Afternoon Lesson October 18, 2023, Transcription

Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio.

Part One:

Lesson on the topic of “What Is the Day of the Lord and the Night of the Lord, in the Work?

1. Rav’s Introduction: Yes, we're still clarifying what is called below reason or above reason, and gradually from what I see and hear it seems like the material is entering the knowledge, is spreading more among my students, so let's continue.

Reading Article: (01:03) Baal HaSulam. Shamati 16. What Is the Day of the Lord and the Night of the Lord, in the Work? 

2. S. (16:49) In the beginning of the article he was explaining the concept of faith above reason, and I wanted to ask what is this in this aspect, in this context, is it a strong desire and the fact that I don't see that He Is The Good That Does Good?

R. Faith above reason is called the opportunity to do something from the Creator’s instructions, from His desire without any reception for oneself in return, without any reception in return, because we are like, we're thinking like we're in the shop, I give money I get some good and this is within reason and then I weigh everything up, what to take and what not to take. Whereas faith above reason is when I give without expecting anything in return. If there's a question of how do I work, where do I get the energy, and so on. This is the problem that we have to come to a state where we will be able to do what the Creator wants from us even when it's clear to me that we won't get anything in return but only because I heard that this is His desire.

3. S. (19:06) Tell me please can we by playing in the bestowal and attract the light of the Creator in this become bestowing?

R. That's exactly the way it works. That's the way it works, exactly. 

4. S. (19:32) In the beginning of the article he says that the light of the Creator is when a person is praying and he receives what he asked for, and during the article, it says that the day of light is the desire to bestow. Does it mean that the day of light is when he has asked for bestowal, and he receives bestowal?

R. Yes, yes, yes, that he expects the force of bestowal and gets it from Above, and then he can truly work from bestowal.

S. And it is considered a big gift?

R. This is a big gift, but only if a person is so expecting it then it seems like a gift to him. 

5. S. (20:54) My question is about bestowal, so regarding the bestowal. Right now, during the current stage, are we all in the stage of receiving for our own sake, or do we have something in bestowal?

R. In each one of us is an embryo of a desire to bestow.

S. Right, then how can we feel so we understand what we're bestowing upon the Creator, is it always perceived by our receiving Kelim because we have yet to have bestowing ones? Does it always feel bitter or empty?

R. Yes, in general, yes. 

6. S. (22:19) How can I stop being dependent on material pleasures, this unity with the ten doesn't help in this regard a lot, a person still wants some kind of material pleasures. How can I stop being dependent?

R. Well, for this we have to walk far away towards bestowal, when a person starts revealing pleasure from bestowal, from and giving.

S. Well, it's natural you see pleasure from bestowal, but you still want material pleasures?

R. No, no, you don't fantasize.

7. S. (23:14) Maybe this is a childish question: How do I overcome if something bad comes of me bestowing?

R. Don't worry, you won't forget about yourself, you’ll never forget about yourself, and you'll always have to despite your ego rise to bestowal.

8. S. (23:55) In here in the article it says the difference between the game and the desire, so basically if there's a desire and it's unfulfilled, there's still lack, or a lack is rising, but if you're playing it seems like it's nothing bad. How does it connect to wholeness? It’s not really clear, can you explain this?

R. I didn't understand your question at all.

S. Well, it says the fact that I didn't get what I wanted but it's not as important because the whole desire I had was a game, wasn't serious, but then it says that wholeness is when we don't expect any reward and basically just keep on working and it's not clear here, should we play, or shall we be in our desires?

R. Perfection is about learning to work with the desire to give to the Creator, through bestowal to the friends you give to the Creator.

9. S. (25:22) You said to dissolve in the ten is a spiritual quality and nullification in the ten is the same thing? If it is not, which one is better, is one higher?

R. Dissolving or canceling yourself is the same thing. 

10. S. (25:56) To continue the question of the women friend, he says that the connection between the Creator and created beings is just a game and not a serious desire, how do we understand it right?

R. What's important for us is what the Creator does, if it's important for Him, for us to give, then we'll give. If it's important for us to receive, then we'll receive. There will be a time when we won't think about ourselves at all.

