Part 2:

Baal HaSulam. Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah. #17

Reading item number 17 (00:21) “ thus far we have clarified the three foundations..”

1.S. (02:41) He's writing that the desire to receive is obligated to cascade until there is a sensation that there is an obligation for the whole matter to cascade, what is going on why?

R. Until in it, it's realized to the plan of creation, all that he has to do. The will to receive has to cascade from the beginning of creation until it's end, and what does it do by that basically? It carries out the whole plan of creation.

S. He says that the third matter is a restriction and the screen plays on the vessel of reception which is Phase 4, so the cascade is cascading anyway, what is bothering him?

R. Nothing is bothering it on the contrary, there's a force that obligates him to cascade.

S. What do you mean obligating it?

R. Obligating it, it pushes t to cascade

S. Why? What causes this force? Is this force an opportunity for it not to cascade?

R. No such thing, in each moment there's a new state and the will to receive is obligated. It must cascade through all of the degrees that are in him, in it. To begin with it has to cascade in them until it reaches the purpose of creation, the end of its development. Which was predetermined also, when his will to receive was in the beginning of creation. In him, in a concealed way, the whole plan of creation was there. Now it's being revealed and by that a vessel is cascading.

S. A new vessel in the Ten Sefirot and it constantly brings us new vessels?

R. Yes.

2. S. (05:13) One of the principles is that they cascade, why is it so important to learn about cascades, usually there are questions from below and upwards and still why is it important how it cascades, specifically why did the Kabbalists arrange for us?

R. We need to learn the laws of nature. How they came from the upper force that obligates us to develop. That's called from above downwards, from the will to bestow to the will to receive. This is why this is what we learn, even though our work is from below upwards.

3. S. (06:13) What is the difference between the restriction made before the cascade of the desire through the worlds of ABYA (Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, Assiya) and the restriction that is happening at the end of the cascade?

R. Basically, we only have one restriction and that's a restriction when one is not allowed to use the will to receive in order to receive, that's it. All the rest of the restrictions are the results from this restriction. They act in all kinds of degrees and states but basically the restriction is only one.

S. Another thing when we say returning light, and the vessels, doesn't mean it relates to the light as it develops from below upwards right it didn't exist before?

R. That's already a vessel that rises from below upwards, yes.

4. S. (08:10) Baal HaSulam writes that we need to understand and memorize well how can a person knows that he has fulfilled this advice of Baal HaSulam.

R. Go over what we're le\arning a few times, here are the impressions from the friends, answer their questions, ask them and hear their answers, this is how you advance. One should help his friend until we are Incorporated together, through such a study with one vessel, one desire, one Creator more and more.

5. S. (08:56) Can you explain the three thoughts we need to memorize?

R. Yes, it says here. First thing is light and vessel, when the light is the force of bestowal, incorporates in it love and knowing and everything that there is in the light because it comes out of the Creator, building the will to receive, filling it and starting to change it by that, and it changes it until it makes of it through the four phases, four worlds, and these worlds are arranged in a way that the upper light can bestow through them upon everybody who will be in the worlds.  These worlds are like a ladder of degrees, where the upper light comes down to them, pours unto them and so it enters every desire, corrects it, changes it and ultimately leads them to the final correction. It's not enough that everything comes from above, the first and second principles, but rather the third principle, is that the world should be from below upwards, from the vessel to the Creator. Where the restriction, the screen, everything that the light calls for in the vessel, the vessel carries out and by that it repeats the actions of the light in it and in itself it agrees with what the light wants of him. This is the meaning of the guest calling the host, wanting to hear the host and to fulfill his desire, this is what we are learning in the whole wisdom of Kabbalah, until one fulfills the desire of the host and by that we'll have the end of correction.

6. S. (11:59) Why to begin with the will to receive, who to begin with, why is not considered to be a creative being? How does it become something which is the opposite of the Creator?

R. To begin with, the will to receive is opposite the Creator. It's not yet the Creator, but it is not yet clear that it is the opposite. However when it turns into a Klipa, meaning against the will of the Creator, then it turns out to be a Klipa. The fact that a child doesn't listen to his parents, it's not terrible, it's not bad, it's his nature and everyone forgives him and they're not upset at him so much and so on. However, if an adult would do such things then of course it would be a problem because he does that out of his own intention that he doesn't want to, a child doesn't understand what he wants or doesn't want he just does. Everything depends not on the action itself but on the intention behind the action which is why mostly we need to correct the intention.

S. At what moment does the will to receive become a created being. It doesn't happen from the beginning.

R. The will to receive becomes a created being when it has a desire of itself, when it is free and can direct its will, its desire, in either way towards reception or bestowal. Then it becomes a created being, either Klipa or holiness.

