Morning Lesson May 17, 2022 Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Part 2. Inner Observation. Chapter One. #1 ("The ARI spoke very little of the ten Sefirot of circles.")
1. R. (00:24) Yes, these are important things because basically this is what we are in, circles end straightness, we feel, it we don't feel it, to the extent that we feel it all that depends on us but the fact that the system of the upper bestowal the upper force that's how it's arranged bestowing upon us through circles and straightness. We have to depict both and to what extent we can be connected to him in a mutual way. Let's read. I say again the circle are very special things that belong to all of humanity to everyone seemingly equally because it doesn't depend on the screens or the relations between man and the Creator above but rather the created being wherever he is or however he is, he is under the upper bestowal through the circles and through the circles we see most of the world the way it exists, look at the world and what happens there, ups and downs and assets and wars and everything excetera excetera.
Everything is through the circles end if someone presses a button and blows up the world that's also bestowal from the circles everything is from the circles except for what comes from below upwards which is our relation to the Creator under certain special conditions in what we call the tens, meaning the relations between us to the extent that we want to resemble or make our relations between us resemble the Creator and the way the Creator relates to us it's only that he relates to us with light, and we relate to him with our vessels. So to the extent that we are willing to let go or annul ourselves, our ego and to connect between us, to that extent it is considered bestowal to the Creator and that's how we can bestow upon Him. He bestows on us in circles and we can bestow on Him in straightness even though there is a mutual influence here. Let's scrutinize that, please.
Reading Item 1 (03:41)
R. (04:41) What is required for us for correction that's what we have to scrutinize all the rest will have it or we won't have it but our goal is,to the extent that we can by all this knowledge and bestowal from the circles, to reach our bestowal in straightness because it's clear to us that these are the vessels in straightness.
Reading item 2 (05:18)
R. (05:54) This means that wherever there are circles, there is straightness and wherever there is straightness there are circles. They always go together.
Continues reading item 2 (06:05): “and we saw…”
1. S. (07:18) What does it mean that the external circles are better?
R. That it's closer to the Creator and more distant from the created being and it is from the first in the bestowal of the Creator to the created beings, and below that there are other circles coming out of the first one and this way the Creator bestows through the uppermost to the lower most.
S. So tell me please every time we feel the influence of various forces in us, general forces of the governance, how can we build a line back from it?
R. You have no ability, only under the condition that you organized the system that can reach by its bestowal from below upwards, from the circles to the straightness. What are we doing when we are connecting between ourselves in the ten? We are making with all the shapes each and everyone has, we want to reach the straightness and by the straightness to bestow to the Creator. We are not connected to the circles we can't bestow upon them, they bestow upon us and also in a way that we can't really depict them but to bestow to the Creator that's only possible through the circles that we establish in the connection between us. Do you understand? That's why if you have a ten we're each and everyone invests as much as he can in the connection between everyone so that the sum total of this connection more or less but this connection is already capable of bestowing on the Creator.
S. So it turns out that we are building a circle between us?
R. We establish a circle between us and from this circle we connect to the Creator. Yes.
S. How does this circle become a line later?
R. I don't want to talk about these things now. We have to learn what he tells us and out of that it will become clear to us. I don't want to jump before or head of Baal HaSulam. Let's move on.
Reading Item 3 (10:40)
2. R. (12:48) Yes, soon we will see, let's continue. In the meantime we just have a question.
Reading Item 4 (13:00)
3. R. (14:45) Okay, in the meantime he didn’t answer anything, he just asked a few more questions but his questions are to the point so lets go with them and understand what he is talking about.
Continues Reading Item 4 and 5 (15:02): “the first three…”
4. R. (19:30) So let's hope that this is clear and let's see what they want to ask.
5. S. (19:41) Can it be said that externality, the external, is bestowal and internal is reception?
R. If we're talking about the vessels according to the character of the vessel, according to the nature of the vessel, if it's more internal it is more the will to receive, yes.
6. S. (20:21) If our relationships with the Creator is the line of straightness, why does it go from above down? Shouldn't it go from Malchut to Keter?
R. If we're talking about the four phases or ten Sefirot of direct light and the reflected lights so they are opposite. You really have from below upwards the Sefirot when we count these things, when Keter of the reflected light is below everyone else, the central point of creation, and Malchut, being bestowal in lower ones, is in the Creator, He is the receiver of all our bestowals. That's why it's okay, you are correct. It depends how we measure it, direct flight and reflected light.
