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• Bold and in quotes: Original text of Baal HaSulam

• Regular: Commentaries of Rav Laitman

• Capitalized italics: transliteration from Hebrew

I welcome all participants of the virtual lesson. Today, we continue the topic "The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah". We went over the article "The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah" up until the section "The Language of Kabbalists - the Language of Branches and Roots". Now we are trying to quickly familiarize ourselves with all the prefaces to the works of Rabash and Baal HaSulam, so that after this we can start a serious study of "The Introduction to the Wisdom of Kabbalah". The program is made for approximately a year of deep, systematic study. Now, we are going over various minor works of your leading Kabbalists, so that we develop a correct perspective on Kabbalah and its method of teaching.

The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah

The language of the Kabbalists - the language of branches.

"Meaning that the branches indicate to their roots, being their molds that necessarily exist in the upper world."

There are five parallel worlds: AK, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, Assiya, and above them - the world of Infinity. Each world consists of five Partzufim, each Partzuf is filled with its own light: Keter, Hochma, Bina, Z"A, and Malchut. In the world of A"K they are called - Galgalta, AB, SAG, MA, BON; in the world of Atzcilut they are called: Atik, AA, AVI, YESHSUT, ZON; and in the worlds of BY"A they are called the same as in the world of Atzilut: Atik, AA, AVI, YESHSUT, ZON. The lights in them also have the same names: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida.

Then how do the worlds differ from each other? The answer is that each of them has a different Aviut, a different egoistic desire. The world of A"K has Aviut Shoresh, zero, the world of Atzilut - Aviut one, Beria - two, Yetzira - three, and Assiya - four. Or, to put it in Hebrew: Shoresh, Aleph, Bet, Gimel, and Dalet. This is if we are talking about Aviut.

But if we speak about the strength of the screen, then, on the contrary, - the strenght of the screen in the world of A"K is the most powerful - the 4th, in Atzilut - the 3rd, in the world of Beria - the 2nd, in the world Yetzira - the 1st, and in the world of Assiya - zero. In Hebrew: Dalet, Gimel, Bet, Aleph, and Shoresh.

In this way, each world differs from another by its Aviut, but all the details in each of the worlds are the same, and that's why, if we say that all worlds are parallel, it means that from the world of Infinity the Upper light passes through all these worlds to us, existing below the worlds, and this light comes through all their identical parts, constructions.

"This is because there is no reality in the lower world that is not elicited from its superior. As with the seal and the imprint, the root in the upper world compels its branch in the lower one to reveal its entire form and feature."

Everything comes to us from the world of Infinity. Meaning that all Binot (plural for Bina), all Hochmot (plural for Hochma), all Ktarim (plural for Keter) are interconnected, all Z"A, and Malchut are connected with each other. We could take anything in this world - any piece of work, any action, any desire, it doesn't matter what - without fail there will be something similar in all the Upper worlds, up to the world of Infinity.

Drawing No 1

 

"Machsom (The Barrier) and Parsa (boundary between bestowing and receiving vessels) exist between these worlds, however, this doesn't get in the way.", the law of "the branches and roots" is still in effect, and the so called division is a division according to the level of the screen. When we correct everything, all these worlds will fold together as a carpet and will enter the world of Infinity, because then there will be a single common screen for absolutely all desires. All the lights will fold together and merge with the world of Infinity, where all the worlds exist in the form of a sphere, in the absolutely filled, perfect, and eternal state.

However, until that moment, everything that exists in each world descends from the world of Infinity passing thought all the preceding worlds, through the corresponding roots in the Upper worlds. That's why in whatever state a person - a soul - is in, it always has a lower state, and, accordingly, a higher state, to which it has to ascend to. For each of us in this world, no matter where and in what kind of correlations he is, there is always that little path by which he is ascending towards his root existing in the world of Infinity.

Not only we, but, in general, any state - still, vegitative, and animated - of our world and not only desires, but even material objects of our world - still, plant, and animated - have the roots in the Upper worlds, up to the world of Infinity. The difference is that they are not correcting themselves - they depend on us. While we, correcting ourselves, are also pulling the rest of nature upwards. This is what Baal HaSulam says in the beginning paragraphs of "The Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah".

