When a person is truly ready to leave their present state and move on, no matter what that new state might be, provided it is not the current one, they become like a seed that has rotted in the ground, ready to lose its former shape, unwilling to take anything with it, and desires only one thing: to attain a new state at any cost, and grow. And then they enter that state.

Such a demand must accumulate within a person. This happens gradually, without unnecessary haste, calmly, and with composure, accompanied with the awareness that this is necessary and it cannot be done otherwise.

Ultimately, a person reaches a state where he understands that it is absolutely unbearable for him to continue to be with himself the way he is. Therefore it is said that he abandons his knowledge, and is awarded higher knowledge; he becomes wiser.

But this does not mean that he comprehends all the wisdoms of our world; this knowledge is of an entirely different kind. We can see from the example of genuine Kabbalists who have attained great spiritual degrees that were not necessarily so experienced or adept at navigating  all the little intricacies of our world.

They understood the true nature of our world perfectly. But the Kabbalist’s special knowledge does not extend to the the artificial constructs built upon that nature, things created in opposition to nature, or to what relates to our society with its contrived laws, that is, to everything that does not directly follow from the laws of nature. In this regard he will not be wiser than other people.

The knowledge that a Kabbalist acquires is the knowledge of a higher degree. But as to how to steal more from a bank, you will not learn that, so do not expect it. This is not merely because stealing is forbidden, but because everything devised by humans—all those laws, principles, and rules—are artificial and unnatural things.

A Kabbalist, who rises from degree to degree, acquires a higher mind. One might even say that with each step this intellect becomes increasingly removed from this world.
[357976]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/13/26, Rabash, “And the Lord Appeared to Him at the Oaks of Mamre”

One who advances by faith, by rising above reason, attains a higher reason.

In truth, a person is unable to go above reason. How can he part with his reason? For him, it is like separating the head from the body.

What does above reason mean? Reason is the self. This is the name for all the information about what I must do with my will to receive—the entire program of how I must fill it, what to do with it, and how to relate to it.

If I were to cast aside all the knowledge I have accumulated over the years within me, and retain only the most primitive instincts that even a small child has, could I possibly exist in such a case? Thus a person is not capable of wanting to free himself from his knowledge because it constitutes their very nature.

What we eventually arrive at is the recognition of evil. When I understand that everything within me—my insights, experience, understanding of how to act in different situations, what to do and how to behave, and everything that constitutes the inner me—is incorrect and flawed, then I renounce my knowledge, reason, and experience, and separate myself from them completely. I understand that all of this is evil because I realize that it cannot help me reach what I want.

What can help me pass into another state, the state in which I would like to be? I need to receive the reason from that state into which I want to enter, its knowledge. From here despair comes to me, and within me grows a demand, a prayer.
[357973]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/13/26, Rabash, “And the Lord Appeared to Him at the Oaks of Mamre”

Question: What would you call a sincere connection?

Answer: It is when you are understood. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing either. A person is left with very little of their true self in such a situation. After all, it is true that we don’t really want to open up.

Question: Yes, we are guarded, of course. So, what is a sincere connection?

Answer: I don’t know. It is when you feel at ease with a person. But with whom can you feel at ease, and consistently feel at ease?

Comment: That is also a problem.

My Response: Of course.

Question: What is a genuine connection?

Answer: A real connection is one in which you love a person and constantly want to do good for them.

Comment: You suddenly turned everything upside down. Instead of it being good for me, you say it should be good for the other person. And that is called a connection.

My Response: Yes. When I feel that I want to do good for them.

Question: If we are speaking about the upper one, about the Creator, what is a real connection?

Answer: That involves an equivalence of form. It means that I relate to the Creator in the same way that He relates to me. For that, I must change my nature, which, incidentally, is the nature He created in me. Therefore, I must ask Him to change it. That request itself is the connection.

Question: Can such a request be sincere?

Answer: Partly. Until I ask with complete sincerity.
[357570]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 6/5/26

Related Material:
We Will Understand Each Other without Words
Acquire Contact with the Creator
The Right Contact

The desire to receive is destined to be filled with the light of the world of infinity. Just as it was infinitely filled before the Tzimtzum (restriction), so too will it be filled after it, in Gmar Tikun (final correction).

