Morning Lesson December 24, 2021, Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 1:
Baal HaSulam - Shamati 142. The Essence of the War
Reading Shamati 140. How I Love Your Torah - twice
1. Rav’s Introduction: Yes, so let's start reading a few very short Shamati articles today, we will go through them and we will reach the Preface.
Reading Shamati 142. twice
2. R. (02:40) Rav reads and comments: Our work is to shift pieces and pieces of our will to receive under the intention to bestow and in this way to do many such incursions and throughout many actions the entire desire that is within the person, which is in order to receive, in each one in different quantity and quality than others but this is how one should shift his entire will to receive so that it will be in order to bestow. That is to connect it with others and later on to participate together with the others as much as the person is able to connect everyone to him and himself to the others, and to work in this common vessel, this is actually our work. Therefore, all of our Mitzvot, commandments, all of our vessels that we have to correct, it is only to connect ourselves with others. By that we rise above our ego otherwise we cannot connect with others and we become incorporated together with others in the style of the Arvut, mutual guarantee, where everyone is responsible for everyone. Then we begin to build a common general vessel and, in that vessel, accordingly we discover the general collective will to bestow which we want to achieve, which is called the revelation of the Creator to the created beings.
This is why our whole action is in a war against our ego to be connected with others who combine all of us together into a collective vessel called the soul of Adam HaRishon. So this is what it says, “The essence of the war” is in order to be corrected “should be in the place of permission. However with Mitzva, commandment and transgressions, we have three places, the commandment, transgression and permission. So with the commandment and transgression “the loss is near and the reward is far…” These are states that are very dangerous, we do not really have the forces to succeed in those. Meaning to immediately jump in order to bestow, to perform actions of connection in a form where we have not yet corrected the will to receive with preparations for that; this is not possible. “There he should observe without any considerations….,” meaning that we simply have to do it and that's it. We have actions that we have to observe in order to cause the correction of the general vessel of Adam HaRishon and then we have actions and these are called actions that you should do and there are actions that you should not do.
We must not perform them because for sure we cannot succeed in those and we have actions that we are capable of succeeding in which are not commandments or transgression but rather are in the place of permission. That if there I try, I am able to succeed and shift those desires of mine from a place, from reception to bestowal, from in order to receive to in order to bestow. This is what he writes but in the place of permission there “waging war” against our ego is relevant. “Keeping the Mitzva of choice...” …that I specifically choose in those desires to perform actions of bestowal. “...since the act is only a matter of permission. Hence, even if one fails…” if he is not successful in connecting, in having the intention to bestow nevertheless, “the sin will not be so great…” Why? Because all in all I took this action for correction according to my choice not because I was obligated, if I was obligated then it is no longer considered permission, if I was obligated and I took this and I am not successful, this is one thing, this is truly a transgression.
But if I'm not obligated and I take it according to my choice that I want to add, that I want to make of myself, that I see it this way that I can add of myself in my work then here it is a place of permission. I chose that I could add and if I failed, I chose this. I wanted to add of myself, but it did not work out. It is not too bad. At least I checked it and I saw how much I am capable or how much I am not. This is what he says there regarding permission “waging war and keep the Mitzva of choice to perform this act of bestowal or not…” since the act is only a matter of permission. “Hence, even if one fails, the sin will not be so great…” because he himself chose to perform this action, “This is why it is considered near to the reward, since if he wins the war,...” if he succeeds, “He will bring a new authority under the Kedusha, holiness…” bringing additional pieces from the broken will to receive doing restriction, screen and reflected light over it, some action which is in order to bestow, this is already describing to the place of correction.
3. S. (10:07) What is the difference between being obligated to do something and accepting to do something?
R. This all depends on how much you advance. Let’s say you look at your friends and you realize that ‘love your friend as yourself’ is the general Mitzva, the general correction of the soul, where you connect all the parts of the soul together, then this is the general direction for you. If there is an action before you that you yourself choose to keep, then this is permission. If you are already in relationships where you have to do this then it is a Mitzva, a commandment. Either one that you are able to do, whether you succeed or not, is either a commandment or transgression, if you want to do it or if you don’t want to do it. These are the differences.
S. Should we look at every desire as a commandment or a permission?
R. Yes. Mitzva, commandment, and permission or transgression, is what we have in front of us towards every desire of ours, what to do with it, and how to correct it.
