From A Dark Point To The Light Of Love

Comment: There is an entire discussion in The Book of Zohar as to which letter the creation of the world should begin with. Eventually it was decided that the first letter would be “Bet” (Bereshit, Genesis).

Answer: The first letter is very important since it determines the meaning of the whole act of creation.

In the article “The Letters of Rav Hamnuna Saba” in The Introduction to The Book of Zohar there is the description of the “struggle” over which letter should control the world to bring all egoism, all the attributes opposite to the Creator, to compatibility with Him.

The attributes have to be opposed to each other because it is only as a result of the conflict between the positive and negative forces that we can begin to study and reveal the Creator; it is impossible to do it any other way. It is impossible to discover any attribute, anything in the world, if we don’t have attributes that are opposite from the Creator.

But how could anything opposite to Him be created? For this purpose the constantly growing egoism was created, so that it could be compared to the positive force and in the contrast between them compare: the attribute of the created being and the attribute of the Creator, day and night.

A person has to feel alternately this and that, and then together; these properties are opposite to each other. During this comparison, he either lowers the Creator to the level of darkness or raises darkness to the level of the Creator.

This work helps the created being discover the Creator from the attribute that is opposite to Him, but not in contrast, one against the other, like in our world. A person ascends and dresses his ego with the Creator’s attributes making them into a form that is totally egoistic internally and opposite from the Creator while all His positive attributes are revealed externally.

Then the created being begins to attain the two opposite attributes through one action, in one thought, in one deed, at the same time. As he ascends from our world upward, he begins to build all the creation by himself.

This is why it is said that the righteous build worlds. It is as if the Creator has destroyed the world He created (which is indeed so), and they build it and recreate it just like a child who is given a toy that is totally disassembled in order to teach him to put it together.

Thus, a person gradually ascends to the Creator’s level , and thus becomes equivalent to the Creator. He passes all the emanations and acquires the Creator’s attribute in all his filling.

Question: When you speak about a person, do you refer to the united figure of all mankind?

Answer: Yes, it is all the people in the world; it is their corrected inner core that is connected into one unique correct state called Adam (a human being) that resembles the Creator.

Comment: The wisdom of Kabbalah is so deep and rich that one constantly thinks about how he can absorb it.

Answer: It is impossible to do it in any theoretical manner. The wisdom of Kabbalah isn’t an ordinary wisdom that can be learned from a distance; it isn’t a performance that can be acted and thus felt. We have to fully penetrate and be incorporated in this figure and that is the problem.

Here there is absolute adhesion with the levels of ascent and a person constantly changes his form from a dark point to an enlightened figure of complete love and bestowal.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 12/31/14

The Benefits And Dangers Of Reforms

Question: People are always waiting for new reforms with the hope that life will be better. For example, in their opinion, the crisis in the housing sector can be resolved through reform in the Israel Lands Administration, or through the allocation of additional plots for construction, or through a zero value added tax when buying a home.

In general, each project under discussion in the media or government arouses a multitude of reactions depending on whose interests they represent. So do we need reforms?

Answer: Reforms are useful. By announcing them publicly, politicians muffle the loud voices of opposition and shelter themselves from criticism. “Be patient, I am working on the problem.” Over time, the sore subject is obscured, giving way to another, and again someone comes out with new reforms and proposals for sensitive issues.

In brief, talk about reform helps calm passions and shifts people’s attention in the direction convenient for the government or the reformist. Therefore, the only effective reform is possible only on condition that we understand how and in which direction humanity is developing. This basic “educational plan” will allow us to judge if we can continue to live under the egoistic lifestyle that determines all of our mutual connections, the entire nature of our relationships.

Today, unlike in the past, humanity is feeling itself as a single jumble that is welded together in a system that includes the still, vegetative, and animate nature. The entire globe is a single whole.

Just open our eyes and make out the picture, we see, we see that we are in an integrated, global structure, which tightly binds us together. As long as we don’t get along within it, we can expect a thorny path of failures for us.

So in any reforms except for social ones, I see no benefits. They are just a waste of time;  their results will show that the time is up, nothing was accomplished, even to the extent possible in the existing frameworks, and the problem is only exacerbated.

We must bring modern society in accord with the requirements evolution applies to us. Suddenly we are discovering that we have formed an integral community in which all depend on each other. At this stage, according to the wisdom of Kabbalah, we need to consider ourselves as a single common family. First of all, it is necessary to take care of the appropriate social reforms. After the development of this approach, it must be conveyed in educating people. It is necessary to provide people with educational and informational systems so that he will begin to be involved in this actively, so he will understand and feel what is at stake. Only then will unity stop being a hollow sound for him.

Today a new force is manifested in society that connects all people, even against their will. But we don’t take it into account, not in politics and not in economics. And so we stand on the threshold of chaos, continuing to form artificial “bubbles” of systems that have already completed their life cycle and no longer inherent in the nature of human society.

