How can it be that the two polarities, these two opposite states—the force of evil and the force of good—grow in a person in parallel during the preparation period and also above the barrier and that this is how one’s progression along the spiritual degrees unfolds all the way until the end of correction?

How is it possible that the evil is revealed opposite the good, and one does not cancel out the other and will never cancel out the other? A person must correctly unite them and use the evil and the good to achieve the goal.

How can both forces exist within a person at the same time and in the same state? Can there be a state where one who is completely wicked is simultaneously a completely righteous person, where Pharaoh and the Creator coexist in the same person?

Such a state cannot arise on its own. It can exist only if the Masach (screen) connects the two forces through a striking union (Zivug de Hakaa). Without the screen they remain two opposites. The more Pharaoh and the Creator are present within a person, the more the person is in conflict with them, for they represent two opposing poles. Yet, if he acquires a screen, the angel of death becomes the angel of life, and both unite for a single purpose.

Can these two states coexist before we have received the first screen that can connect these two opposites together for us: the will to receive and the will to bestow, the light and the vessel? No, they cannot.

That is why we are being tossed from one extreme to the other: at times under the control of the Pharaoh, at others times under the dominion of the Creator. When Pharaoh manifests, we have no choice but to fall under his sway because the Creator Himself pushes us there; through His light He reveals the nature of Pharaoh and directs us toward him; otherwise, we would simply run away.

When Moses killed an Egyptian, he could not stay, and he fled Egypt, until the Creator told him, “Come to Pharaoh.” Otherwise, Moses would not have been able to return, because coping with the state of Egypt is very difficult.

Consequently, a person constantly fluctuates between in these extreme, polar opposing states: at times one is willing to give up everything for the sake of connection with the Creator because some light shines on them, and at other times, one is immersed in their own evil and realizes it, or else falls under the sway of the will to receive without feeling it as evil but good. One feels that it is something to be enjoyed, a way to snatch a little pleasure here and there for life. Until one crosses the barrier (Machsom), this cycle does not end.

After crossing the Machsom, once new Klipot (shells, impurities) and holiness emerge, new states arise. But before the Machsom, the rule “Do not believe in yourself until the day you die”applies. In other words, until the desire to receive is subdued by the Masach (screen), it controls you. A person is incapable of action and cannot expect anything.

What does “do not believe” mean? You have to continue with certainty and confidence that the Creator will help you, but it is not that you are doing it.
[359152]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/26, Rabash, “What Is “Do Not Slight the Blessing of a Layperson” in the Work?”

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Question:

Answer: What does “spiritual” mean? I do not know what is spiritual and what is material. Is a Klipa (shell, impurity), for example, spiritual or material? It belongs to the spiritual world, but there are also Avhanot (distinctions) beneath it. Call them material, what difference does it make?

A Klipa differs from the material will to receive in that it exists with an awareness of the Creator’s presence, standing opposite Him, whereas the material desire in this world lacks awareness. Yet it remains a desire to receive!

Or do you think that creation exists on its own? Where did everything you see come from? It is the very same will to receive, but at a level where it is disconnected from the sensation of the Creator. However, just because you are disconnected from the Creator, does not mean that the Creator is disconnected from you! Do not worry, He is present within you, governing you and doing everything necessary.

Thus, everything depends on how you look at it. If you look from the perspective of your own sensations, then indeed you feel that nothing exists besides you and this small world.

But your perception is only one part of the entire Kli (vessel). If we speak about the Kli as a whole, using the terms we study, then the picture will differ somewhat from what you see with your own eyes. In that case, you must mentally attach the Klipa, holiness, and everything else into your view.

Let us say you do not feel them and sense only a small part of everything that is happening, so what? This is precisely why you are taught that everything is not quite as it appears to you and there is an entire world you do not feel. Take it into account.

You know what you have studied. If you study more, you will know more. I will give only one example: You studied that after passing through double and simple concealment, we then use the vessels acquired in spirituality. How does this happen? What vessels are these? I simply feel a certain concealment; something is unpleasant for me in some way.

In fact, this is about what belongs to spirituality. Imagine that these really are Kelim, and substantial ones at that. Later, in spirituality, you will become familiar with them and realize that they pertain to that very spiritual Kli we are currently discussing as a future prospect. You will come to understand this so deeply that you will not be able to attain anything in spirituality unless you turn to these Kelim carried over from your present states.

Therefore, one should not chop up the material like children at school, under the pretext: “We did not cover this, it was not assigned to us.”
[360066]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/28/26, Rabash, “What Is the Prohibition to Teach Torah to Idol-Worshippers in the Work?”

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Question:

Answer: We differ in the proportions in which the four elements fire, water, air, and earth are mixed in us. We differ in the blend of these four elements both on the spiritual level and on the animate level.

Using them in correct form within the greatest desire to receive is called the attainment of the final correction. But even upon reaching it, all four elements of the animal nature will remain in the same form as they are now.

This means that the aspects of you that make you the most irritable, hot-tempered, or lazy will remain. But when it comes to your relationship with the Creator, all these qualities will manifest in their opposite form.

Question: So is what am I meant to become already embedded in me?

Answer: The final picture of how you should appear in the final correction already exists within you.
[359628]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/26, Rabash, “What Should One Do If He Was Born With Bad Qualities?”

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Question:

Answer: Then I begin everything anew. That is wonderful! In fact, that is the most correct way.

Question: But at that moment I feel despair.

Answer: No. Why despair?

