Morning Lesson June 20, 2022 Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Part 3. Chapter Three. #2 ("But in order to shine in Beria,")
Reading: (00:22) “The world is Beria shines by clothing the level of Bina …” Twice.
R. 1. (01:46) So Ein Sof first of all clothes from Keter to the Sephira of Hochma that's why it's clothed in light of Hochma then it keeps going to Bina, clothes in the light of Bina and then that way it can shine that's what he wants to say. Below we don't have any because there really isn't anything to add, everything is clear from the ARI's words.
Reading item #3: (02:18) “The world of Yetzira shines by clothing…”
2. R. (03:21) That’s already the words of The Zohar in the end, that’s not important right now. We also don’t have any addition here because he's continuing the same direction, the way the light comes from above and clothes into the worlds.
3. S. (03:40) It says here that all these degrees are described as another Masach and being added there.
R. Malchut, yes.
S. So how does it work if it's all a calculation in relation to the Malchut, we said that the light first comes to Keter?
R. The light doesn't come to Keter, Hochma or anything. If from below there's no receiver so the light doesn't appear in the worlds, only when below there's a receiver and he appears with a restriction, screen, reflected light and then from above all the degrees come out till that specific receiver and if there is no receiver there's no light throughout all the worlds. Everything is closed in Ein Sof.
S. Okay so how does Malchut make it so like it says here that the light in order for it to shine in Yetzira, how does the Malchut do it?
R. If a person that is in Malchut and is always in Malchut, if he has a way to put a screen that can shine in the world of Yetzira so in his screen he invites that Upper light and the Upper light appears comes to screen and then by that screen can clothe and fill the world of Yetzira.
S. So it's unclear, Where is the Malchut in the world of Yetzira here? I thought the Malchut had to adjust itself eventually to the Yetzira?
R. No it's not to our point. The more there’s coarseness in a person, if we're speaking about our attainment what you started from a person, if that person has coarseness and he can work with it, let's say if it suits the degree of the world of Yetzira so he invites light, light is drawn to him in other words from above, and he performs a restriction on it, striking, coupling, and builds a Partzuf, that Partzuf is already on the degree of Yetzira because that person has coarseness, the force of attraction and a force of overcoming a screen that is suitable for the world of Yetzira.
S. Sorry but what he's describing here is the system that cascades from above down, first Beria, then…
R. Here he's explaining it to you that there's no man here, but only how the lights expand through the systems, as if nobody activating them, that if somebody does activate them this is how they would expand, but without somebody being there they won’t expand. Everything comes from Ein Sof and remains in Ein Sof until someone draws it.
Reading Item #4: (07:33) “The coupling by striking to elicit the ten Sefirot …”
4. R. (08:30) S. Meaning above the world of Atzilut there's some kind of world, we call it Olam Adam Kadmon, that there’s many such things that we can't talk about them because we don't have attainment in the world of AK, but everything that's accepted in the world of Atzilut which is the world of Hochma so it comes from Adam Kadmon.
Reading Item #3: (09:05) “In Atzilut the light of Ein Sof clothes in Hochma ….”
5. R. (09:45) He gives us an explanation that we don't really understand, what he is trying to say? The world of Atzilut starts from Hochma, the Keter remains in AK before it so we start counting supposedly, according to numbers we start counting from the level of Hochma and again don't get confused, when I put an adult and next to him a child and the small, the child is less when ahead than the adult so I don't say the small person doesn't have a head but he's just, that's his height, same thing here, when we say that the world of Atzilut starts from Hochma it’s not that it doesn't have a Keter and of course it has ten Sefirot, but towards the Upper world above it it's considered supposedly that it doesn't have the Rosh, the Keter.
Reading Item #4: (10:48) “It has been explained above that all…”
6. R. (11:11) So in the higher degree all the degrees exist what comes out of it downward but there it’s in a way that it’s all compressed.
Continues reading: (11:33) “You already know about the diminution of the…”
7. R. (15:30) I just want to say that don't be despaired if you don't understand something or you don't have anything to ask about. You see how Baal HaSulam writes about things he already wrote about before and he repeats them again, and it was all written kind of freely, it's because this is not how we reach spiritual knowledge, only from connecting and the Upper light can finally come and build it in us, and not that we learn about it, not the wise who studies as we say. This is the wisdom of Kabbalah, it is the spiritual wisdom, it's not that we can learn through our minds. We only need the mind in order to organize things but afterwards all the studies is only in the will to bestow that we want to develop.
