Part 2
Morning Lesson December 03, 2021, Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences from audio
Baal HaSulam. Shamati, 209. Three Conditions in Prayer
1. Rav Reads (00:19) There are three conditions in prayer, Baal HaSulam says. ‘’1. Believing that He can save him. Although he has the worst conditions of all his contemporaries, still, “Will the Lord’s hand be too short to save him?” If it is not so, then “the Landlord cannot save His vessels.”’’ Meaning that surely if a person requests the Creator and this request is a correct one, then the Creator answers, without any calculations, only towards the person - towards the person’s benefit. So we need to believe that the Creator is standing and waiting for our request, and the correct request, upon that He answers. What is the correct request, what does that mean? It could be that the Creator answers the person, but the person does not even think that this is what he needs to receive from the Creator. He expects something else, and it turns out that it is like he didn't receive from the Creator’s side. Seemingly He gave, but from the side of the person it is like he didn't receive. So we need to arrange such a connection as it is called, ‘’Make His desire your desire,’’ then there will be a connection and surely, He will feel that you are receiving. So, the first condition is to believe that the Creator can save him. ‘’ 2. He no longer has any choice for he has already done all that he could but saw no cure to his plight.’’ Meaning, he requested many times, he scrutinized his request, and truly he doesn't know what to do anymore. All that was in his power and his forces he did, and nonetheless he is still remaining with the flaw that he thought to correct and he does not know what to do anymore. That is the second condition for a true prayer. Meaning, first condition: That surely the Creator can help him on the condition that he requests. Second condition: That what was in his power to do he did, and he didn't reach anything. Third condition: That if He does not help him, the Creator, he will be better off dead than alive. That prayer means, ‘lost in the heart.’ The more one is lost, as much as he sees that nothing can help him, and nothing - simply, it is not in my power, I am not capable and I am ready to end my life. According to such sensation, such is the measure of his prayer, that he is in despair of his own forces. That clearly one who lacks luxuries is not like one who has been sentenced to death, and only the execution is missing. He is already tied with iron chains, and he is standing and pleading for his life. Meaning, at his last moment that, nonetheless, maybe He can help him. He will certainly not rest or sleep, or be distracted, even for a moment, from praying for his life. Meaning, if we connect these conditions together, you understand - it's not so simple, right? But if we connect them together, then we can understand that they actually build the vessel for us for the reception of the aid of the Creator, from above. Discuss this over the course of the day. Are we in these conditions, and what yes and what no? How to advance towards fulfilling these conditions, meaning raising MAN from down above to the Creator, and request ‘are we in these conditions?’ such that our request will be correct, that we will truly request and He will fulfill it. That maybe we think that the Creator is, you will ask from Him like, ‘by the way, maybe give me this,’ and He will give you. No. It must be confident, and this comes through the group. A person by himself can’t attain it, it must be with the confidence that the Creator can help him, that we have no other advice, no other choice, from what to do on our part, because we did everything we could. And there is the matter that he explains in a different article, that the Sitra Achra [other side] tells a person, ‘You still did not do everything, you need to add more exertion, and then you will request. You have no state, we are not to request, what did you do?’’ No. In each and every state we can say I did everything, and I believe that the Creator can do this. I did everything on my part and if I don't receive, then better in my death than life. If these three things exist in us, we advance. We advance to the correct demand called the prayer, and the Creator opens Himself and helps us.
2. S. (07:32) How can we keep from our prayer becoming a routine without the intention? That it comes as a result of our efforts?
R. We need to make an effort to awaken one another. It cannot be that each one of us knows that we can fall into some black hole, bad mood, weaknesses, pessimism, everything - right. It is natural to each and every one of us, especially in our times, we are such big egoists. By the way, we are the biggest egoists in all of humanity, just that you know, the biggest. Our women are even bigger egoists from all the women in the world, and also from us, and that's good. What to do? We need just to understand the method and to realize it many times. Over the course of the day do I depict it to myself that I am in the group, inside a spiritual framework, and only from within it I can turn to the Creator, and only within it I can receive from the Creator. And to the extent that I annul myself towards them, I am annulling myself towards the Creator in the center.