In general, there is nothing in our world that one could think of or imagine, even on the lowest levels, that wouldn't have its roots in the Upper world, wouldn't be fed from there, and wouldn't depend on it. That's why, when Kabbalists want to say something about a certain object in the world of Assiya, they can easily speak about it using a name of our world. Or, when they speak about something happening in the world of Atzilut, they also call a spiritual object with a name of our world, and this is because in the spiritual worlds, above the Machsom, there are no designations at all.

Only naked desires and their fulfillment exist in the spiritual world, and there is no language for this. It's similar to what happens in our world - we are able to sense many different things, but often are not able to express it in words and can't even imagine what means of expression would allow us to articulate our sensations. However, if, in our world, we can somehow convey to each other the states we find ourselves in with the help of some analogies, we are absolutely unable to do this in the spiritual. This is why the language of branches is used.

"As our sages said that the fortune in the world above, related to the grass in the world below, strikes it, forcing it to complete its growth. Because of that, each and every branch in this world, well defines its mold, situated in the higher world.

Thus Kabbalists have found a set and annotated vocabulary before their eyes, sufficient to create an excellent spoken language. It enables them to converse with one another of the dealings in the spiritual roots in the upper worlds by merely mentioning the tangible branch in this world that is well defined to our corporeal senses."

If we open a Kabbalistic book, such as Torah, the Bible, which is written as a story, describing certain events that seemingly happened in our world, - we, as a matter of fact, will not understand what it really means. This is because everything written there is related exclusively to the spiritual world. "Zohar" is written according to the same principle. We will read in it about various events that happened with people and at the same time study commentaries explaining what is really being described there.

The language of branches is called this way because the words for describing the Upper world are taken from this world. This is the only way the Kabbalists describe everything happening in the Upper realm. Unfortunately, we do not have another language. This language confuses us until we start sensing its root.

If I sensed that root, being, say, at the level of the world of Assiya and not at the level of this world, then I would experience this root as prevalent in comparison to its branch in this world. When I ascend to the world of Assiya, it becomes my world. Then our world looks to me as very animal like, trivial, and pale. It is perfectly natural that everything I hear, feel, and read, even if these are simple Kabbalistic expressions, I immediately picture as objects of the world of Assiya, and this is because I exist in it. In such a case, it takes a lot of effort for me to understand how all this is happening in "our world" - where are those branches, what's the purpose of their existance, where are they spreading to? This is because from that point on I constantly sense my life on the Upper level. Similarly to how we - humans - first sense ourselves on our highest level of existence, our inner, human level that manifests first, and only then - on lower levels: animated, plant, and some still structures.

That's why a person who enters the Upper world, crosses the Machsom, doesn't have problems with the language of branches. He always understands what Kabbalists say about the roots. Meanwhile, it just confuses us, especially in regards to what's being said about the nations of the world: gentiles, Jews, or men and women, children and grown-ups. In general, whenever people of any kind are mentioned, it exclusively points to the differences in souls as well as properties that exist in every soul. But we are still getting confused about this.

"Thus, all the beings of the tangible creation and all their instances have become to them like well defined words and names. They indicate to their higher spiritual roots. Although there cannot be a verbal expression in their spiritual setting, as it is above any imagination, they have earned the right to be expressed by utterance through their branches, arranged before our senses here in the tangible world.

That is the nature of the spoken language among Kabbalists, by which they convey their spiritual attainments from person to person and from generation to generation, both by word of mouth and in writing. They fully understand one another, with the required accuracy needed for negotiating the study of the wisdom with precise definitions one cannot fail in. This is so because each branch (where we take it from) has its own unique, absolute and natural definition. This absolute definition naturally indicates to its root in the higher world."

Why does Baal HaSulam emphasize that this language is absolutely scientific? It is because when I take any phenomenon in our world and call it a certain property, e.g. - wine (this is a very fine property in our world), then, in accordance to this property, I am pointing at a certain, absolutely specific property that exists, say, in the world of Atzilut. I can talk about this property in relation to the rest of the worlds, however, in this particular case, I indicate that I'm talking about this object in the world of Atzilut, meaning, that it has the third degree of the screen or the first degree of Aviut, and what I have in mind here is wine in particular.

Drawing No 2

Other objects may as well have the third degree of the screen or the first degree of Aviut. Similarly, in our world - the entire Universe, including still, plant, animated, and human nature, - repeats itself in the spiritual form, albeit in ever finer material. Still, all objects are absolutely identical. That's why you should look upon the words that you read in the Kabbalistic book as spiritual objects, that is, as forces, or Kelim (plural of Kli), or Orot (plural of Ohr - light), or desires and their fulfillment in the spiritual realm.