7. S. (21:26) Regarding circles and the line. I have never imagined a similarity of form when looking at the circles in the line. I have never learned it, maybe I did, maybe I just started to hear it from the teacher and the friends but how many ways can you turn similarity of form to Creator with all these books that we have? Why in so many ways does he bring us to the same thought?
R. You should think more about what Kabbalists tell us and then you will not be confused they're talking about the way the Creator bestows upon the created beings and how he arranges them and how the Creator turns the created beings from being the receivers to still receive but by the reception to bestow. And that is simple: if you take a baby and his mother, the mother wants to feed the baby and she gives him everything he can receive. Suppose she can give him from all her heart but he suddenly doesn't want to receive, he makes a restriction, so the mother is certainly very sorry for what is happening with her baby, her beloved baby. And then from the perspective of the baby he does decide that even though he does not want, suppose, or maybe he does want because of a certain reason he will go against his desire. Either receive or bestow it doesn't matter but it's against his desire. Here the baby starts discovering his bestowal to the mother.
If he does not restrict himself it doesn't matter what he does he won't bestow to the mother because everything is innately in the nature of his when the mother gave birth to him but if he performs a restriction and he says now I will decide how to respond to my mother's bestowal upon me, then it turns out he is in the picture, he is the one who bestows, he starts being in reality, he has reality. Now the question is what kind of reality does he have? A simple reality, very clear, yes. Four degrees of the will to receive, it depends out of what will to receive he now decides to bestow to his mother, from the smallest will to receive to the biggest one including everything. Everything is in the hands of the baby. That is how he bestowed to the mother and by having an opportunity to bestow to the mother he can give her contentment more or less. That is it. This is what we learn, meaning we're learning about amounts of reception.
That is why it's called the wisdom of Kabbalah, the amounts of reception of the lower one to the upper one. You can be certain he always receives but the question is under what condition, in what connection, in what mutual bestowal can he receive? Just like with this example with the mother and the baby. So we can say the baby is smart, he can play with his mother in a way that he leads her to feeling of joy and wholeness and everything there is and he can put her into sorrow and really break her. Everything depends on the extent the baby knows how he can govern his will to receive and by that to bestow to the mother. That is what all the wisdom of Kabbalah is about this is what we learn in order to be good babies. You see everything is clear, everything is clear there is nothing here besides these things that are in the foundation of the world.
8. S. (27:00) What is the connection between the straightness and circles that we build in the ten? The connection between circles and straightness in the ten?
R. The connection between them goes through our hearts because if we don't respond all there is upon us is the action of the circles from above. If we do start connecting between us then bit by bit we're building the straightness and to the extent that we built straightness from the circles in us, meaning, our intention that connects us to the Creator from below upwards, from us to the Creator, then the Creator can bestow back upon us. Not only in the form of circles the way he does for everyone, the way he relates to all of the humanity suppose, but rather he relates to us in the form of the line. When we open this ability for him to relate to us in a line and then according to our relation between us, the connections between us, when we later connect between us to the Creator then in that same line come down lights upon us, they are called the holy names because that is how we get to know the Creator according to the line that we establish and according to the lights that clothes on this line and that is the whole wisdom of Kabbalah and we have nothing besides that until we expand this line to such an extent that it will become like a circle, all of it, like in general.
9. S. (29:27) I want to know what is an internal and external Circle in our desire?
R. External circle is the circle of Keter and the internal circle is the circle of Malchut and it's not exactly in our desire, it is in bestowal from above downwards, upon us. We will learn this.
Reading item 6 (30:04)
10. R. (32:05) These things we spoke about already, about the coarseness and refinement.
11. S. (32:25) Relative to internal and external, maybe we can say this, that it's relative to something that is greater than me or towards the collective something that belongs to the ten? What belongs to me personally and what belongs to the ten?
R. Think, think about it. The question is correct. I don't want to answer it. You should think, everyone, maybe together during the day what is externality and internality to a person in the way the society relates to him, the way he relates to the world, to the society, to the Creator. What is internally and externality here? The internal surroundings, the external surroundings, many things to think about in order to arrange them.
Reading item 7 (33:45)
12. R. (35:28) Yes. Well these things are clear because it's according to the structure. There is no work of the created being yet.
Reading Item 8 (35:40)
13. R. (37:59) It’s clear, we have learned these things before. Everything depends on the coarseness in the screen therefore there is nothing really to ask.
