All of the great Kabbalists studied in groups. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai held a group of students, and so did the Ari. A group is vital in order to progress. It is the primary tool of Kabbalah, and everyone is measured by his contribution to the group.
A person who studies alone can use only one’s own vessel to receive the Light of the Creator. Those who study in a group create a spiritual vessel that consists of all the participants, and everyone enjoys its illumination.
Also, in today’s high-tech world, a group doesn’t have to meet in a physical location. It can be a group of like-minded people who share a common (spiritual) goal, and they can meet on the Internet. Such a group can be contacted at this e-mail: info@kabbalah.info.
Joint Desires
The group provides strength. Everybody has only a small desire for spirituality. The way to augment the will for spirituality is through joint desires. Several students together stimulate the Light and provide a unified force-field that is stronger as a whole than each individual on his or her own.
The reason is that we are all parts of the same soul (remember Adam?). Mixing the parts together recreates the collective vessel and brings us more Light. This Light affects each person in the group, and this way, all the group members become corrected both individually and as a collective.
A group is like a partnership. You can fall and have nothing left of the previous spiritual state, but the group will continue to exist and hold your desire for you. Your share in the group continues to exist, regardless of your present state.
Letting the Light Flow into You
Rav Yehuda Ashlag said that you must think of your group members as great (in spirituality). This will help you absorb spiritual powers from them when you are in personal decline. This is similar to the law of connected vessels, by which water always flows to the lowest place. If you think of the Light, or spiritual power, as water, then all you need to do is feel lower than your friends. The Light in them will flow into you, and as a result, more Light will flow into them from Above.
This creates continuous progress of the entire group. Although the group members may change roles according to their personal spiritual states, the group’s progression is endless, and always toward enhanced spirituality.
How do you make the most of group study? This is done by a very simple means: you absorb from the group their appreciation for the goal of unification with the Creator. This is what the verse “Love thy friend as thyself” relates to; this is what makes them your friends.
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On Course
The information in this book builds the foundations for your journey toward perceiving the spiritual forces of the Upper Worlds. Yet it is only the beginning. At later stages in your ascent, progress can be made only with the help of a teacher and a group, either in person or online.
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If you listen to them, and if you appreciate your friends in the group, you will absorb the message of the greatness of the Creator, the greatness of bestowal. Then you can really become a group of Kabbalists.