Peace in the World

Lesson of June 24, 2004

Everything is evaluated by its appearance at a given moment, but according to its measure of development.

We should never judge a person by his present condition, but rather, by the goal to which he aspires. We do not assess anything by its form or quality, but in accordance with its development and the goal it strives to achieve.

For example, “Israel” means “One who aspires to the Creator,” “Yashar El,” and while a person may not have reached the state named “Israel” (a property of Malchut in complete similarity to Bina), he at least aspires to it. Hence, he is called by that name. Similarly, a person is not called Talmid Hacham because he has already attained the level of Hochma, but because he wants to achieve it. This generally accepted opinion is expressed in all Kabbalistic sources; hence, the Baal HaSulam writes that a person is appraised according to his aspiration.

Everything in reality, good and bad, and even the most harmful in the world (the way it seems to us at the moment) has a right to exist.

What does this mean, to have a “right to exist”? This means that we have no right to abolish or eliminate anything. Our task is merely to correct it, to return it to the Source. While examining some property, we assess it in accordance with our corrected or uncorrected properties.

It does not matter how I evaluate an object, action, or quality. The important thing is that my attitude towards it should be directed to its correction. There should be no other attitude. Therefore, we should in no way regard any human quality as negative. Rather, we must regard them as liable to correction.

The rest of the qualities and properties that manifest in nature (excluding the human ones) should not be assessed as good or bad. That is to say, good means to be similar to the Creator, while bad is a temporary dissimilarity to Him. This does not relate to nature; it has no mission to reach the equivalence of form with the Creator since nature’s state is not opposed to Him. We cannot blame predators for eating their prey, for it is their nature and not subject to correction.

It is written: “And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” This is a metaphor and the world’s nature (excluding the human one) will in no way change. It will remain as it is today. We should only regard the things that require correction as variable. The rest should be perceived as the direct will of the Creator.

A person who has this attitude towards the surrounding nature will never harm it or himself. He will never try to adjust it to his needs, but will always aspire to change himself. Nature should remain in the state in which it was initially created, as only an inner transformation of humankind, with regard to the Creator, will perfect us. Ideally, neither our lengthy development nor thousands of years of human suffering are necessary. Life could have naturally evolved while being filled with the Upper Light.

Any observation on the work of creation is enough to teach us about the greatness and perfection of its operator and creator.

By looking correctly at the surrounding world, we would see that everything is created in absolute perfection. In this way, the person who attains the Upper realm apprehends the world to the extent of his own correction. Hence, he is called “righteous”; in his corrected properties, he justifies the Creator’s actions.

The person who views the Creator’s every action as absolutely right and just is called “completely righteous” (Tzadik Gamur). “Kol Posel be Mumo Posel” (Everyone judges by his own defects) means that whatever we regard as wrong (excluding people) looks so only because of our imperfection. As a person corrects himself, he sees that all the others act correctly; he justifies their actions because he sees that the Creator exists within and acts through them.

People become independent only to the extent of their correction and equivalence to the Creator. Therefore, as long as a person remains uncorrected, the Creator acts within him automatically. When he begins correcting himself, then the degree of his correction corresponds to the degree of his equivalence to the Creator. In other words, either the Creator acts in him or he himself acts as the Creator. In any case, I can justify anyone’s actions by 100 per cent. In this fashion, I should treat the entire world except myself. I can perceive myself objectively only if I completely reveal my imperfection. That is why we should understand and be careful neither to neglect any part of creation nor say that it is superfluous or unnecessary, even if it seems to have the most unattractive and defective properties, for this disparages the Creator’s works.

Therefore, we must understand and be very careful when casting a flaw in any detail of reality, any item of creation, and say that it’s redundant and superfluous (even in its worst part, in its most defective quality) as that would be slander about its operator (and therefore about the action of the Creator).

When you speak badly about something, it means that you consider the Creator’s work as unnecessary and wrong. The negative manifestation of some action or property at any given moment is necessary for its correction. In other words, everything has its purpose, predestination, and value. Hence, it must not be neglected or destroyed.