S. Yes, but how did the Creator create the whole creation in order to bestow, but from His side is just games and no desire, that’s not clear.

R. Sure, it's not clear, there's more things you don't understand. Looking at your words the desire to receive is the most important thing in your life.

S. it is written here when the Creator created the world and he sits and plays with the whale is basically just a game, and not a desire, and not a lack and deficiency, and even if we don't achieve this it's not considered a deficiency. How do I understand it?

R. Simple to understand, it needs to be important for the person even if it's not important for the Creator, a person shouldn't think he's giving service to the Creator.

S. But there are a lot of things that say I can't sleep when I think of him etc.

R. Yes, that's on the one hand, and on the other hand, look what was written, we want to give pleasure to the Creator, and this is from our side, it's like a small child who does something, he does his mom a favor, brings her a candy even though it's a small thing for her.

S. It is written that we have to feel the connection with the Shechina so who’s lack, is it? The Creator’s, Shechina’s, who’s lack, is it?

R. It's when we, all in all, have to give him pleasure, given to Him.

11. S. (28:42) We are a group that wishes to achieve the equivalence of form with the Creator, but the article says, woe to you that wish to reach the day of the Creator because why would you need it because of darkness and light?

R. Yes, actually otherwise, we feel that this is darkness and not light if we have to be directed at bestowal.

12. S. (29:40) Before you used to say that the time will come when you will see it makes the darkness and light, is that what the article is talking about? If yes, I have another one.

R. No, we are just starting with the above reason about the quality of bestowal, and this is very far away.

S. We still have a lot of questions after yesterday, questions about the suitcase that we carry.

R. No, no, no, this is not what we're dealing with. How can you interrupt everyone else when they're tuned into a specific topic? 

13. S. (30:51) The question is the following; during the day of the Creator, we can only feel it when we are working in Lishma or we can feel it short-term when we come to a common prayer in the ten?

R. A common prayer in the ten is very important. 

14. S. (31:26) When I run away from the desire to receive and pray above reason, is this in my desire to receive for now?

R. Yes, it is still your desire to receive, but it's not important we are gradually coming closer. 

15. S. (32:10) The state of a lack of conscious realization for what we see is awakening in the ten because the Creator doesn't want the blows to be hard?

R. Yes.

16. S. (32:44) What's the difference between pleasure and joy in our spiritual work in the context of this article?

R. The pleasure and joy we have to eventually receive from the fact that we bestow, we wish to bestow upon the whole world, upon the friends, upon the Creator, that is the pleasure that we have to come to. 

17. S. (33:29) I want to tell you that at least for me faith above reason is a necessity because of faith above reason I see the friends as corrected and in within reason I can't look at the world. Faith above reason saves me. My question is and knowing the mind before the faith above reason is the annulment we're talking about?

R. We will be going through this more in the future. I cannot answer this it's not easy, gradually little by little, we will obtain the faith that will be above our reason, meaning bestowal above receiving, this is what it means first and foremost.

18. S. (34:45) What do we have to give the Creator, the will to receive?

R. We need to give to the Creator to receive what? I didn't understand.

S. No, what are we giving?

R. You don't have to give anything to the Creator because he doesn't have any lack.

S. What is this bestowal from me, we're talking about this giving to the Creator and not receiving anything?

R. If you want to bestow upon Him then you giving Him your faith, your bestowal, your attitude but no more than that.

S. What is it? How is this expressed in my attitude towards the Creator, that I'm giving and thinking about this?

R. The fact that you want to bestow upon Him all the best, everything good.

S. What do I have to think about, what am I giving?

R. Desire to bestow, desire to bestow, that's it.

S. I can't grasp it.

R. Ask your friends and they'll explain it better.

19. S. (36:20) Giving to the Creator is a stage we come to with complete desires so the greatness of the Creator would be revealed in all the creatures. Is this called bestowing to Him?

