Morning Lesson December 17, 2022 Transcription

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

Part 1:

Zohar for All. "Introduction of The Book of Zohar". "The Rose"

1. Rav’s Introduction: Yes, there is a lot of the book of Zohar that is spoken about. It is the essence of the wisdom of Kabbalah. All of the wisdom has grown, has been made out of this book, the book of Zohar. It is basically a series of conversations that Rabbi Shimon spoke with his students about 2,000 years ago and in these conversations along with them they spoke, they asked and he answered them and this is how this book was born.

The Zohar comes from the illumination of the Upper light that comes from the Creator to the created beings and it is very important to invest in our powers, in our desires and hopes because by an emotional connection specifically to this book we discover in it a spiritual force and then we would enjoy it's light. We are about to read this book and we read it from chapter to chapter and we try to understand and feel as much as possible. Basically this book works even if you don’t understand the language

If a person wants through his desire then he can draw on himself this upper light that shines more on him, more than usual according to the person's desire and through that the person is progressing and starts to understand and feel that there were many cases during history that people who did not know that language and did not get translation they were sitting and they did not even know about the structure of the wisdom of Kabbalah, why and how but simply out of their desire, the simple desire they started to attain the internal concept of this book. In the wisdom of Kabbalah if you want to talk about the book of Zohar it is enough to say The Book and you feel you are talking about the Zohar because this book is the foundation of the entire wisdom of Kabbalah.

You may feel that it is not written in the style of the books that are suitable for modern times like textbooks you learn from other schools or universities so what can you do? They wrote this according to how they thought and it will affect the soul best. This is why they did it in a way that this is how they turn to us, they address these stages of the book of Zohar to us.

For hundreds of years this book was not published so much that they did not want to publish it. It is to the contrary it was concealed, it was only studied in the hiding, only by the students of Rabbi Shimon and their students and so on like a chain and then it was revealed. There are many concealments and strange things in the story of this book and how it was revealed invite it was revealed this way and not a different way. Bit by bit throughout the study we will talk about all these things and then we will understand why in such a special way the wisdom of Kabbalah which is home of the wisdom that is concealed has been revealed this way and not a different way.

So let's start and throughout the reading we will speak and bit by bit it will become clearer to us how to connect to this book and how this book affects us. I think we do not have questions, that's good. What we need to care about is how the book is bestowing upon us. It bestows, it is affecting us, it even puts pressure and wants to enter the heart and soul of each and everyone and all of us together. Certainly as much as we learn and we want to be together, between us and the Creator and then the effect of the book and the light in it will affect us more. None-the-less it works and then we will see it and then maybe we can ask that this book also in the time this book should be effective and we will going to see. Let's start.

Reading (07:16)

2. R. (08:50) Up until here they are the words of the book of Zohar itself and to that the Baal HaSulam adds his commentary, his explanations and interpretations.

Reading on (09:07)

3. R. (18:50) We have finished with this, we have finished reading the first item from the introduction to the book of Zohar. There are certainly many questions and you may ask them now, about whatever you want. We have to go into the book and start getting to know it from all the aspects until it will become clear to us and it will arrange the soul for us. This is what the book of Zohar does. It arranges the soul, it brings us closer between us and the Creator. It brings the upper light from above and fills us, this is a book that does everything, there is no more in the wisdom of Kabbalah than the book of Zohar, the whole of the wisdom Kabbalah is an interpretation of this book. Let's start with to scrutinize.

4. S. (20:05) We are talking about the Assembly of Israel and the rose and the Nukva and at the same time we have the friends and we have the ten and we have to read from the connection with the friends. How can we read these terms correctly from within the ten?

R. The book of Zohar arranges everything for us. All we need to do is to come closer to each other and to try to accept it and receive it, and then we will feel how much this book goes in more and more and makes some actions inside of us. It will work inside of us and when our broken vessels, desires are such scattered and confused in us then we start to fall more into place. Then we understand more and more the place where we are in what effect as and how we in return can affect the forces that govern the entire universe, the entire nature. This is how bit by bit we are going into the upper system that is acting on us and we can in return act on it and then we understand what the Zohar means.

The Zohar is the same upper force of bestowal that comes from above from a higher degree from the upper world upon us, and this is why it is called Zohar. How else can I say this, how to say it in English? It is radiance but I don't know whether it is fitting or not but ok. It is an upper illumination that works on everybody and by reading this book you come closer to that illumination. We draw it upon us and this is how it acts, it arranges it, all of us and each one and all of us together. This is why this book is the foundation of the wisdom of Kabbalah and about this it is written in thousands and thousands of sources, you will see.

5. S. (23:04) Does the nature of Malchut determine the state of Katnut?

R. Yes, of course, the Malchut determines Katnut, Gadlut, and all kinds of different states we have in the upper system through which the light passes from the Creator to us.

6. S. (23:32) Throughout our spiritual path, we learn that there are ten qualities of the Creator which we have to be impressed by in order to rise on a spiritual level; and here he is talking about ‘thirteen qualities that enable us to enter the work’. What are these ‘thirteen qualities’, what is it about, are they concealed, are they not felt by us?

