Morning Lesson February 18, 2024

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

Part 1:

Rabash. Article No. 4, 1986. Vol 2. Pg.387

Concerning Hesed [Mercy]

Reading: (00:32) “It is written in the holy Zohar concerning…”

Rav Intro: Thank you to the reader. Questions?

1. S. (33:13) He tells us about what kind of fear. What does it mean that part of the will to receive is diminished and accepts the quality of Rachamin? He says with that action we can come to the purpose of creation?

R. That a part of the will to receive through the upper influence or bestowal it can be corrected to be in order to bestow. This is similar to initially being in bestowal. To that extent a person begins to understand what are the qualities of the Creator, what are the desires of the Creator, the goal, the purpose. 

2. S. (34:16) I want to continue the question. How does he know what part he can work with now, because, only in Tzimtzum Bet with the association of the quality of mercy with judgment then the vessels will be clarified? How does he know what to work with?

R. He doesn’t know. He tries. He tries and discovers that there are such desires in him that are impressed by the act of bestowal and these desires, through them he can come closer to the Creator. 

S. From the experience he clarifies the association of Din and Rachamin?

R. Yes, of course. 

3. S. (35:15) How to work in Hesed mercy among the friends in the Ten.

R. Try to look at the friends and see how we can help them, assist them and this is how we work. 

S. This kind of attitude causes what? 

R. To connect. It is a good example of the manner of connection between friends and that they have a common tendency, a common vessel by which they can become similar to the Creator, to bestow. 

S. This is the action of Hassadim towards the friends?

R. Yes.

S. There’s also mercy from the Ten towards Creator?

R. The fact that we in general perform actions in order to bring contentment to the Creator this too is Hassadim, mercies.

S. What’s the difference between Hesed and Rachamin? Both translate as mercy.

R. Hesed and Rachamin which is translated as mercy, they are vessels of reception that exist to begin with. There are no vessels of bestowal, there are only vessels of reception, so if we reveal vessels with which it is possible to work in order to bestow, then we try. We draw on them more light influence from above and this way work with them, advance with them. Through them we can already shine for the rest of the vessels.

S. Hesed I understand what is Rachamin?

R. Rachamin is the same as Hesed. Hesed is the general name and Rachamin is the particular, specific name for a certain issue or matter. That’s it.

4. S. (38:00) He writes here, therefore he interprets this in Abraham meaning Hesed that by engaging in the quality of Hesed they can come to the quality of bestowal by which they can then receive the pleasure and that reception will be called bestowal. How does it transform?

R. It depends what level of coarseness the quality of mercy is on.

S. Can you elaborate how we clothe on to each other?

R. It’s not one on top of the other. It's when a person has vessels that are a will to receive and with this will to receive he can work to correct his vessels. So it will be above the vessels which want to receive but he closes them, doesn't use them. Then he comes to bestow in order to bestow and then gradually to receive in order to bestow.

S. Where does the initial will to receive disappear?

R. It doesn't disappear it simply that above it, on top of it we build the vessels they're not even vessels, they are acts of bestowal.

S. I'll try another question. How do we maintain the importance in this work to not lose it?

R. Because it is similar to the Creator and to the extent that we can perform some operations of bestowal by this we make ourselves similar to the Creator and by this we feel the spiritual elevation nearing the Creator.

S. Now it's a question that man does with the system in the Ten or is it something that the Ten can also inspire on the person?

R. There are both kinds. We can do both this and that depending on the situation we're in.

S. A person with a big amount of coarseness right now how can the Ten give them strength to use that coarseness correctly?

R. The Ten should, to each person who is in the Ten, should give him as much strength as possible, examples to pull him towards acts of bestowal.

S. There’s like a mechanism that I find hard to go through here because ultimately we fall to being the one who sees people like little kids who engage in trivialities but it's not, it's the most important thing. This game that the Ten is doing on me now is trying to give me strength and its influence on me so that I can work with it. it’s the most important thing for a person. How do I use it correctly, take it and work with it and not look at it like, oh once again you're dealing with nonsensical things?