Based on our egoistic understanding, we are trying to implement these “fossil” remnants of the past in new structures of mutual integral relationships, but they don’t match each other. Hence, the dire results we see here in the course of development today have become negative.

Of course we always find excuses for ourselves, referring to the deficits of another choice. But if we look realistically at the matter, humanity finds itself before a serious problem.

Whether it wants it or not, it is advancing towards an integral world “kingdom” that is more strongly mutually connected. Still within the old habits, we want to insert into it our vision of a “digital,” discrete world, although in reality there is a completely different calculation.

We don’t take into account the universal mutual connection and interdependence, ignoring the “underground” threads that strongly connect us with each other. Or we want to squeeze them into formats of our egoism, placing them under the control of money and power, the military and banks. As a result of this, two types of systems are in conflict, clashing against each other, and we are entangled more and more in a mass of concealments and contradictions. The time has come to turn to the root cause, instead of making vain reforms.
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From KabTV’s “The Solution” 5/6/15

Slavery In The Modern World

In the News (from facte.ru): “What is slavery in the modern world? It is about economic slavery and continuous coerced work:

1. Since the money a modern slave has is always enough for only one month, the modern slave is forced to work his whole life until his death.
2. The creation of artificial demand for products that one seemingly needs by advertising forces the slave to buy.
3. Modern slaves are drawn deeper and deeper into bondage by a credit system, through a mechanism loan interest creating a pyramid of debt.
4. The myth of the state: the money in the slaves’pockets goes into the pockets of the slave owners.
5. Inflation: the rise of prices but not the rise of the slaves’ wages leads to the invisible robbery of the slaves.
6. Denying the slaves the means to purchase real estate in another city or state forces modern slaves to work in one factory that was built in their city and to suffer from the bad conditions.
7. Concealing information about the real cost of the slaves work, the slaves lack of supervision as to the extra profits that the slave owner takes for himself.”

My Comment: The revelation of the true state of the society that develops as a result of growing egoism and the greater recognition of the dead-end that our evolution has reached will force society to make changes, while the search and the lack of a solution will lead to the acceptance of the new integral education method that the wisdom of Kabbalah offers to re-educate man and society.
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Who Is Our Master?

In the News (from thetheoryandpractice.ru): “Genes determine everything for us! They find the best partner in life for us so that we can reproduce ourselves with healthy offspring. Unconscious DNA testing for compatibility takes place with the exchange saliva in the first kiss. Genes also choose friends for us: friends have 1% of the same genes, the same as it is with fifth generation relatives.

“People prefer to associate with those with whom they have the same perception of smell, yet different immunity (so that everyone will not get sick at the same time). The genes choose the appropriate environment for their own distribution—they push us into a particular society. Characteristics of human nature are results of the genes.

“Bacteria may release psychoactive substances that enhance religious feelings. There are trillions of bacteria living within us that use the human body exclusively for their own interests. 3,000 species of bacteria live within the human body. Most of them populate the digestive system, and are nourished by the same food, and they have their own taste preferences.

“If food composition—the ratio of the proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients—is appropriate for the development of the bacteria, they encourage their host by releasing substances that improve the health of the person. If the food composition is not to the taste of the bacteria, they release toxins. In this way the bacteria shape our sense of taste and determine our diet.

“The activity of the brain depends upon forty genes and is activated by the bacteria.

“In a spoonful of water there are five million bacteria and five million viruses. The bacteria are 80% of the total biomass of the Earth. The entire biosphere is a system for exchanging genes between various micro-organisms.

“Parasites damage trees, flowers, animals, every life form. If the behavior of the subject becomes different, if he puts himself in danger, it is because of the parasite that actively controls the subject through various chemicals.

“A flatworm is so eager to get out of the body of the mouse into the body of the fox that it transforms the mouse into prey for any predator, slowly but surely. Nematodes color ants like the red berries that the birds into which they want to pass indulge themselves with.

“Toxoplasma first inhabits rodents, from them it passes to cats, and from there to a human. People who are infected with toxoplasmosis stand out in their behavior: They often lose self-control and are unable to be freed from worry. In addition, the toxoplasma slows down a person’s reaction time. So some people prefer adventure, epinephrine and eternal searching, while others are satisfied with the television remote.

“Neurons. A person makes a decision much later than it is made by the neurons. The brain alone decides how to act. The conscious choice of a form of behavior is only an illusion that conceals the true processes that are happening within the human brain without any connection with himself. The acceptance of a decision is the attainment of the active threshold of particular neurons that signal the motor cortex of the brain to launch rational or emotional behavior.

“Neurotransmitters. Neurons determine our desires. The source of the various senses are neurotransmitters—chemical substances that provide for the passage of electrical current to synapses that connect between nerve cells.

