Part 2:
Morning Lesson August 26, 2021, Transcription
Baal HaSulam, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, #16
Item 16 “From the above allegory between two friends,” Twice
1. S. (5:38) The screen that strikes the light and rejects it. What is this action of striking and repelling?
R. When a person does not want to receive for himself, rather he doesn't want it all to receive the upper light, first of all, he repels all of the reception.
S. Is there a criterion by which I repel and reject?
R. What you are asking is can I be certain that I am repelling the light? No, because you are in a state that when you don't receive the light and if you reach a state that you may, you can, repel to an extent that you are repelling, you are pushing it away, you will feel the upper light coming to you. Think about this and ask more.
2. S. (6:55) We know in spirituality there's no motion so if the reflected light is rejected by the screen this is through equivalence of form that it becomes a qualified vessel?
R. I don't understand what you are asking. A pleasure comes to me and I don't want to receive it for myself. This is why I perform a restriction, and a screen and I push away this pleasure to the extent it bestows upon me I push it back to its source, and this is considered that I am generating reflected light, Ohr Hozer.
S. Thank you.
3. S. (8:04) What does it mean the reflected light becomes a vessel in place of the fourth phase?
R. That is the same desire of mine, when I don't want to receive to myself but rather I want to do as much as I can for the sake of the host so with that same relation of mine to Him, I can receive later from Him what He wants to give me, and my reception is not because I want to receive and enjoy but because it is already that I want to give pleasure to the host.
4. S. (8:55) When I repel the light, I don't plan to do this. Where do I get forced of the screen with connection with the friends?
R. Of course you don't have this, but rather you receive it through the work in the group and as much as you receive from above the light that reforms, this is how we call it, so you are capable of performing the restrictions, screen and reflected light on yourself. More correctly, the greatness of the Creator in you is more than your own greatness, to the extent that the Creator is more important for you than yourself. Then you can push the pleasures away from yourself to give pleasure to Him, you simply ask who is enjoying this, Is it me or the Creator? I want him to enjoy, and if I am the one that has pleasure, it is because I am giving pleasure to the Creator. All of my pleasure is because He enjoys me.
S. What is the meaning that He enjoys?
R. I feel this according to my relation and our relation between me and Him, when through this relation of mine to Him I start feeling Him and then I understand what is going on with Him and within me.
5. S. (10:58) We learned that bestowing vessel is the source. At the end of the excerpt, it says the will to receive is the source. How can we go back to the source?
R. The source is the Creator, my source is the will to receive. If I perform a restriction, a screen and reflected light over my will to receive then my source is like the Creator, and then we can be connected.
6. S. (11:48) Can you explain when the vessels are considered dead and where they are when they are dead?
R. A vessel is considered dead when it can't bestow, and it is considered alive to the expense that it can bestow, this is how it is in spirituality.
S. Does this mean that the vessels in Dalet are dead?
R. Yes. If a vessel does not perform a restriction, it is considered dead.
7. S. (12:44) Yesterday you spoke about the problematic topic of rejection, because the Creator is a good who does good, I am a guest in the world of the Creator and He arranges for me a meal. So, do I eat directly with the correct intention or do I need this rejection to reach the right intention?
R. Examine yourself. Are you willing to eat if you don't have the correct intention?
S. Sometimes you can have the right intention right away and sometimes not.
R. Under this condition start eating and you will see how thin you get.
8. S. (13:44) What kind of pleasure are we speaking about, this pleasure that we have to reject because it's not the pleasures of this world of course?
R. This is true but basically also pleasures of this world, any good feeling you get from the Creator make a scrutiny over that: that you want to receive it and feel it, to sort it out in such a way that you get it from the Creator in order to give Him contentment by that. Without restriction, reflected light, that will come later, just with this intention.
S. Don't need shame or anything?
R. In the meantime this is how it is, just starting from that.
9. S. (14:53) why does the reflected light become a vessel of reception, there are vessels and light, so the light is also the vessel?
