Morning Lesson March 19, 2023
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 1:
Passover - Selected Excerpts from the Sources. (He Who Hardened His Heart. #76)
Reading 76.
1. R. (02:43) Yes, in other words we need to see how much the Creator wants to elevate us above the earthly nature to Him, to the spiritual nature, what work He does. He has to show us how much the force of giving is preferable to the force of reception and that we too have full access to it and all the ability until we acquire it and become similar to the Creator.
2. S. (03:22) As written about the situation of an important person, that a person can work for free, how can we use this importance towards the Creator that we don’t see and use it to elevate and feel Him?
R. It all depends on the feeling of importance. To the extent that it’s important to you you can do everything for Him, and this work is not regarded for you as work but as pleasure.
S. What does it mean to feel the importance of the Creator, His presence, that everything depends on Him?
R. In a thousand and one ways your baby who doesn’t know anything and cries out from his cradle awakens you and you immediately run and try to help him or help a grown-up person who is ill who needs you. In other words here we see that only the connection, connection of love to the extent that it exists can lift one person to make him help another; and it’s not help, they are connected together in the system of Adam HaRishon.
S. So the connection of love is the importance of the Creator, connection of love to Him?
R. Yes, but put it in the opposite way. Because I have the importance of the Creator, the importance of correction so I connect to the friend and become as one man with one heart with him.
3. S. (05:48) What is the expression of the importance of the goal, the main expression?
R. The expression of importance of the goal is that you scrutinize it, you clarify it more and more precisely and accurately every time. And to obtain the goal you are willing to make greater and greater efforts and you take pride in having these powers, this importance.
4. S. (06:33) Clearly on our own we cannot defeat Pharaoh, I see all of the dedicated friends here exerting efforts everyday. Why haven't we defeated the Pharaoh yet from our collective efforts?
R. Because the Pharaoh is probably a much greater force than we can assemble from all of us and connect it and go against him. Pharaoh is all of the power opposite from the Creator, not less than Him. When we need to fight against him we need to fight against him by gradually getting to know him. First of all we study all of his methods, all of his lies, how he twists us and how much we need the power of the Creator to help us, and what we need to do in order to turn to the Creator to come and face Pharaoh. We need to establish within us, each of us a field of work so to speak.
There is a part of Pharaoh and a part of the Creator and a part of us and then we arrange the world in such degrees or parts, important parts, what relationships they have between them, and this is how we see the whole world. And then it doesn’t matter to us time, movement and place. We see that it already consists of forces and these forces are eternal forces, spiritual ones and we are already between them. This is an important transition when I already have a connection with the forces of creation, the real ones and not those that come from a feeling of earthliness. This is how we advance.
5. S. (10:01) In the same moment that the importance of the goal is turned off what actions on my part will allow me to continue to advance and fear and increase my importance?
R. Do everything you can but mainly draw the friends toward it because if they go with you then you certainly will succeed, because everything is made in such a way that in the ten the whole system of creation, a mini-system is arranged and therefore there’s no problem, there’s no problem. We need to expand, increase, multiply the result and then you’ll see how it becomes simple. All the spiritual degrees that we see from science are similar to each other, some parameter changes but the rest remains as it was. In this way you can study what happens in creation.
6. S. (12:02) It says that Pharaoh doesn’t allow a person to depict the greatness and the importance of the Creator. What does it mean in relation to the work we need to do between the mind and the heart inside each person and within the ten?
R. It’s a little early, premature to ask but according to my understanding he wants to say that by wanting to attain the Creator as filling our minds and hearts by this we also study ourselves, the general external system, the connection between us and the external system. And in this way we come closer to connecting to knowing the Creator, knowing the system, the spiritual system.
S. Before we manage to be workers of the Creator we have to balance the mind and heart in each and every soul and in the ten as a whole?
R. No, we don’t have to be that ready. We begin from afar but in the end we attain the whole system, it’s basically the system of relationships.
7. S. (14:19) So it writes about those who obstruct the spiritual work saying that the goal is not so important. How do you overcome these forces?
R. The saboteur as he said in the spiritual work is working on every level, all the levels so we simply need to understand here where the Creator is, why He places before us such distractions, obstructions. How with their help we can grow? The problem in spirituality in relation to a person in our world is that on the one hand a person has to be very soft, flexible, pliable, accepting everything that comes from above. And at the same time he has to be like a rock, not bending like iron or steel and under no circumstances bend over. So here I need to find out with which qualities I need to be strong, insistent and adamant and with which qualities I need to make concessions, love, be soft, etcetera. And it’s really not simple. The combination of these equalities on different levels is what builds the system of the soul of a person and he needs to understand all this, feel all this and build all this. We will talk about it.
8. S. (16:40) Is the hardening of the heart what makes Pharaoh so valuable? The Creator hardened his heart, why did He create such a force against Himself?
R. In order to make room for the created being to exist, to be independent, to understand, to feel, act. This is why the Creator seemingly creates two out of Himself, a puppet, a marionette that seemingly operates and acts against Him and then He Himself. And it gives the person the ability to be between these two forms. This is also how we play with kids when we want to develop them and that’s the correct way because everything a person has is to be comprised of two opposite forms.
9. S. (18:08) You said last night that if we use the will to receive properly we will never be able to control it. Is this a good thing? We always feel that we are failing because the will to receive is always greater than our efforts.
R. It cannot be that we are constantly failing rather it is that each time they want to show us that there is an obstacle before us, an obstruction, lack of success. But it is not we who made the will to receive, it is not we who built all the degrees and states along the way. Therefore we need to understand that this evil inclination is built and operates in our favor because we can’t do anything without it. Take any element, physical, chemical, anything in creation. Nothing exists without its contradictory force, there is no such thing otherwise it wouldn’t exist, it wouldn’t operate. Therefore we need to understand that that evil inflammation is our partner. It’s not pleasant, true. We fail miserably and we don’t know what to do with it but without it we also cannot exist, without it we can’t. Therefore all our work is to detect it correctly by ourselves and bound it, give it borders, confine it by ourselves.
