Morning Lesson August 20, 2022, Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 1:
Growing Stronger in Faith and Confidence on the Path - Selected Excerpts from the Sources
1. Rav’s Introduction: We don't have so much material about it even though there is but it's never enough because the topic itself is very important. How can we with anything that is happening to us, how can we be with the feeling of the Creator with confidence that he is doing it not someone else or something different, that it's not people but the Creator, the Upper force is everywhere and there is None Else Besides Him, this is actually the topic of our lesson and we in that need to grow stronger and stronger because precisely through faith and confidence the Upper light comes, it clothes in the vessel of confidence.
Item #1: (01:23) Faith confidence included gives us a preliminary belief in the goal...”
2. R. This means that there was the purpose of creation which pertains to all the created beings, everyone must reach that. There are those who reach it through the drive that the Creator gives them to get there and there are those who can advance towards this by the Creator just awakening them and they already ran for it and they want to reach it and they developed by themselves deficiencies to attain the purpose of life, the purpose of creation and this is how they go forward but everyone in the end certainly reaches that, it's just that we are talking about his force of faith and confidence forces that help us reach the purpose of creation on our own you might say where the Creator is certainly behind the scenes but we can advance towards that on our own almost through awakening the Creator awaken ourselves and bring ourselves closer to the goal.
Item #1: (03:58) Faith confidence included means we must first believe in the goal ...”
3. R. This is what we have to accept and grow stronger in. Those who deserve to reach the goal right now so they feel that they are associated with that so they have two things: faith that this thing exists, the purpose of creation and confidence that they need to attain in order to advance towards that, and this is how we can awaken ourselves each time and advance. Of course it all depends on the environment, mostly it's the environment.
4. S. (05:37) Faith is a feeling so how do you develop it and strengthen it so that it will live in us?
R. Through persistence with the books and through connection with the friends. By that we acquire the force of confidence to reach that goal that the Creator establishes for us. We have here faith that there is a goal and it's possible to reach it, that's faith. Confidence is that force by which we can attain that goal and so there are two things here, one is faith and the other is confidence. We have to work on both of them and the two of them we have to develop them inside the connection between us. Each one shall help his friend. He is going to talk more about that in the excerpt.
5. S. (07:10) We can see from experience and from many texts that the goal is; you know I found one out of thousands and only those who are patient and here it says no the goal is for everyone without exception?
R. Of course it's all the created beings. My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations and all the nations will flock to him except this we have many verses about that of course the goal is not for one person or one nation.
S. This faith and confidence sounds like two opposite things.
R. Yes, certainly it's not the same thing faith is that I seemingly get it from life and confidence is something I need to achieve by myself but both of them both faith and confidence I develop them mostly in the group, mostly from the environment.
S. The thing about faith is that seemingly you go with the eyes shut, above the desire. What is he talking about when that needs to go stronger?
R. We need to become stronger in our confidence that we can achieve the goal. Confidence is the force that we need advancement. Faith is seen ahead seemingly that mutual goal, that I can attain it. As much as I come closer, faith and confidence help each other, support each other, they are interconnected, and this is how I eventually get to the purpose of life with complete faith and complete confidence. We will continue a bit more and you'll see it from the next excerpt.
6. S. (09:50) The first person who asked spoke about feelings, I want to ask if this is a feeling or if I have to make a decision about the writings of the Kabbalists. Are they the law or do I have to do something else with it?
R. Everything that we need in order to advance in spirituality doesn't work according to a decision; this is what it says, and I accept it but rather it goes according to reception as much as I received this thing in my heart and in my brain and this is how I advance as much as this law clothes within me more and more.
7. S. (10:55) It seems clear on the source of confidence and the friends but what is the source of faith, what can be the source of faith?
R. It is a spark that exists in man's heart which pulls a person forward towards the purpose of life, towards the purpose of creation, towards the end of correction,. it's all the same thing. We have a point in the heart which is connected to that goal or to that final state that we have to reach, and we cannot disconnect from it because this is where we come from and from there we seemingly descend to this world and therefore this is what we aspire to. It turns out that we have already in our heart the beginning of the end and we need only to aim ourselves more to that, to put together forces and to advance step by step.