This marks the fundamental difference in method of Kabbalah: we never deal with the desire itself. Instead, we acquire an intention for the sake of bestowal through the surrounding light (Ohr Makif), which brings us this intention, that is, the quality of Bina within Malchut.

All other methods cannot make use of the surrounding light because they have no connection to the spiritual source from which this light descends. Therefore, they turn directly to the desire to receive and conclude that it is the source of all evil.

From this they reason that evil must be eliminated. In other words, a person should desire as little as possible and restrict his negative qualities. But this is like cutting off a person’s hands. He may no longer be able to cause harm with them, but has anything truly been corrected?

Therefore, both the desire to receive and all the actions performed upon it remain intact. This is the fundamental difference between the method of Kabbalah and all other methods, a difference that will become increasingly apparent in the near future.

Today, various circles and clubs have sprung up around Kabbalah, each presenting its own interpretation of what the method is. Amulets, red strings, Tarot cards, and a myriad of other beliefs, there is no shortage of such things. Yet all of this serves, indirectly, to clarify what the wisdom of Kabbalah truly is, so that it may emerge as clear, pure, and authentic.

I am glad that all these things are flourishing today. It is a sign that clarification is approaching. These methods should not be suppressed. If, according to the desire to receive, there is still a need for them, if someone can find satisfaction in them and derive some fulfillment, then it means that person has not yet fully examined them. And if he has not examined them fully, he must remain with them for the time being.

That is why Kabbalah does not attack or destroy any method. Kabbalah says that each one has its place and its time, because all of them arise from the human desire to receive. People invent them, develop them, and believe that they can fulfill themselves through them. Until a person reaches recognition of evil and realizes that these methods do not truly fulfill him, he must continue along that path.

Therefore, everything has a right to exist: Chinese methods, Indian methods, and all the others. The more they are allowed to develop, the sooner their limitations will be revealed. Just as we must not suppress the desire to receive, we must not suppress any method that appears capable of satisfying that desire.

But we know that, ultimately, there is no alternative to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the method for working with the desire to receive, because that desire is the entire matter of creation. Trying to go against nature will not help us, because nature stands above us.
[357924]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/10/26, Rabash, “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

Related Material:
Kabbalah: To Build, Not To Destroy
Don’t Nullify Your Ego
Bestowal According To Kabbalah

Love disarms and deprives another person of their evil energy, and yourself as well.

Question: Why can’t we do this today? We very much want to, yet we cannot.

Answer: We are not accustomed to it. It has to become a part of our upbringing.

I had a very interesting incident in my youth. I used to tease a certain girl, and once I put my fist right up to her nose. And she kissed it. It stunned me completely! To this day I cannot forget it!

That was 65 or 70 years ago. Just imagine! And even now, when I recall it, I remember how unexpected it was for me, how utterly it disarmed me! I did not know what to do. I stood there confused, as though a bucket of filth had been poured over me! I suddenly felt who I really was.

It was terrible!

A single act like that, without words, without anything.

A terrible state!

Comment: And it remains. Listening to you tell this story now, I can see that it remains with a person for life.

My Response: Yes, it is within me. I still remember it.

Comment: It is a beautiful example! A very precise one.
[357669]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 6/8/26

Related Material:
Love Is Born Out of Hate
Love Will Cover All Our Crimes
Love above All Conflicts

Question: What is the difference between methods that suppress the desire to receive and Tzimtzum (Restriction)?

Answer: In the process of correcting the Kelim (vessels), we reach a state where we restrict the desire to receive, stop using it, and then begin to use it by receiving in order to bestow. What is the difference between restricting the desire to receive and the Eastern methods and other similar approaches that suppress this desire?

The moment a person begins to study Kabbalah, he begins to develop his desire to receive. Nowhere is it written that we must suppress it. Nowhere!

Instead of working directly against this desire, you should work on drawing closer to the Creator, so that the light will correct the desire to receive. The greater this desire becomes, the greater the light you will need in order to correct it. Thus, you attain greater lights for correcting a growing desire to receive each time. This is how you advance.

