Chapter 4. Spiritual Work

Are there different ways to attain the spiritual world? What is the meaning of “spiritual work?”..

What does it mean “to serve the Creator?” How can one learn to do that? How can one merit it?..

When I examine the questions in this book, I see that all the answers recommend studying the right Kabbalah books. Is it enough to study, or is there inner work that I should do, and if so, what is it?..

How does a person who feels attracted to spirituality begin to learn?..

How does a person cross the barrier for the first time?..

Is it possible to delight the Creator without giving something up, without restricting myself, without performing the first restriction, but only changing the aim from “for me” to “for the Creator?”..

How do Kabbalists determine which desires can be corrected and which can not? Are there considerations in Kabbalah or does everything come with attainment and experience?..

I still want to better understand the term, “analysis.” You say that scrutiny should be at the beginning of any learning process. Yet, since a true analysis cannot come at the beginning of the learning process, I wonder what efforts we can make in our desires to change ourselves? Can a prayer for this change come by itself?...

Where does the correcting force come from, and how exactly does it do it?..

The screen enables the soul to make decisions in the spiritual world. Do people in our world have a similar instrument they can rely on?..

From the Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot (item 1): “First, I find it necessary to destroy an iron wall that has separated us from the wisdom of Kabbalah, since the ruin of the Temple and up to our current generation…” I have three questions for you on this issue: 1. Of what is this wall built? 2. Under what conditions was it erected? 3. Why is this wall standing between Israel and Kabbalah?..

Please answer my question: Do people feel when they actually cross the barrier? If so, is this feeling lasting or temporary? I mean, can a person know certainty that he is already THERE?..

What is a precept (Mitzva) and what is a prayer in Kabbalah?..

In your last book, you wrote about Mitzvot (commandments). It's very difficult to observe something without any understanding of its meaning or the corresponding laws in the Upper World. Where can I find materials on the Kabbalistic meaning of Mitzvot?..

You often use the term, “aim.” Which should I prefer when the aim contradicts the Mitzva?..

I understand that one Kabbalist can do the work of seven billion people. But I don’t understand why everyone (including women, children, old and young, retarded, etc.) must feel the pull toward the Creator and go through the 125 degrees to accomplish the final correction...

To what extent can you separate between each of the 125 degrees? Let’s take, a Kabbalist who has reached the spiritual world and is in, for example, Bina of the world of Assiya. Is the Kabbalist aware of exactly where he is?..

Can I change myself without studying Kabbalah?..

Why do you say it is impossible to improve one’s character? I think one can improve one’s character with the help of psychology, but it is a waste of time. If there is something negative in a person, it must be the best thing for their correction...

Rabbi, Kabbalah does not deal with physically observing Mitzvot. But if I want to change, push myself forward, and rise spiritually can I use the system of fasting for that purpose, such as 5 days of fasting, then a break and so on continuously? Or is it of no use at all? Naturally, in addition to the fasting, there would be Kabbalah studies, listening to lessons, etc…

In your articles and books you repeatedly stress that our behavior in this world is in no way connected with the spiritual worlds. Therefore, one may conclude that man can pass the barrier between our world and the spiritual world, and still behave immorally in this world (commit serious crimes, treat people badly, and so on). Is this true?..

What does doing good deeds in our inner work mean?..

How do I avoid pain?..

Why is it that, when you are in a certain situation, you cannot even imagine the possibility of a different situation?..

Why is it that I always doubt ideas that I myself presented a minute ago?..

How can I get used to analyzing after each act? If I fail to analyze it, does it mean that the act was superfluous?..

Since I’ve begun reading Kabbalah books, I feel as though my brain has been reprogrammed. It seems that all my moral values have been turned upside-down. I think more and more about simple questions whose answers I thought I already knew. Can you explain what is happening to me?..

When I feel myself in ascent, when I feel a purpose in the spiritual work, do I have to remind myself that the revelation of the Creator is only in my corporeal vessels, and start looking for deficiencies in that state in order to avoid falling?..

The spiritual world is a world of altruistic desires. Our world (this world) is a world of egoistic desires. One who puts a screen over the desires of this world and acquires altruistic desires of the world of Assiya will never be able to want the sensations of “for oneself.” If that is the case, how can we ever climb to higher worlds?..

How do I create the right intent within me?..

Can you say that relinquishing the pleasures of this world shows that one has a desire to live in the spiritual world, or is that not enough?..

You always recommend reading. What can I do if it’s impossible to read at some point in the day, yet at that time I feel a need to bond with the Creator?..

What can be done when I still don’t have a permanent contact with the Creator? Can you feel the Creator before there is a screen?..

I’m trying to feel the restriction, the screen and the corrected desire. Is it possible to implement them in my everyday life?..

Fear of disappointment stops us from being happy in the present. Does it also hold back my progress?..

Ever since I was a kid, I believed my feelings weren’t real. They awaken in me a sensation of boredom and a desire to escape them. I want to feel something real!..

Is there something I should not touch while I am working on myself?..

When the righteous “look” at the sinner, the sinner disappears briefly, then returns to “pay a visit” more wickedly! And as soon as the righteous close their eyes, the victorious sinner is back. How can I keep my righteous vision ever vigilant?..