Comment: How could I not? I have come such a long way. I have devoted so many years to it.

My Response: So what? I am like someone who has just been born. Doesn’t a child open its eyes even wider?

Comment: That is true. You often remind us of a child in that way. Sometimes something suddenly amazes you. You still have that quality.

My Response: I do not feel tired. Of course, I may look tired because of my age and the passing years. But…

Question: You do not?

Answer: No. Every day, every lesson, every morning, I am ready to begin everything anew.

Question: To be born again?

Answer: Yes.

Question: When does a person begin to feel tired? Since we have touched on the subject.

Answer: When he no longer has the excitement of new desires and new questions. Then, of course, he can no longer reveal the child within him. Then he has already become an old man.

Question: Is that already movement toward death?

Answer: Yes.

Comment: So, when you speak about eternal life, you mean these constant…

My Response: Constant renewal.

Question: When is such constant renewal possible? Under what conditions?

Answer: Always. It does not depend on the body. It is the desire, and desire does not depend on the body.

Question: So should we always begin again? Constantly renew ourselves?

Answer: Yes, and it is wonderful!

Question: And what would you say to an ordinary person who does not study Kabbalah?

Answer: Nothing. Find yourself a hobby and keep at it.

Question: And keep rejoicing in new discoveries?

Answer: Yes. Just as my teacher used to say about a stadium, that it is a place that should be respected because it brings enjoyment to so many people.

Comment: That is amazing! I was always surprised that a religious man would say that. Religious people did not go to stadiums.

My Response: It is not that he did not go there, he had never been there even once.

Comment: Yet he still respected the place.

My Response: He had never seen it, but he knew that it was a game watched by one or even two hundred thousand people at the same time.

Question: So he felt that they had become like children again?

Answer: Yes, of course. They rejoice in life. And joy comes from the Creator. Therefore, he rejoiced for them because they were receiving pleasure from the Creator. At that moment, they were not cursing Him.

Comment: Then there is no suffering.

My Response: That is why such a place should be respected.
[359935]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 7/17/26

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Question:

Answer: Sport has turned into a hunt for prey! You step out as if into a jungle to hunt down a medal.

Question: You have to defeat everyone else. But what should it be instead?

Answer: People should strive for achievements that they attain together. Suppose, in a certain stadium, in a particular sport, under certain conditions, they achieve the highest possible result. That result belongs to everyone.

In general, I am against awards.

Question: Then what should a person strive for? What does you get out of it?

Answer: That is exactly your answer: “If there is no award, then what should I do?” It means you do not love sport; you love the medal.

Comment: Yes, the medal, or the admiration, the applause, that is what people want.

My Response: No, you can wear some kind of badge of distinction. You and everyone else. But I would not rank people by place. It’s about participation!

Question: Just participation? Do you think people would still take part?

Answer: If they truly love sport, then yes.

Question: What about when an athlete helps another athlete? For example, a runner gets tangled up, and another competitor helps him. Where would you place that on the podium? What place would you give it?

Answer: That is the most important thing! That deserves the medal.

Question: What should be the fundamental principle of sports?

Answer: Friendship and mutual help! To show all of us, and ourselves as well, what kind of potential is hidden within us. That is all.

Comment: But in soccer, one team plays against another. Where is the friendship in that? We have to win. We have to score in the other team’s net.

My Response: They should enjoy that. It all depends on one’s upbringing.

Comment: I enjoy scoring a goal. I enjoy seeing my team win.

My Response: And the others should enjoy it as well. It depends on the beauty of the game.

Let soccer be an art form: the way they keep the ball in the air, how beautifully they pass it. Rather than shoving and tripping each other.

Question: How should the spectators perceive it? After all, I am a fan of one club. How should I look at all this?

Answer: So what? You will support your club. You will feel the sting of defeat or the joy of victory. So what?

Question: But if the other team wins, what should I, as a spectator, do?

Answer: Then you will experience those emotions. That is what sports are for.

Question: What about combat sports? When it isn’t a team competition, like wrestlers or boxers, what should the mindset be there?

Answer: There, it is even simpler. It is all right there to be seen. You are fighting, and he is fighting.

Question: What should our intention be? What should we want?

Answer: To show beauty.

Question: Then what is beauty, in your opinion? What is the beauty they should demonstrate?

Answer: They need to find a way to demonstrate a benevolent kind of strength.

Question: Benevolent strength is still a force. How can it be benevolent?

Answer: Yes, there is benevolent strength and malevolent strength. The benevolent kind is when we demonstrate our good attitude toward one another. like the idea, “friendship wins.”

Question: So you really believe in that simple, childish slogan?

Answer: Without it, nothing good will come out of a sport. There will be drugs, doping, and corruption, people will do anything. Heaven knows what already exists in sports.

Question: If we do not put “friendship wins” at the center?

Answer: Exactly.

Question: I reminded of my early childhood, when I used to be told, “Friendship wins.” They would comfort me when I was a five or six-year-old by raising both my hand and the other child’s hand. Do you think that should apply to professional sports as well?

Answer: Yes. From a spectator’s perspective, I wouldn’t want sports presented in any other way, unless they demonstrated kindness and brought people closer together. The competition between them should demonstrate their struggle against their egoism.

Comment: That is beautiful! In other words, so they realize that they are egoists…

My Response: They demonstrate the struggle against their egoism.
[359568]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 7/10/26

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What Kind of Demand Should We Direct to the Creator?

