Purpose of Society - 1. 1-1 (1984)
Purpose of Society - 2. 1-2 (1984)
Concerning Love of Friends. 2 (1984)
Love of Friends - 1. 3 (1984)
Each One Shall Help His Friend. 4 (1984)
What Does the Rule "Love Thy Friend as Thyself" Give Us. 5 (1984)
Love of Friends - 2. 6 (1984)
According to What Is Explained Concerning “Love Thy Friend as Thyself”. 7 (1984)
Which Keeping of Torah and Mitzvot Purifies the Heart. 8 (1984)
One Should Always Sell the Beams of His House. 9 (1984)
Achieve in Order Not to Have to Reincarnate?. 10 (1984)
Concerning Ancestral Merit. 11 (1984)
Concerning the Importance of Society. 12 (1984)
Sometimes Spirituality Is Called “a Soul”. 13 (1984)
Forevermore One Sells All That Is His and Marries a Wise Disciple's Daughter. 14 (1984)
Can Something Negative Come Down from Above. 15 (1984)
Concerning Bestowal. 16 (1984)
Concerning the Importance of Friends. 17-1 (1984)
The Agenda of the Assembly - 1. 17-2 (1984)
And It Shall Come to Pass When You Come to the Land that the Lord Your God Gives You. 18 (1984)
You Stand Today, All of You. 19 (1984)
Make for Yourself a Rav and Buy Yourself a Friend - 1. 1 (1985)
The Meaning of Branch and Root. 2 (1985)
The Meaning of Truth and Faith. 3 (1985)
These Are the Generations of Noah. 4 (1985)
Go Forth From Your Land. 5 (1985)
And the Lord Appeared to Him at the Oaks of Mamre. 6 (1985)
The Life of Sarah. 7 (1985)
Make for Yourself a Rav and Buy Yourself a Friend - 2. 8 (1985)
Jacob Went Out. 9 (1985)
And Jacob Went Out. 10 (1985)
Concerning the Debate between Jacob and Laban. 11 (1985)
Jacob Dwelled in the Land Where His Father Had Lived. 12 (1985)
Mighty Rock of My Salvation. 13 (1985)
I Am the First and I Am the Last. 14 (1985)
And Hezekiah Turned His Face to the Wall. 15 (1985)
But the More They Afflicted Them. 16 (1985)
Know Today and Reply to Your Heart. 17 (1985)
Concerning the Slanderers. 18 (1985)
Come unto Pharaoh - 1. 19 (1985)
He who Hardens His Heart. 20 (1985)
We Should Always Discern between Torah and Work. 21 (1985)
The Whole of the Torah Is One Holy Name. 22 (1985)
On My Bed at Night. 23 (1985)
Three Times in the Work. 24 (1985)
In Every Thing We Must Discern between Light and Kli. 25 (1985)
Show Me Your Glory. 26 (1985)
Repentance. 27 (1985)
The Spies. 28 (1985)
The Lord Is Near to All Who Call upon Him. 29 (1985)
Three Prayers. 30 (1985)
One Does Not Regard Oneself as Wicked. 31 (1985)
Concerning the Reward of the Receivers. 32 (1985)
The Felons of Israel. 33 (1985)
And I Pleaded with the Lord. 34 (1985)
When a Person Knows What Is Fear of the Creator. 35 (1985)
And There Was Evening and There Was Morning. 36 (1985)
Who Testifies to a Person. 37 (1985)
A Righteous Who Is Happy, a Righteous Who Is Suffering. 38 (1985)
Hear Our Voice. 39 (1985)
Moses Went. 1 (1986)
Lend Ear, O Heaven. 2 (1986)
Man Is Rewarded with Righteousness and Peace through the Torah. 3 (1986)
Concerning Hesed [Mercy]. 4 (1986)
Concerning Respecting the Father. 5 (1986)
Confidence. 6 (1986)
The Importance of a Prayer of Many. 7 (1986)
Concerning Help that Comes from Above. 8 (1986)
Concerning the Hanukkah Candle. 9 (1986)
Concerning Prayer. 10 (1986)
A Real Prayer Is over a Real Deficiency. 11 (1986)
What Is the Main Deficiency for which One Should Pray?. 12 (1986)
Come unto Pharaoh – 2. 13 (1986)
What Is the Need to Borrow Vessels from the Egyptians?. 14 (1986)
A Prayer of Many. 15 (1986)
The Lord Has Chosen Jacob for Himself. 16 (1986)
The Agenda of the Assembly - 2. 17 (1986)
Who Causes the Prayer. 18 (1986)
Concerning Joy. 19 (1986)
Should One Sin and Be Guilty. 20 (1986)
Concerning Above Reason. 21 (1986)
If a Woman Inseminates. 22 (1986)
Concerning Fear and Joy. 23 (1986)
The Difference between Charity and Gift. 24 (1986)
The Measure of Practicing Mitzvot [Commandments]. 25 (1986)