S. Should the prayer be out of a deficiency? Does it help if the prayer comes from the intellect?
R. Let it be from the mind, from the sensation. The main thing is that we make the effort to see ourselves connected together and turn to the Creator. That is it. And our words, we don't need to pray from some book where we have words that somebody else is feeling. We need to give our feeling. We spoke about this that we need day by day, maybe it doesn't work out on a daily basis, but at least once or twice a week we need to make an effort to connect some prayer, request, in the group to the Creator. That is called a prayer.
3. S. (10:45) From the excerpt, what does it mean that the prayer is lost in the heart?
R. Again.
S. From the excerpt we read, faith that means lost in the heart? That the more lost he is, so is the intensity of the prayer? What does that mean?
R. What I feel in the heart that I lack. Out of this lack I need to raise to the Creator and request correction and fulfillment - that is the prayer. What meaning, what is the action of the prayer? That I feel that I lack correction, I lack fulfillment. The correction I lack, that will be on the intention to bestow. By the force that I have on the intention to bestow, I will be able to perform an action of bestowal, and then rise towards the Creator.
4. S. (12:08) If a person decides but he's not asking anything for himself only for the friends. How can these three conditions be realized in the prayer for the friends, how it not be a lie?
R. Maybe we'll be in the lie but it doesn't matter, where all in a lie, in falsehood. If I want to be only in truth, I won't reveal anything because there is nothing in me that pertains to the truth. I'm entirely, entirely in the intention to bestow which is the lie, the falsehood. The name of the Creator is Emet, truth, Aleph, Mem, Tav, which is Keter, Bina and Malchut. Aleph, Mem, Tav. We are all in falsehood, so what. All of us.
S. The question is, he says, "I have to feel like my death is better than my life". How do I ask for friends and yet feeling that I am not receiving for the friends that I am better off dead than alive?
R. Specifically from this, that you feel yourself in the state of death. Specifically from this state you can request for friends because in such a state that you have nothing to worry about for yourself. Whatever will be will be. I'm nonetheless below death, but then I can request. Then it's truly correct. Then you are at this point of truth that you are seemingly close to death and do not want to feel your will to receive and you can join their desires and fulfill their desires with the intention to bestow them. It's actually good. The main thing is that you don't sit without action.
5. S. (14:20) Last night we read this article in our ten and according to the article we prepared ourselves for the lesson. I understood that practically those three conditions never come by themselves. It is kind of. It's such a high-level question. How should we direct ourselves to inspire one another and give one another examples that these conditions will be met?
R. I believe by this that you will talk amongst yourselves, as it is called, each will help his friend and you will discuss these matters. In sum total there are three conditions. 1. That only the Creator can help. 2, That, me, myself, I can't do anything anymore, I have done everything and 3. If the Creator doesn't help me. I am done, better my death than my life. Meaning, our problem is that we can't get rid of this work. We can't, that even if your body dies, you will need to continue with your point in the heart until the end of correction and onward, and so these three conditions will succeed. that these three conditions that we have here are short and to the point. These we need to feel. First by the group. I need to receive the confidence that only the Creator can help me. That we can receive only through the group because the Creator is called 'the King among his Nation, there is found the Creator. The second matter is, whatever is possible I did, okay maybe I will do more. Give me a thousand more years. I will run around and confuse myself and do so many sleeping. What have I done over these past years? Whatever will be, will be. Meaning, whatever I could have done, did. I've seen only one thing for sure, it doesn't help me and so if the Creator doesn't help me then I'm better off dead than alive. I am willing to die. Many of us are thinking about this already. Why live like this? Better to die? Sometimes, there comes such thoughts, and they are correct thoughts. You see that it is written about it, because in my will to receive, I see that I won't be able to attain anything. To work for him. It's like a drunkard, who gets drunk in order not to feel his own life. Only correction together.