R. We will learn a lot about that, the truth is that there are Ten Sephirot, meaning ten steps that connect the lower one with the upper one, and the upper world with the lower world, between the worlds, etc., there is always ten. But here he speaks of thirteen, why thirteen? Soon we will learn that.

7. S. (24:36) Reading this together it gives a special feeling, it sure does! What is actually a key because we read a lot of. Let’s say, words and sentences but it does not mean directly something, through the mind or whatever; but there should be a key, let’s say, there is a hidden key so how to unlock this illumination we just talked about. So what is this special attitude or way of connection, what sort of desire, how to do this to unlock The Zohar, how do we do this, what is the trick when reading it?

R. There is the source of light, that source of the upper light and from it the light comes out and through a few filters, and they are called “worlds”, from the word, “olamah”(?), ‘concealment’, so this light diminishes until it comes to us. And then we can receive it and be impressed by it and now we are in the lowest degree together with you, the furthest from the source of light, and that is why it acts on us in the weakest manner. But bit by bit, by speaking and wanting to understand and feel what is going on, so by being drawn to the source of light we awaken It’s effect on us.

And by that, we come closer to the source more and more, it is affecting us more and more until we start discovering all kinds of ways of how it works on us. And then we start seeing how it acts in different states, what it does with us, how we can affect it back, bestow back on It, and in this mutual way, we are on it and it on us, we start being connected to it. And this, in the meantime for us, is like a baby being born so he is before his mother but he does not know where he is and who he is connected to, what is being done with him, the way he should behave, nothing. Bit by bit, by our study, by us connecting between ourselves and to Him, to It, we start growing like a baby that starts to identify how the upper, being for him, it is his mother, how she effects him and how he by all kinds of expressions, actions, by voice, by his hands and feet and everything he has, this baby, how he responds to her and bit-by-bit respond to the mother and bit-by-bit he starts to come to some mutual form.

This mutual form is called “language”, then he starts to, seemingly, speak with its mother; he's not speaking yet, he doesn’t understand but she already understands him, out of her love to him she starts to understand him: what he wants, what is good for him and he starts responding to her naturally and then there is already a connection between them, etc. This is how they start to learn this Book of Zohar in a natural way, naturally like a baby, this is how we are starting to enter, to be connected Imma, to our mother, to a higher Partzuf, meaning a higher system that gives birth to us, cultivates us and takes care of us. This is what I have to say here, bit by bit, we’re going to speak, by this we’re going to the upper world, to connection between us and the Creator, an emotional and intellectual connection, all kinds of difference, all kind of discernments so everybody may ask and I tried to answer everybody's questions.

S. How can you help your friends, let’s say during the reading, to receive these emotional, let’s say effect, and impressions from this Illumination?

R. If we all learn, I think each of us will receive some effect from others and will advance with it quickly. Let's try all of us together to clothe on The Book of Zohar, on the Creator that wants to be revealed through this book, through this story we are now learning. And this is the entrance, this is the entrance to the wisdom of Kabbalah, it’s the entrance to the upper world, this is what Rabbi Shimon was teaching his students.

8. S. (31:22) We are very excited that we started reading The Book of Zohar, how should we approach the Zohar so we draw the light at the maximum state?

R. This is a good question: if we connect between ourselves and we want together all of us to find, to suckle the light from the Creator, from the upper force, then we will succeed. Like, the mother has many small cubs and they are all by her side and they are sucking from her, all of us together; and she patiently lies down and let them have the milk. This is how all of us, we need, together to help each other to suck everything the upper mother has, our upper mother, and this is the extent that we, together, connect to her and to that extent each and every one of us will be succeed.

9. S. (33:07) You said that “to learn The Zohar, all we need is the heart so we can be influenced by the Light”. The question is: why is this time the special time, the right time to start studying the Zohar? You said, “we could have started studying it a long time ago, that all we needed was our deficiency, our desire”, so why is this moment now is it so special?

R. We have reached a state where basically we have learned a little bit about the upper system, we have learned a lot about man's work, the connection between us, and now we should learn about the connection between man and the upper system, the Creator. We’ve been through the articles about the entrance into Lishma, and now we have to realize it by learning the book of Zohar, itself, it is speaking about it.

10. S. (34:47) What are ‘the leaves that surround the rose’?

R. We are not talking about it yet, we are talking around that, we are going to answer all these things.

11. S. (35:13) I would like to read a sentence and get an explanation, he says” “the main thing that Rabbi Hizikiah comes to show with his comparison is that ‘the thorn rose among the thorns in the assembly of Israel’ teaches us that everything that is in it, in the state of Gadlut, should also be in the preparation in the beginning of her formation in the state of Katnut, what is that preparation?

R. I do not know, we are not close to that, when you read and you feel like knowing, that’s good but if we are not talking about it please do not.

S. So, with your permission, I would like to ask differently: you said that we have to make our efforts and put efforts into reading the book, what efforts do we have to make?

R. In order to come closer to understanding the book in general; what I recommend for you to do is to listen and then to start with questions because they are completely not in the same lane we’re trying to go into in the study.

