[Issue 5] Nov 2011

The Wisdom Of

Kabbalah

”These will accustom one‟s heart and guide one until one cleaves to the

Lord, as for that was man created. He was not created for acquiring fortunes or for building buildings. Hence, one should seek everything that will bring one to love Him, to learn wisdom and to seek faith.”

Yehuda Ashlag (Baal Hasulam). Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot

Special magazine for inmates

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EDITORIAL ................................................................................................................................... 3

INTENTION .................................................................................................................................. 5

ARVUT ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Baal HaSulam: “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” ..................................................................... 6 All of Israel are responsible for one another ............................................................................ 6

KABBALAH FUNDAMENTALS ....................................................................................................... 8

The Wisdom of Kabbalah, Lecture 4 ........................................................................................ 8 Comprehension test # 3 ......................................................................................................... 24 Baal HaSulam about the Impression of the Soul .................................................................... 25

ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND ............................................................................................ 26

Nullifying Our Personal Interests ........................................................................................... 26 The Purpose of Studying Kabbalah ........................................................................................ 29

AUTHENTIC KABBALAH TEXTS ................................................................................................... 32

Rav Laitman: Lesson on the article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”. Part 2 ......... 32

DAILY LESSON & RAV’S BLOG: SELECTED EXCERPTS................................................................... 41

Let The Light Reveal Itself And Illuminate The World ............................................................ 41 The Sculptor of One’s Own Soul ............................................................................................. 42 Preparation To Begin Life ....................................................................................................... 43 Women’s Support .................................................................................................................. 44 We Are Not Together – We Are Absolutely One .................................................................... 44 The Stony Heart Instead Of Love ............................................................................................ 45 Before An Attack .................................................................................................................... 46 Today’s Heaven Is Tomorrow’s Hell ....................................................................................... 47 An Optical Illusion .................................................................................................................. 47 A World Structured At My Request ........................................................................................ 48 Drunk With The Light ............................................................................................................. 49

FEEDBACK ................................................................................................................................. 51

GOOD ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................................... 53

SMILE! ................................................................................................................................... 55

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EDITORIAL

Dear friends,

Greetings! We are happy to present you with the 5th issue of the magazine. The issue is finally in your hands and is extending its space for us to connect again. The last couple of months has been a tough time for all of us.

But not only for us – crucial economic and social changes have been taking place in numerous countries. Masses of people are coming out to the streets to protest about the unjust social and economic conditions they are trapped in. This process of growing global unrest is now accelerating at a remarkable speed, threatening in the nearest future to affect everyone no matter what socioeconomic background a person comes from.

The most important thing today is to understand that correction to the global crisis comes from within, as the plan and course of nature is to bring humanity into similarity and balance with it.

Humanity will have to reform itself, meaning to correct itself to be in line with nature. Thus, man must begin to attain nature, ―see‖ it first, and then think how to be in harmony with it. Nature is, in fact, the Creator. Therefore, we arrive at the necessity to attain the entire nature, meaning the Creator, by reforming ourselves ―to match‖ Him.

As much as we are aware of the cause of the pervasive crisis and as much as we understand that there is a purpose in all the suffering humanity is going through, it becomes our personal responsibility to educate those around us. Many of you have been already doing it. We would like to further encourage you to spread the knowledge in your environment to the best of your ability. With each step we are taking on this path, our own understanding is growing and personal transformation is unfolding.

Having said this we are happy to share with you some good news about the development of our project.

First, on November 10 our second advertisement in the Prison Legal News magazine came out, and has started bringing us new students. Our community is growing. If you feel that you have something to say to those who just started their studies to help them through the same period of confusion and loneliness you’ve been through – we’ll be happy to present you with the space to express yourself.

Second, we have slowly begun mastering the possibilities of creating networks that are provided through the Internet. Our webpage1 has been launched where we introduce the project, include the words of hope from your letters – all in an attempt to raise awareness and pronounce importance of what we together are doing to people outside. We’ve started receiving messages from those who acknowledge the importance of this work and encourage us to keep it up. We also have our first donations that are going to be used for support of the project. Friends - success of the Prison Project is our common achievement. Together we make it work.

1 http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/kabbalahprisonproject

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Finally we are happy to announce that we are fast approaching the World Convention ―Unity Changes the World‖ that will take place on December 6-8 in Tel-Aviv, Israel. It’s said that from 8 to 10 thousand people are expected to arrive at the Convention from all around the world.

Days of conventions are the most important time for the whole World Kli. It’s time when through the common effort to Unite we become able to transcend one step further. Let’s prepare for this, let’s concentrate and join our inner effort in supporting our friends who’ll gather together in Israel. With them representing our common desire to break through and overcome the Ego, we all - both men and women – are going to be at the Convention in our minds and hearts strengthening our internal connection.

In a run-up to the Congress, we are introducing a new section of the magazine called ―Arvut‖. Arvut - ―the Bond‖ in Hebrew - is a ―mutual guarantee‖ or correct union among the people who are already awakened to the spiritual connection. By accepting condition of Arvut among us we are agreeing to be responsible for each other.

Friends - today as never before we need to focus our efforts on vitalizing our internal connection. It is through Unity between us that can we reach more advanced corrected states – and thus quicken the times for all.

Only Together, Editors of the "The Wisdom of Kabbalah" magazine

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INTENTION

The main factor of our work is Intention

The main factor of our work is intention. Nothing else exists in our world but the intention.

Infinity descended to this world giving desire, existing within it, the opportunity to be free and to live in the state of concealment. Meaning, to be in the state of ―the concealed—to the Creator, and revealed—to us and our sons.‖

Until we acquire the intention, the steps towards acquiring the right intention are called ―action.‖ If a person simply eats, drinks, lives and moves without any specific reason, he or she is at either the inanimate or animate level of nature. In contrast, action and intention belong to the speaking level of nature, where action is meant to generate the right intention.

The truth is that actions come from above. The Light builds the Kli and molds it. The desire is created by the Light and will always be transformed by it alone. However, man is capable of special acts, ready to be applied and used by him, specifically because the desire for Light descended to the level of our world and exists there in the state of concealment. We, with the help of certain actions, can attract upon us the special Light, which can form the intention. By doing so, from Lo Lishma (for one’s own sake) we attain Lishma (for the sake of the Creator).

Our entire work, life, and focus of attention have to be directed only towards acquiring the intention. In everything else we are puppets on a string. We cannot influence anything else—only the actions that attract the Upper Light to us, that is, actions with the help of which we build the intention.

What does ―to build the intention‖ mean? How is it possible to form the intention? Very simply: if we reveal the Host just a little bit, the intention is formed in us. That is enough. The Creator reveals Himself slightly, and we start feeling who and what we are. Then, we develop a reciprocal relationship, a response to the Creator.

HHoowweevveerr,, hhooww ccaann tthhee CCrreeaattoorr rreevveeaall HHiimmsseellff?? IIff HHee ddooeess,, wwee wwiillll bbee

ffoorrcceedd ttoo eessttaabblliisshh tthhee iinntteennttiioonn,, aanndd wwoonn’’tt eexxeerrcciissee oouurr ffrreeee wwiillll..

TThhee oonnllyy ffrreeee cchhooiiccee iiss tthhee cchhooiiccee ooff iinntteennttiioonn.. IInn eevveerryytthhiinngg eellssee,, wwee

rreemmaaiinn aatt tthhee iinnaanniimmaattee,, vveeggeettaattiivvee,, aanndd aanniimmaattee lleevveellss ooff nnaattuurree.. TThhiiss iiss

wwhhyy iitt iiss nneecceessssaarryy ttoo aappppllyy aa cceerrttaaiinn aammoouunntt ooff eeffffoorrtt ppeerrffoorrmmeedd

ssppeecciiffiiccaallllyy iinn tthhee ssttaattee ooff ccoonncceeaallmmeenntt..

WWee wwaanntt ttoo ttrreeaatt tthhee CCrreeaattoorr ““wwiitthh rreessppeecctt””——wwiitthhoouutt aannyy ccoonnnneeccttiioonn

wwiitthh wwhhaatt wwee rreecceeiivvee ffrroomm HHiimm.. TThhaatt iiss aallll.. WWhheenn wwee sseeppaarraattee oouurrsseellvveess

ffrroomm aabbuunnddaannccee aanndd wwaanntt oonnllyy ttoo eessttaabblliisshh aa ccoorrrreecctt aattttiittuuddee ttoowwaarrddss tthhee

OOnnee WWhhoo ggiivveess tthhee aabbuunnddaannccee,, eevveenn iiff HHee ddooeess nnoott ggiivvee aannyytthhiinngg——tthhiiss iiss

ccaalllleedd ““tthhee ccoorrrreeccttiioonn ooff BBiinnaa,,”” HHaassssaaddiimm..

BByy eexxeerrttiinngg eennoouugghh eeffffoorrtt ttoo ddeevveelloopp aa ddeessiirree ffoorr tthhiiss,, aass iiff wwee rreeaallllyy

wwaanntteedd iitt ((tthhee lleevveell ooff tthhee ddeessiirree tthhaatt iiss rreevveeaalleedd iinn uuss ddeeppeennddss oonn tthhee

ddeeggrreeee ooff ccoonncceeaallmmeenntt)),, wwee eexxpprreessss oouurr rreeaaddiinneessss ffoorr tthhiiss ttoo hhaappppeenn..

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ARVUT

Baal HaSulam: “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

Arvut is like two people in a boat, when one of them begins to drill a hole in the boat they will both drown together, that prevents the observers of the Torah from even beginning to fully keep the measure of ―Love thy friend as thyself,‖ which is the ladder for reaching Dvekut (adhesion) with Him, and so they shall both drown together!

Mutual guarantee is more than being responsible for others. The spiritual vessel is a common vessel. With the Surrounding Light, the Light that Reforms, the Creator awakens a certain amount of Reshimot (informational genes) and brings them to the first level of unity called ―this world.‖ This is how the Reshimot see their reality: When they begin to draw closer, they appear to each other in the form of the friends.

Eventually we have to unite, and so we have to care for everyone. We don’t sign any strict contracts made by lawyers, and we don’t keep anyone by force, but we try to support every one by thoughts and desires.

As far as the spiritual vessel is concerned, we have to understand that it is common. It doesn’t belong to anyone, but is between us, in our unity. It isn’t strings stretched between us, although this is how we depict our mutual connection. Actually there is no separate you and me in spirituality. We are all like drops of water that merge into one big drop, and the previous state disappears without any trace.

From this example we can understand how different two adjacent levels are in their intensity. If a hundred friends on the first level, including me, unite into one drop, then on the next level the drop becomes me. The same thing happens to everyone: Each of us grows one hundred times bigger compared to the previous level. We begin to connect again in mutual guarantee, and then on the next level we grow ten thousand times bigger compared to the first level, and so on until we make up the whole Partzuf of Zeir Anpin.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/14/2011, ―The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)‖

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 are initially 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. In Abraham’s time, it was a group of Babylonians who left the general mainstream of development, by separating and distancing themselves from its ideological views.

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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.

7. If in the group everybody thinks about all the others, the group becomes a perfect system that exists in the state of Arvut (mutual guarantee) or one soul. All the friends rise above their desires and enter a unified interconnection between them, thereby becoming guarantors in bestowal to each other.

Each person detached his ―point in the heart‖ from his egoism and connected it with the ―points in the hearts‖ of the others. Thus, the desires remained ―below,‖ and the connection occurs between the ―points in the heart.‖ In such connection of mutual bestowal, there act essentially different, altruistic laws. A new world opens its doors before a person.

8. Once a person has risen above his egoism, correction of his connection with the others begins by means of the previously rejected desire. At first it happens in ―bestowal for the sake of bestowal‖ and then in ―reception for the sake of bestowal.‖ All relationships are carried out solely to delight the Creator. This collective spirit that is present among the friends manifests in everyone; they are now able to detect and aim their intention solely at it.

There appears a sensation of interaction neither with oneself nor with the others, but with the unified whole. The relationship with the Creator Who is being revealed in the unified whole emerges from this unity.

From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/10, ―The Arvut‖

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KABBALAH FUNDAMENTALS

The Wisdom of Kabbalah, Lecture 4

Bold and in quotes: Original text of Baal HaSulam Regular: Commentaries of Rav Laitman lowercase italics: emphasized words Capitalized italics: transliteration from Hebrew

We have learnt and talked about the fact that the whole substance of creation

is a will to receive, and Baal HaSulam writes about it in the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, that on the whole, there is Light and there is a vessel (Kli). The Light comes first and creates the will to receive as a vessel for it, and then the will to receive is developed by the Light.

The will to receive is a desire for pleasure. And he says:

Both of these notions, [I’m reading from the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, at the beginning]: are inevitably included in the Thought of Creation.

Meaning that there is nothing in the Thought of Creation, except for these two; the relationship between Lights and vessels. The Thought of Creation, where both of these notions originate.

Drawing No. 1

However, they are two separate notions, as mentioned above, for while the abundance descends directly from the Creator, [meaning, abundance, the Kli (the vessel)], the desire to receive it, is the root, the source of all created beings, [out of which all created beings emerge, and within which all creations are included].

Meaning, the desire to receive is something essentially new, meaning existence from absence, [something that never existed before].

In other words, there is His Essence (Atzmuto), some Higher Power from which the abundance descends, what we refer to as Light, and this Light engenders a creature—all of the creatures collectively as one created being; "something essentially new, meaning, existence from absence."

What does it mean, "existence from absence‖? It means it never existed before, but rather, that when the Thought was formed, the creature appeared.

It turns out that thedesire to receive— [―desire to receive,‖ the desire for pleasure] is the essence of creation, from beginning to end.

What does it mean "from beginning to end?" It means that later on, this initial creature evolves up to a certain degree where here is the beginning and there is the

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end. And it subsequently, evolves back again from the end to the beginning, traversing various phases we might talk about later today].

