the need for anything and would not be able to make any personal movement. In contrast to this, darkness creates a necessity for searching.

If the darkness simply dissipated, I would return to my usual, materialistic life. Because of this, I ask that the darkness will remain. It greatly helps my egoism: Nothing fills or calms it, so I will desire Light out of the darkness. I want to obtain the qualities of Light not merely by discovering the Creator, but by creating His image within myself.

I support the screen that divides us myself: The Creator gradually removes it, but I immediately raise the concealment to 100%. Thus, I build a canopy, the “roof of the tent,” as I am not willing to accept the Upper Light directly. Rejecting it, I obtain the property of bestowal and exist in darkness as in Light. For my egoism it is darkness, but for the giving intentions it is Light.
[22218]
From the Hoshana Rabbah Night Lesson 9/29/10, Shamati #8

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Question: On the night of Hoshana Rabbah ("Great Supplication," the seventh day of the Holiday of Sukkot) it is customary to check the “shadow,” meaning the screen with which one can then receive the Light. How is this screen formed?

Answer: Each of us is an egoistic desire. When we wish to reach spirituality, we unite into a group. Naturally, none of us desires to engage in exercises of “bestowal,” but each has a “spark” on top of his egoistic desires which pulls us into the unknown.

Kabbalists explain that we exist in a field of “Light.” This field encompasses all of reality and influences us in such a way that the “sparks” awaken in every person. To the extent that they are roused, they interact with the field of Light which orients them, and people gather in one physical and/or virtual place, consequently wishing to unite. This is called a group, a connection of people through their spiritual desires. Egoism is left behind by everyone and they unite through their mutual aspirations for spirituality.

If we begin to aspire to mutual bestowal, we rouse the influence of the Light in the common efforts and begin to change. Gradually, we feel continuously greater egoistic desires, but at the same time, their value drops in our eyes. And we raise the spiritual desire on the scale of values.

The construction of the Sukkah (hut) indicates raising the quality of bestowal (the roof) over the desire to receive. We wish to separate bestowal and reception so that the Light does not enter the egoistic desire through the covering of the Sukkah.

The Light corrects us in such a way that all of our spiritual desires make their way over the roof of the Sukkah, and the egoistic desire remains inside. In other words, we hide the egoistic desire in the shadow. We build a covering on each desire for we do not wish to use these desires egoistically. By creating such a “shade,” we acquire a spiritual sensation in which we feel spiritual reality: the world that we perceive in the quality of bestowal.
[22205]
From the Hoshana Rabbah Night Lesson 9/29/10, Shamati #8

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Question: In our world, people unite in order to succeed in some type of deal. How do we unite our souls?

Answer: In order to succeed in spirituality, I need to connect with the people who wish to achieve the same condition and goal. And together, we have to discern that without such a special connection between us, we won’t envision this goal. As a matter of fact, it will suddenly disappear from between us!

It isn’t somewhere “up there” as it has to be between us. Yet, due to the fact that we don’t cleave tightly together but rather walk away, this goal falls into an abyss that separates us. Indeed, the hate that divides us is infinite and unfathomable. It turns out that there are you and me, and we are separated by an abyss of infinite depth, at the bottom of which lies the spiritual goal, unification. And there is nothing we can do!

We wish to unite with you and cannot as we keep uncovering this gap, so we strive to build a bridge above it every time. Thus, we construct bridge after bridge until we cover the entire, bottomless depth. In this way we get 125 degrees of revelation of hate which is revealed because each time we uncover love over hate.

Hate is determined by the depth of both our desires, and above it, we connect by way of the screen, the Returning Light, while we are building the vessel (Kli) that belongs to us both now. The screen is the connection between us, and hate is its internal desire.

Hence, the greater the amount of Returning Light that ascends thanks to our connection, the more Upper Light we receive and experience pleasure. And by feeling this pleasure, we delight each other! Everyone is delighted by the fact that the other is feeling pleased. Otherwise, there is nothing else we can give for we bestow to each other our own individual pleasure.

As a matter of fact, all of us are created as receivers, so we can only receive. We can bestow solely in intention. And what else can I possibly give to someone other than my intention?
[21980]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/26/10, “600,000 Souls”

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