Question: Is a state when a person receives something while in a state of descent called “punishment”? It is a state in which nothing changes. How is this to be understood?

Answer: You are asking about a state where a person does not experience an alternation between states of ascents and falls for a long time.

That fact that he does not receive descents is the punishment. “Does not sin” means that he does not receive additional parts of Adam HaRishon after the transgression.

In other words, he is not brought to a point where he can correct something. This is punishment, for he is not given bad states.

Punishment is not that he is brought into bad states, but that he is not given bad states.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/26, Rabash, “When a Person Knows What Is Fear of the Creator”

Comment: Everything we read every day sounds like the same text.

My Response: It is written, “Israel’s prayers have been exhausted,” “David’s prayers have come to an end.” There is no more strength! This stems either from great despair or from a desire for greater adhesion.

Comment: To one degree or another, it all seems the same. We talk about the same thing all the time.

My Response: You see, I have been listening to this for 25 years. I have been talking about it for 20 years, and every time I find something new. You are also being renewed. Nothing changes from the outside. You change; you discern something new. That is what we are talking about.

Otherwise, what else can we talk about when everything can be summed up in one line: “Taste and see that the Creator is good.” There is nothing more to add!
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that Oil Is Called ‘Good Deeds’ in the Work?”

What are the categories of above knowledge, within knowledge, and below knowledge? We are implanted with the desire to receive, into which we receive for ourselves. In accordance with this, as it is said, “a judge has nothing but what his eyes see.” I act according to my nature, my reason, and my knowledge.

This is called acting in accordance with knowledge. Knowledge and reason are the light of Hochma (wisdom) or some of its illumination, which spreads in the Kelim (vessels) of reception. As the light spreads into these Kelim, I receive knowledge about my state.

Moreover, from this I derive the pleasure itself and the awareness of this enjoyment. This is what is called “in the mind and in the heart.” Simple reception within the mind and in the heart is known as a person’s knowledge (Daat).

Why do they say “his knowledge”? Because this is the highest form of reception. This is man’s awareness, “the person within the person,”  where I operate according to my own Kelim and what I receive is what I have. I feel it, see it, understand it, and rely on it. This is the nature of the “stony heart,” the nature of our matter, the desire to receive.

I can be in connection with the Creator and rise above my “I,” only if I acquire the Kelim of Binah. As we study, the worlds of BYA (Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya) are parts of GE(Galgalta and Enaim) that fell into AHP (Awzen, Hotem, Peh) after the transgression. Within these broken parts of GE that fell into AHP, light can spread, but not in AHP itself, inside which they are located.

Imagine dough containing chocolate chips. Suppose the chocolate chips are the parts of GE inside the dough itself, which is called AHP. Light can spread only inside these fragments of GE, and if they are correctly organized among themselves, they collectively form the system of the worlds of BYA is built.

The worlds of BYA are GE  situated inside the mass of AHP. But these GE are connected among themselves, and not connected to the mass of AHP itself. They have protection from AHP so that it does not hinder them.

Adam HaRishon, according to his nature, is AHP; unless he receives GE within himself, he has no connection with the Creator. The Creator is perceived and light spreads only in GE. Light cannot spread in the vessels of reception.

Therefore, a person who works not that “lump of dough” known as AHP, but rather within the GE embedded within it as a result of the transgression of Adam HaRishon, is said to be working in faith above knowledge (above his own knowledge, understanding, and desire). This is because his knowledge, reason, and desires are the “dough” and not the chocolate chips within it.

Why “in faith”? Because these are parts of Binah, GE, vessels of bestowal. “Above knowledge” means that he suppresses and steps over AHP, makes a restriction upon it, and effectively transfers himself, his sensation and heart, into these GE, where he dwells. This is what is meant by working in faith above knowledge.

What can help a person in such work? Love and awe. They help him hold on to the vessels of bestowal rather than succumbing to the vessels of reception, for AHP exerts a powerful pull on him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/26, Rabash, “When a Person Knows What Is Fear of the Creator”

Question: Why should the group supply me with a good mood?

Answer: Parallel to the greatness of the Creator, you must receive an uplifted spirit from the group. Without an uplifted mood, greatness is not greatness.