10. S. (20:54) It follows from what we read and heard that the whole gain inside the group is aimed at having to break our donkey and probably realize that the Creator is between us and not somewhere on the side.
R. You said it excellent.
S. It's turns out that the only exercise, the only Kli is the adhesion of the hearts between the friends. By that we acquire the force of Moses?
R. True, against the inner resistance that the Creator creates precisely so we would discover the evil inclination. The evil inclination is the negative relation toward each other. Above it we will discover the good inclination, our positive relation to each other and bring this system into balance. The good inclination operates on the anterior of the Partzuf and the evil inclination operates on the posterior of the Partzuf as coarseness. This is how we advance.
S. And specifically because of that even the minimal revelation invites such a joy as we discover this utter unity.
R. Yes.
11. S. (23:18) What is a strong heart on the path?
R. When a person is not afraid and doesn’t run away from doing exactly what is required in every single state.
S. To what extent does annulment towards the friends help strengthen the heart?
R. Everything, because you don’t know the Creator, you don’t know reality, you know the friends and your network of connection with the friends is actually your reality. And if this network is a good and mutual network then it’s a spiritual network, if it’s a network of competition and rejection then it’s an earthly network, a material one, and we are in these relationships.
S. A few lessons ago you told us that we have to lose the corporeal connection. So is annulment part of that to lose the corporeal connection and achieve the spiritual?
R. We can’t lose it because we are building the spiritual network on the corporeal network but we still need to see the line in this way.
12. S. (24:58) At the beginning of the lesson there was a question about how the sense of exile can help us accept the true work of bestowal. It doesn’t connect for me, if you could explain, interpret what is that sense of exile that can help us accept the work of bestowal.
R. If I feel that I am in a system that is external from spirituality, outside of spirituality and I really want to come to spiritual relationships with the friends and with the Creator then I constantly work to get closer to this system of relationships. And this is how I move away from those actions of the corporeal system which thinks only of itself.
13. S. (26:22) There is a desire to really connect with the friends, dissolve into them but there is some feeling of yourself that prevents you from it. So we need to exit and not come back? Can something like happen?
R. Yes, we have to try.
S. What does it mean to exit from that? Kabbalists have no return to thoughts of themselves, what happens there?
R. To come out of your ego and start seeing yourself from the side.
14. S. (27:19) Do we understand the importance of the Creator more when we understand the importance of the Pharaoh? How can we do this in the ten?
R. It’s the same, the two opposites. The more we learn about Pharaoh the more we learn about the Creator because the Creator is the opposite side of Pharaoh. This is how the Creator arranged creation so we would learn as in all of creation in all its laws from the two opposites, this is basically our constant study. We as created beings cannot understand only from one state we have to see also its contradictory state and then by comparing the two forms we come to know the topic itself.
15. S. (28:34) When I have a connection of love with the friend then I’m interested in him succeeding more than I succeed. But if we say that Pharaoh is the opposite side of the Creator and if I don’t have this love toward the friend then it turns out that even subconsciously I don’t want my friend to succeed in any way.
R. Yes this is the beginning of the spiritual path while we are still in competition with each other. Afterwards the competition becomes the opposite, how much can I help the friend more than he helps me.
S. The Entrance to Egypt when I begin to understand that? That I’m interested that my friends will not advance in anyway when I begin to recognize that?
R. We’ll talk about it, it’s not that simple.
16. S. (29:46) What does the persistence in the work built in us that leads us to move closer to the Creator and away from the Pharaoh, what is the persistence?
R. Persistence only adds to us more and more details so we will grip on to the path more and more tightly, strongly, with better understanding, and this is very important for us. Because in revealing these small connections the later find the wealth of creation.
S. So we're basically, unconsciously fighting the Pharaoh by persisting?
R. That too happens.
17. S. (31:00) Why do we even need to cope with the Pharaoh, isn’t it better to look for the attachment with the group and the Creator and ignore the Pharaoh, will we not be able to overcome the obstacles?
R. We can never overcome the Pharaoh only the Creator does; all the wars are between the Pharaoh and the Creator, the person is not doing anything here. A person can only cause the war between them and not any more.
18. S. (31:51) Is a strong heart in danger of turning into a heart of stone, is it, what actions do we have to do?
R. What actions do we have to do I do not understand.
S. Friend is saying that he sees that our heart is in danger of becoming a heart of stone, when we feel this state what actions should we do?
R. We only turn to the Creator and the Creator also can measure the size of the stony heart that now can be corrected into the heart of flesh, this is how it happens.
19. S. (33:10) You said that the more we learn about the Pharaoh, the more we learn about the Creator, so how can we learn from the Pharaoh, let's say, to come close to him in a way that we can turn it to the opposite side, without being caught let's say by the Pharaoh?
R. Basically this is how we advance, it is exactly how you said it. Although as we discover Pharaoh but as we advance toward him we begin to calculate that we are approaching the Creator. And then it turns out that for us, the Creator and the Pharaoh, will afterwards be ‘the darkness will shine as light’. So the two of them become as one force, one force, and then we come to unity, unification.
S. How can we keep this all the time, keep those that you can recognize because they come so close that you can hardly know what the difference are, how can you discover on which side you are working?
R. On which side I should work: I work on the side of unity so all the forms that I see that operating on me including I, myself, all those forms I want to unite them into one center, one material, one view through love all those forms to unite them into one. This is really the purpose of creation, to bring back the system into being a single system.
20. S. (35:47) Please say, it's turns out that it says here that there is some complete state that comes from the two opposite when the person already knows what is the path of truth and the he can be strong and overcome, so it is not a beginner on the path. The only problem is that he cannot attain the importance of the goal, so how could it be opposite that both are truth, that he can recognise the path of truth but he cannot see the importance of it?