12. S. (36:51) It is written that there is ‘a rose’ and ‘Rose’, one is Katnut and the other is Gadlut, what ‘rose’ are for spikes here to bring Israel to the corrected state?

R. Israel are those who receive below, from ‘the rose’, they receive light and this whole system that is above them, that connect them to the Creator is called, ‘the rose’. In in that state there are both Katnut and Gadlut in ‘the rose’ to the extent that ‘the rose’ can open itself up and convey the light from the Creator to the Israel. Israel are all of those who yearn to connect with the Creator in order to receive from Him in order to bestow.

13. S. (38:14) In the beginning it is written about mercy a few times, what is this important quality, the feeling we start with?

R. It is the result of love, of love, this relation.

14. S. (38:41) You said that The Zohar was concealed at one point and now it’s been revealed, how can we ensure that it doesn’t get concealed anymore, what do we have to do to make sure it doesn’t get concealed?

R. No, it was concealed from the word altogether, nobody knew that this book existed. Rabbi Shimon, two thousand years ago, sat with his disciples, not very far from us in Meron, that’s what it’s called. When you come over to us to visit Israel, we will take you there to see where it took place: how they sat there in the cave and studied and he taught them. And other than that, people did not know; out of this group there was somebody who read, somebody who wrote and this is how they sat and learned. So after they learned what Rabbi Shimon said, a text was left, remained: what Rabbi Shimon said, what the disciples asked and what he answered to them, and also the summary of the lesson. And this is how it went on, day after day after day after day, and they sat there and learned and nobody knew about it, nobody knew about it. It was also two thousand years ago at a time when there was war here and murder and riots and chaos, and they studied, sat and studied quietly in the cave.

When we get a chance we will all go together there and visit this cave and you’ll see where it took place, it is very interesting, it is written about it in many books. When they finished studying the book of Zohar, they all agreed that this book needed to be concealed, meaning to be wrapped in something, canvas or material, it was put in a box and they put this box in a hiding place and just let it to stand there. And this is how this book was hidden for thousands of years, not thousands but from the second century until the thirteenth century, Rabbi deLeon revealed it, up until the thirteenth century, still over a thousand years, about eleven centuries, until something strange happened, as is always the case with the writing of Kabbalists.

Somebody, seemingly, found this box and discovered the text and understood that these texts were very special. They spoke about concealed things, about the connection between our world and the upper world, the connection of man with the upper force; and since then The Book of Zohar became revealed, you will read about it more elaborately later, and that it. Since then, The Book of Zohar became more and more known and revealed in the world, and people started studying it, started to understand what it was about and to this day we study this book and all the writings of Kabbalah are based on The Book of Zohar. In other words, what you will now study is the basis, the true origin of the wisdom of Kabbalah, that’s it.

So here we’re learning only the introduction of The Book of Zohar but the introduction, itself, contains within the entire book, so that even if we only study only the introduction, it is still a great asset for us, and we will learn and understand a lot from it, it is generally what we need to know. That the connection between the Creator and the person is the topic of this book and the book is trying to explain how the Creator influences us, how we connect to Him, how we can correct our connection with the Creator to make it a tighter connection, more direct, how we can know what to do for the Creator so He is pleased with us, etc.

The Book of Zohar talks about all that until it opens up for us the upper force, itself, the Creator, Himself. And we begin to see how it comes closer to us, opens Himself up to us and tells us, “well, come over, I have been waiting for you to come closer to Me, to approach me”, and this is really the topic and the purpose of the book and let's hope that we will be rewarded with it.

15. S. (46:00) We’re learning that preparation has a key role in our work, how should the preparation for reading The Book of Zohar lesson be, how should we prepare ourselves during the day so in the morning when we come to the lesson with what intention should we come to the lesson?

R. Need to understand that the study of the Zohar is a special kind of study, we have to be connected like the disciples of Rabbi Shimon. When they wrote The Book of Zohar, Rabbi Shimon would speak and the disciples would write, so we need to try to be in that same connection between us and to yearn from our connection to connect to the book , to the topic of the book and to try to understand the book, together. This is very important, it opens up the soul, it corrects the connection between us with the Creator, the book does everything! There is no higher source than The Book of Zohar. You must have read, here and there, about how great it is and how it is influences, how it induces the correction of the soul.

16. S. (47:46) What is “the white light” and “the red light”, and what do they reveal to us?

R. We will learn this later.

17. S. (48:16) What kind of soul should we have as a ten so we can attract the light of the Zohar into our ten, how can we achieve this feeling?

R. We must have a good, big deficiency that we will really want to reveal the influence of the Creator on us and how we can bestow back to Him, in other words, a desire; to reveal the Creator’s will for us and our will for Him, and this is what we want to discover.

18. S. (49:09) I do not want to confuse too much but we have serious questions, and for me I have been hearing serious questions and mine is not so serious. But I want to ask about ‘the thorns’ and ‘the rose’. In the past, I thought that my environment is ‘roses’?