One could say that where the Creator is hidden, the group must perform His function. In other words, the Creator has hidden Himself, but in His place, He has given you the group. Why? Because you cannot connect with Him except for the sake of bestowal. But with the group you can play however you wish. Yet true play can also be only for the sake of bestowal. That is, in this world, in your egoistic state, you have the opportunity to perform spiritual work.

The problem with our group is that we do not concern ourselves with building the group. One must begin with this.

If I want the group to influence me and build me, then I must ensure that it is strong, that it possess the correct intention, that it operates on the right “frequency,” that it maintains an uplifted mood, and that it embodies everything that I wish to receive from it.

For it to possess these qualities, I must provide them to it. Where can I get what I give to it? Anyone can provide this! Anyone can do it, provided it is not for oneself, but for someone else.

It is just like during a lecture. You arrive, and your students think: “What a righteous one! How corrected he is!” Why? Because you pour out upon them everything that you have read and even what you haven’t. You work on their desire to receive, and give them a level of upliftment that you do not possess yourself.

Sometimes you come depressed, but you begin to speak, and you ignite yourself. You see that when you want to give to the group, your own state does not matter.

You can uplift people, truly inspire them, with your words, even those that might not seem to come straight from the heart. A person listening to you will think that this came to him from above, directly from the prophet Elijah. You must do the same thing deliberately and intentionally with your group, so that it becomes mutual.

You cannot imagine what forces you will be able to receive! You will not be able to sleep! It will be like those first days when you encountered the idea of Kabbalah. There are such days of ascent on the holidays of Sukkot or Passover when that uplifted spirit stays with you around the clock. You will see that this is how you will live.

Whether you want it to or not, your friends will act upon you in this way. However, the problem is that they do not yet wish to influence you. They do not yet understand that this is the crucial point.

You will feel that you are living and “burning” every moment. Where does come from within you and in what form? A whole group is sitting there and working, and you are with them for hours. When you are outside looking in, you often hear that this is important, that this is something special, and you yourself “catch fire.” What else is there to stir such excitement? This is what spirituality is about. 
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/24/26, Rabash, “Who Testifies to a Person”

Question: Why do created beings remain distinct even after they have been corrected?

Answer: Every person perceives themselves, even after merging with everyone else, because each individual has a unique point of their own  that was created as “something from nothing” (Yesh Mi-Ain). Each of us exists within the Creator, within the very thought of creation, and each must attain the purpose of that thought of creation: “to delight His creations.”

The thought of creation exists within the Creator. It is His thought, not mine. I must become included in this thought once again, and each person becomes included in it in their own way. Of course, all of us are united as one. We are all one Kli (vessel), yet each person’s identity, uniqueness, and individuality stay in place.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/22/26, Rabash, “What Are ‘A Layperson’s Vessels,’ in the Work?”

Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 226

How Should We Use the Evil That We Receive from the Creator?

We use evil according to the extent that we are able to understand it. If we wish to make use of something, it means that we take that thing and turn to the Creator with it. This is what is meant by “using” it. We cannot do anything by ourselves. We can do something only if we demand it from the Creator, ask Him for it, and then the Creator carries it out. The Creator cannot act unless we ask, and we cannot obligate the Creator to do anything unless our request is genuine and well examined.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 225
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 224
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 223

Comment: We say that the surrounding lights cause all kinds of clarifications in us.

My Response: The light awakens the Kli (vessel). The light corrects the Kli. We only have to give it a reason to do so.

Comment: We say that only the light can correct me because on one hand, it will not do anything until I want it to, and on the other hand, only it can awaken this desire in me.

My Response: You can continue further, and it will be the same. These are precisely our states: ascents, descents, and all kinds of relationships. This is exactly what happens! Either the Kli or the light is revealed, either this or that. That is all! There is nothing else.

The only question is whether we need to be so clever as to know the details of the process we are going through, and if I suddenly do not know some detail of this process, then, God forbid, will I not be able to go through it? That is the question!

Does our knowledge push us to go through this process, while our lack of knowledge stops us? No! Suppose some psychologist or philosopher sits here. They might quickly grasp what we are talking about, and after just a few lessons they could explain it and juggle the terminology so skillfully, like a veritable Elijah the Prophet, that you would be spellbound.

Meanwhile, next to him might be someone who has difficulty understanding what we are talking about, and is himself so internally crude and emotionally undeveloped that he simply cannot feel what is being said in the lesson. So what?! This is completely unimportant!