And all of the various created beings and their events,

Meaning that this creature subsequently divides into many parts that are spread according to the various degrees of their relation to His Essence. Everything measures relative to His Essence, or more precisely, relative to the abundance, which is our standard; our scale].

Drawing No. 2

The abundance, or Light, is a Giver of abundance; Its nature is purely to bestow, absolute bestowal, to impart one hundred per cent. What does it mean, one hundred per cent? It means that It has no thought, nor will or intention, other than bestowing.

The creature, on the other hand, becomes initially corrupted. He suddenly feels in many of his parts, that he wishes to receive, whereas receiving is contrary to bestowing (to the Giver); and the more he feels the contrast between himself and the Giver, based on his level of recognition, the more he is considered to be declining.

What does it mean that he is declining? It’s just like an individual that all of a sudden feels himself an egoist, a delinquent and a wrongdoer. The degree, to which he feels he had done bad things, is the degree according to which he feels his decline and his lowliness.

In other words, there are no places here in spirituality, only a ladder of values, which we measure relative to the hundred per cent bestowal that comes from the Light. And when the created being becomes capable of reaching the ultimate, deepest and truest degree of self awareness, he feels himself a one hundred per cent recipient; he feels his own nature relative to the nature of the Creator.

The created being is incapable of feeling himself or understanding himself right at the moment of his creation by the Light. This is rather a gradual process during which the influence of the Light causes him to realize how contrary he is. This whole process is referred to as the creature’s decline in awareness; his distancing in perception from the Light.

This is why there is no distance or time in spirituality, but there are rather other parameters, other criterions. The creature determines his position, whether he is close to the Light or far from It, based on his perception of who he is in relation to the Light.

In other words, there is a primary law in the reality of the creature and his relation to the Giver, the Creator, the Upper Light, called the law of equivalence of form. This law states that the creature determines his position relative to spirituality,

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to the Creator, based on the degree (the percentage) to which he discovers his similarity or dissimilarity to It. And that is, in effect, the only determining factor of his location in the Spiritual World.

The Spiritual World is our inner world, in which we begin to recognize who we are in relation to the Creator, to the abundance, to the Upper Light; and one which we are currently lacking. Only when the abundance, the Upper Light, begins to be revealed and we become capable of measuring ourselves against It,it is said that we have entered the Spiritual World, where we can evaluate ourselves relative to the Giver. This is what is referred to as the Spiritual World.

All the worlds are found within us, and we determine who we are, based on our ability to judge ourselves more accurately in relation to the Light that is revealed. In other words, it is impossible to say ‖the created being‖ without revealing the Creator in relation to him, as this comparison is what causes the creature to recognize that he was created by someone. By measuring himself relative to an unchanging ―someone,‖ though he himself keeps changing, he can always determine where he is situated relative to that unchanging thing.

The reason for this is that the substance of the created being goes through all kinds of changes. What kinds of changes? The substance itself doesn’t really change. Meaning, the will to receive, the desire for pleasure that was created by the Upper Light, does not change. But his recognition, of who he is in relation to the Upper Light, does change. And according to that, he feels himself distant to a higher or lesser degree, from the Upper Light.

In other words, these worlds are some sort of self recognition of the creature, of where he is situated. Is the creature really situated where he imagines himself to be, relative to the Upper Light, based on his own attributes? It is in fact, determined by the creature. How His Essence, the Creator, sees us compared with how we see ourselves, we will discuss later on.

It is sufficient to say that He sees us all corrected and existent in the best possible situation, except that we have to go through this whole process of self recognition, called the recognition of evil. After this recognition, we must go through a process called ―correction‖ of the evil recognized, whereby we want to turn that evil into good, at the end of which we become just like the Giver.

So this whole process is an internal one that occurs within the Kli, as a sensation of the Kli, above his will to receive; whereas the will to receive itself is unchanging in essence and it just determines his grandeur, his spirituality or corporeality, relative to the Upper Light.

Which is why he says the following:

It turns out that the desire to receive is the essence of creation, from beginning to end… such that all of the various created beings and their events.

―Their events‖ means: their relationships, their interactions and all the processes they will be going through from situation to situation, where the creature will see himself better or worse in relation to the Light. In other words, this is how he will be judging himself.

Once more, this whole process, this entire path that the creature traverses, is not as if he is really going through something or that something within him really changes, except for his own recognition with regard to his substance].

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Moreover, all events that happen to [the substance of creation] and their conducts that have already been revealed and the ones that are still to be revealed, are merely different „proportions‟ and changes in values of the desire to receive;

Proportions and changes in values, means that the created being assigns values to his own will to receive. His will to receive doesn’t actually change, but rather his own evaluation of the will to receive, does.]

Everything that fills the created beings and satisfies their desire to receive, [meaning, the will itself and that, which is impressed in it,] comes directly from the Creator, existence out of something."

Everything within the creature, except his own evaluations, is a will to receive satiated with the unchanging abundance, ― and has nothing to do with the newly created being existence from absence‖, [neither innovated nor renewed].

The Creator created the will and filled it with Light. This state is called Ein Sof (Infinity) and it is the only state that truly exists in reality.

Drawing No. 3

And the concealments (ha Olamot in Hebrew), meaning the Olamot (the worlds), are done on part of the creature to conceal his own state and the state of the Creator.

So this whole process where the creature supposedly distances himself, then returns to that same state, knowing it better or knowing it less, is for the sole purpose of determining his own true worth relative to the Creator.

As it is not at all something new and it descends directly from His Essence, existence from existence.

This entire condition is just like His Essence: permanent and present. This is why, in the Wisdom of Kabbalah, we distinguish three different states. The first state, where we exist in Ein Sof (lit. Infinity), having been created by the Creator as a vessel, which the Creator satiated infinitely and in abundance, to the same degree of strength, capacity and volume that He had created the will to receive in all its forms as well as everything there is, though it is unimportant for us at the moment, ―what‖ or ‖how much‖ it is.

The Creator satiated the vessel completely and fulfilled it with the Light, such that the will to receive was now totally abounding with its intended Light in every one of its desires and everything there is, without end, which is why it is called Ein Sof (Infinity), boundless.

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We are not talking about measures, as in a hundred kilos or fifty liters; there is no significance to ―how much‖ it is, for in spirituality we do not talk about that, as there aren’t any dimensions, such as grams and kilograms, because there are no distances. There are only qualities. So if we say that the will was created a hundred per cent and fulfilled a hundred per cent, this means that the will was completely satiated in every one of its desires, events, and manners, such that from the will’s perspective, there isn’t and there can never be, any lacking nor any kind of feeling that it hasn’t been fulfilled; and this is called the state of Ein Sof (Infinity).

Drawing No. 4

And from this state of Ein Sof, called Matzav Aleph (State 1), the creature nevertheless arrives at a state we call Matzav Bet, (State 2). This condition is the worst, and we refer to it as this world. I’m writing here ―us,‖ referring to how we perceive ourselves.

State 2, in truth, consists of not only us, but of the whole decline from top to bottom, meaning, the materialization of substance to its final degree, this world, and of the subsequent phases of correction of this substance, until it attains Matzav Gimel, (State 3); whereas State 3 is exactly like State 1. We reach the same state of Ein Sof. We return to the exact same state.

What then, is the difference between them? The difference between them is that here, in Ein Sof, we were engendered, created by His Essence without any knowledge or will, to begin with. We had no prior desire nor did we choose that. It was basically a reality mandated by His Essence. This is also the reason, why His Essence cannot be attained and only that which he designed exists before us.

And when after our evolution—our descent into this world, followed by thousands of years and numerous incarnations in this world—we begin our ascent upward, we do so by ourselves, by realizing our own free will, returning to Ein Sof.

In other words, the human being begins from his point zero, which is a state contrary to the state of Ein Sof (drawn here); and it is just like we’ve been discussing, that nowadays we are feeling some sort of an impulse, an emptiness in our situation, that is driving us into something more advanced, something higher and more superior.

And from this point zero state, we begin our spiritual ascent, where we begin constructing, supposedly by ourselves, the World of Ein Sof, from the Lights and the vessels that are coming to us from Above. And then our path from Above, portrays a very interesting image: The human being, feels an ―I‖ that receives Light from above, meaning the understanding of what it means to be the Giver; what the Upper One signifies, or what we call AHP de Elyon, the revelation of the Upper One; and on the other hand, new desires are revealed within him—―a will to receive,‖

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Drawing No. 5

and the human being then performs here, the correct composition, called Neshama, a soul. Why is it called ―a soul‖? because he is unable to correct anymore of his Kli, his vessel, than the level of Neshama (the soul).

Drawing No. 6

Our vessel is comprised of five degrees of Aviut (Coarseness), five degrees of the desire to receive called Shoresh (Root), Aleph (1), Bet (2), Gimel (3), Dalet (4); and of Lights called: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama that are revealed in the Kli accordingly.

There are two parts in the Kli that remain empty, as we are unable to correct them; these parts are called Klipot (shells) or Lev ha Even (The Heart of Stone). The maximal Light that is revealed in our Kli is the Light of Neshama, which is why our entire inner Kli is called Neshama (a soul in Hebrew). But in truth, this is just an indication that we are all uncorrected and that we are unable to correct ourselves beyond that level.

The human being constructs his Kli, his soul, by receiving from Above, both Light and desire; and by progressively receiving more Light and more desire, he constructs an increasingly larger and larger Kli, until he reaches the state of Ein Sof.

This correction, this construction and correction that he performs on his soul is called the work in three lines. Why is it called ―three lines‖?

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Drawing No. 7

It is because there is one line that is the Light, the abundance where the bestowal attribute is found, and from the other side comes the Kli, the uncorrected desire to receive; and when he corrects the Kli and the Light jointly such that the Kli becomes equal to the Light, to the degree that the Kli becomes a giver like the Light, it is said that he has corrected it as much as he was able to; which is, like we mentioned before, not more than a specific degree called Neshama.

Thus he ascends, meaning he progressively draws nearer to the World of Ein Sof (Infinity), receiving more and more Lights and more and more vessels repeatedly, and thus the individual constructs, creates in fact, his soul, by himself.

How does he perform this construction? The method by which he assembles both of these parts together is called ―choice‖, and the attainment of equilibrium between the Light and the vessel (that which he attains when the Light and the vessel are in equivalence) is called Life (Chaim), which is why it is written: ―And you shall choose life‖; because he repeatedly chooses a state in which his vessel is more corrected and more equivalent to the Light.

And how is the correction and choice realized? By means of the Light that reforms. In other words, there is a special Light here that illuminates him and demonstrates to him what vessels of bestowal are, and what the attribute of bestowal is; and thus the individual keeps growing, coming alive in his own soul, in this life, in this vessel (Kli).

And so aside from his body, the individual then feels his vitality inside this vessel that has evolved in him literally from scratch, from zero; and since his vessel is now larger than his body, he identifies with this vessel to such a degree that his body can later separate from him—what is referred to as death, to cease to exist—and the individual wouldn’t even feel that, as he would already be dwelling in the soul, and so this whole process that he went through in the lowest level, the bodily level, would not be felt like any kind of tragedy to him.

On the contrary, he then immerses in the Upper World’s consciousness, the Upper World

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being the part that is felt within the soul. He thus keeps expanding his vessel and the Light within the vessel, a process referred to as, ―ascending the steps of the worlds from world to world,‖ until he reaches Ein Sof (Infinity).

This path is comprised of five worlds altogether, each of which is comprised of twenty-five Partzufim. Partzufim are the parts of which the worlds are comprised, the total of which equal a hundred and twenty-five Sefirot, or steps. And this is the path that every single one of us must traverse, having no other option, from this world to the World of Ein Sof.

And this is how we progress from State 1 to State 3, via State 2: we agree with what the Creator has created before us, then construct that state ourselves and identify with it. There is no lessening of us relative to the Creator, as He designed the World of Ein Sof, and we designed the state of Ein Sof; He created it with His own free will, existence from absence, and we designed it with our own free will, existence from absence, except that our existence from absence, our something out of nothing, begins from below, from the state of total lack of comprehension, total lack of awareness, and basically, a total lack of beginning. This is, in effect, what we are facing right now; the opportunity that is being revealed to us.

Question: What happens with the individual after his death? In other words, is there a matter of a soul?

First of all, the human being does not die; it is just his body that dies. So what is the question? The body dies and our five senses stop functioning and transmitting impressions to us and our physical brain also stops functioning and transmitting impressions to us from the five senses. So what of that?

In our last talk we said that we have five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—and all of these senses connect to the brain. Next to the brain, we have memory and habits and everything we have received from our environment and our previous incarnations. As a result, this brain provides me with the image of the world—here at the back of the head; an image which I believe to be right before me.

So we say that in addition to all that, the individual develops a totally separate system, comprised of five senses that are degrees of the will to receive.

Drawing No. 8

They called Keter, Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin and Malchut—degrees of coarseness from which he receives impressions, provided that they are behind a

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Screen. And on that Screen that is placed over the total sum of his impressions, he sees the image of the Spiritual World, but only if he has a Screen.

In the corporeal system—this is the corporeal system and this is the spiritual one—the image of the world is revealed to him naturally; his body functions on its own and there is nothing for him to do except to add things to his memory. And so his mind becomes more and more capable of processing delicate matters, he understands the connections better and the image of the world becomes progressively clearer as a result. Just like the difference in the ways a baby, an adult or an older person view the world.

It is the same way here, except that here(in the spiritual system), it does not depend on the physical experience that simply develops over the years, but it rather depends on the actual Screen, where the individual basically determines the relationship between his vessels and the Upper Light.

Nevertheless, this image too, is an internal image, not an external one. Everything exists on the interior, inside the person’s vessels. And on the exterior, of both the corporeal and the spiritual, there is nothing but Atzmuto (His Essence).

Now, what happens with that part that we once used to feel and is now dead? What does it mean, ―dead‖? It means that it is no longer active in us.

Do we suffer from it? Yes, we miss it. Why? Because if we don’t dwell in that bodily part, we don’t get to be in the zero level, the level of choice, and then there cannot be any choice. That can only happen when, with every one of my discernments I dwell in my body, and spirituality is something new and unknown to me.