“The feeling of happiness depends on the amount of serotonin in the tissue of the brain, and depression is the result of a lack of this substance. Another neurotransmitter, dopamine, causes us to yearn for food and sex, and not for higher goals. The more the level of dopamine rises, the more the system of ‘reward and punishment’ develops.

“The arousal neurotransmitter norepinephrine influences our behavior. Our ability to concentrate, our level of energy, our motivation to act, relaxation, memory, good mood and our behavior in times of danger depend on norepinephrine. The discovery of the neurotransmitters leads us to conclude that we are not the masters of our emotions.”

My Comment: The wisdom of Kabbalah explains everything in a simple form: We have freedom of choice; nothing that happens depends on our desire. We are compelled to do everything, even if it seems to us that it is our desire.

Cooperation between higher forces that are hidden from us manages the biological substances in our bodies and arouses desires, thoughts, decisions and actions in us.

Freedom of choice is given only to make the acceleration personal spiritual development possible. The wisdom of Kabbalah explains how we can realize it. With everything else, we are always left with the illusion of freedom of choice in our decisions and actions. And this is despite the fact that science will continue to prove to us how much we don’t have freedom of action.

In general, the wisdom of Kabbalah defines our lives as existence on the animate level and the level of Adam; this is our only spiritual development, in the direction towards equivalence with the Creator.
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We Won’t Follow The Path Of Suffering Forever

Following the path of suffering is like a naughty child that is spanked until he says that he wants to study. Do you want to? Please, advance. He takes one step forward and again doesn’t want to so he has to be beaten once more until he says that he wants to and advances again.

This is the path of suffering which has a posterior and an anterior in each phase. In the posterior we receive great sufferings until death and wars, and then, having no choice, we agree and take a step forward the size of which is determined by the sufferings you receive. This is enough fuel for you to make you want to escape them, and this is how we advance.

Escaping the sufferings is the bad path. We still advance, but it is very hard because we receive blows at every point along that way until we finally breakdown and advance despite our laziness and stubbornness, escaping the sufferings.

The blows become increasingly more focused and eventually we begin to feel that it isn’t enough to simply escape the rod that catches up with us. I have already received so many blows, so why am I not moving? Why am I so stupid and stubborn? When will I ever learn?

This is what many people think these days when they look at our planet and see how we are ruining it and our lives, why do we arm, fight, and hate one another? How can we get rid of all that?

But all this isn’t enough to make a step forward. Our advancement has to be towards attaining a goal, not escaping blows like fleeing animals. We have to know the path, understand why it was given to us and for what purpose in order to advance as human beings.

This means that besides the force that pushes us from behind through sufferings, we have to develop a force that will pull us forward though the appreciation of love, bestowal,adhesion, wholeness, and the greatness of the Creator. Unless we have that force we will not be able to move and will not be able to get rid of the suffering. They will become increasingly greater in order to force us not simply to escape from them but to attain the greatness of the goal.

We shouldn’t think that the ordinary corporeal suffering in our world would help humanity overcome the crisis. We, Bnei Baruch, will have to approach people and show them the way so that they will be drawn to the good. Only then will they be able to advance.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/14/14, Writing of Baal HaSulam

The Torah Is Given Every Day

Question: In an atmosphere of complete disconnection and lack of understanding, how can we convey the law of love for others to people?

Answer: The same state of disconnection occurred at the time of receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Before that, the people of Israel came out of Egypt, where Pharaoh, the evil that separates us, was revealed.

We found ourselves in terrible darkness, passing through the “49 Gates of Impurity.” That is why we were rewarded the revelation of the force of unity, the Light of the Torah.

It is said that the advantage of light is known from the darkness. So today, when no one considers others and everyone hates each other, the light of the Torah is revealed to us.

Question: Why is this light hidden from us?

Answer: The light is hidden because we do not use it. The evil force is revealed to us through our egoism and desires, and the force of good has no place to be revealed. Let’s begin to perform good actions, bringing the force of good from concealment, and we will suddenly find out that we have two forces: the plus and the minus, the good and evil.

We will be able to balance these two forces and live in a world where we will become the masters of everything we do. The world will be opened before us.

Question: What would you like to wish the people of Israel on the holiday of the giving of the Torah (Shavuot)?

Answer: I would like to wish that we all understand that we have been given the Torah. We need to recall every day that we were given the Torah and that we must receive it. It is the only thing that we lack. This is not about religious traditions but about the method of correction, which allows every person to correct himself and attain love for others.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 5/3/15

The Holiday Of The Giving Of The Torah—Every Day!

Question: Why must we receive the Torah every year during the holiday of Shavuot if we already received it at Mt Sinai?