To what extent should we be involved in our correction? Should we simply demand, “Give me the end of correction,” or turn to the Creator and say, “You did this and that to me, this isn’t right, and this doesn’t seem quite right to me,” and so on? Should we speak with Him meticulously about every single detail? Or perhaps even suggest improvements, like: “Here, change this for me, do this for me, adjust this for me,” and so on? Perhaps even more so, after we correct our “machine,” we check how it should work, recognize its perfect functions, and after examining it, say to the Creator: “Good, You did a good job.” Is this called the work of the Creator?

How should we relate to reality? Reality is what we feel. It consists of three things: me, Him—the Creator, the upper force that is initially concealed from me and later revealed—and my world—the relations between us through the world, the way He brings me all my surrounding and inner reality, through which I connect to Him.

From where will we know what we need? From where will we know the extent to which we should recognize, understand, investigate, demand, and ask? We will know this from the Kabbalists’ words, and later it will indeed be revealed to us. Baal HaSulam says that the state we must reach is precisely defined by the name, “adhesion” (“Dvekut“). In spirituality, adhesion is complete equivalence between me and Him. What is “complete equivalence between me and Him”? It is when I know all His qualities, His desires, His longings, and all His good and bad attitudes toward me, down to the deepest level. It means knowing them, their causes and their consequences, to know what He wants and how He wants it.

In Kabbalah, this is called the attainment of the first nine Sefirot. The first nine Sefirot are the Creator’s attitude toward Malchut. From this, we learn about ourselves. If the Creator wants something from me, He built qualities within me that can give an answer, a response, to what He expects from me. For example, if the Creator brings me pleasure in drinking a cup of tea, He wants me to enjoy the tea. Through the pleasure that I feel, He creates the vessel in me that will long for tea.

From recognizing the Creator, we actually begin to recognize ourselves, and begin to recognize the gap between ourselves and the Creator, and how much the Creator has influences to which we have corresponding deficiencies. Meanwhile, we learn how to make adjustments between the influences and the deficiencies. If we knew all the influences of the Creator and all our own deficiencies, we would see that the Creator’s influences come and are ready to fill all of our desires. For every pleasure, there is a corresponding vessel in us.

The first problem in this matter is that the vessels need to be updated to bestow, otherwise we will not receive pleasure in them. Another problem is that if we receive these pleasures directly, we are not similar to the Creator and do not reach adhesion. We can receive these pleasures in the will to receive, but then we do not enjoy the will to receive because the pleasure immediately extinguishes the desire and we remain empty.

However, if we acquire a screen, install a screen over our will to receive, we enjoy without limitation of quantity or time, and we also acquire something special, we become similar to the Creator, align ourselves with Him, and are in adhesion. The Creator and the person begin to resemble each other. In other words, we not only acquire pleasure from the Creator, but also acquire the Creator’s status, become like Him with all that this implies, which cannot be explained. There are secrets of the Torah and many other things in this.

From this, the correction of the screen lets us be at the level of the Creator, and not at the level of the created being. What is our part in all this work? This work is called “the work of the Creator” and not the work of any person, because as Kabbalists who attained the correct reception of these pleasures explain, all the actions on the vessels—scrutinies, corrections, fillings, and so on—can only be done by the lights. That is, the Creator, the upper light, is the one who can perform corrections and fillings on the vessels.

And what about the “I”? Baal HaSulam explains in “The Freedom” that out of all actions available to a person in this world and in the spiritual world, we have only one action of choice by which we determine our individuality; it is an action that we ourselves perform. What is it? It is our desire for the Creator to perform a certain action. That is, we need to recognize ourselves in our current state, how opposite we are to Him, how much we need correction, and ask Him to perform the action while we are present in it and as if know it in all its details. However, the action itself is performed by the light.

How is this expressed in this world? It is that we must desire it. We naturally desire, but it is said that this is not enough. We desire according to our ability in our current state, and we must desire a little more, want the Creator to correct us and fill us, and want to be in a slightly higher state. How can we be in a certain state and want to rise from it if this desire is not within us? We acquire this desire from the environment.

Since we are all included together as one soul in Ein Sof, in the end of correction, if we create some form of equivalence with the state of Ein Sof among the friends in this world, we create conditions that let us acquire qualities or an additional desire from others that exists there. What is the corrected upper world made of? It is made of each soul annulling itself, and all souls joining together, and their connection creates the infinite fulfillment within each and every soul. Each soul receives the fulfillments that exist in the other 599,999 souls (there are a total of 600,000 souls).

The act of equivalence in this world gives us an additional desire. Therefore, in “The Freedom,” Baal HaSulam writes that a person must seek and find a society with a better, greater, and stronger desire for spirituality, and acquire that desire through connection and the desire to connect with the friends who are in that society. The society gives us that upward push that obligates the Creator to perform the action of scrutiny, correction, and fulfillment.

Therefore it is impossible to do anything with regard to the Creator before we prepare the conditions called “society.” That is why Rabbi Shimon in The Book of Zohar and Baal HaSulam and other Kabbalists dealt so much with the matter of society.

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Question:

Answer: If you still do not understand how scrutinies are done, then proceed according to your reason, and we will see if you can construct a process that can be called clarification.

“The end of the action is in the preliminary thought.” If you are talking about inner scrutinies, decide for yourself what you need to clarify in order to cross over into spirituality. We are currently discussing how to cross the Machsom. What will happen afterward, we do not know, but that is all we are interested in right now. So how does crossing the Machsom happen, what do you think?

