[Issue 11] May 2014

The Wisdom Of

Kabbalah

The whole of the wisdom of Kabbalah is only to know the guidance of the

Higher Will, why It has created all these creatures, what It wants with them,

and what the end of all the cycles of the world will be.

Ramchal, Pitchei Hochma (Doors of Wisdom), Door no. 30

Special magazine for inmates

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EDITORIAL ................................................................................................................................................. 3

INTENTION ................................................................................................................................................ 5

ARVUT ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

LOOKING FOR MY BROTHERS…. ......................................................................................................................... 6 THERE IS A CERTAIN PEOPLE .............................................................................................................................. 7

UNLOCKING THE ZOHAR ........................................................................................................................... 8

“WE WILL DO AND WE WILL HEAR” ........................................................................................................ 12

SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM DAILY LESSON .............................................................................................. 13

THIS WORLD IS NOT PUNISHMENT, BUT A PLACE TO WORK .................................................................................. 13 BECOMING THE GUIDES FOR THE WHOLE WORLD ............................................................................................... 13 BUILDING AN ENVIRONMENT FOR EVERYONE ...................................................................................................... 14 THERE IS ONLY THE GROUP ............................................................................................................................. 15

FEEDBACK ............................................................................................................................................... 16

SMILE! ................................................................................................................................................. 19

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EDITORIAL

Dear friends,

Greetings!

Today, as never before, we are happy to welcome each one of you coming together to team

up for the next round of our work as a Kabbalah Prison group! We are honored to see that

our common prayer has been accepted and we have been granted the highest mercy. Trying

to find our ways through the unfolding economic crisis we had to go through some changes;

a shortened format of this issue of the magazine is one of them. Even though the magazine

had to “lose some weight”, these alterations will ultimately enable us to release new issues

of the magazine on a more regular basis, which in the long run is beneficial and will serve

the purpose of improving our communication.

As of now the most important news – we are back. The obstacles seemed insurmountable

and the barriers that kept us from passing through have been wiped out and swept away.

We are brought back together to the ladder of spirituality for a new ascent.

The circumstances force us to develop quickly. The conditions of the world are worsening.

The press of nature pushing us to develop towards integral society is getting more intense

every day, yet this doesn’t penetrate the minds of the majority. If nothing changes we all are

on the threshold of the catastrophe that is approaching the humanity at full blast. It if

happens, and the whole egoistic world will turn into the Titanic, it is going to be us, those

entrapped at the bottom tiers of the society who will stand no chance to survive. While we

will be struggling to catch our last breaths in the flooded ship’s holds or racing up the stairs

in the last hope for a miracle, competing in speed with rats, those on the upper decks will still

be celebrating their lives and planning the ways to enjoy the power and privileges.

Friends, we strongly believe that a change, so desperately needed by humanity, can only

come from and through those who suffer the twistedness and injustices of the current social

order the most. And there is hardly another social group that is burdened with as many

grievances and hardship as people spending their lives in prison, confined to be a society of

captives.

Who else is as deprived of what constitutes a mere necessity of human life – a nurturing

connection with other human beings – as much as you are? Who has got so little going for

them that it hardly constitutes a stake at conformity to the ways of this egoistic world? Who is

more desperate for a true meaning to make this wayward life worthwhile?

Being in the position where there is not much to lose and so much to gain we can choose to

accept the most challenging mission imaginable and launch the endeavor of spreading the

word about the true meaning of life in the most extreme of human environments, in the world

of the corrections to which you had been destined.

The determination to do so does not exist within you or me, him or her. But together, united

through the wisdom of Kabbalah and armed with understanding of the laws of the Upper

nature, we can uplift each other and create the necessary courage to dare and try - a

collective courage. If we decide to uphold our connection above separation and detachment

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that each one of us has learned way too well, and choose to strive for a common good

where everyone contributes whatever talents, endowments, capacities, expertise,

inventiveness, skills and savvies each one has got to the group, we will receive all that is

necessary to succeed, the power of endlessly multiplied desire for a truly human and

humane world to come.

After all it is only a lack of desire to see this happening that prevents the Reforming Light to

penetrate this world. It is in our power to ignite the hearts of those around us, to turn things

around and stop the world from its irreversible slippage to a disaster – back to the correction

by way of Torah.

We are at the entrance to the bridge that connects the two worlds, the one that exists and

the one to be. No one is obliged to go over this bridge, for there is no coercion in spirituality.

But together we do have a freedom not to turn around and a power to exercise our will

sufficient to bring us success. United through the wisdom of the Upper world, supporting

each other and taking it one step at a time like a crew of mountain-climbers summiting

Everest we can make conquer this distance. We can lead a change and make a history.

Meanwhile we are inviting you to prepare to experience a new issue of the magazine. Let’s

bond through the words of the wisdom, join our voices together and raise a prayer from the

very bottom of our hearts.

Only Together,

Editors of the “Wisdom of Kabbalah” magazine

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INTENTION

“As one man in one heart”

Source: Intention handbook for Spring Congress 2005, Kfar Sitrin, Israel

Intention is not a personal matter. It is written: “As one man in one heart.” The

unification is the vessel; you must connect with others. Through that, you find your corrected

vessel; you find that the Creator does not relate to you as an individual, but according to the

extent to which you make of yourself an adequate vessel through all of the other vessels.

