Morning Lesson July 20, 2021 Transcription
Item 41 (01:00) “But there still remains to clarify why man ….”
1. R. (02:45) Here Baal HaSulam divides for us all of Creation with all that exists into 5 degrees. He calls them 5 worlds or 5 Sefirot, five kinds in everything: it stems from the fact that the upper light, which develops in order to create the vessel that is suitable for it has to develop and decent from itself, from bestowal to the will to receive, so it has to go through 5 degrees and this is why we have all of the discernments in the worlds, in the Partzufim, in the Sefirot; we always have AK, Atzilut, Briaa, Yetzira, Assiya in the worlds and Keter, Hochma, Bina, ZA, Malchut in the Partzuf, and on, everything always divide into five. The uppermost discernment is Shoresh, the Root that is similar to the Creator or the Creator Himself from which the lower discernment emerges. The bottom one is Malchut which is the control of the will to receive, when it is ready to receive everything that comes from the Creator. This is what he is telling us here.
2. S. (04:39) We need to relate to the names of the worlds, let's say Yetzira, means to correct a tendency in such a way?
R. No, we don't get into these things yet, we don't understand what it is about, we just need to see from here the general structure of reality. In the general world which is a spiritual world the corporeal world doesn't exist. There is a reason why our world is called an ‘imaginary world’ because it doesn't exist. We have to know all of reality as 5 worlds, in our world, let's say it's the last degree of the world of Assiya, that we will have something to relate it to.
3. S. (05:54) We are saying that the spiritual vessel is built on the connection between the friends?
R. He still hasn't explained this, why are you jumping? He's giving you a general overview of what is happening: The light of Chaya, the light of Neshama, the light of Ruach, the light of Nefesh, the light of Yechida, and then he will speak about sounds, colors, letters and numbers, everything pertaining to the five discernments. So let's restrain ourselves and we will get an answer when we come to the place where it is written.
Item 42 (06:57) “We have now explained the five worlds that….” Twice
4. R. (13:43) That is the most important, the last sentence, that they all clothe man's soul for his benefit. All these discernments we are learning here in the souls, Partzufim, clothing, halls, in the levels of still, vegetative animate and speaking, in everything, there are thousands more discernments in each and every degree, all of this is in order to influence a person so he can achieve correction and from his point of correction, all those discernments will unite into one system, one complete system. So that the upper force, the complete upper force will be revealed in that system, their source.
5. S. (14:49) In the beginning it seems understood, 5 worlds, 5 lights, but then when it starts elaborating on the degrees in qualities I don't understand the mechanics, what can I understand from this and why is it so detailed?
R. It's not like they are arranged in such a way as many, there are not many. There are thousands and thousands of details in these systems, each detail divides into another system and another system, indefinitely. Besides the system of Kedusha/holiness there is a system of Tumaa /impurity, because God created one to opposite the other, so here we are not seeing the system as whole, but he divides it into five and another five and another five several times. But in truth on one hand, there are many here, and on the other hand this shouldn't frighten us that there are so many, because we receive and are incorporated in all of this through our feelings, not our intellect. If we try to process these things intellectually we won't be able to do it because attainment comes only through the feeling, through the desire. The more the desire is incorporated in positive and negative inside of it; in that desire we discover the qualities, the images, the discernment and insights, not technically as beginners usually think that we can make the discernment through the details, through intellectual knowledge, even with a lot of knowledge they won't be able to attain spirituality, never. Because it does not happen in the mind, it happens in the desire, in a corrected desire, and according to the level of correction of the desire, to work in order to bestow. That's why it's not the smart one who learns.
6. S. (17:48) What does it mean that the animate degree are angels in this world?
R. There are forces that are called that way as there is no depiction, form or shape as we might have seen or heard about how angels are painted or clothed in Halls. This is only about forces, which are called that way only without any external depiction. There is no shape to it, no angels with wings. The Zohar also speaks that way, it comes from the wisdom of Kabbalah. Because they understood those discernments in a corporeal way, thinking that angels actually have wings, or clothing is those huge palaces. But no, it is about forces that are called that way and those forces have no corporeal depiction. Abstain from these shapes, they do not exist, spirituality is only shapeless, formless forces.