"Bear in mind that this Language of the Branches of the wisdom of Kabbalah is better suited to explain the terms of the wisdom than all our ordinary tongues. It is known from the theory of nominalism, that the languages have been disrupted in the mouths of the crowd."

Language loses its qualities with time. We start talking in slang, without naming objects with their precise names, words are switched, the new ones come in, and they are even transcribed and pronounced differently.

"In other words, due to excess use of the words, they have been emptied of their accurate content, resulting in great difficulties to convey precise deductions to one another, either by word of mouth or in writing."

People don't even understand their native language that existed, say, 500 or 1000 years ago, take, for example, ancient Greek, Old English, Old French, etc.

"This is not case with the Language of the Branches since it is derived from the names of the creations and their occurrences, set before our eyes, defined by the unchangeable laws of nature. The readers and the listeners will never be misled into a misunderstanding of the words before them because the natural definitions are utterly unwavering and cannot be breached."

If today I met a Kabbalist who lived 2000 or 3000 years ago, we both would have exactly the same vocabulary and would understand each other with absolute ease and accuracy. It's similar to how I understand my friends when I talk to them in Hebrew, because Hebrew is the Kabbalistic language that hasn't changed for thousands of years since the time when Abraham received it in ancient Mesopotamia. Hebrew hasn't changed because it is created in accordance to the spiritual states between our world and the spiritual realm. It is not human, it is the Kabbalistic language, that's why there can't be any changes in it, and there haven't been any, neither in orthography, nor in spelling.

Books, written by Kabbalists about 2000 years ago, such as "Zohar", or even a more ancient one, "Mishna", written about 3000 years ago, or "Gmara", created in the 4th century AC, - there are tens of thousands books like that - all of them are written in the same language that we speak today. I already mentioned that if today I came across a Kabbalist who lived a couple of thousand years ago and sat around a table with him, we would simply start communicating as contemporaries - time doesn't exist in this respect. The Kabbalistic language is universal, special, and eternal for the laws of nature are absolute and unchangeable. Because this language serves as a code for conveying the spiritual states of the laws of nature that never change, the letters themselves, their meaning and composition do not change as well. When they find ancient historical scrolls, they are just convinced of this once more. This way, Baal HaSulam demonstrates that the language of this science - is unchanging, accurate, and scientific. It is impossible to change the name of any action or object into a different one.

"Knowledge is transferred from the mouth of a wise Kabbalist to the ear of an understanding receiver."

How is transfer of knowledge from a Kabbalist to his disciple, who would want to hear him, happening? Is he able to hear what exactly his teacher wants to convey? A disciple speaks the language of this world, witnesses and senses only our world, while his teacher, in his own senses, exists in the Upper world and, when speaking, has in mind only what's happening there. How can we convey from the Upper world to the lower one everything that is happening in the Upper world if it is absolutely inaccessible for a disciple's senses? There was a famous scientist - Kabbalist, who lived in approximately the 11th century, - RAMBAM, who wrote in his preface to the commentaries to Torah: "and I bring with true covenant to all who scrutinize this book, that of all the clues that I write in the secrets of the Torah, I resolutely assert that my words will not be grasped by any mind or intelligence, except from the mouth of a wise Kabbalist to the ear of an understanding receiver".

What RAMBAM has in mind here is that if a common man from the street reads a Kabbalistic book, it doesn't matter in what language - English, Russian, or Hebrew, he won't understand anything written in that book correctly. You know how strange it is to read Kabbalist books, when they are written in the Kabbalistic language. It is even more difficult to read them correctly if they are written using a spoken language, which, at the first glance, seems clear to us. In such case, instead of understanding what a Kabbalist wants to say about the Upper world, we start imagining our world and it is very hard for us to get rid of this picture. We simply have to force ourselves to stop picturing this world and, instead, start envisioning the spiritual and everything that is happening there: all Partzufim, deeds and their consequencies. However, it is very difficult, next to impossible to do this without sensing the spiritual world.

Rabbi Chaim Vital (Ari's disciple, who handed over all of his books to us) also wrote about this in his preface to "The Tree of Life": "One does not study the Kabbalah on one's own unless he is wise and understands with his own mind".. Indeed, one can receive the spiritual, the true knowledge other than from the mouth of an attained Kabbalist - and only from the one, who crossed the Machsom and went higher. For this one already needs to have a Partzuf, his particular place in the spiritual. Then you are no longer a simple person, who is crossing the Machsom and who exists in a form of a small point without sensing all ten Sefirot. You already have a Partzuf, which consists of five parts - from Keter to Malchut - and has all five lights: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida.

