The Effort Beyond Human Power

Question: What does the effort beyond human power mean?

Answer: The effort beyond human power is what is not directed in the natural human direction, at personal benefit. It’s revealed within thegroup, in dedication to their environment, and this is beyond human, personal efforts. In addition to that when a person reveals this, he finds himself unable to do such things. That’s why he turns to the Creator with a request to help him make such an effort.

It’s said, “For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, ‘Peace be within you!’” It’s impossible to turn to the Creator with a request that is not aimed at the benefit of the Creator Himself but below Him. But the human being is allowed to turn to the Creator for help in building his vessel. This is the only justifiable prayer.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/13, Writings of Rabash

Rabash’s Letter To Us

From Rabash’s letter (No. 8): …at the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered in a certain place, under a certain leader, to be together. With superhuman courage they face up to all those who rise against them.

Indeed, they are brave men with a strong spirit, and they are determined not to retreat one inch. They are first-class fighters, fighting the war against the inclination to their last drop of blood, and their only wish is to win the battle for the glory of His name.

These words are said about the internal war that takes place inside us, as it is written, “There will always be a fight between good and bad inclinations.” The more we kindle this internal battle, the sooner we will understand that we have to exit from our ego, overpower it, escape from it, and rise above the materiality that we now sense.

There is no other way to escape from this world and attain the higher level other than by being under constant pressure, fear, and troubles that lead us to a condition that is defined as the “exodus from Egypt.” We begin revealing these qualities in us, and they make us come “out of our skin,” meaning to leave our bodies.

Only these conditions allow us to rise. It happens by a single circumstance: We should retain and work with our internal properties that are opposite by nature. One doesn’t escape by soaring into spirituality. We can’t do it by floating in the skies or leaving this material world below, nor is it about detaching from this corporeality. At the same time, we shouldn’t submerge into this realm or consider that this world as something that exists on its own.

We have to stay in the middle and realize that both forms are given to us by the Creator and that we are supposed to combine them together. By no means should we run away or hide from the desire to be pleased; rather, above this desire we have to stay confident that it’s the Upper Force that governs everything around us. It’s a unique and complicated approach for which we need an internal inborn readiness that is called “the root of the soul.” As well, we also need a group that is ready to follow this path, as it is written in Rabash’s letter: At the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered in a certain place, under a certain leader, to be together.

There are not many such groups. On the contrary, the farther we advance, the more will be the supporters around us and the fewer the people inside the group. The more precious a quality is the less it’s found in nature. Our goal is to rise to a “superhuman level.”

We can achieve it only by leading a merciless war against our egos. This war is called a “Holy War,” meaning the “war for the sake of the Creator.” In order to lead this war, we should connect both worlds with the Creator, agree to live in two parallel realms, and thank Him for everything that He sends to us. We should understand that everything is originated from one place and is given to us to make us grow.

Rabash writes to us about these issues: …at the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered in a certain place, under a certain leader, to be together. With superhuman courage they face up to all those who rise against them… This implies our internal problems. Indeed, they are brave men with a strong spirit, and they are determined not to retreat one inch…meaning that they won’t move towards materiality. They are first-class fighters, fighting the war against the inclination to their last drop of blood, and their only wish is to win the battle for the glory of His name.

This explains why we have to strengthen; if we manage to achieve everything that we spoke about and attain the states that we went through during this Passover, there is no doubt that we will end up being at the doorstep that is already in front of us.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/2/13

A War Of Love

From Rabash’s Letter 5: … you should do more in love of friends. It is impossible to achieve lasting love, unless through Dvekut [adhesion], meaning that you will unite the two of you with a tight bond. And this can be only if you try to “undress” the clothing in which the inner soul is placed—the clothing called “self-love”…

And when you feel that you are at war, each of you will know and feel that he needs the help of his friend, and without him, his own strength will weaken, too. Then, when you understand that you must save your life, each of you will forget that he has a body he must keep, and you will both be tied by the thought of how to use the enemy.

Love of friends is attained by way of a war for its sake. It is impossible to attain adherence that indicates constant love without striving to leave the clothing of the evil inclination in which the soul is clothed. To leave this clothing of self-love is possible only if you exchange it for love of the other, for the screen and the Returning Light.

