Willingly Laying on the Operating Table: A Journey to Spiritual Transformation
The Torah as a Scalpel of the Soul
The Torah is not merely a text; it is a living method, a divine scalpel that carves through the layers of our being. It is both cleansing and exhausting, enticing yet relentless, as it provokes, sorts, and separates our inherently selfish, egoistic, and individualistic intentions. This sacred process strips us bare, peeling away the illusions of self until we stand at the precipice of total surrender. At this moment, we fully recognize and accept that to become truly Human — to touch the singular, all-encompassing source of life — we must sever ourselves entirely from our original egoistic nature and all it holds dear.
This is no small task. It demands courage, faith, and an unyielding yearning to transcend the self. Only through perfect mutual guarantee — a bond of unconditional love and support among us — can we summon the bravery to subjugate ourselves before the Creator. In this surrender, we release all concern for ourselves, desiring only to receive the qualities and abilities to become selfless, unconditional lovers and servants, mirroring the Creator’s boundless love.
The Yearning for Transformation
Imagine reaching a point where the darkness of this world — its aimless suffering, its suffocating isolation — becomes unbearable. We can no longer tolerate the ego’s grip, which blinds us to the needs of others and chains us to a life of self-serving desires. In this moment of desperation, we crave a divine operation: a complete replacement of our mind and heart. We long for the Creator to dismantle our 100% selfish, egoistic lifestyle and implant within us the capacity to exist as He does — through pure, selfless, and unconditional love and bestowal toward others.
This yearning is not passive; it is a life-or-death need, an all-consuming fire that quenches every other goal, desire, or aspiration. It drives us to the operating table, where we willingly lay ourselves bare before the Creator, trusting Him to perform the transformation we cannot achieve alone. This is the ultimate act of faith: to hand ourselves over, not knowing what will emerge, but knowing it is the only path to true life.
The Power of the Spiritual Community
This journey is not solitary. Our spiritual life depends on the others in our spiritual group, the sacred circle that mirrors the Creator’s unity. Through them, we amplify the importance of our shared goal: to become similar to the Creator, to recognize and justify Him as the single benevolent force in reality. They are our mirrors, revealing the cancer-like ego within us, exposing its destructive tendencies so we may desperately seek to sever its control.
Only through the group can we heighten our sensitivity to the desires and perspectives of others. By dissolving into their needs, we gradually lose our self-concern, self-service, and self-justification. As we feel their incessant love, support, and service, we find the strength to let go of our own cares. The right environment, bound by mutual guarantee, acts like a press, squeezing us out of our ego as one might extract the seed from an olive. In this sacred space, we are reborn.
Two Stages of Transformation
This transformation unfolds in two profound stages, each a milestone in our journey toward divine similarity.
The Kingdom of Priests
The first stage is becoming a “Kingdom of Priests,” a state of total devotion to the Creator. Here, we act solely for His sake, in awe of His majesty, reaching the quality of Bina — a state of pure selflessness where we desire nothing for ourselves. We seek only freedom from the ego’s tyranny, striving to be independent of its manipulative whispers. This is a state of spiritual fear — not dread, but a reverent awe that guards us against the ego’s pull, ensuring we do not harm others or disconnect from the Creator’s light.
The Holy Nation
The second, higher stage is becoming a “Holy Nation.” Here, we transcend mere independence from the ego and begin to use our vessels of reception for the sake of bestowal. We exist through the desires and needs of others, fulfilling them with the Creator’s boundless fulfillment. In this perfect partnership, we and the Creator act as one, filling all of reality with perfection through selfless, unconditionally loving intentions. This is total adhesion with Him, a state of divine similarity where we become conduits of His love.
The Role of the Pioneers
This transformation begins with a select few — the “Kingdom of Priests,” descendants of empirical spiritual scientists who, through their own corrections in their time, paved the way for us. These pioneers, sensitive and ready, hold the fate of humanity in their hands. They are the peak of the human pyramid, tasked with guiding the rest of us, who live blindly under the ego’s tyranny, toward freedom.
Their role is monumental. By devoting themselves to their sacred task, they help humanity shift from its current death spiral — a trajectory of inevitable doom — toward a path of redemption. They attach the desires and needs of all reality — people, nations, and even the still, vegetative, and animate layers of nature — to the Creator’s light, correcting them in ever-widening circles, from the lightest to the heaviest.
The Power of Intention
At the heart of this transformation lies the power of intention. Matter — the raw, instinctive desire for existence and fulfillment — cannot move itself. Only our intention, the purpose with which we engage reality’s deterministic plan, can change how we experience it. The observer alone holds the key to transformation.
We must learn to exist through intentions, using desires and actions as mere tools to express them. By shifting our focus from selfish to altruistic intentions, we elevate our actions and desires to serve others. As we immerse ourselves in refining our intentions, worldly desires fade, and even physical suffering becomes a catalyst for spiritual growth. We rise above the material, perceiving the perfect spiritual dimension through similarity with its singular, benevolent force.
Crossing into the Spiritual Realm
Through the right intentions, we undergo a profound transition. We begin to sense the spiritual dimension, governed by entirely different laws, desires, and intentions. This is a world untainted by the broken, suffering-filled physical reality we once knew. The physical world remains as a necessary contrast, a backdrop that sharpens our perception of the true reality until we stabilize in the spiritual realm. At that point, the false physical reality becomes irrelevant.
Yet, the suffering of the physical world continues to fuel our aspiration. It pushes us to hasten our development, not only for ourselves but for all humanity, so that everyone may perceive, verify, and justify the Creator as the single benevolent force. In this unified effort, we declare His goodness, recognizing that He is benevolent to both the “priestly minority” who guide the way and the raw, heavy desires that, through corrected intentions, now bask in His light.
Becoming a Holy Nation
This is the culmination of our journey: to become a “Holy Nation,” a reality in conscious, reciprocal love and adhesion with the Creator. Here, all desires — once “bad” due to their selfish intentions — are transformed into vessels of divine fulfillment. The “Kingdom of Priests” provides the altruistic intention, enabling everyone to enjoy the Creator’s boundless provision.
Willingly laying on the operating table is not an act of loss but of liberation. It is the moment we surrender our ego to receive the Creator’s heart, becoming selfless lovers and servants of all reality. Through this sacred operation, we awaken to our true purpose: to live as one with the Creator, filling the world with His perfect love.