A Near Way and a Far Way. 26 (1986)
The Creator and Israel Went into Exile. 27 (1986)
A Congregation Is No Less than Ten. 28 (1986)
Lishma and Lo Lishma. 29 (1986)
The Klipa [Shell/Peel] that Precedes the Fruit. 30 (1986)
Concerning Yenika [Suckling] and Ibur [Impregnation]. 31 (1986)
The Reason for Straightening the Legs and Covering the Head During the Prayer. 32 (1986)
What Are Commandments that a Person Tramples with His Feet. 33 (1986)
Judges and Officers. 34 (1986)
The Fifteenth of Av. 35 (1986)
What Is Preparation for the Selichot [Forgiveness]. 36 (1986)
The Good Who Does Good, to the Bad and to the Good. 1 (1987)
The Importance of Recognition of Evil. 2 (1987)
All of Israel Have a Part in the Next World. 3 (1987)
It is Forbidden to Hear a Good Thing From a Bad Person. 4 (1987)
What Is the Advantage in the Work More than in the Reward?. 5 (1987)
The Importance of Faith that Is Always Present. 6 (1987)
The Miracle of Hanukkah. 7 (1987)
The Difference between Mercy and Truth and Untrue Mercy. 8 (1987)
One’s Greatness Depends on the Measure of One’s Faith in the Future. 9 (1987)
What Is the Substance of Slander and Against Whom Is It?. 10 (1987)
Purim, and the Commandment: Until He until He Does Not Know. 11 (1987)
What Is Half a Shekel in the Work - 1. 12 (1987)
Why the Festival of Matzot Is Called Passover. 13 (1987)
The Connection between Passover, Matza, and Maror. 14 (1987)
Two Discernments in Holiness. 15 (1987)
The Difference between the Work of the General Public and the Work of the Individual . 16 (1987)
The Severity of Teaching Idol Worshippers the Torah. 17 (1987)
What Is Preparation for Reception of the Torah - 1. 18 (1987)
What Are Revealed and Concealed in the Work of the Creator?. 19 (1987)
What Is Man’s Private Possession?. 20 (1987)
What Are Dirty Hands in the Work of the Creator?. 21 (1987)
What Is the Gift that a Person Asks of the Creator?. 22 (1987)
Peace After a Dispute Is More Important than Having No Disputes At All. 23 (1987)
What is Unfounded Hatred in the Work. 24 (1987)
What Is Heaviness of the Head in the Work?. 25 (1987)
What Is a Light Commandment. 26 (1987)
What Are “Blessing” and “Curse” in the Work?. 27 (1987)
What Is Do Not Add and Do Not Take Away in the Work?. 28 (1987)
What Is “According to the Sorrow, So Is the Reward”?. 29 (1987)
What Is a War Over Authority in the Work – 1. 30 (1987)
What Is Making a Covenant in the Work. 31 (1987)
Why Life Is Divided into Two Discernments. 1 (1988)
What Is the Extent of Teshuva [Repentance]?. 2 (1988)
What It Means that the Name of the Creator is “Truth”. 3 (1988)
What Is the Prayer for Help and for Forgiveness in the Work?. 4 (1988)
What Is, “When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is with Them,” in the Work?. 5 (1988)
What Is the Difference between a Field and a Man of the Field, in the Work?. 6 (1988)
What Is the Importance of the Groom, that His Iniquities Are Forgiven?. 7 (1988)
What Does It Mean that One Who Prays Should Explain His Words Properly?. 8 (1988)
What Does It Mean that the Righteous Suffers Afflictions?. 9 (1988)
What Are the Four Qualities of Those Who Go to the Seminary, in the Work?. 10 (1988)
What Are the Two Discernments before Lishma?. 11 (1988)
What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?. 12 (1988)
What Is “the People’s Shepherd Is the Whole People” in the Work?. 13 (1988)
The Need for Love of Friends. 14 (1988)
What Is “There Is No Blessing in an Empty Place” in the Work?. 15 (1988)
What Is the Foundation on which Kedusha [Holiness] Is Built?. 16 (1988)
The Main Difference between a Beastly Soul and a Godly Soul. 17 (1988)
When Is One Considered “A Worker of the Creator” in the Work?. 18 (1988)
What Are Silver, Gold, Israel, Rest of Nations, in the Work?. 19 (1988)
What Is the Reward in the Work of Bestowal?. 20 (1988)
