A letter that Baal HaSulam wrote to RABASH
1. Baal HaSulam. Letter 38
I received your letter and I congratulate you for the Semicha [rabbinical ordination] you have obtained. This is the first wall that barred you from going forward. I hope that from this day forward you will begin to succeed and go from strength to strength until you come into the King’s palace.
I would like you to get another Semicha, but from now on hurry yourself and spend the bulk of your time preparing your body to muster strength and courage “as an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load.” Do not lose a minute, “for the way is long and supplies are scarce.”
And should you say, “Where is this preparation?” I will tell you as I heard from the ADMOR of Kalshin. In earlier times, one had to first obtain all seven external teachings, called “the seven maidens that serve the king’s daughter,” as well as terrible mortification. And yet, not many gained favor in the eyes of the Creator. But since we have been rewarded with the teachings of the ARI and the work-ways of the Baal Shem Tov, it is truly possible for anyone, and the above preparations are no longer necessary.
If you step in those two, which by the Creator’s grace I have been favored by Him and have received them firmly, and my view is as close to you as the closeness of the father to his son, I will certainly pass them on to you when you are ready to receive from mouth to mouth.
Selected excerpts from the writings of RABASH
2. RABASH, Letter No. 8
At the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered in a certain place, under a certain leader, to be together. With superhuman courage they face up to all those who rise against them. Indeed, they are brave men with a strong spirit, and they are determined not to retreat one inch. They are first-class fighters, fighting the war against the inclination to their last drop of blood, and their only wish is to win the battle for the glory of His name.
3. RABASH, Article No. 10 (1989), "What Does It Mean that the Ladder Is Diagonal, in the Work?"
If the Rav teaches the disciples the work that must be done in order to bestow, meaning why a person comes into this world, to do God’s mission, to work for the sake of the Creator, that person is a messenger of the Creator and not a landlord in this world, but is a servant of the Creator. The meaning of “messenger of the Creator” is “angel of the Creator.” This is the meaning of “If the rav is similar to an angel of the Creator, let them seek to learn from him.”
4. RABASH, Article No. 1 (1984), "Purpose of Society – 1"
We have gathered here to establish a society for all who wish to follow the path and method of Baal HaSulam, the way by which to climb the degrees of man and not remain as a beast.
5. RABASH, Article No. 162, "Love of Others"
I look at one tiny dot, called “love of others,” and I think about it: What can I do in order to benefit people? As I look at the general public, I see the suffering of individuals, illnesses and pains, and the suffering of individuals inflicted by the collective, meaning wars among nations. And besides prayer, there is nothing to give. This is called “He who aches because of the affliction of the public— medial.”
6. RABASH, Letter No. 8
Once I have acquired the clothing of love, sparks of love promptly begin to shine within me. The heart begins to long to unite with my friends, and it seems to me that my eyes see my friends, my ears hear their voices, my mouth speaks to them, the hands embrace, the feet dance in a circle, in love and joy together with them, and I transcend my corporeal boundaries. I forget the vast distance between my friends and me, and the outstretched land for many miles will not stand between us.
It is as though my friends are standing right within my heart and see all that is happening there, and I become ashamed of my petty acts against my friends. Then, I simply exit the corporeal vessels and it seems to me that there is no reality in the world except my friends and I. After that, even the “I” is cancelled and is immersed, mingled in my friends, until I stand and declare that there is no reality in the world—only the friends.
7. RABASH. Letter 78
Thus far we did not engage in building buildings and matters that concern wide publicity. This is not our way. Rather, our sole intention is to spread the teaching of fear of heaven and serving the Creator among our willing friends, and especially the wisdom of Kabbalah and the wisdom of the hidden to those who walk humbly and are worthy of it, as I had received it from Baal HaSulam.
In this generation, when the wisdom of the poor is despised, and each city is built firm, while the city of God is lowered to the bottom, this is the time of the footsteps of the Messiah, as it is known to those who know the hidden wisdom.
Therefore, I have agreed this time to the request of our friends who wish to expand our ranks and build a synagogue for Torah and prayer to be named after the great man, Baal HaSulam, a place from which his fountain shall flow outwards and the wisdom shall sing in the street, and all who wish to take the Lord may come and take with great sanctification and proper preparation.
