Morning Lesson May 23, Transcription
1. Rav’s Introduction: Yes, the Lord will finish for me, this is a very important condition and it says that anywhere and everywhere first of all, I am the first, the Creator starts everything, creation. Each and every step and state the Creator, he is establishing and serving it to the person and we, after receiving all these parameters that the Creator arranges all the situations and all the data about light and Kli, vessel the person feels his existence in life. This is what the Creator does for him, arranging each and every moment so after the Creator arranges this and the person arranges the right attitude towards what is happening to him. He says that the Lord will finish for me, so it is not enough that the Creator started the whole creation arranging, establishing it's the personal life, in the general life every moment as one, I have to understand and feel and attain that the Lord will finish. He is there from the beginning to end, the Creator does everything, he arranges this, he carries it out and the person needs to be present only by wanting it to happen his way, he is a blessing the Creator for the process that is a revealed relative to the person and according to the person's ability to agree with the process and release himself from interfering with the process and to help the Creator in this process. That the person is taking part in by willing to put all the forces, the energies and the forms of participation when the Creator is revealed as the First and the last, He is the one doing each and every action from this side of the vessels and from the side of the Light.
He forms the light and creates darkness and this way the person on one hand does nothing on the other hand specifically the person who discovers the rule of the Creator in the whole reality. The Creator is the one ruling everything but it is according to how the person reveals this and becomes partners in it. That should be our direction in each and every moment. We determine our attitude towards life, how the progress towards the purpose of life until we decide from beginning to the end of creation in all forms of development, how it appears in us, that each and every detail is controlled by the Creator, he is arranging, he is doing everything. The Creator kills and then he revives and he brings forth salvation from each and every state and we have to only be worthy to reveal this according to how much we want to be in a state that it appears and exists in us, in front of us. This is how it should be, let's see according to the writings how to relate to this through the correct attitude in our work and in the Creator's work nevertheless it is called the work of the on the other hand, it is speaking about the person who is engaged in the work of the Creator. Who is doing the work, what's happening here we have to understand that one who works is the Creator and the person discovers that all of it is the work of the Creator. This is our work to come to the complete revelation of the qualities of the Creator, his actions that only they sustain creation this is our work.
Excerpt 1 (06:05 - 06:33)
2. R. All the work of the person is in discovering that the Creator is first and he is the last and he is concealed in order for giving to the person room to discover the Creator, this is the work of man. The revelation of the Creator depends on how much the person wants the Creator to be revealed. How much and to what extent he accepts, depicts the Creator's dominion and this is how we progress, I am the first and I am the last. This is seemingly clear to us but nevertheless we have to reveal this in each and every step in each and every state that the Creator is who is starting it and we have to open it up. We see the Creator from the beginning of the states to the end of the state and also in the process itself it turns out that we only lower ourselves and we minimize our ego that prevents us from discovering the Creator. Then the Creator appears as the force activating the whole reality and later when we bring ourselves all the way down to, we have to do additional work, opposite work where we open ourselves up practically. We wish to discover the actions of the Creator in practice not simply passively that the Creator appears to us but we ourselves are doing various actions in order to let the Creator to reveal himself in our efforts. We have to work on our restrictions and the Creator will finish it for me and later we will work with efforts, we are doing all the actions that are necessary to be partners with the Creator.
Excerpt 2 (09:20 - 12:58)
