Article No. 18, 1990
It is written in The Zohar (BeShalach, Items 70-78), “‘The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.’ Rabbi Aba started, ‘If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing what you wish, and from speaking words, so your speech of the Sabbath will not be as the speech of a weekday.’ Each day, one must show a deed and evoke awakening below, from what he should evoke. However, on Sabbath, one should awaken only in the words of the Creator and the holiness of the day, and not on anything else, since on Sabbath, there is no need for an awakening from below. Come and see, here, when Pharaoh drew near, to make war with Israel, at that time the Creator did not want Israel to evoke an awakening from below at all, since there was an awakening from above, as it is written, ‘The Lord will fight for you, and you will keep silent,’ since the name of Rachamim [mercies] must awaken on them because an awakening from below would only activate judgment.”
We should understand the adjacency of “The Lord will fight for you” and Shabbat [Sabbath], and why each day we need an awakening from below, but on Shabbat we do not need it because on Shabbat, there is only an awakening from above. We should also understand what it means that on Shabbat we should engage only in the words of the Creator and the sacredness of the day.
It is known that there are two things before us: 1) The lack, which is yearning. Without a lack, a person cannot feel pleasure, even if this thing is the most important thing in the world. If he has no lack for the matter, although he can receive it, but not enjoy it, since this depends on the measure of his yearning for it. Hence, we have a time of lack, and then it is the time to receive more lack each time.
That is, where he feels a lack, he goes to fill the lack. If it is hard for him to obtain that thing, we do not say that he tried in vain to obtain it but rather that he did obtain something: He obtained a Kli [vessel] called “yearning.” In other words, had he obtained the filling right away, the filling would not be regarded as a filling with regard to pleasure, which is the main purpose, as we learned, that the purpose of creation was His desire to do good to His creations, meaning that they will receive delight and pleasure.
It follows that if a person receives something without effort, meaning that he did not have the time to obtain the Kli to receive the pleasure, called “yearning,” the pleasure he should receive from it, the filling cannot yield the pleasure because he has no Kli to receive the pleasure, for the Kli to receive pleasure is called “yearning,” and in order to receive yearning for something, it depends on time, meaning time for feeling the lack.
It follows that when a person prays to the Creator to satisfy his need, this, too, depends on the amount of time he has been praying for the Creator to satisfy his lack. For this reason, the Creator first helps him by the growing of the Kli within him, called “a Kli of yearning,” meaning that the Creator hears his prayer. And the reason why a person does not receive the filling for his prayer right away, he should say that this is not so, but that the Creator does hear his prayer and is increasing the yearning within him so he will have a real Kli to feel the pleasure. It follows that if he were to receive what he wants right away, he would not be able to enjoy because of the lack of yearning.
By this we will understand what our sages said (Sukkah 52), “To the wicked, the evil inclination seems like a hairsbreadth, and to the righteous, like a high mountain.” However, first we must understand, when we speak in terms of the work, what does “in terms of the work” mean?
The thing is that there are two manners in observing Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds]: 1) Doing, which is regarded as action. He learns Torah; he observes Mitzvot in all their details and precisions, and there is nothing to add to this. Indeed, in terms of actions, he is considered righteous. 2) Work, which is work in the heart. In the words of our sages, a prayer is usually called “work,” for a prayer is called “work in the heart,” which is an intention, meaning the intention of the heart. That is, a person should aim while observing Torah and Mitzvot, why he is observing the Torah and Mitzvot, whether for his own sake or does he aim for the sake of the Creator?
For this reason, we should discern between righteous and wicked in terms of the action, and righteous and wicked in terms of the intention. In terms of the actions, the righteous are the Ultra-Orthodox and the wicked are the secular. But with respect to the intention, righteous and wicked go by a completely different order. In other words, in terms of the action, both are righteous. But with regard to the intention, there is a difference: Righteous are those who work for the Creator, and wicked are those who work for themselves. However, in terms of the work, both are righteous.