R. My dear, we will learn about this later.

S. I would like to ask about our tens: does this rose nourish us, it feeds us like children and the Gadlut is not to aspire for it, but to aspire to discover ourselves as small roses in the ten that only in Gadlut we become one ten so there will always be a rose for the whole world Kli?

R. In the meantime just look, in the meantime, just look.

19. S. (50:15) How can the assembly of Israel attain the qualities of Rahamim?

R. The assembly of Israel is called ‘Malchut’, the bottom Sefira, out of all the Sefirot; this is why it assembles within her all the desires of people, and this is why it can receive within her the bestowal from the Keter, from the upper light.

20. S. (51:08) This sensitivity to the study of the Zohar and the sensitivity to connection to the friends, is there a connection between the two?

R. The connection has to go through the person: to the extent that he wants to connect to the friends, he will connect with The Book of Zohar?

21. S. (51:43) Can we read the Zohar not only in connection with the friends, within our free times every friend separately, and can such a reading give any benefit to the ten?

R. If you are reading with this intention, it will benefit the ten, you can read in anyway, however you want with the right intention.

22. S. (52:24) We see that The Book of Zohar is complex and filled with forces, and if six hundred thousand people can really help us while reading the Zohar, we have the faith that will be free of any concern around it.

R. We will discover it later as we study.

23. S. (53:11) When we studied previously the Zohar, you told us, you advised us that “no matter if we do not understand just keep the right intention for the connection between you”. What is the right intention for studying the Zohar right now at this time?

R. Also, of course, the connection between us, and besides, we need to understand the system better, the system we are learning about. In each lesson we will learn certain excerpt, a certain portion and this way gradually we will go through the entire Introduction of the Book of Zohar, and it will be clear to us who we are connected with, how the Creator influences us and how we can influence Him, how to connect with Him and this way to bestow the maximum.

24. S. (54:31) Is there anything in the way we work in the ten in relation to the friends?

R. What we’ve been saying all the time, the style of work remains the same: get closer and be incorporated in each other as much as possible.

25. S. (54:57) Does The Book of Zohar, at least in the time of preparation, is it like an essence where in the right vessel it can spread all over, like a tea bag where if we relate to each other correctly in the ten, the Torah can spread like this essence?

R. You can put it this way, it will all change in us many more times.

26. S. (55:52) Can we activate the work of light on us by simply listening to The Book of Zohar without even understanding Hebrew?

R. Yes, even without understanding the language, even if we study and just listen to the text and we want to connect to it, and just like children don’t know what things are about when the grown-ups speak but through their desires they start to understand, and this way, grow, it’s the same for us.

27. S. (56:44) I am in deep, deep gratitude to the Creator for allowing us to study this book with you, it is a great blessing! The question is: since Rabbi Hizkiyah starts out with judgement and mercy, is that a key for us, should we try to concentrate on balancing these two forces in order to penetrate further into the Zohar?

R. We have to study each day that same portion as the one we studied in the morning listen and to try as much as possible to connect to that portion in our hearts and in our minds, in our intellect and in our feelings, read it several times at least, and understand the the connection between the sentences.

28. S. (57:57) Yesterday we had a connection exercise where each one was incorporated in the friends shape and something, as if something happens in the heart which is similar to the friend, and from this simple form we reached an infinite form, is this principal reflected in this exercise?

R. Yes.

29. S. (58:52) We are a new cycle of study and we are joining you to learn The Book of Zohar and we recall the movie about this book where the friends, the students of Rabbi Shimon were standing before the cave, they couldn't go in, so there is some fear now. How can we make this Covenant without which we cannot feel the Zohar in the right way, through the heart of the friend, so we can really understand that whatever happens to us is by Zohar without looking for anyone to blame?

R. Relax my dear, everything will be okay, we're going together, everything will be okay.

30. S. (59:55) He writes here that the reflected light is the light of Din, the direct light is Rachamim. Should it be the other way around?

R. Read what 's written and that’s it. We're not getting into this right now. The direct light of Racham is of Rachamim because it comes from the Creator and the reflected light is Din because it comes from the refusal of the lower one to receive it directly. For now just read and listen, don't jump.

31. S. (01:00:30) Will it be better to hear the German translation or the Hebrew source if I don’t yet understand it?

R. It is best to listen in the language that you understand.

32. S. (01:01:01) How can we focus our deficiencies in our questions about ‘The Zohar?’

R. I don't know how to do it. How you can put together all the questions, gradually we will understand and over time in a lesson or two, you will see that you will have fewer questions. There is nothing you can do, although I am very impatient but I am waiting for the questions to, the first questions to kind of subside and then the relevant questions will remain.

33. S. (01:02:08) Is there an order by which we should read ‘The Book of Zohar’ and what are the rules for that?

R. The rules are we learn, that is it. To read the first volume of ‘The Book of Zohar,’ which is called ‘The Introduction of the Book of Zohar' and scrutinize it. That's what there is.

S. What is that upper mother that feeds us to which we should cling?

R. It is Bina: which is called upper Ima.

34. S. (01:03:07) What effect do we have over the entire humanity when we read ‘The Zohar’ together?

R. There is no more powerful influence through the upper light that shines on us from the Creator down to us here in this world than reading ‘The Book of Zohar.’ No influence is more powerful, it's precisely this. By reading ‘The Book of Zohar’ together we benefit ourselves the most in our spiritual development.