I could already be in spirituality, in some level, say, having corrected forty per cent of my vessel, and I would still be baffled with regard to the forty-one per cent as I do not know what it is, it is always contrary to my nature and I’m constantly confused.

So how do I go on living if I do not yet exist in the level of the forty-one per cent, yet the forty per cent level has now been concealed from me, for the purpose of allowing me to acquire the next step? I remain here, in my body.

Drawing No. 9

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I’m drawing it here but take note that this isn’t spirituality—so I exist here in my body, and that is precisely what allows me to have a free choice with regard to the spiritual discernments. It is like, in each moment I am born anew, like a baby, discovering the new spirituality.

This is why the choice and the examinations can only occur while in the body. We have reincarnated many times in order to reach ‖the point in the heart‖ and why will have to keep on reincarnating until we realize our choice of attaining the end of correction from ―the point in the heart.‖

We will now move onto an article written by my teacher entitled, ―To which level does a person have to reach in order that he should not need to be reincarnated a second time?‖

To which level does a person have to reach in order that he should not need to be reincarnated a second time?

Question: What is the degree one should reach, from which one does not have to be reincarnated a second time?

It is interesting right? I don’t know if we want it or not, but at least it’s relevant to us…

It is written in the book Shaar Hagilgulim (Gate of Reincarnations) that, “All the children of Israel must be reincarnated until they become complete with their entire NRNHY. However, most people don‟t have all the five parts called NRNHY, but only Nefesh, which comes from Assiya.

This means that each person must only correct one‟s own part and the root of one‟s own soul, nothing more. For that person, that completes the correction.

In other words, each one corrects himself. The fact that on our path we are also required to integrate with the rest of the souls, reach altruism and engage in all kinds of bonding activities among us, is for the sole purpose of ultimately correcting ourselves.

The thing is that we must know that all the souls come from the soul of Adam ha Rishon. After the sin of the tree of knowledge, Adam‟s soul broke into 600,000 souls. This means that the single Light that Adam ha Rishon had in the Garden of Eden, which The Zohar calls, Zihara Ilaa (Upper Light), now fragmented into many parts.

In the book Panim Masbirot Baal HaSulam writes, “After the good mixed with the bad (meaning after the sin), there established a great structure of Klipot (shells) with the power to cling to Kedusha (sanctity). In order to beware of them, the Light of the seven days of creation was divided into very small particles, which are too small for the Klipot to suck from.

It can be compared to a king who wished to deliver a great sum of money to his son who lived across the sea. Alas, all the people in the king‟s domain were conniving thieves, and the king could not find a loyal emissary. What did he do? He divided the money to pennies and sent them with a great number of emissaries. Thus, they did not find the pleasure of theft worth dishonoring the kingship.

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In this manner of an order of times in many souls, the illumination of the days enabled the scrutiny of all the holy sparks that were robbed by the Klipot by the sin of the tree of knowledge.

We said that there is the World of Ein Sof, which is a large vessel with a great Light inside; but we have to determine our attitude toward this situation, such that we choose this particular situation and no other, in order for the Light and the vessel to be united as one.

In order to achieve that, we gradually advance and come closer to that state, that higher state of one hundred and twenty-five degrees of bestowal. It is otherwise impossible to tolerate, all at once. It is only through a slow and gradual process of recognition and of coming progressively closer, called Ascending the Steps, that this can be realized.

And until one ascends all of the one hundred and twenty-five steps from our world, the beginning, to Ein Sof, traversing the one hundred and twenty-five steps, utilizing his own free will, he will be forced to continue reincarnating. And this is what Rabash means.

The levels of ascension that he is talking about, where we slowly receive Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida, are the degrees of ascension through the five worlds; and ascending through each of the five worlds, means that we receive the Lights of Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida; five Lights altogether.

And when our soul is satiated with all of these five Lights, it is said that we have reached Ein Sof (Infinity), the unlimited fulfillment.

A great number of souls,” means that the Light is divided into many inner Lights, and the meaning of “many days” is a division into many outer Lights.

What does that mean? There is this World of Ein Sof where there is one single vessel filled with a great single Light. In order for us to be able to attain equivalence between the Light and the vessel, starting from below, it divides into many steps and multiple parts called souls or lives, and into small Lights, thereby allowing the Kli (the vessel) to reunite to himself more and more parts that are initially scattered throughout our world.

In our world, it seems to us that we are all separated from each other and that there is no connection between us. In total we are six hundred thousand souls, though there are more divisions later, into the amount of people that arrive in every generation.

Although we seem to be totally disconnected from one another, with every step one takes when one starts ascending, one becomes progressively aware that the amount of souls keeps diminishing, while more souls begin to merge, just like two drops of water melding together. He thus sees the vessel growing progressively as a result of the unification of the souls. And the Light that fills that vessel becomes correspondingly larger. That is really, the whole secret to the process of Ascending the Steps.

What does it mean that one rises from step to step? It means that one becomes more altruistic (giving), that one feels himself closer to the rest of the souls, and that he unites with more souls, thereby enlarging his vessel and incrementing the

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Light within the vessel. And that is what is called ascension; the state in which the Kli is larger and the Light within it is greater is called ascension relative to the prior state; because there is nothing more than qualitative discernments.

In spirituality, there are no distances where I could move from this spot to another that is a hundred meters from me, and remain the same. If I move from place to place, I remain no longer the same.

Drawing No. 10

We have used our world’s example of an electric charge in an electric field whose location is always determined by the forces that act upon it, and by its being in a state of equilibrium with those forces.

Now what does it mean that it ―moves‖ to another location? Try to move a piece of iron that is under a magnet to a different location; you have to put in a lot of effort, lots of strength, just so you can move it from one spot to another. Why? Because it is in a state of equilibrium and all of nature is drawn to a state of harmony and equivalence of form with the environment. So we need an increase in power in order to alter its state. And those additional forces notwithstanding, you would still have to use force to keep it in its new location, or else it would revert back to its prior balanced state.

It is the same thing here, with us. The Spiritual World is a world of sheer forces, unclothed of any physical objects or bodies. So when we are in the Spiritual World and we say that a person has changed and moved from one state to another, from one place to the next, it means that he himself has changed. So if he was in the state of forty per cent and is now in the state of forty-one per cent, it means that he himself has changed, reaching a newer and closer balanced state, relative to Ein Sof (Infinity).

From pennies come pounds, becoming the great Light that caused the sin of Adam ha Rishon,

This means that Adam ha Rishon is that large Kli (vessel) that was divided into six hundred thousand parts, and that these parts are now being united by us with our desire and awareness. And by uniting with each other, a greater Light comes form Above and fulfills them. This is what is meant by ―a state closer to Ein Sof,‖—a corrected state.

and then will the end of correction come.

Where the entire Kli (vessel) of souls, will be reunited in Adam ha Rishon, and satiated with all the Lights that are intended for them.

This leads to the conclusion that every one is born with but a small part of the soul of Adam ha Rishon. When one corrects that part, there is no longer a need to continue the reincarnations. That is why one can only correct that which belongs to one‟s own share.

It is written about it in the Tree of Life that, “There is not a day that is like another day, or moment that is like another moment, and there is not a

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person who is like another person. The Helbona (part of the sacred incense) will correct what the Levona (another part of the sacred incense) will not. Each must correct one‟s own part.”

And thus every person receives new opportunities, every single moment of his life, which is the reason for our existence in bodily and corporeal time, in distances and movement, where our world keeps changing. I drew the person to indicate that whilst in body, one is given the choice of the zero per cent at his level zero.

Drawing No. 11

At that level, one starts having choices and receiving opportunities for advancement, every single moment of his life. If one starts paying attention to what is being revealed to him with the purpose of getting him to feel his soul and to delve into it, he will then be able to perceive all the Upper Worlds, inside his soul. This whole process is referred to as Ascending the Levels of the Spiritual Worlds.

These opportunities come to us just like he says, “There is not a moment that is like another moment ”, and every single moment we are faced with new situations, all of which encourage the individual to correct himself, until “from pennies come pounds ."

In other words, everything depends on our attention alone. There is no neglect on the part of the Creator, such as letting life come and go and just letting time go by in a ―let’s wait and live, and we shall see‖ kind of way. Quite the contrary, the individual is given opportunities every second of his life.

And what can we do, if all we really want is to progress and to become more successful? We make use of the association and of the books in order to become more sensitive to catching those instances, to grasping those moments; and realize them correctly every second by adjoining them to the spiritual process.

However, we must know that every person has a choice, for one is not born righteous. Our sages said, “Rabbi Hanina Bar Papa said: „The angel that

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is appointed on conception, its name is Lila (night). It takes a drop and brings it before the Creator and says: „This drop, what shall become of it? Will it be a hero or a weakling, a wise or a fool, a rich or a poor?‟ But it does not ask, „Will it be righteous or wicked?‟

This means that one is not born righteous, for he did not ask, “Will it be righteous or wicked?” This is given to our choice, each person according to his labor in Torah and Mitzvot. In this manner one comes to cleanse one‟s heart and correct what one must according to the root of his soul, and by that, one reaches wholeness.”

This means that all the attributes one is born with, be them his excellence in something, his being wiser or more foolish, quick, cunning or honest, whatever he was born with; all these natural characteristics he was born with, have nothing to do with his spiritual development.

Everything one is given from Above is provided in a precise calculated manner consisting of all his natural attributes, the environment where he would be raised, his parents, previous lifetimes and past life experiences. Everything that exists in the individual and his surroundings gets him to the point from which he becomes free to choose.

There is but one thing that is subject to free choice and that is, to be righteous or wicked. Baal HaSulam writes about that in the article The Freedom and he also explains to us about it in ―The Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot.‖

What does it mean, to be righteous or wicked? It means, to find ways of justifying the Creator’s Providence in our current situation, such that we would feel ourselves as if we already existed in Ein Sof. This way, we are progressing in the same direction. And how can we do that? By utilizing the Light, that Upper Light that reforms us and provides us with the opportunity to correct our situation and to elevate it to a grander state that is closer to the Light.

This is why he says: “But it does not ask, ‖Will it be righteous or wicked? ”; because it is the only thing that is subject to choice in a person; one’s choice to justify his situation, such that no matter how bad it seemed to him, he would nonetheless feel as ifhe were existing in the state of Ein Sof.

What is the meaning of as if? From the Creator’s perspective—the Upper Light, the Upper Force—we are, in effect, in the state of Ein Sof. It is just the human being that has descended in his perception and awareness, as we have seen in the previous drawing, but in reality, the abundance of the Upper Light is already in us just like in the state of Ein Sof.

What does he say next?

…each person according to his or her labor in Torah and Mitzvot.

What are Torah and Mitzvot? They are those acts that correct the soul.

What does he write next? “according to his or her labor in Torah and Mitzvot."

What does he accomplish by that?

In this manner one comes to cleanse one‟s heart and correct what one must according tothe root of his soul, and by that, one reaches wholeness.

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―Correcting his heart‖ means that he unites in himself the rest of the souls, becoming an unlimited vessel (Kli) all the way to Ein Sof (Infinity), where all six hundred thousand souls are united in him as one; referred to as attaining the Mitzva of ―Love thy neighbor as thyself,‖ through which we reunite in that soul called Adam ha Rishon. This whole process is done by the Upper Light, through the acts called Torah and Mitzvot. We have already talked about the meaning of Torah; it is the Light that comes to us.

And Mitzvot, are the corrections of all those desires that exist in each and every Kli (vessel). There are 613 desires in every Kli (vessel), each of which requires a correction. By utilizing the universal Light, called Torah , one corrects these desires so that they would resemble the Light and cause the Kli to be similar, equal to the Light; and by correcting all the 613 desires within the soul, one reaches the state of Ein Sof, (Infinity) the state of Gmar Tikkun (End of Correction).

This is actually the state that, when reached, one ceases to reincarnate; and if one does not attain it, one keeps reentering incarnations, meaning, entering our corporeality where we exist in a body, as it is only from within the body that we get to the zero state from which we are ready to begin the spiritual process and complete it. Our body and our world are like our being at the threshold of a race; we haven’t quite started it yet, but we are already at its starting point, our basis and foundation.

And even while ascending the steps, say from forty to forty-one per cent (as we have drawn earlier), one must nevertheless have his feet planted on the ground, meaning in our world, to allow one to have free will in every act of his; to be totally disconnected from spirituality, looking at every spiritual situation from without, free to desire it or not, perceive it independently or not. And all of this is specifically enabled by the body and the reality of this world.

Question: The breaking and division into so many parts—“pennies” as he calls them—and the multiplicity of times and souls; how does that promote my correction?

Take a look here and you will decide. We have here a single large Kli, called Adam ha Rishon, meaning a desire to receive, a desire for pleasure; and we also have a great Light, a great pleasure that fulfills it.

Drawing No. 12

Now you wish for the pleasure to last eternally, but this is only possible if the desire resembles the Light, the pleasure; if there is equivalence of form between them. Otherwise, as we mentioned before, I begin eating, and the pleasure is gone, as the abundance, the Light, the pleasure, extinguishes the desire due to their oppositeness in nature to one another.

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Drawing No. 13

In order to avoid that and ensure that the incoming pleasure does not eliminate the desire, it is necessary for the desire to have the exact same intention as the pleasure.

If someone is giving me something and I reciprocate, both of us can be gratified and we can experience a perpetual growth of this state.

Drawing No. 14

In other words, the flow of pleasure between us will be interminable in pleasure in addition to the love that augments the pleasure increasingly as it is not limited by the Kli, but by the value one places on the Giver, on the loved one.

This is why ―Love thy neighbor as thyself is a great rule in the Torah.‖ It is a rule by which the Lights remain in the vessels and the soul does not become devoid of its fulfillment.