S. The role of the tens, the friends, how can they help me?
R. There has to be mutual support in the ten that's one thing and the second is connection. It's not just support, support is like he's separate in your separate but later on we to start to connect as one man in one heart and this is how we achieve the goal. Also in our connection we obtain what does it mean to be connected as ten Sefirot in one Partzuf so that no one can connect with the other, the Creator broke between us all the connections in order for us to connect only through mutual bestowal which means each one is seemingly a small Partzuf so that we seek the reflected light each bestowing to the other, the second to the first and the third etcetera meaning it ends up that we have the connection between us which is like we are separate and along with that because we are separate we can connect, we can develop forces of connection and those forces of connection are upon the forces of disconnection and this is how we build our force that includes separation and unity above it and this is why it is considered that we are doing it and the Creator prepares this opportunity but we are doing it. This is called love covers all crimes that we have the force of separation and the force of connection from each one towards the others, this is how it is in the tens and later on between the tens and so on and so forth until we reach the structure of Adam HaRishon where all of itself imagine to yourself all of you can see also from our own body that all of it cells of the body of Adam HaRishon the spiritual cells exist with in connection between them and opposition between them and connection between them and specifically from that we have the feeling of life.
S. No translation
R. Yes, yes we built this Adam and the force within it, the light within it and this is why the Creator says: you have made me. The force that all together fills the body of Adam, and this is what we attain, and this is called BoReh come and see the source of life, the Creator.
8. S. (15:44) It says here that “the confidence in a person that he can reach the goal”, meaning the goal is derive from faith, how does faith give us confidence?
R. I don't know, I think it's the same, but I don't have the words to say this, but I wouldn't want to get into all kinds of philosophizing, from science or grammar, language. I think well let's continue and then it will become clear, it will become clear to everyone.
9. S. (16:53) You taught us that faith, that feeling that we attain above reason, is this something we can acquire or is it something we acquire above reason, or we can merit even if we work within reason?
R. There is faith within reason, but it is called reason ‘faith’, above reason is called ‘faith above reason’, where there is reason and I go above reason. It's as though there are two reasons, so I am going according to a certain reason or review which is considered above the first view, the first reason so it's called above reason.
10. S. (18:01) When we are connecting with friends, actually what am I connecting inside the friends, what is the thing inside the friends that I want to connect to?
R. You want to connect with the friend in the vessels, the desires, the intentions as much as possible so that in the two of them when you connect, you establish a structure in which you can already begin to discover the Creator because the minimum of ‘many’ is two. If two that, to begin with according to their nature they, reject each other but along with that they are connected with each other above the rejection, then they have within them something and its opposite, and they, with these two opposite qualities that they have in them, they can begin to feel something which exists outside of them and that is the Creator.
S. So when we're connecting with the vessel of the friend should I go through a strictly one friend or should I try to connect with total of the ten, which one is more correct one or two?
R. Well you have both, I can't really answer that, you need to choose: one time they say that a person should choose one friend and try to adhere to him and learn from this adhesion what we need to do, sometimes he has an opportunity to connect with a few friends together and each one can support the other, we need to see. But the most important is that we rise to connection above all the forces of rejection that exist between us and we understand that specifically through these forces of rejection that it is the Creator who is arranging it for us from the sentence that “I created the evil inclination”, and therefore we accept these forces of rejection, that they come from the Creator and in general all of the qualities and desires, and ideas and actions, egoistic ones in the whole of reality, it all emerges specifically, well not from the Creator but through the Creator's actions, this is called “I created the evil inclination” and He constantly renews His creation as it says that “I am renewing every day they act of Genesis”, of creation, and we have to work against that to try to connect between all the rejections and problems and everything that the Creator arranges because only by us approaching the correction in this way we grow stronger.
S. In this rejection can I say that even though it seems to me that the friends reject me but there's something in his desire that yearns to connect with me, so I have to find that place in the friend's heart that yearns to connect with me, how to clarify this?