35. S. (01:04:06) In the introduction he quotes the book of ‘The Torah,’ the Genesis: what is the connection between ‘The Torah’ and ‘The Zohar?’

R. ‘The Zohar’ is the Kabbalistic interpretation of ‘The Torah.’ It's written if you open ‘The Book of Zohar,' it's written there in the beginning ‘The Book of Zohar,’ on the five books of Moses, The Pentateuch. This is how Rabbi Shimon taught his disciples.

36. S. (01:04:55) If ‘The Zohar’ is the most beneficial, why don’t we focus on it in our study?

R. It's very effective on the one hand, on the other hand it still doesn't teach us in a contemporary way; a way that is close to us. This is why we sometimes prefer the ‘Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,’ ‘The Study of the Ten Sefirot,’ the ARI’s, ‘Tree of Life.’ In other words, ‘The Book of Zohar’ after all explains everything to us through a story. That story is so helpful in developing the soul that we don't just drop it or replace it with any other composition.

37. S. (01:06:00) I heard that you expect questions to the point. What are the questions that are to the point?

R. Questions about what is written and not in any other direction that doesn't give us any solutions. We need to be closer to the text, how it is written, what is it about, to connect this text to ourselves.

38. S. (01:07:05) Can we connect to the soul of Rabbi Shimon when we read and how to do that?

R. I think we can wait with this.

39. S. (01:07:17) What does it mean to understand what ‘The Zohar’ writes?

R. Understanding means attaining. In the wisdom of Kabbalah understanding comes as a result of attainment.

40. S. (01:07:38) How to interpret the words about what it says about the books, the colors, is there a special meaning here?

R. There is a meaning and we will learn about every single thing. Why don't we read this excerpt again and translate every concept.

41. S. (01:08:33) My question: what is in Malchut as it is described as the rose with thorns or these colors. How do you clothe one on the other?

R. Malchut contains all the lights that come from Keter to it. That is why it's called the assembly of Israel because it assembles all the influences, all the bestowal to it. Sometimes it's in a state of Din, sometimes in the state of Rachamim, red or white, that’s it for now, that's enough.

Reading “The Rose” Item 1. (01:09:25)

42. R. (01:20:10) That is actually the first excerpt from the introduction to the book of Zohar.

43. S. (01:20:24) What does it mean that the reflected light is the aspects of Din?

R. Because it comes from the resistance of Malchut that builds a restriction, screen and reflected light. That's why it's called judgement, she won't let the upper light expand in her.

44. S. (01:20:57) What is Katnut and Gadlut in the ten?

R. In the ten we can't really speak about it yet but let's say closeness, strong and intense between us gives us the ability to come close to the upper light. That's called Gadlut and if we can't come closer between us we don’t increase the drawing of the light upon us. That’s why that state is called Katnut or infancy.

S. But it still is a unique state?

R. Katnut isn’t a connected state. Obviously we’re not harming one another but we're not helping one another. We don't have the forces to come closer.

S. At the same time it says that Katnut is the main state and Gadlut is an addition. So are we on the standby all the time?

R. We need to be at least in a state of Katnut but if we can go to Gadlut obviously we do.

S. But we should always aspire to the Gadlut because in the text sometimes it says the main thing is to aspire to Katnut?

R. We need maximum to aspire to bestow to the Creator, to come closer to the Creator. That state is always Gadlut but we need at least to be in Katnut.

S. What does it mean that in Katnut only the quality of Keter shines?

R. There are a few states in the Katnut. One state where only the Keter illuminates, the second state is that the Sefirot HGT NHY illuminate until the middle of the Partzuf and the third state is already Gadlut, that there’s light throughout the whole Partzuf.

45. S. (01:23:31) You said before that the source of Hassadim is the love of the Creator so what is the source of the Din, judgments?

R. The source of judgments is that we have no forces to love the Creator.

46. S. (01:24:07) It turns out that the three states are Ibur, Yenika, Mochin. We first have to go from the small to the greater and my question is you said that in Katnut it’s very important to undergo preparation and that also determines our state of Gadlut. Can you elaborate?

R. What can I say here? When a woman wants to become pregnant that's a preparation state. Afterwards she gets impregnated and the embryo starts developing in her, that’s the state of Katnut. Then it is born and starts growing outside of the mother, that is already Gadlut.

47. S. (01:25:15) You said that in the state of Katnut we don't have the power to move towards each other but we don't harm each other. What does it mean that we do harm each other, let's say now?

R. Even without wanting to connect with one another we are already putting borders on the path of the light. It can’t come in between us, it can't connect us and correct.

48. S. (01:26:00) The text mentions that there are 13 petals of Katnut and 13 qualities of Rahamim in Gadlut that protect the rose, the Malchut. How do they protect, what is this protection?

R. We will learn about it later, the screens, we’ll learn how it all works.

49. S. (01:26:36) What would be your recommendation? If first we read excerpts from the lesson and ask questions and got answers? How do we achieve connection now and not remoteness because sometimes one thinks he understands more and another one thinks he understands less of the Zohar?

