Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 275

What Does “The Torah Is Sustained Only in One Who Puts Himself to Death Over It” Mean?

The meaning of this statement is that the light of the Torah, which is generally inner light, enters the spiritual Partzuf. “It is sustained in one who puts himself to death over it,” that is, one who has put to death his desire to receive in order to receive “for it,” that is, “for the Torah.” In other words, in accordance with the Torah, we have made our desire into a desire to bestow, like the light. Then the Torah is sustained within us, and we ourselves become light. This is called “death,” that is, death of the intention to receive.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 274
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 273
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 272

Question: What does it mean to look at everything with the goal in mind? What should we look for from the perspective of the goal?

Answer: The problem is that until certain concepts take shape within us, we will not understand what we are talking about. That is why Kabbalah is called the hidden wisdom. Sometimes I feel sweetness, sometimes pain, moisture, cold, trouble, or sadness.

Through my own sensations, I already acquire Reshimot, and I can understand another person when they act in a certain way, explain something to me, play music, or show me something. Based on my own experience, I understand them. But if I had never felt any of these things myself, I would never understand what they were talking about. That is the difference.

The essence of the hidden wisdom is that, first of all, we need to equip ourselves with various concepts, all kinds of impressions and sensations that do not simply exist within a person naturally. They come to a person during the period of preparation, before the Machsom, through work in the group, study, dissemination, and other activities.

We go through different states and experience inner explosions. In this way, we gradually begin to make sense of our impressions in the realm of spiritual sensations. Although this is only an approximation, it is already something resembling the beginning of a person’s spiritual development. The more of these states you experience, the better you will understand what is being discussed. Without them, it is very difficult to explain.

The fewer concepts you have, both in terms of their depth and their number, the harder it is for you to picture what is being described. Do you know how an image is formed on a screen, for example, from pixels or dots? If some of the dots are missing from your screen, if the screen is insensitive and has only two or three dots, then I can give you only two or three concepts corresponding to those dots, and you will say that you do not understand me.

Add another six hundred, six hundred thousand, six million, or a billion dots, and you will see a huge number of additional details in my picture. Then a single word will be enough to explain everything to you. One symbol can give you an understanding of the entire screen with its billions of pixels, and you will be able to construct a colorful picture, a vast, beautiful, eternal, and perfect one.

This depends not on me, but on you. That is what we are talking about: everything depends on the Kelim, while the light is in absolute rest.

Everything changes within a person, too. Sometimes there are a few pixels on your “screen,” but even so, you can grasp something. At other times, this is concealed from you. Why? An update is taking place: the previous picture is erased, and a new one is being created.

When they want to give you a new picture, that is, additional sensitivity, greater “resolution,” it is impossible to add it on top of the previous one. It is like the state of acquiring ten new Sefirot, when the entire previous picture must be erased. This is the state in which you find yourself in complete confusion, unable to understand what is happening to you.

Then a new foundation comes to you, with several new points of sensitivity, and you can see a clearer picture. But in the interval between these processes, you are completely confused.
[362852]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/8/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘Every Day They Will Be as New in Your Eyes,’ in the Work?”

Related Material:
Perceiving from the Outside In
Explore Your Feelings
Delving Into Spiritual Feelings

Question: After entering into a covenant, can a desire arise to break it?

Answer: No, after a covenant has been established, such a desire cannot arise. This state is preserved forever. In the spiritual world, every state remains forever; the Creator safeguards it. The upper light is already present at that degree and gives it life. It can never become less than this.

There is an expression: “In holiness, one ascends but never descends.” It may seem to you that you have violated the covenant, but this is only how things appear as a result of your descent before ascending to the next degree. In other words, you fall more deeply into the left line than you did at the previous degree. But this is not considered a violation of the covenant.
[362825]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/26, Rabash, “What Is Making a Covenant in the Work”

Related Material:
How Can We Obligate the Creator to Preserve Our Union?
On Every Degree—A New Union
In a Second, or in a Hundred Years…

Question: How can one avoid sinking into asceticism or reclusive behavior on the path toward bestowal for the sake of bestowal?