R. First of all you see that it's coming from the friends so it's already not nonsense. This is number one, number two you see how much they are performing acts of bestowal and they want you to join them in these acts of bestowal but you are still not ready, you're not inspired by their examples, It's a problem.

S. When I'm with them I'm really inspired I feel the greatness, when I move away a bit into life it's lost.

R. It's in everyone.

S. How do I bridge and shorten this gap and maintain?

R. You make sure you don't lose the connection. You always want to be under their influence.

4. S. (42:55) To continue the scrutiny in the Ten we work in the connection between us and we aspire to be one as one man in one heart, this is where Hesed is clear, it's understood but what is the Malchut, this one man that we build, because everyone is very different and has his own Malchut?

R. It doesn't matter, actually the more different they are but they're trying to perform the same action by this they come even closer and connect.

S. It feels like there's some common area but where is the uniqueness of each one and where can we further increase from each one's uniqueness that common space between us?

R. To the extent of his bestowal to the Creator, there's where his uniqueness is clarified.

S. Each one needs to bestow more to the Creator or becomes more incorporation?

R. Yes, more incorporation between you when all of you want to reach the same goal so you come closer to each other.

S. Then each one's qualities can enter the common area, the shared space?

R. You are depicting it pretty corporeal, it doesn't work this way. The fact that we can think about one thing and perform similar actions this already brings us closer.

S. We never touch each other, it's always…?

R. We do touch each other but on a higher level.

5. S. (45:21) The name of the article is concerning Hesed, what is Hesed?

R. Hesed is when one does good to another and does not demand anything in return for it.

S. What is bestowal?

R. Bestowal is an action, there is an act of bestowal whose essence is Hesed to do Hesed with the other. 

6. S. (46:07) In the Ten we took article 40 on Friday and tried to clarify what actions of the friend by me, and what actions of me by the friend and we so a very very wide spectrum. A friend said if you touch me you kill me, don't touch me, give me space. Another friend said if you don't hug me, if you don't touch me I feel rejected and you told the friend that we touch each other on a higher level. I wanted to talk about that. What is that higher level?

R. Bestowal, n bestowal, not where we are now but in bestowal.

S. All these contradictions there can help us build a new Kli?

R. Yes of course, there we rise above the differences,the oppositeness. The differences are only in our desires to receive, if we rise above them and connect then that's it we've achieved correction.

S. In order to reach bestowal, to achieve bestowal to each other in this world when we come to connect, do we need to somewhat also take each friend’s psychology into account?

R. No, we know that. By being directed seemingly toward the same goal, the same operations incorporation, equivalence, connection by this we already correct.

S. Because we have this goal that he calls the incorporation of Malchut and Bina and we want this Shechina to dwell between us?

R. Yes.

7. S. (48:18) He talks in the article about partial faith. He asked this question, if one knows he lacks faith in the Creator how does he pray, to whom does he pray? Then he gives an example like in the introduction to TES that if we believe and have faith over one dollar, two dollars, can a person know what is his level of faith?

R. No, to weigh it this way, no.

S. What does it mean to the extent of his faith or artistry in Torah how do you measure that?

R. To the extent that he relinquishes the will to receive and rise to the quality of bestowal.

S. There's always some limit.

R. For now we can't. We have no way to precisely measure our vessels.

S. Incomplete faith, what is the level of devotion of the person to the Ten?

R. Incomplete faith, I don't know.

S. Because he says that's what we need to aspire to, to reach complete faith?

R. Fine but aspire. I don't know what complete faith is. You need to reveal all of the will to receive in you, rise above it, adhere to the degree of Bina, the degree of bestowal because Malchut rises to Bina on all your vessels and then you can be certain that you are in complete bestowal.