R. Start to work together and you will see, if you hold on before you that the Creator's placing these obstacles, there is None Else Besides Him, so if you take into account that the force of connection is only with Him so it turns out that He arranged for you all of the conditions so that you will need Him, you will have to pull Him to organize His forces so that He will be among you. But first, the fact that you have the ego, the rejection, the competition, and all kinds of things, this eventually brings us to despair and a desire to pull the Creator in so that He will be revealed between us. This is what He does, and we need to implement that.
S. Yes I understand but I'm asking this because there are some friends in the ten which is easier to enter their hearts but there are some friends and they all their hearts has a shell, like an armor, like the will to receive is like an armor, and it's really hard to work, to enter their feelings.
R. Yes, so what’s the question?
S. So how can we find power to exactly make action of friends who has . . . ?
R. Ask the Creator for forces to overcome the heart of the friends in order to break into them so that they will feel in their hearts how much you want to be connected with them, that's one thing; second, those friends who are more hard, they are more faithful, they will go a lot farther and all of those who quickly turned on and they want it, usually they also extinguished much quicker, so don't reject someone because now you see that he is not participating in the connection so much, give each and every one time, sometimes it takes a few years.
11. S. (25:00) I heard that the goal to attain is through faith, and the confidence is something that is more, that's relative to how to attain it. So my question is how to work more on the confidence in the ten so the way to the reach the goal, the power to reach it will be greater in the ten?
R. We need to develop confidence out of the fact that we are connected with the friends and then we'll have a much greater force of confidence. Confidence depends greatly on the greatness of the environment, to the extent that we are drawn to connect with the environment even though we don't have a drive and inclination towards that, but nevertheless we understand that this will give me power, it will establish me correctly, etc., and this is why I work on this: I work on the group, I work on the connection, this is how we advance. So the most important is to try to reach confidence by being connected and helping each other.
12. S. (26:45) The purpose of creation sounds something a bit general, heavy, and we feel the more we come closer faith and confidence decrease.
R. These are waves, waves, as usual all the time for us we have waves, ups and downs, and so we shouldn't monitor from one state to decide about other states. We simply need to continue and continue, and continue, and collect moments and moments and moments, and from that, just like with any science, like with anything else, by this you collect data and later on you will be as it is written, “there are none so wise as the experienced one”.
13. S. (27:52) But you feel like there is this faith and general confidence that fits all the creatures, but we feel it, we feel it especially now with the afternoon lessons, there's a feeling that the more, the more, we advance the narrower the place gets, and this is for people who have the power, strength?
R. I don't understand what you're trying to tell me here?
S. It simply feels like the purpose of creation is, yes for all the creatures, but getting closer to the King’s Hall is not for everyone.
R. Well, it’s written about that, “the closer we get to the King's palace, the guards become stronger”, and it is well known, it is clear, yes.
S. So how does it work out with what’s written?
R. So why doesn't it, what does it say differently here?
S. That the purpose of creation is not for the brave people, have to overcome all the guards.
R. The purpose of creation is for everyone however each and everyone has a place in the purpose of creation, a different place according to the qualities that he receives, to begin with, that he was born with, the environment that he was born into and all kinds of other things that he acquires along the way. All-in-all, what he acquires in order to achieve the purpose of creation, there is also self-participation there; as much as he nevertheless adds, invests, helps the others and they help him in return. In truth, every such individual has a certain, every detail has a certain place and a certain percentage there. We can see this also in our world: some were born with more, better intellect, some with more emotion, some with their ability to move, each one is different, those are the unique people. Ordinary people, maybe, they don't have anything that is conspicuous, however this is the masses, the public, all in all. So it's the same for us in spirituality, we have those that advance more, some that advance less. We will learn later from Baal HaSulam how the Creator elevates or brings down the angels on our path and so on. I have nothing to add here.
S. What depends on a person's success to grow stronger in faith and confidence? It when it comes closer?
R. As much as he does not miss out on time, and he realizes that he has to use all the times that he's going through in the most efficient manner, and this is together with the group, with the study, that is all. But we have an opportunity to advance in an extraordinary manner, in an extraordinary manner that has never been before throughout history. Such an opportunity that the group is being advanced in such a way like Bnei Baruch today, each and every day we have new things, new discernments, we just need not to wait passively from lesson to lesson but rather to process it, each one within himself and his connection with this ten, and then we will succeed, that's for sure and soon.