7. S. (14:34) Baal HaSulam emphasizes this item, he says you have to memorize it and without these three parts of the item you can't understand the wisdom. Not every item he goes into it and explains but he doesn't do it every item, so in what way does he want us to memorize it?To understand it, that there are these three degrees or three ways to react back to the Creator from above downwards and then below, why is it important for him why does he emphasize it?

R. It's important for us to know how the light cascaded down to our level and how we need to rise back towards it.

S. Why Is it important that we remember every part? That we are learning exactly, that we will identify, now we are learning about light and vessels, then we're learning about ten Sefirot, and the four worlds, and then we're talking about the restriction and the screen. Meaning throughout the way, will we  reach these parts and have to know? Okay, now we're here, what will that give me?

R. Yes, yes, it is not obligatory. As much as we are drawn to it, we are included from it and in such a way we study and correct ourselves.

8. S. (16:25) How does repeating these excerpts and reading them again, how does that affect our spiritual advancement?

R. As much as we go over the excerpts more and more we are included from them and we build ourselves up. Therefore, as much as a person repeats the same excerpt that we are studying more and more, he is being included from them and he reveals how much he doesn't forget them. They all exist inside of him. The secret is in that the wisdom of Kabbalah is constructed from the very same Kelim, the very same vessels, that we are constructed from. Which is why when we read the text of the wisdom of Kabbalah we arrange inside ourselves the same units, these cells, that construct us that includes us, and it comes out that we correct ourselves. We arrange ourselves. As if you would do an overhaul on a car, so we do an overhaul on ourselves.

S. Will it help us to read an excerpt but to start sharing our impressions from the excerpts in the ten?

R. This has to be very, very gently because you can confuse one another. Clear?

9. S. 19:06) Is there a connection between the three foundations we have to learn at the age 13?

R. No, the age 13 doesn't mean anything although it's written but what it means is not our age in this material world but a spiritual degree.

10. S. (19:54) What does it mean to build a new vessel of reception between us?

R. There's a vessel in order to bestow unlike a vessel in order to receive as it was previous.

11. S. (20:14) Can we say that the shells are structures that do not progress towards the purpose of creation?

R. Of course not, he does an opposite action, it's called help against and that he helps us advance towards the goal only in the opposite way. That he constantly shows us our mistakes, and then we correct our mistakes and then we get closer towards the goal.

12. S. (20:56) Can we connect in the group without the restriction, a screen and the reflected light

R. You see what they ask about, apparently it's not only that we don't hear them, they don't hear us, clarify between the friends.

13. S. (21:55 ) Regarding the reflected light I wanted to understand is it a big thing that reflected light gives us an opportunity to be equal to the Creator?

R. Yes, according to the size of the returning light, we are coming closer or farther from the Creator.

S. That's why in the story of the guest and host instead of a guest he becomes a friend, he starts in item 16 in the resemblance between, and the guest and the host so we really want to do this work. In what we call reaching the second restriction we're trying to scrutinize what places we raise.

R. Yes.

S. All of a sudden I understood that this is the only way with the reflected light, not to receive the reflected light in order to receive the light in the right way.

R. Correct.

14. S. (23:06) How can we become more aware that our desire to receive is completely opposite to the Creator?

R. This we need to be impressed by, from our friends. Because the friends who are in front of me, they passed me the qualities of the Creator and as much as I disagree with them, opposite from them, distant from them, in that way, in that form I am towards the creator. This is why you will understand how much our analysis towards the group, towards the friends, is the necessary thing. without which we would not advance,even in anything, even in the right direction we wouldn't advance. This is what we need very well, without our analysis of the friends, it takes years.

Unless it's inspired properly that the friends constantly show him the way, the direction of his development of his correction is he really aimed in the right direction or maybe he's developing backwards and it's not a problem that he's developing backwards I want to add, it takes several years until a person recognizes that the development towards the Creator is happening through the friends, is the only thing we are given until he hears it and fulfills it, it takes a long time, often many years. But there's nothing else to do, at the end of the day we will all go through the state and adhere to the Creator.

15. S. (26:12) You said that the magnitude of the reflected light depends on how much we come closer or further away from the Creator so how can we increase the reflected light in the ten by coming closer to each other?

R. Yes, as much as we come closer to one another as much as we connect between ourselves, as much as we want to help one another, as much as we tighten close one another together and act towards the creator, then according with our efforts and connection, the returning light is what we are doing it increases.

16. S. (27:13) Showing the connection between the hearts is their advancement?

R. Advancement is in joy, that I am bestowing to the Creator through the group. In essence, this is our advancement. When I will use all of my desires, with all of my environment, meaning with all of humanity and I will bestow from all of my desires and all of my desires to the Creator. This will be called my personal and final correction.

