Morning Lesson July 12, 2023
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio.
Part 1:
Rabash. Article No. 35 (1988) "What Is the Help in the Work that One Should Ask of the Creator?"
1. Rav’s Introduction: (00:36) Yes, we see how much Rabash wrote specifically for those people who want to enter connection with the Creator to discover Him, understand Him, learn from Him directly. That only, that he pays attention to and leads us to care about just one thing. What is the help in the work that one should ask of the Creator? What can the Creator give and want to give and how does a person come to the right request and so forth. Meaning everything in relation to the Creator, man and the Creator. Therefore, we have to pay attention that we have no other places, no other directions, we turn to, in what we do only to turn to the Creator and ask from Him and to the extent that our requests will match His desire, we will succeed in our goal. Please.
Reading Article. (02:21) “Our sages said, Rabbi Yitzhak said...”
2. R. (30:44) Meaning that man's will to receive, the evil inclination is built in such a way that it can put the person to death and it truly wants that it wants to, it seeks to put Him to death on the one hand, on the other hand man has the ability to cope with this force, go against it, this force that really wants to put it to death, spirituality so not to let it govern him, that is what a person can do, can ask of the Creator and succeed and that is what we are going to discuss how to do that.
3. S. (30:56) What are the two lines it speaks about in the article?
R. Right and left, this is about the line of connection and the line of disconnection. There are many interpretations to that, the line of mercy and line of judgment. The two lines are not that there is just connection or disconnection rather there are possibilities of the connection between them.
4. S. (31:46) In the reading of the article I find myself to some extent in lo lo Lisma and I see that I want to reach the work of Lishma and I realized that I need the Creator but I don't really get the tools from the article meaning what are the actions that I need to do etc., what should we come out of this article with what should we take from it?
R. That truly the Creator's help is necessary and it determines our success in our work that's one. Two, that our whole work is in connection between us, it's not in this article but we are ready to in the other articles that we need to understand the success depends on how connected we are between us and how we will connect to the Creator and ask Him for help. Only in that condition that we will succeed connecting between us feeling the lack of force of connection and turning into the Creator to help us with this force of connection. Then by that we can succeed in having connection both in connection between us and the connection between us and the Creator.
S. In the beginning of the article it says that a person has to annul himself. What does that mean?
R. To nullify himself, meaning that first of all he himself doesn't think that the success depends on Him. Success depends on how much he relies and depends on the Creator. That he will depend on the Creator's help, that's one. Then there are a few more things: how much he’ll connect to the friends, how much he and the friends together will connect to the Creator and demand from the Creator to help them but it's all revolving around that the whole issue of spiritual success.
5. S. (34:43) To ask the Creator that he will help him overcome the evil incarnation and he writes 'he who comes to purify is aided', it is felt that it doesn't say one who comes to ask is aided but it is felt that there is something about this action of coming to the Creator that's much more than just asking with words, what does it mean to come to the Creator? What is this thing?
R. To come to the Creator meaning that a person wants to learn the work of the Creator. He wants the Creator to show him all the steps he needs to take and teach them to the person and that the person will be able to make each and every step on the path from himself towards the Creator until the complete adhesion.
S. When he writes that a person perceives the Creator as great and ruling everything and this brings him the feeling of fear. What is this fear, how is it manifested?
R. In that a person discovers that the Creator governs all of nature and ' There's None Else Besides Him and we all depend only on Him, that's stage one. Stage 2 is that a person discovers that there's really no other goal besides pleasing the Creator,being liked by the Creator and that's what's most important. Meaning he wants to carry out the rules of the Creator at any cost, it doesn't matter under what conditions as long as he carries them out because by that he brings contentment to the Creator.
6. S. (37:27) In the article it says that the difference between a person who walks on two lines and a person who walks on one line, but it's not quite clear on one state I can be on a single line in another state I can be on two lines, it says that on one line on a single line it a person is doing everything by himself and then above reason he sees that the Creator helped him. Sometimes it is felt like that but sometimes you feel that you cannot do anything on your own and you need help from the Creator so what is our work on the single line or until lines or maybe both?
R. Our work is in three lines.
S. But it doesn't talk about three lines here?
R. Wait, you haven't finished learning, you will hear later on.
7. S. (38:38) What are the special corrections that are done so also in the vessels of reception we can receive the light of pleasure?
