There is None Else Beside Him
(Shamati Nr 1)

(Virtual lesson on February 4, 2003)

Bold and in quotes: Original text of Baal HaSulam
Regular: Commentaries of Rav Laitman
Capitalized italics: transliteration from Hebrew

Good morning everyone who is listening and watching us! We wish to receive your feedback, please send us your remarks and suggestions, so that it takes us the shortest time possible and just minimal mistakes to create the entire system for spreading the Kabbalah and to accomplish our goal of establishing a real, a truly spiritual, virtual Remote Study University.

It is customary in Kabbalah to split a lesson into two parts. The material oriented towards the spiritual, inner work of a person, is usually presented at the beginning of a lesson. A person needs it in order to get inspired and to understand the purpose of his study, why he needs the lessons, what he is resolving and achieving with their help, and what he is aiming at during his studies. That's why the first part talks about his spiritual work and, in a way, evokes the correct desire (Kli) in him.

The second part of a lesson starts after a person acquires some kind of relation to the spiritual, gets himself into the right kind of interaction with it, into the desire to receive the correcting light from above, which is pulling him up, bringing him back to the Source.

After that a person moves on to the actual study of Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah or Talmud Eser Sefirot. That is, he starts studying the spiritual source itself, through which the Upper light, - the light of purification, the light of correction, and the light of elevation - is descending down to him. The light, descending from above, causes a reverse reaction in a person. As if using a ray of that light, a person starts ascending back to the source, to the level, which he is studying at the moment, about which he is currently reading and thinking.

That's why our prayers and studies, as well as all of our daily actions always have to consist of these two parts. The first part - the disposition - applies to all situations in the world: where am I?, who am I with?, why am I? Only after that does the action follow, and it is based on the understanding of where I am at the moment and where do I have to arrive.

Our main source, from which we can draw all fundamentals of spiritual work, is a book called Shamati. It's the most special book for there hasn't been a deeper book on spiritual work in the history of mankind than this one.

I wrote about this book in the "Kabbalah For Beginners", which is on our Internet site. This special book is always on my table, it is here now. I'm constantly working on its translation as well as on its commentary. One cannot write, create, comment on, or translate this book as any ordinary book.

I never part with it, and neither did my Rabbi. He had this book in the form of a small note-book. When he was young, about 20-30 years old, he used to record the talks of his great father in it. Later, these talks became the basis of his entire theory on spiritual work, which he received from his farther, which essentially has its roots in the deep past.

We already know that, as the generations develop, i.e. as the level of egoism increases, a human being starts to better understand his relationship with the Upper World, and it's because of his egoism. Throughout the generations, Kabbalists have been correcting their deeper, more egoistic desires into altruistic ones. Correcting them, they elevated by the same path they had descended on. That's why the methodology of spiritual work is different in every generation: it is different in terms of character, depth, and height.

The last Kabbalist before the end of correction, before the world enters the process of collective spiritual elevation was Yehuda Ashlag - Baal HaSulam. He generalized the entire Kabbalah, which preceded our times for centuries, during which the Kabbalists of every generation were developing and adapting it, getting it ready for our time. Only since 1995 can we observe in our world such a mass interest in spiritual development.

The great Kabbalist Baal HaSulam put together absolutely all methodology, which was created by Kabbalists prior to him. Mostly, these are the works of Rabbi Shimon - the book of Zohar, the Ari, works of Ba'al Shem Tov and others. After collecting all this methodology, Baal HaSulam generalized it in his talks.

These talks were collected by my rabbi in a notebook called Shamati - "What I've Heard". When, dying, he entrusted it to me. I realized that, indeed, he no longer sees any continuation of his path. It happened in the evening, just before the morning he left.

I was familiar with this book since 1982, approximately a year (even less than that - half a year) after I started studying with him, I was given this notebook and I photographed it. I have been studying from it ever since.