17. S. (28:22) What does it mean to bestow from all of your desires to the Creator?

R. We have vessels of reception and vessels of bestowal, these two types of vessels they have to be in order to bestow. Vessels of bestowal are bestowed in order to bestow, vessels of reception are received in order to bestow and any of these two types of vessels I bestow to the Creator.

18. S. (29:10) When I read what the book says I can depict it only in matter, in my corporeal feeling. How can I come out of this corporeal understanding to a bit more of an internal discernment?

R. Look, we are acting in the material world and still we have, in this, emotion, cessation and reason, and relationships and so on, if you continue that way you will come to a state where you reveal that you are feeling in reason despite you seeing the material world.

S. But it has to reach it through corporeal discernments you reach spiritual ones?

R. Yes, yes, and even the Torah writes about it.

19. S. (30:29) The ability to hear the friends, what does that depend on?

R. The ability to hear the friends depends on how much you need them. Needing them means that how much you are aware that to the degree that you hear them you hear the Creator, that when you connect to them you can connect to the Creator, and if you understand that then you can already advance.

S. How do I develop this ability to be more needy of them?

R. It's natural that when I see that they are ahead of me there's a condition that if I connect to them I connect to the Creator, then instead of paying attention to the Creator I have to pay attention to them. This is what it means that from love of friends we come to love the Creator and then as much as I am able to I advance.

S. What is my work that I should be with my friends so that this dependency in them will be stronger? Will be real,tangible.

R. Think about it more. Turn it this way and that way and this way, don't allow these relationships to just pass by you and disappear, rather as much as they can sting you and interfere through that you can receive a greater awakening.

S. What should I do with the fact that I see that all the burdenings are about that, about the ability to always be closer to the friends are all the burden is there

R. Yes.

S. So how can I correct all of these disturbances?

R. I don't know. Depict to yourself that you are with them in half a circle or in a circle it's not important, and you're holding one another, and as much as you hold yourself closer to one another, to that degree you hear, you feel what the Creator wants of you and what He wants to give to you. Try it in this way, be always adhered together, always, always, and if you lose this connection then you have a problem, you have to get back to it, identify it and strengthen it.

20. S. (34:32) What should I do if the connection is not lost but there's a feeling of paralysis?

R. This is excellent. Search out where is the problem, where is the paralysis, and how to enliven it. Usually when there is a paralysis we take a needle and you poke the flesh until you feel where it is that you poke and you don't feel that you are poking. There is the problem. Identify it, try to identify it.

S. What should I do with this point when you discover here I don't have a feeling?

R. You have to do a massage to soften the flesh.

S. Can I at that point can I care for the friends?

R. You can't, you don't feel anything, you have to first soften it, we will talk about it.

21. S. (35:48) What does it mean when the friends tell you that you're advancing but what you feel is that you're not advancing and I'm adding how can we help him? He is our glue, he really is.

R. I don't know, as much as I feel, he is missing suffering.

S. How can we help him? I feel that we really want to, like asking this question without being afraid of some kind of response between him and me or between me and you, me and the Creator?

R. I don't know. What the mind doesn't do, what the reason logic doesn't do, time does. I am not that worried.

22. S. (37:22) You just touched a painful point in our ten so I have a question. How can I help a friend that informed that he has no emotion towards our work, the morning lesson, and the connection between us, and we feel that he's distant and we don't know how to help him. It's been a long time. Can you give us some recommendation?

R. I don't know what to say he has to work for the sake of the ten. You have to pull him in and help him, Do something.

S. We're trying to do that.

R. Do something. Go for a trip, do some mutual works, do something, something to do. Talk to his family, Try to bring him into some mutual work.

23. S. (38:46) Why are there times when you come closer or further away from certain friends in the ten?

R. This is in order to clarify, to discern, to scrutinize your ego in one way or the other.

24. S. (39:11) A few moments ago you were answering a friend's question about how to get a particular situation and I wanted to ask you, how does faith work for you in these situations?

R. I don't know what to tell you. I simply am concerned, I make sure every single day just not to run away. That's all, that's it, there's nothing to do. This is endless work every single day and never until the final correction you are not free from it.

S. Yes, but you know you've explained to us before how doing the actions is not enough, doing the actions is part having faith that the Creator is going to participate and help you is a needed part as well and so we in our intentions and prayers are constantly praying for that faith and that's why I asked if it's important in this as well. If you’re doing all these steps to ratify the situation don't you also have to have faith that the Creator is going to help?

R. This I don't have for now but I'm praying that I have the strength to hold, this is it, L’Chaim.