S. This confidence, that only the Creator can do it you said it comes from the group. How does it come from the group? Is it some force that comes from the center of the ten?
R. You're tied to the group to the whole world so I'm telling you listen to what they're saying and try to incorporate, try to listen to it and it will help, it will help. What do you. will hear from the friends your ego will hit you up, will entice you they have it why don't I have it the ego, that's how it functions and through lust and honor we advance.
6. S. (18:40) We act before the friends in the ten and how in this acting, should I lie to myself and to the friends to come to the truth, to the Creator?
R. A person needs also to see himself in a higher degree than he is. If we remain in our state as it is, it's called that I am dead or at least old, elderly, that I don't feel any changes at all or as elderly, I like to remain as I was; nothing should change because it can’t be any better, at least it won't be worse. That's called old, elderly. A person needs to always nonetheless reveal himself in ascent, in something in ascent, I recommend dissemination. If I wouldn't have engaged in dissemination and teaching, it would be very hard for me and the group, in the group there is renewal, all right.
7. S. (20:47) In the second condition, how do I carry out the second condition so I can say wholeheartedly that I did everything I could to do?
R. That's the shell it's telling you, oh you didn't try everything, you need to keep going if you wouldn't listen to the shell, you also have this in the Shamati article, that the shell comes and tells you, you didn't try this, you didn't try that, you need to still try doing this and so on. So if you didn't listen to the shell long ago you would have reached a state that there's nothing more I have to do. I need to scream and yell to the Creator with all my force
S. But I can add in connection all the time, isn't this all I can do? I can always do more labor and raise more MAN.
R. But there's no prayer in this. The prayer needs to be in connection of these three conditions. Are you in these three conditions are not?
S. So if I understand correctly, I don't need to relate to this shell anymore?
R. No, you didn't know you don't need to go back again and again and do the same thing, when I need to learn some addition and learn something and then maybe I'll be worthy, why not now? Who's telling you that you're not worthy now for the revelation of the Creator and the end of correction? Only the lack of desire the lack of urgency for it
S. There is urgency but it feels like I feel everything and there's nothing around anything else to be revealed.
R. That's called that there's no pressure, no pressure.
S. How do I create this pressure?
R. Only by the group and like we are discussing and to renew each and every moment to renew, renew. For me there's no choice, I know that tomorrow there will be a lesson and I need to be prepared and not just discuss the topic, right, read a few sentences. Meaning I need also to shake you guys up and arrange you in a certain connection day-by-day and give you inner fulfillment and so on. That's what I need to do. That's what I must.
S. If I understand correctly every second every moment, I can say I did everything I could?
R. Yes.
S. Every second I should say I did everything I could?
R. As long as you stand on this condition.
S. Because I'm stuck with this condition, once I get over it, I will continue?
R. What did you do, you did everything in order to scrutinize in you, the result is not dependent on you. That here you must reach a different advice, different choice as it's written, he has no other choice any longer, he's done everything that he could, that's it, there's nothing more you have that you can do. But you're saying no, I can continue, there's no more to continue, you're stuck at a wall, what do you do more? Here you see what you did before no longer helps. There's a wall before you and rather what, only to yell to the Creator that that must be now, then we need to learn about this and organize for it, what is the true prayer, the whole prayer. That upon it, the Creator answers, that is connection between us, scrutinize the request, of the goal, the urgency. Then in such a matter we will succeed
8. S. (25:25) What do we do if we feel we have no time, we're always behind?
R. It's a sign you don't know how to scrutinize, what is important and what is not.
S. What does that mean?
R. Just like that scrutinize what is important and what is not
S. What work in the ten, dissemination, what should the emphasis be on?
R. You need to scrutinize you’re asking me?