14. S. (32:27) There's no doubt that the environment plays a crucial role and I have two questions: one is the environment important in quantity or quality, and does it all depend on me how do I take, accept the friends into me?
R. Everything depends on you, as much as you connect with the environment, and you push them, and you go along with them. Everything depends on the person, don't wait for the environment, that it will awaken me, help me, push me. But rather as much as I help them, this is actually the calculation.
15. S. (33:18) I thought that faith and confidence are the same, except confidence is such a strong faith that it’s expressed in the reason, where there are ideas?
R. That doesn't matter, whatever we will say now won't add anything, need simply to leave it as it is but let's read a few more excerpts and talk about it and it will settle. There are states that are impossible to explain and put them into words. Every word is a limitation, nevertheless there is a boundary from here to there, in the concept, in the charge with anything and so I think that if the concept is still not clear, let it become clarified through a few excerpts.
Reading item #2: (34:35 - 36:22) “The confidence that we should have in the Creator is that the Creator certainly hears our prayers ...” Twice.
R. 16. (36:29) So what to do if I see not precisely like the Creator and so I disagree with where I am, what I get? So here there is room for confidence, meaning that in those states where I disagree with the Creator, I'm not whole with Him with whatever He does to me and for sure He is the only one who is doing it to me so precisely in those states I need confidence. That it doesn't just come to me but rather in a place where I lack to complete the Creator's action, seemingly, that the Creator does it not exactly the way I wanted it, the way that I think, the way that I understand, then I fill up this gap between the desirable and the existing in my eyes, with a force called the force of confidence. This is why he says that “confidence is mostly that a person should trust the Creator, it's that certainly the Creator hears his prayer and answers his prayer”, and not the way that it seems to us that the Creator doesn't answer, that we ask, we want something and seemingly there's no answer, there is an answer, this is the answer, what we received. “However it's not according to what the person understands but the way the Creator understands, that is worthwhile to give him, that person, specifically what he has; it therefore follows that confidence is primarily about trusting the Creator, that He, the Creator, helps everyone. However the confidence should not be that the Creator will help him according to the person's understanding but according to the Creator's understanding.” Meaning eventually after I understand the situation, I should agree with Him, that this is what the Creator understands.
17. (38:51) The confidence that we need to have in the Creator, does that depend on the greatness of the Creator?
R. It depends, first of all, on the person, this is the person's work. That I am in the right connection with the Creator, agreeing with the Creator that following what He did to me I scrutinized it, I checked it, and I accepted it. I took it upon myself, and I say, “this is fine, I need to work out of the state that He established for me”, and that's it.
18. S. (40:00) You said that this tear between what I get and what the Creator give me, I need to fill it up with confidence, what is when I fill it up with confidence?
R. That I disagree with those states that I'm in, when I disagree, I need to fill them with the idea that the Creator placed the state before me and He leaves me, He's leaving me in the state for the time being.
S. But it's interesting what you're saying that it seems like I could have said, “okay fine this is what the Creator does and I should agree with it”, but you're saying I shouldn't just agree but do something more, what else?
R. If you do not scrutinize your disagreement with what the Creator’s doing with you in every moment then you're not scrutinizing the vessel in order to fill it with the power of faith, you understand? So it's worthwhile for you to scrutinize what do you want, with what do you seemingly disagree together with the fact that you have to agree with what the Creator’s doing, and you need to fill this vessel with agreement, with the light of Hassadim.
S. So it turns out that this disagreement should always remain, and on the other hand we have to fill it up with faith?
R. If you reach agreement then there's nothing to fill, you have no new vessel.
Reading Excerpt #3: (42:05 - 4:30) “Confidence is the clothing for the light called life ...” Twice.
19. S. (45:50) If we have this confidence and this force, like super human, and the light shines on me, why would I need to ask?
R. You need to ask for confidence, you need to ask for the opportunity of working for the upper light receiving it in the vessel of confidence.
20. S. (46:39) What is the difference between the light of confidence and the light of bestowal, it feels like these things are different?