What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given Out of the Darkness in the Work?. 21 (1988)
What Are Merits and Iniquities of a Righteous in the Work?. 22 (1988)
What Beginning in Lo Lishma Means in the Work. 23 (1988)
What Is “The Concealed Things Belong to the Lord, and the Revealed Things Belong to Us,” in the Work?. 24 (1988)
What Is the Preparation on the Eve of Shabbat, in the Work?. 25 (1988)
What Is the Difference between Law and Judgment in the Work?. 26 (1988)
What Is, “The Creator Does Not Tolerate the Proud,” in the Work?. 27 (1988)
What Is, His Guidance Is Concealed and Revealed?. 28 (1988)
How to Recognize One Who Serves God from One Who Does Not Serve Him. 29 (1988)
What to Look for in the Assembly of Friends. 30 (1988)
What Is the Work of Man, in the Work that Is Attributed to the Creator?. 31 (1988)
What Are the Two Actions During a Descent?. 32 (1988)
What Is the Difference between General and Individual in the Work of the Creator?. 33 (1988)
What Are Day and Night in the Work?. 34 (1988)
What Is the Help in the Work that One Should Ask of the Creator?. 35 (1988)
What Is the Measure of Repentance?. 1 (1989)
What Is a Great or a Small Sin in the Work?. 2 (1989)
What Is the Difference between the Gate of Tears and the Rest of the Gates?. 3 (1989)
What Is a Flood of Water in the Work?. 4 (1989)
What Does It Mean that the Creation of the World Was by Largess?. 5 (1989)
What Is Above Reason in the Work?. 6 (1989)
What Is “He Who Did Not Toil on the Eve of Shabbat, What Will He Eat on Shabbat” in the Work?. 7 (1989)
What It Means, in the Work, that If the Good Grows, So Grows the Bad. 8 (1989)
What Is, “Calamity that Comes upon the Wicked Begins with the Righteous,” in the Work?. 9 (1989)
What Does It Mean that the Ladder Is Diagonal, in the Work?. 10 (1989)
What Are the Forces Required in the Work?. 11 (1989)
What Is a Groom’s Meal?. 12 (1989)
What Is the “Bread of an Evil-Eyed Man” in the Work?. 13 (1989)
What Is the Meaning of “Reply unto Your Heart”?. 14 (1989)
What Is, “The Righteous Become Apparent through the Wicked,” in the Work?. 15 (1989)
What Is the Prohibition to Bless on an Empty Table, in the Work?. 16 (1989)
What Is the Prohibition to Greet Before Blessing the Creator, in the Work?. 17 (1989)
What Is, “There Is No Blessing in That Which Is Counted,” in the Work?. 18 (1989)
Why Is Shabbat Called Shin-Bat in the Work?. 19 (1989)
What Does It Mean that the Evil Inclination Ascends and Slanders, in the Work?. 20 (1989)
What Is, “A Drunken Man Must Not Pray, in the Work?. 21 (1989)
Why Are Four Questions Asked Specifically on Passover Night?. 22 (1989)
What Is, If He Swallows the Bitter Herb, He Will Not Come Out, in the Work?. 23 (1989)
What Is “Do Not Slight the Blessing of a Layperson” in the Work?. 24 (1989)
What Is “He Who Has a Flaw Shall Not Offer [Sacrifice]” in the Work?. 25 (1989)
What Is “He Who Defiles Himself Is Defiled from Above” in the Work?. 26 (1989)
What Is the Meaning of Suffering in the Work?. 27 (1989)
Who Needs to Know that a Person Withstood the Test?. 28 (1989)
What Is the Preparation to Receive the Torah in the Work?-2. 29 (1989)
What Is the Meaning of Lighting the Menorah in the Work?. 30 (1989)
What Is the Prohibition to Teach Torah to Idol-Worshippers in the Work?. 31 (1989)
What Does It Mean that Oil Is Called “Good Deeds” in the Work?. 32 (1989)
What Are Spies in the Work?. 33 (1989)
What Is Peace in the Work?. 34 (1989)
What Is, “He Who Is Without Sons,” in the Work?. 35 (1989)
What Is “For It Is Your Wisdom and Understanding in the Eyes of the Nations,” in the Work?. 36 (1989)
What Is “A Road Whose Beginning Is Thorns and Its End Is a Plain” in the Work?. 37 (1989)
What Are Judges and Officers in the Work?. 38 (1989)