Answer: It isn’t a physical action and about being physically at the foot of Mt. Sinai. We are told that a person should see himself as if he is coming out of Egypt every day. He must hear the Ten Commandments every day as if he is receiving them over and over again. It is because our ego, our desire to receive, is renewed every day. In contrast to this, we continuously must awaken the desire to bestow, the power of love. This is the reason that the Torah is given to us on a daily basis.

Now, however, we are in exile, which means that we don’t feel the good force which is concealed from us. We only can reveal it through the wisdom of Kabbalah, which was also intentionally concealed until not too long ago.

Question: How is the Torah related to the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah is called the wisdom of truth, the wisdom of the Light, since it is actually through this wisdom that we can attain the force of goodness, the force of love and bestowal, and fulfill the mutual guarantee and unity between us. We have been trying to do that for decades in the state of Israel, but things are getting worse and worse. We already have reached a point in which the situation is unbearable.

The wisdom of Kabbalah, on the other hand, reveals to us the force of goodness, the force of love, that ties us together and allows us to use it. We begin to feel how we must balance evil wherever it is revealed by the force of goodness. Then, we have two forces by which we can advance in the right direction to unity and love, and can develop in a good and wonderful manner.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 5/17/15

Who Has A Soul?

Question: Does every person have a soul, and is it eternal?

Answer: Only a person who builds his soul has one. Building a soul means attainting the level of love of others. To the extent that I attain the love of others, I feel the love of others in my corrected desire, a feeling that is called the Upper Light. The desire with the Light inside it that is absolutely aimed at bestowal and love of others is called a soul.

The Light is the feeling of the upper force, of the Creator, inside the desire. The desire that is aimed at love of others and the Light that fills it, which means what I feel in my desire by aiming at love of others is called a soul. The vessel of the soul is the desire and the filling of the desire is the Upper Light. This is how we discover the soul. Thus it is clear that initially no one has a soul, but everyone can acquire it if he corrects his attitude to others. Our life is arranged so that eventually everyone will attain his soul no matter what.

If we speak about the nation that will attain it first, the nation of Israel is intended to reach the attainment of the soul first. Now in our generation everyone can do it. This is the reason that the wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed, the method that tells us how to attain the soul out of the egoistic desire, how to change the desire for the benefit of others according to the principle “love thy friend as thyself.” When the whole Israeli nation begins to engage in it and attains that level, the state that is called a soul, all the nations of the world will be able to do the same too. Whatever the Israeli nation attains will also flow unto them. All the problems and the corruption that have lately been revealed in Israel are because we should have started to correct our soul long ago but we are lagging behind.
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From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 5/10/15

The Promised Land In The Desert

Question: It is said that to inherit the land requires a lot of preparation. What is this preparation?

Answer: The land of Israel is that same Babylon or Egypt, but corrected. In the beginning there was no land of Israel, only the land of Canaan. There is no land of Israel without the nation of Israel. The inheritance of the land of Israel is when you take the desires of Babylon, the desires of the Pharaoh, that are discovered as cruel, terrible, and egoistic, put them to work, and transform them for the sake of bestowal.

And the corrected desires are called the land of Israel because they are directed for the sake of bestowal, straight to the Creator. If I am in the desire to receive that is called Egypt, under the control of Pharaoh, and yearn to reach the state that is for the sake of bestowal, to reach the state of love the other as yourself, then this is called that I want to escape Egypt.

I rise above those egoistic desires that are called Egypt because when I am within them, I can never correct them. Thus, I rise above them, detach from them, and am able to use them in such a way that I correct them. The correction of these desires is such that I detach from them and don’t want to be influenced by them.

This work of rising above the desires to receive are called the forty years of wandering in the Sinai Desert. And after I process and transform these desires and can already work with them for the sake of bestowal, then that is called Egypt, which at the beginning turned into the Sinai Desert and now turned from the Sinai Desert into the land of Israel.

These are very accurate specifications. One only needs to learn how to interpret them correctly, and then everything becomes very simple.
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From Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/23/14

No Limits, No Creation

Why did Moses tell them, come and be engaged in the (Mishkan)Tabernacle and it will be important for you, but Moses heard the fools of Israel speaking behind him, and it says, “And they looked after Moses and what did they say, Rabbi Yochanan said happy is the one that gave birth to this, and what does she see in it, all his days, blessed be He speaks with him, all his days he pays the blessed be He, that is: and they looked after Moses. Rabbi Chama … and his friend tells him a man that rules the work of the Tabernacle you don’t ask him to be rich. When Moses heard this, Moses told them, your life, the Tabernacle is completed I will give you the account. He told them come and we will calculate, meaning: and those numbered of the Tabernacle.” (Midrash Rabbah, Schmot, Chapter “P’kudei Ha Mishkan”)

This is speaking about one person. This includes, the people, the spiteful critics, Moses, us, and also the Creator—all of these are our inner qualities. Everything that is outside of us is imprinted in our minds where we perceive a picture of the world and all that happens around us.