It is common knowledge that the Creator did not complete creation when He created it. That is to say, the act of creation is a continuous, systematic, and developing process. The Creator originated desire and provided it with a program of development and correction until it achieves its final state.

While inside this system of creation, we perceive the picture of reality as it appears before us. And we can see in every corner of reality, in the general and in the particular, that it abides by laws of gradual development - from absence through the completion of its growth.

For that reason, when the fruit tastes bitter in the beginning of its growth, it is not considered to be a flaw in the fruit (if we are able to see this in its appropriate perspective), because we all know that the fruit has not yet finished its development. Hence, its intermediate stages are imperfect and may even be opposite to the final state.

At this point two views on reality become obvious:

We perceive the process as imperfect due to the unimproved state of our Kelim (vessels).
The imperfect process seems to take place beyond our control, and the common Kli goes through all of these states.

The entire creation undergoes correction from beginning to end. As an element of the creation, man goes through the same process, while observing the creation from within his unimproved properties in its relatively uncorrected and corrected states. Thus, two parallel processes of development take place:

The general creation that develops from beginning to end;
Man who also develops from beginning to end.

The same applies to the other elements of reality. If something seems bad and harmful, it only means that this element is in a transitional stage of its development.

And so it is in every aspect of reality, when some item appears bad and harmful to us, it is but a self-testimony of that item; that it is still in that transition phase - in the process of its development.

On the one hand, I can say that everything exists in its absolute, corrected state, and that man perceives creation as changing and developing only because of his imperfection. Had he been corrected, he would have seen everything in its invariable, perfect state. On the other hand, while observing creation, man sees how it changes independently of him, though he seems to remain unchanged. Thus, he perceives creation as purposely advancing toward the goal.

Therefore, we cannot decide that it is bad and it is not wise for us to cast a flaw in it (in other words, this is because of the lack of understanding of the final state).

Wisdom always presupposes the knowledge of the purpose because the final goal reflects all the intermediate states as stages essential for achieving it.

Question: How can I evaluate created beings correctly?

I cannot correctly evaluate them because my state is imperfect. I cannot even explain how creation is evaluated. However, before I complete my personal correction, I can correctly or incorrectly appraise the situation at every level only to the extent of my correction. This refers to both the qualities of what I observe and to my own qualities (when it seems to me that either all around me is uncorrected or I myself am uncorrected).

It turns out that not only the qualities, but even the world’s picture that I imagine is the consequence of my corrected or uncorrected part. Not only will I see the true picture in my corrected part, but also my ability to assess it will depend on the degree of my correction. Therefore, I can make conclusions only from the level that I have achieved.

Therefore, until I achieve my complete personal correction, my views of reality will be wrong. No philosophy will be of any help since my Kelim create this picture for me. I cannot rectify these Kelim with any reasoning. If I add something here or change something there, it will not help.

We will not be able to see reality correctly until the very end of our correction. Therefore, our perception of the world is dual: I perceive the world through myself, although it is the Creator’s actions with regard to me; or alternatively, the world exists beyond me, and that is how I should perceive it. We will not get away from it and cannot understand a different picture.

Quesstion: Is there a measurement point in this case?

A measurement point is where I am at any given moment. My state – the boundary between my corrected and uncorrected properties – is my measurement point. Out of this point, I see the world in corrected and uncorrected properties and my attitude towards it is accordingly absolute or relative.

Question: Can we say that this point is "me" today?

I always evaluate the world relative to my qualities – not only as good or bad. However, my point of view, my philosophy towards the world changes. The actual perception changes.

The weakness of "world-reformers"

This is the key to understand the weakness of world-reformers who want to correct everything that seems wrong to them throughout the generations.

How do they perceive reality? They regarded man as a machine that is not operating properly and needs mending, meaning to remove the corrupted parts and replace them with good ones. And that is the tendency of all world-reformers, to eradicate any harmful and bad in the human species.