And in order to achieve that correction, given that we are incapable of performing it all at once, we must divide this Kli, called Adam ha Rishon, into numerous parts and have each part go through countless situations until it is willing to reunite with all of the parts, with the rest of the souls, in the form of ―Love thy neighbor as thyself is a great rule in the Torah,‖ at which time the entire Light of the Torah, called this ―great rule,‖ will expand and fulfill all the souls collectively.

And this is the process that all of humankind is about to begin, one way or another. If we reveal the Wisdom of Kabbalah to them, it will be pleasant, and if not, God forbid, it will be very unpleasant, but, we will have to reach the final state.

With that we will conclude our lesson for today and next time we will talk more about the soul of Adam ha Rishon, its uniqueness, and how it actually achieves its correction, and we will be able to observe how all these situations are inevitable results of the relationship between the Lights and the vessels.

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Comprehension test # 3

1. It can be said that the science of Kabbalah describes and explains:

a. The correct way to observe Mitzvot (commandments) in our daily lives b. How to avoid suffering in this world c. The relationships between the Light and the Kli

2. All the transformations that the creature undergoes take place within its

own perception, while the Light is a constant that never changes a. True b. False

3. What parameter determines a difference in states in the spiritual world? a. Time b. Space c. Equivalence of qualities

4. What changes as the creature ascends the spiritual ladder? a. Creature’s desire to receive b. Creatures’ evaluation of the desire to receive c. both

5. What is the purpose of the souls‟ descent down to our material world

from the spiritual world where they were filled with complete abundance?

6. Why is the spiritual work called “the work in three lines”? 7. What does it mean to be righteous or wicked?

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Baal HaSulam about the Impression of the Soul

AAllll tthheessee iimmaaggeess aanndd cchhaannggeess bbeeggiinn aanndd eenndd oonnllyy wwiitthh tthhee iimmpprreessssiioonn

ooff tthhee ssoouullss..

Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Book of Zohar,” Item 33

““TThheerree iiss nnoo cchhaannggee iinn tthhee LLiigghhtt..”” RRaatthheerr,, aallll tthhee cchhaannggeess aarree iinn tthhee

KKeelliimm,, mmeeaanniinngg iinn oouurr sseennsseess.. WWee mmeeaassuurree eevveerryytthhiinngg aaccccoorrddiinngg ttoo oouurr

iimmaaggiinnaattiioonn.. FFrroomm tthhiiss iitt ffoolllloowwss tthhaatt iiff mmaannyy ppeeooppllee eexxaammiinnee oonnee ssppiirriittuuaall

tthhiinngg,, eeaacchh wwiillll aattttaaiinn aaccccoorrddiinngg ttoo hhiiss iimmaaggiinnaattiioonn aanndd sseennsseess,, tthheerreebbyy sseeeeiinngg

aa ddiiffffeerreenntt ffoorrmm..

IInn aaddddiittiioonn,, tthhee ffoorrmm iittsseellff wwiillll cchhaannggee iinn aa ppeerrssoonn aaccccoorrddiinngg ttoo hhiiss uuppss

aanndd ddoowwnnss,, aass wwee hhaavvee ssaaiidd aabboovvee tthhaatt tthhee LLiigghhtt iiss SSiimmppllee LLiigghhtt aanndd aallll tthhee

cchhaannggeess aarree oonnllyy iinn tthhee rreecceeiivveerrss..

Baal HaSulam, Shamati [I Heard], Article no. 3,

“The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”

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ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND

Nullifying Our Personal Interests

Prior to creation, the Creator alone existed. The process of creation begins when the Creator singles out a certain part of Himself in order to endow it, in the future, with certain different characteristics. By endowing this part with a sense of its own self, the Creator essentially ―ejects‖ it from Himself.

This endowed part constitutes our "I." The distance of the endowed part from the Creator is the disparity in characteristics between the Creator and this part; it is perceived as ―concealment of the Creator.‖ Since this part cannot sense the Creator, there is a void between it and Him, generated by the part’s egoistic characteristics.

If the Creator wants to bring the separated part closer to Himself, then the dark void between the Creator and the part will bestow a sense of hopelessness on the part. If, on the other hand, the Creator does not want to draw the part closer to Himself, then the void is not felt at all. It is merely the distance between the part and the Creator that is not perceived. The Creator Himself is not sensed by the part, which, at most, can only imagine how it feels to perceive Him.

The dark void, which is perceived by the part, is experienced as our normal suffering, caused either by materialistic difficulties, or ailments, or family troubles.

However, just as the Creator built the surrounding environment of the part, He is also able to influence it.

How and for what purpose does He do this? To show us that, to save ourselves from suffering, we must rid ourselves of all egoism, the Creator brings us to a state of such unbearable misery through our environment, children, work, debts, illnesses, or family troubles, that life seems to become a burden beyond all endurance.

We perceive that this miserable condition comes about as a result of our ambitions and our attempts to attain things. Then, a singular desire awakens in us--the desire not to want anything. In other words, we no longer have any personal interests, since they bring us only suffering.

Consequently, we have no other choice but to beg the Creator to save us from egoism. This forces us to strive to overcome all of our problems, which brings us further suffering.

For this reason, Rabbi Ashlag writes in his "Introduction to Talmud Esser Sefirot" (Paragraph 2), "But if you listen with your heart to one very famous question, I am sure that all your doubts as to whether you should study the Kabbalah will vanish without a trace."

This is so because this question, coming straight from one’s heart rather than from one’s intelligence or knowledge, is a question about many things: the meaning of our lives; the meaning of our suffering (which is many times greater than our pleasure); the difficulties of life, which often make death seem an easy deliverance. And finally, the fact that there is no end to the whirlpool of pain until we depart from this life, worn out and devastated.

Who benefits from this, or more precisely, whom do we benefit? What else should we expect from this life? Although each of us is subconsciously bothered by

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this question of the meaning of our lives, sometimes it hits us unexpectedly, driving us insane, rendering us incapable of doing anything, shattering our minds, plunging us into a dark chasm of hopelessness and reflecting back to us our own insignificance.

In response, we choose to go on drifting with the stream of life, without pondering the question too deeply. This is a question no one even wants to think about. Nonetheless, the question remains before us with all its strength and bitterness.

Occasionally, we blunder into it, and it pierces our minds and knocks us flat. We continue to trick ourselves by drifting unthinkingly through the stream of life, as before. But the Creator imparts such sensations to us so we will gradually realize that all our misfortunes, and all our anguish, arise from the fact that we have a personal, vested interest in the outcome of our actions.

It is our egoism, our nature and essence, that makes us act for the sake of "our own good." And, since our desires are never fulfilled, we will continue to suffer.

However, if we were to nullify all our personal interests in everything, we would immediately break the chains of our bodies and would experience our world free of pain and distress.

The method to break free from the slavery of egoism can be found in Kabbalah.

The Creator purposely placed our world, with all its misery, between Himself and us. He did this to help us realize that we must get rid of egoism, since it is the cause of all our suffering. To remove suffering and to sense the Creator, the source of all pleasure, is only possible if we sincerely desire to rid ourselves of all egoism.

In the spiritual worlds, desires are tantamount to actions, since genuine and sincere desires immediately lead to performing them. In general, the Creator brings us to a firm and final resolution to rid ourselves of all personal interests in any situation in life.

He does this by making us suffer so greatly, we will have only one desire--to stop the suffering. This is possible only if we have absolutely no personal or selfish interest in the outcome of any daily matters that arise in our lives.

But where, then, is our free will? Where is the freedom of choice to decide which road to take, or what to choose in life? The Creator pushes us to choose a certain solution by placing us amidst such misery that death seems preferable to life.

Yet, He does not give us the necessary strength to end our miserable existence and thus escape the suffering. Rather, the Creator suddenly gives us a glimpse of the only solution, which comes like a ray of sunshine through heavy clouds.

The solution is not in death, nor is it in escaping from our lives. It is in freeing ourselves from having a personal interest in the outcome of the mundane. This is the only solution that can bring us peace and rest from unbearable suffering.

There is no freedom of choice in this process; we are forced into this in order to escape our suffering. Free will is when we attempt to advance further by fortifying ourselves, choosing to focus all our actions on the Creator alone. We have learned

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that living for our own sake brings nothing but suffering. The constant process of correcting ourselves and controlling our thoughts is called ―the process of refining.‖

The feelings of suffering caused by egoistic interests should be so acute that we should be prepared to "live on a bite of bread and a sip of water, and to sleep on the bare ground." Thus, we should be prepared to do anything necessary to rid ourselves of egoism and personal interests.

Once we reach the condition described above and feel comfortable in it, we can enter the spiritual realm known as "The World to Come" (Olam HaBa). Thus, suffering can lead us to decide that renouncing egoism would be beneficial to us. As a result of our efforts, by constantly remembering past suffering, and by upholding and strengthening this resolution in our hearts, we can reach a state where the aim of all our actions would be to benefit the Creator.

As to ourselves, apart from bare necessities, we would be afraid even to think of personal benefit and pleasure, for fear of once again experiencing the unbearable suffering brought about by personal interest.

If we have managed to oust all selfish thoughts from our minds, even thoughts about the most essential things, we are said to have reached the final stage in forsaking our own needs.

In our normal lives, we have become used to not thinking at all about ourselves, our interpersonal relationships, our families, our work, in all of the deeds we perform in this world. Outwardly, we will appear no different from anyone else in our surroundings. But within our bodies, because habit becomes second nature, nothing will remain of our personal interests.

From this point on, we can pass to the next stage of our spiritual lives and can begin to enjoy pleasing the Creator. However, this delight is no longer for us, but only for the Creator, for we have "killed" all need for personal pleasure.

For this reason, the new pleasure is infinite in time and unfathomable in magnitude, for it is not limited by our personal needs. Only at this point can we see how kind and magnificent the Creator is, for having given us the opportunity to attain the extraordinary bliss of uniting with Him in eternal love.

Let the Kabbalah Be Your Guide

In order for us to reach this goal of creation, there are two successive stages in a person’s path. The first entails suffering and ordeals until a person frees self from egoism. But once we have passed that first stage and gotten rid of all personal desires, once we are able to direct all thought to the Creator, then we may begin a new life, one full of spiritual joy and eternal tranquility, as originally conceived by the Will of the Creator at the beginning of creation.

We need not follow a path of complete self-denial to the extent of being satisfied with a slice of bread, a sip of water and a rest on bare earth as if to accustom our bodies to renouncing egoism. Instead of forcibly suppressing our physical desires, we have been given Kabbalah, the Light of Kabbalah, which can help each of us get rid of egoism, the root of all misfortune.

The Light of Kabbalah possesses a certain force that enables us to transcend the desires of one’s body. But the spiritual force contained in Kabbalah can affect us only if we believe that it will help us, and that it is necessary in order to

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survive, rather than perish while experiencing unbearable suffering. It will help us only if we believe that studying Kabbalah will lead us to our goal and help us obtain the anticipated reward: freedom from selfish desire.

Those of us who feel this as a vital goal are constantly seeking ways to liberate ourselves. While studying Kabbalah, we are seeking direction as to how to break out of our prisons of self-interest. We can determine the depth of our faith in Kabbalah by our impetus to study and search.

If our thoughts are constantly occupied by the search for freedom from egoism, it can be said that we have complete faith. This is possible only if we truly feel that failing to find an escape from our condition is worse than dying, because the suffering caused by personal interest is truly immeasurable.

Only if we truly seek relief with determination will the Light of the Kabbalah help us. Only then will we be given the spiritual strength that will enable us to pull ourselves out of our own egos. And only then will we be truly free.

On the other hand, for those who feel no such urgent necessity, or no necessity at all, the Light of the Kabbalah turns into darkness. As a result, the more they study, the deeper they sink into their egoism, for they do not use Kabbalah for its sole true purpose.

When we begin learning Kabbalah and open one of the books by Rashbi, Ari, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag or Rabbi Baruch Ashlag, our goal should be to receive a reward from the Creator--the power of faith--allowing us to succeed in finding the way to change ourselves. We should acquire confidence that even in our egoistic situation, we can still receive such a gift from Above, for to have faith is to have a bridge to an opposite state of being.

And even if we have not yet undergone all of the suffering that would force us to give up all our personal interests in life, nonetheless Kabbalah will help us; instead of suffering, we will receive another way to navigate our paths.

The Purpose of Studying Kabbalah

The Light that emanates from the writings of the great Kabbalists will help us overcome two challenges: our stubbornness and our tendency to forget the suffering caused by our willfulness. Prayer is the pathway to all correction, which the Creator will see in our hearts.

When we engage fully in prayer, we will attain whatever relief we seek; whatever correction we require.

But in order to achieve correction, we must give ourselves over completely to this effort—in body, mind and spirit. True prayer and the response to it, i.e. relief, come only on the condition that one has engaged one’s utmost effort, giving oneself entirely over to this effort, both quantitatively and, most importantly, qualitatively.

It is only by learning Kabbalah properly, however, that we can learn how to eradicate our egos and thus achieve personal redemption. Our yearning for relief must be so strong that we commit to our studies completely, unable to be diverted for a moment from the search for ourselves in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

However, if we have not yet been cornered by suffering, like the frightened beast in his cage, and still yearn for pleasure in the deepest corners of our hearts, then we will not realize that egoism still lives within us. Egoism is the enemy we must

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vanquish.

Until we do so, we will not be able to reach through our anguish and make a total effort to find in Kabbalah the strength and the way to escape the confines of our own egoism. Freedom will not be ours until we vanquish the ego that lives within.

However, although we may be filled with determination for this sole purpose when we begin studying, our enthusiasm may inadvertently escape us during the course of our studies. As mentioned before, our desires determine our thoughts, and our minds act as supporting instruments. The mind merely seeks the means to fulfill the will and desires of our hearts.

What is the difference between studying Kabbalah and other systems? The answer is simple: it is only by studying Kabbalah that we can find the strength to liberate ourselves from the chains of egoism.

While studying Kabbalah, we are able to examine at first hand descriptions of the Creator’s acts, His characteristics, our own characteristics, and their disparity from those of the spirit. Kabbalah tells us of the Creator’s goal for His creation, and of the ways we may correct our egos.

