Lesson #23 - Preparation for the World Kabbalah Convention "Connecting to There Is None Else Besides Him"- May 2025
Lesson #23 - Preparation for the World Kabbalah Convention "Connecting to There Is None Else Besides Him"- May 2025
Selected Excerpts from the Sources
Lesson # 1: "There is None Else Besides Him"
1. From - Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 1, "There is None Else Besides Him":
"It is written, “There is none else besides Him.” This means that there is no other force in the world that has the ability to do anything against Him. And what one sees, that there are things in the world that deny the upper household, the reason is that this is His will.
This is deemed a correction called “the left rejects and the right pulls closer,” meaning that what the left rejects is considered a correction. This means that there are things in the world that, to begin with, aim to divert a person from the right way, and by which he is rejected from Kedusha [holiness].
The benefit from the rejections is that through them a person receives a complete need and desire for the Creator to help him since he sees that otherwise he is lost; not only is he not progressing in the work, he even sees that he regresses. That is, he lacks the strength to observe Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] even Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], for only by genuinely overcoming all the obstacles, above reason, can he observe the Torah and Mitzvot. But he does not always have the strength to overcome above reason; otherwise, he is forced to deviate, God forbid, from the way of the Creator, even from Lo Lishma."
2. From - Baal HaSulam, “The Meaning of His Names”:
"...All the thoughts that come into one’s mind are the very operations of the Creator. That is, it is not as one senses, that he extends them from some place or that they are born within him on the spot. This is a lie, the number one lie.
Rather, every thought, even the most slender, the Creator sends it to a person’s mind, and this is the power of movement of man, beast, and every living thing. That is, when the Creator wishes to move the living being, He acts in it by sending a single thought, and that thought moves it according to its measure. It is as one who sends rain upon the ground but the ground cannot feel who sent it the rain. Likewise, man is utterly unable to feel who has sent him the thought, for he will not feel it before it comes into the domain of his imagining mind. And once it is in his domain, it seems to him as part of his self. By this you will understand that there is no thought or perception of Him, for the simple reason that the Creator did not wish to send us such a thought that will be capable of attaining Him.
However, He has arranged for us an procession of thoughts whereby this entire procession, one must ultimately attain Him to the real extent."
3. From - RABASH, Letter No. 76:
"It is known that “The whole earth is full of His glory.” This is what every person should believe, as it is written, “I fill the heaven and the earth.” However, the Creator has made a concealment so that we cannot see Him so as to have room for choice, and then there is room for faith—to believe that the Creator “fills all the worlds and encompasses all the worlds.” And after a person engages in Torah and Mitzvot and keeps the commandment of choice, the Creator reveals Himself to him, and then he sees that the Creator is the ruler of the world.
Thus, at that time a person makes the king who will rule over him. That is, a person feels that the Creator is the ruler of the world, and this is regarded as a person making the Creator king over him. As long as one has not come to such a feeling, the Creator’s kingship is concealed."
Lesson #2: Believing that the Creator Is Good and Does Good
1. From - Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 34, "The Advantage of a Land":
"It is known from books and from authors that the Creator is benevolent. This means that His guidance appears to the lower ones as good and doing good, and this is what we must believe.
Therefore, when one examines the conducts of the world, and begins to examine himself or others, how they suffer under Providence instead of delighting, as is fitting for His Name—The Good Who Does Good—in that state, it is hard for him to say that Providence is behaving in a manner of good and doing good and imparts them with abundance.
However, we must know that in that state, when they cannot say that the Creator imparts only good, they are considered wicked because suffering makes them condemn their Maker. Only when they see that the Creator imparts them with pleasures do they justify the Creator. It is as our sages said, “Who is righteous? He who justifies his Maker,” meaning he who says that the Creator leads the world in a manner of righteousness."
2. From - RABASH, Article No. 44 (1990), "What Is an Optional War, in the work - 2?":
"A person must believe that this concealment, where a person does not feel that there is a King to the world, the Creator did this, and this is called “the correction of the Tzimtzum [restriction].” However, one must believe and make great efforts until he feels in his organs that the Creator is the leader of the world. And not just a leader! Rather, one must believe that His guidance is in the manner of good and doing good. A person must do all that he can to be able to attain this."