Later, Rabbi gave a couple of articles from this book (I think two or three of them) to other students. The articles are published in the collection of his works Shlavei HaSulam (Rungs of the Ladder). But I repeat that these are just two or three articles. Everything else remained in that notebook, hand-written.

I was using my copy, and also, during our weekly trips with Rabbi, when we stayed in a secluded place for a couple of days, I used to read an original version, which I took as a great honor. Indeed, when you read an original, you feel a completely different power.

We studied these articles together for 10 years - from 1982 to 1991; he used to comment on them for me. Over time, the commentaries became deeper and more extended. Everything changed - my understanding and, naturally, his ability to explain and bring me inside this book. I hope that it will be the same in our case as well - that the understanding of these articles will change, and become deeper each time.

Ever since Rabbi left, I realized that I can't keep these articles inside me, even though he said to me "Take them and use them", - and gave me the originals. Since this mass eagerness to enter a spiritual world was non-existent back then, he was not able to do what we are capable of doing now. That's why these articles, essentially, were passed on to me. After a couple of years I saw the beginning of this mass interest in Kabbalah not only in Israel, but in the entire world as well.

I first realized this in 1991 in Canada, where I had to go because of the death of my father. It happened half a year after my Rabbi passed away. Rabbi died in September, and my father - in February. There was a huge interest there; people were coming up to me with questions. I gave a couple of lessons, had a few lectures. People were coming to see me when I was still mourning for my father, they were asking questions, they were interested, and I realized that the time has moved from a still point and it's starting to rush forward. People from all over the world are becoming interested in this.

That's when I decided that I had to publish this book. It has existed in a printed form for over ten years now, it was re-published a number of times, - there are thousands of copies in Hebrew. Many of these articles are translated into Russian and English.

Baal HaSulam put together everything that a person needs to enter the Upper world into these articles. That's why we will be studying them as the very essence - as the essence of our spiritual work. This is the reason for which Tuesday lesson is devoted to the study of the Talmud Eser Sefirot - the greatest book, which reveals the biggest and the brightest sources of the Upper light. We would start by studying the greatest book on the inner work, so that we know why we need these sources of the Upper light, what do they have to do with us, what do they have to bring us to.

That's why it's necessary to get prepared for the lessons, to have the materials ready in advance, so that they are in front of us during the lesson.

Besides, I hope that you will find some time to go over the material in advance, before the lesson, and to go over it again after the lesson, each time coming back to the first part - the Shamati - as well as to the second part - Talmud Eser Sefirot, awaking your connection with the Upper source in this way.

I can see some of the groups, which are currently on the lesson, - groups in Israel, in Moscow, in New York, and in San Francisco, I noticed that people are mostly looking at the screen and at me. This is not enough; we do have to look at the books as well and gradually get accustomed to printed material.

This article - is the most important one - Keter, Koteret - it's the primary, the most fundamental article, all others simply stem from it as its commentaries. A person needs to make it a basis for his spiritual work, i.e. it has to live in us under all circumstances. In any kind of state and under any kind of circumstances we must keep this article inside us and embody it. What is this article about? It says that there is none beside Him, beside the Creator.

Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag
Shamati

There is None Else Beside Him

"It is written: "There is nothing else beside Him"...,

In Hebrew we say "Ein Od Mi Levado", where "Ein" means there is not, "Od" - else, "Mi Levado" – beside Him.

"meaning that there is no other power in the world...",

In the Upper worlds and in our world, generally, everything is called “the world”. What does it mean “the world”? Malchut – the creation is where everything is taking place, everything that the Upper light – the Creator – carries out by affecting it. So,

"...there is no other power (in Malchut, in vessels, in desires put in the creation) with the ability to do anything against the Creator. (that is, there is no other power except one – the power of the Creator). And what man sees, namely, that there are things in the world that deny the household of above…",

Meaning, that there is some other power, besides the Creator, let’s say the group, the friends, the society, and state, the Earth, the powers of nature. Why does it look like that for a human being? It’s because the Creator is doing this on purpose.