Two such people can sit next to each other. One is literally Shimon from the marketplace, not Rabbi Shimon as he was. And this poor Shimon from the market can barely grasp what is written in the article, and is in some kind of fog. And the second, let us say, is a finely sensitive intellectual, who understands everything, and who easily plays with words on any subject.

There is absolutely no connection between this and their advancement because everything depends on the effort! If this crude, uneducated person gives his all, and completely devotes himself to the work, then only his efforts are counted! While that clever, refined person who grasps everything on the fly may not put in enough effort, and he does not need to. It is difficult for him to invest himself because he does not feel that there is anything here to invest in.

It is not that he is uninterested or that he feels disdain. He simply does not see the challenges or the scope for action. But in fact, everything proceeds according to the calculation of effort and nothing else.

It turns out that a philosopher with a sensitive nature is actually unhappy because he was not given sufficient Aviut (desire, need) from above, and a lot of time will pass until he begins to receive it.

If he remains steadfast in his studies, he will, of course, come to the state of Shimon from the marketplace, and begin from there. We often see this among us. This is why Kabbalah is in demand in our very materialistic, crude, egoistic generation, and not in previous generations, who felt the divine presence in everything. For them, this was clear and natural. It was very easy for them to establish a correspondence between the material and spiritual worlds.

They performed all the commandments. Do you know how to perform the commandments connected with the land? It is something frightening: some 300 to 400 commandments. And the commandments connected with the Temple? They had pure inner sensations, and therefore they did not need Kabbalah; they did not make efforts. But with us, it is the opposite.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that Oil Is Called “Good Deeds’ in the Work?”

Until the final correction, we do not touch the “stony heart.” We only build a readiness for its correction in the form of negation.

Let’s imagine that the same process occurs even before the Machsom (barrier). We build a readiness to correct the Masach (screen) over our desire to receive through a form of negation. What qualities do we need to examine so that later we will be able to receive the light of Messiah from above, the light that will pull us out of this world into the spiritual world?

Later at the final correction, we receive the light of Messiah, which pulls us from the second restriction to the first restriction. That is it! Go figure it out! What do you need? What conditions are required? It takes many years of effort to bring you to this. It is as though you are “chewing over” the same articles and letters again and again.

In my time, none of this existed. When Rabash began writing his articles, it was already 1983 – 1984. His first articles were published in 1984. Before that, there was only the book Sefer HaHakdamot (The Book of Introductions), and that was it, nothing else. Moreover, we did not study it. We studied only The Study of the Ten Sefirot. If you wanted to, you could read the introductions on your own!

The fact that we “chew over” all these texts is very beneficial for making clarifications. However, we must try to bring them into the heart, that is, to read in such a way that they touch our revealed, exposed desires. As Rabash said: “They give you medicine, a bottle of medicine. But instead of drinking it, you rub it on your leg. You did not understand what the doctor told you, and you get the corresponding result.”

We need to perceive all these things as closely as possible in relation to our desires. While we are reading and listening, we should try to connect what we are reading with what is happening inside us. Then, gradually, it penetrates the heart.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/26, Rabash, “What Does It Mean that Oil Is Called ‘Good Deeds’ in the Work?”

Question: Our task is to increase the awareness of the importance of the Creator in others. I am obliged to do this toward the friends. But what about myself?

Answer: You are obliged to increase the awareness of the importance of the Creator in others. But you cannot do this for yourself, only in relation to others.

And the friends, in turn, will do the same for you. You are not the master of your desire. We are not speaking about whether you want to, but about your performing such actions in relation to the friends, even if feigned or reluctantly, since in relation to them you are able to do this.

You might ask sharp questions concerning us and our path here, and while conducting lessons in your external group be full of enthusiasm. These are two poles, but this is possible. This is how each of us must act. I too sometimes have states that are not noticeable from the outside.

Comment: When you are in front of a group, it is easier.

My Response: Of course, in relation to others you can do anything, for here your pride and honor come into play. Your ego works; the desire to receive helps you. And so, you are told: use the desire to receive in such a form; give society your “lie” and society will give you its own, and then you react to the falsehood of society as though it were true. You will accept it as the truth.

Question: And still, is it possible to establish some laws?

Answer: It is possible. Do what you want. The main thing is—do. Let us introduce the position of a duty head of the group, and let them change every day. Throughout today’s day, you take care to determine for us the importance of the Creator, how we must think and act. Begin; today you are responsible. Try it.