R. Confidence is not light, confidence is clothing for the light, and the light of bestowal is already something else, it's a reflected light. It's a light that the creature, the created being, arranges relative to the Creator.
S. So these are two forces that we can grow stronger with them all the time: light of confidence, light of bestowal?
R. Correct, correct, we’ll scrutinize it further.
S. (47:41) He writes that “a person has the possibility to use superhuman powers since the upper light is not limited”?
R. According to confidence a person can increase the light in him to no end, according to the level of confidence. Look what he's writing, excerpt number three, “Confidence is the clothing for the light called life since there is a rule that there is no light without a Kli. It follows that the light of life cannot clothe but must dress in some Kli and the Kli where the light of life is clothed is usually called confidence”. What does it mean, it means that he sees that he can do every difficult thing then that feeling that he can do, it that helps him. It helps him to go and perform the action, receive. the light in order to bestow
S. Why does he call confidence a vessel, confidence is a feeling that you feel, why does he call it a vessel?
R. Confidence is that inner force that exists in a person that allows him to go above his nature, ask the Creator, connect with the friends, do something that previously he was unable to do.
S. And this, the light that fills the vessel, what is that?
R. The light that is revealed then is typically called faith.
21. S. (49:55) In the English translation we have the word, ‘vitality’ and it speaks of “the magnitude of that vitality in oneself can be measured according to the confidence and that as long as his vitality is high”, what is vitality in the work?
R. The feeling of connection with the Creator.
22. S. (50:31) There is a feeling of confidence when a person has that he's able to do whatever he needs and wants to do and does it, and there is a confidence by a person who knows that he will always have the power to do things. He can find that power even he, himself, doesn't have the power to do it, what is the difference between the two of them?
R. This is all depends on the environment; it all depends on the environment. How much the environment arranges this preparation around the person of surrounding light, and then a person has an opportunity of assembling himself inside the correct vessel, and feel the confidence, not the confidence in himself but confidence in the entire vessel. A person is a part of the vessel; therefore he cannot have any confidence, he cannot have it from the point of view of the vessel. The vessel, generally speaking, it cannot exist in him, confidence, but when he's connected to others then he acquires through them the light that reveals in him the quality of confidence; he doesn't use himself, but he uses his connection to others, that bring some confidence.
S. Is it the source is the same source but it's the person's feeling is different?
R. Yes, of course.
23. S. (52:27) I am a bit lost about the definition of life in Kabbalah, what is life: confidence or the Kli?
R. According to the confidence we have the feeling of life ,when confidence disappears life disappears. The light cannot be in a vessel that doesn't have any confidence, the vessel, itself, you can call it confidence. When I'm connected to the Creator and I trust Him and I myself, and I all the others as much as possible, and I connect everyone to the Creator, all those things generally speaking, exist only thanks to the confidence, and the light that connects all of us together is the light of faith.
S. Is this what we call Life?
R. Yes.
24. S. (53:58) Yesterday was an exemplary, very good example of a day when I'm not in the lesson, when I'm not with friends there's no vitality, so what am I lacking in the work? Why can I not have higher vitality in between?
R. I need to receive support from the friends, otherwise you can't advance.
25. S. (54:49) We say that “faith is the vessel” but before one justifies what he received shouldn’t he reach faith before, above that state?
R. Of course, both faith and confidence, we must ensure that they are present in our desire and then our desire will be established correctly in front of the Creator; but it has to be both faith and confidence in total, it has to be confidence, or we will never reach faith.
S. Can we say that confidence is the complete measure of faith?
R. To the extent that you have confidence you have faith and vice versa, to the extent of the light of faith that shines in us we will have confidence. We’ll see it, it’s not simple, those two terms, concepts are very, extremely confused.
Excerpt #4 twice (56:25)
26. S. (58:35) There is great gratitude for all the efforts you make. The question is, faith, does it show when I have such great friends around me, and I am envious of them but what about those friends who criticize you?
R. For the time being just smooth it all out, let it pass by you, critics can criticize. Love them either way, that’s it, and you will see how helpful it is to you.