"..it is because He wills so…" To get a human being confused, so that he thinks that there are some other powers besides the Creator; that somewhere out in the universe there is someone else besides the Creator. The truth is that this is really necessary as a method of correction, which is called in Hebrew “Smol Docha Veiamin Mekarevet” – "…the left rejects and the right adducts."

That is, the Creator governs a man using two opposing powers. Because they are opposite to each other, we get bewildered, confused, lost – how come these two absolutely opposite powers that affect us stem from the same source?

However, we have to realize that influence of the left, which is rejecting, opposing, and negative is also a part of the correction, and it influences us exactly the same way as the right – a positive power - does.

Why do we have to be affected by two powers? It is simply because we have to sense the Creator. This is possible when the two opposing qualities, the two powers, the two definitions, the two sensations, are present in a human being, - the realization occurs on their edge.

That’s why from the very start the Creator needs to act upon us with these two powers. If only one of his powers affected us, we would feel absolutely nothing and be in a “still”, “numb” state.

If the Creator had hot created the wishes, i.e. negative sensations, in us, and if he hadn’t satiated them with positive sensations, there would be no way for us to differentiate anything in the Universe, we would be non-existent, i.e., not sensing. He continues:

"This means that there are things in the world, which from the beginning aim to divert a person from the right way and they reject him from holiness."

That is, from the very start the Creator puts everything that is opposite to him in a person. Naturally, as a person advances, and depending on the strength he has to withstand, the Creator purposely affects with increasingly startling, confusing, intricate forces and circumstances, so that a person is forced to get through them and come to the deeper levels of the relationship, the connection between the Creator and himself. That’s why Baal HaSulam says that:

"And the benefit from these rejections… (opposing, confusing, unkind, bad – as they seem to us - influences) is that through them a person receives a need and a complete desire (a big, complete, and true desire, which can’t get any bigger, and to which the Creator must respond) - for the Creator to help him, since he sees that otherwise he is lost."

Without the Creator's help, he is lost - he simply is not able to exist for one more moment without the Creator's help. If a person gets himself into this kind of state by actively utilizing everything that the Creator acts upon him with, that is, by using the surrounding environment, without running away from anything, but, in particular, by searching for the unanimity of the Creator in the chaos of this world, with all of its contradicting circumstances, which fall on him from all sides, if he is searching, trying to single out the only ruling force, if all the time he is tuned into this, then he reaches the state, in which he would cry out to the Creator, that He must reveal Himself to him.

Otherwise, I’m not able to take everything together and relate it all to Him, though this is the most important thing for me to do. The most important thing for me is to take hold of a thought that this entire “theater” is directed by Him alone. And when a person is attempting to see everything in terms of the unanimity with the Creator, everything that happens to him, everything that is happening inside and around him, in a group, then it seems to him that

"Not only does he not progress in his work (in his spiritual advancement), but he sees that he regresses in his work, and he lacks the strength to observe Torah and Mitzvoth even if not for Lishma (the sake of the Creator)."

What does it mean Torah and Mitzvoth? Meaning, that he has no chance to study, build a group together with his friends, to do anything, that would help him to get closer to the spiritual, to advance towards the Creator.

On the contrary, each time the more he tries to uncover the unanimity of the Creator, to relate everything that is happening to Him, each time he wants to enter into the relationship with this Single Authority, he immediately feels that he is being rejected, that, just the opposite, there is more resentment, more obstacles, which mess up his feelings and mind so much that he suddenly jumps out of the picture – totally ceases to recognize that he exists in the world, governed by the Creator.

Then he enters the state, in which he sees himself surrounded by the society, friends, family etc., - that is, he gets completely disconnected from the Single Power, which exists inside all this.

When a human being gradually realizes this and, with efforts of this kind, tries to establish a connection with the Creator, to get a hold of a thought that it is He – The Single One who delivers him a picture of this entire world, and he is not able to progress any longer because of the confusion, then, says Baal HaSulam,

"… only by genuinely overcoming all the obstacles, above reason, he can observe Torah and Mitzvoth."