S. What does it mean all the vessels, basically what appears, appears now and then accordingly?

R. No, but you cannot say that it's all of your vessels. You haven’t reached the end of correction, you haven’t reached the correction where Malchut rises to Bina to all of Bina.

S. Now, to the point of complete faith until we come to complete faith, the attitude to the Ten, how can you make it so that it's always more, more devotedly?

R. This is why you're given all kinds of opportunities where you have to annul yourself before the Ten in all kinds of opportunities.

S. Then it always appears that there's a limit, that you can't do it completely?

R. You try, you need to try.

S. What's the difference between yesterday's attempt and today's attempt?

R. That today it seems to you like it is more.

S. If it seems as less?

R. It’s not good. You need to pray more to get stronger with the friends.

S. That's basically our measurement or proportion to measure this?

R. For now.

8. S. (51:40) He gives the example of kids playing, one is the driver and one is the horse and for them it is completely real. If you try to tell them something they won't understand you. 

R. Yes.

S. Now it seems like when kids grow up they lose this ability to imagine. First of all, why do we lose it?

R. We get smarter.

S. And then?

R. Then we can't play it. I see this is my friend and not as a horse.

S. We can play with respect to spirituality in that way?

R. Try.

S. How?

R. Towards spirituality, by all means you have friends, give them in all kinds of ways, bestow upon them.

S. I'll ask, you know to exaggerate it but I'll tell the friend you're a Hochma and I'm Bina what's the game?

R. No no no no, this is, you play at bestowing upon each other, helping each other supporting each other and everyone toward everyone until you depict yourself, you imagine yourself as being in one vessel in one system.

S. You said that what stops us from playing is that we see that it's not so, we grow up we become wise.

R. Play at it and you'll see to what extent it's possible, maybe you'll get new insights through it, actually spiritual ones.

S. He describes two states here he says when there's a spiritual feeling we look at corporeal things like toys and don't understand how to enjoy it even, but then there's concealment we look at spiritual matters in that way and in corporeality seems important. 

R. Yes.

S. It seems like it's coming from above whether we have a feeling that comes from above or we are under concealment. Can we also create the feeling on our own rather than it coming from above?

R. Through prayer, through yearning for it.

S. I'm asking whether through play we can get there?

R. Through playing try, playing or acting is like a prayer. You want to be this way, you want to enjoy this, you want to depict to yourself to imagine that you're like that, it's a kind of prayer.

S. To summarize, to play well we have to really believe in the game, we have to want to see it.

R. As when you read a prayer book, that too is a kind of playing or exercise, they're all psychological exercises. Okay.

9. S. (54:53) I want to continue the question about the work between us in the Tens during the day. Some examples between us, actions between us are very important. It seems that he emphasizes the examples we give each other about the importance of the Creator, the importance of the path towards bestowal and love. We can depict this picture we once had like you said in the beginning of the lesson but what is this picture that we can imagine to ourselves thanks to these examples and seeing the wholeness and the connection between us more and more?

R. Whatever you want to imagine, very simple. Whatever you want to imagine, try to imagine it. 

S. Whatever we do with ourselves in terms of giving examples we raise to our awareness the upper world. the spiritual world which is the connection with the Creator?

R. No, without fantasies, imaginations. We are playing in a certain game with our feelings in order to bring ourselves closer to real spiritual actions.

S. That's the question. From this game that we're playing when do we begin to feel that it's real that it's not a game?

R. This already depends on the above. Do the friends support it and do they really mean it. Try and we'll talk afterwards.

10. S.(56:51) How come in direct light, the light of Rachamin, is the light of the purpose of creation and in reflective light, the light of Rachamin is the light of the correction of creation?

R. That's how it is.

11. S. (57:22) It is written, therefore what do we need in order to be able to engage in Torah and commandments choose only the revelation, meaning that the delight and pleasure that are concealed in them so we see them openly. What does it mean that we are lacking the revelation?

R. If we try to reach the revelation of the Creator's actions which are in order to bestow then we yearn for it, we're drawn to it. Say it again what you want to ask?