R. A person can depict to himself the importance in that the Creator is that One who created all those states that we need to connect together, those contradictory states that we need to connect. Therefore all of nature in anyway, positive or negative, are all included in Him.
S. But here we can see the state very well, first I thought that it is only about the negative side but it is about both positive and negative, meaning I see simultaneously both as truth so that the obstructor is not lying?
R. As a result you come to the thinking that there is nothing about in nature, that love is created with respect to you only so that you would find, by yourself, the good qualities; therefore the seemingly bad qualities, the opposite qualities are revealed. And then you come to the thought that the evil qualities and the good qualities are of equal value because one cannot exist without the other. Therefore when we come to the point where, not you personally or egoistical, take interest in something, then all of those states become of equal value for you and you accept them as emerging from a single source that is good.
S. So it turns out that it is good that I see the two opposites and I can still pray to the Creator, so if I just make a precision that obstructor, the saboteur, he is not only obstructing he is also helping like the shell that guards the fruit?
R. Of course.
S. So while being in those frameworks, ripening in those frameworks, thanks to this I reveal the evil and approach the right goal?
R. Yes.
Reading 77. (39:27 - 40:32) RABASH, Article No. 20 (1985), “He who Hardens His Heart”
21. R. (40:40) Yes Let's read it again.
Reading 77.
22. S. (42:17) Pharaoh attacks this point of going above reason, he grabs a person by the feet so that he can’t jump up, so why does he write that he is aware that there is a force of faith?
R. Because by not letting him go he's doing him a favour, he creates resistance and then if the person goes, he gains something.
S. But he writes that “Pharaoh is not aware that there is a force of faith”, what does that mean?
R. Pharaoh doesn’t work according to the power of faith.
S. What does it mean if he grabs a person from going above reason, from obtaining faith?
R. Because there his governance ends, his control ends.
23. S. (48:18) It turns out that the power of upper reason is the power of the Creator, how can we acquire this power of above reason so it will control Pharaoh?
R. It comes to us as a result of our efforts, our attempts at going above are egos, and then we gradually begin to acquire the faith above reason; in other words, working from within Malchut or working from within Bina, this is the difference between these levels.
S. It will not succeed only through prayer, we also have to make an effort to resist?
R. We have to make some efforts and together with that, pray, to be taught, to be helped.
24. S. (44:50) It is written here that “Pharaoh was wiser then all the sorcerers and so that side would not have Redemption for Israel ''.
R. Pharaoh did not see that Redemption will come to Israel from these actions, he didn’t see it, the Creator did this deliberately so that we would be able to achieve the power of faith.
S. Who are the sorcerers written here?
R. Those that work in the corporeal, material field, meaning only in the material forces, they are called ‘sorcerers’, meaning those who believe only in the material forces of the world.
25. S. (46:10) It is said here at the end of the excerpt that “this forces cancels all the forces in the world”,what does it mean “all the forces in the world”? Because we always talks about two forces: the force of bestowal and force of reception, so what does it mean “all the forces”?
R. You can put everything into these two groups: the force of bestowal and the force of reception.
S. And all of this is with the force of faith above reason, that is the force?
R. Yes.
26. S. (46:59) What does it mean that the ten obtains something through the help of the Creator, that the Creator came to our assistance?
R. When we attain the force of bestowal, the force of the Creator, then we see it as what appears through these two forces bestowal and reception that we are in between, this is how it is.
27. S. (47:54) Where do I perform actions through the force of faith above reason, what is the right environment?
R. Actions in faith above reason you do them with the forces of Bina, of bestowal that are above the forces of reception.
S. Let's say that I can do that only in the ten or so in my corporeal life?
R. No, you do not have there any opportunities or possibility to do that, in your corporeal life. It’s not required of you to live that life through faith above reason.
28. S. (49:06) No Does a ten affect personal advancement or the promotion of the entire ten, or does it not affect promotion at all?
R. Influences the promotion of the entire ten.
S. What should we do?
R. Connect, what is the question, it is fundamental, we have to connect.
29. S. (50:03) You said that we have to come out of our ego and start seeing ourselves from the side. This action, is it when I actually exam, observe my thoughts, what goes through me. my actions. what does it mean ‘to look from side’?
R. So what’s the question?
S. How do I come out of the ego and ‘observe from aside’, how can I do this, in practice, in my imagination, my discernments?
R. Only through connection between the friends.
S. So this is called, ‘going out’, ‘looking from aside’.
R. Yes.
30. S. (50:53) Faith is what Pharaoh has no influence over us as a result of faith, how do we practically increase faith in the ten, aside from prayer, how do we practically develop very, very strong faith?
R. If we go above our egoistic calculations and make a calculations of faith as if we are already in the spiritual world, so then what would be the calculation that we would make and how would we carry that out? Yes, this is a how we should play with being greater, just like kids. Even though we don’t know it yet but the Creator will finish the job for me, as it says. Meaning we have to make all kinds of actions even though we see that we do not know how to do this and what’s the result but like kids we do have to try to do the actions of bestowal.
S. What are the kinds of actions we can take to reduce our faith in the ten so that we avoid doing those things?
R. What not to do: any action that brings, that pushes the friends away and lowers the Creator in their eyes, that is a severe, negative action, all the rest you can try.
31. S. (53:34) About the previous excerpt, the importance of the Creator changes within us and also within the group, so why is it that when we discover the evil in the ten we tend to separate instead of using it to get closer?
R. I do not understand the question, itself.
S. Our inclination is that when we reveal the evil we become separate instead of getting closer because the importance changes.
R. This happens naturally, yes so what’s next? She says that if I see something evil before me I move away but then what happens next?
S. When we discover the evil in the ten we tend to move away, why do we do this instead of coming closer?
R. Who is able to come close to something bad or evil?
S. We feel the evil and then we move away, there’s a friend of our who wants to leave our group, our chat, we feel that we are moving apart?