Comment: When you reach despair.

My Response: But I do not know if I have reached despair or not. Under what condition do I cross the Machsom? What do I need for this?

Comment: Prayer.

My Response: Do you cross the Machsom by the power of prayer, or by the power of despair? No, it is the Creator who brings you across! So start from the end! The Creator gives you strength. He does not take you by the hand, but He gives you strength within your desires, and as a result, such a transformation takes place in them such that you begin to perceive the spiritual and to live within it.
[359774]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that Oil Is Called ‘Good Deeds’ in the Work?”

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Pride is one of the four animalistic qualities of our world.

There are four types of animalistic foundations within us, which are projections of fire, water, air, and earth onto our matter. They also exist on spiritual levels.

In relation to the Creator, I have a measure of laziness, a measure of passion, a measure of pride, and so on. But this is only in relation to the Creator when I use these properties to bring myself closer to Him.

All four types of properties are then transformed into the four Behinot (phases): Hochma, Bina, Tifferet, and Malchut. And what is written about a proud person, “He and I cannot dwell in the same abode,” refers to the most pronounced form of the desire to receive.

What is pride? It is when I feel that it is my entire essence and I cannot refuse it. My “I” is more important than everything else, more important than any other person, and more important than the Creator. This is what is called the “Pharaoh” within a person. “Who is the Creator that I should obey His voice?” It is me who rules, not Him, and not anyone else.

If a person possesses this quality, and it has not yet been corrected, that is, if the Pharaoh within him has not yet returned to faith, then that person cannot be connected with the Creator and adhere to Him. How can there be equivalence of qualities? How can there be bestowal? If the Pharaoh were to use his desire to receive for the sake of bestowal, he would become the holiest of all, and the final correction would come. The Pharaoh is all of our matter, our entire nature.

At the same time that you are the greatest egoist, you may also feel like the greatest nobody, a complete zero, utterly contemptible. One does not negate the other.

The question is why am I able to perceive these things. Because if I look only at my pride and do not examine it using a principle taken from the upper world, then I will not see that pride is something protruding, something interfering, and I will not realize that it is not me, but rather some quality that has clothed itself on me.

However, if, at the same time, the upper light comes to me and illuminates me, then I acquire several discernments. First, I see that I am a proud in comparison to His qualities. Second, I see that the quality of the light is the opposite of pride. Then I have these two points of reference in my hands.

This also does not prevent me from gaining an understanding of my other qualities. One must understand that these are forms of the desire to receive that exist within me and they cannot disappear.
[359430]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/16/26, Rabash, “What Should One Do If He Was Born with Bad Qualities?”

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Question:

Answer: The most important thing is to help a person feel the importance of the group. The group must answer the questions that he raises. The problem is that we are not certain that we will find the answers to our questions within the group, in our connection with it, and therefore we tend to treat it dismissively. The group must help a person see and understand this.

The main thing is to demonstrate that the group has the answers to the questions that concern a person, that it can show him the goal, and how the group is moving toward it. Then he will feel how much he lacks it, and will become convinced that the group stands far above him.

Therefore we must strengthen the group, increase our love for the friends, and not be ashamed of it. Our group should be above everything else. It is the very best one, and we can receive everything from it.

But we should not present life in the group through rose-colored glasses. The main emphasis should be on the group’s ability to give a person spiritual life, and draw him forward toward the goal. The group itself cannot do this. The force comes from the Creator, but it passes through the group.
[359374]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/26, Rabash, “What Is ‘Do Not Slight the Blessing of a Layperson’ in the Work?”

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In the article “What ‘Israel Do the Creator’s Will’ Means in the Work,” Rabash explains that the path of the Torah is opposite to the opinion of the masses, the opinion of an ordinary person.

However, in this way one can reveal only very small pleasures within the desire to receive, only what can be received in the desire “to receive for the sake of receiving.” These are limited pleasures, called corporeal or animalistic pleasures.

They are called “corporeal” because of the intention for reception. This is how the whole world advances, it pursues these pleasures and receives rewards according to the effort invested.

But there are people who begin the true work. This means that they do not work according to desire and the pleasure corresponding to it. Rather, they make efforts to acquire a screen that separates the desire to receive from the pleasure. The screen operates according to the principle of bestowal through the desire to receive, that is, contrary to the original nature that exists in reality. On this path, everything is different.

A person who works like the rest of the world invests effort, and the more effort he makes, the more he acquires within his desire to receive. But a person who develops the desire to bestow and wishes to receive the reward within it must evaluate what he receives through the “eyes” of the desire to bestow. If he begins to develop the Kli of the desire to bestow, then he must examine himself and his progress according to the principles of bestowal.

The problem is that we are confused. On one hand, I am in the right environment, studying according to the correct method, and I am being directed to develop the Kli called the desire to bestow. Yet how much I expect to receive in that Kli, I still measure according to my original nature. As a result, it seems to me that I have nothing. Worse still, the more I study, the emptier I feel.

And this is indeed so. We build one Kli, the desire to bestow, but we measure its fulfillment by the standards of another Kli, the desire to receive. That cannot work. Therefore, one who is advancing toward spirituality, that is, toward the intention to bestow, must view it as an opportunity to bestow even more, rather than as a means of receiving greater pleasure.

Such a person reveals his own nature as evil, sees himself as increasingly egoistic, and feels that he is moving farther away from the desire to bestow. Yet he must relate to this as an ever-greater revelation of the Kli, his reward, and rejoice in it.