Then a person starts sensing the entire world in this Partzuf (Partzuf - his soul) and to the extent of this Partzuf. He can't sense anything but this Partzuf. Everything that he receives inside constitutes his world, - the spiritual. Based on what is inside him, he can use the language of branches and relate that knowledge to his disciple, who exists in our world.

Drawing No 3

"It is thoroughly understood when they say that one must receive from a wise Kabbalist. But why the necessity for the disciple to first be wise and understanding with his own mind? Moreover, if he isn't so, t hen he must not be taught, be he the most righteous person in the world. In addition, if one is already wise and understands with his own mind, what need has he to learn from others?

From the aforesaid their words are understood with utter simplicity: we have seen that all the words and utterances our lips pronounce cannot help us convey even a single word from the spiritual, Godly matters, above the imaginary time and space."

Our language is unable to express anything that exists in the spiritual world and is called "The Divine". In that case, why should we try to convey anything to a disciple who exists in this world for he won't be able to understand anything? That's why Baal HaSulam says: "Instead, there is a special language for these matters, being The Language of the Branches, indicating their relation to their upper roots."

I ask for a little patience. I understand that the material is not that simple and requires some efforts to be understood (one way or the other, it is the science that we are studing). But we have to get over this part, in order to understand better how to relate to the language correctly and penetrate the Upper world through it. We need to attune ourselves correctly even for evoking the surrounding light (Ohr Makif), which would correct us (we don't have to understand anything in the spiritual to do this; moreover, we won't be able to until we reach realization ourselves). If we tune ourselves into the correspondence between us, the branches, and our roots in the Upper world, then we, in a way, build a path over which the surrounding light - this Ohr Makif - is descending down to us. This is why we ought to demonstrate a certain sensitivity and attention to what Baal HaSulam wrote for us, althought his texts are not that easy.

"However, this language, though extremely suitable for its task of delving in the studies of this wisdom, is only so if the listener is wise in his own right, meaning that he knows and understands the way the branches relate to their roots." Someone who doesn't understand, who hasn't reached the root and exists only in the branches, that is, in our world, can't even imagine what is meant by the names he reads or hears about the Upper worlds.

"It is because these relations are not at all clear when looking from the lower upwards (from our world upwards). In other words, it is impossible to deduce any semblance in the upper roots by looking at the lower branches." Frankly speaking, we don't really need that - if we can't, then we can't. If so, then why do Kabbbalists play with us with the help of this language? Do they want us to get confused with our own fantasies? "Quite the contrary, the lower is studied from the higher. Thus, one must first attain the upper roots, the way they truly are in spirituality, above any imagination, but with pure attainment."

Here Baal HaSulam tells us that you won't be able to picture anything correctly even if a Kabbalist passes on this language to you from above downwards and tells you his "stories". First, you have to enter that state. Only when you are at his level with your point in heart and not with your body, you'll begin to understand that Kabbalist. Like him, you will have the entire Partzuf, not a point in heart. Only then you will be able to comprehend why he spoke to you in that particular way.

Drawing No 4

 

Language, born in the course of our communication, will consist of the words of our world for we don't have any other. However, this could also be communication using the language of the spiritual worlds, - as between two souls that do not exist in our world and do not wish to communicate with words. Kabbalists can exchange inner information from soul to soul on the basis of comparison of their souls, connection, and transfer of power, qualities, and all kinds of perturbations (using scientific terms).

Drawing No 5

 

Souls can transfer information to each other conjugating, without words, by interacting with each other. Here we effect each other with words, while souls - with the help of mutual Zivugim De Akaa, so called conjugation, spiritual contact.

The lower object learns from the upper one. First, one has to attain the upper roots, and only after a disciple accomplished this independently, he can, by looking down at the lower branches felt in our world, fully understand all characteristics, quantity and quality of correlations between each branch and its root in the Upper world.

Only after he discovers this all and understands this really well, will he have a common language with his Rabbi - "the language of branches". With its help a Kabbalist will be able to transfer to him all nuances of his wisdom about the events in the spiritual worlds, everything that he received from his teachers and attained independently. He will be able to pass the knowledge to his disciple, because now they have a c ommon language and understand each other. But this language with which they will communicate will be the language of our world.