When we want to walk in the work, meaning with the aim of the heart, to intend that all his work will be for the sake of the Creator, then begins the order of the work. That is, the wicked in his heart, which are called “will to receive for oneself,” resist working for the sake of the Creator. However, “God has made them one opposite the other,” meaning that to the extent that he wants to walk on the path of truth, to that extent the truth about the evil within him appears.
When one has a small desire to walk on the path of truth, meaning to do everything for the sake of the Creator, his evil is small, as well, since “one opposite the other…” In other words, to the extent of the Kedusha [holiness] in him, so is the resistance to Kedusha. It follows that the more he advances in the work, and wants to go more on the path of truth, the more the evil surfaces by not letting him cancel the evil, and the evil exerts to control more forcefully.
It follows that “Anyone who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him.” Therefore, it follows that one who wants to be righteous, that his actions will be for the sake of the Creator, the evil grows within him. This is why they said, “To the righteous, the evil inclination seems like a high mountain.” In other words, the evil ascends each time. Har [mountain] means Hirhurim [reflections]. That is, he has bad reflections, meaning that each time, the bad thoughts increase and become a high mountain.
But to the wicked, those who do not mind the intention, to make it in order to bestow, but believe that they are working Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], and that from Lo Lishma they come to Lishma [for Her sake], and rely on it and say “Glory will finally come,” meaning that only when they have a desire to aim for the Creator, they will certainly have the power to overcome and do everything for the sake of the Creator, since their bad seems to them like a hairsbreadth, meaning that it is not so difficult to aim.
The reason is that their bad is not so great, as was said, since their good is small, meaning the desire to do everything for the sake of the Creator is small. The proof of this is that they do not have such a need to begin this work, so the bad in them does not need to show the evil within it and resist him. Therefore, the evil inclination seems to them like a hairsbreadth. This means that none of them is lying, but each speaks according to his feeling.
Accordingly, we understand the meaning of extending the light and the meaning of extending the Kli [vessel]. That is, we still do not have the Kli for reception of delight and pleasure, called “yearning,” since this depends on man’s work, that specifically through the work there is development for this Kli, called “lack” and “yearning.” This Kli is acquired specifically through labor, meaning without labor, it is impossible to obtain the Kli, meaning the need to acquire vessels of bestowal.
This means that the very obtainment of the vessels of bestowal is already called “light.” That is, this is something that comes from above, called “assistance from above for obtainment of the vessels of bestowal.
It is known that there are two discernments to make in the light: 1) To obtain vessels of bestowal, meaning the Kelim [vessels], namely desires, which were previously outside of Kedusha, meaning that these desires could not be used in order to bestow. 2) This light is named after the Kelim, since the light comes in order to correct the Kelim. This is called “light of Achoraim [posterior],” after the Kelim, for the Kelim are called Achoraim, with respect to the light, and the light is called Panim [face/anterior].
In the work, this is called “assistance from above,” as it is said in The Zohar, “He who comes to purify is aided.” And it asks, “With what?” The answer is “With a holy soul.” That is, he is given from above a light that is called Neshama [soul], and this light purifies the person so he will have the strength to bestow upon the upper one, for as the light comes from the Giver, so this light gives one the strength to be able to work in order to bestow.
It follows that in the order of the work, we should discern the following:
State 1) When a person awakens to emerge from what he has from his upbringing. He feels that he cannot be drawn to the general public, who engage in Torah and Mitzvot with the same understanding they had when they began to observe Torah and Mitzvot. This understanding and feeling have been going on for them for a long time, but they are not making any progress in Torah and Mitzvot, except in quantity. But as for quality, meaning to have more of a feeling for the importance of Torah and Mitzvot, they do not have it. They wonder how is it possible that there will be no progress in the quality of Torah and Mitzvot, since it is written about Torah and Mitzvot, “For they are our lives and the length of our days.” But in that sense, they are not advancing whatsoever. Therefore, they go look for a place where they can obtain the progress in terms of the greatness and importance, so they will feel that “They are our lives.”