Through study and by attracting the light, you come to see that every one of your desires is essentially opposed to spirituality, opposed to the Creator, because it is directed toward self-enjoyment.

You reach a state where in order to move from an intention for your own sake to an intention for the sake of bestowal, you must stop using the desire to receive in its natural form. Then you begin to use it in a different way, for the sake of bestowal. Between these two states lies an action called Tzimtzum (Restriction).

What is Tzimtzum? I do not restrict the desire itself, because I cannot suppress it. Under the influence of the light acting upon me, I see that using it in its previous form is evil. And because I see that it is evil and opposed to the Creator, I stop using it in that way. I cease using the former type of fulfillment and move to a different method of using the desire.

The purpose of the Tzimtzum is not to destroy the desire to receive, but to stop using the old form of reception and transition to a spiritual form. My concern should be only with correction, with making the desire to receive similar to the Creator’s desire, meaning that it acquires an intention to bestow. That alone should concern me.

We should not focus on our desires themselves. We should not worry about what desires we have, even the most terrible ones, all of them come from the Creator. I must understand that their revelation within me is a sign that I am capable of correcting them. That is why the wisdom of Kabbalah is called the method of reception: It teaches us how to work with the vessels of reception.

All other methods, without exception, are based on suppressing the desire to receive, on receiving as little as possible.

Why are these methods so appealing? Because a person immediately feels that life has become easier. Look at how many people in the former Soviet Union nostalgically remember how good life supposedly was in the past.

There was nothing particularly good about it, but a person knew he had a fixed salary, a home, a job from which he would not be fired, children who would attend kindergarten and school; everything was planned. There was a sense of security about the future. Of course, I did not have much, but neither did anyone else. Everything was suppressed by the government, and “shared suffering is half a consolation.”

Even today, many people would gladly return to those times and to what they had then. Why do I need today’s freedom where everyone does whatever they want? Everywhere there is envy, arrogance, and hatred, whereas before it seemed different. The culture was different, everyone was alike, and everything was planned out.

If not for human egoism, which constantly burns and grows, such a system could perhaps be maintained. In China, it functioned even more successfully for thousands of years. But it is impossible to remain in such a state forever.
[357918]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/10/26, Rabash, “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

In our work from below upward, we should not undergo a descent, for “one is raised in holiness, and not lowered.” We merely acquire an ever-higher degree, even if at times it seems to us that we are entering a worse, lower degree in our sensations.

The fact is that our sensations are in the desire to receive, in our ego, and therefore we measure, weigh, and determine that which exists in our egoism. Thus, this sensation is not directed toward the purpose of creation.

I may be rising higher in relation to the goal of creation, yet within my egoistic vessels of reception I feel that I have nothing. If I have nothing, then it seems to me that I am farther from the purpose of creation, for the goal is that I should have everything! But this “everything” is in vessels of bestowal, whereas in the vessels of reception I have nothing.

Therefore if a person analyzes his state with intellect, he can justify the Creator. However, if he is unable to justify the Creator or control his state, he evaluates it according to his sensations—sometimes it feels good, sometimes bad.

If he determines his state according to his mood, he can be regarded neither as a righteous person nor as a sinner. He should be related to as an animal, because an animal acts solely on the basis of sensations, whereas a human being acts on the basis of intellect.

What does it mean, on the basis of intellect? It is necessary that intellect controls the sensations. Of course, a person is not a machine; he has intellect and a heart. But his correction consists in the fact that evaluation on the scale of “truth–false” is more important to him than evaluation on the scale of “sweet–bitter.”
[357370]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/1/26, Rabash, “These Are the Generations of Noah”

What is the best time in the process of spiritual work to exert effort and advance? Any time. There is no time that is not meant for this! In every state, a person has an opportunity to take a step toward the purpose of creation, toward adhesion with the Creator, toward eternity, perfection, and attainment—to bestowal. But in each state, this can be done in a different form.

There are states in which a person can do nothing but raise a prayer, yet prayer itself includes both gratitude and a request. And there are times when a person can only thank the Creator. But gratitude itself also stems from a deficiency (Hisaron), an unfulfilled desire; otherwise, to whom, for what, and about what would one be grateful?