Therefore, as soon as a person on the level of “Moses” (which is a very high spiritual degree), such states awakened are awakened, all sorts of contradictions. But the construction of the Tabernacle could not be otherwise because there are always huge obstacles in terms of quality and in quantity. After all, thanks to them, based on those obstacles and correcting them, the vessels of perception to reveal the Creator will be built. In our world we cannot imagine how much the actions of opposition help.

Imagine how difficult it is to build in space where there is no counter in the form of gravity, how difficult it is for a person to act when he is not between two forces and has only one force to work with. Then there is a need to use weights or some magnets that create gravity, because without action and resistance we will not succeed. Therefore, both forces arise in the spiritual work; they help us to find our way.

It is known that a missile aimed at a target has to move relative to something; it constantly checks itself so that it doesn’t deviate from the course, and precisely by the small deviations it progresses in the correct direction. It is the same in spiritual work. Only thanks to the disturbances do we progress. As it is written, “Man must bless the bad as he blesses the good,” because it is precisely the evil that pushes, awakens, and helps us to progress. We check ourselves relative to it.

Therefore, we need to clearly and precisely understand the completion of the goal of creation cannot be composed only from positive qualities. Disturbances could also be called “positive” if it weren’t for the existence of the negative force.

Without the disturbances nothing could be built. If, for example, I build a wall by placing one brick after another, I have to see in relation to what I lay them in order for the wall to be straight. I use levels and plummets and with their help, I build the wall. Limits are necessary! Without them there is no creation.

If there is no resistance, then it’s not the right path. In every activity: in study, at work, in daily life, there must be an action and reaction between which we build the middle line.

Exactly because of that the Torah describes dramatic states that are continuous collisions because in each new level we need to feel the revelation of the negative level and toward it build the positive level. How could we work if we aren’t able to reverse a negative thing to positive? Then there would be no chance to create something.

If we act in a correct form, then we need the negative as well as the positive. Imagine that instead of spot lighting in a room, there were only light without shading, without transition of shadow and light. Without such limits we would not be able to feel, see, sense, or be oriented.

Therefore, Moses in us is very happy in situations of controversy and uses them in a correct form. He builds the Tabernacle and he is aware that these qualities exist in him, and after he finishes building the Tabernacle he begins to work with them.

The main thing is that the restrictions build the outlines of our spiritual vessels in which we reveal the Creator. Why is it said that it is possible to build the spiritual vessel only with the help of the letters “Yod- Hey – Vav – Hey”? Because they are limits.

The name “Yod- Hey – Vav – Hey” is the outline in which we begin to feel the Light of creation; otherwise we cannot feel it. It is surrounding us now, but we don’t feel it because we have nothing to limit it, nothing within which to receive and feel it.

Once the limits become similar to the Light in the positive and the negative sense, then we will gradually begin to feel the Light and will ultimately reveal it. Therefore the limits that are used in a correct form are necessary as are the positive forces. After all, they actually are not negative, but are the only way we perceive them relative to another force. Therefore, if man builds his life in the correct form, then he will have great success.[131378]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 10/16/13

The Torah As The Law Of Love

Every person is created with an egoistic desire, but in addition to it, we are given the Torah, which can turn this evil desire into a good one. The desire remains, but, instead of using it for our own benefit, we begin to use it for the good of others.

This revolution in the use of one’s desire can be performed with a tool called the Torah, the Reforming Light. Studying my egoistic desire, I discover that it consists of 613 parts, 613 desires, that together comprise my evil inclination.

I need to correct all these desires, from the lightest to the heaviest, in order to stop using them for myself and start using them for the benefit of others. I must make a complete revolution in this. It is impossible to correct them halfway in order to make it beneficial for me and for you.

Therefore it is said that a person must perform 613 commandments. This is about 613 corrections of my desire from evil to good with respect to the other. As a result of these corrections, I come to love, fulfilling the main law of the Torah.

It is this method of correction that the people of Israel once received. For this, we are given the Torah. The task of the people of Israel is to implement this method, setting an example for the entire world and becoming a Light to the nations.

Therefore, the Torah contains so many warnings. Our entire fate depends on the fulfillment of this condition of love for one’s friend as for oneself. Let’s see whether we are approaching this realization or not.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 5/3/15

When We Open The Torah

The Torah is the most popular book of all times and among all peoples. It talks about the spiritual development of a person and about his inner characteristics.

We regard the Torah as a fascinating biography of historical figures and we don’t suspect that it is not talking about physical issues but about a person’s inner state and about the inner state of all of humanity. So it is up to us to leave its stories to the imagination of writers and historians and talk about what it really says.

