Morning Lesson September 23, 2022, Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 2:
Baal HaSulam. The History of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
https://kabbalahmedia.info/sources/qEIUUafR
1. R. (00:08) Yes, this is a very short article and this is the way Baal HaSulam probably wanted to write many things but it seems to me that he immediately understood that there's going to be a dispute with other Kabbalists or something, that he shouldn't keep on going, because there is a lot of disputes here, so what we have we have, let's read it and we'll see what we should do.
Reading the history of the wisdom of Kabbalah (00:58) twice
2. S. (04:04) The oral Torah that is mentioned here can we present it today in our studies and in dissemination?
R. Today we are permitted to do everything, everything is whatever is written down and whatever is printed in many ways, when a person can read it he can pass it on to everyone, there is no limitation in our times over anything. Whereas at that time it was prohibited because there was a demand for a person to reach these things on his own as a result of a search of an internal correction.
3. S. (05:19) What's the reason that the oral Torah wasn't allowed to be written in text?
R. That's the matter of revelation of the wisdom, that you don't have to reveal what's really happening for everyone, people were in other degrees than today in their ego, it wasn't as developed as it was today. That is why they had to go through many more stages in order to develop more and more to a greater egoistic desire and that's why it was forbidden to talk to them, about these high things, because as we see they used to make religions, beliefs, all kinds of seemingly spiritual methods and that is why the Sages prohibited the wisdom of Kabbalah to be revealed and outside.
S. Is it because of a secret or it adds some corruption if you write the spiritual things down?
R. What is a secret and corruption in the writing, if you write it's written, if you speak it spoken, what is the secret or not a secret, it goes from mouth to ear and it twists ten times. That's why you can never know what it will lead to. That's why the sages prohibited it, that's it until more developed generations would come and then it is possible to open up more for them.
4. S. (07:52) If I'm not mistaken I heard the first book was Raziel Hamelech by Adam?
R. That is correct there were not many seemingly books, small books that used to be before that but we don't really take them into an account, they're not considered to be, I can't say, but you can be certain that the book of Yetzira, creation is a book of Kabbalah whereas as you say that kind of book it's not really about Kabbalah it's around some mysticism and it's not really known to who's the one that's that wrote them even about the book of Yetzira, it's a dispute who wrote that.
Thank you.
5. S. (09:08) During the time that I study it is still hard for me to explain to people what the wisdom of Kabbalah is. I know a few definitions but they are not good for the explanation to a person, is there any explanation that works?
R. It is a wisdom that explains to us about this one force of nature that works on us all and determines everything, what each one has and what everyone has that is the wisdom of Kabbalah.
S. People reply to me that it's related to religion.
R. It has nothing to do with religion, rather it is a science it is like the dimensions of everything, that is the wisdom of Kabbalah, you don't have to believe anything, on the contrary, you have to throw out all of your beliefs just to discover this force that exists and establishes and determines all of reality Creator nature anything you can say it is all Incorporated in this concert, in the term the Creator and the wisdom of Kabbalah studies it.
6. S. (11:10) He says that it's still not clear exactly who wrote the book of Yetzira, Abraham or Rabbi Akiva so who wrote it?
R. It is not known it is not known. Usually in regard to these things, what is written until Elijah comes, the other prophet. Elijah is a certain upper force that with clothes on people and will bring them a clear notion and knowledge of everything, you will see and you will feel from one end of the world to the other in all directions, all distances everything. When that will be clear to you it is called when Elijahu comes when he comes, we don't know many things in the world, we do not know that is it.
S. In our work when that force clothes it, how can we reach it?
R. We should keep on going in their path the path of connection to come close to the Creator until we start discovering the Creator in practice in the connection between us and we start studying it, it's revelation, in all kinds of matters and the connections between us, in all kinds of ways of connection, in the forms of creation, accordingly we learned the system of the will to receive. It goes back to correction to be connected and the system of the upper light and accordingly it is revealed more and more in this corrected desire. There's nothing more than besides the light and the vessel that we attain gradually, bit by bit.
7. S. (13:39) Why only after the destruction of the temple was it allowed for the people to write it down?
R. Because there was a fear that it will result in confusion and the Torah will be forgotten, meaning all this knowledge about the Creator and the world and the connection between them, that is why it was permitted. Because there was a lot great confusion between people, people were scattered, there were not any sages anymore, they didn't believe in anyone anymore.
8. S. (14:45) We're speaking with the wisdom, the history of the wisdom, until Baal Shem Tov there's a certain path everyone agrees and after the Hasidic period it starts splitting into many different streams, in each one that's taking their own path and each one is sure that this is the truth. So the question is how do you bridge all these gaps and when do these paths come to the same road, to the same road?