Therefore, there can be no intention if you turn to the Creator while disconnecting

yourself from others. You have nothing to turn to the Creator with, since it is only possible to

address the Creator with the request: “Help me connect with the others, since through the

connection with them I acquire a vessel for your inspiration, to become similar to you”.

Is there such a thing as the intention of the group? There is no group if the group is

not united in the intention and solely in the intention! The group cannot unite in anything

else. Unification in desire is called "gathering of scorners". Unification in intention, striving for

the Creator is called "the sacred society"; this is what the group of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

is called. Unification is carried out only in the common intention, turned towards the Creator.

HHooww ccaann II aaccqquuiirree tthhee ssttrreennggtthh ttoo hhaavvee tthhee iinntteennttiioonn 2244 hhoouurrss

aa ddaayy?? TThhee ggrroouupp ccaann oobblliiggaattee mmee,, ddooiinngg ssoo nnoott bbyy ffoorrccee bbuutt rraatthheerr

bbyy iittss aabbiilliittyy ttoo iinnfflluueennccee mmee iinn ssuucchh aa wwaayy tthhaatt II wwiillll wwaanntt iitt.. II wwiillll bbee

““ssttuucckk”” oonn tthhiiss ddaayy aanndd nniigghhtt.. IInn ootthheerr wwoorrddss,, tthhiiss ppeerrcceeppttiioonn wwiillll

ssiimmppllyy aallwwaayyss bbee wwiitthh mmee..

HHooww sshhoouulldd oonnee aaddddrreessss tthhee pplleeaa ttoo tthhee ggrroouupp?? DDeemmaanndd;; ddoo

nnoott aasskk.. DDeemmaanndd!! BBrriinngg tthhiiss nneecceessssiittyy iinnttoo tthhee ggrroouupp.. PPrreessss oonn tthhee

ggrroouupp,, aanndd iitt wwiillll ccoommee bbaacckk ttoo yyoouu iinn tthhee ffoorrmm ooff FFaaiitthh..

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ARVUT

LLooookkiinngg FFoorr MMyy BBrrootthheerrss……..

Writings of Rabash, “Love of Friends”: A man found him while he was wandering in the field and asked him, “What are you looking for?” To which he replied, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, where are they?” … This is talking about a person who has veered off the path of the spiritual development, who does not know the true way there, who has already reached despair and thinks that he will never attain his goal. That is why he answers, “I want to be in the group where there is love of friends because then I will be able to ascend up the path leading to the Creator.”

That is how we wander around, not knowing how to reach the right state. We don’t understand how to establish the connection with spirituality and where to find it. However, in fact we are already in the spiritual world now, which is why we are wandering around this field. We already have the opportunity to establish a relationship with the group and to connect with the friends, but we are unable to do this. Thus, we walk by, like we are blind. We are already in the right place, but we cannot find this connection, as if we are wandering around in the dark.

This darkness is not outside, but inside of us, as a result of our blindness and lack of understanding. What’s missing here is some kind of epiphany in feeling and reason so I would understand in what form I have to connect with the friends. Then I will find how to make the breakthrough to the spiritual development, to the first contact with spirituality which is called “three days of absorption of the spiritual seed.”

For that I have to understand how to bind myself to the environment the right way, and that is the most difficult thing to do. In our world we know of cases when a woman is unable to get pregnant. And it is much more difficult yet to get into the spiritual world.

The Torah talks about the great problems of infertility that each of the fore-mothers had and how difficult it was for them to get pregnant. This is a symbol of how difficult it is to bind oneself to the environment.

How, then, is it possible to help a person who feels that he is lost and does not see any chance of advancing spiritually? He has put years into it and seems to know and understand everything, other than the direction. At first he thought that the knowledge he receives will help him, or some kind of actions, or maybe time will do the job.

But later he reveals that nothing helps him and then he becomes confused. That is when an angel comes to him and finally asks him, “What are you asking for? What are you looking for here?” Then the person checks himself and starts to understand that he lacks precisely the connection with the environment, “I am looking for my brothers!”

This is already a great attainment where you understand that you will be able to realize your spiritual development only on this path, inside of the connection with others. The group turns into a spiritual place. Instead of the material, physical group that he sees now, he will feel the inner connection between everyone and will turn this connection into mutual bestowal. He will reveal the net connecting them, which is called the system of the upper worlds, and all of the worlds will enter it.

This group will become the place where he will gradually reveal all of the spiritual levels, until he will come so close to the other 125 levels that he will unite with them into one whole. This will be called the end of his correction (Gmar Tikkun).

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If a person begins to feel that he will be able to realize his spiritual development precisely in this way, through the relationships with the environment, this means that he is wandering around the Creator’s field and looking, while knowing what to look for and what to ask for. He still has to go through a difficult road up ahead, but this point where he decides that the spiritual world can only be reached through unity with the environment is extremely important. That’s because it is opposite to all of his previous, material, egoistic development.

This point marks the beginning of his development and his connection with others “from himself outwards, for the sake of bestowal.” Therefore, this point is the beginning for the new path.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/23/11, Preparation to the WE! Convention

TThheerree IIss aa CCeerrttaaiinn PPeeooppllee

Baal HaSulam, “Shamati,” Article 144 “There Is a Certain People”: There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples.” Haman said that in his view, we will succeed in destroying the Jews because they are separated from one another; hence, our force against them will certainly prevail, as it causes separation between man and God. And the Creator will not help them anyway, since they are separated from Him. This is why Mordecai went to correct that flaw, as it is explained in the verse, “the Jews gathered,” etc., “to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life.”