R. Yes.

S. So what happened in the country, I personally feel that this brought me to a state where I don't want anything, revelation, or fulfillment. I just want Him to be revealed to the creatures through the light of Hassidim, but what I feel is that this Hisaron, comes from this strong experience of fear and suffering, how do we come to this Hisaron that would come through light to the creature and not through fear?

R. This is something that we will still have to approach. We are still just spectating everything through the will to receive.

20. S. (37:41) Can we merit the taste of bitterness before the actions of the reception?

R. There's no need to feel the taste of bitterness at all.

S. No, to avoid this reception I want to do something so that I will get the signal that, okay, you're in reception and so I avoid doing it?

R. Yes, this you will be able to define.

S. How do we discern this?

R. Well, we pass this among the friends, by how you relate, by your attitude towards them, you can define if you're in the receiving or bestowal.

21. S. (38:49) Why is bestowal bitter to taste?

R. Because it is against our natural desire to receive pleasure.

S. But we have the beginning of this bestowal?

R. No, no, we don't have anything from bestowal at all. 

22. S. (39:37) I'm a bit nervous because I'm confused, please tell me, if I don't have vessels of bestowal but I constantly want unity, I want something for the friends, but it seems like with some context I want it for myself, and the Creator responds to me. Now I can understand how this can be harmful to my friends. I feel it but I can't find the words.

R. You can find words now as well. Let's wait until next time. 

23. S. (40:56) Please tell me if you get a state from the Creator and then the first moments you don't know how to act, how not to lose faith in that it comes from the Creator?

R. You have got friends for this, in any case, you have to be connected to them first.

24. S. (41:31) For clarity, if we are in the upper abundance there will not be any foreign thoughts and also in order to reach this place of abundance, does the will to receive and the will to bestow work simultaneously?

R. Together they never work, together they never work together, it's always one against the other. 

25. S. (42:25) The prayer that comes from the depth of the heart is this a gift or reward of the life that happens in concealment until we come to Kabbalah?

R. It truly is a gift, a present.

26. S. (43:10) Regarding the “Bat that doesn't have eyes to see,” does it mean the person lacks faith in the Creator?

R. Yes, absolutely, exactly. 

27. S. (43:39) What does it mean that in the day he will be like a murderer and in the night, he'll be like a thief and during the day like a murderer? What does it mean?

R. We still cannot really understand all of this, explain all this, so it's basically just speaking about the desire to receive how much it works on us, how much it lies, and gives darkness. 

28. S. (44:43) In the article it's written that for the Creator it's all a game with the Leviathan and there's no lack, and perfection will be attained where we don't have a lack to receive a reward for this work and we have to come to equivalence of form, that it needs to be like a game for us?

R. We have to do everything in order to fulfill the Creator with what He expects from us. He will show us each time what He waits for us and we'll have to fill Him with that, and we will be fulfilled at the same time.

29. S. (55:43) Can we see that faith above reason is when faith is our reason?

R. Yes, gradually it does because so.

30. S. (46:03) A week ago I asked you about an exercise, like an exercise of Ramchal. We distributed the time among all the tens, and I would like to share impressions. Seventy, 70 tens took part in this, and here are the Impressions; this unites the ten a lot, feeling the responsibility to be together, a very responsible moment for each ten, strengthening the connection between the tens, this is an action that strengthened us, and we haven't done this for a while. Thank you, Rav and all the friends, thank you to all who participated, and thank you to the Creator for renewing us, this is a true spiritual action, true spiritual work, and it's important the heart yearns for unity with the Creator. This is a very strong exercise and a strong responsibility.

R. Thank you. I understand but next time, not now.

31. S. (47:23) One question: what word in Kabbalah describes the state of being above reason?

R. Bestowal.

S. Thank you. Another question: are the additional questions that appear above reason and the answers for this?

R. I didn't understand.

S. If you're asking me and I'm not above reason is there an appropriate response if I were above reason? Then I would understand the response and then the question in response will correspond to the state of above reason?

R. Yes.

S. Other questions that we can answer that the friends will understand as well.

R. Everything regarding bestowal, they can understand to a little extent, and this is what we have to engage in.

S. I'm asking because this is a game with the life and the whale, and it seems as though the Creator’s playing chess with himself, but he lets the opponent win. I can’t express this in words.