Answer: We will not fall into all of this, and we will not confuse our path with reclusiveness, various fasts and diets (which are mistakenly believed to be connected with Kabbalah), wearing white clothes, and other such things.

After all, we are speaking not even about our sensory organs nor about the electrochemical reactions and processes taking place in our brain. Behind all of this stands a desire! We do not know at all what it is. It is a spiritual object. There is a certain transition from electrochemical processes to the desire to the sensation within this desire. One might wonder, what connection is there between the soul, the desire, and the body?

But the more we talk about these things, the more we feel how abstract they are and how unrelated they are to the body. You ask: how can one avoid falling into asceticism on the path toward attaining faith, toward the ability to bestow for the sake of bestowal, that is, avoid beginning to restrict oneself in food, drink, and so on? But these things are simply unrelated! Eat a double portion, drink as much as you like, sleep, this has nothing whatsoever to do with acquiring the intention to bestow for the sake of bestowal.

There are people who, by nature, need to eat much more than others (incidentally, Kabbalists consume a great deal of food!). Does this mean that someone who eats less is more righteous? By what do you measure righteousness? By the amount of food eaten? Suppose a person goes on a diet because his doctors advised him to, and he himself also believes it is the right thing to do. Do his properties become better?

This is a very common mistake. Many people believe that there are certain external actions connected with the body that can “purify” the body, make it more “righteous” and pure, and kill the desire to receive. This does not happen!

Through external actions, you can improve or worsen the condition of the body, but with the desire to receive, everything is completely different. Through such actions, you can make, if one may put it this way, “corrections” to the desire to receive only at the animate level, through habit. For example, I train myself not to consume sugar because I have diabetes. I train myself to such an extent that I no longer perceive sweetness! If I eat something sweet, it is unpleasant to me—the habit becomes second nature.

But does this make me more righteous? Of course not. After all, I have not stopped enjoying. By not putting sweets in my mouth, in accordance with my new habit, I do not even feel that I am depriving myself of anything. Moreover, since I do not eat sweets and know that by doing so I am not harming myself, I feel that I am gaining, that I am receiving more. What kind of correction is that?

If I now persuade myself that it is worth studying the wisdom of Kabbalah because through it I will become healthier, learn the future, change my fate, find the meaning of life, and attain goodness what am I thinking about: a loss or a gain? Of course, a gain.

Then all I have to do is convince my desire to receive to do this by means of the group’s opinion, various proofs, and my inner reaction to people who have already attained something and raise the future world in my eyes. Then I will rush toward this goal like a thief who runs ahead of everyone else and shouts, “Stop the thief!”

That is why this is not correction. In this way, we advance toward correcting the desire to receive, while the correction itself is performed upon us automatically, without our participation, through the light that reforms.

It is as though I move forward with the desire to receive and attract the light, which changes me into my opposite.

Therefore, we are speaking about a single system that can turn a person into the opposite of what he was before, because it attracts the light that reforms, which transforms the first of the four phases of direct light into the second, its opposite. Only the light can do this; I am powerless here. I need only to bring about the arrival of the light to me, and that is all.
[362714]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/12/26, Rabash, “His Law He Contemplates”

Related Material:
Don’t Suppress, Develop
Kabbalists Are Not Ascetics
A Kabbalist Can Stop A War

When studying Kabbalah, a person often forgets that he must examine himself, and he can examine himself only with the help of the light of the Creator. He forgets that all his desires at every moment, until they are corrected, are determined not by him but by the Creator or his own egoism.

The only way to change this is not by his own willpower to search for something somewhere, but through the surrounding environment, through the group that will help him reassess his values, elevate the goal, and exalt the Creator.

There is nothing in a person except the initial point of Bina. Therefore, he must look for everything else outside himself: either from the group or from the Creator. This anti-egoistic, unnatural state for us is the greatest obstacle on our path. We are always blaming ourselves, looking for the reason inside us, hoping to find some resources and strength inside us. In fact, all of this is outside of us.

And turning to something external is extremely against egoism, which is why it is very difficult for us to remember this and control ourselves.

I forget about this and begin to imagine myself as supposedly the source of strength, capabilities, and thoughts. I begin to blame myself. “Why am I not like that?” But I cannot be any different. I should blame myself not for that but for forgetting about the external sources of my good thoughts and strength with the help of which I can move forward and realize these thoughts.