There is no other means by which we can be saved from all the troubles, whether we are in physical exile or in a spiritual exile. It is the same thing; there is no other type. We are either under the domination of the evil forces that are foreign to Holiness, which means the force of separation and dispersion, or we unite despite all the evil forces and then we win by taking the opportunity we were given and rising to the level of connection.

In this connection we begin to discover the upper state, the upper world, the upper force. This is what we are about to do now. The world is advancing very quickly towards this clarification. We also have to clarify our status in order to become the force that takes this world from one world to another and be ready for this mission.

Very soon we will see how all these things are actually fulfilled and start to work. Everyone will be ready to connect, but whether we will be ready to connect them depends on if we can become one people. Our success depends on this.

Otherwise all the forces of evil in the world will rise against us and it will be justified because instinctively they feel that we are responsible for all of their problems. It will be impossible to blame them for the hatred they feel towards us because there is none else beside Him; there is a program, there is the upper force that operates and there is a system that works accordingly. We have to balance it, to bring the good force against the evil force and by that bring everything to the middle line.

From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/22/13

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UNLOCKING THE ZOHAR

Chapter 2: Nature and Us

It is best for us to accept the words of Kabbalist, that HaTeva [the nature] is equal [in Gematria] to Elokim [God].

Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”

The Book of Zohar explains that we exist in a single, vast system, called “Nature” or Elokim [God], yet we sense only a fraction of that system, a fraction called “this world.”

The purpose of our existence is to rise above the boundaries of this world and feel the entirety of the system known as “Nature,” the upper force. When we achieve this degree, we will be filled with abundance, infinite pleasure and light, with sublime perception and understanding, a sense of balance, wholeness, and harmony as they exist in the overall Nature.

To understand what we must do to arrive at all this bounty, The Zohar recommends that we examine Nature’s conduct from a slightly broader angle than usual.

Our world is a closed world. We exist in a single, general system whose every part is interconnected. We cannot consider ourselves above Nature and omnipotent; it is a sure way of destroying ourselves. We also cannot escape Nature because we are an integral part of it. Hence, we must study the general law of Nature and go hand in hand with it.

Our urge to evolve is wonderful, but we must do it in the right way, towards a healthy connection between us and the rest of Creation in a way that does not violate the harmony and the overall balance of Nature. This, in fact, is the basis of the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Observing Nature teaches us that all living organisms are built on the basis of caring for others. Cells in an organism connect to each other by mutual giving for the purpose of sustaining the whole organism. Each cell in the body receives what it needs for its existence and spends the rest of its efforts caring for the entirety of the organism. An inconsiderate cell that does not take its environment into consideration and harnesses it for its own good is a cancerous cell. Such a selfish act eventually leads to the death of the entire organism.

At the levels of inanimate, vegetative, and animate, the specific acts for the good of the general and finds its completeness in that. Without such harmonious activity, existence would not be possible. The only exception is human society. Why? Because unlike the other degrees, where Nature’s law enforces balance and harmony, Nature has given human beings free choice, a place for their conscious participation in the overall harmony of Nature.

If we take part in the system incorrectly, the corruption we inflict reflects on us and we experience it as suffering. Thus, gradually, over thousands of generations, Nature is leading us to understand that we must study its overall law and eventually act accordingly.

The problem is that we do not feel Nature’s comprehensive force affecting us—the force of love and giving—also known as the “Creator.” However, today science is advancing toward discovering that Nature has a “mind,” “emotion,” and the power of great wisdom that sustains and governs everything. And yet, our egos do not wish us to see it.

The current state of the world proves that such blindness and unawareness of Nature’s system cannot last. Baal HaSulam wrote about it in the 1930s: “Now it is vitally important for us to examine Nature’s commandments, to know what it demands of us, lest it would mercilessly punish us” (Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”)

Discovering Nature’s Overall Law

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The will to receive is the whole substance of Creation from beginning to end. Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 1

When we want to be impressed by something, whether emotionally, intellectually, or

otherwise, we must be on the same “wavelength” with it and thus possess the same quality. For example, to detect radio waves, the receiver must produce the same wavelength, and only then can we detect the wave on the outside.

Nature’s overall force is a “desire to give,” to bestow, to impart abundance. Conversely, our nature is one of “desire to receive delight and pleasure,” a desire to enjoy for ourselves alone. Our nature is self-centered; it is how we were made, as Kabbalah tells us. In other words, we are in contrast with the upper force, opposite from it, and hence we cannot sense it.

Is there anything we can do to sense it? We cannot destroy our nature and our will to receive, nor do we need to. We should continue with our lives as usual, and at the same time acquire new tools of perception.

But where can we find such an instrument that will supplement us with the new nature—to give—in addition to our original nature—to receive? Here, the wisdom of Kabbalah comes to our aid. At the moment, we are receivers. We absorb. And if we do give something to someone, it is only after we have calculated that it is worthwhile for us to do so. Our nature prevents us from giving without receiving something in return. It simply denies us the energy to perform an act that does not yield profit.