R. You have to read what we’re reading in the morning lesson in every state, in any possible state and that’s what you discuss. Even if you get confused it is still good for you. That’s what I can recommend. At least two more times except for the lesson you need to read the text from the lesson at least two times.

50. S. (01:27:53) The quality of mercy, is it something we should aspire to, the quality of mercy in the relationship between us?

R. You can also speak about that but don't get confused between the two. Zohar is speaking about much more exalted relationships.

51. S. (01:28:33) It says that the direct flight contains in it Rahamim, but the direct light is light of Hochma isn’t it? Is that not somewhat of a different quality?

R. No, no, we’ll learn about that too. There's something in what you’re saying but it's not precise.

52. S. (01:29:08) What is the second Elokim that he mentions here?

R. It's written in the book of the Torah Elokim for the first time, then it's written there a second time.

S. So what’s the second time, I didn’t understand?

R. In the book of the Torah word Elokim is written there. So he says from this Eolkim to the second one there is a certain number of words.

S. Alright, we’ll clarify it, thank-you.

R. What do you have to clarify? I just answered.

S. I don't understand the second Elokim.

R. What’s the first Elokim?

S. I don’t know.

R. That’s how you don’t understand the second one either. He just says there’s a certain number of words between the first time it’s written and the second time it’s written. It doesn’t explain anymore but that for now.

53. S. (01:30:13) Yesterday in the lesson I heard that we have a problem, that as we ascend we can't hold ourselves there and as a result we descend. Does that have to do with not using the Gadlut correctly, is it something else?

R. It's not connected to anything. If you want to go higher you have to fall lower first, and that’s how it is every time.

S. Do we necessarily have to fall?

R. Yes, it is like a flow.

54. S. (01:31:18) It says that the lower nine Sefirot fall to Beria. They find themselves with the twelve oxen, what is that?

R. The quality of reception.

Reading Item 2 (01:32:18)

55. R. OK, We read item number two from the introduction to the Book of Zohar.

56. S. (01:43:20) What does a true ten of Kabbalists feel when they read these lines? What kind of connection to the book do they feel?

R. They connect, they organize around this text, around Rabbi Shimon. And the ten wants to connect between them, one another that everything that is in the text will be revealed in them.

S. What does it mean that it appears in the Kabbalists who read it?

R. That they start seeing and understanding and feeling what is written.

57. S. (01:44:23) I heard that there’s influence of the Creator on the created being and there's also the influence of the created being on the Creator. Can you talk about that?

R. In the wisdom of Kabbalah we learn how to bestow to the Creator, to ask of Him to correct us and according to that to ask for Him to be revealed or in other words to fill us. That’s how we study the wisdom of Kabbalah, in our actions and their results.

S. What is that unique thing that we can do with a light of the Zohar? How can we amplify the influence?

R. To ask, to ask for it.

58. S. (01:45:28) He writes here that thirteen is one. Does it imply being in Gadlut and bestowing to the lower one in Katnut?

R. I don't want to speak about things that we havn’t read.

59. S. (01:45:56) What do we need to think about as we read their Zohar?

R. Just how to connect and connect ourselves to the Creator. You have nothing else to think about.

60. S. (01:46:33) What is the Covenant that we must to make so that the light will enter the rows?

R. We need to connect between us as one, that one has many degrees of quality, of unity and if we reach the first degree, the lowest degree of connection the light starts shining in us.

61. S. (01:47:23) Can we do something to not fall as we rise up the levels?

R. There's nothing you can do. Because we always need new vessels, new desires, new spaces in order to draw the light into them.

62. S. (01:47:59) It feels like the main thing that we read about and you said that we should also clarify what we read during the lesson is that the Zohar is a very powerful means and it’s felt that it’s connecting us very much. What to put the emphasis on so as to not prevent it from working in on us?

R. We need to constantly think of the connection between us. That the connection, the Creator, the upper light can bestow upon it, to connect between us and fill us. That's what we need.

63. S. (01:49:13) It says in the text, he talks about five necessary restrictions we need to make in the ten before we receive the first light, before we enter the work. How can we feel that the ten has realized it?

R. Those restrictions are what we have to do upon our will to receive in order to receive, that we rise above it to in order to bestow.

64. S. (01:49:56) It says in the text that the five fingers of the right hand and the left hand that there needs to be some connection between them. As far as I understand in the ten we need to connect between us but I see here another division between the right and left hand.

R. Afterwards it will be clarified, that's not for now. He just wrote it for the first time and later on he’ll elaborate on it.

65. S. (01:50:51) We have 13 qualities of Rahamain, how many qualities of Din are there?

R. The same number.

66. S. (01:51:22) Why was the book of Zohar concealed if even we don't understand anything in it?

R. Because the corporeal development wasn't ready for it yet. Humanity wasn’t able to receive this Book of Zohar except for those few people, the students of Rabbi Shimon.

67. S. (01:51:56) Should we ask about terms that are not clear to us, should we try to bring it closer to us or only think about connection and focus on that?