But what can I do if I forget? The group should remind me of everything. It should appear to me as a repository of methodology, a repository of my good thoughts, directions, a reserve, a memory that will always support me. Friends should remind me where I am, what I am, and in which direction I should move. They should awaken me, constantly give me strength.

Why? Because I have invested all of this in them in advance. I have agreed with them that we will have such mutual guarantee. Therefore, each of us is now thinking about how to return this most important information to others, and through them, as a result, to ourselves; otherwise, we will completely fall off our spiritual path.

Begin to accept this specific society surrounding us, created by us artificially, deliberately, as your mind, as your memory, as your guide, your instructor, parent, educator, doctor, whatever you like. We should develop a feeling that we are completely dependent on our group.

Consciously or not, we all draw nourishment from the group. Therefore, the understanding that everything necessary is outside of me; all my memory, all my strength are in the group and not in me is, in fact, a true understanding of what exists on our path, and it greatly helps to correctly attune to connection, to a certain style of relating to the environment, to the group.
[362136]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson for the holiday of Sukkot, 9/28/26

Related Material:
In the Right Environment
A Person Is Sustained By The Environment
The Power Of Environment

Question: What is the most correct prayer for me? My intention is to obtain a Hisaron. In other words, is an intention that comes from the most hidden, pure place within me a true prayer? Or should I clothe it in certain words?

Answer: Should prayer be expressed in words? The Creator does not see bodies. So what words are you talking about when you say you need them in prayer? Perhaps by words you mean an analysis of desires and intentions. But what are words?

There are no words in spirituality. Spirituality is a naked feeling, without any clothing. It consists of sensations and inner definitions that have no words. You can attach any names or numbers to them. The main thing is that others accept these names as well if you wish to communicate with them.

In relation to the Creator, you must attain a certain combination of concepts, feelings, thoughts, and intentions. There are no words here. You can call it “Reshimo X de Hitlabshut” and “Reshimo Y de Aviut.” That is all that defines the Reshimo.

We call this, for example, “NRN of the righteous,” the lights of the righteous. It does not matter; these are only names. Within them are inner sensations.

Comment: Every time I try to find the words, I find it amusing: why is this necessary?! The intention will reach its destination anyway.

My Response: Correct. Prayer is a sensation in the heart. Here, the heart does not mean our biological heart but all of a person’s desires. If within all these desires there is a certain overall, correct feeling directed toward the Creator, that is what is called prayer. “Directed toward the Creator” means the desire to acquire the same qualities as His.
[360874]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/24/26, Rabash, “Who Testifies to a Person”

Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 274

What Is the Connection Between the Intention and the Goal?

The connection between intention and the goal is that first there is a clear goal, from that comes the intention, and afterward comes the action. Intention is an action. It is the establishment of the connection. How did we arrive at the intention, at the desire to find a connection with the Creator? It came from having first begun to recognize the goal.

Lesson 1

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Lesson 2

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Lesson 3

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Before one can attain the property of bestowal, they need to acquire various properties, internal definitions, and exert effort, which all take time.

It is impossible to acquire all this at once, because it must still pass through our matter so that a person develops sensitivity and starts to feel the need to acquire a desire to bestow within their own desire to receive.

The challenge is that during a state of concealment, we do not have the opportunity to speed up this process and shorten the preparation time in a clear, controlled manner. We cannot know exactly what we are doing and act in a way that is understandable to us, clearly realizing that through certain actions we can advance in one way or another. This is impossible.

Therefore, it is said: “Do everything in your power.” And it is absolutely impossible to predict the result in advance, because everything we are going through now is not some small, insignificant thing we will finally move on from to something big and real. No, until the final correction, a person will work with the same Kelim he reveals during the preparation period.

Therefore, we should not underestimate or downplay the importance of work during the preparatory stages we go through, even though it seems to us that another month, two, or a year has passed and absolutely nothing has changed. This process takes time.

Some stages move very quickly, and then there are periods when nothing seems to happen. In fact, we cannot properly evaluate or measure this to understand when we are truly advancing.