We are willing to give $50 if we receive $100 in return. We might also give $80 in return for $100. But if we try to give $101 in return for $100 it is impossible. This modus operandi is true not only with money or an act toward others, but for anything, as Baal HaSulam explained it:

“It is well known to researchers of Nature that one cannot perform even the slightest movement without motivation, without somehow benefiting oneself. When, for example, one moves one’s hand from the chair to the table, it is because one thinks that by putting the hand on the table will be more enjoyable. If he did not think so, he would leave his hand on the chair for the rest of his life without moving it at all. It is all the more so with greater efforts” (Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”)

Even people who assist other people more than most, such as volunteers at hospitals or elsewhere, do it only because, at the end of the day, it gives them pleasure.

Baal HaSulam explains that within humanity, there are always up to ten percent “natural born altruists.” Such people respond to others a little differently than most. They sympathize with others and feel their pain as though it were their own, and this feeling compels them to try to help others. Naturally, this altruistic inclination rests on a self-centered basis that requires correction, too, but it is hidden from the eye, as studies in behavioral genetics demonstrate.

Man’s very essence is only to receive for oneself. By nature, we are unable to do even the smallest thing to benefit others. Instead, when we give to others, we are compelled to expect that in

the end, we will receive a worthwhile reward.

Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”

When a baby is born, it begins to hear, to see, and to react. It learns and develops from examples that we present to it.

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If we left the baby to grow in the woods, it would imitate the animals and grow like an animal. With the exception of a few instincts and reflexes, everything about us comes from learning.

Can we learn the upper system in the same way if we do not feel it? How can we be like that baby, or even a drop of semen that only wishes to be born into a new quality called “giving”?

In other words, a human infant evolves out of a drop of corporeal semen. It learns from examples and eventually becomes a grownup. And now, a drop of spiritual seed, called “the point in the heart,” appears in that person, a new desire—to know what he or she is living for, to reach what exists beyond life, the force that affects us and operates us. In corporeal growth, the ego develops and the quality of reception for oneself becomes improved. In the process of spiritual growth, the quality of giving develops in us.

So what do we need in order to commence the process? We need examples—spiritual teachers. This is why The Book of Zohar was written. Just as children stare with eyes wide open and jaws dropped, craving to devour the world and learn all about it, we should approach The Book of Zohar, which provides us with examples of the quality of giving.

The more we learn how to give, the more we will resemble Nature’s comprehensive power, the power of love and giving. In Kabbalah terminology, it is called “equivalence of form,” which is a gradual process that leads to our sensing Nature’s overall force to the extent that we become similar to it.

The Zohar—a Book of Many Layers

Studying The Zohar builds worlds. Rabbi Shalom Ben Moshe Buzzaglo, The King’s Throne

Ten Kabbalists, headed by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi), joined together at the highest spiritual degree. From their union, they wrote The Zohar for us. The Zohar is not merely a book. It is a closed system, from our level to the highest level of reality. It is a system designed to launch us into experiencing unbounded existence, both in understanding and feeling the whole of Nature.

The book is built in a very special way. It speaks of things that seemingly happen in our world: stories about people, animals, trees and flowers, mountains and hills. However, in truth, it tells us about the soul and the higher forces.

Thousands of years after the writing of The Zohar, the greatest Kabbalist of the 20th century, Baal HaSulam, wrote the Sulam [Ladder] commentary on The Zohar, where he explained The Zohar in the language of Kabbalah. The language of Kabbalah helps us put the pieces together and understand what is really being said in The Zohar.

When you read The Zohar with the Sulam commentary, even without first understanding how everything unfolds, The Zohar begins to change our perception into an opposite perception. It changes our attitude toward the world. The Zohar provides examples that connect us to our next state, a more evolved state in giving.

It is similar to the way we rear our children. We continue to show them examples of a slightly more advanced state in order to develop them. Thus, we gradually bring them to more evolved states. The Zohar affects us similarly, unveiling the next degree that awaits us.

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The world we currently experience is the lowest and worst state that exists in reality. We have been deliberately brought down to it through 125 degrees from the highest state of the overall power of reality.

In our initial state, our current one, the next degree is right before us: me+1. Then comes the next degree: me+2, then me+3, and so forth. There are 125 before us, each containing a piece of information that defines the way we should be. In the language of Kabbalah, this piece is called Reshimo [recollection]. We will elaborate on it further in the book because it has a crucial impact on our lives.

The connection between our current selves and the self of our next degree is formed using The Book of Zohar. Just like a parent, The Zohar elevates us from one world to another. A “world” means the current state we are in, and a “higher world” or “upper world” means our higher state.

It is important to understand that in the course of our spiritual development, we do not “vanish” from this world. We do not stop working or functioning as usual. Rather, a sensation of the force that actually operates in reality is added to our lives. We come to a state where the whole of reality appears as a single entity, a single system. We feel that there is one force operating here—eternal, whole, beyond time, space, and motion. This is what The Book of Zohar helps us to discover.

“All the conducts of Creation, in its every corner, inlet, and outlet, are completely prearranged for the purpose of nurturing the human species from its midst, to improve its qualities until we can sense Godliness as one feels one’s friend” (Baal HaSulam “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”).

Letters and Words

Let us now approach the first reading of The Book of Zohar. The excerpt below is taken from the portion VaYikra [The Lord Called], and discusses letters.

“Ask for a letter from the Lord your God; ask either in the depth, or raise it above. What is the difference between the first generations and the last generations? The first generations knew and observed the high wisdom; they knew how to put together the letters that Moses was given in Sinai. ...And we know that in the upper letters that extend from Bina, and in the lower letters that extend from Malchut, it is wise to conduct actions in this world.”