State 2) When we begin to walk on the path to achieve “For they are our lives,” our sages tell us that the advice to come to feel the life that is found in Torah and Mitzvot is Dvekut [adhesion], as it is written, “and to cling unto Him.” That is, “cling unto His attributes, as He is merciful, so you are merciful.” This means that as the Creator wants only to bestow, so man should come to such a degree where he wants all his actions to be only to bestow, and not for his own sake.
Here, in this second state, when he wants to ascend in degree and observe Torah and Mitzvot in order to bestow, he receives the first assistance, when a person is notified that he is far from this quality called Lishma. In other words, although before he began the work of bestowal, he knew that there was the matter of having to work Lishma, called “for the sake of the Creator,” and he believed in what our sages said, “One should always engage in Torah and Mitzvot, even if Lo Lishma, since from Lo Lishma he will come to Lishma” (Pesachim 50), but it never occurred to him that in order to work Lishma, one needs a miracle from above, or it is impossible to emerge from the control of the will to receive for oneself.
This is so because if a person has only a little bit of good, he cannot be given a lot of bad, for he will not be able to subdue it and will immediately escape from this work. But when a person begins to work with energy in order to come to work in order to bestow, he is given, according to his work, a sensation and awareness how far he is from it.
It follows that the first assistance he receives is the revelation of the evil in him. This is called “hardening of the heart,” as it is written, “For I have hardened his heart.” This is regarded as obtaining the Achoraim of Kedusha. Kedusha is called Panim, and Panim is considered something that illuminates, as he says (“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 47), “We must first understand what is the meaning of the ‘face of the Creator,’ about which the writing says, ‘I will hide My face.’ It can be thought of as a person who sees his friend’s face and knows him right away. However, when he sees him from behind he is not certain of his identity. He might doubt, ‘Perhaps he is another and not his friend?’ So is the matter before us: Everyone knows and feels that the Creator is good and that it is the conduct of the good to do good. Hence, when the Creator generously bestows upon His creations, it is considered that His face is revealed to His creations, since then everyone knows and recognizes Him. Yet, when He behaves with His creations the opposite from the above mentioned, meaning when they suffer afflictions and torments in His world, it is considered the Achoraim of the Creator, for His face, meaning His complete attribute of goodness, is entirely concealed from them.”
Therefore, in that state, if he can accept the Achoraim, which is called “exile,” and does not run, but rather, “And they cried out to the Lord” to deliver him from the exile, then he accepts the Achoraim and says that it comes from the Creator, hence he asks Him that as He made him feel the taste of exile, so He will help him emerge from exile. This is called “the second state.”
State 3) This is the second assistance, when he receives assistance to obtain vessels of bestowal, which is regarded as emerging from exile, where he was under the rule of self-love. Through the assistance from above, which is called that the Creator is giving him a soul, this light gives him the vessels of bestowal. It is as we learned, that when the light of Hochma, called light of AB, comes and brings out the Kelim of Bina, ZA, and Nukva that fell into the Klipot [shells/peels], having been placed under the governance of receiving in order to receive, which is called a Klipa [singular of Klipot], this light of AB brings them out of the Klipot, meaning it gives strength for these Kelim to be corrected in order to bestow. This is regarded as these Kelim entering the Kedusha, meaning that he can already use them in order to bestow. This is called “the exodus from Egypt.”
State 4) When he receives the light that dresses in vessels of bestowal, at that time the 613 Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], are called 613 Pekudin [Aramaic: deposits], meaning he obtains a different flavor in each Mitzva [singular of Mitzvot]. This is the meaning of Pekudin, that in each Mitzva, a special light is deposited, which belongs to that Mitzva. This is similar to corporeal pleasures, where there is a taste in meat, and there is another taste that is clothed in fish. Likewise, in each Mitzva, there is a unique flavor. At that time, a person comes to feel that the matter of Torah and Mitzvot is as in, “For they are our lives and the length of our days.” This is so because he has obtained from the Creator the vessels of bestowal, called Dvekut, “equivalence of form,” and in these Kelim, the delight and pleasure that was in the purpose of creation is clothed.