That is, I shouldn’t pay attention to any kind of obstacles, which means I should effectively use them so that I could sense the Creator through them. I shouldn’t analyze them from the point of my knowledge and think that everything takes place because of the surrounding people. On the contrary, it is necessary to realize above the reason that the Creator exists inside them all, and that He is plotting everything that is happening to me.

However, I shouldn’t imagine this as some kind of illusion and to declare, G-d forbid, that the Creator is sitting somewhere inside my friend, - no! One should realize that He affects me in a certain way through all of the surrounding circumstances.

There is a fine difference here – I shouldn’t see the Creator vested in the objects or the powers around me. Otherwise, I would start worshiping them, treating them as the Creator, and this is wrong, this is called idolatry.

On the contrary, I must see Him, Him and only Him; see how He behaves towards me through all of these filters, all of these mannequins (which, actually, are the still objects for they don’t have the freedom of will). I should try to make it above my knowledge, because my knowledge and perceptions, on which I base my relationship with others, would constantly deny the existence of the Creator and the unanimity of His rule. And when I nevertheless attempt to establish the unity with the Creator, there are moments, when

"…but he does not always have the strength to overcome above reason…

I can’t really believe that the Creator is responsible for all this. I disconnect from this thought and react, as a rule, with rage, with disagreement, with irritation, with some kind of sudden reactions to the environment, and I start hating, I want to destroy. Usually, these are the qualities of purely egoistic nature: envy, jealousy, and power – all of this immediately explodes inside me and kills the thought about the unanimity of the Creator. In such a case, a human being breaks apart from the only kind of effort, which he has to constantly cultivate.

…that is, he is forced to deviate, God forbid, from the way of the Creator, and even from the Lo Lishma (for one's own sake).”

He simply forgets that something like that exists at all. Later, as he advances, as he comes back using the power of will, the group must remind him about this a couple times a day. Music is of assistance here, or, say, he hears something else somewhere, - up to having something suddenly tinkling in his pocket…

We have to constantly come up with things in our environment that act as reminders for us and bring us back in a purely mechanical way. Yes! I remembered that I have to re-connect to the Single Authority, which exists in the world! The shell of this world has to gradually fall out, so that I do not take it into consideration, so that through it the Creator shines on me, and I connect with Him despite this shell and perceive it just as a carrier, as a system, through which the connection between the Creator and me is happening at this point. Later, this shell, this shroud will fall away and I will connect with the Creator directly, come into the pure light, when I – my desire, and He – the light, would interact without sensing any objects in between us.

Thus, when, with the help of these kinds of “reminders”, a human being is trying to advance, he discovers that

"… he always feels that the shattered is greater than the whole, meaning that there are a lot more descents than ascents..."

That is, at the end, he forgets for half a day, – remembers, maybe, for a couple of seconds, he forgets for a day or two, then, possibly, - remembers for ten minutes or maybe just for one moment. Then everything is gone with the wind again. This is continuously going on for a couple of years. It is quite possible, that it would take less as nowadays everything is shortening, compressing. But, say, at the end of the last century these processes took a couple of years. And a person feels that

"…and he does not see an end to these predicaments...",

when he tries to connect with the Creator, to see His unanimity in everything, he descends from this state, disconnects from it and "…and he will forever remain outside of holiness, for he sees that it is difficult for him to observe even as little as a jot…"

For example, to connect with the friends, somehow make them believe in the greatness of the Creator or to start listening to what they have to say about His greatness. Listen in such a way, that this wouldn’t be just a news soon erased from the memory, - the news has to be received not with the ears, it has to go through them and reach the desire, where it has to cause a reaction, that is, an action, so that, through a reminder, a human being evokes an image of the Creator inside himself.

So, it seems to him that he "…will forever remain outside of holiness, for he sees that it is difficult for him to observe even as little as a jot (for example, to make himself react to what he hears about the Creator, the unanimity, the connection with Him), unless through overcoming above reason."