R. When they go to the main roads to the same Lane you can be certain Eliyahu is there. I don't think anything can be there before that, meaning the upper light, called the Messiah, which is drawing us from all the different forms of separation giving us an understanding, a feeling of the unity of the world, the upper force by uniting us, when we can attain this Unity. Until then I do not think the situation will become better, it will be only worse. This is how it should be according to the structure of the world until all the evil inclination is revealed and it is revealed how much we cannot live in connection and this is how it will keep going.
Even though we are talking about wanting to connect and we are connecting, we're coming close to it but we are talking about this small group of ours which is like the center of the world. However for the entire humanity it will certainly have to go through many more problems and troubles and bad things be revealed until they agree that connection is the solution for everything.
S. Why was their separation there was Abraham, Moses, Ari and then it starts splitting after the Hasidic period. Why do we need to split?
R. This place is prior to the Hassidus, you are swallowing thousands of years, Hassidism is after the medieval but even before that you had many disputes. From the days of bar Kokva by many things, even read the book of Zohar, you can read what is written there. The days of the House of David. There were always disputes and splits because it's a matter of a search, you cannot have it without that the kabbalists themselves wanted to dispute because through the disputes, through the overcoming, one over the other, you can scrutinize the truth and without it you cannot.
That is why you should not see only the bad things there, even like in today's wars some things cannot be scrutinized in other states besides war, trouble, and torment and even death. There is no choice, this is the nature of the evil inclination, it's the nature of the world, that only this way you can scrutinize the good from evil and who plays good over the evil, is impossible in a different way. We are beings of emotion of feelings and through the feelings in the light in the darkness, we can advance to good.
S. In our generation of the splits, where does it help us advance, does it even help us to advance?
R. Yes, it helps us to advance.
S. I do not see that we are advancing to some kind of recognition.
R. From one generation to another, of course we are advancing. You cannot pay attention and you cannot say it but one hundred years ago people are completely different. Today they are wiser, they understand more, they are more successful of being closer to the truth, they can distinguish better between good and bad. They are very complex, very smart compared to what we had before. Even if you take 20 or 30 years ago, 40 years ago, people used to believe in all kinds of reading things. You can pull them in different directions and they would believe you. You cannot pass on to a higher state without going through the lower degrees from it. We went through these things in a very, very special way, intensive. Look what is happened in keep with Kibbutzim, settlements, different small places here in Israel, the social relation between the people in Israel, in different relationships. We cannot look at a glance at what happened to this nation or all the other different nations, but this will be revealed to us more and more.
S. I will understand that our history was a must for us, we had to go through it and specifically in this way so our generation as opposed to the previous generation is much more separated, split but it's full of discernments, it is more aware.
R. Full of discernments but still lacking connecting all of those discernments by connecting them into a clear single knowledge understood by everyone, that is still ahead of us.
S. When will we be able to merge all of that into one?
R. I hope very fast.
S. What is the process that you see, not Elijah, as we see by history, by developing if you go according to the development, how will it happen?
R. We lack problems. Humanity still doesn't feel that it is full of suffering that it is enough. When will we say enough regarding this world, that we do not want this anymore and we are willing to bow down towards that will to bestow and love and in this way to advance, when can we do this, to agree with this.
S. This means that what we are lacking is more recognition of evil?
R. More recognition of evil and darkness.
S. This recognition of evil has to come through sufferings?
R. Not specifically, it can come through the light that reform but for now I cannot see anyone so successful in drawing the light of reforms that will completely change our path of suffering. We are going through the path of the land, that it is between the two areas, between the path of Torah and the path of suffering.
S. Why are we not successful?
R. We are not successful because we're not ready to feel in our will to receive, we are willing to subdue our heads, we want to feel good in the will to receive.
9. S. (24:15) I don’t understand how to acknowledge the evil, the evil only becomes more normal?
R. Because we agree to this.
S. So how can we reach recognition of evil, humanity is developing by getting more and more evil, that is normal, it is nice to be bad?
R. So what can we do, what do you recommend?
S. I don't know, to pray, to connect between us and pray that the Creator helps us.
R. To connect, to pray, to disseminate the method of connection, the necessity, the method of connection, to show what is waiting for us, what to expect in the future for you keep going this way and by this we can still reach the Creator with a plea that He will organize these things, he will organize without it we will not be able to come out of this state that we got into.
10. S. (25:30) How Baal HaSulam dealt with the confusion that was in the wisdom of Kabbalah. What kind of audience did he want to reach besides his students?
R. That I cannot tell you, that is the matter of a special soul that the Creator especially nourishes and presents to the world so that it will be as a light in front of everyone.
S. What kind of audience did he relate to besides his students, what kind of audience did he prefer any other kind of audience?