It is impossible to turn to the Creator without two aspects being present in that appeal: a negative one and a positive one. Otherwise, there is no appeal at all! We learn that the advantage of the light is revealed from within the darkness, and that any concept can be discerned only in comparison with its opposite.

Black letters are visible against a white background, against the background of light. Thus, every Havchana (discernment or gradation in sensation) that a person feels, sees, or expresses always consists of two opposites.

Therefore, in our lives, while on the path, although we are startled each time we are flung from one state to another as if by a sling, we must nevertheless remember that within creation there is always both the nature of the created being and the nature of the Creator.

Thus, from any state I can look through the eyes of the created being or through the eyes of the Creator. Then it turns out that with respect to every phenomenon, I am seemingly capable of making different decisions. I can go above reason and decide that nothing else matters to me, or I can tell myself that I am incapable of moving from where I stand. I can justify every state, or on the contrary, I can reject it completely.

So where is the truth?

The truth is at the end.

Before we arrive at the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun), where all opposites unite, there is no truth. There is only the path and the states along it. Therefore we can never judge anything with absolute certainty, to do so would be childish.

We must always be aware that we are the sensing part of reality, and that everything that happens to us is necessary so that we may become wiser, feel more deeply, acquire experience, gather Reshimot (spiritual informational records), and continue onward with them.
[357553]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/26, Rabash, “What Are the Times of Prayer and Gratitude in the Work?”

Question: How should one work in charity below the Machsom (barrier)?

Answer: Very simply. I want to come to a state where all my actions are in no way connected with thoughts about myself.

Rabash says that this manifests in us in relation to the group. The more a person invests in the group, the more it returns to him as the acquisition of the power of charity. There is no other form of donation in this world.

It is said that charity saves one from death. This refers to charity as a spiritual action because death is reception for the sake of reception, whereas charity is the correction for the sake of bestowal that saves one from death. In Kabbalah they do not speak of life and death in the sense that is accepted on the material level. Everything is eternal; there is nothing temporary.

What is death? Death is separation from the upper one, and charity is the correction of Binah, which connects you with the upper one. Therefore it is said that charity (Tzedaka) saves one from death. If you acquire the power of charity, you enter the spiritual, and begin to live. And if you are not giving charity every second, that is, if you have no powers of bestowal, this is called death.

If it were not written that charity (Tzedaka) saves one from death, then no one would give donations. And it is good that they would not.

I must perform actions with an intention through which I merit life. Why do I need the powers of Binah, of bestowal? Baal HaSulam writes in the Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot that a person must not simply stumble upon the power of charity, the power of bestowal. I must not bestow aimlessly.

What is the purpose of creation? That I will enjoy spiritual life. Therefore at the time when I give charity, I must think that I am passing from Binah to Keter, that I receive everything for the sake of bestowal.
[357783]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/9/26, Rabash, “Man Is Rewarded with Righteousness and Peace through the Torah”

Question: Does the saying, “A judge has only what his eyes can see,” mean that we cannot attribute good things to the Creator if we do not see them?

Answer: It is said: “A judge has only what his eyes can see.” This means that a person must judge the surrounding reality as he perceives it, according to the way it is received in his Kelim (vessels of perception).

If a person is developed to only 20%, then he sees the reality around him according to that degree and cannot perceive it differently. If he wishes to see it differently, he must raise himself to a 30% level of development.

But at every stage, “one who condemns does so through his own flaw.” I always see through my own eyes, through my own Kli (vessel of perception). Therefore, it is impossible to demand that a person understand things differently. Correct him, and then, as a result of that correction, he will behave differently and understand differently.

But a person cannot simply change on his own. Such a change can come only as the result of many blows, study, and influences from the outside. There is no other way. Therefore, “a judge has only what his eyes can see” means that a person perceives reality only through what his Kli is capable of perceiving.

Question: But what if a person tries to think correctly, in a positive direction, even though his eyes do not see it that way?

Answer: If his eyes do not see it, then it is not real for him, and such a state is very unstable. It does not truly belong to him, and he will not be able to take hold of it and maintain it. Only through an inner correction that a person performs within himself can he be certain that he will preserve such a perception, because it then becomes his nature.
[357599]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/26, Rabash, “What Are the Times of Prayer and Gratitude in the Work?”