7. S. (20:20) These forces are part of the system that Baal HaSulam described, at this moment are they working or not?
R. Everything that exists in reality is present, nothing disappears or lost, there's no such thing as something being lost or not, everything operates from the beginning to the end of creation. Meaning, always above time and place and movement. You don't ask when does it operate or when does it not operate, they are just parts of the system, and all of those parts are interconnected and operated only in one direction, to increase the will to receive on the human level so it will grow more and more until it reaches its attainment, the attainment of the upper force called The Creator. This is how the system is built, it wants to connect the two ends: the bottom which is us and the top which is the Creator and for those two ends, to be as one.
8. S. (22:15) The connection that the 10 tries to establish between themselves is the ultimate goal, an infinite thin middle line or will it have the entire spiritual architecture that Baal HaSulam speaks about here?
R. We will continue to learn and you will see that it falls into place in a way that does not pertain to any corporeal shape. This is the most important- not to connect anything we are learning with any corporeal form, as this is the biggest problem that kabbalists wrote to themselves and this is why they described their spiritual impressions, from the upper world. But when other people started reading them without attainment, they imagined corporeal things and from this came religions, belief systems and all kinds of ideas that got people confused.
9. S. (23:48) We have an impression that the degrees of still, vegetative, animate and speaking only show up in the fourth phase in Malchut. Is this correct or are those degrees in every part and every discernment in the light?
R. In every part and every discernment there is its own fourth phase, and there, all the discernments are revealed. If I'm speaking about the second phase, I can't speak about the actual phase two, but about phase four in Phase two, because there, phase two, is revealed with all of its power.
10. S. (24:47) Are we at the very bottom of Assiya?
R. Yes, we are in the last degree of the world Assiya.
S. Which means we are already in a spiritual place?
R. No, the last degree of the world of Assiya, seemingly falls off of the world of Assiya as it does not fall under the same rules of the world of Assiya, but the same forces of the world of Assiya operate there. Except these forces cannot accumulate, cannot join or connect among themselves spiritually, we will learn it, this is a discernment we still have to attain. Again, it is about spiritual discernments, meaning within the desire, a desire that reveals and feels this way. Whereas we, in this world where we don't discover this desire, we don't discover the world of Assiya, we are only in an imaginary world in which there is nothing of spirituality, it is just how we are in an existence from which to rise to the real feeling. So our existence is something in which there is no truth at all, it is written that ‘we are as dreamers’.
11. S. (26:56) What is the correct approach to express in our desires when we feel these forces?
R. That when we feel these forces then we will express ourselves correctly, don't worry. For now we don't feel it and that is why our response is small, egoistic, corporeal.
12. S. (27:44) He is speaking about five Sefirot, five worlds and 4 qualities?
R. Read it several times and you will find what is missing.
13. S. (28:13) He writes at the end of the first paragraph that except for the five Sefirot there are also four phases, so there are two different systems?
R. friends, please understand, there are only five discernments called Root, 1 2 3 4. In each of them there are another five and in each of them another 5, another five and another five and likewise, indefinitely. There are always 5 discernments and they are called in relation to each other either: worlds, Sefirot, Partzufim, vessels, lights, but only five discernments. You can become confused with the names of course, this is not a problem, you can say the world Atzilut, world of Hochma, world of Keter, phase one or two, it doesn't matter, in the end, there are only five.
S. (29:47) He writes that they speaking degree clothes 5 Sefirot. So it seems like all of the still, vegetative and animate are separated or did I not understand it right?