27. S. (59:29) What is the difference between deciding in a stubborn way or insistence and confidence?
R. Confidence is the light that fills the vessel, the vessel is capable of performing an action above all his limitations, that is the connection between faith and confidence. What fills the vessel is called faith, what the vessel is capable of doing, that force, is called confidence.
S. When a person decides on something, that he is going to work in a stubborn way, and he locks onto that, let's say the connections of friends no matter what happens he's continuing, this is not confidence, right?
R. This is also a part of confidence, if he can keep going then he's using the power of confidence.
28. S. (01:01:08) What does it mean that “I need to offer and present all the future, present and future moments, his great name”?
R. Everything comes from the Creator, and it returns to Him as well, whatever it may be.
S. What we say that ‘He's the first and He's the last’, is it what it means?
R. Also that, there are many verses that speak about the Creator determines everything and surrounds everything.
Excerpt #5 (01:01:50)
29. R. (01:03:08) Yes, this is how we can measure our degree of faith.
30. S. (01:03:24) What are the actions that the ten should do in order to be rewarded with confidence?
R. We learn this that from this you can already draw conclusions, what you need to do, I see it's still not clear according to all the responses and questions. I see and feel that what we're learning is not clear. We cannot see it inside of our vessel, we can't make it tangible, not yet, I feel that. Indeed this topic is a bit confused, it is always like this for those who begin to study it, it is a confusing topic. They have confidence, these things are seemingly foggy, we can’t we don't meet them each and every day.
S. This confidence in the Creator's Providence, is that like glasses in which we can see?
R. No, I don't want to hear this, I have here before me something I have to give them something tangible and I don't want to hear all these philosophies, it will be really hard to grasp, leave me alone.
31. S. (01:05:02) I have a certain feeling that with this condition that we are reading about, the words bestowal seemingly on this side, we're talking about confidence more so what is the difference between confidence and bestowal, and all that bestowal means that we get the reforming light but in this text seemingly bestowal is not felt?
R. To the extent you have confidence you can bestow, that’s it.
S. Isn't it through bestowal I get confidence, isn’t it something that goes hand in hand together?
R. Both, yes. We’ll see.
Excerpt #6 twice (01:06:11 - 01:09:00)
32. S. (01:09:03) Faith is the vessel and the light of life is the light, and confidence allows the light to clothe the vessel, is this right?
R. Yes confidence in the Creator, of course in the connection with the Creator.
33. S. (01:09:39) The fact that we have a desire and a deficiency to attain the goal, doesn't that already give us the confidence that the Creator will fulfill this desire?
R. Yes, already in that, we have a certain kind of part of confidence that the Creator will fulfill it.
34. S. (01:10:14) About the excerpt, in the middle it says that “he sees, as soon as he sees that he's bare and indigent in his spiritual states, since this is the truth, the truth shines for him and so he will have vitality”, is this the point of the transition where he can draw all lights from the vessel of bestowal?
R. Repeat, please?
S. It’s the sentence in the middle of the excerpt where “the person sees the truth that he is indigent and bare in his spiritual state and that this truth, that he is bare and indigent, shines for him, and gives him vitality”. My question is, is this the point where he actually draws from like a new vessel, a potential vessel of bestowal?
R. Yes, a person descends to a place where he feels that he has got nothing, he's naked, he has no confidence, no future, he cannot do anything with himself. From that point he begins to see how to nevertheless climb back up, he disagrees with the states and gradually he begins to ascent because he has additional means for how to change the state. He has got the ten, he has got the lessons, he has got the environment. If not for the environment, the Creator would have brought him to the state of descent.
S. It’s this example of seeing his friends being wealthy and generous and that this gives him confidence that his friend will help him, it’s like more about an expectation, whereas faith appears to be more like a quality. Is it correct to say that this confidence, like it’s also said clothing for light, it’s more like on the outside of the vessel and this faith is more the inherent quality of the vessel?
R. Correct, correct the light that fills the vessel is light, faith, and what holds the light of faith in the vessel is the confidence. Confidence is a part of the vessel and the faith part of what feels it, you're right.
35. S. (01:13:31) How will we remind each other that the love of friends is the most valid way to come to that faith, how can we keep the importance?
R. That is through common work between us.
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