Until he has fully revealed the Kli of his desire to receive, until he regrets and is pained that everything he does is with the intention for self-reception, until he has examined himself and become convinced that he is incapable of correcting himself, and begins to cry out for help, asking to be given a screen, saying, “I want to become different!”, until this work has been done on the entire Kli of the desire to receive, he will not enter spirituality, will not cross the Machsom, and will not receive the light.

Therefore, the more he advances, the more he discovers his own emptiness, how weak he is and how opposite he is to spirituality. Yet he should rejoice in this, because if he examines himself through the new Kli “for the sake of bestowal,” he will see that he is constantly gaining.

He should not examine himself through the Kli “for the sake of receiving,” because advancing toward spirituality and measuring oneself according to the receiving Kelim cannot take place simultaneously. Here the work consists of making efforts to acquire the Kelim of bestowal while, at the same time, examining and measuring everything correctly, according to the Kelim of bestowal.

Therefore, there is the work of the mind and the work of the heart. There is an inner fracture, an inner duality, where a person still exists within the Kli of the desire to receive, yet must look at everything as though he were already within the Kli of bestowal. Naturally, such a state creates an inner contradiction. And this continues until he crosses the Machsom.

As Baal HaSulam writes in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” only the heroes among those whose measure of patience endured truly overcame the guards standing at the entrance and entered the King’s palace. Only by patiently revealing more and more evil, feeling ever more unpleasant states, yet seeing in them a good result, an addition to the Kelim of bestowal, does the work cease to be difficult.
[359874]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/24/26, Rabash, “What ‘Israel Do the Creator’s Will’ Means in the Work”

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The Kabbalists tell us about free choice.

Nevertheless, it seems to us that we choose for ourselves, and we must make use of this. You cannot simply take a law of a higher degree and say that there is no free choice, that nothing matters and that you live like an animal, so come what may.

But if it is  truly “come what may,” then do not breathe, do not eat, and do not do anything at all. Are you capable of that? No. Therefore you must conduct yourself according to the concept of free choice according to the degree at which you are. Previously, nothing was said to you about free choice. Now you are told that you have no other choice except the choice of environment. Live within this contradiction!

This is what is meant by “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” on the one hand, and “There is none else besides Him” on the other. If “There is none else besides Him,” then is there no free choice? But if “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” there is free choice, is there something that I do?

Use them both! The Kabbalists do not hide this from you. They are preparing you for the true free choice, which you do not yet know. It will come.

But do not be a philosopher. Do not say that now everything is already clear, that you know “There is none else besides Him,” and that is the end of it. Have you attained this? What does it mean that you know? You have not attained it; you have simply read about it. The Kabbalists are there, not you.

Therefore a person must conduct himself according to the state in which he finds himself. And if he does not make use of it, then he is not making use of his Kelim. About this it is written: “His wisdom is greater than his deeds,” and because of this he becomes a fool, for he takes some slogan that he heard somewhere, and steps outside reality. Such things do not come from wisdom.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/22/26, Rabash, “What Are ‘A Layperson’s Vessels,’ in the Work?”

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Where Do We Begin?

We begin with the question: “What is the meaning of our lives?” And the answer is: “Taste and see that the Creator is good.” Between the question and the answer lies the entire wisdom, how to get from one to the other.

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 33 “What Are Commandments that a Person Tramples with His Feet” (1986) (9.29.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 1, Part 1, Chapter 1

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Question:

Answer: When we speak about actions in spirituality, it appears as though the Kli is performing them. But does the Kli actually do anything? Actions are never performed by the Kli. We say that the light comes, the screen repels it, and then decides how much to receive and how much not to.

Imagine a biologist studying the functioning of a  cell. He adds an acid or something else to it, and the cell begins to behave in a certain way. Or something happens with a computer, and we say: “Look what it suddenly did to me!” What does “suddenly did” mean? You simply do not know how the computer is supposed to behave. Maybe it has a virus or something else, and that is why it behaves this way. But what does it mean that it “behaves”? Does it have a choice?

If you knew the whole system, you would of course not doubt how it would behave; you would know it in advance! Why is a specialist needed? Because he knows the system, and the causes of its behavior. He does not know the “character” of the computer; he simply approaches it or some system and says that here there must be such and such an input, and such and such a reaction.

Any system is a black box, and I do not care what is happening inside. But I know the inputs and outputs. Or let us say that there is some malfunction. I input something, and nothing comes out, or something comes out that should not. Then it needs repair. This is called a disease or malfunction.

That is how it is in any body—biological, mechanical, or electrical, it does not matter which. If you know its internal system precisely, its inputs and outputs, there is no difficulty in understanding how it will behave.

For example, yesterday I had a blood test. It was checked against 30 parameters, and from them I could see what in my body is in order and what not. That is, based on the system’s outputs one can determine that it is malfunctioning. But does the system itself possess any free choice regarding its behavior? Does the body choose how to behave?! No!

Therefore when we speak about all the Partzufim, worlds, and even souls, which supposedly have freedom of choice, this is not freedom of behavior, because there is a system of light, Kli (vessel), and what happens between them, and there is no mystery to it. Everything is clear beforehand; the game is fixed in advance. The input parameters are set on a higher level. Their cause is the sensation of the Creator, and that too is something predetermined from above.

Therefore we are speaking only about the attitude toward what is happening. But it turns out that the attitude too must be governed by law. So where is there any place for choice at all? This is what we do not know, and this is called “above reason.” If we investigate our actions and everything that influences us, we will not find any degree of freedom. According to logic, it cannot exist. It simply cannot!