Where do letters come from? They come from the upper force. I must demand of the upper force to give me letters.

What are “letters”? Letters are forms by which I turn my substance—the will to receive, the ego—into being similar to the upper force—the power of love and giving. Each letter is a new form of giving that I have built within me, and in which I am somewhat similar to the upper force.

I must put the letters that I receive together into “words,” which are spiritual operations of transforming from one form to another, from the form of one letter to the form of another letter. When I perform such actions, it is as though I am “speaking” with the upper force, and it is speaking with me. Thus, we have a common language.

When such a “conversation” between me and the upper force takes place and I become capable of “listening” to its words, I become its partner and I acquire all of the high wisdom. This is how Baal HaSulam explains it in his essay, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence.”

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“WE WILL DO AND WE WILL HEAR”

Friends,

One of the great things about our group is how it undergoes its natural evolution, when the most amazing developments start happening among many people spontaneously and simultaneously. One of them has been the whole wave of our current students turning towards dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah in their facilities. Letters from our new friends are full of stories of “lucky encounters” that had brought them to our group. From them we are learning that there are many of you who are taking the message of Kabbalah even further to inform, inspire and uplift your fellow man.

We believe that there is no mission higher than the one of connecting people and bringing them closer to the end of the long process of correction, and we are honored to see you, friends, using your creativity and ingenuity to craft your own approach to it! We would like to devote this issue of the magazine to those of you who have been on that other side of communication, and tried to deliver the message of the wisdom to others around you.

We are inviting you to join the conversation and tell us about your experiences of being a peer educator and share your impressions! It is our turn to learn from you about what it is like being a peer educator performing “in the field“.

Did you find the environment receptive to your message? What major challenges to spreading the word did you find out there?

Did you have to change your approach over time? What techniques / examples helped you to be heard? Were there special situations that helped you demonstrate how relevant and useful this knowledge is? Were some ideas more readily accepted than others? Were some rejected more often?

What special needs would you say are the most important for your fellow man to address to help them benefit from this knowledge? Would you say that there is a certain category of your fellow inmates who were more supportive and receptive to your message?

We are looking forward to hearing from you, friends. Your answers will help us prepare materials that would be the most suitable to your unique situation and will further promote the success of our common mission of the Kabbalah dissemination in prison. There is no one who would know how to approach this task better than you do. No one who would be capable to lead a change from inside of the “belly of the beast“, but you.

Together we can do it!

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SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM DAILY LESSON

TThhiiss WWoorrlldd IIss NNoott PPuunniisshhmmeenntt,, BBuutt AA PPllaaccee ttoo WWoorrkk

It is written, "We will do and we will hear," which means that we have the opportunity to work on the connection between us as much as we can in the material world, acting "as if" we want to unite. That is why we are in this illusory, false world. It was given to help us, not to punish us!

We are in a group that moves toward the Creator, and we are lying to ourselves, "playing" the game of spirituality the way children play as if they were adults. We pretend to be drawn to one another and to love each other, while everything we do is a pretense. However, even these external efforts attract the Light that Reforms upon us and bring us closer to the Creator.

As a result, we attain the state of "mutual guarantee," where every person guarantees that his friend will have the necessary inspiration and the forces to awaken upon him the Light of Correction (the reception of the Torah – see Baal HaSulam’s article, “Matan Torah”).This does not mean that I am happy because I have been freed of my worries and am in a society that takes care of me. Rather, the mutual guarantee gives us protection from our evil inclination because it allows us to replace care for ourselves with care for society. To the degree I start to worry about others, I stop worrying about myself.

In the meantime, we are under the rule of the "Egyptians," which is how Kabbalah calls our global egoism. To the degree we attain the mutual guarantee, we will be able to come out of "Egyptian" rule and "come out of Egypt." Then we will stop worrying about ourselves and will replace concern for ourselves with concern for society.

When we come out of our small, inner, egoistic world to the outside, we will start to feel a new reality. Desire determines everything since it is the matter of creation. If we aim ourselves at the common desire through the mutual guarantee, then when we go from our personal desire to the common desire, we will reveal a new place, a new universe. That’s how we go from one world to another.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/17/10, Selected Excerpts on Yom Kippur

BBeeccoommiinngg tthhee GGuuiiddeess FFoorr TThhee WWhhoollee WWoorrlldd

The building of the world that is collapsing now before the terrible storms of the blood filled sword requires the building of the Israeli nation. The building of the nation and the revelation of its spirit is one thing, and it is connected to the building of the world that is falling apart and that is expecting a force that is united and supreme, and it is all in the soul of Knesset Israel. The spirit of the Creator is filled with it and it is impossible for man’s spirit, whose feeling of the soul is throbbing in him, to be calm in this great hour, without calling all the great forces of the nation: WAKE UP AND RISE TO FULFILL YOUR CALLING.

Rav Kook, “The Lights,” “The War,” Item 9 Things will not be corrected and will not improve unless the people of Israel understand their special role regarding themselves, regarding the whole world, and regarding the Creator and their obligation to everyone. This is the law of nature, which does not depend on our consent and doesn’t require our consent.