Maybe we are making great, rapid progress, but it happens so deeply that we do not feel it; that is, progress in our properties that are still so distant from us, unknown to us, that we cannot discern anything in them.

Perhaps I go through thousands of such properties every day and do not feel it. But some properties I already feel a little, and so it seems to me that everything is changing, and I am moving fast. We should not rely on our feelings here; we cannot measure this.

Rabash writes that this happens because the desire to receive should not be rewarded and shown that, in this way, it will supposedly win more, while in others it will win less. After all, by doing this, you associate yourself with phenomena that occur in the desire to receive and are not related to the Kli of faith.
[362701]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/12/26, Rabash, “His Law He Contemplates”

The wisdom of Kabbalah in itself is not some kind of secret wisdom. It always pertains to the human being, rather than something that exists independently of them. We cannot judge anything that exists outside a person; those are either an abstract form or an essence which we cannot approach. Everything we say relates to the human being.

Therefore, we do not define what the science is in the abstract, but rather we examine how it is revealed in relation to the individual. If a person is prepared, something can be revealed to them. If they are not, it is better not to reveal it, because doing so would cause harm.

You cannot reveal these things until the person has developed to a certain level. You can reveal this wisdom to a person only when he is able to grasp the true nature of reward and punishment, moving beyond animalistic definitions, and become ready to perceive new concepts. Then they will come to see that what appears to us to be true in this world is not entirely correct from the perspective of eternity.

A person who is not ready may understand all of this completely incorrectly. For example, he might think: “Oh, so everything has been prepared in advance, everything is guaranteed, everything is already signed and settled. That means there is actually neither reward nor punishment, no coincidences, and no free choice at all. In that case, I might as well close my eyes and wait for the end.”

People who are unable to understand this correctly will misunderstand what you reveal to them. It is not that they are forbidden to know too much because they might abandon their spiritual work or fail to do what is required of them. No!

They will fail to do what is necessary because they do not yet possess the appropriate understanding. And more importantly, their souls are not yet ready to digest the true definitions of reality. After all, it is precisely these true definitions that lead to the conclusion that you must work, invest yourself, and move forward through faith above reason.

But if an undeveloped person, who exists at the inanimate level, hears from the outside what we are discussing now, he might say: “So nothing has any meaning at all. The Creator knows everything from beginning to end, while I am simply being deceived somehow. So, what do they want from me?” He will shut everything out and leave.

That is precisely why there was an instruction not to reveal this wisdom to everyone, and why everything remained concealed until our time. Today, however, people have developed enough to hear it without being harmed. Therefore, there is no need to conceal Kabbalah any longer.
[360929]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/26, Rabash, “When a Person Knows What Is Fear of the Creator”

Working above reason and below reason, following the path of faith and the path of reason, these things are not very easy to understand. This is because a person who is still preparing to cross the Machsom and begin the true work, the work of the Creator, does not yet perceive these concepts clearly enough.

A person does not yet have a sense of the bestower, the higher degree, and therefore, does not clearly distinguish between the concepts of faith and reason. He does not understand that reason means receiving in the mind and heart, receiving into one’s Kelim (vessels), whereas faith means the presence of the upper one in the vessel. Moreover, faith can exist only above reason, and only when it stems from love and awe.

However, during the period of preparation, there are sometimes cases when this distinction—above, within, and below reason—manifests itself as branch and root. Then we begin to understand that spiritual definitions are somewhat different from corporeal concepts.

For example, we do not understand why the action performed by Adam HaRishon (the first man) is called a “sin.” Before learning about this, we thought that he had the opportunity to avoid it and act differently. We assumed that it had been committed intentionally, and only because of that it was called a sin.

But as we study the sources, we understand that everything had been prepared in advance, and that if he had not done it, there would have been no possibility of achieving the necessary correction.

In other words, the action itself had been predetermined in the thought of creation even before Adam HaRishon was born. If so, how can we say that he sinned? When we say that Adam HaRishon sinned, we do not quite understand what we are talking about.

Baal HaSulam and Rabash explained that a “sin,” when a person supposedly sins, is not actually a sin, and the person is not to blame for having performed that action. Rather, things are arranged for him from above in such a way because he is meant to be brought down to a certain degree from which he must begin his correction.

