We Begin With An Upward Ascent

 We have reached the beginning of the way upward, toward thecompletion of correction. We have learned what the chain is from above to below, from Olam Ein Sof through all the worlds, meaning the Ha’alamot (Concealments), intensifying more and more until we have reached this world.

Gradually, all of the Light of Ein Sof and its perfect eternal life is concealed from us, and all of this is so that from here, from below, we begin to rise again, and in this way we discover the upper force, the higher spiritual life.

The Book of Zohar is at our disposal, and only with it did all the Kabbalists connect their hopes for correction, for the good future for us and for the entire world. In The Book of Zohar there is a power to elevate us from feeling the mortal physical life in this world to feel the eternal existence in Olam Ein Sof. The keys for happiness are in one book. The unique power of The Book of Zohar is capable of removing all the obstacles, all the problems, and ward off all human misery.

But it doesn’t work like all kinds of blessings, amulets,mystical miracles and actions. It doesn’t change the surrounding world; it changes me. I am changed in such a way that I see and feel the Olam Ein Sof in the same reality that previously seemed like this world.

It becomes clear to me that the people that I saw before as strangers are parts of mysoul and are connected together into one soul. That is how I see them now! We are connected as one soul and are filled with the same Light, eternity, wholeness, attainment and understanding. I don’t even find the solution to the previous problems, but rather, the power to rise to another dimension of life. All of this is thanks to The Book of Zohar.

To push us toward this, the Light that influences us from above is revealed more and more. The informational genes, the Reshimot, according to which we are developed and changed, are discovered in us more strongly as a result of the increasing influence of the Light. Accordingly, we feel worse and worse. After all, the opposition between the Light and the broken desires, the Reshimot, produce in us the feeling of being broken.

Here, we need to precede the blows with a remedy, and we are given the remedy. After all, we came to the wisdom of Kabbalah not to avoid troubles, but because of spiritual suffering; we didn’t feel spiritual fulfillment in our lives. So, we were drawn to thewisdom of Kabbalah. It is not as it is with all of the rest of the world that feels no connection to the meaning of life, neither negatively nor positively. The question about the meaning of life is hidden in everyone, but, externally, the person simply feels that it is bad for him.

So, we must respond to this invitation, the call directed toward us, and make a correction on the spiritual level, on the height of that elevated state that we must attain. We must reach a state where the evil doesn’t push us from behind through blows. Rather, we ourselves elevate the good, the greatness of the goal, the upper force, the upper world, the elevated state, that is ready for us. We must ascend and appreciate it, and we have all the means necessary for this.

We have many friends and groups in all parts of the world, an international organization, a well-organized connection between us. We only need to play this game of life as if all of our lives have spiritual characteristics, with bestowal that is the opposite of our natural ego, as if your lives are sanctified by love that is the opposite of hatred. If we play like this, we grow.

Nothing impossible is required of us: we don’t need to be good. It is known that a person is not able to correct himself. We just must want to be good. This is called our “half-shekel.” The Light adds the second half and completes the correction instead of us. The Light does everything according to the rule that I labored and found, as it is written, “If you labored and did not find, do not believe.”

So, our goal is to invest effort, to want to connect, to play with oneness, and to take all the necessary actions like children who play at being adults and attract the Light that Reforms that causes them to grow. We also want to be big in a qualitatively different sense, correcting our relationship with each other, with the group, and, through the group, our relationship to the Creator.

I must measure the stages of my development. Have I truly begun to feel that the friends matter to me, even egoistically so that I will feel internally that I depend on them and my entire future is with them, that I am connected to them and must be within the group, immerse myself, and dissolve into it?

If I feel that I am approaching this state and begin to feel that I am more and more dependent on the group, then I advance. This is a very gratifying sign that testifies that the Light truly influences me.

After this, when I feel my dependence on the group, I must check as to whether my pleasant feeling is connected to my wanting to give contentment to the Creator. Try it! Does the thought that I want to make the Creator happy awaken warmth and pleasure in me? If this feeling exists in me, then I am aiming correctly through the group to the Creator. That is how the Upper Light begins to build the way upward within me.
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From lesson 2 of the World Zohar Convention, Day One 2/5/14