R. We need to concentrate on the connection especially and also understanding the text. We need to read it a few times, that it'll just be familiar to us even though we don't exactly understand what it’s speaking about.

Reading (01:52:43) #3 “As the form of the covenant was sown in forty-two Zivugim from the seed,...”

68. S. (01:59:53) In the article it says that everything that was accepted in Nukva during Gadlut requires preparation from the Katnut. What should a student focus on in order to acquire these qualities? If you could give us an example.

R. We have to understand that what’s happening in Gadlut is from those states that were in Katnut and simply grew like a little child grows and becomes an adult, each and everything in the world. So we have to make sure there’s a correct source from the very beginning and then we don't need to worry about how it grows that much because if everything is correctly sown in the days of Katnut then more or less it will continue to grow correctly in the days of its Gadlut.

69. S. (02:01:20) I remember that the first time we started studying Zohar in 2009 you said that we weren’t ready yet and we will only read Rabash, Baal HaSulam and TES. And then you said we’re ready to study the Zohar. How has the group changed and what state are we in now for the study? What changed?

R. You are relating differently to the connection and that's why I think you’re ready.

70. S. (02:02:06) Usually, when we get ready for the morning lesson we read the texts that is recommended and we discuss them. Yesterday when we read the Zohar we had no desire to discuss anything, we just wanted to keep reading. Is that a good state or should we yearn to talk about what we read?

R. No, only if there’s a necessary yearning, only then.

71. S. (02:02:45) When you studied with Rabash how did he relate to the lack of understanding of the text?

R. Understanding comes bit by bit, not exactly when you read but maybe after a few weeks. You begin to understand what you wrote, you begin to connect with the text. It doesn't necessarily have to happen on the spot.

72. S. (02:03:57) From this excerpt we get an impression that the name is something that is created between the Creator and the created beings, is that right?

R. Yes.

73. S. (02:04:18) What prevents us from wanting the first spiritual degree? What exactly can we overcome?

R. The connection between us. Without that we don’t rise to the first degree.

74. S. (02:04:52) How to connect with the authors of the Zohar?

R. They are great teachers, great Kabbalists.

75. S. (02:05:15) The days of Katnut are the days of preparation so can we think of that as Lo Lishma, the state of Lo Lishma?

R. Yes you can.

76. S. (02:05:41) if we compare the language of the Zohar to the interpretation of the ladder what’s the difference between those two types of languages?

R. I didn't understand.

S. What can you learn from comparing between the two languages, the Zohar and the interpretation of the ladder?

R. Oh, that is just an explanation of what’s written in the Zohar itself, that's all.

77. S. (02:06:38) Before you answered a friend from Volga that we shouldn't put obstacles before the light. I wanted to ask how by self annulment and lowering these obstacles, these barriers can we with the help of the light of the Zohar reach the prayer of the many faster than our connection in Congresses and so on?

R. Of course we can.

S. How?

R. We have to want it, we have to want it.

78. S. (02:07:33) The light that we get from the mutual studies, does it reveal or increase more of the will receive and also draws light that covers that desire with love and bestowal?

R. Yes, that’s how it works.

S. The action of suckling during the studies, what do you recommend we do when the lesson ends and this action is left? What do we do when the lesson ends?

R. Read again and again what we read in the lesson. You'll see how you'll find new things there.

79. S. (02:09:17) In the second exert it reads about the name of the 42 letters which is the name of HaVahYah and filling and filling of the filling. What is the HaVahYah and the filling of the filling?

R. If HaVahYah is Yud, Hay, Vav Hey then if we fill these letters Yud, Vav, Hey with their contents then we get letters, vessels with the light in them. So there is an action where we as if open up the Kli once with the Masach and fill it with light and there's an action that we do when we fill up the Kli twice and that gives us a deeper attainment. That in the meantime is an explanation for what we are doing and later on we’ll feel it on ourselves and see how it works.

80. S. (02:10:59) The Sefira of Hochma in the world of Atzilut has white light or transparent. If I understand correctly in the lower world there's different colours of the light and according to them you can define man and his essence, who he is, what he is.

R. There’s no connection to man in this world, no connection. Don't try to find some aura or something like that of a person in this world based on what you can see and what is the root in the upper world. You’re not going to succeed at all, you’re only going to confuse yourself. There's no connection between our world and the spiritual root.

81. S. (02:12:12) What is the essential difference between Katnut and Gadlut? Is it the same thing just more or is it different in quality?

R. It’s a different state qualitatively because it’s a bigger desire, a bigger screen and greater light that enters the Kli and more light that is rejected from the screen. It’s a completely different state Gadlut, it’s like difference between a baby and an adult who is knowledgable.

S. Is there an intermediate state?

R. no we have to go through all the states, all the intermediate states.

82. S. (02:13:13) Here in the third third item the seed was sown in 42 couplings from the Covenant through their 42 letters of the act of creation. And there's this expression about the Covenant. Why is it a token of the Covenant and not the Covenant itself?

R. The token of the Covenant is the way in which we name this Covenant, how exalted this Covenant is, how great it is, what it includes. We’ll learn that later on and gradually everything will become clear.