R. It's like you play with the child, of course, you're way stronger than him but you engage in all kinds of actions by lowering yourself to his degree, you understand.

S. Yes, I understand it's as though one is playing music and another one has to hear him and understand him?

R. No, no, no, no, it's all right, it's all right, thank you.

32. S. (50:56) The day of the Creator is receiving the light of the Creator in the Kelim of reception?

R. The light of bestowal, the light of the Creator cannot exist in Kelim of reception.

S. So then is it dangerous that we can receive in the vessels of reception this light?

R. It's impossible, it's impossible.

S. Is this fanaticism or something?

R. No, no, I don't even want to hear it.

33. S. (51:40) Are the blows we receive from the Creator, everything comes from Him, we receive every blow that is felt a lot. We don't remember this for a while in the nation and will these blows help us achieve a bigger adhesion with the Creator? What's the attitude above these blows when we can do this without blows?

R. Yes, every blow disconnects us from the desire to receive and connects us to the desire to bestow.

S. What about the time when you're in shock by this blow? I'm sorry I have distractions.

R. (no answer)

34. S. (52:35) There are many people who need things from me, in the hierarchy of bestowal is there a hierarchy, how do I know who needs to put first when they're all important?

R. Advice with the friends and then perform actions. 

35. S. (53:24) If we're clarifying the prayer in the ten can we see whether we're in bestowal or reception?

R. Of course, of course.

S. It's to the extent that I take the Hisaron the friends and pray for them?

R. Yes, yes, yes. 

36. S. (53:57) When we are frozen, it seems like it comes in waves the feeling of pain. There's a mechanism that lets us come outside of our body and disconnect from this state, but we don't just want to come to this, we want to be like the Creator, if we were in His place, we wouldn't want to give blows, but we would want to equalize ourselves with this blow and at this time when there's a blow we act like animals?

R. Be closer to each other and then you will see how much all of this will build you up. First of all, come closer to the friends and together with all the friends pray to the Creator, and just on a whim you will notice how our thoughts, desires and actions will change. 

37. S. (55:26) Can you explain to us what's the difference between the rooster and the bat?

R. The bat is at night and the rooster you see is in daylight therefore, the one who wants to come closer to the Creator is like a rooster. This is why a rooster starts his song in the morning and a bat is active in the night. This is why we have to awaken ourselves in the morning before the day, like a rooster, and see the daylight, the light of the Creator every day, the whole day. 

38. S. (56:56) You said that we have to do everything we can to fulfill the Creator. Each time He awakens in us what He expects from us, and we have to thank Him for this for we will benefit. My question is about the prayer; is it important for us as a ten to ask about the same thing all the time?

R. Yes, it's very important that you ask together, the whole ten, something, the same thing.

S. So that He would respond?

R. Yes, so He will respond to this one question. 

39. S. (58:10) How to say, does the meaning that although in the eyes he sees darkness, inside he has inner peace? Is this the situation described in the article?

R. Not exactly, he still sees in front of him the correct verified path to adhere to the Creator. 

40. S. (58:52) If the intention is important and action isn't so important, if I feel that the heart is directed at unity with the ten and the Creator, is what I'm doing correct?

R. Yes. The question is if you are reading your heart correctly and if your heart is giving you correct hints.

S. How can I check my heart?

R. Well, that's a question of trying, practice.

S. The friends in the ten tell me that my actions are not correct, and I feel I'm doing everything right. Does this mean that the Creator is telling me that I'm wrong?

R. No, no, it's not like this, you have to go on scrutinizing with them, each time your differences, and gradually you'll understand where they are correct and where you are correct.

41. S. (01:00:26) The question, is faith above reason what happens when we are in the darkness, but we're acting as if we're in the light?

R. Yes. 

42. R. (01:01:00) That’s it, I’m done, and I have to run. Wish you all the best my dears, I embrace you all. See you tomorrow in the morning lesson.