We may see the Light of the Kabbalah, the spiritual force that helps us defeat egoism, only when we study Kabbalah. The other elements of these teachings merely draw us, against our will, into a discussion of material actions and legalistic matters.

Some may study Kabbalah merely to expand their knowledge; if so, they will be able to approach it only as a direct narrative. They will not be able to extract the Light of the Kabbalah from its pages. Only those who study Kabbalah for self-improvement will receive this benefit.

Kabbalah is a study of the system of our spiritual roots. This system emanates from Above. We may study it in accordance with strict laws which, when merged, point toward a single supreme purpose: "the revelation of the Creator’s greatness, so that His greatness may be comprehended by the creations in this world."

Kabbalah, the perception of the Creator, consists of two parts: the written work of the Kabbalists, who have already perceived the Creator; and the body of knowledge that is perceived only by those who have acquired the spiritual vessels and the altruistic yearnings into which they can receive spiritual sensations, or the perceptions of the Creator.

If, after reaching a spiritual elevation, we sink to impure desires, then the good desires that we had during our spiritual elevation will join with the impure desires. The accumulation of impure desires gradually decreases and continues to do so until we are able to remain permanently in the elevated state of solely pure desires.

Once we have completed our work and revealed to ourselves all of our desires, we will receive a Light from Above so immense that it forever brings us out of the shell of our world to dwell permanently in the spiritual world. Yet, those around us will not even be aware of this fact.

The ―right line‖ denotes a condition in which the Creator is always correct in our eyes; we will justify the Creator’s supervision in everything. That state is called

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―faith.‖ From our earliest attempts at spiritual development and elevation, we must try to act as if we have already attained complete faith in the Creator.

We should imagine that we can already feel, with all our essence, that the Creator rules the world with utmost benevolence, and that the whole world receives only goodness from Him. Yet, after examining our own situations, we may see that we are still deprived of all that we desire. Looking around, we may see the entire world suffering, each person in his or her own way.

Despite this, we must tell ourselves that what we are seeing is a distorted image of the world, as seen through the magnifying glass of our own egoism, and that the true picture of the world will be revealed to us only when we reach a state of complete altruism. Only then will we see that the Creator rules over the world with this purpose: to lead His creations to perfect enjoyment.

In such a state, when our faith in the Creator’s absolute goodness prevails over what we see and feel, we are experiencing a state called ―faith above reason.‖

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AUTHENTIC KABBALAH TEXTS

Rav Laitman: Lesson on the article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”. Part 2

Source: www.kabbalahmedia.info

Rav Michael Laitman, Bnei Baruch, Israel August 31, 2005

Bold and in quotes: Original text of Baal HaSulam

Regular: Commentaries of Rav Laitman

lowercase italics: emphasized words

Capitalized italics: transliteration from Hebrew

Now we are continuing the article of Baal HaSulam from the book, Kabbalah LeMatchil, a book for beginners, page 22. In English, it is ―The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah,‖ section ―Two Conducts: From Above Downward and from Below Upward.‖ We have two conducts in the relationship between the Creator and the creature. Nothing else exists in reality. There is only the arrangement, the relationship between the Creator and the creature. We picture them above and below according to their discernments, their attributes. There is an order between them. It is called ―from above downward‖ in Aramaic, and the other order is ―from below downward‖—two conducts. It's a dialogue, a reciprocal relationship.

It's not only a co-relation, as Baal HaSulam writes, there is a kind of flow of reality; it is a process of evolution that unfolds—from above downward and from below upward. It is not that this connection exists reciprocally in every degree and in every state; but we have the Creator, who created reality, and this reality descends, distances from the Creator to something called ―this world,‖ through the worlds Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya. In this world, reality also goes through a certain process, and then returns to the same state it was created in to begin with. In the same worlds—Assiya, Yetzira, Beria, Atzilut, Adam Kadmon—in those same worlds, we ascend.

The disparity between above and below, in the descent, is as occurs before we are born. We used to be a drop of semen; we evolved in the mother's womb, until we were born. So, prior to our birth there were several preparations in the Olamot, worlds, which function to build a special place for us, like our world. These worlds in spirituality are the place where we can later exist, and here the Neshamot, the souls, are built from the world Atzilut downward. The souls come to our world, and afterwards, they ascend in the degrees of the worlds. The place where the souls are created is called ―the world Atzilut.‖ The division between the world Atzilut and the other worlds is called ―Parsa.‖

This world is separated, isolated from the Spiritual Worlds through something called the Machsom, the barrier. In this world, we split up our existence into unconscious existence, over thousands of years, until we begin to ascend spiritually. We'll explain it later on in greater detail.

"Two Conducts: From Above Downward and From Below Upward

The wisdom of Kabbalah is generally divided into two parallel identical orders like two drops in a pond. The only difference between them is that the

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first order is drawn from above downward to this world and the second order travels from below upward, precisely through the same routes and make-ups imprinted at the root when they appeared from above downward.

The former conduct is called—“the order of descent of the worlds, Partzufim and Sefirot,” with all their occurrences, whether lasting or transient. The latter is called—“attainments or degrees of prophecy and Holy Spirit,” that a person, who attains it, is compelled to follow the same paths and attain each detail and each degree, step by step, precisely by the same rules that were imprinted in them upon their emanation from above downwards.

A revelation of Godliness does not appear at once, but gradually, over a period of time, depending on the cleansing of the perceiver, until all the degrees from above downward are revealed, and because they come in an order of attainment, one after the other and one above the other, as do rungs of a ladder, they are called degrees (steps)."

We learn that the Creator is a will to bestow, the bestower of abundance to the good and to the bad; in an absolute state of rest and wholeness. Because of His desire to give, He desires to create the creature, in such a way that the creature will reach the genuinely good state, and the genuinely good state is the Creator's state. If He exists as the only thing that is eternal and complete, anything less than His degree is not considered good. Also, it's impossible that the creature, if it is created by the Benevolent, the Absolutely Benevolent Creator, will be even one degree less good than the Creator.

That is why the purpose of the Creator, because of His desire to give, He is seemingly prompted by this desire to create the creature, and bring this creature into endless abundance. So the creature must reach the degree of the Creator, absolutely, as it is written, ―Return O Israel, onto the Lord your God.‖ This degree where the creature reaches the Creator is called Dvekut, adhesion. Dvekut is equivalence of form, equivalence of state, equivalence of everything that exists in the Creator. It is the absolute good state that the creature will acquire. But in order for the creature to reach that state, it must feel the opposite state from it.

If there is a plus, it must feel the minus, the opposite from Him. From that minus, the creature must have a desire to reach the Creator's state. If the Creator is the attribute of bestowal, the creature should have the nature of reception. It should be whole, complete, and as great as the bestowal—equal to it. We say that the Light that comes from the Creator, builds the Kli; According to the measure of the Light, it creates the Kli. The Light is called ―pleasure,‖ and it creates the Kli, which is called ―desire.‖ Of course the desire, the Kli, is the result of the pleasure, the Light. If they combine together in this way, and the Light enters the Kli, it fills up every gap, every space, every hollow in the Kli, completely and perfectly. This is called, ―the Creator clothing in the creature.‖

That state of clothing one in the other, in an infinite way, is called ―Ein Sof‖—no limitation on the part of the creature, of how the Creator dresses in it. Why is there a limitation? Well, the limitation is conditioned upon the law of equivalence of form. In order for the Kli to receive the Light and enjoy it, the Kli has to be like the Light; it has to have the same properties and attributes as the Light. So the creature, when it comes to a state where it’s desire, instead of desiring to receive, as I wrote up here, will be a desire to receive in order to bestow. For that to happen, it has to correct itself. The correction that the creature puts on itself is called a ―Masach,‖ ―Screen.‖

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Through the desire and the Masach, the creature wants to give pleasure to the Creator, precisely as the Creator wants to give to the creature.

Why precisely? Otherwise they won't be equal. They have to equalize in their desires, and in their giving of pleasures to one another. Thus, when they equalize the giving of the Creator and the giving of the creature, that state is called Dvekut. Dvekut means that the creature, in its every action, every intention, every desire, and in its status, equalizes with the Creator. Dvekut doesn't mean that they stick to each other, one next to the other. Dvekut means that one enters the other with the pleasures that it gives to the other, because there is the desire to give on the part of the Creator and the desire to receive on the part of the creature, which was inverted into a desire to give. So both, with their pleasure must fill up the desires, the needs of the other. Hence, the creature fills the Creator, and the Creator fills the creature. Both feel themselves completely equal, like two partners. That is the state the creature should come to.

If the creature doesn't want to enjoy, if it's not opposite from the Creator, there will be no creation, no creature. It must come to a completely opposite state from the Creator. So In order to create two opposites in the creature, where on the one hand it will want to enjoy, and the other hand it will want to give, to bestow, therefore to begin with, the Creator, or the Upper Light, builds a ladder of degrees of detachment, of furthering from above downward, from ―above to below,‖ like Baal HaSulam says. These are the degrees of the five worlds, Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, Assiya.

Why are these degrees divided in this way? Because when the creature is created, he is created in five phases, five Behinot, five discernments, called ―evolution,‖ called ―Dalet Behinot de Ohr Yashar‖—The Four Phases of Direct Light. We've already been through them, but I'll repeat them. The Upper Light that is entirely giving, bestowing, wants to create the creature. So in the beginning, it builds a desire, and this desire receives the Light. It is filled with the Light by compulsion; the Light itself is called Behinat Shoresh, the ―root phase‖ or ―root discernment.‖ The desire created in existence from absence, which receives the Light, is called Behina Aleph—the ―first discernment‖ or the ―first phase.‖ When the desire begins to feel and enjoy the Light, it gradually begins to feel that the Light comes from the Giver. Meaning, within the Light, there appears the attribute of bestowal, the attribute of the Creator.

This desire that was created then wants to resemble the Giver. This is called Behina Bet, the ―second discernment,‖ the ―second phase.‖ Instead of receiving, when it feels pleasure from reception, it suddenly wants to be the Giver. Why? Because it feels ―I'm a part of the Creator,‖ of His nature, the Creator's nature, the attribute of bestowal. Which is in fact, the Upper One, It operated the pleasure. So the Creator operates on the creature, as we see, in two manners, two forms. On the one hand, He gives pleasure to the creature, and on the other hand He explains indirectly who He is—the Giver of the pleasure. He simultaneously gives pleasure to the creature, and informs the creature of His love. It's not that He reminds the creature that He is the Giver, no. The Creator seemingly relates to the creature… the Creator is always the Upper degree in respect to the lower degree. He relates to the creature in two ways. The Upper part is love, and the lower part is giving.

What comes out of this love? The giving manifests Ohr, Light, and the love manifests the attribute of bestowal. That's how we come to know the Upper One. It's as if we go and visit a friend, and he gives us refreshments, and within these

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refreshments, we see and feel him, the host; how much he loves us, how much he wants us to enjoy, how much he does for us. Through these two influences, the creature begins to change. He is constantly directed, led from above by these two influences. The influence of the Light upon him, or the pleasure, is called Direct Influence, because that is how this influence operates on the desire of the creature—operating directly on it.

However, this influence of bestowal, of love, seemingly operates indirectly. The Creator doesn't bring this influence directly to the creature, but the creature begins to receive that bestowal when it is clothed in the pleasure. I see the food, and everything that my friend has prepared for me. Through them I feel his attitude toward me. Meaning the love, the giving, appears from the Creator. It is dressed inside pleasure, in that both of them dress in my Kli, in my desire. First, my desire feels the opposite—the pleasure—and then it discovers the bestowal in the pleasure. What does that give us? It gives us degrees of development. That's why we say that first the desire was created, and afterwards was the attitude. This was already the attitude of the creature toward the Creator. It already wants to resemble the Creator. If here, it wanted to receive, then here, it wants to bestow.

Now, once it wants to bestow, the next trait appears. What does it give, in that it wants to bestow? What is bestowal? Bestowal can be expressed only if it begins to receive, that it begins to receive so that the Giver will enjoy. That is Behina Gimel, the ―third phase‖ or ―discernment,‖ or ―state.‖ This is not an attitude as it was; now it is an action, an action of receiving and giving. Through this action, where in Behina Gimel it resembles the Creator, it is now like the Creator, similar to the Creator. In it, it begins to feel what it means to be a giver. Then it's will to receive operates unlimitedly, and wants to enjoy the status of the Giver.

Here, in Behina Dalet, the fourth phase, the creature acquires additional desire. It is not the same desire as it was in Behina Aleph, which was created by the pleasure, which wanted to enjoy only the pleasure. Here, it wants to enjoy the pleasure and the status of the host, the host himself. That desire to enjoy the host himself, the status of the host, is a desire it feels which was added to it. It was not born with this desire. Rather, it evolved and came to know its desire. This desire is built in it. That is why this additional desire is specifically with respect to the host. This desire is what we call the creature, or Malchut.

We see that we have Shoresh, Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Dalet—five Behinot (discernments). Correspondingly, we have evolution in five worlds, and that is why we should have these degrees. We should have them arranged by five phases of evolution. Although it's a descent, it is nevertheless an evolution. Now, by these same degrees,in which the creature evolves and draws farther from the Creator, down to this world, and when it descends to this world, it also evolves over thousands of years of evolution until this world is made, through the billions of years of its evolution, and the creature that evolved over tens of thousands of years of evolution. After that came Adam, who was the first in this world to receive the development for spirituality, and Abraham, and the whole process that humanity underwent, within which there is the people of Israel.

Finally, we have come to a state that we are in the twentieth century and an interest in the essence of life (in the wisdom of Kabbalah) is formed in humanity, and Kabbalists say that now humanity must begin to rise by the same paths, the same degrees as before. Now it begins to ascend from below upward. This is the process, from above downward and from below upward. As we rise in the degrees, what are

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these degrees? The degrees by which the creature resembles itself more and more to the Creator. [Rav writes Creator = Light = creature = Kli].