This degree of freedom acts only in the spiritual realm. When the will to receive, situated in a particular set of circumstances, decides it wants to rise above itself, that specific intention can truly be free! Not in relation to the Creator, but in relation to the creation itself.

This is called “above reason,” and exists only in the spiritual. In our world, there is nothing of the kind. In our world, whether you will laugh in a minute or cry is the result of what is done to you. Whether you will run toward the goal or not is also set up for you. We are only in the stage of preparation for free choice.

We are gradually being taught how this is even possible in reality. But now, before the Machsom, we are all like animals. And beyond the Machsom, to the extent that the soul can create an intention for actions “above reason,” it is called “Israel.” This is already the measure of a human being, not an animal, and it is called “above reason.” This is creation.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/22/26, Rabash, “What Are ‘A Layperson’s Vessels,’ in the Work?”

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There is only one path open to us leading to the Creator.

But if you decide to go in one of the other 359 directions, paths that seem to be an alternative, then you are not free to choose. In that case, you will be tossed from side to side, through various directions and all kinds of states, so that by becoming confused, doing various things, and struggling your way out of them, you will once again come to this point of choice.

If you do not wish to make that choice, then continue revolving in the closed circle. You are given the opportunity to break out of it: if you wish, you can exit in the designated direction; if not wish, then, like the hand of a clock, you will complete another rotation until you return to the same starting point.

Later, on higher degrees, but not now, it becomes evident that free choice truly exists and consists only in choosing this one direction.

The whole of reality was created solely for the sake of this point of choice. Otherwise, if nothing depended on a person, then why would it be necessary to lead him through countless different states until the final correction.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/20/26, Rabash, “The Creator and Israel Went into Exile”

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The choice of environment is in a person’s hands.

If he has chosen a teacher, then all that remains is to elevate the teacher as much as possible in his own eyes. The only work he can do with respect to the teacher is to place himself under the teacher’s influence as much as possible.

The lower he places himself, the higher the teacher will be in his eyes. With respect to the friends, however, there are several possibilities. He can try to change them, he can try to change himself, or he can try to change his relationship with the group.

But once the group has been chosen, a person will be under the influence of the environment that he himself has chosen. The only thing he can influence is his connection with the group.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/26, Rabash, “What Is ‘Do Not Slight the Blessing of a Layperson’ in the Work?”

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Question:

Answer: You are asking: “We learn that the Creator created the evil inclination and also created the Torah; in that case, what does the creation of the Torah mean?

On the other hand, it is written that the Creator produced the light and created the darkness. Creation (Beria) means separation (“Bar“) from a level referring to darkness. If the Creator created darkness, then why is the same word used regarding the Torah—”created the Torah as a spice”?

The expression “created the Torah as a spice” implies the Torah, not in its direct meaning, but as a spice, for this is the correction contained within the desire to receive. There is light, and there is an action performed by the light inside the desire to receive. The meaning is that the light acts inside this desire, changing the desire to receive into the intention for the sake of bestowal. Then the result of the action of receiving for the sake of bestowal is such that the action itself becomes similar to the light.

Thus, the discussion is not simply about the Torah, but about its action inside the desire to receive. Therefore, the Torah is also called created, for this is something new.

Why new? Given that the light itself is pleasure, it created the desire to receive pleasure. But since the light is also a desire to bestow, it awakens a sensation of shame inside the desire to receive.

First the Creator treats me to delicacies, and subsequently, entirely unconnected to the first, shows that it is precisely He who prepared everything for me and did so for my own good. He stirs within me feelings of shame, awkwardness, and reactions of this kind. This in itself constitures creation.

I have stated many times that shame itself is a creation and the result of the action of the light. This is what is called “created the Torah as a spice,” since with its help the desire to receive undergoes correction, which is what is called “spice.”
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/14/26, Rabash, “What It Means that ‘Law and Ordinance’ Is the Name of the Creator in the Work”

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The state from which we begin the spiritual work is the attainment of the correct desire.

Why did the nations of the world not agree? The nations of the world are those desires that do not feel the presence of the Creator in relation to themselves, a presence that could lead them to aspiration and the correct intention.

From this we see that there is also an immense work of processing and refining the desires in order to bring them to the correct, genuine desires, which are called Klipot, that is, desires directed toward holiness, precisely aimed at spiritual concepts. When a person comes to such desires, he comes into contact with the quality of Israel, not yet in its corrected form, but in the form of its Achoraim (posterior side). Nevertheless, he already belongs to the quality called Israel.

Israel is one who feels himself to be uncorrected, opposite to the Creator, and from that state begins to understand that equivalence of form with the Creator must become his goal.

One who does not feel himself to be uncorrected and in need of correction is called a gentile (Goy). He has no need for the Torah, that is, for the light of correction that returns one to the source. He says, “Why do we need it?” And thus it remains until the part of creation called Israel corrects itself and receives the Torah, thereby becoming “a light for the nations.”

From Israel, the correct Hisaron (deficiency) spreads to all the other desires, because the mutual inclusion of all desires within one another is then revealed. As a result, these desires, called the nations of the world (Goyim), begin to desire that through which they can come to correction—the Torah.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/22/26, Rabash, “What Are ‘A Layperson’s Vessels,’ in the Work?”

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How Do We Reach Bestowal to the Creator?