From their point of view, correction consists in the elimination of bad properties. This approach is typical of all religions and esoteric teachings, but is utterly unacceptable in Kabbalah. The Hebrew word “Kabbalah” means reception, i.e., the person should change his properties in such a way that they will provide him with the correct mode of reception, fulfillment. In contrast to that, all other known teachings propagate regression, diminution, and the suppression of perception.

And it is true, that if the Creator had not stood against them, they would certainly have by now cleaned man entirely, living only good and useful.

It would have become quite clear how detrimental it actually is. Such experiments were carried out in the past: people tried to exterminate this or that species of ostensibly harmful animal or insect. This has led to such catastrophic consequences that populations of nearly extinct species had to be restored. This has happened to wolves in some regions of Russia, to sparrows in China, etc Everything in nature exists in a state of absolute equilibrium. Nothing else ever changes save for the proportion of man’s corrected and uncorrected properties. From this, we can make a practical conclusion that it is senseless to interfere with nature’s work. To make it serve people, all they need to do is change themselves.

But because the Creator watches over His entire creation most meticulously, not letting anyone destroy a single thing in His domain (the emphasis is on His domain) only reform it and make it useful and good, therefore all the reformers will (in the end) vanish from the face of the earth … Why? Because they will come to realize that evil – is only an indicator of what must be corrected.

Whatever we see as bad merely signals an opportunity to correct something. This is similar to the manifestation of symptoms in a sick person. When they appear, it means that the normal functioning of the body is impaired and requires an urgent treatment. Without these external symptoms, the person would have no way of knowing how sick he is. These symptoms indicate the illness. Hence, modern medicine does not treat, but mainly suppresses external symptoms.

Our attitude towards reality should be as follows: we must not change whatever is in the Creator’s power. Of all the existing things, we should choose only what He “Barah kedey la’asot” and deal exclusively with that.

The list of what we should do is given in the book “Shulchan Aruch” (“The Laid table”). We should not see it as a number of mechanical actions, but relate to their inner meaning, i.e., find a way to correct every human desire.

The Baal HaSulam writes that following man’s correction the entire world is corrected as well. The world is included in man, and only man is obliged to correct himself. Those who think that something should be corrected or destroyed beyond man will vanish from the face of the earth, all the reformers will vanish from the face of the earth, and evil inclinations – will not. They live on and count the degrees that they must still evolve through until they come to the end of their ripening.

Thus, evil indicates the disparity between the Creator and us. If people realized that, they would be grateful for the manifestation of evil, for otherwise a tremendous effort would have to be made to reveal what needs to be corrected. Negative properties will then turn into good and useful ones the way the Creator initially conceived them.

At that time, the bad attributes themselves will turn to good and useful ones, as the Creator had initially perceived them to be, like the fruit on the tree that sits and waits and counts the days and months it must still wait before the completion of its ripeness, at which time its taste and sweetness will become evident to any man. Therefore we must never destroy the bitter, but rather bring it to a state of sweetness. Maturation, correction – is what we must achieve.

Question: “However, the Creator guards every smallest part of His Creation most meticulously and doesn’t allow anybody to destroy anything of what is under His dominion”. Is there anything, which is not under his dominion (anything that is permissible to destroy)?

What do we mean by the Creator’s domain? There are inanimate, vegetative and animate levels of nature, both outside of us and within us, that automatically act in accordance with rigid, invariable laws. The gematria (numerical value) of the word “nature” equals that of the Creator’s name “Elokim,” which signifies His direct and constant influence that changes only if man changes.

That is why it is said that nature ascends and descends with man. What is characterized as “Barah kedey la’asot” (created for us to correct) pertains to our nature, to Dalet she be Dalet – the 4^th part of stage 4 that is in us, - the human level in man. It is not in the Creator’s power and here we can exercise our free will.