We will have to keep this law no matter what, either by the path of the Light or by the path of suffering. Humanity has to reach an equivalence of form with the Creator, and we are the part that is obligated to start the correction for everyone and to lead them by setting an example for the other nations. We have to acknowledge our mission and to accept it, either

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willingly by agreeing, understanding, and taking on the responsibility or by pressure of the general hatred that will be revealed towards us, the troubles, the problems, and the sufferings of the development press that is pressuring us.

We will have to acknowledge that the whole method of correction that leads us from the love of others to the love of the Creator is called the wisdom of Kabbalah. This wisdom tells about the connection among us, about the network of connections among us in which all of reality is included, the whole system of the worlds. By building and discovering the connection among us we discover the upper spiritual reality that is above the egoistic corporeal reality in which we are living today.

We will have to understand that the wisdom of Kabbalah is God’s work by which, with help of the upper Light, with the help of the attribute of bestowal, we will want to change ourselves in faith above reason, in order to resemble the upper force and to reach an equivalence of form with it, to reach adhesion. This means to become Adam (human), which means “similar” to the Creator (Domeh), which has the same root in Hebrew.

This is what we should aim all the forces of the nation at, as Rav Kook says here: Only in the revelation of these forces will we reach the creation of the spirit of the nation and the assembly of all the souls of Israel, “Knesset Israel.” Then we will become a “nation of priests and a holy nation” for the whole world; we will become an example and guides for everyone.

From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/21/12

BBuuiillddiinngg aann EEnnvviirroonnmmeenntt ffoorr EEvveerryyoonnee

There is no schedule or exact timeframe set for our development, understanding, persuasion, analysis, and self-correction so that from being egoists we will become altruists, permeated with love and concern for one another. Don’t wait for some time period or change of generations because changes can happen in our generation. Everything depends upon one’s readiness and the extent of his desire to change.

As we have learned from the studies of free will, our desire depends entirely on our environment. We have to work together. A person can’t work on himself by himself and convince himself of something; this never bring any positive results. We have to build an environment, a society, which will influence us, and then everyone will change. So go ahead and build this great environment for all of us! With the help of this environment we will become convinced of the necessity of this path and will quickly wish to change and become connected through mutual guarantee.

As a result, the environment will influence us with such intensity that changes will take on a flying speed. After all, these changes don’t depend on our timeframe.

The still, vegetative, and animal levels of nature evolved over billions of years. This is the process of the egoism’s development. We aren’t responsible for this process; we only actualize it more and more in accordance with our growth.

However, right now the intensity and the speed of development is in our hands. Everything depends upon the environment, and I can artificially build it, constantly improving it so that it will become greater and stronger in its influence over me. Here I need people of the arts, scientists, sociologists, and psychologists. I must use all that exists in humanity in order to create an intense and effective influence. Then we will experience a happy life in this generation and see the good that we’ll leave for our children.

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If we separate human desires within this context, we can then say that they divide into two parts: individual desires that relate to a human being personally, and social desires. A person should limit his individual desires to the point that allows him or her to lead a normal life. However, a person should develop his social desires as much as possible, starting from a small circle of friends and then expand it, until the influence of the environment will help him develop to the level of good relations, responsibility, concern, mutual guarantee, and love for the entire world.

One has to understand that by exiting one’s egoism and by becoming more concerned with building mutual relationships with the widening circles of humanity, he obtains more wisdom and deeper sensations; he includes everyone within and thereby senses all of reality and all of nature. This way one opens for himself a new reality, world—he lives in it by exiting himself and sensing everyone. This constitutes life on the human level, which nature prepared for us. Through this we realize ourselves correctly here, in this world.

From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 11, 01/09/12

TThheerree IIss OOnnllyy tthhee GGrroouupp

Our work is divided into three parts which don’t seem to be connected: the relationships between people, the relationship between a person and the Creator, and the relationship between a person and the friends. When we have attained the corrected state, then all of the above will be united: a person with the whole world, a person with the group, and a person with the Creator.

All of reality must become inseparably merged together so that nobody has a greater or lesser importance in comparison to the others. This is what we call equivalence of properties. But since we don’t know how to arrange all these types of relationships correctly, how to measure each of them, we keep getting confused; so the Kabbalists explain that the most reliable thing to do is to work in a group.

After all, the Creator broke the collective Kli specifically so that each of its parts could work on its personal quality in relation to the others, so while separated from the Light, the relationships with others would replace the relationship of the creature with the Creator. This allows us to constantly examine whether or not we are working correctly.

According to the works of all Kabbalists, we need to extract this main principle: There is no Creator, creating being, or mankind; there is only the group. If I see a group where I can realize the laws of Arvut (mutual guarantee), then I must unite with them; I must do so.

Our unity must be such that no differences or distance will remain between us. We are together as one in the same sensation on the path towards the goal. And we understand that the spiritual world will be revealed only in this connection between us.

Then, to the very essence of our connection, I add the Creator because He defines exactly how to unite so that we do not become a gathering of scoffers, but an authentic group.