We can reach bestowal to the Creator through the small society we build. We bestow to our friends, the friends bestow to us, and together we form a group. Just as, in the end of correction, our souls are connected on the spiritual level, so we try to connect here and truly rise to that state.

By doing so, we attract surrounding light (Ohr Makif) into this world, and in a sense compel the Creator to increase the illumination, either through our own attraction of the surrounding light or through the light coming from the Creator in another way.

However, only our yearning to reach the purpose of creation neutralizes the Creator’s seemingly negative attitude toward the world. Then, the Creator does not need to awaken the world to correction through suffering.

No amount of activity based solely on direct relations between people will help, that is, bestowal to others with no connection to Godliness. Any form of bestowal on the level where a person currently exists, if disconnected from the Creator, is ineffective. We need to engage in bestowal to others only with the intention of reaching bestowal to the Creator.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” must be connected solely to correction. In the article “The Last Generation,” Baal HaSulam explains that this is the reason for the collapse of systems like those in Russia. They took the ideal of bestowing to others and detached it from the Creator. The same occurred in kibbutzim and other cooperative societies. They separated the ideal from its spiritual root and purpose, turning bestowal into a value in and of itself. This led to those systems’ complete collapse.

In other words, bestowal to others, when disconnected from bestowal to the Creator and from the purpose of creation, is out of alignment with the true goal and ultimately leads to destruction. What is the end of correction? It is a state in which every thought, action, and breath is connected to the purpose of creation. Anything disconnected from this purpose has no true existence and is considered lifeless. However, when we reach a state where everything in our life is connected to the end of correction, nothing limits us, and we attain a form of eternal life. The wisdom of Kabbalah is the method of learning how to reach this state.

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By being in exile they [the children of Israel] will feel the need to be only in a state of bestowal, by which they will be rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator. Thus, the suffering of exile will reform them (Rabash, Article 27, 1986 “The Creator and Israel Went into Exile”).

We were created with vessels of reception, which are opposite to the Creator. Since the Creator wishes to bring us closer to Him according to the law of equivalence of form, He is revealed only to the extent that we become similar to Him. Therefore a person is called “Adam,” from the word “Edomeh,” “I shall be similar to the Creator.”

As long as a person’s desires have not yet been corrected because he has not attained the state of equivalence of form, the similarity of his qualities to the qualities of the Creator, those desires remain opposite to the Creator. Yet even one who still possesses qualities opposite to the Creator, but at the same time strives for adhesion with Him, is already called “Israel” (“Yashar-El,” straight to the Creator).

However, true “Israel” is the degree of equivalence of form. To the one who attains it, the Creator is revealed accordingly, and this signifies that they have both come out of exile together.

Just as a person comes out of exile, that is, out of his uncorrected Kelim, so too the Creator comes out of exile by revealing Himself to that person to the same extent. But insofar as a person remains in exile in certain desires, or even partially within some of them, to that same extent the Creator remains concealed from him.

The degrees of the Creator’s concealment or revelation with respect to us are called the worlds (Olamot, from the word “Alama,” concealment.) The Creator is revealed only in accordance with one’s corrected desires. This determines where on the spiritual ladder a person stands in relation to the Creator.

Altogether a person possesses 620 desires. In other words, there are 620 acts of correction that separate him from the Creator, 620 corrections that he must perform in order to correct his desires, fill them, and thereby attain adhesion with the Creator. Accordingly, a person comes out of exile and—by having acquired the desire to attain the land of Israel (Eretz Israel), as it is written—enters it, and dwells there, that is, in the place where the Creator always dwells.

In the land of Israel live the people called “Yehudim” (Jews), who are in unity (Yichud) with the Creator, a people whose desires are directed solely toward the Creator. Outside that land dwell the “nations of the world” whose desires are scattered and dispersed among every kind of craving and passion for various pleasures.

In other words, a person’s 620 desires that are directed toward himself are called the “nations of the world.” To the extent that he corrects them into desires to bestow upon the Creator, each one of them is transformed from a gentile (Goy) into a Yehudi, that is, it becomes a Ger (a convert to Judaism). In this way, each corrected desire rises to the degree of the Creator.
[359333]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/20/26, Rabash, “The Creator and Israel Went into Exile”

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In the book Pri Haham, Rabash calls the property of pride the force of destruction.

I have to suppress myself, reach a state of lowering my “I” and exalting the Creator, but I am unable to do so. Therefore, the stony heart cannot be corrected until the final correction (Gmar Tikun).

You can correct this with the additional force you receive from the group. In this case, the force of the group is something special, as if it is outside the relationship between man and the Creator.

This is an additional force that I can use as an external help. It belongs neither to “existence from absence” nor to “existence from existence,” neither to man nor the Creator, but as if to something third that exists in nature.

Since pride puts me, like Pharaoh, against the Creator, there is nothing to be done about it. It is only from the outside that I can receive additional force, which will give me the opportunity to suppress my “I” and turn to the Creator. Otherwise, Pharaoh will shout, “Who is the Creator that I should listen to Him?” No matter how many plagues are thrown at me, nothing will help.

Therefore, Rabash emphasizes that only the force of the group can help us. Baal HaSulam writes that our happy future depends on it. Without the help of the group, I stand like a wall against the Creator, unable to do anything. The Creator does not want to be the first to reveal Himself to me, because by doing so, He would suppress my “I,” and I would simply annul before Him.