In fact, this is how everyone must act, and every day.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,’ in the Work?”

Each one believes that it is impossible to be a perfect human being, so in general, he thinks that he is complete, and when he looks at his friends he sees their faults, that they are not all right.

He, on the other hand, is fine (Rabash, “What Is, ‘Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,’ in the Work?”).

Whatever we do here is still part of the corporeal world, and there is only one path by which a person rises into spirituality: love of friends. Many articles have been written and many words have been spoken about the love of friends. What, in the current state of our group, should a person focus on now as something that will actually be beneficial?

I need only one thing. Not now and not later, but always, because even a month from now nothing will have changed compared with today. The work will be the same: recognizing the greatness of the goal, the greatness of connection with the Creator, the only thing worth living for and worth paying any price for.

On Saturday, when you made a toast at the meal, you said: “There is nothing left to give to the Creator, only my soul. I have already given everything and have seen that none of it is worth anything, that it has not even reached its destination. The only thing I have left is my soul. It is mine, and I give it.”

This is the awareness that the group must instill in me. Everything begins and ends with awareness of the importance of the Creator, because our entire path is directed toward Him. If He is not important to me, I will begin to turn in every direction—through 359 of the 360 degrees, excluding that one true direction.

Only one direction leads to Him. All the other directions are my “domain of the many,” where I turn toward fulfilling my own desires, cravings, passions, and deficiencies. Therefore, if I want to leave the central point, the “stony heart,” my point in the heart, and move toward Him and attain Him, then from the very beginning I must set the goal in my sights. And I will be able to keep it in my awareness, my attention, and my focus only if it is important to me.

How can it become important to me? It can become important only if the group tells me that it is important, tells me a thousand times over, because I do not see its importance. I will never start looking for it, because how can I search for something that I do not see, do not feel, and cannot perceive?

The group must give this to me. Here are both the beginning and the end of the work. Nothing changes: one must constantly raise the importance of the Creator through all the degrees, in this world and in the future. There is nothing besides this.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,’ in the Work?”

From initially saying “there is none else besides Him,” and then striving to become similar to this through “if I am not for myself, who is for me,” when I examine and see how opposite I am to the Creator, then a demand toward Him comes to me: a prayer. But prayer does not mean that I ask or give thanks. A request and gratitude merely signifies that I have reached a definition of the true state, that I have completed the analysis of my current place. Nothing more is needed.

The moment I truly discern my state may be termed a request, a prayer, or repentance; what it is called doesn’t matter. But when I reach this final sensation, then it changes, and I do not need to say anything.

Prayer is defined as the deepest sensation in the heart. After many thoughts, clarifications, and changes, I arrive at the final decision: who I am and what I am.

Kabbalists call this a prayer—the point where I affix my seal concluding the clarification and analysis.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/17/26, Rabash, “Who Needs to Know that a Person Withstood the Test?”

Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 225

What Is New About This? After All, We Already Had a Connection with the Host Before…

No. From our side, we never had a connection with the Host, nor did we feel Him as we are destined to feel Him. This is because the final correction that the Creator created is at the Creator’s expense, not at the expense of the created being. In Kabbalah, we learn that the expansion of the Light and its departure make the vessel fit for its role. In other words, only then does a deficiency arise, and from that deficiency comes the connection between the created being and the Creator. Before that, there was no connection.

The most the Creator can do is create a desire to receive, fill it, and give it a feeling of shame, so that through all these things it will restrict itself, undergo various incarnations, and spill over to the opposite end. The Creator cannot bring it closer without this process, because then the desire does not develop and we do not draw closer to the Creator. The Creator can do everything except give us the feeling that we ourselves accomplished it. Baal HaSulam illustrates this with a short story:

Two friends meet after twenty years without seeing one another. One has become wealthy and the other has become poor. The wealthy friend takes the poor friend into his home and says, “Everything I have is yours.” They spend time together, enjoy themselves, and everything is wonderful. Indeed, the wealthy friend gives his companion every good thing wholeheartedly. He makes no calculations and is completely willing to place everything before the poor man. After a week, the poor man, who understands that his friend is giving to him exactly as he would give to himself, and even more so, without any calculations, says to him: “There is a problem here. There is only one flaw: it was not I who did this; it was you. And there is nothing you can do to change that fact. There is only one thing you can do if you truly want to do me a favor: give me the opportunity to achieve what you have on my own.” That is what the Creator does for us. When we arrive, we truly arrive at an equal level with Him.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 224
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 223
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 222

Question: What should you do if a friend does not elevate you, but humiliates you? After all, there should be mutual relations in the group. It turns out that you invest effort, and he… .