Question: It is written at the end of the Introduction to The Book of Zohar that all the troubles in the world come from those who are obligated to engage in the inner part of the Torah but instead engage in its external part. How should we relate to this?

Answer: First of all, look at yourself and see that you, too, are engaging with the external part. There is still an inner part that you have not yet attained and with which you are not yet engaged.

What benefit will I gain from looking at others and blaming them? Am I pointing a finger at someone from the Ministry of Education to the ultra-Orthodox or religious-Zionist educational systems? What will that achieve?

I can accuse anyone I want, but what good will it do? How can I act in a practical way, according to my abilities, as a part of the order, the pyramid that Baal HaSulam speaks about, so that the system functions correctly? Will blaming someone else correct either them or me? All it will give me is pride and contempt.

We have received direction from above, we have, unlike those who do not know where they are. I cannot say anything bad about them; they are like infants. But about myself I can say that if I understand something, then I am obligated to act in accordance with it one hundred percent, as much as I possibly can.
[357603]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/26, Rabash, “What Are the Times of Prayer and Gratitude in the Work?”

It is written in The Zohar (VaYera, item 17), “‘And the Lord appeared to him at the oaks of Mamre.’ He asks, ‘Why in the oaks of Mamre and not elsewhere?’ (Rabash, Article 6 “And the Lord Appeared to Him at the Oaks of Mamre”).

If a person attains a state in which he is in Elonai Mamre, that is, he soars (Mamri), rises above the material, goes above reason, and in his thoughts only the goal remains, and he dedicates his entire life only to it, gives his whole soul to it, then he is called soaring (Mamri).

When a person grows to such a state, it is said that he is like a tree in the field—like a tree in Elonai Mamre.

Then the Creator is revealed to him, as it is said: “And the Creator appeared to him in the Oaks of Mamre.” This is the state upon attaining of which a person truly reveals spirituality.
[357863]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/13/26, Rabash, “And the Lord Appeared to Him at the Oaks of Mamre”

Question: Is knowledge different from sensation?

Answer: Knowledge is defined as clear attainment in the vessels of reception. Faith above reason means that I am not going to attain in my vessels of reception; that is not my goal. The goal is to attain equivalence of form, adherence to faith above reason, above the vessels of reception.

Question: Is egoism a part of the process of correction?

Answer: The ego is not a part of the process and not the process itself; it is the force by which I build my process of correction. I can remain on the level of desiring to be in the Creator’s place, to rule instead of Him, or I can come to the understanding that I must be similar to the Creator, acquire His qualities, and then rule instead of Him. But “instead of Him” does not mean “against Him.”

Question: What should be the measure of faith above reason?

Answer: The measure of faith above reason must apply to the entirety of a person’s reason. All the vessels of reception must be covered by the vessels of bestowal, by the quality of bestowal, by Binah.

Question: What does “love the Lord your God” mean?

Answer: Attaining the state of “love the Lord your God” means that I have carried out the correction of all my knowledge and all my vessels of reception to the point where I have attained complete equivalence with the Creator. That is, by faith above reason, I have acquired vessels and am now in the state of “love the Lord your God.”

Question: What is complete faith and how can one attain it?

Answer: There is faith, and there is complete faith. What does this mean? Faith is called the quality of bestowal, which a person acquires from Binah. If one attains the small state of GE (Galgalta veEnaiym, bestowal for the sake of bestowal, this means that he has acquired the force of faith. If he can add AHP to GE, to receive for the sake of bestowal, this is called complete faith, when inside the light of Hassadim there is the light of Hochma.
[357860]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/10/26, Rabash, “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

Question: What is almsgiving (Tzedakah) in the spiritual sense? Is it the same as in the material world?

Answer: I don’t know what charity is in the material world. Twenty times a day someone knocks on my door asking for charity. Should I give? It is unpleasant and embarrassing not to give since everyone gives.

There are various calculations. A person thinks: perhaps it is worthwhile, because I will receive satisfaction from the fact that I gave. And sometimes it is done without any such calculation, simply because I received an upbringing that obligates me to act this way, and so I give. This too is a kind of calculation: If I do not act as I was educated to act, I will feel bad. In other words, it is a habit. That is what almsgiving in the material world.