R. Look, I can’t do it this way, like another sentence and another piece of sentence, it's not going to work this way, prepare yourself and ask the question.
32. S. (56:13) Sometimes the Creator brings Pharaoh before Moses and sometimes Moses confronts Pharaoh, how does this method of the Creator establish the middle line in our spiritual process? How can the model of faith above reason bring the relationship between Moses and Pharaoh to the ten?
R. The middle line is still far from us so we can’t discuss it, we are going to discuss it later.
33. S. (57:10) It turns out that the ten is the instrument for practice that allows us to fill up the quota of emerging from ourselves, faith above reason enables you to come out of ourselves consciously and this is why Baal HaSulam respected psychology.
R. Yes.
S. So when will this quota be fulfilled, the quota of being above reason through the ten as one body of the spiritual Partzuf?
R. When, when we’ll be able to do it, we’ll do it, when we will manage to completely nullify ourselves before the Creator and prepare ourselves to do everything for the sake of bestowal.
S. So all the preparations now, all those decades, are they preparations for the real work?
R. Of course, of course.
34. S. (58:37) Faith above reason, it is actually above our intellect, what about the feeling, is faith about the feeling?
R. The feelings change accordingly.
35. S (59:00) I wanted to help the friend from Germany: what she was asking for is, if the evil is revealed in the ten, why does it push us apart instead of bringing us closer because there’s even a state where a friend is moving away and she does not even want to be in the group, with the ten, in the chat?
R. That’s called ‘evil’, that separates us between, what is the question, and by not responding to this evil correct, that’s now a second evil which is worse, which is on our part.
S. When evil is revealed how can we be more connected rather than moving away and making it twice as bad?
R. From the Creator's part He sends us the evil so that we will come closer but on our part we awaken the evil to get further apart, then so there is a mismatch.
S. What will help us get closer above the bad?
R. The right way to get closer is that we recognize what is going on, that all the Creator does is for Him, meaning that we have to simply move away from the evil and get closer to good. By all the events that happened to us, meaning there is no bad tendency that becomes realized through us, whatever it is, only good and connection.
S. What will cause us to constantly to have this drive to get closer and closer so that when the bad comes we will beat it up?
R. Yes, yes.
S. So it’s through constant efforts to connect that increase in the ten?
R. Correct.
36. S (01:01:10) You said that out of the failures we try to find Pharaoh and put him, confine him, how does the reconcile with what we read now, that we should only rise above him with faith above reason?
R. Because in the force of faith above reason you can do anything, you go above any boundary and connect all the vessels, all the pieces of Adam HaRishon, you do everything by faith above reason.
S. What is the role, function of placing these borders?
R. It’s not that I place the boundaries, I just do whatever I can, the boundaries are placed from above.
37. S (01:02:25) In the beginning of their lesson you said that the importance of the Creator is expressed also in scrutinizing goal every time anew. It’s felt that every day we come, the goal is kind of blurry it it is also not certain what you need to do and what’s the right result. How do we describe the gold correctly in the ten?
R. By connection between us, how can we do it, each one of us is smart and right if we connect to each other through self annulment, each of us, then we can begin to think about how as a result of our connection we’ll achieve ‘as one man in one heart’, and that is already truth.
S. The goal often has many color, sometimes to come into ‘as one man with one heart’, and another time it’s ‘to come to faith and bestowal upon the Creator’, and it’s all correct. Do we need to connect all of those forms into something specific, say each friend can say in this way or that way, do we have to somehow connect it so we will connect into one?
R. I think that all of those conditions lead us to be ‘as one man in one heart’ and be at the center of the upper force and then influenced by a single upper force over our desire to connect as one. So by that we begin to discern a higher level of the goal, meaning a higher rung of the ladder.
S. It felt that in this work between us that when we come to state where the goal is still obtuse, so vague, but it's kind of spreads over the whole thing, and to satin it you have to rise above the into the one Creator as you said at the beginning,”to bring everything back into one”, which is the goal. So what should be my inclination, my intention toward the ten, when I hear the friends speaking about the purpose of the work, how should I accept it, how should I work with it?
R. The goal, the purpose of the work is quite simple, actually, the goal itself; it is to be ‘as one man with one heart’, ‘one should help his friend’, and the goal itself is None Else besides Him, the Good that does good.
38. S (01:05:46) It says in the excerpt that “from the perspective of the intellect there is the inability to exit from their control but only by faith above reason because that force cancels all the forces of the world”, so is it my work to be certain in all situation that the power of faith cancels all the forces in the world?
R. Yes, the power of faith cancels all the forces of the world.
S. Should I be certain of this?
R. Well, where will you take this certainty, you have to get it from your friends.
39. S (01:06:36) What is the right step toward faith above reason that will bring us into it?
R. Connection between us, as much as possible connection in the ten.
40. S (01:07:12) We read several times that all the work in Egypt happens precisely when there is concealment of the importance and greatness of the Creator, so why is it exactly so, why is it precisely on the greatness of the Creator that Pharaoh constantly obstructs?
R. Because that is his main disturbance, “who shall rule me or the Creator”, the corporeal will to receive or the spiritual will to bestow.
S. The war between them, does it happen over what, over the greatness, according to the greatness this is what controls you?
R. Yes who will control.
S. I also heard that you say that we cannot fight against Pharaoh, it is the Creator who fights, so how do we activate this war against Pharaoh?
R. When we try to connect between us and then together with all the positive and negative outcomes, we come to the Creator and we demand of Him to make the connection between us, “He who makes peace of above will make peace above us”. Then we attract Him towards our connection, or lack there of, so that He will stabilize it, shape it and fulfill it, and be revealed in it.
S. So our ability to activate this war between these two force, is it the connection between us, what is it exactly, by what do we activate the war between Pharaoh and the Creator?