Can I ask the Creator to reveal Himself to me so that my “I” is suppressed through my own efforts, and His actions are a response to my actions? This can only be achieved by getting outside help.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/15/26, Rabash, “What Is “Do Not Slight the Blessing of a Layperson” in the Work?”

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Work can only be discussed where there is a place for work.

Of course, this Kli still has no independence whatsoever, but only a need (Hisaron) for the presence of the Creator. The Creator is the whole of nature, and the Kli is its copy, the Hisaron of this nature. So what? After all, there is still no creation, because creation is something independent, something that acts outside the program of the Creator, outside His desire.

What does “outside” mean? Opposite to the Creator, opposite to Him. How can this desire, created thanks to the presence of the Creator and being His imprint in which there is absolutely no independence and which does not feel anything separate from the Creator within itself, acquire some quality that is completely independent of Him?

The question is: if from the very beginning there exists one single force, one single desire, how can another one emerge from it, completely separated from it? It would seem that there must be some connection, accompanied by control, observation, and guidance. But in that case, how can we call a creation that at a certain stage separated from the Creator a creation if initially it did not exist?

For this purpose, the Creator created a state in which two qualities simultaneously exist: His and the quality opposite to Him. From the comparison of these two qualities, creation emerged. Creation is the result of the sensation of the Creator and the absence of this sensation. The attitude toward the presence of the Creator, based on the difference between “feeling” and “not feeling” the Creator—this is creation.

Creation is called a screen, intention, and, of course, it was formed from Hisaron. But this Hisaron must be special: the lack of sensation of the Creator’s presence develops into a need to feel the Creator and comes to a desire to establish a relationship with the Creator Himself.

Here, there are three parameters: Hisaron, pleasure, and that which establishes the relationship between them. All this is called Kli, light, and the screen between them. We can speak about the existence of creation only when we have these three parameters. But if one of them is missing, then the concept of “creation” cannot exist.

Thus, everything depends on the desire directed toward the presence of the Creator, on the relationship between these two diametrically opposite entities. A person is a preparatory Kli, more precisely, not even a Kli yet, but the one who must become a Kli, a creation. And if the correct desire does not begin to form within him, that is, the desire for the presence of the Creator, then he cannot, in his work, begin to determine the intention: in what form he is ready and agree with His presence.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/22/26, Rabash, “What Are “A Layperson’s Vessels,” in the Work?”

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Quality is far more important than quantity.

One animal is equivalent to all the plants in the world. One person is equivalent to the rest of nature. This is how the difference between the degrees that are separated by an abyss is manifested.

If all the stones in the universe were gathered together, it would be impossible to grow even a single flower from them. For a flower contains life, that is, development, which does not exist in still matter.

The development of a human being, however, is completely unique and incomprehensible to the ordinary view. It would seem that each person possesses only a very small force, yet it is of an extremely high quality.

Therefore, an event such as a congress, our connection, gives tremendous strength. What are all the stars in the universe compared to a single human thought?

Today, scientists are discovering that our thoughts influence physical processes, the behavior of elementary particles in the collider. In fact, our thoughts govern all the stars, the entire vegetative and animate nature. All of this is the consequence of a person’s attitude, thoughts, and desires.

Therefore, it is said that all the parts of nature are included within the human being, and that there is nothing in nature that we need to correct except our thoughts. By doing this, we correct the entire world.

The light enters this world through the system called “Adam” (Man), for it is above everything else, and the light spreads from above downward. To the extent that this system is connected or, conversely, divided, that is, corrected or corrupted, to that extent the light passes to all the other parts: the still, vegetative, and animate, and it determines how we perceive the world.

Therefore, it is said that all of nature is included within the human being and rises and falls together with him. If I ascend and attain a greater connection with others, thereby correcting the common soul, then through me a stronger light passes to all of nature, and it too becomes connected in greater harmony.

I am the center of all this nature, and around me are the still, vegetative, and animate levels, and I determine their correction. When I complete my correction, they disappear and join me, for they are all my own parts—my reflection.
[9809]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/10/10, Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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How Is the Correction of Bestowal Carried Out in This World?

When we discuss bestowal, we do not mean that we should go and help in a hospital or in some remote place where there are unfortunate people. In this world, we should not bestow simply because the Creator made it flawed and filled it with suffering. This is an incorrect way to relate to reality. Instead, this world should be viewed as a means through which we develop our relationship with the Creator.

If we help others improve their lives, we act like social workers. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is not the spiritual goal that we ultimately need to reach. The Creator intentionally arranged things this way, deliberately creating difficulties, and we are meant to use them in order to reach Him. Only through our yearning for the Creator does true correction come to human suffering.

At times, it might seem as if our good deeds toward others can bring them benefit, but in truth, ultimately it does not help; it might even worsen their state. Attempts to externally fix another person’s life do not lead to real correction. The same applies to punishments. Placing someone in prison often results in their becoming more sophisticated in wrongdoing instead of becoming corrected. Likewise, simply providing material support, such as filling someone’s refrigerator or wallet, does not truly improve the life of the recipient of that support, nor does it bring them lasting happiness. Even winning the lottery, which many dream of, does not bring real fulfillment.

In other words, the correction of bestowal is not merely about our outward attitude toward others. Instead, it is about correcting our relationship with the Creator. Only this can truly benefit others, because the Creator influences everything in reality. Everything descends from Him. Therefore, if we want to change the state of this world, we must change what comes to us from the Creator.

This can only be done when we bestow to the Creator. To the extent that we bestow goodness toward Him, the need for the world to appear in a negative form diminishes.

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