14. S. (38:18) How does the reflected light depend on the coarseness?
R. What is reflected light then? explain to me. The reflected light is the light that comes from the created being to the Creator. This is what we call reflected light and it all depends on the coarseness of the created being, the will to bestow of the created being back to the Creator. So it turns out that it depends on the coarseness of the created being and its ability to overcome this coarseness and turn it into refinement. This is the work of the created beings towards the Creator if they want to bestow to Him. They don't receive any influence from the Creator, no matter what it is, influence, any bestwal from the Creator is always pleasure. I don't want to receive any pleasure because by that I disconnect from the Creator rather I wish to receive it from Him only on the condition that by that I give Him contentment. Then I receive pleasures, as a result of bestowing to the Creator not that he is sending it to me but how much I can bestow in return to Him. That is why the pleasure received is a pleasure as a result of my action that I am doing the restriction, the screen and reflected light to the Creator and as much as I can fill Him, that pleasure I can receive myself and I enjoy the fact that I'm bestowing to Him.
S. How can I examine how I can fill Him?
R. It's like a mother that gives to her baby something to eat and the more he eats, she enjoys. The more we are capable of receiving from Him but only in order to bestow to Him, meaning this is after the restriction. We take this action into consideration, by that we feel ourselves as bestowers and we discover in the process the pleasure that we bring to the Creator. This pleasure that we bring to the Creator, this fills us like a mother, what fills her? She is filled by the feeling of how much the baby received from her. That is her filling.
S. How can I choose out of the ocean of feelings and pleasures I get from the Creator? How can I choose specifically what He will enjoy?
R. As much as you can connect with the friends, since without friends you cannot bestow to the Creator, so to the extent that you connect with the friends that's already scrutinized what kind of bestwal has to be to the Creator so it will truly be bestowal and then in the connection with the friends, you build and build and build your attitude toward the Creator. So you understand that it can't be that you come to the Creator unless you go from below up from Malchut to Keter in your reflected light through all the friends, then you come to Him, to the Creator. This means that behind all the friends stands the Creator.
S. What does it mean that I move from Malchut to Keter through all the friends?
R. You wish to bestow to them and if you arrange yourself correctly to bestow to them then you can bestwo to the Creator, otherwise, no.
S. Where is Malchut and where is Keter?
R. Keter is you and Malchut is the Creator because this is talking about ten Sefirot of reflected light.
S. What do you mean I am Keter?
R. You bestow, you give, you arrange everything, you decide. This is called my sons have defeated me. The Creator relates to us from above down but in truth the result, the outcome of the action, is determined by our action from below up.
S. And Malchut you said that is the Creator, what does it mean that the Creator is Malchut?
R. Malchut of reflected light which is the Keter of Ohr Yashar is the Creator.
15. S. (44:19) Can we say that all my friends, the group, everything around me seemingly is some contradictions together but after we reach this critical mass so that the shape can start living by itself …
R. We don't have to wait for it to be revealed as some great desire, egoistic and so on and so forth. It will not be revealed. It will be revealed only when we begin to respond to it. Only in this way. don't wait for a certain phenomena from above rather the important thing is to bestow from below up. This is our work and that is what we need to do.
16. S. (45:33) Can we say that the lines of contact are bonds in our actions in the ten, in connection?
R. Because it all depends on these touch points as much as we connect between us and from connecting how much we can bestow to the Creator. The Creator doesn't receive bestowal from anyone but from all of us. If we can come to connection between us and relate to Him that is fine, if we can’t, even if each one will be the wisest we will not be able to bestow to the Creator.
14. S. (46:52) What discernment is more important in spirituality, phase one or phase four?
R. One or four? In spirituality first of all we do not care about one or four, rather we care about everything. We care about the result of the connection between the discernments, the aspects, the phases and how they can all arrange themselves to bestow to Keter of Ohr Yashar which is Malchut of Ohr Hozer.
17. S. (50:56) In item two we read that every world has ten Sefirot of circles and ten Sefirot of straightness. Does it mean that every world contains 20 Sefirot?
R. It is always circles and straightness. You can't have one without the other. From the Creator we get circles and from the created being we get straightness. Kabbalists reside in all those vessels therefore there are circles and straightness in all the Sefirot but as much as the light shines in circles that defends on straightness, as we know in this world it's really dark circles.