With this I appeal to all our brothers from the house of Israel that the spirit of the Lord is beating within them, and who regret the exile of the Shechina [Divinity], to assist the builders who are engaging in this great matter. By this merit we will be rewarded with complete redemption, as it is said in the holy Zohar, “By this the children of Israel will come out of exile.”
8. RABASH, Article 7 (1987), "The Miracle of Hanukkah"
[That state causes one to] begin to contemplate life’s purpose—what is it and what is it for. This is regarded as a person raising his head from the currents of life, where all the creatures are, and they have no time to think about what they are. Rather, they go with the flow where the water goes. And there is no one who can see the end, meaning where the flow of life is leading.
Only he, because the lack of pleasure causes him to raise his head up in order to look at life’s purpose, at that time he sees and hears as though a clarion from above tells him that the world was created with the intention to do good to His creations. But in order to taste that benefit, he is told by books and authors that there are conditions in order to achieve that good, called “the purpose of creation.” The Creator demands that they first meet these conditions, or He will not want to give them the delight and pleasure.
9. RABASH, Letter No. 40
Through the wearing out of the hearts, even of the strongest ones, each will bring out warmth from the walls of his heart, and the warmth will ignite the sparks of love until a clothing of love will form. Then, both of them will be covered under one blanket, meaning a single love will surround and envelop the two of them, as it is known that Dvekut [adhesion] unites two into one.
And when one begins to feel the love of his friend, joy and pleasure immediately begin to awaken in him, for the rule is that a novelty entertains. His friend’s love for him is a new thing for him because he always knew that he was the only one who cared for his own well being. But the minute he discovers that his friend cares for him, it evokes within him immeasurable joy, and he can no longer care for himself.
10. RABASH, Article No. 9 (1984), "One Should Always Sell the Beams of His House"
Each of them had a spark of love of others, but the spark could not ignite the light of love to shine in each, so they agreed that by uniting, the sparks would become a big flame.
11. RABASH, Article No. 30 (1988), “What to Look For in the Assembly of Friends“
Each one should try to bring into the society a spirit of life and hopefulness, and infuse energy into the society. Thus, each of the friends will be able to tell himself, “Now I am starting a clean slate in the work.” In other words, before he came to the society, he was disappointed with the progress in the work of the Creator, but now the society has filled him with life and hopefulness.
Thus, through society he obtained the confidence and strength to overcome because now he feels that he can achieve wholeness. And all his thoughts—that he was facing a high mountain that could not be conquered, and that these were truly formidable obstructions—now he feels that they are nothing. And he received it all from the power of the society because each and every one tried to instill a spirit of encouragement and the presence of a new atmosphere in the society.
12. RABASH, Article No. 680, "Annulment—the Baal Shem Tov Way"
The way to annul the body used to be through abstention. But there is another way, which is annulment before the rav [great one, teacher]. This is the meaning of “Make for yourself a rav.” “Making” is clarified by force, without any intellect.
As abstention revokes the body only through action and not through the mind. Likewise, annulment before the rav is by force and not through intellect. That is, even in a place where one does not understand the view of one’s rav, he annuls himself and the Torah and the work, and comes to the rav so he will guide him.
There is guidance in the manner of the general public, called Ohr Makif [surrounding light], which is light that shines only from outside, and is without words, but only by coming to the rav and sitting in front of him, sitting at his table during the meal or during the service. Yet, there is another way, which is internal, and this is specifically through “mouth-to-mouth.”
13. RABASH. Article No. 5 (1991), “What Is, ‘The Good Deeds of the Righteous Are the Generations,’ in the Work?”
We ask the Creator to give us the strength so we can perform all our actions for You, meaning for the sake of the Creator. Otherwise, meaning if You do not help us, all our actions will be only for our own benefit. That is, “If not,” meaning “If You do not help us, all our actions will be only for ourselves, for our own benefit, for we are powerless to overcome our will to receive. Therefore, help us be able to work for You. Hence, You must help us.” This is called “Do for Your sake,” meaning do this, give us the power of the desire to bestow. Otherwise, we are doomed; we will remain in the will to receive for our own sake.