Adam—A Desire that Raises the Person Above the Material

A person is born as an egoist, he passes through a long way of egoistic development on the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate, until for the first time, 5,775 years ago, the level of “man” (Adam) was awakened in him, the level of his inner development. It is not by chance that they called the first man who perceived the spiritual world Adam.

The desire was awakened in him to attain a new level that reveals the meaning of life, its source, and the power that created the universe and manages it. This is a pure power that is not clothed in any earthly images.

A person, according to his physical structure, senses, mind, and heart, is on the animal level of developmental. And suddenly the component of “Man” is revealed in him, an additional desire and intelligence that weren’t revealed in any form from an external aspect. These are already spiritual components that differentiate him from the beast. They raise a person above substance through his relationship to creation, to the Creator, to the meaning of life.

The first Adam described his attainment in the book, Sefer Raziel HaMalakh. In continuation, his students, Cain, Abel, and Seth, developed his discovery. That is how it continued until Noah, representing the tenth generation of the students of the first Adam.

Abraham, the First Active Explorer of the Power that Manages Creation

Ten additional generations passed from Noah to Abraham before humanity reached the state of “Babylon,” which is the first state in which people began to be locked into a group. The growing ego began to hint to them how to work amongst themselves, to help them discover the close relationship that was revealed in the clashes and opposition within a person and between people.

Precisely at this time in ancient Babylon, within one of the priests of the religion, Abraham, the son of Terah, the desire arose to attain a higher spiritual level. If before him all of the Kabbalists penetrated the secrets of creation passively, Abraham became the first active explorer who attained the power that manages the universe by himself.

This was a new level of attainment; he rose above his ego and began to work with it actively. The ego reached a level in him that began to be a real force and cooperated with him. So Babylon embodies the conflict between people, strife, discord, and their dispersion.

On this background, Abraham created the method for discovering the creation. Although Adam is considered to be the first Kabbalist, Abraham is the one who founded the study that became the instrument for attaining the universe and the force that manages it, the Creator.

It is impossible to deny the existence of this force, because after all, we see that the entire creation was created according to some kind of principle, according to some kind of program. It links within itself and acts within an immense system according to a formula that we don’t understand.

Abraham began to investigate it actively, because around that time the public became egoistic, i.e., the opposition of society to this force of nature made it possible for the society to explore nature, the Creator. Abraham wrote about his discoveries in the Book of Creation (Sefer Yetzirah).

Overcoming the Crisis in Babylon

With this method launched by Abraham, since the shattering occurred first as the expression of separate individuals, each one representing a particular property that once was collected into one unified desire; now each one of us is some kind of unique aspect of the general desire that existed before then.

If we want to attain the force of nature that created the singular desire, we can do this to the degree of our connection and unity. When we connect and unite above our opposition and contradictions, we create a state of separation between the negative forces of our division and the singular positive force of nature. Specifically within this opposition appears the opportunity for clarifying the feeling of what happens in us and in all of creation.

When Abraham discovered this, he called the Babylonians to rise above their crisis because it is nothing other than the discovery of the opposition of society to nature. At the same time the opposition is increasing.

There exist only two methods for overcoming the crisis: Either gathering together according to the method of Abraham, or scattering in all directions so as not to feel the constant enmity and conflicts with each other. In this way, the Babylonian society divided into two parts: one part scattered and settled all over the surface of the Earth and the second part followed Abraham to the land of Israel.

Since all the characteristics are connected, it is natural that if one “changes his location he changes his fortune” (Talmud Yerushalmi, Shabbat 6:9). A particular force of nature influences every piece of land on Earth, so someone who changes the location of his dwelling changes his fortune, his fate. Clearly it is not necessary to accept this literally. But on the other hand, we see how both biology and geography truly influence the appearance of people, their manner and characteristics. And it is not because the land is like this, but because the characteristics of every point in space are different. So Abraham, since he was led by an inner intention, brought his disciples to the land of Israel, because he felt that their place was precisely here.

But the processes through which the people passed in ancient Babylon also continued in the land of Israel. The ego was constantly growing, and they needed to rise above it through the unity between them. There was nothing new in the method that was discovered by Abraham, it was simply realized by those who possessed the same view with greater or lesser success, and they succeeded in realizing it.

Joseph, A Level that Unites Separated Desires

The development of the school of Abraham was continued by his student Isaac, called the “son” of Abraham in the Torah. “Son” in the wisdom of Kabbalah indicates his successor.

But in the time of Jacob there began to be problems in the realization and implementation of the study in life itself, because the unity that they had to attain was already on another level. Jacob is a small part of the general soul (six Sefirot). To continue with the realization of the method, it was necessary to move to the general level, Israel, meaning ten Sefirot instead of six.

Here for the first time they saw that their method was not enough. They didn’t know how to solve the problem of unification. Between all the opinions that are called the sons of Jacob, and their brother Joseph started disputes and arguments. Joseph thought that it was necessary to unite according to a particular principle that specifically was about him, for even the name “Joseph” is derived from the word “L’Asof,” to connect, (in Hebrew all names have an internal meaning).