Thus, what appears to us to be a sin is not a sin but a punishment, not because the person has previously done something wrong. When you are brought down to a certain degree, we call it a punishment, whereas in spirituality it is called a sin.

We learn that every time a person ascends, acquires a higher degree, and reaches the completion of his current degree, he receives the next degree in darkness. “The day is Yours, and Yours also the night.” In other words, he begins to fall once again, receives an additional measure of the desire to receive, and begins to overcome it and work from within the darkness.

We do not understand that a bad state—when I am distant from holiness, do not want spirituality, feel despair and weakness, and no longer sense a connection with spirituality—is not a sin or a punishment. On the contrary, it is a reward. This is because a person is being given new Kelim, new desires that he can withstand and thereby attain a new degree.

Sin, punishment, and reward are very unstable concepts that do not correspond to the meanings we are accustomed to in this world.
Because Adam HaRishon fell into self-love, a “sin” occurred, which in Kabbalah is called a punishment. And the punishment itself is his going through various difficult states in which he suffers and makes tremendous efforts.

But this is no longer a punishment; it is his correction. In other words, we evaluate these states according to how they feel to us rather than in relation to the goal. That is why it seems to us that the terrible state a person finds himself in comes as a punishment. But in reality, these are corrections.

Therefore, when we begin to experience these states, we must approach them from a spiritual perspective, in terms of the goal. If we transfer all these concepts from the realm of our animalistic perceptions into the realm of spiritual concepts connected with the goal, considering how things appear in relation to the Creator, we will see that they take on an entirely different picture and look completely different from how they appear in our world.

Each definition shifts from its place and exchanges places with another concept. Then, instead of punishment, we see reward; instead of reward, we see preliminary preparation that does not depend on the person at all; instead of sin, we see the beginning of a new, predetermined state, and so on.
[360878]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/26, Rabash, “When a Person Knows What Is Fear of the Creator”

Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 273

Where Is the Action in Relation to the Intention? Is It a Result of the Intention?

An action is not a result of an intention. An action needs to come after the intention, but it might seemingly be completely unrelated to the intention. However, if not for the intention, we would not perform any action in life. That is very good, and is called performing a restriction (Tzimtzum), detaching ourselves from everything, finding a connection with the Creator, and afterward acting from within that connection. This is how we truly work. This is what we learn from the study.

Question: I don’t understand: If something is impossible to achieve, then why is it forbidden?

Answer: The impossibility of something does not yet guarantee that I won’t want to achieve it. A prohibition implies that you must bring yourself into line with it. “It is forbidden” is a condition under which my corrected attitude toward these Kelim or toward this state corresponds to the prohibition.

That is, I must acquire such corrections that, even if it were permitted, I would myself establish a prohibition, taking the place of the Creator in relation to this subject. And then it would mean that I have corrected myself and risen to the appropriate attitude toward these vessels.

Question: So does this mean that all these restrictions, in essence, are given from above down as an example?

Answer: All restrictions are imposed from above downward as an example of the fact that we, for our part, must comply with these restrictions even in the absence of a prohibition. And this means that I am truly corrected. The Creator, who has no limits, imposes a restriction on Himself and contracts Himself. Despite the fact that this is very, very difficult for holiness, He still does it in order to allow me to achieve the same state.

And if I want to establish a relationship with the level on which He stands, I must also reduce my desire to receive, just as He reduces His holiness and light.

That is, I must reduce the Kli so that, relative to this stage, I act in the same way as the Creator, even if He does not exist. I came to the conclusion that this state is the most perfect. Thus, it is determined that at this stage I am in the stage of infinity; after all, every stage is perfection.

According to my Kelim, this refers to the revelation of Infinity to me, a part of the final state. However, how can I know which part it is? For me, this is perfection. And therefore, every stage, every state in the spiritual realm is perfect.
[360526]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,’ in the Work?”

Question: Where does the clarification of the concept of bestowal take place? Is it within the ego itself?

Answer: Of course. Within egoism we begin to sense that there is some other part in our heart, a point in the heart, that gradually expands and seeks to understand how it differs from the heart itself.