R. We want that within our empty vessel, first of all, the first connection will govern us and the force of the Creator, One, Unique and Unified, and all the light of Ein Sof will govern there and hold and shine in that system.
41. S. (01:10:03) You said that through actions we increase the importance of the Creator in the eyes of the friends, is this the main thing that the Creator takes people out of the study? Can you talk tell us what was the common things song people who have their spiritual desires run out?
R. This is a big topic, we’ll have to discuss it separately but I would say that it is clear to each and everyone what we need to do in order to maintain our framework, and that is the main thing, this is the main thing. The Creator is a law, the general law of nature, it always measures us how compatible we are to it according to our degree. That we are in one degree lower than Him, the Creator, if we advance towards the state of ‘one man in one heart’, become closer to the Creator, we rise to a degree that is less than the Creator minus one and it is a very high degree. And that is how we want to shape ourselves, that we are supporting the Creator, we make from below upwards the same system as the Creator, and thus we raise ourselves to a very possible peak of existence.
42. S. (01:12:36) Is it too much to think that identifying the bad, I can accept it into me and examine it because by examining it I discovered the opposites? And because of it, it becomes my king and the Creator behind it will give the opposite help?
R. Yes, yes, all of it, in general all the questions and answers there is room for that because by that we collect and put into contact some pieces of this whole shattered Kli of Adam HaRishon. So everyone in a group has a place and everyone can try this, that or the other, and there will not be any damage in the system because we are just checking how else can we be somewhat connected. And if we do not succeed it is also a success, that is also success, because it leaves an impression, Reshimo, and it doesn’t allow us next time to make the same mistake. We have to respect even the unsuccessful states that go through us and that we seem to not be successful, we are successful, we are succeeding.
43. S. (01:15:06) Is being able to work in faith above come from the fact that the person that doing the work is strong?
R. No, there are no strong people, we are all like Rabash say like ‘a rag’, and there is nothing in us that is beyond a small fly, a small ant, that is how a person is. All the addition we get is only through the Creator that brings us to all kinds of different states and in these states we are already starting to scrutinize what is possible with us and creation and that’s it. So don't be despaired and always try to awaken yourselves all the time. You have these excerpts, you should read them forward, backwards, however you want, do not be afraid that it is not clear because it works anyhow. The main thing is not to be afraid at all, we are advancing every day in a very realistic way.
44. S. (01:17:05) How does a small ant like me, can pretend to be as big as the Creator, where do we get this faith, where does it come from?
There are two forces here: the first is when a person does not understand how much he is a zero, the second is when a person thinks that he deserves everything. Of these two forces, what comes to him is questions and going into everything, and this way one way, one can reach a state where he is governing creation.
Reading #78 (01:22:07) “When they had to take upon them the kingdom of heaven..”
45. S. (01:23:33) In the previous section we spoke about the goal and faith above reason are these answer that can be given to these questions of "Who and What"
R. If they are awakening inside a person we can certainly find the answers maybe another one answer but rather in all degrees starting from the first to the last for each and every degree maybe a different answer both the who and the what.
S. What are the leading guidelines to answer these questions?
R. To stand before these eternal questions. We can call them eternal questions because the beginning of creation to the end of creation. These questions are put to us before us by the Creator. We should know how to answer them correctly and keep on going.
S. Is it possible to say that the way the person can't stand up to it is if he was giving a force for the work and strength for the work that means he answered them correctly?
R. You cannot tell them if they answered them correctly or not, to our degree you can't say but we should try as much as we can to give an answer.
S. What is the beginning of the answer that I should answer with?
R. This is something you should give. Why do you want me to give?
S. We want your help.
R. You are okay.
46. S. (01:25:48) About the two questions, " who is the Creator that I should obey his voice. One should diminish the importance of the Creator and the other the importance of the work.
R. You can say that. You said it nicely.
S. Can they come separately to these questions? How could there be importance of the Creator if there is no importance of the work and vice versa?
R. Yes, that is why these are called "Who and What questions because they come together, but still there is one question and there's another.
S. Is there an order that we should relate to these questions? First for the work for the Creator.
R. They come in the mixture. I don't think there is a certain order. The one comes first and then the other. You can say the 'who comes first and then the 'what because without the 'who ' there is no 'what'. Seemingly, during the work it's not so important because for a person it starts to be one subject then he needs to solve.
47. S. (01:27:23) It is very interesting his writing here at a time when they receive here at a time upon them the Kingdom of heaven they regret not being able to do because of the questions of the Pharaoh, King of Egypt who governs them of "who and what". From this it seems that the Pharaoh does not want us to come and the Creator does, why does the Pharaoh interrupt here so much?
R. In order to aim us more precisely for the purpose of creation.
S. How does he aim at us?
R. We live in a world where there is no one force that can do anything. There has to be something in the opposite of it and then by special combination where the two are being corrected are placed correctly, out of the two of them we get the right direction.
S. I wanted to ask you here about the Pharaoh. As you know sometimes the people escape around the way because the Pharaoh takes over so much that he does not leave the roof to connect to the will for the Creator and we always fall there. We always fall there and it is really hard. How can we come between the two forces so that we can be balanced so that we do not run away so that we do stay and we do advance. How do we do that/
R. I did not understand what you wanted to say. The fact that the path is unpleasant and not clear, not smooth, that is right.
S. When the Pharaoh takes over he takes over he does not give you an opportunity to advance on a good path.
R. So what?
S. How do we balance between the two forces so we advance correctly so that we do not fall? You hear about people who run away.
R. you have exactly the forces that need the right state. It is a connection. It is the connection in the Ten. Do not think about anything except for the connection in the Ten what we call 'love of others' and you will succeed.
S. Tell me the friends have to help in such a way, how do they even recognize when someone wants to leave the Ten and it happens a lot and how do you recognize?
R. If you with such perception, just like you criticize the path if you would criticize your own attitude towards the path, you would be the most successful of all of us
S. You are correct 100%. The Pharaoh tales of over me.
R. Criticize your own attitude.
How do I criticize my own path?