Now we can understand what we asked about the adjacency of “The Lord will fight for you and you will keep silent,” and Shabbat. Since the work on obtaining the vessels of bestowal comes by obtaining the state of Gadlut [greatness/adulthood] of the evil, as it is written, “For I have hardened his heart,” meaning the attainment of the bad, then, when the people of Israel came to a state where they saw that they could not escape from the bad, meaning they saw that the power of the bad was on all sides and they did not see any salvation by nature, this is considered that the Kli of the bad has been completed.
At that time comes State 5), when the Creator gives them the light, and this light reforms them. In other words, by this they emerge from the governance of evil, called “vessels of self-reception,” and are rewarded with vessels of bestowal. This is the meaning of “Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will do for you today.” This means that once the Kli of the bad has been completed, there is room for disclosure of light on the part of the upper one. This is considered that the Creator is giving them the vessels of bestowal.
It follows that this work of increasing the bad is work that pertains to Hol [non-holy/weekday]. That is, work and Hol are one and the same, meaning one discernment, as it is known that in Kedusha, there is no work, since when a person has vessels of bestowal he enjoys giving, but when he still does not have vessels of bestowal, it is a great effort when he must give something without receiving anything in return, since it is against man’s will to receive.
This is why it is called Hol and not holy, and this is why it is forbidden to work on Shabbat, since Shabbat is a time of rest and not of work. In other words, Shabbat indicates Kedusha, which is the time when through the Kedusha of the Shabbat, light shines because of the awakening from above. For this reason, one does not need to work on increasing the bad, as in hardening of the heart, since then is the time to speak only of what the Creator gives, and not to speak about man, who must receive and think whether he is cleansed of self-love and must correct the Kelim.
The work on the bad pertains to Hol and not to holiness, since seeing the bad, the state he is in, pertains to man’s work. That is, he looks at himself and wants to see his state of lowliness, and how he should pray to the Creator, and pay attention to whether he is advancing or to the contrary.
In other words, when a person works, this is the time for a person to be seen, meaning to see his deficiencies, what he lacks. But when speaking of an awakening from above, meaning what the Creator does, we must only look at the Creator, meaning what He has to give, namely to see the meaning of the holy names, for each name indicates attainment.
For example, when we look at a person and see that he is rich, the name of that person is “wealth.” And if we see that the person always heals the sick, then he is called “healer of the sick.” Therefore, when speaking of the Creator, sometimes He is called “who heals the sick,” and sometimes “nourishing and sustaining,” or “redeems the captives,” etc., all according to what we see that He gives. Therefore, on Shabbat, which is a time of awakening from above, which pertains to what the Creator gives, we must see and examine the names of the Creator.
By this we will understand the adjacency of what is written, “The Lord will fight for you, and you will keep silent,” and Shabbat. It is so because then, when they were already complete in terms of the evil, when they saw that it was impossible to emerge from the bad in a natural way, but only by a miracle, this is regarded as the evil being completed sufficiently. At that time, the help from above should come, to give them the light to complete the Kelim, meaning that the vessels of reception will acquire the form of bestowal. This does not pertain to man’s work.
This is why it is written, “You will keep silent,” since now is the time when the Creator gives. Also, on Shabbat, which is an awakening from above, we should speak only of what the Creator has, as he says that on Shabbat, we should speak only of the words of the Creator and the sanctity of the day, since Shabbat is an awakening from above. Conversely, on other days, meaning weekdays, there should an awakening from below, to invoke the lacks that are below, among the created beings, and to ask that the Creator will satisfy their lacks.
Now we can understand what we asked about the adjacency of “You will keep silent” and Shabbat. We will also understand why on weekdays we need an awakening from below, and on Shabbat it is only an awakening from above. Also, we will understand what is, “so your speech of the Sabbath will not be as the speech of a weekday.” And we will also understand why on Shabbat we must speak only about the words of the Creator and the sanctity of the day.