Freedom of will consists only in the efforts that we make in order to correct this part (our egoistical desire). It was restricted. The Creator freed this property from His control and gave man power over nature. After the Restriction and further, during the Stage Two, starting with Ein Sof (the World of Infinity) (Stage One) and ending with Ein Sof, which we reach in the end (Stage Three), all nature is under dominion of man and not under dominion of the Creator.

Question: It is written here: ”…the bad attributes themselves will turn to good and useful ones…" - and further – "like the fruit on the tree that sits and waits and counts the days and months”. It appears from this that there is no need in Kabbalah, the process of correction happens regardless of man’s efforts?

If our attitude toward what we do in this world is correct, then all of nature will automatically ascend with us. We should not correct anything on the outside. Everything will be transformed together with us: both inside – our inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels and outside, in the material and the spiritual worlds. Everything will follow the part that is under man’s power.

Hastening nature’s correction

But we must know that the above law of development, which is spread across the whole reality, guaranteed to return all evil to good and useful acts… without asking permission from the people who inhabit the land below. On the one hand, there is a law according to which everything has to go through all stages and levels that were initially created. In other words, everyone is destined to live a certain number of days and years, experience a definite amount of states and sensations. All of this is completely predetermined and does not depend on our free will.

However, the Creator placed knowledge and authority in the hands of man, and permitted man to accept the above law of development under his own authority and government (exactly in what govern?), and handed him the ability to hasten the process of development as he wishes (in accordance with his desire of reaching the goal), freely and completely independent of the boundaries of time. Acceleration of the process cardinally changes our sensations, attitude, perception, and understanding of the processes taking place in the universe.

Question: What does accelerating the process mean in relation to us?

We do not simply accelerate the process. This reality was not created just to let us escape suffering. It is even impossible to imagine that the perfect Creator could have made His creation for such a purpose.

The fact is that when a person wishes to advance, he should decide for the sake of what he does it. He has to make a Tzimtzum (restriction) on his desires. He advances not because he is pushed forward by sufferings; it is because he wants to become similar to the Creator and to reach His level. In this case, his movement towards the goal does not simply accelerate, it transcends time in its advancement towards equivalence with the Creator.

This is not the time factor; meaning that instead of spending ten incarnations, you will complete everything in just one life. It does not really matter whether we finish our work in one or thirty lifetimes. We can advance only in the desire to become like Him, in realization, in adopting His properties, His level.

Therefore, time does not accelerate, but man grows similar to the Creator and we call it the acceleration of time. Time per se does not exist, and our advancement from one degree of similarity to the Creator to another is defined as the movement of time.

Therefore, time does not accelerate, but man grows similar to the Creator and we call it the acceleration of time. Time per se does not exist, and our advancement from one degree of similarity to the Creator to another is defined as the movement of time.

This is not time, for in this world you can pass from one state to another in five minutes or five years. You may call it time, but it is not. Reduction of time is a shortening of the process of realizing the need to become similar to the Creator. Yet, we speak here about time because our language cannot express it differently.

That is to say, a person who wishes to advance independently and transcend time pays no attention to suffering. He is already above all that and sees only the result, the equivalence to the Creator, i.e., the property of bestowal, which he can acquire now. That is how we gain “time” (we use the word time in adverted commas because there is no better way to explain it).

We may sit in one place for a million years without advancing spiritually, or we may change some of our parameters with regard to the Creator and it will be considered as a period (in the spiritual dimension). In other words, spiritual time means ascending the levels of spiritual growth. Movement, as a horizontal flow of time in our world, is non-existent in the spiritual.

All stages of our spiritual growth have to rise above the level of this world, above our understanding of time, movement, and space. What we register in these three coordinates (time, movement, and space) in no way relates to the spiritual.

T

herefore, man has to free himself from the power of these three notions. Only when he is closed within his property of “the equivalence to the Creator” will the transformation of this equivalence create in him the sensation of time.

That is to say, I need to keep time according to a different clock, a different system of measurement. Our clock is a measuring device. I will register time according to my inner changes.