R. There are Sefirot and in them are discernments which are also divided into five and another five and another five, there is nothing more to it, it is a simple structure. The light in order to reach the vessel to build a will to receive, that would receive it, will be filled and enjoy it. The light, in building this desire, has to go through 5 discernments four along the way and the fifth is Malchut which is called phase four and which can receive the light and enjoy it. The first discernment is the Creator, this is what it is called, on the last discernment it is called Malchut the created being and in between you have several degrees, by which from the forces in qualities of the Creator we come to the forces and qualities of the created being. Generally these are called, in a global way, worlds and less than that Sefirot or Partzufim, all sort of discernment, also they are given many names like Levushim, clothing halls, people, etc. But these are names, do not attribute this to this world at all as there is no connection to what we are talking about in this world.
14. S. (31:45) If we don't need to relate it to things in this world as animals or angels, how should I imagine this force?
R. You don't need to imagine or depict anything. How do you imagine electricity or the magnetic force? You depict it according to its operation. You don’t see the forces, you see the operations of the force. It is like that here, we call spirituality by all kinds of names. What do you see by this? You see how it operates in you, then you will understand what is this force or that force. That is how you will know it, nothing more than that.
S. I am confused, I can't even understand.
R. Relax, nothing will happen. Eventually you will understand everything. The soul of each and every one of us is intended, destined, to include all of reality, to feel it and understand it. Everything will be okay, but it takes a while. The important thing is that we don’t confuse corporeality with spirituality. The corporeality we feel has no connection whatsoever with what we are learning. None. So don't start connecting.
15. S. (34:04) If we are not supposed to understand this intellectually, how do we extract a deficiency from it to work in the 10?
R. Ask.
Item 43 (34:26) “When man is born, he immediately has Nefesh ….” Twice
16. R. (34:24) We are not speaking of man, of us. It is speaking of Adam who was born in spirituality and he has Nefesh of Kedusha.
Reader continues: “Yet not actually Nefesh but the posterior ….”
17. R. (35:58) Meaning he has a deficiency which is revealed toward world spirituality. He still doesn’t know what it is, he doesn’t understand it, but he feels a deficiency for it, a tendency for it. That is called Adam, man, was born. In what? A desire for divinity awakens in our protein body.
Reader continues: “ And that. Clothes man's heart
18. R. (38:30) “That dot clothes man’s heart.” What does that mean? Not our flesh called a heart, but….
Reader continues: “ In one's will to receive which is found primarily….”
19. R. (38:46) That a person feels his deficiency there but not actually in the flesh.
Reader continues: “ Know this rule, that all applies to all of reality….”
20. R. (39:39) The Creator created five discernments from His phase to the created beings’ phase. We learn through the four phases of direct light, the four discernments of direct light, that’s it. The rest takes place inside all of those discernments of direct light from the root to Malchut.
Reader continues “ We have said this world is divided into still ….”
21. R. (40:47) It is the same phases, the same discernments, but they are called still, vegetative, animate, and speaking, and the root, or corresponding to Keter, Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin and Malchut. These are just names but they are actually five discernments in each and every thing. That is what we need to understand. That is how all of creation is divided. Why? Because from the Creator to the created being on each and every degree, in each and every discernment, there can only be no more and no less but those 4 degrees or as it says, “10 and not nine; 10 and not eleven”. That we divide these four degrees into 10 discernments.
Reader continues “But as we have said even in the smallest item in each ….”
22. S. (42:27) It is very clear that we need not complicate things but why do we complicate things, why are we not working according to what is written?
R. You don't want to listen to the principals and you are trying to bring all kinds of old knowledge that you got from all kinds of books that you were reading in the past. He explains everything very simply. The wisdom of Kabbalah is very simple. If we know where we are studying, what we are studying for, and in what way we need to study, then everything is clear. If we start connecting this to all kinds of rumors and depictions that we have from all kinds of previous thoughts which have confused us our whole life, obviously we will never get out of it.
23. S. (43:45) Why does man need all of those upper worlds that He created for him? What need does man have for them? What need do we have in the world of Adam Kadmon in which we have no attainment?
