How To Stop Thinking About Myself, Part 1

All of Israel are responsible for one another (Sanhedrin, 27b,Shavuot 39).

1. The key is to keep in mind that between us (the souls) there is an eternal system of connection. Initially we are unified, and each of us is indebted to the other. There is no freedom in this, because we areinitially interconnected and interdependent. Moreover, this holds true not only for Israel, but for the entire world.

2. If we wish to ascend to the spiritual degree of the revelation of the Creator, we must learn the law of connection working in this network and implement it.

3. “Israel” is a small group that decided to learn the law of connection by having aimed straight to the Creator. The name “Yisrael” means “Yashar-El” or directly to the Creator. InAbraham’s time, it was a group of Babylonians who left the general mainstream of development, by separating and distancing themselves from its ideological views.

Today it is not the nation of Israel, but a part of humanity (the modern Babylon) reaching the same decision. Ultimately, all of humanity will join this goal.

4. The main rule in attaining the Creator is the condition of mutual group guarantee(Arvut). We must truly agree to meet it by way of the process called “We shall do, and we shall hear.” We will do everything in our power to do, and consequently, we will “hear” or reach the state of guarantee.

Having met this condition, we uncover the correct connection between us all and become “as one man with one heart.” Finally, the Torah, the method of correction of human nature (egoism), becomes revealed to us.

5. Essentially, Arvut (mutual guarantee) is a very simple thing: I receive from the influence of the group such a strong feeling of certainty and security that I stop thinking about myself completely. If I were a king, I would have money, healers, and an army at my disposal, but none of it would give me such assurance. However, thanks to the total interconnectedness of souls, a person’s desire is assured to be fulfilled and at rest if everyone is thinking about its fulfillment.

6. Wealth and power are useless here; besides, the fellow-guarantors do not have anything to fill me with. And yet, with the collective thought and caring, the friends will open the channels for the Light, and it will flow to me through them.

My soul’s desire will feel satiated; it will stop fearing emptiness and demanding fulfillment, giving me an opportunity to rise above it and to start bestowing to the others without thinking about myself. Hence, aspiring to the Creator is a required pre-condition, and aspiring to the friends is needed as the condition for attaining the Creator.
[23181]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/10, “The Arvut”