In spirituality, charity is when you are able to give something that belongs to you without any payment whatsoever. That is, if you make all the possible calculations and it is clear to you that you will receive absolutely nothing from it, will you still have the strength to give? Where would that strength come from? We know that any action performed by the desire to receive requires “fuel.” And this “fuel” makes it possible to perform the action. Such is the nature of our desire to receive.

Imagine a machine that will not budge unless you insert a token. Here we are talking about a scenario where I give it absolutely nothing, and yet it can move. This is a completely imaginary thing, impossible to realize.

Yet we are told that it can be done. And the fact that you cannot receive anything in return means that the desire that performs this action truly receives nothing; otherwise, it would not be charity, but buying and selling.

I give a beggar five shekels in charity so that I will be healthy, so that I will attain the future world, so that things will go well for me, and so that I will feel satisfaction from having made a donation today. People get onto a bus and put a shekel into a charity box so that the bus will not explode.

Is that called charity? It is simply payment to the upper force so that it will protect me, as though I were saying to the Creator: “Look, I made a donation, and now, while I am riding this bus, make sure that nothing happens.” That is a contract, not a donation.

Of course, the vessels of reception receive nothing; only the vessels of bestowal receive. In other words, I must acquire a special correction called the “desire to bestow”within which I receive a return, compensation, for having given charity. And this must serve as the “fuel,” because without it I would not be able to give charity.

That is, in reality there is no action that I can perform without receiving some form of return or reward. Only compensation that enters the desire to receive is called animalistic, material, for the sake of reception, and not spiritual.

But if I am able to give and receive compensation within the desire to bestow, then it is considered that I am performing an act for the sake of bestowal, giving charity, that is, receiving nothing in return.

Nevertheless, I do receive strength a form of strength, a return, within the desire to bestow. But the “fuel” that I receive there serves the very same purpose for which I gave the charity. This “fuel” provided me with the strength to give charity.
[357774]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/9/26, Rabash, “Man Is Rewarded with Righteousness and Peace through the Torah”

Question: At the very end of Ecclesiastes, it is written: “The end of the matter, everything having been heard, fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the entire man.”

Could you explain these two principles? “Fear God.” What does that mean? For a person, fear is usually perceived as something negative.

Answer: “Fear God” means: do not let your egoism dominate and push you into all kinds of unnecessary actions. And “keep His commandments” means: follow His instructions.

Question: Which instructions?

Answer: Those instructions that apply in our world, what we see in our world. Build a normal path for yourself that you can proceed along calmly. There is no need to constantly stir everything up. Do not think that you are about to create something entirely new.

Question: Please explain that a little more. I understand not taking what belongs to others and following my own path. But what does it mean to follow my own path? How do I know what it is?

Answer: It means following what appears to you as common sense. Develop it, and with its help, you will walk correctly on the path of life.

Question: Does common sense mean normal, warm relationships with other people? That there should be love, not something excessive, but something sufficient and genuine?

Answer: Yes.

Question: So, creating such a warm circle around us, is that common sense?

Answer: That is common sense.

Question: If a person follows this approach, is that what is meant by “Fear God and keep His commandments”?

Answer: Yes.
[357461]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 5/27/26

Comment: You say that history has nothing to do with spirituality.

My Response: I was never particularly interested in history, and I absolutely hated it in school. The only aspect that eventually interested me was when I began to understand history from the perspective of the development of the human egoism, the force that determines everything. But this is not what is taught in school.

For example, human egoism drove people to invent the plow, and this enabled a person, through his own labor, to feed not only himself but another ten to twenty people as well. As a result, farms expanded, villages grew, and cities emerged. Then came the invention of the forge, the furnace, and many other things.

Each time human egoism invents something, it turns out to have a profound impact on psychology, sociology, politics, the restructuring of society, and other aspects of life.

What interests me is the interconnection of our egoistic growth in all its manifestations in culture, science, technology, human psychology, family life, urban settlements, and so on. When all of this is viewed as one unified system—why things happen this or that way, stemming from one cause or another—then it becomes truly fascinating.