R. He is aiming his writings at everyone because he writes that he understands that we are in the last generation, the generation of the Messiah, that is why there is no concealment and everything is open for everyone. He also wrote it as black why black, white, red, yellow no matter who, everyone is equal and everyone is ready and prepared and they get an admission into godliness. That is why there is no problem, he treats everyone equally, that is why he wrote for everyone.
11. S. (28:02) You said that this problem is that there is not enough recognition of evil. are we responsible for that because we are the conduit for the light. That this evil was not revealed completely?
R. As much as we advance in the connection between us so that we will understand that good is connection and bad is separation. That is the words of that structure of the Adam HaRishon, that the Creator broke and then we need to understand that the connection between us back to one vessel is the best and according to that we will advance, there is nothing else to do just recognized that the distance between us causes bad to everyone.
12. S. (29:15) The whole structure we create in order to connect in an easy way, like social media, internet, cell phones, all of the evil is revealing this knowledge like the attacks on the web, can we interpret that as advancement on the left and on the right?
R. No. The technology in cell phones, wires, and waves, all and all these things they are not, they just pass on information that man puts into them, it depends on the person, on man. Let us hope we cause a change in man for the good and it has to be revealed according to the present signs that should be revealed pretty quick. Then we can use this technology for the good. We do not need to resemble those slaves that used to break their tools, people hundreds of years ago, used to destroy their building tools in order not to work and by that caused riots. No. We can use all of that technology for the good too.
13. S. (31:24) We see that the world is developing and then heading to the direction that it's doing good but it actually does bad. How can we really explain this term the recognition of evil in the way that you are not blaming a person. There's a natural development and we need to correct it.
R. It depends on dissemination. We need to disseminate ourselves and explain ourselves, what we are , who we are, what will happen if we don't succeed, we will advance for sure but in the bad path not in the good path but that could be in very bad states. So we need to explain it to everyone, that people already understand a bit of it. They still don't feel that they understand that it could be worse, much worse than what it is now and we need to explain that the correction can only be if we will work towards the connection the world's going to and today this is also more understood that only through connection we can reach a good life. We are not lacking anything in the world but the connection between nations, between people, that becomes clearer.
S. But that is exactly the contrast you see in this world today. You see that all the ones that are working and talk about love only cause the greater recognition of evil, how can we bring the real contrast to that, the real thing, the recognition of good. Is there a formula foe the recognition of evil?
R. It is a very simple formula; we need to reach an explanation that the good connection is the salvation to the whole world and all the problems. From the still, vegetative, animal, and in between people, that is clear on one hand and on the other hand, we need to see as much as the world Advance to that understanding. Look what is going on today people and send it with that without a good connection between people we can really escalate into a world war and to destruction, and to the end. So we have foundations, strong foundations, to explain to everyone what we need to do. To promise the world a good future, and except for that we also promising a good eternal future, that we are saying that we can rise to a spiritual degree above timing place.
14. S. (35:00) You just said that what is required is more torments for humanity but most of humanity does not respond to torments. They're looking for the creator but they're going through all kinds of religions or methods. How can we explain to them that there is a Torah of the truth which is Kabbalah?
R. This is the matter of the dissemination, don’t ask me. You have to talk between you and find out how you do it. I'm very concerned about dissemination but how much can I do? If someone truly wants to write something serious I'm willing to participate. Yesterday we got from the print a book about anti-Semitism, the new anti-Semitism. It is in English that I wrote together with Mrs. [miss translation] me. It is very good that through such Creations we can explain to everyone what the connection between people is in the wisdom of Kabbalah and humanity, and let's hope that we will advance in that. I am willing to be in contact with anyone who wants to write serious things.
15. S. (37:13) Regarding strengthening the connection between us, in November we learn about ‘The Serpent and the Rod,’ and you said that we are negligent in the love of friends I wanted to ask you; are we advancing?
R. I think we are advancing a lot even though you can never say that it is enough, but we have advanced very nicely. This month that we are speaking with the holidays all of the time, we have advanced very nicely, very nice.
Continues (38:10) “...at that time the disciples of Rabbi Akiva began to write...”
16. S. (39:21) Intellectually I understand, I can even prove to myself that connection is something correct, but if we are talking about connection with friends emotionally I do not feel the evil or the flaw when I am not connected to them, as Kabbalists say that it should be. Will this emotion ever awaken, will I ever feel that that when I'm not Incorporated with them as Kabbalists tell us that I will feel it as a bad thing, will I be drawn to it, or is that related to the correction and as long as we are egoistic our emotion will never be a part of this process?