How does it resemble itself to the Creator? By beginning to study, and through the study, come to realize the Wisdom of Kabbalah. What does it mean, ―to realize the Wisdom of Kabbalah‖? It means, to know the actions of the Creator, because you have to resemble Him. What does it mean, to ascend in degrees? You have to know what to do with yourself in order to open up yourself, to enter the Spiritual Worlds. So it goes through degrees that are called Double Concealment, Single Concealment, and then Reward and Punishment, and then Love. The attainment of love in the world of Atzilut, then in the world of Adam Kadmon, until it reaches Ein Sof, Infinity. These are the degrees of love. The difference between the world of Atzilut, where there is love, and between all these previous preparations, is called Parsa,.

This is the division between the concealed providence and guidance that the creature goes through, ascends, connects to the Creator, and the actual unification with Him. The degrees of Dvekut, adhesion, begin from the world of Atzilut up. The degrees by which it ascends are called ―prophecy,‖ or ―divine spirit.‖ So, who is a prophet? Who is a holy person? It is one who ascends in these degrees and acquires the attributes of Bina, the attributes of bestowal. Our entire reality, the Spiritual, above the Machsom and below the Machsom, is in fact scrutinized in the Wisdom of Kabbalah. What we find below the Machsom we call corporeal, or corporeality. What is above the Machsom is called Spirituality.

Question: How do Kabbalists, who attain from below upward, know what's created from above downward if it was created before they rose up there?

The problem is in what level I should answer you, because there is no time in spirituality. We'll explain it in a simple manner. When Kabbalists rise From below upward, what are they actually doing? What happens here? From Ein Sof, the beginning of creation down to this world, a desire was created that drew farther and farther away from the Creator. If here, in the beginning, the creature was like a fetus; it evolved to such a degree where its desire became independent. When it is in this world, it is independent. We do not feel so independent or dependent, because we still do not feel that we belong to someone, that there is someone before us, that we are independent against Him. Independent means there's a host, and I'm… independent; I'm not under his influence. When do we begin to discover this? When we cross the Machsom (the barrier).

Let's say that now a person comes, who feels the point in his heart, meaning the desire to evolve spiritually, he begins to evolve. Meaning, through the study, through the influence of society, as we studied in the article ―The Freedom,‖ the creature begins to evolve; he begins to feel far from Ein Sof, Infinity, from the Creator—on the one hand. On the other hand, he feels independent. He begins to feel both these sensations simultaneously. If here, it evolved as a desire to receive, to be independent, a detached desire, so now it evolves from the degree of the fetus, up to being as the Creator. Meaning, the desire to receive is now evolving in it a desire to bestow, to resemble the Creator.

As it goes through the spiritual states, what does it do? How does it know the degrees it goes through? It takes the same state, let's say, the world Assiya, and processes it to bestowal. This is called ascending to the degree of the world Assiya. The same happens with the worlds Yetzira, Beria, etc. The spiritual ascent that a

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person experiences is built over the same descent, that occurred prior to discovering one's existence in the Spiritual World. That is why, our old reality, everything we feel, everything that happens with us, if we want to ascend, all our spiritual success depends on us beginning to relate to our lives as to a discovery of the Spiritual World, and process all this information correctly as it is in the spiritual degree. How is it in the spiritual degree? That's what we have to study.

Let's say that in fact I am in a spiritual reality; there's me, and my environment. I have to process my attitude toward my environment correctly. If I say that my environment isn't just this world, but it is Light, the Creator, that influences me in a special way, and because of that I want to relate to it in a special way. So then I relate to the world, even to this world that I feel in my five senses right now, I begin to relate to it as to a spiritual degree. It all depends on my attitude. If I relate to it this way, and begin to really connect to it this way, I begin to feel that, in me and in the world, there are already hidden spiritual forces. I'm not just below the Machsom, in the degree of this world, now I make of myself the Adam who is in a spiritual world. It all depends on my attitude toward my self and toward the world. Within this reality I begin to discover spirituality—the hidden forces, the hidden reality, that exist here. I don't have to fly to some star or do things to exit this world. Within this world I begin to discover it, and such another world, and another world, and another world, until I discover within the same reality, Olam Ein Sof, the World of Infinity

Eventually, while we are here, as we learned in the beginning, we have to reach the revelation of Godliness to His creatures in this world. Meaning, reach the highest degree of Ein Sof while being in our body in this world. In other words, within this world, we have to find the world of Infinity. It all depends on our attitude, on our subtlety, on our concentration, on our sensitivity, and how much we, within this reality, permeate it and discover it—the forces that stand behind reality, that activate and operate it; me and my environment. If I see these forces, and how they operate, this is called discovering the Upper World, the system of providence and guidance. The more I discover it as linked to me, the more I discover it encompassing me, it will appear like a higher world to me until, eventually, I and this world will become as one, unite as one. I will assume this guidance and providence, I will be like it and that will be the world of Infinity, in that a person begins to feel like he exists in an eternal world.

This happens specifically because there are these two ways, from above downward and from below upward. Meaning, it is initially prepared for us… [Rav repeats]this preparation initially prepares for us an order of degrees, and this preparation gradually draws us, brings us, deeper and deeper and deeper into matter—and we discover the worlds.

Question: How does the creature, by attaining all the worlds gradually up to Ein Sof, how does it know what came down from above downward to this world?

As much as it attains it. Say that I reach the world Yetzira, I am at the border between the worlds Yetzira and Beria. Within me I have processed all the degrees of Assiya and Yetzira. How do I process them? I process them in that I specifically feel the concealments in those degrees. We said that this is Double Concealment, and that is Single Concealment. Baal HaSulam talks about it in the ―Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot‖… we studied it. If I resist the hidden guidance, whether double or single, and I process it correctly despite the concealment, and I break into it, and complement it so that there is no concealment but revelation; this is called

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―ascending in these degrees of the worlds Assiya and Yetzira, and discovering for the first time the guidance called Reward and Punishment.‖ This is called ―reaching the world Beria.‖ Why is it Reward and Punishment? Because here I feel for what I am rewarded, and for what I am punished. In other words there are good actions, bad actions. Accordingly I feel good or bad from the same Light. I have to complement this guidance through my own correction— which is incorrect; It [the guidance] is not like that, of Reward and Punshment.

It is entirely like it is in Ein Sof, it is entirely benevolent. Just like it is here in the Double Concealment and the Single Concealment. I also need to complement this benevolence. This is called ―justifying the Creator's attitude toward me.‖ What does it mean, to justify? How do I justify it? I justify this guidance in my understanding of it, and since I understand it, I sympathize with it, and thus become like it. These are already degrees of equivalence of form. I then rise to the degree of Reward and Punishment, where I complement where I find punishment; I complement it with my understanding and correction. Next, I enter the degree of Love, where there is no longer work in my correction, there is no concealment anymore.

Here it's already complete disclosure. There are other degrees here because this is not just one person. Here one corrects oneself;, I correct myself in all of my desires, with love, and here I correct the world, meaning, the sum of all the souls. By that I become as Adam. Literally like Adam, Adam HaRishon. Each one, by acquiring all the souls, by loving them, just like the Creator relates to them, these are the degrees of the worlds. Eventually we reach the eternal love as it is in Ein Sof, the eternal revelation, eternal life. All of it stems from one simple principle: That if the pleasure enters the Kli, if it enters the desire, it quenches the desire. Just like when we eat, and in this we actually ruin our appetite, and stop enjoying the food.

This way our lives end, the pleasure ends. We despair from receiving pleasures because they constantly bring us into emptiness. If I come with my desire in the receiving of pleasure, and return, I always have this circulation. How do you say it in Hebrew? A flow, a cyclic flow. So it constantly flows through me, and in that I feel eternal life. That is the difference between this life of a human, the corporeal life, and the spiritual life. One ends, and the other does not end, specifically because of the equivalence of form between the Light and the Kli, when everything returns to bestowal. So the Wisdom of Kabbalah, in short, is a method to reach eternal life.

What we learn is this whole system. How we are born in the Olamot, worlds, and how we rise up to eternity, to the place… [Rav repeats] the place… of eternal life, through those same degrees in the Olamot, worlds. That is why we have two conducts, from above downward and from below upward.

"Abstract Names:

Many believe that all the names and the words in the wisdom of Kabbalah are a kind of abstract names. It is so because it deals with Godliness and spirituality, which are above time and space, where even our imagination has not a hold. For that reason they have decided that surely, these matters speak of abstract names, or even more sublime and exalted than abstract names, as they are completely and from the outset, devoid of imaginary elements.

But that is not the case. On the contrary: Kabbalah uses only names that are concrete and real. It is an unbending rule for all Kabbalists that, “Anything we do not attain, we do not define by a name and a word."

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Here you must know that the word “attainment” (Heb: Hasaga) implies the ultimate degree of understanding. It derives from the phrase - “that thy hand shall reach” (Heb: Ki Tasig Yadcha). That means that before something becomes utterly lucid, as though gripped in one‟s hand, the Kabbalists do not consider it attained, but understood, comprehended and so on."

The problem with the Wisdom of Kabbalah, unlike any other wisdom of this world that one engages in, is that its topic is hidden; it is not felt, it is incomprehensible. There are no preparations in us, in our mind, in our understanding; we are born here in this world after having cascaded down here from Olam Ein Sof, the world of Infinity, past the five worlds. A person is born here, physically, being in resemblance, like a root and branch toward spirituality. What does that mean? We have Olam Ein Sof, the world of Infinity. Under it we have five worlds: Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, Assiya.

Below Ein Sof begin the worlds. Ein Sof is not a world; it is more like a state. Because a world is made up of gradations, according to its degrees, discernments. It has externality, internality, distances. It's got something—its own discernments. In Ein Sof, you do not have that. It is all unrestricted, and without any discernments. But all the worlds, Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, Assiya, operate according to the principle, which we call, ―if you have not learned it, never mind, just know it ahead of time.‖ This is called ―a Kli,‖ or ―desire,‖ ―Masach‖ (―Screen‖), ―the intention to bestow,‖ and ―the Light.‖ There is nothing else in reality. In Ein Sof we have only Light and Kli. In the worlds below Ein Sof we have Light, Kli, and the Masach (the Screen), which connects between them.

So these worlds which operate according to the same principle are similar. The only difference between them is the matter of more Ohr, Light, and Kli, or less Ohr and Kli. In the world Adam Kadmon, we have a big Ohr called Yechida. In the world Atzilut, we have an Ohr of Haya. In the world Beria we have a Light called Neshama. Ruach in the world Yetzira, and Nefesh in the world Assiya. These worlds are similar to Kelim: Keter, Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut. These worlds are similar. Everything that exists in the world Adam Kadmon, which are five Partzufim, in each of which there are five Sefirot, etc. There also exists the same in the world Atzilut, [Rav writes:]five Partzufim, and the same in Beria, and Yetzirah, then Assiya.

The structure, the actual structure of each and every one of them, is the same structure. It is like building a blueprint of a house, made of pieces of wood and matches, pieces of paper that we glued together; we made all sorts of… Buts it's literally a model of a house, a whole and perfect blueprint. Then we take all its details into a wooden house, and then into a concrete house, then a stone house, and then of unique blocks, and so on… A metal house, glass house, whatever. So the difference is not in the structure itself, in the details in it, but only in the matter, the substance from which it is constructed. It is the same with these worlds. The difference between them is only in the substance—a thicker and thicker substance from world to world. Here the Aviut, thickness, the desire is Shoresh, root; Aleph, one; Bet, two; Gimel, three; and Dalet, four. The Aviut of, the desire.

But our world, this world, which is below all of these worlds, is special. How can the substance of each world differ if it is filled with bestowal? What does it mean, ―bestowal‖? It means that the desire, the Kli, has the intention to bestow, similar to the Light. In other words, whatever amount of pleasure comes to me if I am in a spiritual world, or I am a Partzuf in a spiritual world, someone or something in the spiritual world. As much pleasure comes to me, that pleasure hits the screen, and the

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screen absorbs it inwardly on the condition that this reception will be in the form of giving to the Giver. It turns out that the Kli which receives, becomes like the Light, the Giver. It receives inwardly only in order to give back, the pleasure. That is the principle that all the Upper Partzufim work by. Therefore the Kli equals the Light.

But with the substance of this world, is a Kli, desire, without a Masach. [Rav repeats] Without a Masach. As if, it wants to receive. But we know that if it wants to receive, and… it cannot overcome, if it cannot reject the pleasure, then the pleasure extinguishes the desire, and this is what happens to us in this world. As much as we want to fulfill ourselves, we can't. That is why the substance of this world is called ―corporeal substance.‖ That is where the abstract names come from, because we think that when Kabbalists speak of something that happens in the spiritual world, when they talk about forces, Partzufim, worlds… they use names that are not familiar to us; not for us, but for them… yes.

A Kabbalist doesn’t know anything in advance. The Kabbalist begins to discover the Upper Worlds, and [Rav draws] here has some sensation, and from this sensation, the sensation itself produces a name for the sensation. Why? Because he receives some Ohr some Light, in his Kli, through his Masach, screen, and then tells us how he came to that sensation; by which Masach, by which desire, and by which pleasure was received, and which was returned. This, in sum total, is called a name, or what you know as Gematria.

Here there is information about the Kli, about the Masach, and about the pleasure; about all the components of the spiritual sensation. That is why Kabbalists have no problem calling names and real names, ―genuine correct names,‖ because they know the exact situation they are in, in the spiritual world, what they've attained, by which kind of work, what are the reasons for what they feel, what are their thoughts, and what are their calculations. In other words, they build the name that they designate to a phenomenon that they are in, they perceive it. It is a true, full, real name, whereas in our state, in this world, we never know why—when we name something, we do not know the reason why it is apparent to us like that. Green, black, short, long, strong, not—it does not matter what. We do not attain the forces behind the phenomena in this world. That is why, in this world, our language is a language, that… is inaccurate.