It wants to separate from the heart and see itself as something that does not belong to the heart. This gives rise to our our aspiration to clarify the concept of bestowal.

If this aspiration did not exist, that is, if the point in the heart had not slightly expanded, turning from a point into a small sphere, we would not feel any property in it, and therefore would not receive the corresponding illumination of the surrounding light, would not feel the difference between it and the heart, and we would have no urge to investigate it. It is precisely because we begin to investigate it that this question arises.

Moreover, to investigate it, or the Creator, or one’s neighbor is one and the same thing. For outside this point there is neither the Creator nor one’s neighbor. It is simply that two polar concepts are now forming within me: the heart and the point in the heart. Between them, I am, in essence, clarifying my “I,” which is located in the middle, as the future middle line. And if so, then I should already call my point in the heart by the name “bestowal.” Later, it will gradually become my right line.
[361591]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/11/26, Rabash, Note 884 “The Rosh Hashanah Prayer”

Question: Intention exists beyond the Machsom. Do we have any branch of intention here?

Answer: The intention for bestowal begins beyond the Machsom. Here, we undergo preparation. Therefore, the entire period, which may last many years, is called the time of preparation, a preparation for intention.

The fact that you begin to think about how you relate to the Creator is the beginning of a correct intention. Whether it is correct or incorrect does not matter. An incorrect intention is called Lo Lishma, for oneself, while a correct intention is Lishma, for the Creator.
[362861]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/8/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘Every Day They Will Be as New in Your Eyes,’ in the Work?”

Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 272

Why Is Intention Key?

Intention determines the quality of the action. However, intention without action, RABASH says, is like an angel and not a person. An intention without action leads to no change, improvement, or progress. What is an intention? It is when we have found the connection with the Creator in our heart and have brought the Creator into our heart. That is called “carrying out the intention.” What comes next? If we do not receive disturbances to this, we will not strengthen the intention, and then we will not progress toward the Creator so that He fills our entire heart and not only the innermost point.

What should we do? Once we bring the Creator into our heart, we must face life (work, family, friends, the study, and various matters) and deal with it together with this point. The point proceeds to receive disturbances, and if we overcome them, if we deal with these disturbances while still maintaining that same point of connection with the Creator, then the point grows into ten Sefirot. The growth of the point is considered us performing an action.

This is called intention and action, and we learn about it in a spiritual Partzuf. First there is the Rosh (head), where we connect with the Creator, scrutinize how much we can receive, bestow, and so on, and afterward comes the action, where we also add other desires to this and examine how we can work with them. All of these become ten Sefirot, a Partzuf.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 271
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 270
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 269

We see the extent to which a person is dependent on society in everything that society defines. Therefore, our choice lies in finding a suitable environment. I must not be satisfied with just any environment.

In one of his letters, Rabash gives the example of a tailor who finds himself among tailors who are not particularly skilled. If you want to become a true professional, you must be among the best craftsmen.

Suppose you have sewn some item of clothing. If you have done it well, they will tell you so; if you have done it poorly, they will explain in the finest detail what is wrong. In other words, they respect work done perfectly. Among such people, you too will become a specialist and will not tolerate any shortcomings. Everything depends on the environment.

Therefore, if you want to become a skilled craftsman, you need a society that demands precisely this in every respect, and then it will not be difficult for you. All our difficulties, all the problems that arise when we are incapable, lose our way, fight with one another and with our own desire to receive, are caused by the fact that we do not build the environment.

We should not feel any effort in our work if our environment is corrected accordingly, because, by my nature, I will want to do what is accepted in the group. Therefore, being concerned with one’s own spiritual advancement is nonsense, real foolishness. A person must be concerned with establishing the concept of advancement in the group to the degree he needs, and then he will realize it.

We are the direct result of all the desires, thoughts, goals, and the importance that prevail in the group. Therefore, if we are already speaking about correcting the Reshimo, this is accomplished only through working with the environment.

Here we see how correctly all these things are connected within a single topic that you are working on. You work on your attitude toward the group, which is, in essence, your attitude toward the Creator. In response, the environment influences you and awakens you once again to the same work.