R. No, there is reflected light which is considered what the created being wants to bring back to the host, and this condition becomes the condition of receiving later, later the created being receives; So, we say, the reflected light is the vessel to receive the direct light to the extent that the intention of the created being and the Creator combined one with the other, one towards the other, they connect together.
10. S. (15:41) What is the upper light that I reject?
R. A revelation of the Creator.
11. S. (16:03) What is the meaning of rejection according to item 16?
R. When I don't want to receive from the Creator because my direct reception without the restrictions, screen and reflected light will cause a disconnection between us, this is why I won't receive; At least if I don't receive, I am at the same table with Him, I am not coming closer and not growing further away, I am in a certain state. Whereas if I won't push it away, it is considered that I am growing further away, that we are growing opposite in our form. He is giving and I am receiving and this causes us to be apart, this is why prior to the restriction we cannot do any spiritual action.
12. S. (17:10) How can we reply to the Creator He is full of abundance?
R. Abundance?
S. If he is full of abundance, how can you give Him something?
R. What do you mean by abundance? no one has abundance, but rather when the friend has all of the good things in corporeality this is not the abundance we speak about in spirituality. In spirituality I can always add my help to a friend by which he can rise one more degree to the Creator, we always can.
S. What can I give the Creator if he has all the abundance?
R. The Creator has nothing, He doesn't have a will to receive and only through us raising our desire to Him to bestow, through that we build in Him vessels, in the Creator we build vessels, and then He seemingly receives from us and this is how we feel Him. It's not that He has all the abundance and good things, He has nothing and this is how we feel Him.
13. S. (18:55) Earlier we learned that the fourth phase was created from the phases before it, the reaction of the creature to the Creator is also made of four discernments?
R. Yes, in each and every stage, whatever we do, because we do it out of our will to receive either in order to receive or in order to bestow in all kinds of ways, but it is the will to receive. So, in every action of ours we have 10 Sefirot; 4 phases or 10 Sefirot.
14. S. (19:53) I am responsible for the screen? I am the one who builds it by restriction?
R. You are responsible for the screen, where according to your request and your effort, is built in you by the upper light. This is called the light that reforms.
15. S. (20:30) How can we push away the greatness of the Creator you said we should reject the greatness of the Creator being revealed?
R. That is something else not His greatness but His revelation, meaning: we reject the revelation of the Creator because we don't want the revelation of the Creator, meaning that we don't want to fill ourselves in any way but only to have the power to bestow to Him. Just like the Creator from the beginning only wants to bestow to us, we want to also only bestow to Him, by that we attain the greatest thing, where we feel ourselves like the Creator.
S. When He is revealed how do we put this away, what action do we do?
R. When the Creator is revealed it means the desire to bestow is revealed in the man. The Creator is the will to bestow and man is the will to receive, so when the will to bestow is revealed in the man it means this man, this person is experiencing the revelation of the Creator. How is this done? Man does this, not the Creator. This is why it says you have made me; man performs actions by which he resembles the Creator, He is doing such actions from which he becomes like the Creator, that is why he becomes man/Adam, from the word Dome: the one who resembles the Creator.
S. So when the Creator is revealed, I need to repel Him. I need to do an action of bestowal.
R. yes.
16. S. (23:00) In the 10, can I claim the delights for my friends, at the beginning?
R. You can demand for your friend to have the force to persevere, to persist after the screen to have the power, yes, you can demand it.
17. S. (23:32) You said we build the vessels for the Creator, are the friends these vessels?
R. No, we will learn about this one day it is not for now as it will only confuse you. I don't like to answer philosophical questions as you still can't feel the difference between them but you should learn about it, gradually.
18. S. (24:12) What is the difference between the restriction and repelling?
R. It is hard to explain it, as in every state might require a localized and specific explanation. When the will to receive expands or contracts or is restricted, it is doing it relative to the pleasure, the upper light. The fact that he does not restrict himself but rather rejects the light that comes to him this is something else. So, you have the matter of restriction and also rejection and repulsion in different ways.