What Is, “The Torah Speaks Only Against the Evil Inclination,” in the Work?. 39 (1989)
What Is, “Every Day They Will Be as New in Your Eyes,” in the Work?. 40 (1989)
The Daily Schedule. 41 (1989)
What Does “May We Be the Head and Not the Tail” Mean in the Work?. 1 (1990)
What Is the Meaning of Failure in the Work?. 2 (1990)
What It Means that the World Was Created for the Torah. 3 (1990)
What It Means that the Generations of the Righteous are Good Deeds, in the Work. 4 (1990)
What It Means that the Land Did Not Bear Fruit before Man Was Created, in the Work. 5 (1990)
When Should One Use Pride in the Work?. 6 (1990)
What Are the Times of Prayer and Gratitude in the Work?. 7 (1990)
What It Means that Esau Was Called “A Man of the Field,” in the Work. 8 (1990)
What Is, “A Ladder Is Set on the Earth, and Its Top Reaches Heaven,” in the Work?. 9 (1990)
What Does It Mean that Our Sages Said, “King David Did Not Have a Life,” in the Work?. 10 (1990)
What Placing the Hanukkah Candle on the Left Means in the Work. 11 (1990)
Why Is the Torah Called “Middle Line” in the Work? - 1. 12 (1990)
What Does It Mean that by the Unification of the Creator and the Shechina, All Iniquities Are Atoned?. 13 (1990)
What Is True Hesed in the Work?. 14 (1990)
What Does It Mean that Before the Egyptian Minister Fell, Their Outcry Was Not Answered, in the Work?. 15 (1990)
What Is “For Lack of Spirit and for Hard Work,” in the Work?. 16 (1990)
What Is the Assistance that He who Comes to Purify Receives in the Work?. 17 (1990)
Why the Speech of Shabbat Must Not Be as the Speech of a Weekday, in the Work. 18 (1990)
Why Is the Torah Called “Middle Line” in the Work?-2. 19 (1990)
What Is Half a Shekel in the Work? - 2. 20 (1990)
What Is, “As I Am for Nothing, so You Are for Nothing,” in the Work?. 21 (1990)
What Is the Order in Blotting Out Amalek?. 22 (1990)
What Does It Mean that Moses Was Perplexed about the Birth of the Moon, in the Work?. 23 (1990)
What Does, “Everything that Comes to Be a Burnt Offering Is Male,” Mean in the Work?. 24 (1990)
What Is, “Praise the Lord, All Nations,” in the Work?. 25 (1990)
What Is, “There Is None as Holy as the Lord, for There Is None Besides You,” in the Work?. 26 (1990)
What Is, “Every Blade of Grass Has an Appointee Above, Who Strikes It and Tells It, Grow!” in the Work?. 27 (1990)
What Is, “Warn the Great about the Small,” in the Work?. 28 (1990)
What Is, “The Torah Exhausts a Person’s Strength,” in the Work?. 29 (1990)
What It Means that “Law and Ordinance” Is the Name of the Creator in the Work. 30 (1990)
What “There Is No Blessing in That Which Is Counted” Means in the Work. 31 (1990)
What “Israel Do the Creator’s Will” Means in the Work. 32 (1990)
What Is “The Earth Feared and Was Still,” in the Work?. 33 (1990)
What Are “A Layperson’s Vessels,” in the Work?. 34 (1990)
What Is “He Who Enjoys at a Groom’s Meal,” in the Work?. 35 (1990)
What Is, “The Children of Esau and Ishmael Did Not Want to Receive the Torah,” in the Work?. 36 (1990)
What Is, “The Shechina Is a Testimony to Israel,” in the Work?. 37 (1990)
What Is, “A Cup of Blessing Must Be Full,” in the Work?. 38 (1990)
What Is, “Anyone Who Mourns forJerusalem Is Rewarded with Seeing Its Joy,” in the Work?. 39 (1990)
What Is, “For You Are the Least of All the Peoples,” in the Work?. 40 (1990)
What Are the Light Mitzvot that a Person Tramples with His Heels, in the Work?. 41 (1990)
What Are a Blessing and a Curse, in the Work?. 42 (1990)
What Is, “You Shall Not Plant for Yourself an Asherah by the Altar,” in the Work?. 43 (1990)
What Is an Optional War, in the work? - 2. 44 (1990)
What Is, “The Concealed Things Belong to the Lord Our God,” in the work?. 45 (1990)
The Order of the Work, from Baal HaSulam. 46 (1990)
What Is, “We Have No Other King But You,” in the Work?. 1 (1991)