Whereas the Language of Kabbalah, in spiritual attainment, is a very accurate language, because a Kabbalist himself creates the state which he is in. He thus knows all the order of events of that state, all the discernments. He actually creates the situation he is in, because he came to it from below upward, hence the name he gives, is a name from attainment of the Kli, attainment of the Ohr, attainment of all the components. Therefore, in the Wisdom of Kabbalah, the names are not abstract names, but absolutely very real names.

We'll talk more about it. That's why these names, the attainment of the spiritual degree, is literally called ―attainment.‖ Because attainment is not just understanding. It is the understanding of the internality of the state, the reasons for it, the forces that built that state, all its components, where it comes from, what are the results. Meaning, knowing a situation in Kabbalah, means knowing its whole future—past, and present—as one. That is why the names are true, real names, and Kabbalists never err in those names. We'll study these things and see how essential they are. In this I think, we'll end the lesson for today, and continue tomorrow.

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DAILY LESSON & RAV‟S BLOG: SELECTED EXCERPTS

Source: Rav’s blog at http://www.laitman.com

Let The Light Reveal Itself And Illuminate The World

We are standing at the threshold of a very important event: We will ascend and even leap up. We have all the conditions for that.

It truly is a unique state we have been given from Above. It’s not an event that is planned, organized, and thought out for a long time, and then it finally arrives. Rather, there is an ―awakening from below‖ (Itaruta de-Letata) and an ―awakening from Above‖ (Itaruta de-Leila), when an opportunity comes from Above, and the main thing is not to miss that moment!

And that is why we did everything so unexpectedly, and it’s good that our friends from around the world understand that. I truly feel it is a mercy from Above shown to us so that both at the December convention and afterwards, we are prepared to fulfill what has been placed upon us in order to correct the world. That is why such opportunities open to us.

We are very excited. You asked how to maintain the excitement, but it will come from all the friends that will join us here; we will all be excited. And you will be even more excited when you begin to catch these drops of mercy trickling from Above.

Out of this entire state, we have to receive a great deal of strength that will make us ready for the correction of the world. This coming year is truly an extremely decisive and fateful year. Let’s hope that together we’ll actually lead the world out of the deep precipice of the ego in which it finds itself and elevate it to the degree of Bina. Then, we will merit to ascend as well.

Among us are friends who have been with us for many years, and they still maintain that same hope. It’s because they await the collective awakening, the collective realization. It is like a couple with no children, who all the time maintain hope that they will finally have children. So now we are reaching a situation when we will finally be able to carry it out!

I am certain this convention will turn out nicely and well, and we will feel great excitement. And most important is to carry this on to the big convention in December and to reach a great force of connecting there. Connecting is up to us, and what will fill the connection is up to the Creator.

So, let’s hope that we will reach such a big force, such a pressure of connection between us, that the upper Light will truly be revealed to us, at least in its first measure. And then we’ll be able to illuminate the entire world, which is called ―to become a light upon the nations,‖ to all those who still don’t understand or feel much. And then this will draw them near, will attract them. Accordingly, we’ll carry out the order of the Creator and bond with Him. To Life!

From the talk during the meal before the Convention at the Arava Desert, 11/18/2011

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The Sculptor of One’s Own Soul

Our attitude toward the ultimate goal, the desired state, is influenced by two factors. The first one is a sense of the greatness and importance of the Creator, the property of bestowal. The second one is the greatness and importance of the creature who is able to achieve this property. From these two factors, disturbances come, which we feel on the path of achieving the goal.

Sometimes, my egoistic desire says: ―Who is this Creator that I should listen to Him,‖ showing me that there is no value in this goal, the property of bestowal. Thus, it helps me gain a foothold on the path because I will be able to demand the Light to help me and influence me. After all, all development at the human degree happens because of our request to the Light to affect us.

Thus, we build our own spiritual form. Indeed, all the previous forms: the still, vegetative, and animate do not belong to the spiritual human. These forces called angels, spirits, and devils are designed to help us. As in the physical world around us, there are forces of nature that ensure our existence. Similarly, in the spiritual world, there are forces that help our soul exist.

The first disturbance is directed against the greatness of the Creator, against his property of bestowal, and the second one is directed against my form of bestowal. Sometimes, it seems to me that the Creator is not important, but at other times, it seems to me that I am not.

To belittle the Creator is the task of Pharaoh who depicts Him for us as worthless and shouts: ―I will rule myself! Why should I listen to him?‖ Thus, Pharaoh diminishes the greatness of the goal, the greatness of adhesion in the eyes of man.

There is work against the other disturbances when it seems to me that the Creator is great and important, but I can do nothing. The Creator is the righteous one, and I am a sinner. At this time, Pharaoh is leaving the stage, and his place is taken by other rulers living outside Egypt who go to war against man.

There are also the higher forces, angels in the hands of the Creator, like Pharaoh. However, they talk about the greatness of the goal and at the same time, about the person’s weakness. They are like the scouts who were sent to check the land of Israel and came back saying that the goal is great, the land is beautiful, and incredible fruits grow there, but who are you to conquer it? Come to your senses, this is not for you!

A person begins to eat himself up because these forces show him how low and insignificant he is and how many crimes he has committed. Then, he either sinks into his past and starts digging in it, or he remains in the present and loses all his strength, unable to move a finger. He cannot force himself to come to the group and participate in some way. That is how these disturbances work.

We should understand that these limitations mold out of us the human form, a giver. It is like a statue where one master takes a piece of marble and carves a sculpture out of it, and the other cuts everything unnecessary out of this piece until the desired form remains.

Likewise, we should look from both sides. From one side, we should look at the complete form, and from the other, we should learn what is missing. Sometimes, we should work with the Inner Light and at other times, with the Surrounding Light, or

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with the inner and external desires. Thus, a person ―carves‖ himself, his form that is similar to the Creator.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/16/2011, Writings of Rabash

Preparation To Begin Life

Writings of Rabash, “There is no Holiness Higher than the Creator”: Most important is to reach the degree of the spiritual embryo. As in corporeality, at the time that a woman becomes pregnant, it is definite that she will also give birth. But all of the worries are that the woman needs to become pregnant. It is like this in the spiritual work. The most difficult for us is to enter the state of the spiritual embryo, that is, to receive into our desire to enjoy another desire called the desire to bestow.

When man merits to become the spiritual embryo, that is, the desire to bestow enters into the desire to receive, this means that the Creator confines one form within the other form. And it is a great innovation, an actual miracle, because it is against our nature. And only the Creator can change nature; it is not in the hands of man.

And this is indeed a great innovation for a person who discovers these changes within himself. As a person goes through these stages in spiritual work, the upper force builds in him different forms and forms within forms. As a result, when a person discovers the forms that awaken in him, he builds himself.

The upper force operates, and we are the results of its action, the Creator’s work. Our work is to try to discover His work, that is, the new forms that are created within us.

A ―form‖ is an intention for the sake of bestowal. And afterwards, an additional form appears: the desire to receive, which adopts the form of bestowal and receives for the sake of bestowal. From the connection and inclusion between the different forms, one by one, we attain the Creator, as it is said: ―By Your actions we will know You.‖

All of these changes happen to our substance, and we attain them. After all, our substance is desire, thus we feel the changes that it goes through: good or bad, in relation to us or to others. In this way a person builds his responses to the forms he goes through.

The more that he raises himself above his feeling in order to be an observer who doesn’t depend upon his feelings, the faster he discovers the inner nature of this action, with no connection to the substance. This is the meaning of ―faith above reason.‖

If he only searches for the new forms and opens himself towards them without preventing it, but rises above his feelings and wants to discover the forms of bestowal, then he becomes the Creator’s partner in this work. And then the person begins to move with the Creator and makes exactly the same movements.

He even precedes the Creator and prepares himself in advance for all the changes that are about to happen to him each moment. This preparation accelerates his advancement and causes him to happily receive each form that comes to him,

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pleasant or unpleasant. Indeed, he already raised himself above his egoistic feelings and desires and now identifies only with the forms of bestowal.

This is called attaining the Masach (screen), the force of overcoming the unpleasant feelings within one’s egotistic desires.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/13/2011, Writings of Rabash

Women’s Support

Question: How should women support men at this convention?

Answer: They have to think about our success. We need this support as without it we will have a very hard time. It’s exactly the same as how ―the sons of Israel came out of Egypt by virtue of the righteous women.‖

Women are a very powerful part of the common system and their support is simply indispensable. When a woman worries about a man, this gives him great forces, a great impetus to realize her yearnings. Without women’s support, we will not succeed.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/16/11, ―The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)‖

We Are Not Together – We Are Absolutely One

When a person already exists in a reality where “there is none else besides Him,” he must connect everything that is awakened as a disturbance with the concept of “one.” Then he will begin to see that he has really entered the spiritual world and included himself in bestowal, Bina, above himself. He, she, I, or anyone else no longer exist. Everything is merely one concept.

This ―one‖ is neither the Creator nor the creature, but the only reality that exists, where everything connects into one. I can no longer say that he and I, and a connection between us exist. This is why we need to direct all our efforts, our purpose, and our true life toward the revelation of this only reality, the one soul.

When a person constantly tries to raise himself to this level of reasoning and feeling, the perception of his ―I‖ in all his hopes and aspirations, and all his inner desires, he goes through a certain number of exercises, until he sees that everything he has outside of this ―one‖ is only summoned to help him, to push him to connect with this ―one,‖ and establish his place there.

It is written about it: ―Habit becomes a second nature.‖ Thanks to habit, man begins to feel that he exists in another reality, and he makes decisions, reasons, and wishes in accordance with it. The higher reality where he includes himself determines and dictates everything to him.

His body and his entire corporeal life begin to connect to this One. In the end, he sees that there is nothing getting in his way. On the contrary, everything is helping him enter the true reality.

The entire world we perceive, everything connects and merges with this One whole. Then, we really discover that there is only one soul in the universe. The so-called ―600,000 souls‖ are the yet uncorrected parts of one’s soul that one is not able

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to connect to the common concept for now. But later they too connect to him to strengthen and support this One single concept.

From Lesson 1, Israel Arvut Convention, 11/11/2011

The Stony Heart Instead Of Love

Each of us has been in a situation when we were in a close relationship with someone, but all of a sudden had an argument. When this happened, we got angry and tried to get revenge; we strove to show what the split entailed for the other person and that he or she would pay a price for their actions. In other words, we wanted to demonstrate that spoiled relationships and separation will trigger suffering and bitter consequences.

Previously, we didn’t feel that we were able to treat each other so badly and actually enjoy the other person’s suffering. This is how the ―stony heart‖ (Lev Ha Even) is revealed. When we split with another person, we want to turn our prior love and connection into hatred and evil in relation to another person so that we enjoy our hatred and evil even more than love.

Hatred unites both desires, mine and the other person’s, their suffering and my egoistic pleasure that I receive because I cause pain to someone. Thus, we double our vessel, perception.

This is how the stony heart reveals itself. Without it, we would be unable to reveal the hidden hatred within us and as a result, wouldn’t recognize love either. Initially, we had good relations. Now, we are going through craziness that doesn’t even remotely remind us of our prior relationship. The difference is huge; it’s like the gap between flowers growing next to each other or cute kittens playing together and two brutal egoists who mortally hate each other.

We can’t even imagine this difference. This is a birth of a new desire (Kli). It always has existed in the created being, but secretly.

The desire to receive pleasure was created by the Light; the Light is primary, whereas desire is secondary, it is a consequence of the Light. If not for that, the difference between ―Yesh Mi Yesh‖ (existence from existence) and ―Yesh Mi Ain‖ (existence from absence) would be clarified. However, it has never been discovered since the Light originally acted upon the created being, ―sweetened‖ and supported it with its love.

The created being grew under the influence of love and had no chance to differentiate between itself and the Light. The Light ruled and suppressed the created being by its love and didn’t allow it to consider or sense its own needs. The needs were completely fulfilled, and that is the reason why the diffference between the Creator and the created being has never been revealed.

It became apparent as a result of the shattering. Now we begin to uncover our egoism even more, to the degree where we take advantage of everybody for our pleasure.

Egoism is not that terrifying in the corporeal world as it is in spirituality. There, in the system of impure forces (Klipot) appalling relationships get revealed.

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Today, in our world every other couple goes through a similar split in their relationship. This is an example that in this world, on our small earthly egoistic level, we have already reached complete revelation of the stony heart.

The stony heart exists at each level starting with this world and up to the world of Infinity. It manifests itself according to the height of the degree, but only at the very top is true hatred revealed.

This is what the ―spies‖ tell us: ―Life is magnificent in the country flowing with milk and honey; wonderful fruits grow there! At the same time, strong and cruel people inhabit this land, and no one can prevail against them!‖ This is how the ―stony heart‖ reveals itself.

This is why the sons of Israel screamed in the desert: ―Why do we have to go ahead, let’s return to Egypt! We had plenty of meat and garlic there.… What else do we need?‖ This is the revelation of the ―stony heart‖; there is no other evil but it.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/8/2011, TES

Before An Attack

Our main work is to rise above our thoughts and desires, to manage to separate from them, and to ascend to the height where we all exist together, where the soul is. There is only one soul in the world.

This is why it is written that before receiving the Torah, the sons of Israel had to abstain for three days. Each one was trying to rise above all their corporeal concerns, thoughts, desires, and calculations in order to dedicate themselves only to the higher goal.

It is very difficult and requires dedicated, meticulous work, similar to picking up tiny grains until we get all of them, one by one, and our egoistic calculations end, until useless thoughts and desires stop awakening in a person, which pull him in different directions. Then, he will be more or less ready to include himself in thoughts and desires of the environment.

This austerity and abstinence, the enormous effort a person makes to prepare himself, is not a simple thing. A person must break his ego, come out of himself, pull himself off his position with actual physical effort, and become physically included in others. Then, he has to try to lower his head and accept their spirit from them, which will influence him. He cannot allow any freedom to his thoughts because they can throw him back outside the limits of the society, the group.