Lesson #3: If I Am Not for Me, Who Is for Me?
From - Baal HaSulam, Letter No. 16:
"...Prior to making a Mitzva [commandment], one must not consider private Providence at all. On the contrary, one should say, “If I am not for me, who is for me?” But after the fact, one must reconsider and believe that it was not by “My power and the might of my hand” that I did the Mitzva, but only by the power of the Creator, who contemplated so about me in advance, and so I had to do.
It is likewise in worldly matters because spirituality and corporeality are equal. Therefore, before one goes out to make one’s daily bread, he should remove his thoughts from private Providence and say, “If I am not for me, who is?” He should do all the tactics applied in corporeality to earn his living as do others.
But in the evening, when he returns home with his earnings, he must never think that he has earned this profit by his own innovations. Rather, even if he stayed all day in the basement of his home, he would still have earned his pay, for so the Creator contemplated for him in advance, and so it had to be.
Although the matters look the contrary on the surface, and are unreasonable, one must believe that so the Creator has determined for him in His law, from authors and from books.
This is the meaning of the unification of HaVaYaH Elokim [God]. HaVaYaH means private Providence, where the Creator is everything, and He does not need dwellers of material houses to help Him. Elokim in Gematria is HaTeva [the nature], where man behaves according to the nature that He instilled in the systems of the corporeal heaven and earth, and he keeps those rules as do the rest of the corporeal beings. And yet, he also believes in HaVaYaH, meaning in private Providence.
By this he unites them with one another, and “they became as one in his hand.” In this way, he brings great contentment to his Maker and brings illumination in all the worlds..."
Texts of the Video Clips
Clip No. 1
Rav: This excerpt mainly directs us toward one goal, one reason, one force — the reason for everything that happens to us and the direction we must constantly aim ourselves toward. That aside from the Creator, there is no other force in the world that does, has done, or will do anything — for every action that happens to each of us and all of us together, only one force is acting. We are within it, and the main thing we must do is not lose the connection and direction toward it. If something happens at any moment — it’s all from Him. If we aim for something — it must be only toward Him. Then we are not confused and can correctly reach the goal.
The goal is for that force, from which everything emerges and to which we must aim ourselves, to be felt within us — that we hold on to it and constantly remain in connection and complete adhesion with it. The entire wisdom of Kabbalah is essentially arranging our approach to this. Everything the Kabbalists speak about is this system: how the forces emerge from the Creator and reach us, how we perceive these forces and respond back to the Creator. And in between, between us and the Creator, there is the society — the love of friends. If we study and properly establish our connections with one another, we draw closer and closer to the Creator.
It turns out that the Creator is hidden, incomprehensible to us, but He is revealed within the love of friends. The more we properly build our connection with others — with all of nature: still, vegetative, and animate, but especially with humans — in that same direction, with that same power and intention, we ultimately reach the love of the Creator, the connection with the Creator, and His revelation.
Clip 2 – "Justifying the Creator"
Rav: The Creator is the concept of "One, Unique, and Unified," and to the extent that we make ourselves into that same concept of "one," we can then begin to feel Him, understand Him, and justify Him.
We always come from a state of separation, because otherwise we wouldn’t be able to feel the concept of unity. We must always see light from within darkness; only by comparing opposites can we perceive both realities — both light and darkness. We cannot see darkness within darkness or light within light. We need to see one in contrast to the other.
That’s why we can justify the Creator only on the condition that we connect. The more we are connected with one another and discover the concept of connection, the more we are able to justify the Creator for what He has done in creation.
Creation means "outside of Him" — something external. The Creator created the entire world in a state of separation, distance, shattering, shells, Sitra Achra, and so on — all in order to give us the opportunity to connect those opposites. Even though they are opposites, we connect them through the force of love. And through that, we come to understand the essence of connection — which is the Creator. This is how we attain Him.
Clip 3 – "If I Am Not for Myself, Who Is for Me?"
Rav: We don’t know what spirituality is, what it means to be above our own mind and heart. I don’t know what the quality of bestowal is, what faith is. It’s something I can’t grasp — it’s not within me. I can’t see this result or phenomenon outside of myself, anywhere, because everything I perceive, I perceive through my will to receive.