What Is, “Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,” in the Work?. 2 (1991)
What Is, “The Wicked Will Prepare and the Righteous Will Wear,” in the Work?. 3 (1991)
What Is, “The Saboteur Was in the Flood, and Was Putting to Death,” in the Work?. 4 (1991)
What Is, “The Good Deeds of the Righteous Are the Generations,” in the Work?. 5 (1991)
What Is, “The Herdsmen of Abram’s Cattle and the Herdsmen of Lot’s Cattle,” in the Work?. 6 (1991)
What Is “Man” and What Is “Beast” in the Work?. 7 (1991)
What Is, “And Abraham Was Old, of Many Days,” in the Work?. 8 (1991)
What Is, “The Smell of His Garments,” in the Work?. 9 (1991)
What Does “The King Stands on His Field When the Crop Is Ripe” Mean in the Work?. 10 (1991)
What It Means that the Good Inclination and the Evil Inclination Guard a Person in the Work. 11 (1991)
These Candles Are Sacred. 12 (1991)
What “You Have Given the Strong to the Hands of the Weak” Means in the Work. 13 (1991)
What Does It Mean that Man’s Blessing Is the Blessing of the Sons, in the Work?. 14 (1991)
What Is the Blessing, “Who Made a Miracle for Me in This Place,” in the Work?. 15 (1991)
Why We Need “Reply unto Your Heart,” to Know that the Lord, He Is God, in the Work. 16 (1991)
What Is, “For I Have Hardened His Heart,” in the work?. 17 (1991)
What It Means that We Should Raise the Right Hand over the Left Hand, in the Work. 18 (1991)
What Is, “Rise Up, O Lord, and Let Your Enemies Be Scattered,” in the Work?. 19 (1991)
What Is, “There Is Nothing that Has No Place,” in the Work?. 20 (1991)
What Does It Mean that We Read the Portion, Zachor [Remember], Before Purim, in the Work?. 21 (1991)
What Is “A Lily Among the Thorns,” in the Work?. 22 (1991)
What Is the Meaning of the Purification of a Cow’s Ashes, in the Work?. 23 (1991)
What Does It Mean that One Should Bear a Son and a Daughter, in the Work?. 24 (1991)
What Does It Mean that One Who Repents Should Be in Happiness?. 25 (1991)
What Is Revealing a Portion and Covering Two Portions in the Work?. 26 (1991)
What Is, “If a Woman Inseminates First, She Delivers a Male Child,” in the Work?. 27 (1991)
What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?. 28 (1991)
What Does It Mean that a High Priest Should Take a Virgin Wife, in the Work?. 29 (1991)
What Does It Mean that One Who Was On a Far Off Way Is Postponed to a Second Passover, in the Work?. 30 (1991)
What Does It Mean that Charity to the Poor Makes the Holy Name, in the Work?. 31 (1991)
What Are Banners in the Work?. 32 (1991)
What Does It Mean that the Creator Favors Someone, in the Work?. 33 (1991)
What Is Eating Their Fruits in This World and Keeping the Principal for the Next World, in the Work?. 34 (1991)
What Is the Meaning of “Spies,” in the Work?. 35 (1991)
What Is, “Peace, Peace, to the Far and to the Near,” in the Work?. 36 (1991)
What Is the “Torah” and What Is “The Statute of the Torah,” in the Work?. 37 (1991)
What Is the “Right Line,” in the Work?. 38 (1991)
What Does It Mean that the Right Must Be Greater than the Left, in the Work?. 39 (1991)
What Are Truth and Falsehood in the Work?. 40 (1991)
What Should One Do If He Was Born With Bad Qualities?. 41 (1991)
What Is, “An Ox Knows Its Owner, etc., Israel Does Not Know,” in the Work?. 42 (1991)
What Is, “You Will See My Back, But My Face Shall Not Be Seen,” in the Work?. 43 (1991)
What Is the Reason for which Israel Were Rewarded with Inheritance of the Land, in the Work?. 44 (1991)
What Does It Mean that a Judge Must Judge Absolutely Truthfully, in the Work?. 45 (1991)
What Is the Son of the Beloved and the Son of the Hated in the Work?. 46 (1991)
What Does It Mean that the Right and the Left Are in Contrast, in the Work?. 47 (1991)
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A Congregation Is No Less than Ten
 
