Morning Lesson May 21, Transcription
Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Part 1. Histaklut Pnimit [Inward Scrutiny]. Chapter One (“Know that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures created ..")
38. R. We will continue studying as there are very interesting general matters here with regards to perception of reality, the sensation of reality as it is actually the most interesting part for beginners.
Chapter 1 Inner Observation “Know that before the emanations were emanated.”
39. S. (01:49) It is written that the middle point in him is where the restriction took place, what is the meaning of the middle point?
R. The middle point meaning that is the concentration of all of the forces, both the will to receive that is there, the greatest will to receive as well as the influence of the upper light upon his is the greatest there this is why it's called the middle point.
Item 1. “There is not one thing in the whole of reality....”
40. R. There is a lot to add here but the principle should be simple the Kabbalists are trying to communicate to us the concept of one, that there is none else besides him and therefore they explained it to us in various ways, different definitions and these definitions actually indicate to us various myriad manners and perceptions and aspects. From that we will conclude that the Creator is actually the totality that is above all of them, that is why it's one, unique, unified, all of those states have the Creator is above all of those states. The fact that we can't call him by someone that includes everything, this is how we approach this concept and gradually it will become clear by way of the singularity, how much a person becomes one with the emanator.
Item 2 “Two discernment in bestowal, before it is received and after....”
41. S. (11:10) To attain this form of one unique and unified. We have to match it as well as receivers?
R. How can it be that you know something without becoming that thing yourself? From inside I mean, not on the outside, but from inside according to your qualities that you have to resemble something in order to know that quality. Of course, inside you must. When you say round, so inside you have such a form, a shape of something around, one unique and unified, you need to build these things in you now to some extent. I'm not saying that instantly you have to become to the degree of Ein Sof but you need otherwise how can you grasp it and understand, it would be philosophy and not the wisdom of Kabbalah, that you accept in feel and grasp feel within your vessel. What distance, what gap there is between philosophy and Kabbalah. Philosophy you can imagine whatever you want. Let's say, you imagine there's a suitcase revolving in space. In the wisdom of Kabbalah, you need to reach that vessel that you are speaking about in a true way that you build it from your desires, that vessel you then the way you reveal it from the way the Creator feels the vessel from this you know the Creator compared to that vessel as a fulfillment. That is called attainment.
S. What is this Kli vessel that we build inside the 10 in order to discover one unique and unified and its different flavors?
R. Let's say you are 10. 10 connect as 1 and remain 10, and also as 1. If you build such a form, you can also reveal the Creator as the one unique and unified. In the connection between you, above your ego you already start attaining as much as these things connect even though you can't really connect them, the one unique and unified. This is why the work in the 10 is so important and so complex.
S. Besides those forms that we build between us, Him, we discover Him or is it always just the different forms of ours?
R. Why should we even speak about the essence of the Creator, how can we speak about something that is completely disconnected from our vessels? We in the wisdom of Kabbalah try to speak from your deeds, we will know you, that it. As much as you attain in your vessels this is what we are going to talk about.
42. S. (15:08) There is an example in nature of what we read. Like you gave an example of the parents that look at the child, in nature you can go to a lake and all the water is the same but if you throw in a stone the point where the stone fell there are ripples and that are spreading away from the rock but any person understands that nothing went away.
R. I don't have anything to answer what you said okay, I agree.
43. S. (16:17) What is the abundance of the abstract like before the will to receive makes any discernments there?
R. The Creator himself is filling the created beings but the degrees of revelation of the Creator beings on behalf of the created beings, there are degrees, levels because they can't accept and receive them but only through equivalence of form. That is why we're speaking in limitations, in degrees, and all kinds of forms but actually it is one upper light. It is not divided or anything but they created being in his revelation towards that upper light, because it is limited in desire and equivalents a form, he reveals them in such ways.
44. S. (17:29) He says it is included in all the forms of the world but when it comes to the limited corporeal receiver what does that mean?
R. The light has no limitations, it is eternal or whole and includes all forms that will ever be and the ones who divided or feeling it limited is that vessel is that receiver that receives them and feels them according to his own qualities as much as his qualities resemble the light, just like if you were looking at the world right now, the world around you right now. It's clear to you that you see these things only in the way that you are revealing them in your waves that way that they come to your eyes and your senses. But around you there is a complete world but you just don't receive it but just in your limited way.
S. Meaning when do you start receiving him and in what senses?
R. According to the development of your senses?
S. He says what is interesting is one unique and unified and he says that one who knows and then the science of it is one in the same.
R. It's not the science that you know.
S. So that the attainment, knowledge is attainment?
R. Here he is speaking of the science of attainment, not physics or anything.
S. He calls this spiritual attainment knowledge or science?
R. Yes of course why not? You have many Kabbalists books that are called science books. What does it mean in science, knowledge that we attain in a clear way in our vessels that can manage over them, to find them, being passed to one another, that you can repeat all of these attainments as Kabbalists write for one another, that it's all called a science?
S. You said the whole topic of the wisdom of Kabbalah could be examined like in a laboratory, it is spiritual but it can be achieved through a spiritual laboratory.
R. Yes.
S. Kabbalah is research of spirituality, yes?
R. Yes, it is spiritual research but you yourself are the guinea pig in the lab, because you are changing yourself and according to the qualities that you are changing yourself in those changing qualities you start revealing reality.
S. Like a guinea pig as you say.
R. Yes
45. S. (21:04) Please clarify this quote it says ‘If the manna were given to us from above and for one person that can be sweet and another person that can be sour, different states', I have some assumptions but I would like to hear your explanation?