Answer: Let’s suppose that the whole group is in a certain state where it does not awaken or uplift me in any way. In such a case, it is worthwhile to take several people from the group, work only with them, and together with them set an example for everyone else. But without unnecessary words—simply set an example.

If the others want to listen, then also tell them: “We are tired of sitting in the ‘assembly of the frivolous,’ and we have decided that we want to get out of this state. If you want, join us, and if not, then don’t. We can no longer continue like this.”

A person can do this alone, or take several like-minded friends with whom it will be easier. That is all. For this, there is no need to unite into groups; this can be done freely, so that everyone has the opportunity to join.

In any case, one needs somehow to look for a way to break the existing situation. And here, I think, it is not even worth giving advice. Seek advice yourselves, and that itself will be a blessed work.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/18/26, Rabash, “What Are ‘Blessing’ and ‘Curse’ in the Work?”

Question: If the desire to receive agrees to perform work, it expects a reward for it. How can it agree to something other than what it anticipates? For in every action—in work with the group or in study—the desire to receive imagines some payment for itself; otherwise, it would not agree to work.

Answer: What kind of reward should we imagine? We cannot choose the reward. It already exists and depends on my Kli (vessel), on the state I am currently in.

What is considered a reward in spirituality? We do not know this and cannot imagine it. You might simply speak words about desiring to receive the intention for the sake of bestowal as your reward, claiming that opportunity of  bringing pleasure to the Creator will be your reward. But how can this be?

What enjoyment will I be able to receive from this? How will I be able to feel that a Kli which is outside me is being filled? We have not the slightest idea about this. We do not know how one enjoys fusion with the Creator. We truly cannot feel such actions within ourselves. Not yet…

Question: But how can one want to change the reward?

Answer: One can want to change the reward only as a result of blows. There is no other solution. But one can pass through them more quickly only if a person is able to endure them. And one can endure them if one turns them from animal sufferings into sufferings of the soul.

For animal sufferings are stretched out over a long time, and only then can you endure them. But this takes a lot of time. If you want to shorten them, you cannot remain in the same plane of animalistic sufferings.

You must rise above it and change the quality of the blows, transfer them from the animalistic realm into the realm of the spiritual. And then one “soul” blow, that is, as it were a spiritual blow, is counted for you as a thousand animalistic blows. In this way you shorten the time. That is, the blows become qualitative, not quantitative.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/17/26, Rabash, “What Are Commandments that a Person Tramples with His Feet”

Question: Is a transition to a secular worldview necessary when moving from the inanimate stage (Domem) to the vegetative stage (Tzomeach)?

Answer: No, a person does not have to go from being religious at the still level of holiness (Domem de Kedusha) to being secular, to then arrive to Kabbalah. These stages are completely unrelated to one another. There are examples: the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim. In Judaism today, there is a very deep divide.

There are many people who understand that Judaism is in a deep crisis. Unlike what existed a hundred years ago, today all the values, the entire approach, have collapsed. This is clear to many people who, without being organized into groups, study and even get together in small groups to talk about it. I hear from those who call and inquire that this is indeed happening.

There is nothing you can do about it. We are talking about creation, about development, when a person suddenly begins to feel that something is missing in his books, in his way of studying. He may even study Gemara, thinking in spiritual terms, but suddenly, whether he wants it or not, he is “led away.”

He, like us, is brought to a state where he opens a book he did not want to read before—and suddenly, what opens up before him is not a book, but an entire world. I recognize this reaction in people and hope that this is how it will continue. Baal HaSulam and all the Kabbalists of various generations emerged in precisely this way.

Question: But we are talking about individuals. Shouldn’t this become a widespread phenomenon?