However, if a disciple is not intelligent enough (hasn't risen to a necessary level, hasn't researched it fully, doesn't understand what his teacher feels inside), doesn't understand the language of his teacher and how each branch points to its root on his own (hasn't gone throught all these correlations yet), then it is absolutely obvious that his Rabbi, his teacher has no chance of explaining to him a single word of wisdom. He can't talk to him about the investigations of the spiritual worlds for he has absolutely no common language with his teacher, and they are like dumb people in relation to each other, without any means of communication.

It is possible to tell a person about the Upper world only in a measure in which he has the screen, and there is no other way. Meaning, that even if I see many of you, a large number of groups and individual listeners (according to our preliminary records, about one thousand people listen to our virtual lessons), until you have the screen, I can't relate to any of you, even if I wanted to, anything that happens in the Upper world. And even when you acquire the screen, I will be able to transfer my knowledge only to the measure of that screen.

When a spiritual sensor opens up, it will be able to absorb the information only in the measure that it is capable of receiving it - no more and no less. There is no reason for giving less; if you give more than it is able to absorb - then it will simply get overfilled and won't comprehend it anyway.

That's why it is absolutely impossible to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah, - a teacher and a disciple do not have a common language and in such a case they are like dumb people. There is no other way to transfer the wisdom of Kabblah but to convey it to someone who knows and understands (due to the qualities of his screen).

But there is a question: "How will a disciple get this wisdom to attain the correlations between the roots and the branches, if he is still just trying to attain the upper roots?" If a disciple hasn't risen to the appropriate level yet and currently exists only here, does it mean that, until he reaches that level, he won't be able to grasp anything that comes from his teacher?

The answer is this: a person will be saved when he will desperately need the Creator's help. And for those who will find mercy in the eyes of the Creator. What does it mean "will find mercy"? It's when a person develops a desire for the Divine that is focused exclusively on the Creator - not on the group, not on the teacher, not on this world, not on anyone in this world - just on the Creator. Focused so much, that the Creator will be forced to cleanse and correct him. That means - to elevate. There is no spiritual deed called "elevation". By "elevation" we mean ascention of the inner properties. Properties that are more corrected are called elevated, meaning, that they are of a higher level.

Only in this case - if the more intensive light of the Creator will descend upon a person, it will correct his qualities, since the light corrects Kli and elevates it.

In such a case, a person is filled with the light of Hochma, Bina, Daat and attains the Divine. And it's impossible to use anything of this world here. No earthly means can help a person to elevate, to go beyond the boundaries of Machsom. Only the Upper light is able to do that, as we already discussed in Item 155 of "Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot".

Only after he was awarded Lord's mercy (forced The Creator to elevate him), only then he will be able to receive the wisdom of Kabblah from the mouth of an attained Kabbalist, because now they have a common language but never before can a disciple crosses the Machsom.

That's why a disciple doesn't understand who his teacher is. He disregards his teacher, as well as the Creator, and, in general, doesn't understand what kind of unique opportunity he was given - to attain something and enter a higher level of the creation.

Appellations Alien to Human Spirit

Keeping in mind what was said above (about the language of branches), one needs to understand why the books on Kabbalah contain terms and designations that are completely foreign to the spirituality of a human being. Most of the time they are found in the key Kabbalistic books - in "Zohar", the works of the Ari. Why did the sages use such filthy terms to express the sublime, sacred ideas?

Right away, our main problem becomes the word "Zivug". "Zivug"means sexual intercourse. In Kabbalah the combination of light and Kli is described as Zivug, that is, sexual intercourse. Also, when we are talking about the birth of Kli and its properties, we, again, use filthy terms of our world: an embrace, a kiss, Zivug De-Nashikin, Zivug De-Yesodot, Chibuk. That is, all kinds of possible contacts between Partzufim, their interaction with each other, birth of the following Partzufim, in what kind of combinations - animated or human - they are with each other. Why do Kabbalist use such a language?

However, after you acquire the knowledge discussed above (on the language that is an exact upshot of the upper roots), the real meaning of things becomes clear: in order to explain this science it's impossible to use any other language except for "the language of branches" that was meant and created especially for this.

That's why every letter has its own meaning and shape. Combination of letters represents an action, while combination of words represents some complete description on a certain spiritual level. It is impossible to substitute one word with another, to put nicer sounding words instead of unpleasant ones, say - female blood, copulation, breast feeding. It is because these are the words that precisely describe an action taking place between the spiritual forces in the Upper world.