That is, regardless of my beliefs, regardless of what the circumstances are depicting (I do see that a human being is doing this to me), - when I take this above reason, I’m looking not at a human being, but at Him, Who is standing behind, who is Governing this toy. In this way I attach myself to the Source in a right way, and this is possible only by overcoming the circumstances above reason. But a person does not always have the strength to bring himself together, get inspired, and overcome above reason.

Reason is what I feel, what I sense in reality. Above reason – that’s my ability to jump over the reason, keep moving despite it.

"…but he is not always able to overcome. And what shall be the end of it all?" If, by committing constant, proper deeds, and not superficially, a human being evokes this question inside himself, that is, if he is concerned about how he would nevertheless connect with the Creator and “fixate” himself onto Him as the only Source of everything that is happening, then "…he reaches the decision that no one can help him, but the Creator Himself."

He can’t make the connection real, existing, constant, and ever-present by himself. Although his attempts do bring him into the connection for a short time, this only convinces him that, at the end, they all fail.

Then a true desire to establish a connection with the Creator is born in him, that is, from on the one hand, the Highest point, so called Keter – the need to feel the greatness of the Creator, and, on the other hand, the lowest point – Malchut. These are the two future points, from which his soul would unfold. He gets disappointed in his personal power, but not in the path or the Creator. He gets disappointed only in his personal power.

Everything else ascends to enormously high levels, only the disappointment in oneself becomes stronger and stronger. Or, one can say, that it’s getting stronger by an absolute value. That is, as the human being advances, everything has to grow in him: all kinds of definitions, discoveries, analysis, - positive and negative alike.

"Then he reaches the decision that no one can help him, but God Himself. This causes him to make a heartfelt demand of the Creator…"

Everything looked simple before, - you know, as a cry of a baby. These were not serious demands of the Creator, that is, his vessel was not complete, his desire wasn’t absolute, neither in size, nor in demand. How can this desire be realized? In the demand of the Creator

"…to open his eyes and heart…",

That is, gives him the right powers of vision and the kind of desire, which would

"… bring him nearer to eternal adhesion with the Creator."

This desire, this demand is born in a human being only as a result of enormous inner work. And because the Creator is hidden, a human being can’t strive for Him, he can strive for the Creator only to the degree to which the Creator seems great to him. Only the group, advertisement, and the surrounding can give a person the sense of the Creator’s greatness.

"It follows then, that all the rejections he had experienced had come from the Creator…" They were needed for a person to establish the right kind of attitude towards the spiritual, the right Kli (vessel). These rejections and ever-greater disappointments …were not because he was at fault, for not having the ability to overcome."

No, these disappointments accumulate in a person, who is constantly moving forward, constantly urging himself to get connected with the Creator. And only he, who "…truly wants to draw nearer…" to God, to reveal the entire system of government as it really is, to connect with that only Source, with the Single Authority, "…in order for such a person not to be satisfied with only a little, namely, not to remain as a little child without knowledge."

That is, without realizing the entire system of creation, without starting to sense all the worlds. Only this kind of person receives "…help from above so that he will not be able to say that Thank God, he observes Torah and performs good deeds…"

People like that are satisfied with having Torah, performing good deeds, they have a group, they gather to study together, - and everything is fine "…and what else could he ask for?"

Now the Creator has to help him.

It follows, that only those, who force themselves, who push themselves vigorously towards the connection with the Creator, towards the realization of His unanimity, who have the real desire, receive help from above. Help of what kind? A person is shown that, on the opposite, there is something wrong with him, that he is faraway from the Creator, and he is constantly being sent obstacles, thoughts and knowledge, which work against his efforts.

Meaning, it gets worse with his friends, he questions his studies more and more, and gets completely disappointed in a spiritual path. This is called help, because, at the end, we have to get disappointed, we have to acquire the Kli (vessel) of disappointment in our own power. As this is happening, the need to receive the help of God has to arise.