It is probably impossible to avoid falling altogether. But can we predict the falls before they come? After all, one never falls immediately. If that is true, perhaps it’s possible to try not to fall, or at least make it easier. Can the attempt to avoid falling today help me in my future situations?..

What does it mean to say that a descent brings another descent, and in between we will not feel any ascent take place?..

Please explain the meaning of “One sin leads to another...”

When downfalls come, I start cursing the entire world and lose the desire to live. Afterwards, while reading your articles, I feel ashamed. But the downfalls return, and they are very deep, and there is no way to get used to the fact that it’s only a game sent from Above, just an exercise. Any advice?..

During a spiritual ascent, when you’re supposed to think about a lower situation, does that mean that you have to artificially descend to that situation?..

In Kabbalah, there is a notion of “speed of passing states.” Could you please explain what “speed” is in the spiritual sense? And how can we feel that it depends on us?..

I’ve realized how selfish I am to people around me. It is terrible! I dream about changing. Is this the right request; is that the prayer that He awaits from me? After all, I want to correct my relationship with people, not with Him...

How can I go through all these difficult times?..

I feel bad for not having a true desire, one that doesn’t let me sleep. Can we genuinely say at some point that we have done everything we possibly could to attain our goal? How can we reach it?..

How do situations change? For example, when we feel powerless and realize that this is our true state and there is nothing we can do about it at the moment, how do we exit to another situation? Or should we accumulate a certain number of such situations until the Creator Himself delivers us, because we are passive and cannot demand strongly?..

After having read the Rambam, whom do I ultimately depend on, myself or the Creator?..

It is said that in the beginning of every act I should say: “If I’m not for me, who is for me?” and at the end I should say: “There is none else beside Him.” How do I relate to emotions during the act, and where am I in my decisions?..

How do you reconcile the contradiction between “everything depends on me” and “everything is predetermined by the Creator”?..

If the Creator exists, He must be looking over everyone with eternal love. Why, then, are there so many who are punished?..

Is there a Kabbalistic technique of behavior through which we can “soften” or limit the reception of evil?..

I try to do things that the Creator needs, but then I begin to feel self-loathing and disgust. Everything I ask seems false, but still I go on as though something is pushing me from behind. Is there another alternative for me?..

What should I do when I suddenly begin to treat circumstances that come to me from Above with indifference: I just don’t feel anything, not the pain, and not the pleasure that I would normally feel. What is that situation? Should something be done about it, or will it go away by itself?..

Why is it that instead of enthusiasm, I suddenly feel complete indifference?..

Why is there a difference between the understanding of the mind and the feeling of the heart? Why is it that after a person has already followed his heart, because he couldn’t go any other way, he finds that his mind was right? Why this struggle in me and how do I cope with it?..

When I read Inner Reflection, I wanted to enjoy myself, but instead I began to feel desperation and a guilty conscience. Why?..

What is the most effective way to stop enjoying for myself and start enjoying for the Creator, without killing my desires?..

Provided I strictly follow the condition of the first restriction, how many years will it take me to at least get a feel of the Upper World?..

It is promised that within one life cycle, a person can go through all the stages, beginning with the first desire for spirituality and ending in the completion of correction. In case the cycle is not completed, wouldn’t it better to just “kill the time”? After all, this life was given for the sole purpose of correction!..

Why is the last phase of the four phases of development characterized as an argument with the Creator?..

How is it possible to avoid disappointments along the spiritual journey? After all, it is more convenient for us to think that the Creator deprived us by not giving us a desire to come near Him, so we justify ourselves and blame the Creator. But if we understand that, can we correct these processes inside us?..

It is said that the higher the Sefira, the greater its desires and screen were before the breaking, and the lower its sparks fell at the loss of the screen. Why?..

Faith should replace all the senses, as though the entire reality were laid before one’s eyes, despite the absence of the sensation of the Creator and His guidance. Is this not blind faith?..

How can you intensify the importance of the purpose of life and the greatness of the giver?..

What is this method called “faith above reason?..”

How does “faith above reason” work in the context of the group?..

Why do we need to agree with our friends?..

How can I attain a higher spiritual degree?..

Loving is dangerous. The minute someone realizes you’re willing to do anything for them, they take advantage of it. Isn’t there something like that in the relationship between the Creator and us?..

It feels so good when you can love, and so bad when you can’t. Does the pain of not being able to love go away when I cross the barrier or only at the end of correction?..

In our world, man suffers the agony of this world, and in the spiritual world, the spiritual agony, which is much harsher than the pains of our world. How can one agree to replace lesser pains for greater pains?..

This is how I understand what’s written in The Book of Zohar: a true love is faith in the true Creator. Faith in the true Creator is the true attainment of the Creator. The true attainment is a true understanding. The true understanding is when a person sees, or distinguishes, or learns – and at the same time, if his attainment is correct - that what he attains is love for the Creator and faith in Him, since without faith there can be no love...

What is our work?..

Rabbi Ashlag speaks in his articles about the importance of the feeling of the greatness of the Creator. We have a natural inclination to want to serve a greater person than ourselves, so it is obvious that the body will surrender to that demand. But greatness is where there is kindness, whereas the kindness of the Creator is concealed from us. Let us assume that the Creator is almighty and guides everything. But if the world is full of pain, how can we see His greatness? The king is great because of his graceful acts toward his subjects, not becausehe is in power. How then can we see the greatness of the Creator?..