A person must lower himself and force himself to concentrate so as to put everything under the power of the environment, in both the corporeal form and on the inside, spiritually, in thoughts, in the desire. He must lose himself! He must let that which exists in the environment influence him so that no heart or mind would remain within him, and the only thing controlling him would be whatever exists in the environment.

This is the first stage of preparation in becoming included in one another. If we are able to do this, we can begin to speak of the influence of the upper force, the power of the group.

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The group is not the physical formation that we imagine; it is not a group of physical bodies. The inner force of the group will influence us together with the Light that Reforms that exists in the group, gives sanctity to everyone, and enables them to rise above themselves. Then in this ascent a person will begin

Today’s Heaven Is Tomorrow’s Hell

The Book of Zohar, Chapter “Pekudei (Accounts),” Item 839: As there are degrees and palaces on the side of Kedusha, there are also on the side of Tuma’a, and they are all present and ruling in the world on the side of Tuma’a. This is why there are seven palaces opposite the seven names of Hell, which are called by those names of the seven departments of Hell, and all are standing to judge and defile, for those wicked of the world to whom they have adhered, and who did not guard their ways while in this world.

Hell is my desire to receive. It may be small and weak and may not seem so bad to me at the moment. It is against connection, or not so much for connection when I think about myself: How will I profit, what will happen to me, and so on?

According to my level, this desire seems quite reasonable at the moment, and it can be called Heaven because thanks to it, I profit, attain, and feel good. But the more I understand the upper system, the more I begin to see this desire as Hell. It’s because in it, I think about myself, ―burn down,‖ draw away from, and am opposite to the Light, the Creator.

It all depends on how a person sees his desires. This is the whole difference between Heaven and Hell.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/14/2011, The Zohar

An Optical Illusion

Question: If there are no separate parts, what does The Book of Zohar describe, the way one soul corrects itself?

Answer: The Book of Zohar tells us how we connect into one soul. After all, there is nothing else to talk about. There is a perfect state, one soul, and there is an imperfect state when the soul is shattered. We have to return ourselves to the perfect state.

Essentially, the shattering exists only in our consciousness. When we discover what is corrupt, we will see that everything is corrected. I only need to correct my perception, my vision. This is why this wisdom is called the ―wisdom of Kabbalah‖ (―Kabbalah‖ means ―reception‖ in Hebrew)—it is the wisdom about how to receive, to perceive reality. That’s all! Reality is perfect, and there was no shattering—it is all with regards to those who receive, a person who attains it.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/14/2011, The Zohar

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A World Structured At My Request

The upper worlds are showing us a model, and we must become similar to it. Our connection between us is the quality we are able to achieve in order to correspond to the Light. When a person connects with others, with his bestowal, he builds out of himself a spiritual Partzuf from the ten Sefirot.

Bestowal cannot exist in any form other than the ten Sefirot. When it assumes the right form, it manifests as a spiritual Partzuf whose height we can measure according to the rungs of the spiritual ladder in the upper worlds.

It turns out that we can measure the height of a soul, meaning the connections of separate desires, and understand the power we attain through it in relation to the entire common soul. In the end, the desire created by the Creator remains, but it acquires the form of the Sefirot, the sources of the illumination that reach me from all the worlds through which the simple Light of the world of Infinity passes.

The Creator places the system of worlds in front of me, and it serves as a source of Light that is always ready to influence me, that is ready to affect my desire if I have prepared it for use. The Light is in a state of absolute rest, and the way it will affect me only depends on my desire. There are no changes in the Light. All the changes take place only in my desire, which I am able to change as I work on the connection in the group.

After all, the connection of a group is the actual desire that awakens the Light, forcing it to shine and return us to bestowal, a connection with one another. There is no other desire but the one that exists inside the group and is directed toward unity. Only this kind of desire can attract the Light because they have the same nature. None of the other desires are subject to correction; they are egoistic.

The only desire that counts is the desire to unite with a friend, with the group. When a person really rises above his corporeal body and wishes to connect above it, ―in his head,‖ placing this aspiration for connection above all his private goals, only to this degree does the Light reach a person across all the Sefirot and correct his desire, connecting his private desire to the common one.

This way, we correct the shattering and reveal the vessel of our soul and the Light that fills it in our connection. Then a person sees that worlds do not exist on their own, outside of man. All of this exists only in potential and is realized only in practice when we want to connect. Then, to the extent of the power, height, and nature of this connection, we reveal the upper Light that is always ready for it. This means that the system of the worlds is being revealed to us.

This system of worlds does not exist without our appeal. It is entirely in the world of Infinity, in the Thought of Creation to please the created beings. Only at the exact moment when there appears a desire that demands to be corrected for the purpose of connection does the system of concealment begin to operate in relation to this desire, suiting it exactly according to its height and nature. The Light influences the desire from this system and reforms it.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/14/2011, Shamati #68

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Drunk With The Light

Our entire work consists of attaining similarity with the qualities of the Light. In relation to us, the Light divides into 613 Lights (Taryag) and builds 613 desires in us. However, in the end, it is one desire and the Light.

Our work consists of lending the will to enjoy the same form as the Light’s desire to bestow. Naturally, we cannot turn the desire to receive pleasure into the desire to bestow. First of all, the desire to receive pleasure stays, but we reveal its form: We distinguish the desire to receive pleasure from water, bread, and so forth. All these things are forms where it wishes to receive fulfillment.

For example, the fulfillment experienced in a certain form of desire is called ―bread.‖ The fulfillment experienced in another form of desire is called ―water.‖ The fulfillment experienced in other forms of desire are called ―meat,‖ ―fish,‖ ―sweets,‖ ―sour,‖ ―bitter,‖ and so on. Everything depends on the forms of the desire to receive pleasure. It is the same with everything, even technology, frequencies, and light spectrums. All these things are forms of the desire to receive pleasure. Material is desire, and everything is determined by the form it assumes.

We must give proper forms to our desire to receive pleasure. This does not mean that it would be more proper to desire ―meat‖ when I desire ―bread.‖ The proper form is the way I wish to receive the fulfillment called ―bread,‖ ―meat,‖ and so on. It is the way I distinguish that it’s still forbidden for me to use these desires due to a variety of reasons since I will not be able to bestow in this form and be similar to the Light.

There are two components here. The first is the desire to receive pleasure, which assumes a certain form because otherwise, it is no more than shapeless material, as it is written: ―Everything comes from the dust.‖ This dust must assume a certain form because it has no taste on its own. And I must taste the flavor in the desire to receive pleasure. My pleasure depends on the greatness of the desire and the variety of forms in which it can receive pleasure, such as food, sex, family, money, respect, power, and knowledge, according to the scale of values accepted in our world.

Moreover, there is an additional, special form that robes into this matter: the intention either ―in order to receive‖ or ―in order to bestow.‖ This is referred to as the Creator’s work. In this form, there is a difference between the creature and the Creator.

Not every person can detect this inner difference. As a rule, people only distinguish the regular form that their desire to receive pleasure assumes: what and how much they want in comparison to others. Their entire analysis ends there. In other words, they do not speak of the quality of the desire in relation to the Creator.

In order to have a spiritual, vivid perception with respect to the Creator, man must have another special element in his desire, where he will distinguish whether it is close or far from bestowal, closer to truth or falsehood. This element awakens in him in the form of the so called point in the heart and does not allow him to simply agree with the forms that are only convenient for the desire to receive pleasure.

He must develop his own attitude toward the Light that shines at him from afar in such a way that he neither knows it nor understands it. However, this Light awakens the need in man to attain similarity in qualities with it.

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Then, a person gradually rises above his desire to receive pleasure in all its different forms and begins to care about the intention in which he exists, whether it is for the sake of reception or bestowal, and he tests himself in relation to this form. The Light keeps awakening him and brings him to the group, through which it influences him. In other words, the Light affects him through the desires (Kelim).

In the end, a person finds himself in such an uncomfortable, bad state that he either tries and escapes the influence of the Light that Reforms, the Surrounding Light, refusing to accept new forms since it always happens under pressure, as if he were being molded like clay; or he understands and agrees that he must accept the new form out of hopelessness, as a result of studies and the influence of the group.

Then, he works in the group, demanding new forms for his desire from the Light. At first, he expects the Light to bring him good things, wishing to derive from the new forms of Light some benefit for his substance, the desire to receive pleasure. This is called ―bestowal for the sake of reception.‖

Gradually, through a desperate desire to achieve what he wants and the influence of the Surrounding Light that affects him through the group, he reaches a state where he no longer cares about any conditions. This is called working without conditions when the only thing that matters to him is to accept the form of Light, the forms of bestowal.

He is not able to understand precisely what is happening to him and why he is experiencing these states, but the nature of forms that go through him makes him agree and begin to wish for this to happen. He begins to receive power above his reason, as if he were drunk with the Light. He truly wishes to accept new forms and most importantly, to know that advancement toward the Light is guaranteed for him. He guarantees it himself by participating in the group.

When he prepares correctly, being in a group, trying to cancel himself before it, and accepting the Light that Reforms through this common vessel without any conditions, but only wishing to cancel himself so that the Light would influence him, then the two kinds of efforts that he makes during the study and work in the group bring him success.

Otherwise, he finds himself in a state about which it is written: ―A fool sits with folded hands and eats his own flesh.‖ He can ―devour‖ himself for a decade without advancing.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/13/2011, The Zohar

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FEEDBACK

From your letters:

…I wanted to thank you for the book ―The Kabbalah Revealed‖ by Rav. Michael Laitman. I also have received Volume one and two of the magazine ―Wisdom of Kabbalah‖. Most important, I want to thank you for the help you give us as prisoners (Solomon from Virginia)

…Thank you for your willingness to provide this course to one who is temporarily apart from Society. What you are doing is a true mitzvah and blessing (Jim from Colorado)

…I want to thank you for the book ―Kabbalah Revealed‖ and the first three issues of ―The Wisdom of Kabbalah‖. It is an answer to a long standing prayer. I am starting to get answers that my heart has so long had a desire for. I thank you for this. Now my search has a direction (Paul from New York)

…I’ve just finished the book ―Kabbalah Revealed‖ written by Rav Michael Laitman PHD and I believe Kabbalah carries true spiritual principals (Demond from California)

…Thank you for my second issue of ―The Wisdom of Kabbalah‖ very insightful to my growth in Kabbalah. I intend on finding and knowing the purpose of creation, and our true human nature (Wayne from Texas)

…Volume 3 is spectacular. I am going to make copies tomorrow. That’s so great that the new students can study, this is something they will never forget. I want to thank you from the bottom of the point of my heart for what everyone @ Bnei Baruch has done for me. Love all of you guys & feel the connection (Dante from Nevada)

…I just want to say thank you for sending me Issue 2 of ―The wisdom of Kabbalah‖. I found Issue 1 to be very enlightening and has opened my mind to a different way of seeing things, for better I think. (Jeremy from California)

…Thank you for Issue 3 of The Wisdom of Kabbalah. I believe your project to be a great step in educating a world which is in need of truth. Keep up the brilliant work. I hope to see the next magazine soon (Nelson from Pennsylvania)

…I want to extend my most profound gratitude, for making it possible for those who are victims of this mass incarceration to receive your magazine, ―The Wisdom of Kabbalah‖. I am an Indiana Prisoner, who has been receiving this inmate magazine, since May, 2011, and I find It truly enriching and spiritually sustaining (Aaron from IN)

…I really appreciate the monthly magazine/lessons I have been receiving. This opportunity has allowed me great peace. I truly am happy with it and enjoy my studies. I encourage you to keep up the great work (Dauerashawn from Texas)

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…I love the book ―Kabbalah Revealed‖ and the special magazine for inmates are just as great (Karl from Georgia)

…I really find the magazine enlightening and I believe it’s helping me think in a more constructive manner (Tirell from California)

…I was moved before I finished ― From Chaos to Harmony ― I was having revelations in my personal life while seeking spiritual depth reading it. Thank you for what your group is doing. I personally appreciate the easily intelligible concepts expressed. I assure you, your group’s charity to prisoners by way of reading materials. I appreciate the opportunity to help build myself into a person able to contribute to society in a meaningful way (Alexander from California)

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GOOD ENVIRONMENT

"WE are for the World" Kabbalah Convention

that took place on September 16-18, 2011 brought together people who are ready to live in an integral and connected world where love and bestowal rule

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From Venezuela To Toronto Meeting of the friends of Caracas and Venezuela during the convention in Toronto

From Samara To Toronto The mirror convention in Samara was attended by friends from Voronezh, Orenburg, Togliatti, Saratov, Engels, Ulyanovsk, Syzran, Petah Tikva, and Tula!

From Lithuania to Toronto Friends of all the Baltic states gathered together for a mirror convention in Lithuania. Thanks to the entire World Kli for this unique convention, a celebration of love, unity and bestowal!

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SMILE!

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Friends,

As we are trying to promote the Kabbalah Prison Project Facebook page in order to raise public awareness and get some funds, we are asking for your help.

Call 1-800-982-1253 and tell us about what the wisdom of Kabbalah has become to mean for you personally. Has it brought a different perspective in your life? Does it help you to be more constructive and positive in your everyday life? How does it contribute to your ways of dealing with the difficult situations you face on a day-to-day basis? How has it changed your self-understanding?

We want the public to know that this knowledge has become essential and helpful for many people and it’s worth their attention and support.

You calls will be recorded, transcribed and placed on the webpage at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/kabbalahprisonproject

Friends, it's important for us to know that those of you who get released from prison still stay in touch with us.

You can start by visiting the website of Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center at http://edu.kabbalah.info where you'll be offered a number of self-study courses of different levels

The center broadcasts live classes and provides students with other services like access to the library of authentic Kabbalah materials as well as to a lesson archive and Question and Answer Forum.

When you feel that you are prepared enough to move on, our main informational internet resource at http://kab.tv/ will be your next step. Here you'll find Kabbalah TV Live Stream with daily lessons of Rav Laitman and more.

Also you can join one of our local Kabbalah groups. Let us know about your location upon discharge and we'll hook you up with the closest group in your area.