We don’t know what bestowal is, but we must demand that the Creator be our witness, model, and the connecting link. Hence, a person, the group, and the Creator become one whole. We will all work until we demand the revelation of the Creator among us.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/27/10, “Make Yourself a Rav, Buy Yourself a Friend”

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FEEDBACK

From your letters:

…Dear Friends, I am writing to thank you for the literature I received as requested. It was much more than I expected and was very enlightening. Thank you for the book “Kabbalah Revealed” that was generously enclosed. I am very interested in Kabbalah. Yours is the only book I have ever read on the subject that didn’t not cause any frustration at all. It is the only book on Kabbalah I’ve read that was plainly explained and got straight to the point, without any of that so called magical language which is what I appreciated most. I am very interested to become a member of Bnei Baruch, and participate in study and association to any degree that blessing and opportunity allow me too (Rodger from Michigan)

… Please continue to send the subsequent issues of this extraordinary publication. It will be put to good use and donated to the Chapel Library (Monica from West Virginia)

…I’m a lifer inmate in a California Prison and I have been a student of your Kabbalah prison course since its beginning. It has helped me to understand myself better and has given me a glimpse of a higher understanding of creation and altruism. It is difficult at times to understand, I won’t lie. But I stick with it because it helps me to have peace with myself and with others. I try to share what I learn with others, which gives me even a large understanding of giving light (Geoff from California)

…I want to begin by thanking you so much for sending me “The Wisdom of Kabbalah” magazines and especially for the book “Kabbalah Revealed”. All I can say is WOW! I have stumbled upon the treasure I have been seeking and there is no need to look any further. I now look forward to spending the next 4.5 years of my time here in prison studying Rav Laitman’s teachings on Kabbalah. … I feel so honored and privilege to have found such a wonderful teacher (Steven from Arizona)

…I must thank you deeply as these materials actually bring light to my soul and allow me to carry the burden of incarceration as if it was as light as the proverbial feather. … May you be blessed with all the good things that Hashem has ordained for you and yours, and may you continue to be a beacon to those of us who are blind (Mark from Florida)

…My deepest and most sincere gratitude to you all for your generosity and devotion towards and for those of us in prison. The lessons have been a blessing and have clarified some of what Kabbalah is really about for me. The book “Kabbalah Revealed” you sent me also helped with these matters. I cannot explain why, but I am still and always have been strongly attracted to Kabbalah since my introduction to the “Zohar” here at the facility. I feel like there is definitely a reason for this and may be that being mainly my ongoing question ‘What is the meaning of life?” I have studied more than a few religious and philosophies, but always was left with a feeling of vague incompleteness of meaning or understanding. I am confident that those questions will be answered thoroughly and completely through Kabbalah, as I have already begun to gain some insight about those questions. I feel especially privileged to be on this journey with all of you at Bnei Baruch (Zachariah from Florida)

…I hope that the Creators gift of the Wisdom of Kabbalah is the final leg of my journey and my life of despair will soon be replaced with happiness. I hope to find more than just understanding but I also hope to find people, community, acceptance and purpose. I encourage anyone who has time to put pen to paper and offer some words of encouragement to help pass the time and offer some hope and light in this dark place (Jason from Texas)

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…Thank you for all the issues of the Wisdom of Kabbalah you have sent me. I have learned so much from the magazines and try to share with the other inmates here. Thank you for all the enlightenment the issues have given me. And I will like to thank you for keeping me on your mailing list. … Thank you (Steven from New Mexico)

…Thank you for your book “Kabbalah for Beginners” and for the monthly news letter pamphlets teaching about Kabbalah! I have enjoyed them greatly and I am constantly looking at life differently. Thank you for your help and love and light. I love your work. I will keep sharing your lessons and book with the other brothers here (Todd from Nevada)

…I want to thank you so much for you Kabbalah study. It has been enlightening and has set me on a lifelong quest for more (Cree from California)

…Once again, I can never thank you enough for the study material on Kabbalah I have received. I now have Issues 1-5 of the “Wisdom of Kabbalah” special magazine for prisoners along with the book “Kabbalah Revealed”. Almost all of my time each day is spent reading and rereading this study material. I have searched most of my life for a teaching that would answer the what, how, and why of existence. I still can’t quite believe that answering a little ad in Prison Legal News has turned out to be the most important thing I have ever done in my life. I have come across Kabbalah in the past but it was not the authentic Kabbalah I now have the good fortune to be studying thanks to Bnei Baruch. It truly appears to me being sent my way. Studying Kabbalah is becoming my way of life. Thank you So Much! (Steven from Arizona)

…I sincerely appreciate you giving me the opportunity to participate within your group studies. … I feel as if I am consciously one within your group study. I have also truly enjoyed reading and studying your book “Kabbalah Revealed” along with the first 5 magazines “The Wisdom of Kabbalah”. May whole-hearted loving-kindness continue to be the factor behind all of your decisions. Once again thank you for your genuine hospitality (Charles from Indiana)

...I am working in the Chapel and found some old copies of “The Wisdom of Kabbalah” that someone was throwing away. I rescued these copies and was inspired by the material within. Would you please add my name to your mailing list, and send any material that you are able? (Charles from Florida)

…I happen to live with another student of yours. He observed me reading the “Zohar” in our Dayroom living area, when he introduced himself and gave me some of your booklets to read. Hallelujah! The information in your booklets “Kabbalah for the Student” has helped me tremendously in understanding Kabbalah and its wisdom. If it is not too much to ask, I would like to request to be a corresponding student of “Kabbalah for the Student” and your monthly publication of “The Wisdom of Kabbalah” (Juan from Texas)