18. S. (51:51) When the desire descends to coarseness on level four there's the thinnest screen but in order to return the light to such coarseness we need the thickest screen don't we?
R. From above down when the Creator bestows there are no screens. The screens are only in the bestowal of the created being to the Creator and as much as the created being can connect with the broken vessels that are outside of him by that he establishes his coarseness and to that extent he can bestow to the Creator.
S. It's more about why the thinnest screen, why does it work with the thickest coarseness, why does the coarseness and level four get the more refined screen?
R. It is refined because it's the strongest. It can resist more. We're talking about bestowal here.
19. S. (53:22) What determines the intensity of the reflected light?
R. The intensity of the reflected light is determined only by the coarseness of the screen.
20. S. (53:40) If the system of the worlds is the line of straightness between the Creator and the created being, meaning the system of connection between the Creator and the created being…
R. The system of connection between the Creator and the Created being is all the worlds. Concealment on the vessels by which the created being can not resemble the Creator in bestowing to the Creator as the Creator bestows to him and to the extent that he can resemble the Creator there is already a line. Until all the circles will be filled by all the light at the end of correction.
21. S. (54:27) What raises a person from the worst circle to the upper one?
R. When a person feels that he is in the dark and the ascent from darkness to light is only through bestowal to the vessels of Adam HaRishon which are all the vessels in the circles and then it turns out that if a person understands it and he begins to work in such a way with the other, he wants to pass the light to everyone through them and then he works for the correction of the world. This work is different than the work in the ten. In the ten you are working in the line and bestowing to humanity we're working in circles.
22. S. (55:39) What's special about inner observation as opposed to the internal light in every chapter?
R. That is how Baal HaSulam decided to divide things because it was hard for him to just write a book from beginning to end without any parts, different modes of explanation and nevertheless it is difficult for him, is what I think, it's also difficult for those who receive it, for the students. They nevertheless need to bring a different attitude to circles to straightness to inner work, the entire system. Hence Baal HaSulam divided it from the get-go to a few things. It is the way we divide our attitude towards creation and to many forms, science, research, philosophy, literature, different virtues, different forms of culture and education.
Why is that? We divided those things so it will be easier for us to relate both between us and and also to one another and to Creation in its entirety but it's not what exists in truth. What exists is one circle, the attitude of the Creator to creation, the good who does good to the good and the wicked and that is it. There is no more but when we speak of the created beings, the differences between them, why do we need so many created beings and they have to connect between them and see how different they are and how much they can work in it in order to resemble the Creator, this belongs to that desire of the Creator who wants to do good to the created beings, who gives them an opportunity to rise above their egoistic nature and by that to attain Him. If He didn't create them in their egoistic nature no one would feel that he exists and we would feel ourselves as, I don't know, not even as a drop of semen because there would be no discernments relative to us, no thoughts of the upper one. We would be included in the upper one and that's it.
Whereas if we are speaking of his desire to do good to the created beings which is the purpose for creation then he started Creation in order to do good so in order to do good He needs to build something that will be flawed in order to do good to it it has to have certain deficiency. So how can he create a deficiency? he doesn't have a deficiency in Him so the deficiency develops in the created being is a special way in order to bestow to the Creator and then it turns out that in such a way in an inverse way the Creator arranges the created being from a state of wholeness where he exists inside the Creator to the state of wholeness where he exists outside of the Creator and that's what we see in us how little kids when they're born they begin to establish themselves, that's what they want and that's how they do things and we are influenced by them and depend on them. This is because love, the love of the Creator to the created beings is at the heart of creation. The foundation of it.
23. S. (01:00:28) You touched about the difference between the vessels of circles and straightness and we heard you say that the work in the ten is working with vessels of straightness so the question is: from the perspective of the person’s intention should we invest more time in the work in the ten in vessels of straightness or circles?
R. We don't have any direct way of bestowing to circles but only by connecting between us in order to build vessels of straightness, by that we change the Creator's attitude toward us in his vessels of circles.
24. S. (01:01:27) We heard about the Arvut exercise in the ten to write together our commitment to each other. What can help us to do this exercise so that we can all sign up for the Arvut between us?
R. We have no other action but the Arvut. See what Baal HaSulam does, he wrote one article Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah and then the next article is the Arvut, the mutual guarantee. One completes the other and together this is what we have to do. There is no more than that. Matan Torah from above down and the Arvut that has to come against it, our response to it from below up and by that the world will come to correction.