R. From there we get lights that help us raise our degrees and bring us to the purpose of creation. By this we reach the purpose of our life, of our existence.
24. S. (44:33) He writes, know this rule that all that applies to the whole of reality applies to each world. Can you explain what it means by reality and how to differentiate from the world?
R. He says that every detail from the biggest which is all of reality or the smallest no matter in which discernment. We are all in the same structure of those five parts. That in each part that you take of creation there is a part of the Creator and a part of the created being and a few degrees that connect the Creator to the created being in the created being to the Creator.
S. What can we relate to as a reality and what do we relate to as world?
R. I don’t understand. We belong to Malchut.
25. S. (45:35) What are the Keter of four spiritual categories?
R. That is the root towards them.
26. S. (46:54) In our 10 we want to know if the speaking level belongs to the awareness of the individual.
R. The speaking degree in spirituality does not belong to man in this world. Man in this world he does not belong to spirituality.
27. S. (47:36) It is still confusing that Baal HaSulam speaks about this world. Is this world also spiritual or we are talking about what we see before our eyes?
R. No, in front of our eyes in the imaginary world it is not a spiritual world, spirituality is spirituality, this world means a spiritual discernment.
S. Without understanding what is this world, there's constant confusion, is there a way to explain what is this world, because he is talking about the worlds and the world of Assiya is the last one, so what is this world? Can we separate it from what we know is this world?
R. We have AK, ABYA and this world, this world means a degree that comes before attaining the world of Assiya, this is what I can say.
S. Baal HaSulam decided to mention, he says in the five worlds there are five Sefirot in them. Why does he mention this world too that it also has them? Why does he talk about it again here? I can’t understand what he is trying to tell us here.
R. Because it is a discernment that comes before a spiritual attainment from below upwards. He wants to say that also on this degree of this world it is people that haven't reached their actual corrections yet. But they are still going through correction even though they are not aware yet and not attaining it yet, but they are already going through corrections and that degree already belongs to spirituality. The fact that I am not in spiritual attainment yet, but I am studying, I am trying and I am connecting and raising some sort of request that is called, that I already belong to spirituality.
S. In the next Item 44 talks about 13 years, that before that there is no revelation of spirituality happening. Is this world what comes before the 13 years, is it preparation for the spiritual reality?
R. No, 13 years is already much higher discernment, such questions will confuse everyone.
Item 44 (51:15) “Prior to thirteen years of age, there cannot be any emergence….”
28. R. (51:19) 13 years, I don't think it means 13 years, this is a sign that Kabbalists without any connection to people's aids or anything before a person is rewarded with a spiritual discernment, it is called before 13.
Reader continues: “ Prior to thirteen years of age, there cannot be any emergence….”
29. R. (53:33) There are all kinds of actions that we do between us and even though these actions are still egoistic intentions, with the intention to receive and attain, to feel and gain, when we try to do this we are already starting our corrections.
Reader continues: “To the extent that he purifies the still part of ….”
30. R. (54:44) Even actions he performs to succeed, to gain, in some egoistic desire that he had, he obviously wants to reach something higher but he is not in it yet. These actions are already working on him and he is developing his soul, his point in the heart as we say.
Reader continues: “Whose 248 spiritual organs are built by observing ….”
31. R. (55:36) We have a number of actions that we connect between us and there are actions that we shouldn't activate those desires, it will cause separation. All of our work is to reach connection. There are actions that bring us to connection and there are some that reject us from connection. That's why the actions of ‘do’ reach connection and there are actions that “do not do” that reject from connection.
Reader continues: “Until it becomes a complete Partzuf of Nefesh of Kedusha….”
32. R. (56:40) “Where is that man in this world?” is what he asked about, so then we already belong to the spiritual world in something, in one point.
Reader continues: “And all the spiritual elements of still, vegetative and animate ….”