…I am a leader for a large group of inmates and occasionally (especially during summer months) we have “issues” that arise with other groups, that can lead to riots if not handled properly – which takes time and interrupts my studies. … During the middle of a confrontation between us and a rival group, instead of leading us into a riot, I held my ground, but didn’t follow through with the expected first strike. It wasn’t fear, as I wasn’t even nervous, it was a sudden quietness that fell on me. I am glad that I didn’t go with my first mind which was to strike and “set off” the riot, because the next day I come to find my people were actually given wrong info and riot would have been for nothing (David)

…I would like to learn the Kabbalah. I’ve read some of your prison project magazines for inmates from a fellow friend on my Tier here. I wanna study the Kabbalah and know the

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truth to God. I am truly blessed to have come in contact with a man who has Kabbalah study course magazines. Please sign me up to be on the inmate list (Daniel from Delaware)

…Thank you so much for the “Wisdom of Kabbalah” magazine. The concepts are so mind expanding – it’s like taking off a blind fold for the first time in my life – this life. For once this is knowledge that correspondent to my experience – not just as have been told by some ones imagination. Thank you so much for the enlightenment (Stephen from North Carolina)

…I was introduced to the Kabbalah books by another inmate studying them. I’d like to be able to receive them to. Thank you for providing us with such incredible studies and wisdom Your greatly appreciated (Elisha from Colorado)

…I am most grateful for the insights I have gained through your correspondence course, above all for the feeling of unity and togetherness that you have encourage and affirmed in you course – our course (Francisco from New Jersey)

…Thank you once again for providing me with literature to study. The book I just received from you is awesome. Whenever I receive material from you I really feel a connection to the group. I have learned through daily study many valuable insights about perception reality, and a higher purpose than just going along in life and reading to whatever comes my way with selfness and self-centeredness. My desire to study and to grow spiritually increases with ever reading of the study material you send me. I really want to experience the Creator who only does good in my life and become just like him, a giver, not a taker. Once again, Bnei Baruch Kabbalah teachings are best thing to have ever come my way. It has provided me with a sense of purpose and a future that I now look forward to. I can’t wait to get out and start studying with others in a group and attending conventions. The pictures I see of others engaged in Kabbalah really inspires me. For the first time in my life I am beginning to feel a sense of Society, Somewhere where I actually belong and am welcome in (Steve from Arizona)

…I just recently had a chance to look over a number of issues of your “Wisdom of Kabbalah” magazine for Inmates and would like to be put on the mailing list to receive the magazine as well. I found the ideas presented in Kabbalah to be very profound, and while there is much I do not understand, I would like to learn more (Eric from Ohio)

…I’ve read most of Kabbalah for Beginners and I LOVE IT! I like the way Kabbalah makes me think, if I could get myself to think like that, I probably wouldn’t be where I am at today (Robert from Texas)

…I have learned so much these past months I have been studying the wonderful material you have provided me with. The value of the truth contained in Kabbalah is inestimable and I take offense if anyone makes light of it. Discovering Bnei Baruch and the Wisdom of Kabbalah, has made coming to prison worth every moment for me. It hasn’t made things any easier, but it has definitely provided me with a purpose that is starting to take shape within me, to receive, not for myself, but in order that I may be able to give and help others. And I am not totally there yet at all. I still don’t really like the people I am surrounded by. Every time I interact with others it goes against what I’m working on attaining on my spiritual path. It’s very frustrating. I see myself studying with others the daily online Wisdom of Kabbalah lesson, and imaging my entire life based on helping others and pleasing the Creator, becoming more like Him. I have just begun to scratch the surface of Kabbalah and an continually exited to learn more (Steven from Arizona)

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SMILE!

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Friends,

For a long time now, our project has been dealing with financial difficulties. The

financial strain we are coping with has made it difficult for us to produce and deliver new

issues more often, and generally it hindered the progress of our development.

At this moment we, the management of the project, are working hard to launch a

nationwide campaign to collect money for the needs of our project. More specifically we are

identifying sponsors to help us cover the expenses of printing and shipping the books and

magazines to an increasing number of our friends in a Kabbalah prison group. We believe

that this measure will help us get the situation back under control and allow us to plan the

development of the project and more fully collaborate with you.

At the same time we are asking everyone who is able to support the publication of

the magazine to make a donation with any amount that you find affordable. We are doing it

as well and strongly believe that this unification of our efforts will help foster solidarity

between all of those who see this project as special and important.

We can only do it together!

If you want to acquire further books on the wisdom of Kabbalah:

1. Please send us the information about the library in your facility; we will start sending

the books there right away (please include a postal address and any other additional info that you think we need to have).

2. Direct your request and the library information to OUR NEW ADDRESS: Bnei Baruch USA Kabbalah Research Institute PO 670263, Flushing NY, 11365 Attention: Mike Plaksin

3. Don’t send your requests to the Publisher because all the correspondence is

being redirected back to us.

It's important for us to know that those of you who get released from prison still stay in touch with us.

You can start by visiting the website of Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center at http://edu.kabbalah.info where you'll be offered a number of self-study courses of different levels

The center broadcasts live classes and provides students with other services like access to the library of authentic Kabbalah materials as well as to a lesson archive and Question and Answer Forum.

When you feel that you are prepared enough to move on, our main informational internet resource at http://kab.tv/ will be your next step. Here you'll find Kabbalah TV Live Stream with daily lessons of Rav Laitman and more.

Also you can join one of our local Kabbalah groups. Let us know about your location upon discharge and we'll hook you up with the closest group in your area.