And so, bestowal itself becomes the issue. I don’t know what true bestowal is. Even when I give, it’s still receiving — I’m receiving. We don't judge it by the form of giving something to someone, because in truth I’m receiving — I’m always receiving. Whatever I see or don’t see, whatever the action, the type, the context — it is always reception for myself, for myself, for myself. When I look at something, when I see something — how can I gain, how can I succeed, enjoy, be fulfilled — this is the approach of the will to receive that lives inside me and drives everything I do. Both in conscious and unconscious ways. My heart that beats, my body that sustains itself, the cells, the organs — everything operates from the desire to receive, constantly receiving.
So here’s the problem: how do we attain the quality of bestowal, which is the opposite?
It is said: You have a part called “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” — and that part, you must do. This includes actions to get closer to others, to build the group, build the ten, and to influence one another as much as possible.
The second part — is given by the Creator.
Clip 4 – “Bnei Baruch Conventions”
All the conventions we’ve had were like steps on a ladder leading to this current convention.
We built the “State of Kabbalah” like in a game at the Sitrin Convention.
Rav (in Russian): Although it seems to us now like we’re just playing and joking...
For us it’s a game, but for the Upper Spiritual it's not.
We can’t imagine what spiritual actions we are awakening... enormous ones!
And together, we succeeded in igniting our hearts.
Then we moved on to the conventions in Europe and America.
Sparks of fire gathered from all over the world,
With one single yearning — to become one soul.
From convention to convention, we moved closer to the right intention.
Rav: "It’s like a ball we want to keep in the air,
So each person tries to keep it from falling.
That’s how we need to be these days — trying to keep our thoughts constantly on unity between us and toward the Upper One.
Not letting our intentions fall!"
Friend from the U.S. (in English): "When I come here — 3,000 people I’ve never seen,
Names I couldn’t tell you if you asked.
And you guys...
You guys...
I love every one of you.
God bless you all."
That same year, we launched our own television channel in Israel — “Kabbalah La’Am – Connecting to Good.”
24/7, we spread the purpose of creation.
Many viewers came to the conventions and saw that the truth is here —
In the place where hearts open.
Friend from Cameroon (in French): "When I return home to my country,
I’ll be like Moses after seeing the Creator.
And in my face will be the light you gave me.
And they will understand — what words cannot convey. That’s it. L’Chaim!"
We reached a point where we needed a true prayer.
So we decided to go out to the desert.
There, isolated from the world, we only wanted to unite.
With such a great desire, it even opened the skies and brought down rain —
A flood the likes of which had never been seen, in the middle of the desert.
Friend from Africa (in English): "A few days ago in the desert, I saw such giant friends... giant friends.
I felt such immense power there.
It was like you could take a knife, cut a piece of what was happening, and hold it in your hand."
More and more friends are joining us from around the world.
Motlu (in English): "We go to morning lessons and everything,
And I started translating into Turkish, because I’m originally from Turkey.
And some friends asked me: ‘Is anyone even listening? Who are you translating for?’
I said: ‘They will come.’ And they came...
And I think the whole world should come.
Everyone should come feel what we feel."
Friend from China (in Chinese): "Only because the friends helped me, we managed to overcome the obstacle and get the visa.
So if you see a friend alone,
You must overcome everything and support him."
Friend from Italy (in Italian): "To feel that each and every friend has simply stopped thinking of themselves and is thinking about others —
About the other. That doesn’t belong to this world. There’s no other place in the world where you can live these kinds of feelings."
Then suddenly — COVID...
Yes, everyone is at home, but we decide to gather all the homes into one virtual home.
Rav: "When thousands of people gather across the globe, virtually, at the same time,
And they understand that in the connection between them there is hope — a chance to reach the force that dwells among them — the Creator...
The feelings fill me so much, I feel like I could burst."
And when the lockdown ends, we decide to return home and hold a convention here — in our home.
And it turns out it can contain everyone.
It took us a long time to reach where we are today.
And we’re breaking the walls between us.
We’re connecting all the conventions, all the efforts, everything we’ve been through —
All of it, we bring together into this convention.
Here and now.