S. Concerning what is written, it was said therefore what we're lacking in order to be able to engage in Torah and commandments is only the revelation, meaning that the delight and pleasure that are concealed in them will be revealed to us and we'll see them openly. What does it mean that we're lacking the revelation?

R. Lacking revelation meaning that it comes from the Creator, this is the Kli and lacking revelation which means the light that's in the Kli by which we rise to the same degree and thus we elevate ourselves.

12. S. (59:03) How do we give an example to the friends, an example of acts of bestowal?

R. How do we give an example? We set an example in actions that we all do towards each other right, and so we try to see it that way. This is called taking an example from the society.

S. What do we do if there's a problem that the friends are not so inspired by examples, how do we awaken them?

R. There are two things here. One thing is that friends are perhaps not so much discussing and not showing by themselves their inspiration that's on the one hand, and on the other hand those who receive the awakening from them also don't discover that they received it because that might be a matter of modesty and shame so that's not good. We actually need the opposite. The good that we receive from the friends needs to be revealed. 

13. S. (01:00:48) Please elaborate on the difference between partial faith and complete faith.

R. Partial faith is faith over some aspect that appears. Complete faith is unlimited faith over the full measure of the will to receive that appears in me for now and I receive their fulfillment, illumination and I can work from that entire vessel.

14. S. (01:01:36) How does the quality of judgment help a person be rewarded with the quality of mercy? How does the quality of judgment in a person help one attain the quality of mercy?

R. The quality of judgment, Din, appears to me, reveals to me what vessels are still not corrected and thus it pushes me to continue making corrections until I reach the complete correction, so you can’t do without judgment.

15. S.(01:02:14) What is the connection between Hesed and faith, Hesed meaning Mercy. 

R. You could say that to the extent of Hesed that exists in the Kli, vessel, I can work within the vessel in similarity to the Creator in order to bestow, meaning that by that the mercy resembles the power of faith, the power of the Creator.

16. S.(01:03:02) Is there a difference between Hesed and charity?

R. No, charity means an action, it's an action that works in a specific way on the will to receive.

17. S. (01:03:39) It says here, a person should always pray to be rewarded with the kingdom of heaven called faith, meaning that a person should pray to be rewarded with faith but the question is, if he knows that he's lacking faith in the Creator then to whom is he praying? Because only when he believes in the Creator can it be said that he's asking the Creator to give him the thing he asks of Him. How do we come out of the situation where we are lacking faith and the faith in the Creator?

R. You keep going more and more and more until you get it from above.

18. S. (01:04:48) It is written that Abraham because he was circumcised he connected with the Shechina, divinity. The question is what is this spiritual meaning of circumcision?

R. Circumcision means that he rises above his will to receive, that's it. Even more, that one can use the will to receive in order to bestow.

19. S. (01:05:38) What sort of actions of bestowal do we need to form the Shechina?

R. Connection between us, connection between us that's what we need.

S. What's the relation to Hesed?

R. Hesed is the quality that we attain by nullifying each and everyone’s egoistic will to receive and being drawn to connection.

20. S. (01:06:28) How do we shift from compulsory work to working voluntarily out of craftsmanship in the Ten?

R. It depends on what level do we connect, that is the only thing it depends on.

21. S. (01:07:07) I want to connect to the Creator who is all mercy but I'm afraid of the judgment.  Because I have this fear, how can I connect to the Creator who is mercy and not with His judgment?

R. To try and open the heart to the fulfillment that comes from the Creator and that will guard you from receiving the judgment. There are no judgments coming directly from the Creator.

22. S. (01:08:03) What does it mean to be ready to be inspired by the force of the Ten?

R. To be prepared and to be influenced by what? The power of the Ten. So that means that I nullify myself towards the Ten, I absorb from them all the qualities, I want to serve them with all my vessels as much as I can and then I come to such a connection.