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A Congregation Is No Less than Ten

Article 28, 1986

It is written in The Zohar, Nasso (item 105): “Rabbi Elazar started, ‘Why have I come and there is no man?’ How beloved are Israel by the Creator, for wherever they are, the Creator is among them. ‘And let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them.’ Every synagogue in the world is called a ‘Temple.’ ‘And I will dwell among them,’ since the Shechina [Divinity] comes to the synagogue first. Happy is he who is among those first ones in the synagogue, since by them what is completed is completed, meaning the congregation, which is no less than ten. Also, the ten must be in the synagogue at once, and not come one at a time, since all ten are as organs of one body, in which the Shechina resides, for the Creator has made man at once, and established all his organs together, as it is written, ‘He has made you and established you.’”

We should discern in the above words:

1) Why does he say, “Wherever Israel are, the Creator is among them”? This implies that there is no need for a special place. Afterwards he says, “And let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them,” meaning specifically in the synagogue.

2) The words, “And let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them,” imply that first there must be some preparation, meaning “making the Temple,” and then “I will dwell,” and not just like that.

3) What is the question that he asks, “Why have I come and there is no man?” If you say that the Shechina comes to the synagogue first, of course there is still no one there.

4) It is difficult to understand what he says, “The ten must be in the synagogue at once, and not come one at a time.” Can it be said that all those who come to the synagogue should wait outside until ten men have gathered, and then they will all enter at once? We have never seen such a thing. So what does it mean that they must not come one at a time?

To understand the above we will explain in the work how to begin the order of the work in a manner of bestowal, called “not in order to receive reward.” First, we must remember two things, which are “giver” and “receiver.” This extends from His desire to do good to His creations, which is why He has created creatures—to receive the delight and pleasure that He wants to give them. This receiver, namely the Kli [vessel] that the Creator created in which to receive the delight and pleasure, is called “desire to receive delight and pleasure.” He can enjoy this to the extent of the craving for it. That is, the Kli in which we receive pleasure is called “craving.”

We attribute these Kelim [vessels] to the Creator. That is, the Kli that initially received from the Creator is called Malchut, or Behina Dalet [Fourth Phase (discernment)], which means that it is a craving to receive delight and pleasure. This is called a Kli of Ohr Yashar [Direct Light]. This is the Kli that was used prior to the Tzimtzum [restriction], and it is called Malchut de Ein Sof [infinity/no end].

Afterwards there was a correction to prevent the bread of shame, since there is a rule in the nature that the Creator has created, that the branch wants to resemble its root. Why is there such a nature? We are forbidden to ask because with respect to the Creator, says the holy Zohar, “There is no thought or perception in Him at all.” This means that the lower ones cannot attain the thoughts of the Creator.

Everything we say is only in the form of “By Your actions we know You,” meaning we speak only through the actions that appear to our eyes, from what we see and can explain, but not before the act that appears before us. For this reason we begin to speak of the first connection between the Creator and the creatures, called “His desire to do good to His creations.” Prior to this we cannot speak because we have no attainment in Him. Hence, we only see that in nature, the branch wants to resemble its root.

To correct this, meaning that because the receiver wants equivalence of form with the root, and if it were to receive it would feel unpleasantness, the Tzimtzum occurred, called “not wanting to receive in order to receive,” but to receive only if he can receive it in order to bestow. This caused us not to be able to receive abundance with the Kli called “desire to receive,” but rather with a new Kli, called “Ohr Hozer” [Reflected Light]. It means that the Ohr Yashar is regarded as the abundance that the Creator gives to the lower ones, and Ohr Hozer is the opposite—that which the lower ones wish to give the Creator.

For this reason, Ohr Yashar is called “from above downward,” meaning that the upper one, the Giver, namely the Creator, gives to the lower ones. Conversely, the Ohr Hozer is called “from below upward,” meaning the lower one, who is the receiver, wants to bestow upon the Creator. We attribute this Kli, called “in order to bestow,” to the lower one because the lower one did it in order to correct itself, since it wants to resemble its root. It is as we learn, that in the world of Ein Sof, the Kli of Malchut received the light in the Kli of Ohr Yashar, meaning in a Kli that came from the upper one. But the Kli of Ohr Hozer is a Kli that the lower one should make.

After the correction to receive only in Kelim of Ohr Hozer was made, all the worlds and many degrees extended from it. Because this Kli extends from the lower one, it cannot be completed at once, but bit by bit, according to the strength of the lower ones. Therefore, since many Kelim were made, the lights divide into many degrees. This was not so when what we attribute to the Creator, called “receiving in order to receive,” illuminated in the Kli. The Creator created this Kli at once, in full, so naturally, it was one simple light, without distinction of degrees.

It is as he writes in the book, Tree of Life (presented in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, p 1): “Know that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures created, the upper, simple light had filled the whole of reality. However, everything was one, simple light, completely equal, and it is called ‘the light of Ein Sof.’” The reason is that since we attribute this Kli to the Creator, it is completed in whole, hence they received one light, without distinction of degrees.