R. The upper light includes everything in it and you, according to your qualities, can extract from it only what you discover in your qualities. That is why as much as you change and better yourself that you can work the Creator and be revealed to him through the upper light in an unlimited manner so you can absorb all these forms to know and include them. You have a vessel to grasp the entire infinite light but for now you only get a small part.
S. Can it be that the upper One controls our will to receive and this way he continually changes us?
R. Yes of course but why is it important? I don't know, I don't understand and I'm not in control of it, but obviously the upper one controls everything but I want to reach a state that I want to be participating in this.
46. S. (22:47) Attainment is knowledge?
R. Attainment is attainment, let's say it is the deepest, knowing that includes in it all of the circumstances of what you attained, who you are retaining, what you are attaining, how you are attaining and by what, all by that term of attainment. The peak of knowledge but what we are speaking now of that vessel on every degree it is a different vessel, a different attainment.
S. Attainment isn't the attainment of the Creator anyway, right?
R. Yes
S. Where is faith above reason?
R. This is why it is called Creator, Bo re come and see if you can see it then you can obtain it through your limitations.
S. In attainment there is also faith above reason?
R. Of course there is a condition to attain because otherwise you won't be able to feel that you are attaining.
S. How does it work together as knowledge and faith above reason our base basically things that are opposite?
R. On the contrary what you discover in faith above reason is called knowledge.
47. S. (24:40) Intention is easier to maintain intention when we come together virtually or physically?
R. I don't think there's a difference, but for beginners there is a difference, maybe this, maybe that? Check. Maybe for beginners the external physical form really makes a difference, maybe for those who are advanced it doesn't really influence them because they start feeling the internality of their friends. This is why for them physical and virtual is the same thing. In the middle of such a passage between the physical and virtual they determine the virtual way is better because they see that it helps them to be more connected, that it doesn't disturb them as much as the physical way.
S. The feeling when we were physically together is that there was this tension like you could cut the air with a knife. This needs to be in the virtual way as well.
R. Yes and even more than that, I don't understand why you get so excited about being together sitting together. I didn't really feel that you were influencing each other so well. It’s good for beginners but a person who enters the studies and wants to reach the knowledge, the language, the feeling and revelation, why is it important for him who he is studying with. The main thing is that he knows he is studying with his friends who want to reach connection and, in the connection, they want to reveal that one force, the mutual root between them that can't be revealed on its own but only in the partnership, because the Creator is revealed as one so the one that is revealed in each and every one so you have to have 10 as 1. No. I don't think that we need to feel sorry that we are not studying together now in the one place. Look what you have here, could you connect all of these friends that you see on the screens now together? Now you have let's say you have 2000 men. Except for the woman, that are connected, in this way, in the classroom where we could only have a quarter of that or less. I don't think it is something good, I see that humanity doesn't really want to go back to this state as it used to be, it is better to be at home and work at home. We can be like this. You see how things are cascading and what man is getting two in the form of the family, these are things that are not simple.
S. Why do you sit physically with your 10?
R. No, this is to help me, and it's not that I'm sitting in a 10, it is some way through this so I can feel others but not that they have from this some kind of way they are better at anything or excel at anything or that they have a special advancement. I would say the opposite, that there are more limitations and burden names of the heart. The Creator is organizing things, don't worry but for me it is more convenient. I can change it up. We can also do exercises that we invite others to but to bring everybody back to the classroom. I still can't decide if that is a good thing. What are we going to do with all of the world? Will I learn only with 300 or 400 people and not with all of these students? You see how many we have, how could I? For me everybody is equal and everybody are beloved, and I want to see everybody. In spirituality. This is possible in corporeality there is no such thing.
48. S. (30:29) Bestow before receiving what does this mean?
R. Bestowing before receiving means to be in the light of Mercy (Hessed) that I don't want to receive because my vessel is broken, it wants to receive for itself so I put a limitation on it and I don't receive and from this too from not receiving from the Creator that I am bestowing to him because I want to get closer to him. This closeness is called the light of mercy Hessed) when I finish that correction I go to a stage where I can also receive in order to bestow and here, we are speaking about the greater lights, the light of Hochma.
49. S. (31:48) It says in the article that the manna is the bread that comes from above and I understand that we have to raise MAN there is manna which comes down and MAN we raise, can you explain this please?
R. We raised a deficiency and we received forces from above and from below we raised only deficiencies. The difference between MAN and MAD is that from below upwards we raise a deficiency and from above downwards we receive MAD.
50. S. (32:50) It says in the text that the corporeal receiver can separate the flavor that he wants, the question is, when we aspire to connection, we want something sweet but we received both bitter and sour and all of the rainbow of flavors, how to relate to that?
R. You need to understand from this that you still haven't corrected your vessels, this is why you feel in them sour or bitter, except for sweet, if you correct your vessels, you're only going to feel sweet.
S. We need to want all of the rainbow of flavors at once?
R. You want to feel when receiving from above only good things if we feel that it's not good and I didn't correct myself yet. It is a sign to help me see why I haven't corrected yet.
51. S. (34:35) We read that there are two discernments in the abundance, what is the equivalence because he writes that it is a separate form, a partial form and it will always be separate what is the equivalence.
R. According to the reflected light that a vessel can activate towards the upper one, towards the Creator, to that extent the vessel can receive from the Creator and feel that there is a part of him in there, a part of the Creator from above.
S. Still separate and partial?
R. Of course.
S. What is the equivalence?
R. Equivalence is exactly in that part.
S. What is that part?
R. The Inner Light in that vessel that the vessel reveals as the extent of equality between the Creator to him and him to the Creator. Me to my beloved and my beloved to me. Here we will end the lesson. Let us keep going tomorrow today you have a long day, you can decide on other forms, I recommend speaking about dissemination. Send your ideas.