There is no other branch in this world that would be able to convey this spiritual phenomenon. As there are no two little hairs that are nourished by the same root, so there are no two branches that are connected with the same root.

A particular occurance in the Upper world produces only one concrete consequence in our world, that's why it is impossible to give that spiritual object or its consequence a different - a nicer sounding name, no matter how much we would want that. In Kabbalah it is required that a disciple, especially in his subsequent states, sticks to it, defines it with absolute precision, and expresses himself shortly and clearly.

"Therefore, upon the temporary loss of but a small cognizance, the entire wisdom darkens before our eyes for all its issues are tied to one another very strongly, literally fusing into one. Now you will not wonder at the occasional use of alien appellations. It is so because they have no freedom of choice with appellations, to replace the bad with the good, or the good with the bad. They must always use the branch, which precisely points to its upper root in all its necessary measure. Moreover, the subject matters must be expanded so as to provide an accurate definition for the eyes of their fellow observers."

Right after the "The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabblah" I would like to proceed with another article. It also will be necessary as one of the "Prefaces" to more serious works. This article also covers the essence of Kabblah and its purpose. In this article Baal HaSulam calls " Kabbalah" a "religion", although, as we will immediately see from the article, he doesn't mean a religion of our world or any of the world religions, and rather, what he has in mind is Kabbalah in particular.

"In this article I would like to resolve three issues: what is the essence of Kabbalah? What is its purpose?" An ordinary person thinks that its goal is to give a person comfort in this world, to give him understanding so that later, upon entering the future world, he gets something back from the actions performed in this world.

"Whether its purpose is to benefit the Creator, or the creatures? Of course, for the benefit of the creatures - what else could be the reason we are given all this?"

Baal HaSulam tells us that we understand religion, Kabbalah, and, in general, this life and all knowledge - how to relate to all this - incorrectly. That's why we look at life, at the means given to us in a wrong way. Our presence in this world, in this Universe, in a place we currently find ourselves in is twisted around in such a way that, if, of course, we would wish so, we would be able to enter the Upper world at any moment.

Everything is designed in such a way that, if I suddently had a strong desire to enter the Upper world, I would be able to do so at any given moment of my life. There is not a single state, not a single moment in a person's life when there would be no such opportunity. All moments in a person's life are focused and directed towards the Upper world, this is the only way all of them are created in this world, so that a person can ascend to the spiritual in a split second. It is absolutely wrong to say: "I can't at this moment, maybe after a year or two, after some time." The truth is that each of us has such an opportunity - to enter the Upper world - every second, every minute of our life. That's how it is. That's why Baal HaSulam tells us that it's wrong to treat the world in a way a common man does, i.e. as if the essence of Kabblah were to create a comfortable surrounding for oneself or to receive a reward in the future world.

"And first we must understand the Creator, who is the Absolute Goodness. Meaning that there is no way in the world that He will ever cause any sorrow to any man., and this is the only common law of the entire Universe."

If we take the Universe, its most general, most outer sphere, we will see that it is built in such a way that absolutely positive, kind forces are coming through it into the inner spheres, including our world, which exists in the very focus, in the very centre of this huge sphere. The remaining worlds represent concentric spheres, while our world exists in its very focus, such an internal little sphere. There is only one general law that governs the entire Universe - the law of absolute benevolence.

"Our common sense clearly shows that the basis for any evil doing in the world stems only from the Will to Receive (Not only at the level of this world, but also at the spiritual level). That means that his eagerness to benefit himself makes him harm his fellow man, due to his Will to Receive self gratification."

As a rule, one can fill oneself at the expense of a neighbor. Why? Because even at the level of a still life, when I absolutely do not feel my neighbor and am filling myself as a small child, as some entity that exists as if not at someone else's expense, - nevertheless, even this kind of existence in our world takes place due to something, due to devouring, assimilation of qualities, pulling towards oneself, etc.

Everything in our world exists at the egoistic level, however, still life functions without consciously harming a neighbor. Plant life level does so as well. Also, even if destroying, killing of others takes place at the level of animated life, still, this is not evil, - this doesn't happen in order to harm a neighbor or to satisfy oneself with neighbors' suffering. Only a human being at his level (most developed egoism) derives pleasure from a neighbor's suffering. This doesn't happen at the lower levels. At the end, egoism, in his most evolved form, is the cause of the greatest evil.