But the Kli that we attribute to the lower one cannot be completed at once. Rather, all the work we must exert in is only one—to make a Kli called Ohr Hozer. This means that the lower one wants to receive delight and pleasure from the Creator only because he wants to bestow upon the Creator, and this is called Ohr Hozer [Reflected Light]. When the lower one realizes that he has no desire to receive for himself, but that he wants to delight the Creator, he calculates what he can give to the Creator that the Creator will enjoy.

At that time he sees that he can give only one thing that will delight the Creator. Since the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations, and the Creator wants to give delight and pleasure to the creatures, he says, “I want to receive delight and pleasure because I want to please the Creator.” And the more abundance he can receive—meaning that he feels the greatest pleasure from the abundance that he receives—the Creator will certainly enjoy this more.

This is similar to a person who invited over an important person. The man and his household toiled all day and all night so that the important guest would enjoy the food. When the guest ate the meal, which cost him great efforts, and in which he did everything to delight the guest, at the end of the meal he asked the guest, “What do you say about our meal? Did you ever taste a meal like this?”

He replied to him: “To tell you the truth, I don’t care what I eat. I never regarded the pleasure I can derive from food, so I wouldn’t mind if you prepared a simpler meal, since I hear from you that you put great efforts into it.” When the landlord hears this, what pleasure does he have from giving him a big meal?

The lesson is that if a person receives delight and pleasure from the Creator because he wants to delight the Creator by helping Him carry out the purpose of creation—that the Creator wants to delight His creatures—but he says that he derives no joy from the delight and pleasure he receives from the Creator, then what contentment is he bringing to the Creator by saying that he doesn’t feel any taste in His delight and pleasure, and that to him it is all the same?

It therefore follows that if one can try to constantly increase what he is receiving from the Creator and appreciate the King’s gift, there is a reason for it: He can say to the Creator, “I am receiving great pleasure from You because I know that only with this I can delight You, and this is why I want to receive plentiful pleasures.”

However, we must remember that after the sin of the tree of knowledge that Adam HaRishon sinned, man became as dust, receiving in order to receive. This extends from the worlds ABYA de Tuma’a [impurity], as it is written in the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar” (item 25), “It is incumbent upon man to receive strength from above by the merit of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments], so he can bestow, and this is called ‘Israel,’ meaning Yashar-El [straight to the Creator]. This means that all his thoughts and desires are only to bring contentment to the Creator. But if he still does not have this desire, it is considered that the person is in exile among the nations of the world, who enslave him to work only for self-love, which is ‘receiving in order to receive.’ This pertains to the Klipot [shells/peels], and not to Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], as it is written, ‘You will be holy for I am holy.’ This means that as the Creator is only about bestowal, your intention will also be only to bestow.”

But the opposite of that, meaning when his intention is not to bestow, it is regarded as the opposite of Israel. Rather, it is called “straight to the nations of the world,” since they are opposite in form from the Creator, whose desire is only to bestow. But if in this place there is Yashar-El—where he is in equivalence of form with the Creator—meaning that there is no other authority there, in that place comes the instilling of the Shechina, as it is written, “Wherever I mention My name, I will come to you and bless you.” This means that the Creator says, “If I can say that only My name is in this place, and the creature’s authority is not upon it, since the lower one wants only to bestow upon the Creator, then “I will come to you and bless you,” meaning that on this place I instill My Shechina.

By this we will understand what we asked about the holy Zohar’s saying that wherever they are, the Creator is among them, which implies that there is no need for a special place. Afterwards it says as it is written, “And let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them,” meaning precisely in a Temple, and not just anywhere.

We should interpret his saying “wherever they are” to mean wherever “they,” meaning Yashar-El, are present, where the meaning of Yashar-El is straight to the Creator, who are in equivalence of form with the Creator. That is, as the Creator gives mercy, they, too, want only to bestow upon the Creator. And since there is equivalence of form, to that extent the Tzimtzum is removed. Hence in this place there is the Shechina.

This is called, “And let them make Me a Temple,” as it is written, “You will be holy for I the Lord am holy.” It follows that “Israel” and “Let them make Me a Temple” are one thing. That is, saying, “And let them make Me a Temple” is preparation and great work to make the place, which is the desire, as Baal HaSulam said, that in spirituality, “place” means desire, meaning a desire of Kedusha, which is in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. This is called “Israel,” Yashar-El.