3. S. What does it mean to organize our work according to I am first and I am last?
R. This is the topic of the lesson how to relate to reality is such that I am under certain single force which is the Creator and this force arranges my entire life, my qualities, my thoughts, my desires. Constantly who am I, what am I, according to my nature, according to the state in me and also according to what is happening to me. Everything comes from a single upper force and I need to see how to arrange myself relative to this single force, on one hand if I say that the Creator will finish for me, then seemingly I have nothing to do here, that the Creator does everything, then I just sit and do nothing. But about it we simply become the animate piece which does not make any movement. I have to understand, that this condition, that the Creator is the ruler and the operator. It is balanced by another condition that my selfish ego, my desire to receive is in contradiction to everything that the Creator does everything and my ego says that I will rule, I am the king, I am in charge. There are two forces that are in opposition, two contradicting forces. How can I reconcile them and organize them in the way according to my capabilities? Without this I do not feel that I take advantage of my life properly and I don't know how to behave, I cannot do anything in this life. If this were the case then we wouldn't need to be born, we wouldn't need to put any forces, physical forces in this reality because that still degree struggles to sustain itself, there is an inner program in every atom and a molecule, in every detail even in physical, let alone spiritual details. We need to somehow determine our reality, so what does it mean that the Creator does everything, it is not written like this for nothing, the Creator will finish for me the end of my development I will this expect this that the Creator, the one that finishes my efforts but it is not like that I am not participating in its actively. We have to learn how to participate gradually, from our part and the Creator arranges everything for us then how can we let him work on one hand but how can we do everything that is up to us we also have to learn this.
4. S. (17:06) You said that the beginning of the work is restriction that the Creator will finish for me and then there is work in making efforts to be partners, where is this partnership?
R. I haven't said anything yet, we will learn we simply read something, I am first and I am the last, I start creation, I finish creation, says the Creator. There are many verses the Kabbalists composed and we have to arrange them correctly, how to relate to the whole creation that is happening to us and what should we learn from it, how should we participate in it. I have nothing to add because we haven't learned anything yet, there is nothing, you hang on to half a sentence and then you are asking, this is not serious.
5. S. (18:20) You said that we help the Creator, what is this help and what is it based upon so we can call it help of the Creator?
R. Let's learn and then we will see.
Excerpt 3 (18:54 - 22:40) twice
6. This means that we participate in the work of the Creator by seemingly opening for the Creator the door to work on us, this is what was given to us, this is what's left for us. Of course, the work itself is something we cannot do because the upper light is not in our hands but to open the door and pathway for the light to work, this is something we can do. We will learn these things, what exactly is this work, which is our spiritual work.
Excerpt 4 (23:36-25:00)
Excerpt 5 (25:17-28:51) twice
7. We will need to somehow listen to these verses and then work on them.
Excerpt 6 (29:05-30:12)
Excerpt 7 (30:24-31:56)
8. Ask, it is all in your hands and I will answer, but let's read a few more verses!
Excerpt 8 (32:15-33:36)
Excerpt 9 (33:46-35:26)
Excerpt 10 (35:37-36:57)
Excerpt 11 (37:15-38:37)
Excerpt 12 (38:48-39:33)
9. Ok so we have read 12 writings with you according to the topic the Lord will finish for me, so what is your impression of the reading of these writings, is this beneficial or is it mostly confusing, what do you think?
10. S. (40:10) While we were reading, like I said yesterday I tried to think about the connection with the friends and as a result to go into the writings and what they give us.
11. S. (40:39) Relating to your question, if it was ok to listen to these many writings one after the other, it requires more work to understand and sharpen our questions, but still, it is in any case it is a pleasure to dwell in these words and we are thankful for it.
Quick survey through Arvut system
12. (42:50) The result of the vote is almost equal, it is very interesting regarding the question, because I felt I would say that it is hard to read these excerpts one after the other without scrutinizing, without getting into them, so why is it good to do that, can we hear more opinions? Who can say why they chose option 1 or why he chose option 2?
13. S. (43:34) There is a sensation when we read it at once that it penetrates deeper and also when it is about what we studied during the last days, justifying the Creator, also in the 10 we felt the desire to read all the quotes at once, and it gave a lot of feelings, adhesion to the Creator, it is like the yearning to be grateful to the Creator, and it also depends on our state. I would say that none of the options are better than the other, but it all depends on our states if we prefer one or the other, but we are in these states when we feel this closeness and we are grateful and, in this state, it helps us to read together all the right things at once.
14. S. (44:39) I voted for the second option because I think it is better to clarify what we read, because we read all kinds of writings recently and we have to find a balance between what we read and what we ask.