R. The process we are going through is an accumulative process. Gradually, little drops and drops accumulate to a big sum, and we start feeling that only in the in the connection between this there's some kind of quality that can reveal spirituality to us. We cannot feel spirituality but only by connecting opposite things and supporting one another, each one from his own nature and then each one who gives to the other from his own nature passes through the other and in such connection between them a place is created for spiritual revelation because the Creator is one for all. People that are different to equals to people who are opposites and so on. That is why if we build such a state in the connection between us we discovered Him. Spirituality and Creator is the same thing. That is what we have to yearn to reach, connecting above all the opposites between us to relinquish what is opposite even though we are opposite even though we are opposites to connect to agree with what is opposite of us and so on. Then gradually, gradually, we build such a result that includes all of those opposite. The creator strengthens the opposites and covers them and sustains them all together, and then in our connection when we connect all those opposites we start feeling ‘come and see,’ Boreh, the Creator. Let's hope we reach it. Then it is not a problem anymore, as Bal HaSulam writes that that is the first revelation, that then we understand that in the opposite of this things, in the contradictions, there and only there we can discover the Creator. As it is written in The Zohar, “there and only there is the Creator, Himself.”
17. S. (43:33) what is the root of a scrutiny? I thought it was something simple, but it seems that is a completely different.
R. Scrutiny means that we are scrutinizing as much as the will to receive and will to bestow contradict each other, under what conditions we can use the two together in one direction. That they both supposedly come from the Creator and enter the created beings and the created beings themselves connect and combine between them so in such a way to reach the Creator.
Continues (44:23) “...However, the disciples of Rabbi Akiva did not sign their books…”
18. R. (45:23) So there are a lot of things that have gathered, and were written more and more in big and they are big additions on all the material that Rabbi Akiva gathered and his students and that is why we need to accept it all as one because for us all of those Sages were all in great attainment and they are all for us as people who are really on the degree of attaining the Creator.
Continues (46:06) “This continued until the generations of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi...”
19. R. (46:50) That was done by Rabbi Yehuda, he was really the great of the generation, and what he did was wrote a law, he connected, he made great order in the writings of Rabbi Akiva and from that we have the Mishnah and we can read it and understand and keep what is written in there, and the Mishnah that we study directs us to a special path that through it we can also reach scrutinies of good and bad, truth and false, and correcting our vessels, our qualities.
Continues (47:51) “However, there was not signing on the The Zohar because it was intended for concealment…”
20. R. (48:26) So except for the wisdom of Kabbalah all the other writings were revealed and were studied and people used them, but the Zohar as the foundation for the wisdom of Kabbalah was only revealed to a few people in each generation until as we learn it came through all kinds of parts, wrappings, that's they sold fish and wrapped a fish in them until it reached the rabbi Moshe Del Leone and his widow and in such a way it was reveal to the world, and it came to our time and also the way it did come it was only a small portion of the book of Zohar, because it is written in the book of the Zohar in the beginning was tons of books and today it all fits into two or three books. That is why they're still what to do. We need to open that whole matter according to what Bal HaSulam opened, what he revealed, and we will reveal it to the whole world and by that we will advance towards redemption
21. S. (50:20) Can we say that Bal HaSulam and Rabash sum up all of these writings in their writings?
R. What do you mean?
S. Will we ever go back to learn all of these writings, the Mishnah and all the rest of the books, all the closet of books we have throughout all the generations or there's no need for it because the Bal HaSulam and Rabash…?
R. No, there's no need for it. I came to Rabash, and I looked. There weren’t any books other than the Matan Torah, all those books, that is it, and a prayer book. Because they did not study anything but that, they did not need. If you want to attain godliness, correct the soul, and reach adhesion with the Creator, so you need to study the books of Kabbalah. And the rest you can study obviously, it is also books that the Sages have written but they wrote it in such a way go that through them you will not be able to draw the light that reforms. Because it is not clear there that we are speaking about spiritual discernment. Let's say when you open the Mishnah so there it is women, there are all kinds of things there that when you study supposed things laws of this world if you understand the connection between root and branch that the branches in our world and the branches in the upper world, and Ruth isn't a purple from that you can study you can attain the upperworld root and get better in that way but it is only for unique, exalted, and pure souls that were in the previous generations. In our times whoever studies the Mishnah, we see as much as he is immersed in the text itself what is written there and not... When I came through Rabash and started studying he asked me what I studied I told him that I studied Talmud, let's say to hold the tallit he said well that is the good and the bad inclination. Well I was shocked to hear that, and how could it be the good and bad inclination grab a person and they share it, and this person is between this two inclinations and what happens to him. I did not expect that you can interpret the Talmud in such a way. So he asked, “what do you think is written about here?” I said, “it is written that two people found some item on the street and they grabbed it, and they start arguing about who it belongs to.” So there is the externality and the internality of the Torah. We are in the generation that cannot learn the internality of the Torah in such a way from the Mishnah and from the Talmud. That is why we have to study it from the books of Kabbalah.