Answer: These are not individuals. We are talking about tens and hundreds of people in each generation. Two or three hundred years ago, there were very large groups of people who had attained spiritual levels. Let us remember the Baal Shem Tov and Kotzk. In the time of the Baal Shem Tov, there were thousands of them. There were thousands in every generation. All these Admorim, up until the twentieth century, possessed spiritual attainment, and the books they wrote were, of course, holy books, since they were all Kabbalists.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/26, Rabash, “One Should Always Sell Everything He Has and Marry a Wise Disciple’s Daughter”

We observe a constant tendency within ourselves of attempting to bring Torah into the desire to receive. We want to achieve something, gain something, seemingly something spiritual, and we try to do it one way or another through receiving.

Since our point in the heart is still under the control of the egoistic “stony heart” (Lev Ha Even) we do not understand that spirituality and desire to receive are opposite things. Even when the point in the heart shines and shows to us some positive things about spirituality that are outside of our heart, we still do not sense that in reality this goodness is opposite to our heart and we simply want to get it as we usually do.

We do not know about the restriction (Tzimtzum) and we lack a sense the law of equivalence of form; therefore, we experience heaviness when we work to achieve what we want. We want to achieve spirituality inside the desire to receive. This is where heaviness comes from. If we understood that the basis must be the desire to bestow, it would be much easier for us.

A person constantly feels fatigue, confusion, and powerlessness. Why is this path so difficult and so unpleasant for them?

It is written in one of the articles in Shamati that even when a person understands that their annulment before the Creator is inevitable, and desires it, and even when they feel that the point in the heart is opposite to the heart, they begin to feel that the point in the heart (the desire to bestow) cannot have control over their heart without faith, without the sensation of the Creator.

This stems from the simple condition. Spirituality is defined as a situation in which “Israel” (the spiritual state the person dwells in) and the Creator are in the same point of connection, adhesion, and union. Therefore, if a person aspires to spirituality, even if it is merely a desire to bestow, yet it does not take into account to whom they want to bestow, such a state is still not perfect, it is still not spirituality.

Spirituality is the unity of the three factors: Israel, one’s state, and the Creator. Even when we reach the state where we realize that we have to be annulled, we experience heaviness because the general picture lacks the Creator.

This lack, this heaviness, comes through the reforming light that acts like a herald proclaiming that we have no other choice but to attain a sensation of the Creator, His revelation. Only in this way will we be able to somehow change the current state and emerge from it.

Then if these three points converge in my prayer where “I,” within my state, seemingly want to come to the Creator and ask Him to give me the strength to do that (strength known as the power to exit Egypt), and then He reveals Himself.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/28/26, Rabash, “What Is the Prohibition to Teach Torah to Idol-Worshippers in the Work?”

Question: We have been hearing about inspiration and importance for many years. If we put this into practice, rather than just talking about it, must we force our advancement?

Answer: We must engage the group in a game through a kind of forced, feigned “advertising.” Everyone here is obliged to play out the importance of the Creator and to lift their friend’s spirits. Do I really care, do I really want it? Yet I am obligated to do it, by force, artificially, and by pretending, rising above my feelings and understanding, rising above my reason.

From this moment on, everyone starts to play the game: the sensation of the Creator is important to us, knowing the Creator is important to us, the greatness of the Creator is important to us. We must not forget about Him or engage in empty chatter that lead away from the goal; this must become a burning topic for everyone. Apart from this, we have nothing in common. And we must do so forcibly, artificially, and by pretending, knowing full well that it is all a lie and a game.

If He is concealed, yet you have to perform actions stemming from the realization of His greatness, how do you go about it? You have no other way but to imagine His properties instead, to the best of your ability, and advance in that direction.

Comment: Everyone can justify such an approach.

My Response: So start playing! From this moment on, we begin to act.

Question: What if I am a bad actor?

Answer: If we all decide to do this, it means we are taking on the “burden of the kingdom of heaven” (Ol Malchut Shamayim). No one wants to, and yet we accept it. That is all.

There are descents and states of despair; this is understandable, but in general, everyone, as Rabash says, “take the leap.” Everyone is advancing, and a friend’s descent, along with my ascent and everything else, counts as a positive. And then time just races forward.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,’ in the Work?”

Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 224

What Is Our Addition?

Our addition is “the self.”

Question: A samurai came to a sage and asked him whether hell and heaven really exist.

“Who are you?” asked the sage.

“A samurai,” the warrior.

“You are lying,” said the sage. “You have the face of a beggar.”

The samurai drew his sword. The sage said:

“This is how the gates of hell open.”

The samurai understood and, bowing, put away his sword.

“And that is how the gates of heaven open,” said the sage.