R. The vessels of reception are vessels that wish to receive. According to the spiritual law we can only work in order to bestow and if it's in order to bestow then how can it be that we will succeed? Here we have work to do, that we can receive in order to bestow. The Creator doesn't want to enjoy, he doesn't need to enjoy it doesn't have vessels of reception in which to receive and enjoy but the created beings were created with a will to receive and He wants the created beans to enjoy, and so when we reach a state where we have no interest in self pleasure we then move to pleasure that we can receive for the Creator. Meaning that to the extent that we can enjoy, we can relate that to the Creator and this is called 'the intention to bestow', and with that we can achieve great corrections. Whatever we have to receive will only be to bestow contentment to the Creator, which is opposite to the nature we received in the beginning and that's the whole matter of our work.
8. S. (40:59) How do we identify a state of weakness in our purity that in that state I need to ask for help?
R. A state of weakness and purity? I'm not sure what you are relating this to but on our path we have such states that we go through. Weakness in our own strength and purity that we receive from above that we later call that the force of the Masach [screen] so that we can be purified in our will to receive, by the power called the screen so that we can work with it in order to bestow.
9. S. (42:09) In two lines if I understand correctly,one yearns for adhesion and he realizes that he is not capable of reaching it by himself without the help of the Creator, and so he prays. On a single line, he feels that seemingly he does things by himself he has powers and he doesn't feel the urgency, the necessity for help?
R. No one works according to his nature.
S. If you are in a state where you don't have a necessity for help, how do you want to a state that you do have a necessity for help?
R. That's already requires entering such a society that will bestow examples of how to work correctly with the upper force, if he doesn't have such a society then they can be in any other society even if they seemingly learn the right books but they don't discover their nature and they don't advance towards the Creator but perhaps they think that they do and that's already a problem.
S. What does he receive from this society that awakens in him the necessity to get help?
R. Deficiency, deficiency he sees that others are closer to each other in truth not in pretty words. He sees that the purpose of their study is to get closer between them and then to the Creator and that also the purpose of their study for each and every one is to attain the deficiency in one wanting to adhere to the Creator and feeling the ascent in that more and more.
S. Earlier you answered a friend that to come to the Creator means to come to the Creator so that the Creator will teach him how to get closer to him. So the question is,how does the Creator teach him?
R. In each and every moment we learn from the friend but we don't feel it. If a person pays attention that he's under the control of the Creator each and every moment then he begins to clarify exactly what he's receiving from the Creator and he responds accordingly.
S. Each and every month we have to come to the Creator to come to the Creator means to ask of the Creator?
R. To come to the Creator is to ask of the Creator.
S. For his request to succeed what is required of him?
R. That the direction in his development and the Creator's direction in his development will be at least close to each other.
S. In the request is it to a zero or a one or are there other options in the middle?
R. No, it's not one or zero but not one or zero but there are measures of getting closer.
10. S. (46:04) You mentioned that we need to reach a state where everything that we enjoy from we attribute it to the Creator so the question is what changes do our vessels of reception go through if we ascribe the pleasure to the Creator?
R. I'm not really understanding the question. Meaning how am I called relating the pleasure to the Creator?
S. No, no the question is we only say the intention changes the desire remains the same but if we ascribe the pleasure to the Creator it seems that desire also changes it also undergoes some change?
R. Well, we will see, we'll see.
S. What is the change it goes through?
R. Not yet it's not yet.
11. S. (47:07) In the middle of the second page in the left column it says however there is also the intention which is the reason for which he keeps Torah and Mitzvot? Meaning what compels him to keep the Torah and Mitzvot so I understand from this verse that actually the moment that you have an intention then the act itself happens automatically what you are going to do meaning if you have some freedom of choice maybe it's in choosing the intention itself is that correct?
R. Correct.
S. The question is how do we choose the right intention? He is showing us his intention that we want to be like him or delight ourselves? How do we carry out this choice?
R. We learned a lot about that, that we correct the intentions by connection between us and then from between us to between us and the Creator.
S. Connection isn't action right? So this action we ask in our heart that it will be for choosing the writing intention, something like that?
R. Yes.
12. S. (48:48) Earlier if I understood correctly you told a friend that in order for a friend to receive forces he needs to see that the friends are connected to each other and this will give him a deficiency.
R. Yes.
S. The problem is that my ego justifies myself. I make the friends smaller, I don't see them as more connected. I can give myself all kinds, I can tell myself all kinds of stories and justifications regarding myself and this blocks me from receiving the deficiency from them. How do we break this mechanism so that it would be possible to see that the friends are connected and that you are outside of this and you are the problem?
R. Yes, but over time we feel that we aren't succeeding and we are not advancing in connection with the friends, in giving, in connection with the Creator and then we begin to despair and turn to the Creator and then He helps us.
