Connecting The Entire World To The Creator

The main point we constantly should guard as our inner goal is the principle of “There is none else besides Him.” The Creator is the reason for every state, every thought, every perception, for everything that happens. There is only one force managing me and the world around me, and nothing but that.

It is all meant so that I, through my connection with the world, at every moment, in every event and in every action, both internally and externally, will reach the understanding that “There is none else besides Him” within the global circle. This is called adhesion within the general vessel. This is our work, and this is what we focus on.

However, the world is big, and, so, we begin with the group (1), and only then move on to the rest of the world (2). I must connect with the group through different cases and problems, and it should be the most important thing for me now. When I turn to the group, I also must remember the world as the second part of my work.

[93866]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/23/12, “The Role of the Israeli Nation“

To Feel The Desire Of The Teacher

Question: What does it mean to be your disciple?

Answer: The issue here is not with me. We’re talking about a law that acts in the system of connections between the souls. We need to connect these souls in the correct system with the correct connection. The connection itself already exists; we only need to identify with it, to connect to it, to clean it from all our litter, to infuse into it the force of love from our desires.

And therefore, a “disciple” is called one that participates in this, one who performs this work. He works on the connection with me according to the principle of “Make yourself a Rav,” and with the friends according to the principle of “Buy yourself a friend.” And towards all the rest, he works according to “Judge each person to the scale of merit.” And all this is in order to attain the connection with the upper force.

Question: How can the advancement on this path be examined?

Answer: Only according to the degree of annulment. Otherwise, your examination will be egoistic. A person needs to nullify, remove his internal “partition” that interferes with connection, not to engage in anything “behind the back,” secretly, but to frankly look for the point of adhesion through which he will be able to receive the supreme wisdom.

Each one should manage this list by oneself. Ideally, you have to know what I want, even without asking many questions. By means of this clarification, you have to nullify your ego in order not to deal with your corporeal desires and indulge in them. And then, when you feel what my desire is, you execute it.

And it’s not important whether I know about it or not, or if others know it or not. You simply do it and by this acquire connection, through me, with a system that is more superior, with the Creator.

Question: In general, we disdain you, even without understanding it…

Answer: It’s natural, whether you want to or not. A moral should be learned from this: Understand your relationship to the Creator. Maybe for you it’s not obvious, but it can’t be that you will treat Him better than me.

For this the teacher and the group are in front of you; the Creator is hidden, and you can “practice” on them in self-analysis: “Who is smarter in my eyes: me or them? Who is greater: me or them? Do I want to bend them down according to my plans, so that I behave in a way that’s convenient for me? Or nonetheless, I bend my head down and do whatever is good for them? How much do I nullify my opinion in front of them?”

All the work is in this. You were given a “practice facility,” where you can do all the preparation. If you don’t want to do these preparatory exercises, then it’s a pity for you to waste your time, better go and enjoy life…
[94049]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/12, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

Exile And Lo Lishma

Question: What is the difference between exile and the state of Lo Lishma?

Answer: A person feels that he is in exile after having been on a high level, and so he can understand that now he has descended into exile. Exile is a descent, after a person has understood something, felt something, has been in contact with the Creator, now he feels that he is detached from all this at least to some extent.

The levels of the forefathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, about whom the Torah tells us, are the levels of understanding, attainment, the feeling of bestowal, the attributes of the Creator, His revelation. While the descent into the exile in Egypt is already the hardening of the heart, which is felt after a person has attained a state called the “forefathers” (the most initial state).

While Lo Lishma is the initial level of a person who studies and tries to rise above all the states he feels, he is still in his egoistic intentions. He dreams about attaining bestowal and feels the value of this attribute and wants to detach from himself. But he wants this detachment for himself too, feeling how good it will be. This feeling of yearning for bestowal but still acting for his own good is called Lo Lishma.

But it is on condition that he values bestowal not because it helps him detach from the corporeal troubles or in the hope of receiving some spiritual reward or achievement. He wants to be in bestowal because this is how the Light operates on him. A person doesn’t even know what it means to be in bestowal. But new attributes are born in him and such vessels and inclinations are stabilized, which force him to value bestowal. He doesn’t even know where it comes from, but it is the result of the influence of the Light that Reforms.

Then this inclination becomes more and more conscious and a person begins to hold on to it by himself. Eventually he reaches a state in which he only wants bestowal, by cutting himself off from all personal interests.

In order to do that, a person must go through the hardening of the heart many times and encounter many obstacles. He is shown that there are things in life that are dear to him and from which he cannot detach himself, to what extent he still worries about them and cannot ascend above his egoistic love for some people or passions for different phenomena. At the same time, he sees to what extent he cannot ascend above his hatred towards someone or something.

The Light helps him clarify this, and eventually by much work and praying, a person tries to ascend above all that and nearly reaches bestowal. Then the upper Light completes this level for him, as it says: “I have labored and I found.”

The main thing is to hasten his advancement by intensively working in the group. Everything depends on the environment.
[94142]
From the 1^st part the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/27/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

A Simpler Interpretation Of The Secret Of Life

The only thing we have to correct is our relationship with the upper force that controls everything and manages life, as it says: “There is none else besides Him.” There are four languages that speak about the relationship between man and the upper force:Pshat, Remez, Drush, and Sod (Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, and Kabbalah).

They belong to the four levels of the desire: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking, and accordingly the clarification is in four ways. In this case there is already an opposite division in which the wisdom of Kabbalah is the simple interpretation and not Sod (secret) in which everything is revealed to a person. So we need the language of Kabbalah in order to be sure that we advance correctly.