19. S. (25:05) Where is the state of conception here when we push away the light of the Creator?
R. There is no conception here because conception takes place before that.
20. S. (25:35) We tried the example of setting the intention before the meal, but by the second or the third bite we are immediately immersed in the taste of the food. How can we be able to set the intention for every bite or every spoon that we take?
R. Of course you need to arrange the intention over each and every bite, and together with that to feel the flavor, the taste of the food that you are eating; and how you are getting it from the Creator and how by tasting this flavor in the food you are creating pleasure for the host.
21. S. (26:34) Where does the guest take the force to overcome the pleading of the host?
R. Out of shame. If not for the shame the guest would not feel himself sitting before the host, he would feel himself like any animal before a man, as the man gives out the food and the animal eats it with no problem of pride, it does not understand those things, it just eats. Whereas a person feels himself as the receiver from the other One and this feeling of receiving from the other One is the foundation by which he can change himself and reach the degree of bestowal in return, to be like the Creator.
22. S. (27:54) What is the pleasure upon which we should restrict in the ten?
R. By connecting and being together, let's say during a meal or in some other meeting that we have, a reading, an article or something and we want this action to be in order to bestow from each one to the friends and from all of us together to the Creator. That is, it, whatever we can reveal from within the connection between us.
23. S. (29:03) In this example when spoon after spoon in order to give the right pleasure to the Creator, what am I supposed to imagine that He is enjoying, me eating the food or going into connection?
R. Don't work on it so hard, you enjoy eating? Where do you get the appetite? From Him. Where do you get the fulfillment for the appetite? From Him. Where do you get the feeling of fulfillment, the feeling of pleasure? From Him. So, enjoy that you received everything from the Creator both the vessels and the fillings and the pleasures. This is one thing. The other thing is that from this you can begin to develop your own attitude to the Creator, so keep going.
S. How to nonetheless feel Him the connection with Him rather than the food?
R. For that you have to be ready to feel the source of the pleasures. If you will begin to bestow in return to the source of the pleasures you will see what has to be done in order to reach the feeling, His feeling, to feel Him. Start developing this attitude in return.
S. I am trying to do that.
R. If you are doing it in order to bestow, then the food, the tastiest food suddenly stops being tasty, it tastes like grass. Keep going and you will see. The discernment is good and accurate. I recommend everyone to do it if we can truly think how by that to give contentment to the Creator, the pleasure I derive from the food, the food will lose taste. Why? Because I wished to work toward Him in vessels of bestowal, I don't have vessels of bestowal for the time being, but the vessels of reception I canceled them and I am in a state where I have no taste. This is already a spiritual discernment. Well done. I remember saying this to Rabash for the first time and he took it seriously.
24. S. (32:21) if this is so we should really reach a state that all of our senses are aimed at bestowal? And if there is no bestowing then actually there is no pleasure?
R. There are pleasures everywhere. The question is about the intention. If our intention will be in order to bestow, then I’ll be able to feel pleasure in it, but the pleasure will be in the object of my bestowal. This is already a spiritual degree.
25. S. (33:18) In a state where there's no taste in the food, how do you keep working?
R. First come to it, then we’ll see what to do. Maybe add pepper, salt so you will have some taste. If that also won’t help, then we’ll need to talk about Taamin, tastes, flavors of light, the taste of Torah.
26. S. (33:57) All of the force that we have now is from the pleasure we feel in our will to receive so if we work in the pleasure of bestowal where do we get the force from?
R. From the Creator. Don't worry you will be provided with the force. If you want to work in bestowal, you will receive the forces and the power to bestow and you’ll be connected to Him through that.
27. S. (34:53) When we push away the pleasure it becomes discernments or is the pleasure from us being able to push away the light?