15. S. (45:11) I also choose the second option, like you explained that we have the time of study and the time to demand the light that reforms. For example, the time of the study in TES is a time when we hardly clarify things but we only work on the prayer and the request and when we read the right things each are so different and it can teach us the phase in the work. It is more possible to clarify it, there is more room to examine them and to learn the experience of what our teachers give us through these writings.
R. Yes, it is beautifully expressed.
16. S. (46:09) Reading all at once takes away the illusion that there is a difference between the different quotes, allowing us to feel and experience all the details and putting them together as a single experience, and also, we can keep the intention going without having our attention being drawn away, telling us to look at this, look at that or to something else, so it is a real pleasure to read the writings all-at-once.
R. It is very important what Tony said.
17. S. (47:05) I choose the first option because it feels that we are creating a vessel and the Kabbalists in this vessel are designing, strengthening the vessel from all sides with their writings, selectively, meticulously that they are shaping us.
R. He spoke beautifully.
18. R. Okay, it is clear to us that we need both according to the vote. It is interesting that both have merit so I decided to read all those writings all at once in such a way that we do not read every writing. Ok so now let's learn a little bit more.
Excerpt 1 (48:27- 48:52)
19. We need to wake up, we have to look for a point and the reason for an awakening, but even in this we need to understand that the process of correction is in the hands of the Creator and what should come from us is the awakening, the request, the pressure has to come from us. We have to put pressure on the Creator if you can say that we need to obligate Him to do the work, but the work is the Creator’s. This is how we roughly divide our roles, where we demand, request like babies obligating their mother to care for them, to feed them, and we are the same towards the Creator. This is our role as much as we can be partners with our requests with Him, demanding more and more correct things, more exalted things, more necessary, wiser things. This is how we progress but it looks like our entire work is in raising MAN, the prayer, the request and as much as we are able to establish our request correctly and concretely coming from the connection between us, or lack thereof, from the lack of connection between us relative to the Creator who will correct everything and fill our vessel, so we can be in adhesion with Him. Accordingly, we can see our role. Ultimately our role is expressed by raising MAN, the prayer, the request, if the request is clear then the Creator will finish it for me, because from me, can only come the request, the deficiency for a higher degree.
20. S. (51:24) It is written all over by Baal HaSulam and Rabash what our work is, up until the time when the Creator will finish the work. Will we know what the work is that the Creator will finish, is it written anywhere?
R. That the Creator will finish the work, of course He does, there is no question about this, because He holds the forces of nature, we don’t, what’s in our hands is to constantly ask. He gave us the ability to ask, pray and then through the request because the Creator loves us, we use His love and we are constantly using His deficiency in order to turn to Him and to the extent our request is along the same line, how He wants to bestow to us, along this line we connect and the Creator can make the action. He cannot make the action against our desire, if our desire to connect with Him is not sufficient then He awakens us and then He awakens us to reach the right desire, so all our work in the meantime, in the work of preparation, is through the connection between us. And if we raise the right deficiency after this work of preparation between us, then the Creator starts to give to the deficiency and does His part of this work.
S. Do we know what this work is that the Creator will finish?
R. What the Creator does is He shines on us, on our connection according to how much we are connected or disconnected or inclined to connect, and accordingly we can feel our spiritual life. This is what's going to happen. These matters are very simple, we just have to keep scrutinizing them correctly. Spirituality is not actually complicated. We just have to position ourselves properly, the further we move away from our ego that confuses us and the more neutral we position ourselves, that we are not inclined this way or that way, and the more we can relate to the Creator in the sense, that “I am to my beloved and my beloved is for me”, this is how we go through the right scrutiny.
21. S. (54:43) How can I constantly demand from the Creator to finish the work?
R. If we prepare our vessel, our MAN correctly, then we only do it according to how much we are ready, the form we are ready for, and accordingly He relates to us. It happens just like a mother and the baby, the baby also determines to some extent in what way his mother will feed him, nourish him and nurture him.