My question is this: Is it possible not to draw the sword in response to any insult? In other words, is it possible to not to go through hell before reaching heaven?

Answer: It is very difficult. I think it is practically impossible.

Comment: So, the whole road to heaven is paved through the hell you go through. That is a serious matter.

My Response: What else can you do? This is how we were created. This is our incomparable egoism.

Question: In principle, it does not forgive anyone; it must immediately respond?

Answer: Yes. The first thought is to draw the sword, because that is how we are. There is no escaping it.

We cannot simply flip a switch so that good would govern us. Because “I created evil,” these are, in a sense, the words of the Creator. “And I created the Torah for its correction.” But initially there is evil.

Question: Why was evil created in the beginning?

Answer: It was so that a person could become aware of his nature from one extreme to the other, from evil to good. To experience both manifestations fully, and then incline toward good. Only then, will good govern the person over evil. But one cannot exist without the other.

Question: So, one way or another, we enter heaven through hell?

Answer: Of course.

Question: Then in what is the wisdom of a person? We say, “A person is wise.”

Answer: It means seeing in advance, without having to go through hell at every step, that you need to act differently. But this is acquired through very great trials and experience.

Question: So the experience of constant hell leads a person to become wiser?

Answer: Of course, like that Japanese sage.

Comment: You often speak of a person becoming resigned. You have even used the words “submission,” “annulment,” and “self-annulment.”

My Response: These are all very complex states that require a journey through hell. I do not believe that a person can overcome themselves in advance without extensive experience. It is impossible.

Question: You are talking about rising above one’s egoism. What does it mean to rise above egoism?

Answer: It means sensing egoism in all its possible manifestations in life, even in nature, and constantly rising above it. Bowing one’s head, that is, reducing one’s egoism, reducing it, belittling it, suppressing it.

Question: If one constantly performs this exercise of suppressing one’s egoism and annulling oneself, will it help?

My Answer: I do not think this exercise is even possible; it is philosophy. It is possible only through gradual training within a suitable society. There must an environment where everyone wants this. They cannot do it, but they want to.

Question: Do they feel that they cannot do it?

Answer: Of course. There must be a recognition of evil. And then, all together, facing one another and helping each other, they can crawl out of that stinking pit.

Question: Please tell me, who does the responsibility for climbing out of there actually fall on? On us?

Answer: On us! Ask, plead, think, speak, and show examples to one another, and thus act. And each one whose egoism is greater, they naturally rise higher. In general, this is the work.

Question: If this work is carried on within a society people who want to transcend their egoism, does it help others?

Answer: It helps others not merely by example. It does not even matter whether they see it or not. Because this is a force of nature, and in this way, it is added to the common equation of nature and first outweighs egoism, and then altruism.

Question: In principle, you are saying that if this group manages to rise above itself, it will begin to lift everyone else along with it?

Answer: Yes. We must act.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 6/11/23

Comment: Everything you are talking about concerns both inner and external work. On one hand, these are different things, and on the other hand, they cannot be separated.

My Response: Inner work is my private work, concerning my personal connection with the Creator. External work for the sake of society is directed outside of me, not inward but outward. These two things seem to be different.

How can they be combined? If I do not bestow anything to society, I will not be able to grow. Try sitting with books and you will see how much you deteriorate. Nothing will come of it. Stop all our external activity and you will see what will happen to us in two weeks. For ourselves, we do not need books or films.

You cannot express your desire for spirituality if you do not work in dissemination.

Question: So, essentially, we need to think about how to connect with other souls?

Answer: We do not know yet how to connect with the souls or how to facilitate truly working for them. This is still far from us; we do not yet possess the true intention for the sake of bestowal when all we think about is that others should truly feel good. There is a general task within which we take action, knowing that otherwise things will go badly. In this accessible form, we offer people a way out of the existing situation.

But later, when a person passes the barrier and establishes a connection with other souls and the Creator appears in him, their work takes on a different form: one gradually begins to relate to all souls as parts of their own soul. Thus, by including them within themself, they trigger processes of correction in them thanks to which they receive light into their Kelim. This is what is meant by a person rising upward, approaching the Creator.

Therefore, the rule “love your neighbor as yourself” is the most important. What does the rule (Klal) mean? It is the general (Klali) law through which you attain the purpose of creation.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/20/26, Rabash, “The Creator and Israel Went into Exile”