"And if we sometimes find some being that harms another, without any Will to Receive self gratification, it does that only because of an old habit or an inborn instinct."

For example, a mosquito bites us without any harmful intention, this is its nature. And if some animal does something and doesn't derive any benefit at that particular moment, it is because some time ago, during previous state of evolution, there was a real need for this action, and an instinct simply remained in place till now. Animals have many remaining instincts of this kind, which, seemingly, can't be explained.

"It does that only because of an old habit, that originated in the will to receive, which now rids it of the need to find a new reason. And because we realize that the Creator is in and of itself complete and needs no one to help Him to completion, since He precedes everything else, it is therefore clear that He does not have any Will to Receive."

Because the Creator is the first, the only one, because He surrounds and reigns over everything, and doesn't depend on anyone, then egoistic desires are absent in Him, and so His natural property is the emanation of kindness, the emanation of light.

And because He has no Will to Receive, a reason for Him to harm anyone is fundamentally absent; it is as simple as that.

Furthermore, it is completely agreeable to our mind as the first concept, that He possesses a will to Bestow goodness to others." Not only He doesn't wish to receive or to harm anyone, on the contrary, His innate quality is the emission of light, radiation, giving pleasure to someone outside Him. "...a will to Bestow goodness to others, meaning to His creatures. And that is evidently shown by the great creation that He has created and set before our eyes."

Because the Creator is the single one, not dependent on anybody, then it follows naturally that His nature is not egoistic, and not only not for one's own sake, but also - for the benefit of others.

"For in this world there are beings that necessarily feel either good or bad, and that feeling necessarily comes from the Creator. And once it is absolutely clear that there is no aim to harm in the nature of the Creator, it necessitates that the creatures receive only goodness from Him, for He has created them only to bestow upon them."

Baal HaSulam tells us from his highest level (it exists between us and the Creator) that only blessings and nothing else comes from the Creator to us, my friends. And the fact that we do not feel the blessings yet tells us that we exist in our uncorrected qualities, below the Machsom. But there are no negative effects on us from the part of the Creator! Just simply change your qualities and you'll really sense what descends from the Creator.

"Thus we learn that He has but a Will to Bestow goodness, and in no way can it be that there might be any harmfulness in His domain. Hence we have defined Him as the absolute goodness. And after we have learned that, let us take a look at the reality that is guided by Him, and how He bestows only goodness upon them."

Baal HaSulam started talking to us from the highest level where one attains Absolute Benevolence descending from above. But when you come down from such a level to ours, below the Machsom, then the Creators' rule looks completely different.

His Guidance is Particular Guidance

"By observing the systems of nature we understand that any being of the four types - still, vegetative, animate and speaking, both as a whole and in particular, are found to be under particular guidance, meaning a slow and gradual growth by way of cause and effect, as the fruit up on the tree, which is guided with favourable guidance to finally become a sweet and fine-looking fruit."

Any creation looks ugly and imperfect, however, at the end - it is perfect and delightful. Any acts of the Creator upon the nature - still, plant, and animated - are like this, this is how everything develops.

"Go and ask a botanist, how many phases the fruit undergoes from the time it becomes visible until it is completely ripe. Not only do its preceding phases show no evidence of its sweet and fine-looking end, but as if to vex, they show the opposite of the final outcome. The sweeter the fruit as its end, the more bitter it is in the earlier phases of its development."

The higher is the nature of an object, the uglier, more uninviting stages of development it goes through, until it reaches perfection. We find similar things at all levels of nature.

"And so it is with the animate and speaking types: for the beast whose mind is little at its end, is not so wanting while it grows. Whereas man, whose mind is great at his end, is very wanting while he develops. "A day old calf is called an ox", that is to say it has the strength to stand on its own four legs and walk, and has the intelligence to avoid hazards on its path."

He already knows instinctively which grass to eat and which not to. He already has everything he needs for living. He just has to get a little stronger.

"But a day old infant lays seemingly senseless. And should one who is not accustomed to the conducts of this world (would not observe the stages of development and the final result) examine these two newborns (calf and human infant) he would certainly conclude that the human infant will amount to nothing." In general, nothing worthy would come out of him, unlike out of a calf that on the first day of its life reached such a sound state. And it is completely feasible that it will further develop more and more, while a silly newly-born baby will remain forever behind.