R. I have nothing to do with you. You will learn later from others.
S. You’re despaIred with me.
R. What can I do?
48. S (01:30:46) How could these questions be answered?
R. These are the most simple questions. We answer them a thousand times a day, for each and everything. Only here we have to answer generally about the entire creation and that is the main thing, and then later we are obligated to relate to all of creation this way. Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice, and what is this work for you? Then I have to answer these questions with every address of mine, with every step that I take. In short, what am I living for? What is the purpose? How do I live? All of these things are in this "Who and What".
S. It is just that we spoke today about us being able to answer these questions really above reason, whereas they are being asked from within reason.
R. In their reason and in the emotions In the emotion and the intellect because we have to feel them and then our intellect processes these emotions combines them, because that is why there's both em
S. I'll put the question differently. Can these questions be formed within the reason or do they need to be responded to above reason with connection and so on.
R. Above reason we also act within reason. Only it is a different kind of reason in operation so there are no contradictions here
S. It's just that these questions sound like complaints about the Creator. Why do I need to do this work? Who are you that need to annul myself before you? Here it's like there is no answer on our level to these questions. You will not convince yourself. You need to rise above it.
R. It is only that you rise above it from Malchut to Bina and from the quality of reception of the quality of bestowal you get an answer. You get an answer. Why do I need to act this way? Because if you want to feel the true creation of this system of providence you have to be in this degree in order to be in the degree of the system of providence, of supervision you have to rise to the quality of bestowal. That is called faith, the quality of Bina in order for this quality to be higher from the quality of reception from the quality of reason. This is how it turns out that we have faith in faith above reason.
If this is how you calibrate the sense of perception of reality of yours, everything becomes correct for you. You enter with this vessel of perception of reality in any way to a new way, in a new feeling of the world. Then there are no contradictions for you. Below in your animalistic degree you advance with your emotions out of your understanding within reason. Whereas in a higher degree you advance in faith above reason, in a quality of bestowal that you place above the quality of reception. Then in this world you place the quality of reception above the quality bestowal and this is where seemingly begins the difference the two states of creation between the two words.
S. There's an answer to these questions?
R. Of course and everything is said about the only on the ascent from Malchut to Bina.
S. In the state above reason do these questions stay or do they disappear
R. No, you receive answers gradually about everything.
S. Meaning the questions remain and I have to know who is the Creator? I have to know what is the work? I don't cancel them, I raise them above reason.
R. We don't answer them, we only get the opportunity to answer them.
S. It's not very clear that they stay because the answers are egoistic, the desire to receive.
R. No, the question is not necessarily the desire to receive. It may be a simple desire to receive balances, something that balances you with respect to your mind and emotion of how to advance above reason above emotion.
49. S. (01:37:38) Can there be only one answer to these questions, come and see.
R. Try, in principle that is the answer but we have to Come and See.
S. Meaning every time these questions arise we answer to come and see
R. What is the meaning of 'to come" and 'to see'. meaning obtain this degree to discover it. To see it by the light of Hochma, It is simple.
50. S. (01:38:37) What had to be our attitude to the Creator? Do we need to hate Him? Use Him?
R. Our relation to Pharaoh should be. First of all, appreciation. Don't disrespect this, we should respect him. We should remember that Jacob also blessed Pharaoh. When they came to Egypt. Pharaoh is the upper force, it is a form of the Creator that clothes this way on the Creator in order to relate in a certain way to the created beings. Meaning, Pharaoh is the clothing of the Creator through which he relates to the creative beings,
S. Does this force disappear sometimes?
R. Everything is incorporated, all the forces negative positive are all incorporated and He is one and his name is one. when the one force the Creator is revealed which is the reason for everything and the center of everything.
51. S. (01:40:41) In these questions now do they exist between us in the interaction between us or is it an illusion?
R. Interaction in what?
S. The question of the friend becomes mine.
R. Of course, of course. We in the group are always connected to each other in different combinations, different talents, qualifications of emotions, combinations of emotions and thoughts. That’s why we always affect each other. Something changes in someone and at the same time the emotions and thoughts accordingly change in other friends.
S Does the friend’s question add to another as a positive effect?
R. Of course, if someone does a positive action it’s added as something good, if someone does a bad action it’s added as a bad thing. We are all in one system. In this system we have nowhere to run away to. So mutual guarantee if you remember what that is, is a great thing; you can’t get rid of it, run away. We’re all a part of one system that was not shattered and didn’t break or anything, nothing happened to it. All that happened is that we have detached from each other in our emotion but practically, literally the influence we have on each other only got stronger because of that. Meaning to the same extent that we were torn apart from each other and we don’t want to be connected, to that same extent truth be told we inside us are in a state of unawareness, we don’t feel it but we are completely connected to each other.
52. S. (01:43:37) If we have these questions of "who and what" is it because He has brought us closer to serve Him even though He's in concealment?
R. The Creator wants to bring us closer and that's why He awakens these questions in us, yes.
53. S. (01:44:12) I want to ask the question about the combination of these two questions. Earlier you said that it's from reason and feeling in our work. I feel that the answer as well to the first question is in thought, meaning the description of the Creator, the states that we undergo, it’s all in thought? And the connection in the group, the working connection in the group is also in thought? It’s what I describe as prayer but essentially it's in a thought. Is this the common seed that you said earlier, that it starts in the thought and then the Ohr Hochma falls into the feelings, sensation and makes the change in sensation?
R. We can say that this is so.
S. The work in essence always has to do with our thought, everyone in their own thoughts also from the perception of the connection that we have to do and with the Creator Himself, everything is within the thought?
R. Yes, about this it is written that everything is scrutinized within the thought, everything is scrutinized by thought.