You begin to see a closed picture within which there is only one changing parameter: egoism. It gives rise to an enormous variety of expressions. Suddenly, printing appears. New musical instruments replace the old ones. Medieval songs give way to new forms of music.

People begin to live differently. To listen to music, one had to go to the theater. There were no tape recorders then, and a person knew that at a specific time he had to arrive at the theater to hear his favorite aria. Then, suddenly, everything changed. This approach to history was what interested me.

Why did geographical discoveries suddenly begin to take place? Why did some countries decline while others flourished?

When you see this dynamic unfolding on completely different levels and realize that there is only one parameter driving it—egoism—it teaches you everything.

First and foremost, it teaches you that the cause lies only in the ego. Therefore, I must get hold of it, work only with it, and pay no attention to anything else. Nothing but egoism can change. It changes everything.

But who can change it? Who created it in the first place? Where did it come from?

There is a parameter called the light that created egoism. It sustains, raises, lowers, and develops egoism. Therefore, I somehow need to influence the light. When it shines more strongly, egoism grows; when it shines less, egoism subsides and fades.

How can I reach the light? I cannot reach it directly at all; it is a substance completely detached from me.

However, it is possible to influence it. There is a kind of diaphragm that opens and closes regulating how much light shines upon my egoism. And what is this diaphragm? It is a connection with others like me, bestowal, and love.

It does not matter whether you truly love them or genuinely bestow upon them. If you want to draw the influence of the light upon yourself, then try in some way—even artificially, even just a little—to come closer to such a connection with others. That is why we gather in a group where all of us ask the same question: How can we draw the influence of the light upon ourselves?

It is very simple. Let’s start coming together, talking to one another, inspiring one another, encouraging and spurring each other on toward this, and the light will begin to shine upon us more strongly. The egoism within us will start to stir. It will bring about ever greater changes, and we will begin to run, to roll forward. That is all there is to it.

If we could explain everything in this simple and beautiful way to other people, to our children, and to ourselves, then… . You see, it takes five minutes to tell the whole story.

After that, there is no problem either. Just continue attracting the upper light through ever greater unity among friends who share the same goal of drawing the influence of the light upon themselves.

For what purpose? We want to develop. We want to rise higher. We want to accelerate our process. We do not want to remain in this dreadful, slow process that simply frays our nerves. Another day passes and another while we remain in a terrible depression, in a kind of unending sleep.

That is all. Gather together, make the effort, draw upon yourselves the influence of the upper light, and move forward.

Question: And where does it all end?

Answer: Draw enough upper light, not merely to further develop your egoism further, but to transform it and make it like the light itself. Then you will cross the potential barrier and ascend to the next level, just like an electron, under the influence of a photon, jumps to a higher orbit.
[356931]
From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Kabbalah for 5 minutes” 10/11/10

When the upper governance influences us in a form that is unpleasant for us, bad from the perspective of our feelings, we do not feel spirituality and do not remember that the Creator exists. We think that this happens because pain clouds the mind, and we therefore forget that everything comes from the Creator. But this understanding is incorrect.

The fact that the Creator conceals Himself, when He seemingly does bad things to us, is not so that we will curse Him, forget about Him, and simply suffer. Why does He act this way?

He does it so that you will correct your Kelim and bring them to a state where it no longer matters whether you feel good or bad. The main thing is that He does not leave you. You will no longer be concerned with whether you feel something as sweet or bitter but only with truth and false, whether He is concealed from you or revealed, whether you feel His presence within you or not.

Then you begin to judge your state according to the presence of the Creator within you. If you feel a connection with Him, then sweet and bitter no longer matter.

Therefore, we say that the Creator never appears as one who does evil, because when He is revealed, it is impossible for you to feel bad. Even if you experience pain, it is perceived as something purposeful.
[357779]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/9/26, Rabash, “Man Is Rewarded with Righteousness and Peace through the Torah”

A human being is built of the will to receive and is essentially nothing more than a sensing cell; all intellect, knowledge, and decisions stem from what he feels.

Therefore, one can bring oneself closer to the goal only by means of ascents and descents. That is, drawing closer to the Creator happens through descents, through distancing oneself from Him.