"This is in order for him to see that he is not one with the Creator. And as much as he overcomes, he always sees how he is found in a position farther from holiness than others, who feel one with the Creator".

Everyone else, thanks to G-d, is doing fine. He, on the contrary, is constantly suffering, feeling tense, he is dissatisfied all the time, doesn’t feel anything, and he is being constantly pushed out. If he senses something for a minute, he is immediately pushed out from this sensation and again descends into a state, where any kind of connection with the spiritual is totally lost.

"But he, on the other hand, always has his complaints and demands, and he cannot justify the behavior of the Creator, and how he behaves toward him."

A human being has to understand that the Creator is plotting this on purpose, in order to create in him a special Kli (vessel) for the spiritual, for the entry into the spiritual world. When he realizes this, two sensations arise in him at the same time: on the one hand, I’m confused, I’m in pain, I see that I’m not achieving anything, not attaining anything, there is nothing inside me, I’m pushed out all the time. On the other hand, I am not able to justify You. It means that I’m already connected with the Creator. This connection is called “Derech Achoraim” – when the Creation is concealed. That is, I already feel that it is the Creator who is doing this to me; however, I also feel that His actions towards me make me feel bad. I feel that I receive from the Creator, however, I can’t thank Him for that, - I judge Him.

Thus, two sensations arise in me simultaneously. From one side, I’ve discovered that everything comes from the Creator, I feel, I see that all of this – from Him (to a degree to which it is possible to feel and see in our condition under the Machsom (barrier). I see my own negative sensations as coming from the Creator, and my reaction is such that I can’t justify Him. Although I know that it all comes from Him, moreover, I even know that these sensations are for my own benefit, that they are designed to attract me, to draw me into the spiritual, still, I can’t justify them. They come to me as pain, and because of this a human being is feeling pain not because this is painful, but because he can’t justify the Creator.

"But he, on the other hand, always has his complaints and demands, and he cannot justify the behavior of the Creator, and how he behaves toward him."

That is, the complaint is not about the Creator pushing him away (let Him do this, it is for my own benefit, it’s so that I draw closer), but about his sensations being bad. Still, the complaint about what he is feeling originates from the sensations themselves prior to any deliberations or reactions from the part of a human being.

"And it pains him that he is not one with the Creator…"

That is, because he doesn’t feel that any kind of effect coming from the Creator is pleasurable, he starts feeling that there is no part of holiness in him. The confluence of the sensations I get from the Creator in the form of feelings draw me away from Him, it’s like I want to push myself further away.

And this is what I’m complaining about, - at the end, what I demand is not for the Creator to stop affecting me this way, but for Him to change my feelings so that I start feeling good regardless the manner in which he affects me. What do I need this for? I need this in order not to curse Him, not to draw myself away from Him, so that I have the will to feel good not for my own sake. This is what occurs in a person and makes him realize that only the Creator can help him and draw him really close to Himself.

Why? Because we already are in the world of Infinity, and all acts of the Creator are absolutely good. That’s why all of our sensations have to be absolute, whole, and perfect. It means that the reason for which I currently receive and sense them as imperfect (if it is not yet a perfect, infinite, eternal, and complete attainment) is that my vessels, my will is not corrected.

It follows, that I have to call for the Creator to correct my desires. But why do I have to ask Him for this? It’s not for me to feel better. It’s for me to be able to relate to His unique, true, and absolutely good acts towards me correctly. If I ask for this, it means that I ask not for myself. The entrance into the Upper world is based on this plea.

"A man must always try and cleave to the Creator, namely, that all his thoughts will be about Him."

We’ve already discussed that we have to build around us a system of reminders– certain marks, signs, indications, which would constantly remind us of our Goal.

The group around me is especially important in this regard. The first and the major obligation the group has towards me – to remind me about the existence of God, about the creation, about the Purpose of my life, about how I can attain it, about the unanimity of the Creator’s rule. All this has to come from the group, and the most important thing, the sum total of all this, is that, at the end, the group has to give me the sense of the greatness of the Creator. In other words, this idea – the greatness of the Creator – has to always be in me. Everything else follows.