Question: Creator placed knowledge and authority in the hands of man. What exactly is this control? What is he allowed to do?

The Creator gave man the power to accelerate the process. You may say, if a person does not correct himself, then this path must be worthless because we do not progress, and it will go on for millions and billions of years until someone or a small group of people begins to aspire to some similarity to the Creator. But, this is not so.

The Creator gave man the power to accelerate the process of development, but not over the process itself. The process of the realization of evil in our egoism (our nature) is continuous. We exist inside uncorrected qualities, properties, desires and thoughts, and they are being constantly revealed.

The influence from above is constantly increasing and demonstrating the contrast between our state and the Light, which stimulates in us the sensation of evil and pain. This process is referred to as the path of suffering. It does not develop us, yet it compels us to do something to get rid of the sensation of evil and suffering.

In this case, we do not reduce time; we simply continue existing inside this process until pain and anguish become so unbearable that we will want to leave one state and pass to the second, third, fourth. This pushes us towards various changes, which will ultimately bring us to the realization of the fallaciousness of our development.

The path exists all the same, but it is extremely long. In essence, it is not a path, but rather an accumulation of sufferings. In any case, the realization of evil in our state and the will to become similar to the Creator pulls us up, compels us to grow spiritually at least by an inch.

We can continue existing on this new plane for another million years, until the cup of suffering fills to the brink and compels us to realize the need to ascend higher.

This ascent happens to be the only movement on the spiritual path, in spiritual time. Horizontal development is not taken into consideration at all; the notion of our earthly time does not exist in the spiritual realm.

The problem, therefore, lies in my ability to shorten this horizontal movement of accumulation of suffering as much as I can. In this way, as soon as I ascend one level, I will aspire to continue rising ever higher.

How can this be done? Quite simply: I can do it only if every moment, as a sick person, I will realize my situation as unbearable. Since my body does not feel it, I can do it only by attracting the Upper Light from above, feeling the higher spiritual state, which in comparison with my present condition will make me realize evil and feel pained by being in my current state and not at the higher level.

Suffering has not been accumulated sufficiently in the present state, but with regard to the higher states, they manifest in such a way that I am ready to ascend right away. It turns out that I have a single opportunity to rise quickly – only through the realization and sensation of the higher level, by perceiving the Creator as someone great and perfect. There is nothing else.

Hence, our only work is to enable man to imagine the Creator’s greatness while He is concealed. If He were revealed to me, I would plunge into deeper egoism instead of ascending towards Him.

In order to let a person imagine the Creator’s greatness without perceiving Him, the soul was broken into many fragments. If people can create such an environment where each individual can perceive the higher spiritual level, then he will feel the evil of his nature as regards this higher level, although it remains imperceptible. In this case, he has enough strength to continue ascending.

Consequently, it is possible to advance spiritually only to the extent of a person’s realization of evil with regard to the goodness of the higher level, which I can receive from my environment, group or the world. That is all there is to it.

We cannot grasp the higher level until we imagine it to be so attractive that we will want to become similar to it. Our “fantasies” include study, prayer, i.e., the request for revelation, help, and correction. These fantasies will not lead you astray if you are together with others who share them.

If you study the right textbooks, under good guidance in a group that follows the correct instructions, then you can be assured that you are on the right track. The rest depends solely on you.

If a point in a person’s heart (aspiration to the Goal) is activated, it means that he can complete his correction in this incarnation. A person has to believe in it and act accordingly. The rest depends on what atmosphere and group he creates for himself.

Question: What does it mean that a person starts being dependent on the result and not time and space?

A person depends only on the efforts he makes in regard to the group. His friends create such an environment for him, which draws him nearer to the higher state, although it is concealed from him.

Question: How do I examine suffering? Do I suffer because I want to escape that, which is in me, or do I genuinely wish to rise from my current level to a higher spiritual level?