22. S. (54:40) What does it mean that the beginning of the work I have to say, “if I am not for myself who is?” and at the end everything comes from the Creator. How to balance these two discernments?
R. In a simple primitive way I would say, that at the beginning of the work starts from turning to the Creator, requesting from the Creator, and at the end I see how much I changed according to the Creator's work. Therefore, He is the first and He is the last, meaning at the end of the work I will see that even at the beginning of the work when I made the request, it also came from the Creator and I thought that it was my deficiency and perhaps the deficiency was more or less accurate, but it is only in order to teach me.
23. S. (56:57) We constantly say that the Creator is both the first and the last ending quote number 5, it says that a person should not think that he helped the Creator. What does this mean?
R. A person with his ego jumps and says yes, I can determine something more than just a break in the deficiency in the Creator. We can't do anything in creation besides establishing our deficiency to cling to the Creator in each and every moment, everything else is just searching for how to establish the correct deficiency.
S. If we say that the Creator starts how should I understand that I have to grasp that this is the moment He's starting?
R. The moment I feel that I have room to turn to the Creator I should not stop myself in any way, each and every moment in principle I need to turn to the Creator and try to explain to Him, tell, ask Him, make the request.
S. How do we understand during the day when there are so many actions, jobs after the lesson, we start our social life. How should I understand, what is the work that relates to this particular work we need to do to advance spiritually?
R. Maximum connection between us in the ten and by that I bestow to the Creator, all of the rest does not influence the Creator directly but just like all of humanity so there's not a lot of benefit in that.
24. S. (59:36) Everything is aimed from above so why should I exert so much in choosing the action as we always say everything comes from above?
R. If I don't want to do spiritual work then I can just stay calm and remain that way. Let's see if you can, let's see how much you can really do that. You think that even now when you sit between us and try to clarify these fundamental things of Creation in the middle of the night, you think you're making your efforts now? No, it's the Creator doing this with you, where are you? When you achieve corrections, you will see how the Creator is orchestrating you in each and every step and that there is no work of the person at all, it is all the work of the Creator.
S. The first contact with the Creator is this a deficiency he is passing to me?
R. Let's say so.
S. The awakening is the building of the vessel with the friends?
R. The awakening also comes from the Creator.
25. S. (01:01:23) Does it mean that we first must establish the vessel to allow the Creator to finish the work?
R. Yes. Correct.
25. S. (01:01:55) There is a difficulty by knowing in advance that we can’t succeed. In excerpt number 9 it says you have to do everything within your power to do and then he says I reveal this to you, not so you won't succeed.
R. How will you know that you don’t succeed?
S. Today we need to know in advance that we won’t succeed, how to find the strength to work?
R. In order to work and know that we ourselves don't succeed.
S. Where is the labor and how to be experienced?
R. Now the effort is above reason that I make an effort increasingly more until I feel that only the Creator can help me here.
S. He says I did not reveal this to many, he let him exert without knowing the rule and we know it in advance?
R. This is incorrect, I know in advance, it is written that a person can't do anything but he has to make an effort to discover that he can't do anything and then the Creator will finish for me. We do a lot of actions in life where we discover that we can't, we are incapable, we don't know and this directs us in the right track, to the right request towards connection. Let's say right now you are in all kinds of actions but you are not focusing all of those actions towards connection and then you see that you can't, you don't succeed, you are not successful and that takes you towards the necessity to connect for lack of a better choice, this is how from Lo Lishma you come to Lishma. We do many actions in our life to discover that we are wrong and these actions themselves direct us to the right direction. This is why it says, there's none as wise as the experience because he tried all kinds of things and ultimately sees that there is no choice, I have to follow what is written and then he understands what it means to do what is written. Before he didn't understand because the ego would conceal it from him.
26. S. (01:05:21) Who or what am I in the spiritual work?
R. In the spiritual work you are Keter of your ten, you have to awaken them, you have to connect them, you have to bring about deficiencies and initiate the connection, that is you.