"That is to say, that even if he is in the worst state, from which there cannot be a greater descent, he should not leave His domain".

Say, a human being has some kind of ideas that there is another authority, which prevents him from entering the holiness

"… and which has the power to either benefit or harm. That is, he must not think that there is a matter of the power of the Other Side (Sitra Achra), which does not allow man to do good deeds and follow God’s ways; but he should think that all is done by the Creator."

Under no circumstances should I relate to any action of mine in this world in any other way than to the very Source of everything that is happening. In other words, a human being has to divide himself into two parts just so he is confused in his own life.

One part of me – it’s my relationship with the entire world around me, which means I interact with the entire world according to the laws of that particular time and place, I play together with others the same theatrical game, which they play with each other. However, I realize that they and I are playing a game.

My other side is more internal – it’s my relationship with the Creator through them. They don’t have to see this internal relationship of mine with the Creator, which comes to me through them. They have to see me as an ordinary, normal person, who reacts to everything in a normal way, who doesn’t have any special, prominent ideas, - absolutely nothing.

Everyone around me has to see that externally, I am an ordinary, normal person. This way I create myself a so-called “Partzuf Se’arot” – external Partzuf, my external relationship to the surrounding world. On the street, at home – it’s one kind of relationship, it’s the other kind – when it comes to the group, yet it is still an external one. And only my innermost relationship, only it has to be the true relationship with the Creator. Do not confuse this!

Very often we want to forcefully impose spiritual laws in our group, trying to co-exist with each other in accordance to them. One doesn’t have to do this, it’s also impossible. Rabbi Baruch also writes that we have to hide our relationship with the Creator – our innermost part from a bit more outer part, which is what our relationship with the group is.

We also have to hide our innermost part from a more outer part – our relationship with the family, and from the even more outer part – our relationship with the surrounding society. One must establish this inside himself clearly and act correctly.

A human being has to arrange inside himself all of his desires and thoughts, he has to learn how to manage them correctly, so that all of them come from his innermost part, from his relationship with the Creator, and are defined in this way.

Then, the acts, which go through him and affect the group, the family, and the surrounding world, would be correct. He would draw them towards the correction, but only in a way, in which they are capable of receiving a positive influence from him.

"Ba’al Shem Tov said (the great practical Kabbalist, who lived a 100 years after Ari): “That he who says that there is another power in the world, namely, shells (Klipot), is in a state of “serving other gods…" that is, he believes that there are many gods, that there are powers, which come from some other source and not from the Creator.

"Furthermore, he who says that man has his own authority…" - that he is independent in his desires and thoughts, i.e. that there is something in him, that does not come from the Creator "that too is considered to be committing the sin of heresy. Meaning that he does not believe that only the Creator leads the world."

Let’s say, a person believes that there is the Creator and me, and nothing else apart from us. Yet, there is me, and there is the Creator. But, if a person believes that I exist, - this is also a mistake. This is because he puts himself in the opposition to the Creator and thinks that there is something in him, that doesn’t come directly from the Creator.

For example, he thinks that it was he himself who did not want to go to the lesson yesterday; it was he himself, who also did not wish to think of the Creator, he himself did not wish to do anything. Or, on the contrary, - had a desire to do something right or wrong. If he can only imagine that he, and not the Creator, is responsible for all of his actions, thoughts, desires, and calculations, "…that too is considered to be committing the sin of heresy. Meaning that he does not believe that only the Creator leads the world."

This is terribly hard. This statement – it knocks us out of the usual state a little bit. I can agree that the surrounding world and all people, except me, are the marionettes. I can agree with this and accept that the Creator is acting inside them and this is why they act upon me (positively or negatively), and that through them I’m being moved ahead.