There is a difference between these two states. The Baal HaSulam explains in the Book of Zohar that there is fear in this world and in the future world that urges me to free myself from suffering. At the same time, something exists above these fears; it is called the will to become similar to the Creator. This desire combines in itself egoism (Lo Lishma, for one’s self) and the aspiration to the Creator (for His sake). All of this is gradually and consistently created in a person.

All of your questions lack the notion of the Upper Light that corrects. We are told quite simply: all cogwheels are set and turning. You just need to make a small effort; the Light will do the rest.

You are trying to find out how this system works. That is no business of yours. You will not understand it anyway. Remember only one thing: the answer comes from the Upper Light. It will organize, transform, and correct everything. Unfortunately, we forget about it and take the wrong course of action instead of merely developing an aspiration to the higher level. I need nothing but this aspiration.

What is Aliyat MAN (raising MAN)? This is only an aspiration. It does not matter if I understand it or not. When a child is screaming, the mother understands. I do not have to know the entire system: it will reveal itself to me later on. I need to do what I have to do. My task is to single it out and to focus my attention only on it.

According to the words of the Baal HaSulam, our principal problem lies in that we do many unnecessary and useless things. You may do whatever you want in this world, but you have to find out what you need for your spiritual ascent.

Question: How do I leave the sensation of pain on my current level and aspire higher than it, to a higher level?

This depends exclusively on your environment, on how it will affect you; advertise the higher level as the most necessary thing for you. Everything is entirely in the hands of the group. There is nothing else.

The notion of a group includes your environment, books, Teacher as well as what you study and how you act in this world. In other words, by giving to the world and receiving from it, you build your outer and inner environment. This is what we call a society or a group. Only this can shift your focus from the desire to escape pain to the will to become similar to the Creator. The group is obliged to do it.

The group should seek ways to increase its psychological influence upon each of its members to make them prefer the property of bestowal to their present state.

Question: Must the group perceive the Upper correcting light as something absolutely necessary?

Of course, it should. MAN is the only connection between the higher and the lower levels. MAN is a request for correction. Nothing else exists. Afterwards a prayer consisting of a great number of inner actions is formulated. An entire system of interactions and contacts is formed between the higher and the lower levels. The higher level manifests its properties enabling the lower level to connect with it. However, the most elementary MAN is an unconscious request for correction. When a child is screaming an adult has to understand what it wants.

Question: What must be the ratio in a group between thoughts and words, slogans and actions and so on?

It is said: Do whatever you can. There is no ready formula.

Question: Is it possible to lower the threshold of suffering from which we start moving upwards? Then we could do it very quickly.

We can certainly diminish the threshold of suffering, if we assess this suffering as such.

Suppose I am suffering form pain. This is not the suffering that helps a person advance towards the Goal. Moving towards the Goal means that I can perceive my present as suffering with regard to the higher level (bestowal).

The higher level is altruism, bestowal. My present state is egoism, reception. If I see my condition as pain and suffering, if I prefer the higher level to my own, if I wish to change my properties, then I can generate MAN. This happens automatically. MAN emerges from within a person when he compares two properties and prefers one to the other. The higher level feels it.

I do not have to send any letters or telegrams; this desire is instantly sensed by the higher level because a point in my heart is a part of the Creator. This point in my heart is connected with the AHP of the higher level. If it feels a natural aspiration to the altruistic state, the higher level immediately responds and begins changing me.

Sometimes these changes are very small because my aspiration is insignificant and momentary, but all the same, it gets a response. We should realize that MAN is a consequence of my choice. I prefer altruism to egoism and just demand something from the higher level.

Kabala Media

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The Thin Line Between Arrogance and Confidence

The Thin Line Between Arrogance and Confidence

The Thin Line Between Arrogance and Confidence

Kabala MediaCopyright © 2003-2026 Bnei Baruch – Kabbalah L’Am Association, All rights reserved

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Copyright © 2003-2026 Bnei Baruch – Kabbalah L’Am Association, All rights reserved