S. Yes, this is what I meant.
54. S. (01:45:57) There is such a picture that on one hand there is a strong Pharaoh who weighs heavy on my heart and on the other hand is the necessity to strengthen the greatness of the Creator. These two forces clash inside and we escape in time. What is this internal action? Can we say that it’s a change of attention to the deficiency?
R. The friends should help you to elevate the Creator above Pharaoh.
S. The structure of the Creator?
R. All that is scrutinized with the friends.
S. But this is like their opinion.
R. I am not going to answer anything else, I already answered.
55. S. (01:47:07) Tell me please how does the work over Arvut align these questions of "who and what" and how to tie it within the ten?
R. How does the work of Arvut..again?
S. How does the work over Arvut align the questions of "who and what" and how do we need to tie it all together in the ten?
R. Arvut directs a person correctly with respect to the solution of these questions of "who and what" and this is how the ten is being shaped. It becomes more complex, more built, think about it.
56. S. (01:48:15) I feel like we are at the brink of breaking something, Arvut, mutual guarantee, annulment, love of friends, they seem to be like the building blocks for faith. How do they all tie together because it seemed like there is a connection between them to reach the force of faith?
R. Very well so just keep on going with some more forces and everything will be OK.
S. Okay in this particular lesson I feel a lot of agitation as though we want to get to a point where the ten begins to operate in the force of faith, because that's what keeps us out of spirituality. But can we pray that we will be given this clarity so that no matter what disturbance appears we immediately invoke the force of faith and put the Creator as the word says He is the glory, He is the one who governs the universe. That’s what the work is all about but let it become in our heart because sometimes I think it's in our head but it doesn't reach the heart and we need to get to that point where it goes to the heart as well. How do we pray for this?
R. I really value you and you can see that. I’m certain that we’ll see you in the upcoming time rising, rising, rising before us in spiritual degrees and asking questions more and more to the point.
57. S. (01:50:53) Something I’ve been trying to clarify this week, you said the most important thing is not to fear at all. On the other hand, every morning I pray for fear to help me succeed. These are two degrees and can you help us clarify how to hold both?
R. Yes they touch one another and we have yet to scrutinize where they should be together, close and far from each other.
58. S. (01:51:37) We haven't reached the common denominator so I'm asking a question. Reason, is it the Creator or is it the instrument the Creator uses to rule over?
R. It’s an instrument that Pharaoh uses.
Reading Excerpt # 79 (01:52:04)
59. S. (01:54:45) I don't understand, when do these questions arise of "who and what"?
R. I'm certain that you're receiving them now, maybe you’re not paying attention to them.
S. I should feel these questions awaken inside me?
R. Yes.
S. What is this disregard, I simply don't understand, I’m afraid to ask these questions.
R. What, when you want to do something and it's not according to what should be done according to the wisdom of Kabbalah then you ask.
S. I come to the lesson, I'm in a Ten, I work so what does it mean that I disrespect the Creator so much that ‘Who are you that I should obey your voice’ what is that?
R. We are getting questions all the time, questions, questions, everything depends only on our sensitivity to them, how much we connect these questions with the purpose of life, that's it.
S. What is the voice? I should hear the voice of the Creator and then disregard it, I don't understand.
R. You need to hear these questions coming from yourself as if you don't want, you aren't capable of it, you don't want it, you’re not awakened by it. Who is the Creator that I would hear his voice? I heard that I would have to do so and so but I don't have enough strength, I don't feel that well, I’m not awake enough, I slept poorly, maybe something else…
S. The something else is I’m a rag, I'm weak but it's not ‘who are you that I should obey your voice?’ I’m in control here, if I’m weak I’m weak, I’m not asking with this…
R. What do you mean you're weak? You’re weak in comparison with what you have to do now. So who’s determining? The Creator tells you to do and you’re telling Him I'm weak.
S. It's not a question of who are you that I should obey.
R. So there are different questions but they’re all like that, that you are in front facing the Creator.
60. S. (01:57:54) The question is this, the matter of love means to give more than you receive?
R. Yes.
S. That's why a person is incapable of doing it without help from the outside? Where does one get this addition?
R. From the group.
S. That’s how he can work for Pharaoh or for the Creator?
R. Yes, yes. I thought that I don't grasp language but I see that there are examples that are even worse than me.
61. S. (01:58:58) To what extent is it important to convince the body that doesn't give you forces or the necessary state that from now on I'll turn to the Creator that He will give me the strength?
R. If you are in the group, in an environment then you will find in your body strength to work as they do. You will find gradually, maybe not all at once but you will find. And if you are by yourself it will of course be very, very difficult to look at them and take an example of them and work as they do. You just need to enter the group as if to drown in it and then you have work as they do and all of your mutual work will combine together and for each it will be a common work.
S. What will help me to dive into the friends? What will help me immerse myself in the friends?
R. To loosen up, to not be against, to submit to them.
62. S. (02:00:32) Can we say that a person has three states, he is thankful, he is neutral or he's in this demand of "who and what?" What is the most effective for a person to advance?
R. It depends on the person. If he has worked properly over yesterday then these questions will be sharper today.
S. Meaning everyday I should not be afraid to go deeper into this point?
R. And even many times a day.
S. What about the gratitude, I can’t be both in gratitude and in these questions.
63. S. (01:01:35) I wanted to ask you, Pharaoh is in reason and the Creator is above reason, I feel that these two forces are completely separate inside me and are fighting each other. When will the peace come, will that be the middle line we talk about?
R. Yes in the middle line both these opposite forces work as one and from state to state.
S. How do these two forces mix between themselves so we can find the peace inside us so we can also project it outward?
R. They are opposite but they work towards one goal which is why they connect.
64. S. (01:02:54) On the one hand it's not bad that these questions come to us, they’re from the Creator. On the other hand how to be in fear with respect to these questions?
R. We don't have that fear. It’s gradually, gradually revealed in us in accordance to our elevation and then from fear comes our awe, trepidation, spiritual fear. It's a lot higher this fear. This spiritual fear is to do anything just not to misunderstand the Creator, not to leave the Creator.