"Thus it is evident that His guidance over the reality that He has created is in the form of Particular Guidance, without taking into account the order of the phases of development, for they deceive us and prevent us from understanding their purpose, being always in an opposite position to their final shape."

We are constantly confused; it seems to us that a calf will become greater in comparison to a little baby. We always choose something that, at a given moment, seems better and greater and that's why we are always mistaken. What's the way out? What do we have to do to avoid mistakes?

We have to ask the sage who sees the final state of the creation, who exists in it and sees what kind of intermediate states lead to the perfect state, and we have to go through them, each time asking: how to move further?

This is what Baal HaSulam tells us in his letter on pg. 63: there is a human being, that is, his heart, then, there is a little path leading to the place where the Creator dwells. But even a slight deviation from the goal, when it seems to you that you could reach it faster using some different means - could lead to huge errors at the end. How can one direct himself towards Him correctly and, at the same time, to adjust himself each moment? For if you make even one tiny angular error, say, even by one degree, then you can't even imagine what can result of it later, if you continue moving in that direction. How can one adjust himself correctly, so this error equals to zero?

For this you have to see the ultimate goal - the Creator - in each action you make. But how, - since He is concealed from us? The right goal - is bestowal, the Creator. But I'm already in the state of reception, so how can I know what bestowal really is? Suppose, I truly want to move towards the goal, to this end I have the group where I can act out such action as bestowal. If I truly try to give to the group correctly in order to reach the Creator, then my group is an indication whether or not my actions are correct. I need the group, which, instead of the Creator, is a clear indicator how correct my actions are.

If I give to the group, then I will receive "Ohr Makif" from the Creator above and will begin to advance. By giving to the group, I exercise the law of bestowal; I acquire a mature, obvious opportunity to see, express, study, and control myself as much as I desire to really get closer to the Creator - the quality of bestowal, and not to do something that I imagine as being the Creator, but that actually is some kind of completely egoistical, not spiritual goal of mine.

Drawing No 6

 

"According to the wisdom of the Kabbalah - the meaning of our gradual development is mandatory for every creature. Thus we have thoroughly shown the conducts of His providence in our world, which is only a purposeful care."

This is what we observe, however, we are able to observe similar purposeful governance only in still, plant, and animated nature, including ours. But we can't see this purposeful governance in our inner - spiritual - nature, in humans, which is inside us. Why? Because, in reality, it kind of doesn't exist in our case. This is because the Creator makes us free in this regard - wishes to give us a freedom of will, so that we are in charge of our own development. If we do not take our development into our own hands, then He compels us to realize, that we, after all, have to take charge of ourselves, and moreover - do it independently. That's why, we are hidden from ourselves - we are aware of our animated nature, while our spiritual state is concealed from us.

"That the attribute of goodness is not apparent before the coming of the creature to completeness, to its final ripeness. On the contrary, it rather always takes a form of corruption in the eyes of the beholders. Thus you see that God bestows upon His creatures only goodness, but that goodness comes by way of purposeful care (that is, we sense this only at the end)."

What do I have to do right from this moment in order to feel kindness during my entire journey towards the Creator? Let's say, currently I have a certain Reshimo - 10 grams of egoistic desire. Then, if I make an altruistic correction on these 10 grams of egoistic desire - something, called "for bestowal" (in relation to the Creator or a group - it doesn't matter), then in all 10 grams I will immediately start sensing the true governance of the Creator - the absolute benevolence. I will sense the world of Infinity, an absolute fulfillment, in my little Kli that I have here.

That's why now we can't make any conclusions about our state as being either bad or good, we can do so only after we reach the end of our journey. If a person develops with the help of Kabbalah under the influence of light, then each moment of his development he feels pleasure, not suffering. He doesn't have to make this entire journey and suffer along the way so that maybe he receives some kindness only at the end, - no. Each level of his development - is exiting, matching the name of the Creator: "Kind, bestowing Kindness".

Drawing No 7

 

Supporting each other during the lessons and in group activities, we are creating a common Kli, and I believe that our stages of development on all levels will be pleasant and exciting states, in which only kind treatment from the part of the Creator will be revealed. If a Kabbalist is advancing correctly, then each day is a holiday for him. Every moment he senses the Creator. It doesn't matter for him in which world to be - all worlds merge, disappear. He simply senses the Source that is eternal, endless, and perfect. This is also passed on to the receiver - a soul. I hope that we will sense all of this, merging together into one impulse towards the Creator. Stay well. Good buy!