This, specifically, is what we must reach. When we begin to search for how to do this, we feel that everything essentially depends on our relationship to the other, things that are so contemptible in our world. All relationships in the world are established according to laws, protecting the rights of the individual, of democracy. However, when we see some of the truth through the influence of the Surrounding Light, we then understand that it is specifically through connection with the other that we realize the entire program of creation.

The other one, whether a friend or the Creator, is the same; there is no difference. If I want to rise above myself and reach the Creator, it is precisely then that I see that I require help from a friend. As long as all the friends have not come to my aid, according to how much I give myself over to them, I cannot do anything.

What we require is mutual cooperation where we depend upon each other. As much as I give myself over to others, to this extent they can help me, and when they come to help me, I stop thinking about myself. In spite of myself, I rise above myself.

However, the friends can come to help me only if I subdue myself with respect to them. With this, I oblige them to be concerned for me. This is saying that everything depends on the work of the individual regarding his environment. The more I subdue myself and am ready to adhere to the environment, to the teacher, to the books, to learning, to dissemination—which is to say, to all means for attaining the goal, trusting like an infant, surrendering myself to the lowest level—the closer I come to my spiritual realization.

I must begin my spiritual ascent from zero. The more I approach zero with my thoughts, desires, and deeds, the more I adhere to the group and oblige it to be concerned about me. I begin to receive the right influence from inside the group. Whatever level on which it is found at the moment is not even important. This influence makes it possible for me to nullify my self-love, departing from the egoistic shell (Klipa), from the evil inclination, and to start the spiritual work.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/13

You Are Dear To Me Because I Have Invested In You

Question: Why do we begin to love others only if we invest in them?

Answer: It is no secret that we love only ourselves—not even the people closest to us, not anyone else, but only ourselves. When can we love something or someone outside of ourselves? It is if we invest ourselves in them.

If a mother does not take care of her child, she does not love him, and, if she is given someone else’s child, continuously takes care of him, and raises him, then he will become as her own because she invested herself in him.

It is the same with anything else such as, let’s say, an artist and the picture he has painted, and so on. If I put my work, my effort, and my desire into something, then, to the extent of my effort, this object becomes dear to me because it contains part of me. I myself am in this object.

So, if for many years, we invest in the group, it becomes close to us, dear, and we cannot just leave it (if we truly invest in it).

It is a condition that you must work for the friends all the time. Then, you will begin to feel that they are close to you, and this gives you a chance to feel their desires. After all, it is precisely those desires that you receive from the group that you turn to the upper Light and it begins to shine on you.

There is no point of turning to it with your desire; it will not work. That is why we try so much and in vain. In addition, if we take the group desires and turn them to the Light, we will succeed at once. Try! You need to invest in the group. Then, it will become dear, and we quickly will feel the upper world.
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From the European Convention in Germany 3/23/13, Lesson 5

An Inseparable Pair: Man And Donkey

We are initially adhered to our vessels of receiving, and only in them can we feel the world. We judge everything only according to how good or bad we feel in our vessels of receiving called “a donkey(hamor),” which is also our “matter (homer)” (which has the same root in Hebrew). And the man in us is also adhered to the same “donkey.”

Thanks to our exertion, we can detach the man in us who is immersed in his matter. Then this man begins to think differently.

How can we detach the man from his matter, from his “donkey?” Only by the Light that Reforms that gives a person the attribute of bestowal, Hesed, the Light of Hassadim. This Light fills the part called “man” and gives him new attributes by which a person can detach himself from the donkey, from the matter of the desire to receive. This detachment from the desire to receive is called the exodus from Egypt.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/3/13

An Ascent But Not An Escape

Rabash, “What is the People’s Shepherd is the Whole Nation in the Work”: But the main difficulty is only the lack of faith. Thus, a person has to devote all his work and perform actions in order to buy the faith in the Creator, which is the only thing that provides him with everything.

It is about a special force that, together with all the troubles, problems, tensions, and internal conflicts, keeps a person in the state of Hafetz Hesed. This means that it doesn’t make his life easier, but that it keeps him above the heaviness of life.