But the point of view of Joseph sounded very egoistic. His brothers didn’t agree with him, and ultimately they found themselves in Egypt against their will. In other words, the continued development of spirituality brought them to a state in which against their will they found themselves under the control of Joseph. And to continue rising further in the spiritual levels, they had to accept his leadership upon themselves.

In the Torah this is described in the form of a conflict between the brothers, the sale of Joseph to Egypt, the descent of the sons of Jacob to Egypt, and so forth. If we translate this into the language of Kabbalah, then it is speaking about the work of the person with his inner emotions, but already on another, more serious egoistic level, when the rigid, distinctive and precise ego is discovered.

The ego grew according to five levels. If we rise above them, it is possible to examine and attain the only power of nature that is its opposite, the Creator. When the sons of Jacob found themselves on the next egoistic level, they discovered it as good, because Joseph connected them together and they felt sufficient advancement. What they were not ready for before then, they succeeded in doing now, to unite among them and work in the direction of attaining the Creator. These are what are called the seven years of plenty. And together with this they discovered the system in which they were found.

The Ego, Our Friend and Enemy

After the descent to Egypt stages begin that will bring us close to leaving it, escaping from under the control of Pharaoh, the emergence of the recognition that our work is realized within the ego. Attainment like this typifies every level.

This is because in order to rise to the next level that brings us forward, we need to be attracted towards it. So its ego needs to be shown to us as good, imperative, and as necessary for spiritual advancement: We enter into it, attain a new level with its help, and grow. And after this he already begins to acquire more painful forms.

We see that this is the way it happens even in our world, when throughout all of human development until recently, we thought that movement forward would bring us the good life, the right goal, the victory of reason, the good, and the right mutual relationships. We thought that there are ways of reaching this: capitalism, socialism, or communism. And we went forward, the main thing being to reach the goal, and without paying attention to the problems appeared along with this. Whereas, here an absolutely different situation was revealed: the recognition that we possess an egoistic nature and that we will not reach anything other than self-annihilation. And in our time we are beginning to attain and understand this.

In the beginning the ego attracts and seduces us, offers us very nice, good fulfillments. And after this we begin to understand that all of this is not for us and even harms us. And about this it is said in the Torah that we built beautiful cities for Pharaoh, Pithom, and Ramses, all of this is for the ego, and in fact, we dig a grave for ourselves with this. They are called dangerous cities, in regard to attaining the Creator, because the ego can bury us to such a degree that it is not possible to get out of it.

When the ego begins to attract us, we run after it: Everything in this world is ours, ours, ours. After that the person dies without taking anything with him. That is how things go one generation after another and gradually humanity begins to understand that this pursuit is harmful because this brings it to distancing, depression, and self-destruction. The lack of purpose, the appearance within us of the question about the meaning of life kills our egoistic movement forward and leads to a deep apathy.

At the end of development the ego must show us a reward: What have we gotten, where does this race end, where are the fruits of our labor? When we go a little higher with our egoistic desire we are already looking at everything completely differently. Everything that exists on the physical level seems as empty and useless to a person. He seemingly rises above his beastly state and understands that all of this is false: It isn’t clear why life has been wasted.

So it is said that Pharaoh specifically symbolizes the ego among the children of Israel, meaning those who have the need and the drive to discover the meaning of life, the purpose of existence, the Creator. Since the ego is constantly evolving and the need to see results is clearly growing, the person can no longer be satisfied only with mundane attainments, for he doesn’t exist forever and the needs in him are growing beyond materialism. He begins to understand that all of this is merely child’s play and ultimately, like everyone else, he will die. Life went by, and then what?

The ego helps us to decode, solve, see, understand and feel the lack of result of our way from the start. We see that the era of the “American dream,” the pursuit after profit has ended and now no one has the need for luxuries. People have evolved beyond this; you cannot compel them to run like a hamster in a wheel after more and more new purchases and fulfillments.

Humanity is now beginning to understand this; so today a stratum of ego that is immense in quality and small in quantity is appearing in it that asks the question about the meaning of life. It pushes humanity towards depression, drugs, terror, and crime, to suppress the question about the meaning of life any way it can, or at least to find some kind of partial answer for it. Gradually, more and more people are beginning to be interested in the Kabbalistic answer to this question.

In his time, this problem brought the students of Abraham to Egypt, to that state that began to awaken the ego in them that opposes the Creator, for only when they are immersed into the ego is it possible to discover this force. So the Egyptian exile and the exodus from Egypt became the foundation stones for the spiritual development of the person and humanity. Based upon the example of the small group of Abraham, which was thrown into the control of the ego called “Pharaoh,” it is possible to understand what is to be expected for all of humanity, since even today we are found in the same situation. This is the reason that when we open the Torah it is impossible for us to forget its extreme relevance for our time.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/02/15, Lesson on the Topic: “Dissemination of Kabbalah”

Thanks To The Covenant And The Mutual Guarantee

Question: What does “the ascent of the lower to the upper” mean?