8. S. (16:39) What's the difference in the couplings of striking in the worlds or in the Partzufim?
R. No difference, it’s the same thing.
9. S. (16:56) How does a Kabbalist attain these degrees, are these gradual actions?
R. No, a Kabbalist that prepares his vessels of bestowal, afterwards when he hears about all kinds of things so he already understands it in those vessels, in the vessel in the spiritual vessels of reception, and there's no problem in that. That's why he relates to all things in creation not from below upwards or above downwards but in a way that his eyes open and he understands a bit more in each and everything.
10. S. (17:49) A week or two ago you explain that the desire on the degree of Dalet, the 4th degree, is the strongest desire.
R. It's the biggest coarseness and if there's a restriction, screen, and reflected light upon it they would be the greatest too, and then a person with that reflected light can reach the degree of Keter.
S. The desire from the fourth degree that's how it's called before the Tzimtzum restriction too?
R. Yes the degrees of coarseness we learn about the world of Ein Sof before the restriction root one, two, three, four, it’s degrees and then comes Malchut that gets an impression from all those degrees, and then and in Malchut too there are degrees of coarseness root, one, two, three, four, which is already coarseness, the will to receive.
S. During the day we have different desires, in relation to the external world, in relation to the ten, is it an example, is there some example for the fourth phase?
R. A spiritual desire don't have, not for phase four, my for the root, for no desire. The corporeal desire you can't weigh it towards those degrees because it's desires for this world, not for the Upper light, not for pleasures that come from above, from the Creator that's why we can't, until we don’t acquire a spiritual desire with a restriction and a screen we can't scrutinize that desire, we don't have spiritual desires.
S. So until we build a screen we don't even have the smallest desire?
R. Not a screen, until we don’t perform the restriction, even the restriction.
S. So that's exactly what the question is about. During the day instead of being engaged in something else you're engaged with the ten, isn't that a kind of a restriction because you said that we need to replace one desire with another?
R. No, the fact that we prefer dealing with spirituality instead of corporeality that's one thing, but that we want to be above the will to receive that's something completely different. I go from this life where they are starting on the ten because that's where I want to receive more, I hope I'll succeed more, that there I can gain more, that's why I'm still in the will to receive. When I’ll learn the wisdom of Kabbalah in order to reach from the desire to bestow connection above me, so according to my tendencies, according to my effort, I'll receive from above the light that reforms and it will bestow upon me and give me an opportunity to rise above my ego and then wherever I'll be it that'll be called the Upper world, the spiritual world.
S. If I don't know and I can't check it in any way and then I check and I see that I don't know whether I'll have something in the next world, I have faith in the Kabbalists and in Rav, if I don't know it in practice, why does it actually mean, why is it still considered for myself?
R. You're an egoist, like all of us and still you don't understand where you are, so accept it that you're still in your egoistic desire, but you're really advancing, you're advancing. so everything is before you and the first degree is the most difficult, it's difficult. We have to keep going and keep going until it really works, that’s what all the Kabbalistic books talk about, write about, everyone suffered it, everyone went through it, and everyone attained.
11. S. (23:08) What kind of independence does the Malchut have in activating the Upper force and all the worlds, the Malchut is like an upshot of the Upper light, who comes first the egg or the chicken?
R. Obviously the Upper light comes from the Creator and it carries with it a seed of the desire and it develops that seed of that desire more and more and more until it develops the desire entirely and then it's called that it built the Malchut. The will to receive for himself what started in the Keter and in that way the connection between Malchut and Keter and then Malchut can adapt itself to Keter to make a restriction, wants to attain the Keter that’s called that it develops reflected light and so on, that’s how it happens.
12. S. (24:40) It follows that the Keter builds Malchut on the one hand and on the other hand like let it be for it to choose on its own?
R. Of course. Keter supplies Malchut with everything to build the Malchut and then Malchut restricts itself and reflects light so it starts working freely and Keter follows it.
13. S. (25:17) Is there a connection between criticism and restriction, is there a connection?
R. That's nothing, it's all under the same philosophy and psychology. Restriction means that a person from above, from above, gets the special force that clothes his will to receive and work with the desire to bestow, that's it.
S. As a result of what should that force of restriction come from above?
R. A result of your great will to receive, your request, as a result of your request.