S. When I come to check myself what is the precise point where I examine my success or my failure?
R. You have a few points here. The first point is how connected to the friends you are because all in all your upper degree is where you have to be connected with the friends in the complete feeling of disconnection that you have now the more you discover this connection and correct it you rise to the next degree and so it is in each and every degree. So that's our work. We don't have more tools in our hands in order to ascend from state to state. Rather, only by working together with the friends so as to build these ascents for each and everyone and everyone together.
S. This means that if I want to check if I'm successful in the work on 95 advancing or not it means to check where I stand in relation to my connection with the friends that say today compared to yesterday's that right?
R. Well desirably, preferably.
13. S. (52:11) To remind myself every moment that I'm under the rule of the Creator at some point it becomes second nature?
R. Yes, that's true as well.
14. S. (53:37) Please tell me, how can I distinguish between a true desire which is directed towards the Creator versus a game of the will to receive that from a will to receive which is seemingly directed towards the Creator?
R. We have to choose the right direction and keep moving forward in it so much so that we won't care about anything else that is in our spiritual life, not in our ordinary life, that is what we need to do.
15. S. (54:50) Why does the Creator who is good and does good educate us specifically through fear?
R. This fits our Kelim, vessels of reception. That only by fear, can we learn to work with them correctly. Other than fear we have nothing that can direct us correctly. We have many kinds of fear and you have nothing that influences our will to receive more than fear?
16. S. (56:04) What is the difference between a repentance on the side of man versus the Creator will finish my work?
R. Man has to reach a state where he understands that with all his work the Creator nevertheless has to sign on each and every action that man does and without the Creator's help he's not going to be able to do even the smallest action. Therefore, we say that only the Creator is the operator and once a person agrees that it's the Creator operating and that's how we should operate then he sees that it's truly what the Creator is doing and one has nothing more to do here.
17. S. (57:11) Do we need to reach this, the love of this work and then we will feel the greatness of the Creator or the greatness of The Creator will come from loving the work of the Creator?
R. We have to reach a state where we love the work and even if one will think that he can receive a result without work, he will not want it. Rather doing the work brings him a special kind of pleasure.
18. S. (58:07) What does it mean that the Creator signs or seals every act?
R. That's he agrees that he wants that it is necessary for him and for man and that's how we advance.
S. How do I check if he hears, with what I do?
R. You feel that the Creator, too, is going along with you.
S. You also said that the Creator should show us the degrees the way that we have to go through. How can I show me the way that I need to go through?
R. When he directs us, what path we are taking. There's not even a single step that we do on our own only according to the Creator's instruction. He does these steps for us and puts us in this place or that place and we learn from these steps what's good, what isn't and how we need to be in the future.
S. He can teach me what to do in the future. How does he show me a picture?
R. No, like we have a mother and father teach her child what to do and what not to do and the same thing the Creator teaches us.
19. S. (01:00:09) It says in the article that they want to serve the Creator because He is great and rules everything but we also say that we need to serve the Creator because we want to have pleasure are these different degrees?
R. The highest degree that we need to yearn for is being similar to the Creator, from the smallest action to the greatest that is what we need to do
S. Nevertheless if my fuel, my motivation is the greatness of the Creator is it still Lo Lishma,not for her sake or is it for Lishma, for her sake?
R. This could be both Lo Lishma and Lishma, it depends on how you define greatness. We will talk about it more.
20. S. (01:01:21) How can I know that I am delighting the Creator?
R. From the study, from the articles, we learn how, what is good for the Creator, what he wants and what he expects of us. Accordingly, we see how much we can fulfill his desire or not.
21. S. (01:02:14) The left line asks who and what sometimes the left line says the Creator is right, what do we do in such a case?
R. I don't understand the question.
S. When the left line asks who and what we strike it in the teeth sometimes the left line says something that is right, so the question is what do we do then?
R. To carry out the maximum closest to the Creator through the friends, and for now don't get confused with the left lines left light right and limit middle, just maximum closest to the Creator through the friends. As long as the lines in which we have to work have not become revealed.
22. S. (01:03:27) These people who work on two lines, how do they exist? They raise MAN and receive MAD?
R. Yes.
S. Is there a stage in the development of the Ten where we do not feel that we yet received MAD but we do connect and we get forces to connect. Is this already MAD? Is this something that we can say that we get from the Creator?
R. Well for now you can say so.
23. S.(01:04:19) Must we have faith or can we continue on the path without faith?
R. Without faith you cannot continue. Faith is the spiritual force by which I develop. If I do not have the power of faith, meaning bestow connection then it happens that way otherwise I cannot advance.