33. R. (59:22) There are many things here, it is worth reading a few times. Let's hope that everybody reads these paragraphs that we just went through today throughout the day. It doesn't matter how much we understand these paragraphs or not understand these paragraphs that we just went through, we have to go through it, to know these items exist. For now it is enough for us. Gradually we will start revealing it even though these things seem very distant and very exalted in one way, on the other hand, we learned that it is all built according to one system. Five degrees in each and every degree another five, on each degree another five. Nothing but that. Meaning that we can very quickly fly in all of these degrees and there is no problem here. It all depends on that upper light that we draw from above downward and want it to work on us, to take care of us, and correct us. In this way, and according to that, we can ascend.
34. S. (01:00:56) What is the point that connects the lower one with the upper one?
R. What connects the upper and the lower? Actually as he writes about it, how do I explain this in a way that you can understand? It is a connection with the Creator, the point of Ein Sof, no more than that. We will read about it. The point that connects the upper one and the lower one, the point of Malchut of the upper one that becomes the Keter to the lower one, the point of the Keter of the lower one that has everything but inverts it into a deficiency in a higher degree. That we still have to learn.
35. S. (01:02:10) How does the mechanism work, those actions without intentions that we begin, like a starter before the engine starts? Can you describe this?
R. It is called deeds without intentions. You want to connect but without the true spiritual intention. That's why it is called with no intention.
S. You often tell us that if we want to connect without intention we are like a group of criminals.
R. That is how we advance but you come out. We start with doing commandments without intentions. That’s what he wrote. We work thirteen years because the commandants don’t need the intention. Even if there's a wrong intention we are still advancing if we are performing actions, any actions.
S. We don't shift from our sake to work for her sake unless you have an intention to shift to Lishma.
R. We don't have an intention for her sake because we cannot implement it.
S. I am trying to understand the actions we are talking about, are they in our hands and legs or in the desire?
R. Both, and the more the better in the 10.
36. S. (01:03:54) What do we need to do when we read material that we don’t understand anything? What should we do?
R. We need to do everything possible in deeds and intentions. ‘Anything that is in your hand to do, do it.’ No matter where you are, here, in Canada, or North or South America. It doesn't matter how educated you are or how smart, just do what you can. Then you will see success.
S. What is the right thing to do when we read material and don't understand? What should we think about?
R. Annul towards your friends, and in them, toward the Creator, nothing else. That is important, that is what is given to you, annulling your existence. Annul towards the group and towards the Creator. From that you will start entering the ladder of degrees.
37. S. (01:05:44) How can a person determine how old he is?
R. There is no such thing. Do you mean how many years in spirituality? As much as he attains, that is what he is going to have.
38. S. (01:06:24) When does it happen that “He swallowed up riches and vomited”?
R. That’s at the end of the corrections.
S. Is it the efforts or is it the efforts we make afterwards in the Torah and Mitzvot, commandments?
R. The Sitra Achra, the other side, swallows, and swallows, and swallows everything from our uncorrected actions and then vomits it back and we use it. She keeps all of our corruptions in order to give it back to us afterwards to correct.
39. S. (01:07:22) Does the matching of the still, vegetative, and animate to the four Sefirot help us understand the essence of the Sefirot?
R. We can't understand anything, we can’t understand anything but from coming closer to one another, to that extent that the Creator comes close to us. To that extent we start understanding what is going on with us. In this way we will advance.
40. S. (01:08:03) How do we awaken the point of the deficiency in us during the day?
R. Throughout the day we have to make efforts and remind ourselves and each other. We do great work in the lesson, and I am very happy that the lessons are going in a way that we're advancing. Every time we are advancing in another degree, and another degree.
41. S. (01:09:01) If we are going through one topic during the lesson, is it possible to listen to the previous day's lesson instead of today, for example if I felt less incorporated in it?
R. The main thing is to keep the connection between you.
42. S. (01:09:43) Light creates and fills the vessel. Where is our involvement?
R. That you awaken the Creator, the source of the light, to work on us in a greater intensity. We activate Him through the unity in our request, not the light itself and not the source of the light itself.