Now we will explain the second question, what is the question that he asks, “Why have I come and there is no man?” Certainly, if he says that the Shechina comes to the synagogue first, of course there is still no one there, so why does he say, “Why have I come and there is no man”?

However, first we need to understand what “man” means. We should interpret “man” to mean as it is written, “Happy is the man who did not walk in the counsel of the wicked.” That is, there is “man” and there is “beast.” “Beast” means one who is immersed in self-love and does what beasts do. It follows that the meaning of “Why have I come” means that I have come before you. However, that, too, needs explanation: How can we say that the Creator came to the synagogue first, if “The whole earth is full of His glory?” Thus, what does it mean that the Creator comes to the synagogue before the people who are praying?

We should interpret that it is as Baal HaSulam interpreted the verse, “Before they call, I will answer.” It means that when a person goes to pray, it happens because I have given him a thought and desire to come to the synagogue to be a man. In the end, I find him in the synagogue praying for self-love, like a beast. It follows that when he says, “Why have I come,” it means “Why have I given him a desire to go to the synagogue, so he will pray for matters of Kedusha, which is a Temple, and to be Israel, and in the end “there is no man.” Instead, I see that everyone is praying for beastly needs.

Now we will explain what we asked about his saying that there must be ten in the synagogue at once, and not come one at a time. We asked, “Should they all wait outside until ten men have gathered, and then they will all enter together? Have we ever seen such a thing?” He brings evidence from the Creator, “For man, the Creator has made him at once.” But we should also understand the evidence itself.

To interpret this we must first understand why we need specifically ten men present in the synagogue, or the Shechina will not be able to be there. He gives a reason, that “a congregation is no less than ten.” We should also understand this—why specifically ten and not more or less. That is, if there are nine men there, it is not regarded as a congregation, and if there are eleven, it does not add anything, as it is said about testimony: “two as one hundred and one hundred as two” (Shavuot, p 42). Rather, it is specifically ten, as our sages said (Sanhedrin, 39), “In every ten there is Shechina.”

It is known that Malchut is called “tenth.” It is also known that the receiving Kli is also called “the Sefira Malchut,” who is the tenth Sefira, receiving the upper abundance. She is called “will to receive,” and all the creatures extend only from her. For this reason, a congregation is no less than ten, since all the corporeal branches extend from the upper roots. Therefore, according to the rule, “There is no light that does not have ten Sefirot,” in corporeality, something is not considered a congregation that can be regarded as important unless there are ten men there, such as the upper degrees.

Now we can understand the meaning of ten, when the Creator asks, “Why have I come and there is no man?” It pertains to “man” and not to “beast,” referring to the kingdom of heaven, which is the tenth Sefira, meaning we must pray for the exile of the Shechina, which the holy Zohar calls, “Shechina in the dust.” Thus, the meaning will be that if the Creator does not find ten there, it means that “I have come first and have given you a desire and awakening to come to the synagogue, to ask for prayer for the exile of the Shechina, who is called ‘ten,’ which is the tenth Sefira, and I did not find anyone to pray for the tenth. Instead, I find everyone praying for things that pertain to beasts and not to people.”

Similarly, we should interpret what he says, “They must all be at once, and not one at a time.” We should interpret that we need the reception of the kingdom of heaven to be at once, and not to say, “Today I want to take upon myself a little bit of the burden of the kingdom of heaven, meaning only when I am at the synagogue. Afterwards, when I go home, I want to enjoy self-love.”

That is, he says that he agrees to work in order to bestow some of the time, but not to give all his time only for the glory of heaven. Rather, when one takes upon oneself the burden of the kingdom of heaven he must ask the Creator to make it forever, and not only when he is at the synagogue. We can interpret that having to have ten present at the synagogue at once and not come one at a time means that he should not say, “Now I am assuming a little bit of the kingdom of heaven, and later some more.” Rather, each acceptance of the burden of the kingdom of heaven should be at once, meaning at once over his entire life, and not today some and tomorrow some more.

Therefore, if assuming the burden of the kingdom of heaven is over a complete thing, then although he later descends from his degree, since his acceptance was complete, called “ten at once,” where “at once” means over his entire life, many pennies join into a great amount, until he is rewarded with faith, which is the permanent kingdom of heaven.

This was not so while assuming the kingdom of heaven was only partial, meaning that he received the kingdom of heaven only for the time being and not permanently. It follows that this is incomplete, so how can he join them into the great amount until he is rewarded with permanent faith? Therefore, when one takes upon oneself the burden of the kingdom of heaven, he should see that it is a complete thing. This is why he says that they should be in the synagogue at once, meaning once and for all. That is, he wants the reception of the kingdom of heaven to be forever.