However, I can’t hold this thought for a long time, because they irritate me, they pull me off this thought, yet somehow I have to reinforce it and move on. I can agree with this and understand this. But how can I accept and live with the notion that all my thoughts, feelings, decisions and even what I say and think, what I consider and feel, - that this too is coming from the Creator?!

Where is my own I? In general, where is anything that exists apart from the Creator? Or maybe it’s true and everything is the way it is suggested in the title: “There Is None Else Beside Him”? There is nothing at all? Then who am I in this case? Just some kind of illusion, some little cloud? But there is something, which is independent, at least in some respect, which is called my own I, and it is expressing oneself right at this moment, or is this also really just a result of His actions? So, he says that, and I repeat this once more, that:

"Furthermore, he who says that man has his own authority…" his own – means an opposing – "… meaning that he says that yesterday he himself did not want to follow God’s ways…" as though he made a mistake or committed a crime "…that too is considered to be committing the sin of heresy…" because he doesn’t believe. "Meaning that he does not believe that only the Creator leads the world."

After the first stage of our work, the essence of which is to relate all of the external obstacles to the Creator, to His unanimity, one has to continue by discovering how I perceive myself, my own powers and thoughts in relation to the Creator. I have to connect my internal, innermost I, my entire being with the Creator.

"But when he has committed a sin, and he must certainly regret it and be sorry for having committed it, but here too we should place the pain and sorrow in the right order: where does he place the cause of the sin, that it is that point he should be sorry for."

Meaning, that the external obstacles, as well as internal obstacles, the thoughts that there are many different powers outside me (group, friends, the society, etc), and the acknowledgement of the existence of my own personal opinion, my powers and sensations, - if I am mistaken in this way, then how can I relate this mistake of mine with me advancing on my path?

I made a mistake, and then got a hold of the right thought about, say, the surrounding society. I was mistaken about myself, thinking, that it is me who is doing certain things, and that these desires are mine; then again, I came back and realized that this is a mistake.

What do I have to do with my own alternating mistakes and enlightenments? Baal HaSulam says that a person has to regret about what happened to him. But what does it mean – to regret? I have to regret in relation to what? This is a very important point. Because something completely new would stem from this regret - something that is called a creation, is called independence, is called exactly what exists as if outside the Creator.

And a person has to regret that he committed a sin by not relating everything to the Creator. Meaning, that, for a split moment, he believed that the thoughts and desires inside him or the thoughts and desires, which he noticed in the people around him as well as their behavior towards him, were not holy, - separated from the Creation; that in this way he disappointed the Creator. The disappointment of the Creator – this is exactly what now makes him try to achieve inside himself a sense of the Creator’s unanimity.

"And also when a man feels he’s in a state of ascent, and tastes some good flavor in the work…" he feels like he is connected to and passionate about the Creator, he feels joyous and good that he is in such connection with the Creator "…he must not say: “Now I am in a state where I understand that it is worthwhile to worship the Creator”.

However, why? He must realize that this is happening because “…he should know that now the Creator has fancied him”. It means that it is the Creator who evoked these positive sensations in him now. It follows, that a person has to attempt to constantly find in the Creator the kind of approach that would always evoke in him positive reactions to the movements of the Creator. So that he always relates to the Creator in a positive way.

All this time I was holding myself back from the urge of going a bit deeper, digging into it even more. I hope that from time to time we will keep coming back to this talk, which was recorded by my Rabbi from his great father. We will be able to go into it deeper and deeper. We will be able to implement the things discussed here into life. In all other articles we will see all sorts of partial attachments to this idea. We will keep ourselves “fixated” to the unanimity of the Creator all the time.

For this reason, man must seek advice as to how he can cause contentment above. And certainly, if he receives pleasure, contentment shall be felt above. Therefore, he should long to always be in the King’s palace, and to have the ability to play with the King’s treasures. And that will certainly cause contentment above. It follows that his entire longing should be for the sake of the Creator.

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Communication skills.

Communication skills.

Communication skills.

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