R. The pleasure is...there are many kinds of pleasure in bestowal. I’m giving and I still cannot feel the one who receives from me or I can already begin to feel various results from my action of giving to Him until we connect to it. Where I give Him, He gives me, and we connect to it with bonds of love, meaning that there are many modes to this.
S. The total of these rejections generates the screen when we sufficiently push away than accordingly the screen is built?
R. Yes.
Item 17 (36:45) “Thus far we have clarified the three foundations in the. “
28. S. (40:38) It turns out that the desire is a discernment in the light?
R. A desire is a discernment in the light, of course. If there would be no upper light, we could not feel any desire. If that is what you wanted to hear, I am not certain.
S. Yes.
R. The light is always the first and the result from it is also the desire.
29. S. (41:48) How do we turn what is revealed between us into pleasure for the Creator? Do we do this through gratitude?
R. I didn't understand, repeat.
S. How to turn what is revealed between us into pleasure for the Creator is this from gratitude?
R. Of course but we give pleasure to the Creator through all of our efforts if we work against the will to receive, to resemble Him, to bestow to one another, to get organized, to disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah throughout the world. Anything that belongs to the advancement of humanity, towards the end of correction comes from the Creator and by that we can give Him contentment. We cannot bestow directly to the Creator but if we have a possibility of advancing humanity towards correction, by that we give Him contentment. I can't work with the lights, the vessels, the restrictions, all those things, but together with that I can do such acts that will bring Him contentment even before I enter spirituality.
30. S. (43:27) Does the fourth phase create the ego?
R. Yes, the fourth phase, the light that expands in the four phases of direct light creates the fourth phase, that wants to receive only for itself. And from this reception it feels how opposite it is from the Creator, from the root phase. From that it feels shame that performs the restriction and begins to have this process of correction of creation. If not for the shame that the fourth phase feels inside of it, it receives its opposite from the discernment of the root, who is the Creator, the desire to bestow, then out of these four phases of direct light, nothing else would have developed. The entire development after the four phases of direct light comes only as a result of the shame.
31. S. (44:46) In the end of this excerpt it says that the size of the attention you receive the light.
R. Yes.
S. Can you explain a bit about the intention and the extent of reception of light?
R. If I sit before the host and I want to do a favor to the host then I restrict my will to receive, I act with my desire to bestow. And only to the extent that I have the desire to bestow, I can receive from the host and then my reception will be as bestowal to the extent I receive from Him, meaning by bestowing to Him. That is how it works.
S. How can we as a ten strengthen our intention in order to receive the extent of light in the ten?
R. Only by connecting between you and starting from that to bestow to one another and to the Creator. You should organize yourself so you would feel that each one is working for the others, toward the others. And then from that, where each one is working toward the others, you can turn to the Creator and you can bestow to the Creator. It works out that suddenly you have a vessel of bestowal. Start discovering in it the Creator. You start discovering what you are giving Him, you start discovering the upper world, spirituality and all of it because each one wants to support the others and everyone wants to support the Creator. Only in this way can we hope to learn about our actions.
32. S. (47:11) You said I cannot work with a screen and the reflected light but I can give contentment to the Creator. In what exactly?
R. You can give contentment to the Creator even as you are trying to establish the correct relationship in the group. From that you are gradually reaching Him because you are already on the way, just like a baby is giving us pleasure just because he exists and he is developing. Even when we don't actually perform acts of bestowal, we aim for that, and the Creator shines on us and grows in us the vessels of bestowal.
S. The quality of Malchut discerned in the upper light if it is shame, why is it called His name?
R. I didn't quite get it.
S. It says is Malchut is discerned in the upper light, so what is the shame here?
R. No, we’ll talk about that later. Just read what is written, not more than that. Don't add all kinds of things and then you won't be confused. That’s it friends. I bid you farewell and I am asking you, everything we’ve learned in the first lesson and the second lesson you must repeat it, you must learn it and be ready for tomorrow's lesson.