A person is distanced from spirituality, pushed back, and shown how opposite he is to the goal; his own evil is revealed to him. We call this the recognition of evil. A person sees that he cannot do anything on his own, and is unfit for holiness. From all these sensations, a state eventually matures within him where he realizes that he has no choice, he must go above his own reason.

How does he reach such a state? Only after numerous falls, one following another, similar to the example in The Study of the Ten Sefirot of the man who strives to reach the King’s palace with all his strength while guards and sentries push him back, bar his way, and he tumbles down the mountain on which the Creator’s palace stands.

But each time that he is thrown down, he nevertheless rises and returns. He is pushed back even more forcefully, and he rises again and moves forward with patience and persistence. Ultimately through all these clashes and periods of distancing from spirituality, he builds a real desire to attain the goal within himself.

His passionate striving toward the goal is what subsequently triggers a sense of rejection. It always works this way—through opposites. From being rejected, he develops an understanding of the importance of the goal. Each thing gives birth to its opposite.

Therefore, if he does not have deep, sharp, crushing falls that bring disappointment and despair, he would not be able to truly value the goal. On the other hand, if he does not apply enough effort to come to it, even when it seems to him that just a bit more and he will attain the goal, only to fall again and again, he will not find out how far in fact he is from it.
[357866]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/13/26, Rabash, “And the Lord Appeared to Him at the Oaks of Mamre”

If you see that something in the group does not align with the goal, or does not lead to adhesion with the Creator, you should carefully analyze this situation point by point, find quotes, talk to your friends, and bring the matter before the group. If the group sees that this can lead to improvement, it will accept the suggestion.

We must clearly and logically show everyone what needs to be improved and why, and invariably link it to the need to achieve adhesion to the Creator, but in a plain, practical way.

What does practical mean? Rabash writes that abstractions can destroy the whole world. Abstraction is a form not clothed in matter. You cannot say, “You must be altruistic; whoever is not altruistic should be kicked out of the group! There is no place here for the biggest egoist!”

We must follow the path of form clothed in matter and act only in accordance with a reality that can be realized and embodied, and which defines everything for us.

It is written that just as a donkey is blindfolded and walks forward, so must you close your eyes and walk. How can you close your eyes and go? Only if the group pulls you along. Clearly, you cannot walk that way on your own. You still do not know what spiritual forces influence a person.

I know this from my own experience. There were times when I would sit at home, and Rabash would call and shout: “Come over!” But I sat there and sobbed into the phone: “I cannot come! I feel a force stopping me.”

Therefore we must determine in advance how to proceed. A person does not join a group on the condition that he accepts some of the group’s laws but not others, and signs under this condition. He enters the group and signs everything; among the points is one that authorizes him to act according to the group’s rules regarding modifying any points.
[357400]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/1/26, Rabash, “These Are the Generations of Noah”

Don’t look at others! Not at all. You have a different soul; you cannot be Like them and they cannot be like you. So pay less attention to everyone else. Would Einstein have achieved anything if he had kept looking at others? It is impossible! You should only listen to yourself. Even if I make a mistake, this is me.

Question: What if we apply it to an ordinary, everyday person?

Answer: What does ordinary mean? Everyone can be extraordinary. Let them listen to themselves, heed their own inner voice. This is what I can do, this is what I want, and this is what I believe. It is not contrary to others, but it is coming from inside of me.

I have to pull my “me” out of myself. Then you will feel very comfortable with it, even in mistakes.

Comment: I am trying to apply this to myself now, but this is not so easy!

My Response: Just close your eyes, and you are alone! But you are with yourself; you are still not running away from yourself. This is all.

Question: And should I live this way?

Answer: Yes

Question: Is this your advice?

Answer: This is my advice. Then in order to realize it you will have to create a special environment for yourself, and so on. But this is still you alone.

Comment: I am thinking about my own experience. If I feel that “this is mine,” you say I have to grasp it and that is all. Now I have felt once: “this is mine,” for sure I have felt…

My Response: This is what I am realizing.

Comment: And do I go this way? That is it! And on the way there will be squalls and waves…

My Response: It does not matter; it will make me even closer to myself.
[357096]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 4/24/26