S. He mentions a hand and five fingers, what that does mean?

R. Hand refers to attainment. Five fingers are the devices by which this attainment is attained.

S. Whare are they five?

R. Because it’s Hesed, Guvera, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Malchut or Keter, Hochma, Bina, ZA, Malchut. Those are five desires that evolve from within the Kli from a single common desire.

83. S. (02:15:02) My husband is a Kabbalist and sometimes he asks you questions. My question is should I push him to ask more questions? What is my work as his wife?

R. Your work as a woman should be to do what you have to do. That's it. If you’re asking about the role of yourself as a woman. Just as he as a man has to do what he has to do, that's his role as a man.

S. Should I push him to ask more questions? Maybe two questions every two weeks, is that enough?

R. Why isn't it enough for you?

S. I don't know, because it gives inspiration when someone asks a question.

R. You should help your husband and maybe he has to help you but in ordinary life and in spiritual life it’s not mandatory. Be a bit softer towards him.

84. S. (02:16:41) What's the generation of the flood and the generation of the separation? What characterizes them?

R. We will talk about that, we can’t get into that now. It's vessels that went through shattering, the generation of the separation of Babylon is the division that happened between them. They shattered and dispersed and the flood also refers to a certain corruption that happened in the vessels. Both are talking about the shattering of the vessels.

85. S. (02:17:34) Is it possible that we’ll be corrupted again that we’re going to study about everything that happened in Babylon?

R. No, don't worry. We are already on the way towards correction.

86. S. (02:18:18) Is it right to depict to myself our ten as the main characters in the book of the Zohar?

R. I’m afraid to tell you that this is how you should depict it because you might get confused. You will start confusing between yourselves and the students of Rabbi Shimon and start coming up with all kinds of of actions that will deflect you from the right path. Let's study calmly without fantasizing anything.

87. S. (02:19:46) In the first excerpt he writes about the sucking of the external ones. What does it mean in our work the suckling of the external ones?

R. It’s those that either have no connection to Kabbalah or they do but in short they can influence us in various ways and therefore they disturb us.

S. Can we watch out about that?

R. Yes, to the extent that we are connected between us we can be protected from them.

88. S. (02:20:42) How does the reading of The Book of Zohar help us connect between us?

R. In The Book of Zohar there's a force that doesn’t exist in any other composition of the wisdom of Kabbalah, and therefore it is the foundation of Kabbalah, The Book of Zohar. Therefore when we read The Book of Zohar, there's a lot of material about the uniqueness of The Book of Zohar, the power of The Book of Zohar, therefore, we have to read it and understand just how special this book is. The Kabbalist, ten Kabbalists, who attained the final correction, the second time that it is possible to achieve the end of Correction is only at the end of all the generations, the last, very last generation, that's what Baal HaSulam writes about: that except for the students of Rabbi Shimon and him, only the last generation will be able to attain that degree. So, we have to understand that there's nothing higher in the sources of the Godly wisdom, the upper sources that we learn about than The Book of Zohar. Therefore, let's study it and sort of, day after day, whenever you can, try to go back to it, and from reading it, you begin to think about it, and it gradually enters and sorts itself out in your brain cells and you will see how much year did influences you.

89. S. (02:23:03) You said that “we should study what we read throughout the day, I have two questions, one: there are a lot of friends who are driving or at work, so they can just listen, is that good?

R. Yes.

S. Second question: two times a day we have a prayer, so should we also use the Zohar?

R. No, the prayer is a prayer.

S. But we read the Rabash, is that okay?

R. I'm not talking about this right now.

90. S. (02:23:40) We rise on the degrees of the Kabbalists along with Rabbi Shimon that he put for us or do we have to build them?

R. You're not building, you’re not building anything. Everything was already made a long time ago by the Creator, not by Rabbi Shimon but by the Creator at the very beginning. Everything is already written. Everything is very clearly sorted out. We just have to put in the effort to connect and to the extent of the connection between you, you can rise.

S. The lessons you gave in 2009, should we listen to those lessons? Is it worth listening to them now?

R. I don't know, I don't remember them myself. Too much time has passed.

S. They’re amazing lessons.

R. If I'm not certain that it’s going to help then I'm not saying anything and that’s it.

91. S. (02:25:25) There is a part that wants to really devote to the studies without understanding, without knowing and there's a part that does want to understand and to know. What feeling should I come out of the lesson with?

R. You should also remember something of what is written and also understand some of what is written and be in between and that's how we will advance. All in all, we have learned three items from ‘The Introduction to the Book of Zohar’ and there's a lot more. Let's continue tomorrow and until then we will see each other as well. Even in the Noon Lesson, except that not everyone can be there, so I am not continuing in the Morning Lesson. If you were able to gather in the Noon Lesson we could continue: we could go faster through the book but see, look into it and ask and see whether there's room for it or not. In the meantime, be well and see you in the Noon Lesson. All the best.

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Tägliche Lektion8 lug 2021(Morning)Ausgewählte Highlights

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Tägliche Lektion8 lug 2021(Morning)
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