Answer: The ascent to the upper depends on how much the lower can annul himself before the upper. He does it, of course, thanks to the Light that Reforms and not because of inner manipulations. He only has a clue that the Creator brings him to the right environment, to the good fate and tells him “take it!” If you manage to hold on to that point and to start working with it, you will succeed.

The ascent depends on what you consider an ascent. If you think positively about one of the friends at least once a day, unlike you have thought about him before, it’s already a great joy, since it indicates a qualitative inner change in you. You should worry that each of the ten friends in the group of ten will constantly aspire for such an ascent, and this is the mutual support and mutual guarantee. If you worry that all the friends should feel the same way and worry about one another, then your concern is conveyed to them.

This is easy for some of the friends and more difficult for others, and so we complement one another when we gather and connect. Those who find it difficult because of the hardening of the ego add power of Aviut (thickness) to the group of ten. Those who feel the ascent, which means the influence of the Light, pass this Light to the group.

The “shattering” of the vessel allows us to do this. I cannot draw the Light in my current shattered state since there is no connection between us. But I connect with the friends into one unity in which one adds the power of the coarse egoistic desire and another adds the spiritual ascent.

One pulls upward and another downward, but we are connected. Those who pull upward are influenced by the Light that Reforms and thanks to the fact that we are connected in one system, they also influence me. How is that possible? The point is that we have shattered the Machsom (barrier) between us, in our relationship we have worked and made efforts to overcome the gap between us. It’s as if we have placed a Masach(screen) over the egoistic receiving of the Light and now it can influence us.

The Light influences those who deserve it since they are in a state of ascent at the moment and through them it affects me. Even if we are not as close as we were before and not connected as strongly into one as we were, we have made a covenant and agreed that we will hold on to the connection between us as strongly as we can and will break down the wall between us.

It turns out that the shattering is simply a gift from Above; it’s a stick that we constantly have to kiss. It allows us to be constantly connected to others and to be in contact with the Light even in the worst state. If I lose contact with the others, there is the covenant by which I stay in contact thanks to those who are in a state of ascent and can draw the Light.

Thus everyone operates with regard to the others. This special connection of the shattered desires is called “this world.” It’s not what we see and feel at all, it’s not our corporeal ego, but a system, special conditions that allow us to connect to the upper. Although we don’t deserve anything judging by our state, we still accept this connection: either according to the conditions of the covenant between the friends, thanks to our connection, or thanks to the mutual support.

The friends may lack the willpower and I add it to them by my descent, and they help me convey my deficiency and hold on, just like healthy people treat those who are ill. The mutual help that we provide for one another, this shattered state, all these conditions are called “this world,” thanks to which we contact the Light that Reforms. So the advice and guidance of Kabbalists are focused on one point: How to connect to the Light in a state of detachment.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/20/13, Introduction, “Mother Lends Her Clothes to Her Daughter”

A Covenant Of Mutual Assistance

A person should do whatever he can in order to connect with others and to reach bestowal. As a result of one’s corporeal, egotistic efforts, he feels how reluctant he is to connect, how opposed he is to unity, mutual guarantee, and being as one man with one heart. He finds it useless and only feels repelled by it.

Thus, he discovers the desires that need correction, the desires that the Creator has created in man as “the evil inclination.” After this revelation he begins to see the help he receives from Above, despite his reluctance.

The discovery of the evil inclination comes from Above as part of the correction process. The Creator makes a covenant with a person that He won’t leave him and will help him advance. Even if a person doesn’t want to connect and is repelled by it, he will still be inspired by the previous state in which he made efforts to advance, and this will support him.

Gradually, a person discovers, ever so slightly, what bestowal is, what the power of love is. He begins to understand that his goal is only to discover a need for that. Then he can consciously and unconsciously understand, feel, and cry out asking for the force of correction.

The right request (MAN) is added to the right desire, the demand to leave the present state and move on to a better one. This desire can still be egoistic, which is called “Lo Lishma,” but it is already in line with the right path.

And so gradually, step by step, a person clarifies his desires and intentions. Of course, he is not the one who determines the steps of his development. In fact, they are awakened according to the Reshimot (informational genes) in him. The upper force, the Light, determines the whole process. A person only needs to constantly yearn to advance and to perform even the slightest actions that will advance him in any way towards the goal.

Then he will achieve the desired goal: He will receive the Light that Reforms, will acquire the attribute of bestowal, and will be filled with the Reflected Light that provides the sensation of spiritual life—life in bestowal!
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/2011, Writings of Rabash