In other words, you see that all the beginnings, all the forces, all the prerequisites, and everything that must be revealed at the end are contained in a single topic, and you do not need to scatter your efforts across numerous factors. You have only one factor in which you begin and complete all the work, all the efforts, all the corrections and the fulfillment of the Kelim.
[362768]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/12/26, Rabash, Notes 882 “Rosh Hashanah”

Related Material:
The Only Free Action
The Powerful Influence of the Environment
A Person Is Sustained By The Environment

Question: In what form can I give to the group when I feel that I am becoming detached from it and that I have no common denominator with it? How can I annul myself before the group?

Answer: If you feel that you have no common denominator with the group, examine yourself. Perhaps the group’s goal does not coincide with your goal, and you are in a position to make some correction. Perhaps you should turn to the group and say, “Friends, I think you are getting it wrong.”

You must shape the group: “Buy yourself a friend.” You are obligated to invest effort and build them up so that they influence you. You yourself must awaken this in the group.

Perhaps your friends are not doing the right things; perhaps everyone acts quietly rather than openly, and this does not awaken you. You do not receive a sufficient impression from it. Or perhaps you do not want to be impressed by these things at all but need to be impressed by something else.

If I want to lose weight, I join a weight-loss group. There, they motivate me through all kinds of means of influence: lectures, discussions, films, anything to ensure that I retain a sense of the importance of the idea. And we must do the same thing. For any society outside our framework, this principle is clear. At any company, in any private business, the main question is: How do we inform the whole world that our product is the most necessary and the most important?

If I produce crackers, I want the whole world to eat only my crackers, not meat or fish, only these crackers. And I want everyone to think that they need nothing else. That is, essentially, what occupies the thoughts of a factory manager. And it should be the same for us. This is called external dissemination, as well as internal dissemination within the group.
[360722]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/18/26, Rabash, “What Are “Blessing” and “Curse” in the Work?”

Related Material:
How Should I Relate to the Group?
The Common Desire Makes Us Friends
The Group: A Structure And A Connection

Question: How can we build a group that will obligate us to advance in the right direction?

Answer: We see that everything depends on the effort a person invests, not in the people he has artificially surrounded himself with, but in that with which he truly integrates.

Sometimes it helps him to choose a few people with whom it is somewhat easier for him to speak and establish a closer connection. However, as we advance and pass through various states, we begin to understand that it is wrong to close ourselves off in some small circle.

The group has no clear boundaries separating what is within it. The group is a spiritual concept, and perhaps I am not even able to see and outline for myself precisely what it consists of.

Ultimately, all the aspirations, desires, understandings, connections with the higher force, and all the joint efforts we make together constitute the concept of the group. Only one thing is missing: for the greatness of the Creator and the greatness of the goal to burn within it so strongly that they obligate everyone, and no one would have any difficulty thinking about this and living by it constantly.
[362809]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/12/26, Rabash, “Rosh Hashana”

Related Material:
The Group As A Spiritual Entity
A Group Is The Unity Of Desires
What Is A “Group?”

Question: Should we be, in a sense, completely open with one another in the group?

Answer: No, we should not reveal ourselves to one another. Everything depends on how a person internally attunes himself in relation to the group. Externally, the group should only take the qualities we want to attain and cultivate them as something most important.

Then a person who has not acquired them will feel ashamed and afraid of harming the group. He will see that he is lower than the other friends and will want to attain these qualities.

The greatness of the Creator, the greatness of the goal, aspiration toward the goal, contribution to the group, love for one’s neighbor, interest in others—if we cultivate these as the highest values, it will turn out that I will be afraid that these qualities are absent in me, because then the group will despise me.

Everything depends on how the group organizes itself and how a person attunes himself in relation to it. Moreover, he should not do this openly. The group, on the contrary, should speak about the fact that we have such a standard: the greatness of the Creator, the greatness of the group, the greatness of bestowal, the greatness of love.

A person is not obligated to reveal himself to the group: “I am bad, I am uncorrected.” He must feel this within himself, and against this background immediately give the group what it demands of him: the greatness of the goal, and so on.
[362805]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/9/26, Rabash, “Go Forth from Your Land”

Related Material:
Do Not Reveal The Secrets Of Your Heart
Changing the Generally Accepted Values in Yourself
Where Does The Real Me Begin?