This force doesn’t solve the corporeal problems and doesn’t free a person of them. On the contrary, every spiritual level is built above the unsolved corporeal conflicts of the current level. Otherwise, a person would not be forced to rise above it. Having no choice under the pressure of the ego, he needs the state of Hafetz Hesed. Otherwise, he will simply not be able to live. On the other hand, this is necessary because he will never bring the Creator contentment.

This is the choice between these two discernments, between the two causes according to which a person advances to a spiritual life.

Question: What is his choice exactly?

Answer: You may choose to be in Hafetz Hesed in order to simply walk around in the forest with a flower in your hand and not wanting anything more than that, or you may not be able to stand the pains that this life brings and wish to escape to a place where everything seems good, where everything is for the best, since there is none else besides Him. Indeed, don’t I deserve such a good state?

You either yearn for the state of Hafetz Hesed because it is a higher level that allows you to remain above all the unpleasant feelings in the desire to receive or in order to remain in bestowal and to appreciate it more than receiving. It is quite hard to explain this to ourselves, but it is already the beginning of the real state of Hafetz Hesed.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/3/13, Writings of Rabash

Life Is Full Of Surprises

Overcoming is not fighting like a hero. Overcoming is to discover our weakness through the environment, through everything that we have learned. The wisdom is not to look within myself for the powers to overcome, but rather, to understand that everything is arranged by the Creator every step and each small detail. All this is in my favor, for my advancement, in order to help me reach adhesion.

Therefore, I am happy about every state that comes along. As it is written, “Even when a sharp sword is placed upon one’s neck, one should not despair of mercy.” He should not despair of mercy since everything is calculated.

If a person holds himself above all these trials, which we even may call “surprises,” then he has nothing to fear. He feels secure and in adhesion with the Creator.

Overcoming is when I quickly overcome all the thoughts and all the inclinations to one side or another and reach a request. I leave all the worries and being thrown side to side and reach a request to the Creator. I don’t ask Him to change my state, but rather to have the powers to remain adhered to the Creator, not in order to ease things for myself, but in order to bring Him contentment.

By that, the state ends, and I go on to the next state where an even greater surprise is prepared for me. So, it turns out that life is full of surprises.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/4/13

And Then Comes Dawn

If a person feels that he is in the “white” daylight—everything in his work seems great and he seems to understand everything, feels that he is advancing in his feelings and his mind, and develops like we see in this world—it is not called spiritual development; it is developing on the level of our world. He can study all the articles and the whole theory by heart, but it isn’t called spiritual development.

A person advances in states where he feels confused, detached and fearful of everything that happens in this world on the corporeal level in which he exists for the time being. This happens on the level where a person is, each time. King David said, as it is written in Psalms, “You have hidden Your face from me and I was frightened.” This state is called darkness.

However, it is actually in the dark that a person can examine himself and see whether he can be adhered to the Creator in this darkness. He doesn’t ask that the darkness will disappear and that everything will be clear, understood, calm, and secure. He is happy that, now, in this darkness, he feels the sharp need to be adhered to the Creator. He is happy and grateful for the darkness and wants to remain in it.

It is because he is sure that if he can ask to be adhered to the Creator above the darkness, then it will be a form of bestowal since it doesn’t bring any reward to his desire to receive.

These are the states that the Creator prepares for us. Sometimes, after ten or twenty years, we encounter an obstacle along the way that was prepared by the Creator decades ago. It is all according to the long-term plan of creation. These interruptions whose cause is concealed from us stem from our Reshimot (spiritual genes), from previous lives.

A real overcoming is having the power to turn to the Creator with a prayer, with a request, agreeing to remain in the dark in order to hold onto the adhesion to the Creator in it. In the darkness, we declare that “There is none else besides Him” and don’t ask Him to remove the concealment, but rather, want to rise above it in faith above reason and to be given the power to carry on as if we are in the daylight.

The moment we actually reach such a desire, we come out to the Light. Our desire must be final and absolute so that our request really will be regarding the darkness and not regarding the Light, only regarding adhesion and the ability to bring the Creator contentment in the darkness that is felt by our ego so that the darkness will turn into Light for our desire to bestow, and then comes dawn. We should understand this very well since this is actually the method of advancing.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/4/13