S. How does one who has successfully nullified toward the Ten see and feel the Ten?

R. He feels that he is close to them, that he understands them and they understand him and there's nothing on his part that separates him and them. 

23. S. (01:09:34) To what are the judgments leading us?

R. They're bringing us to the right connection between everyone so that we can connect to the Creator from that.

24. S. (01:10:03) How when we act and play in connection in the Ten how do we come to a state where we can really draw on ourselves the influence of the letter Hey so that Malchut will rise to Bina and Bina will bestow upon Malchut?

R. It depends to the extent which we play with it because the game ends when the upper light starts shining and when it shines on us we begin to assemble to a single spiritual vessel.

S. We're constantly playing at this, we have many external actions, there is no shortage, no deficiency in the game we're playing but how do we make it so that in the game the spiritual quality will be expressed and our desire will become the Shechina?

R. Bit by bit it happens, you want to do it faster then make your actions more intensive.

S. Make what more intensive?

R. In coming closer to each other, trying to work together in a single desire, a desire that is unified from all of your personal desires so that you feel all of this inside of you.

S. How can we try to work more intensely in the common desire that is made of our individual desires?

R. Get closer to each other, I can't say anything more.

S. This nearing and this intensity does it depend on greater efforts in the friend?

R. It is natural of course that's why these efforts are called getting closer.

S. Each one must depict himself more of this connection?

R. Yes, that he constitutes a part of the friend.

25. S. (01:12:40) Why, when there is no mercy in the world there's no Shechina, what is this law?

R. There's no light of Hassadim. If there's no light of Hassadim in the world then the Shechina cannot come and appear in the world and then it waits until there's light of Hassadim in the world, the quality of mercy on the part of the created beings.

S. In the Ten can we awaken the light of Hassadim?

R. We in the Ten can do it by the connection between us, by such mutual inclination between us towards each other, one friend to the other we can induce a reality where the Shechina becomes revealed. 

26. S. (01:13:45) The sages of the Talmud said, one who is merciful toward cruel ones is cruel toward merciful ones. Now all kinds of bleeding hearts in the world are demanding Israel to stop fighting against the ruthless enemy in Gaza and are merciful toward the people in Gaza, the majority of whom are for the destruction of Israel. Israel does not agree with this approach. Did the Creator start a war against us through Hamas so we would understand our role as the people of Israel in the war of the good inclination against the evil inclination?

R. Correct. The Creator demands connection from us just as it is written here in this article and if we don't do that, if we don't connect He will compel us to do it in such a way that those Gaza people like you're saying, will operate upon us in a coarser way. It’s all this against that, there is nothing we can do about it.

27. S. (01:15:23) In the second restriction we work only with the small vessels, what does it mean about our work in the Ten?

R. I didn’t understand.

S. In the second restriction they worked only with the small vessels, they didn't use the big vessels, the big desires. I'm asking what does it mean about our work in the Ten?

R. We don't have any work in the second restriction in the Ten for the time being.

28. S. (01:16:35) What's the difference, what do you have in connection that you don't have in incorporation, why incorporation is not enough?

R. Connection is connection in all the qualities until there is no differentiation between them and incorporation is nevertheless according to a measure of adaptation between them.

29. S. (01:17:10) As the ego is growing this coarseness seems to be getting stronger and stronger, how to work with that?

R. Work more and more, otherwise we will never be able to overcome the coarseness and work towards the connection that way.

30. S. (01:17:50) Where do we get the judgment if not directly from the Creator, where do they come from? Where do you get the judgments from if they don't come directly from the Creator because you said they can’t come directly from Him, where do they come from?

R. They come from the Creator but not directly, it's kind of like that.

31. S. (01:18:42) How is it that the existence of the upper worlds allow each one to do mercy with his friend? He says in order for each one to be merciful with his friend the Creator created the upper worlds, then he details the angels and cherubs. Why, the fact that there are upper worlds allows me to be merciful with the friends?

R. The purpose of the upper worlds is for a person to reach adhesion with the Creator through them.