S. And these questions of "who and what" as well, right?
65. S. (02:03:58) I apologize for this question but Pharaoh is a result of the feeling of egoism or is Pharaoh the result of the revelation of the Creator in the opposite force?
R. Gradually, gradually we will learn how to distinguish between the two but there is room for this question.
S. The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us that the Creator is concealed. However the revelation of Pharaoh is always felt in us, we always feel him 24 hours a day and a feeling is formed that this is the revelation of the Creator. How to work with this?
R. This is how you relate to it because this is how it is. Pharaoh and the Creator are practically the same. It's the same root only it reveals in us, in our duality as two opposite forces but from these opposite forces we then create one and sense through it the root of the creation.
66. S. (02:05:41) How through these questions of the wicked one of "who and what" can we discover the greatness of the Creator? I don't need to fear from him but…
R. Enter them into the group, try to realize them inside the group and feel how much these questions stabilize you correctly towards the goal.
S. How can I put it in the group?
R. Why are these questions awakened? Because the Creator knows that specifically through them you are advancing towards the center of the creation.
S. It feels as though there is pipeline to the Creator there but how not to leave them inside me but rather put them in the group?
R. To leave the questions is not good, we need to address them in the group. You discuss amongst yourselves and the men discuss them amongst themselves. You need to come to a scrutiny, a clarification and within the group is the best if you can clarify.
67. S. (02:07:13) When he says we'll make man is he relating to the Creator and the ego or the Creator and the created being?
R. Again.
S. It says that at a certain moment man was made, the Creator said let there be man. So the question is does he tell that to the ego or to the created being?
R. We’ll make a human means that we'll make a human Adam as me, as the Creator, to resemble the Creator. It will contain within him all of the qualities that will essentially elevate him to the degree of the Creator. That he will need to be opposite otherwise he would not be a creature. I have to create a system that will contain a person and will care for him and bring him to resemble me. And these two forces, these two systems, an external one and an internal one that is called a soul. The Creator balances them and we learn how to arrive by using our soul and the external forces called the worlds to a state where we very much resemble the Creator. Soon we’ll clarify that even more. I think precisely now during the time of Passover we’ll have a lot of a lot of scrutinies. That’s it. The only thing that I'm asking is that those lessons that you won't be able to participate in, maybe there will be additional lessons during the day, try to get them, maybe at a different time from the archive and to listen and to study.
68. S. (02:10:33) May we choose what side we are turning to, the force of the Creator or the force of Pharaoh?
R. Yes in theory you have such a choice, of course. It’s also written about this, and Moses fears something and runs away from something and doesn’t know, is confused. There are here and there a few sentences or short stories that explain that there is a matter of choice here and it's not simple to choose the only correct way.
69. S. (02:11:53) Suppose I lost my forces in the spiritual work in a certain moment, does it mean that Pharaoh asks these questions of me of "who and what"?
R. Since there is nothing random or by accident and naturally what a person feels comes to him from above then it's clear that it comes from the Creator and you’re able to turn to Him always with any questions and even complaints. So keep clarifying it with the Creator, and then with the friends, and then maybe again with the Creator, again with a friends, again with yourself and so on. But you have to you have to clarify and scrutinize it because this is progress, this is advancement.
S. Must I necessarily feel the lack of faith, losing the forces to translate this to questions so they will be clear in me who the Creator is?
R. You don't have to respond to them but you have to feel these questions, yes.
S. And for an answer I go to the ten?
R. For the answer you go to the ten, only to the ten. From the Creator you will not be able to get a direct answer, even if you get a direct answer it still the goes through the ten. For you it just isn't felt, it’s unknown but the Creator always goes through the ten.
S. How should I bring this question to the ten?
R. You don't have to bring anything to the ten you have to properly react to it. If you think that you have to bring this or verbalize this question in the ten then you do it but if if you feel that you don't have to verbalize the question then you don't do it. But it comes from the calculation that it will serve the entire ten, the whole general correction.
S. What does it mean to come with this question to the ten?
R. Turn to your friends and tell them that you would like to clarify this.
S. this means it's the state I'm in or what we should scrutinize is the question?
R. it doesn't matter what, don't be so so precise like you do in your work. You just need to be a person, that’s it not some mechanical instrument.
70. S. (02:15:29) In Lo Lishma we also feel the resistance for bestowal. When do all these clothings end so we can really feel bestowal?
R. When they come then you will feel them.
71. S. (02:16:08) If I feel that it's clear to me who and I don't find these questions in me does that mean it's all ahead of me?
R. Yes apparently there’re still ahead of you, why is it not good?
S. For me I feel good, it’s always clear to me who and what, I don't have this resistance. The question is am I still falling back?
R. The faster you will answer the questions of "who and what" the faster you will come to more essential questions that are also included in who and what but they are much deeper.
S. But these questions arise when you feel that there is no point, there is no flavor in the work or without any connection to that?
R. Both.
72. S. (02:17:23) Thank you for the opportunity to ask. Tell us please what is the work in the ten? What is the ten for me and what is the work in the ten for me?
R. The work in the ten for us is the only opportunity to connect to the general spiritual vessel in which we have to attain a full merger with the Creator.
S. What happens to me when I work correctly in the ten, I make efforts?
R. You connect to your soul.
S. Can we call a person at ten at a certain point?
R. No.
S. You said that a person is ten, it's not ten names. What stops me from being in a ten with the whole of humanity?
R. Because you're still small animal and not even a person.
S. What should I do?
R. Become a person.
S. To keep on going?
R. If you have a desire keep on going.
73. S. (02:19:16) It says in excerpt 78 the questions of "who and what" are the mind and heart. Does a certain question relate to the mind and another to the heart or there is no point in scrutinizing this?
R. This you have to clarify amongst yourselves.