It is an essential precondition, but it isn’t enough since the wisdom of Kabbalah can be perceived incorrectly. But at least a person learns from the right sources, which provide him with the right approach to the writings, although there are people who try to extract some secrets, mysticism, abstract knowledge, blessings, and remedies.

But still it is very important to stick to the language of Kabbalah and to the Kabbalistic approach and study conditions, since it is different from the ordinary study of different sciences. Here we are totally dependent on the source, which passes us this spiritual knowledge. If the source is real and reliable, we advance gradually according to our exertion and the positive external conditions in order to eventually attain the opening of the eyes.

We study about ourselves and about our nature by starting to feel a little what bestowal is, the force that is opposite from us. Then by the balance of these two forces, the force of receiving and the force of bestowal, we begin to feel the creation. Thus we attain the Creator by His actions upon us.
[94145]
From the 1^st part the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/27/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

A Convention: The Happiest Moment

Question: We often think about how to come to a state of prayer. On the other hand, a convention is such a joyful act…

Answer: A prayer should not be sad. A prayer is an expectation of correction. Should I cry, kneel and beat my head against a wall? There is nothing like this.

A prayer is a feeling in the heart. I want my heart to be corrected. I prepare it so that it goes through changes, stops being egoistic, stops thinking about itself.

Once the heart stops thinking about itself, I immediately begin to feel the upper world. This is what I want! This is called a prayer! Nothing else.

Question: But we are saying that we need to come to a state of despair, powerlessness, some very difficult feeling, but a convention symbolizes a state of joy, unity. How can I put this into one?

Answer: It is also very simple.

Despair must be joyful. That is, I despaired of my own abilities—look, what I have accomplished! I no longer have hope for myself.

Baal HaSulam writes that there is no more joyous moment in a person’s life when he feels that in no way he can help himself, and nothing will help him but only a miracle from Above, this is when it happens. There is no happier moment than the feeling that only this will save him. What could be better?
[94110]
From a Virtual Lesson 11/25/12

Developing By The Method Of Beating

It says “there is not a grass below that doesn’t have an angel Above beating it and telling it to grow,” which means that a force from the upper world that matches the grass in the lower world, beats it and forces it to grow according to its role. These blows are felt in the our feelings and in the mind, but first of all in our feelings, since we are a vessel of feeling, a desire to receive, which begins to move as a result of the blows.

A blow is felt by the desire when it suddenly discovers that the old images it had are incorrect. The function of the blow is to make a person feel things more deeply. Just like a hammer hits a nail driving it more deeply into the wood, so does the blow drive us more deeply into the matter of the desire. Then we begin to feel it in a new way and we begin to understand it more deeply.

I am confused because of the blow, and I lose control. But in fact, that’s the way it should be: The more a person advances, the greater are the blows that hit him, he is constantly confused and discovers something new, and thus over and over again. You will soon feel how this mechanism is constantly ticking inside, regularly. These small blows, time after time, make us dive more deeply into a feeling of confusion, and thus help us understand and feel things more.

But in order to truly feel something new, we have to go through many such reincarnations. The amount of confusion is always greater than the amount of feelings, and only after great turmoil and many confusions is there a new feeling. Afterward there is another series of confusions and small revelations and then a new feeling comes along.

To sum up, these blows are beneficial, since the “angels,” which are the forces in charge of our development are giving them out.
[93954]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/25/12

I Am Waiting For You In Novosibirsk!

Question: The ascent that is felt during a convention is cultivated on purpose: during meals, lessons, and breaks. Do we need to organize unification after the convention in our daily life?

Answer: Of course! A convention is needed so that it does not pass in vain, so that after it we begin serious work on unity in this region, create a serious Siberian group, consisting of serious guys who will really unite in the Trans-Ural region, so that they truly feel themselves masters and begin good work among themselves.

They can make an effort; they have a good environment there—an environmentally clean spiritual space. So, I think that they will be able to accomplish a lot. That is a very good place for spiritual work. I hope that I will feel this; we will connect with them, and then we will move forward together.

I wish you all the best! And once again I am asking: everyone who can, come; I want to see all of you. You cannot lose! You can only win! Come, so not to regret later.

I am waiting for you in Novosibirsk!
[94113]
From a Virtual Lesson 11/25/12

The Concealment Isn’t In The Creator, It’s In Us

Question: How can we affect all the groups in the world now so that they will feel what we feel? How are we able to transfer our feelings to them? What kind of intensity, relationships, and connection is required from us?

Answer: We really are in connection with everyone. If they grasp us or not, is not, by the way, our problem since everything happens in relation to the Creator.

He affects us, He is completely disclosed to us. The Creator doesn’t conceal Himself. When we say that the Creator is concealed, He isn’t. It is we who conceal Him through our uncorrected attributes. He has nothing to conceal from us. We simply express it this way. But actually the concealment is in us and not in the Creator.

It is also this way in relation to other groups. When we study, hold workshops, in anything we do, it includes all the world’s groups. When we try to include it in us, even if we don’t think about it each moment (because we also don’t think  about it now each moment), we can’t include it within us. We still have only a small desire, a small Kli (vessel/desire).

But when we begin to connect between us, we can simultaneously grasp a billion thoughts, a billion feelings, and they don’t annul each other. It is as if we are now very small, like one byte of information, and on it, for example, it is possible to write 0 or 1 and nothing more. But when we have a huge connection of 0s and these 1s, which means of all kinds of units of information, then we will be able to list and to include in us all of humanity, and then we will try to do that .
[93773]
From the Georgia Convention 11/6/12, Workshop 2