4. S. (11:49) How do I choose from my egoistic desires?
R. When you look at the life before you, you need to arrange it in such a way that the most important thing for you is building the Kli of Adam HaRishon. You have to do this because you are a small part of that vessel. Let's say you look at the vessel of Adam HaRishon and it is all broken. How can you assist it to become whole? It is considered that we are in an act of correction until we reach a state where we imagine those broken vessels that we have before us and bring them to unity, to connection, to incorporation. Look at it and ask what you should do and what you can do. You need to realize that the ten you are in is the place that you have to correct, meaning to unite your friends together and give them the desire and forces for the goal. Awakening them so they can connect together and so that all of us would feel that we are as ‘one man in one heart,’ meaning everyone together in one desire, with one intention. Even though, of course, everyone is different from the others but this does not matter. The difference can be as an amplifier, something that amplifies in the attainment of the general soul, where each one adds everything, he can from his side.
There are three possibilities here Mitzva, Commandment; transgression; or permission. If there is an act of connection before you and you have the ability to perform this act or you run away from this action of connection, it is either a Mitzva or a transgression. But if you search where you can add something beneficial for the general vessel even though you do not feel such actions are necessary, this is considered permission. I can succeed more by an act of permission because, first of all, I chose those actions according to my state, how much I am capable, how much I understand and feel so I choose something small. It is like a little child when he plays with his toys. There is a difference whether he himself is choosing to play with his toys according to his nature and development, or we push him to play with some toy. If he has something that he has to play with, this is a Mitzva, a Commandment from above; if he is not capable of doing this then it is considered a transgression. If he himself chooses it according to how he understands it, but nevertheless it is a new toy, he advances a little bit according to his pace and how much he is capable of. This is considered the place of permission. Let’s search for additional examples.
5. S. (17:09) How do we know when we are in that place of choice?
R. Each one is in his place and it changes, meaning our attitude to actions of correction called ‘commandment, transgression or permissions’ changes. It is impossible to talk about a single individual or everybody together because we cannot determine those states. We still need to search where we can do those actions that Rabash writes about in his Social Articles so that we eventually are drawn to establish a connection between us and bring us to the feeling of the soul. Meaning to feel the Creator in the connection between us.
6. S. (18:36) If he gives a toy to a friend in the group and he does not play with it but wants to play with his own toy that he brought to the group, what comes out of this?
R. If the group decides to engage in something specific and we take that action upon ourselves, this action becomes a commandment, an order, a Mitzva, from the word ‘directive,’ an ‘order’ and I have to do it. Everyone should accept this pledge in all the actions in which we connect in the group; everyone pledges to connect to the others and keep whatever decisions everybody makes. I don’t jump like in a parliament or something where I say that ‘I do not want’ or ‘I think differently.’ The more we progress, the more we have to subjugate ourselves and annul before the ten. Actually, most of the problems are solved by this because following this, all that is left for us is just to correct ourselves a little bit more to the connection between us, to adapt ourselves in thought and action to the general desire of the group, and then the group becomes one, ‘As one man in one heart.’ This is how it is because our will to receive becomes more revealed every time and as it becomes more revealed, we have to advance. The main thing about this is that we have to patiently advance more and more every day. There will be many days, and many months, and even years, where we won't feel any advancement in this but we have to keep going and to believe that even though we do not feel the advancement in the connection between us, and maybe even feel distancing between us, it is all nevertheless determined from above and we have to add as much as possible from our side. The most important thing is not to leave. This is how we will advance.
7. S. (22:13) Is free choice possible in a commandment?
R. It depends on the degree the person is on. Maybe it is possible that there is free choice in the commandment following his scrutiny and he elevates the action that he chose to the degree of a Mitzva, commandment, when he actually started from seeing it only as a permission. I am not getting into this today as it will confuse a lot of people. How do we know what is a commandment, a transgression, or a permission? These are all discernments inside of us. We will talk more about it later. It is most important for us to know how to relate to each and every state. We have to search where we can add to the action of in order to bestow on our own.
8. S. (23:59) Why does the Creator obligate us to do commandments of correction? If He is obligating us, why is there a war on our ego?
R. One who agrees and wants to perform the Creator's will is considered a person who is correcting himself; one who does not agree is considered corrupted or broken. If it is revealed to you, you only have two possibilities: do you want to do it or not? You have to already be in a special spiritual degree in order for it to be revealed to you, so you would understand the upper’s desire for you to perform an act of bestowal. Or it is revealed to you from the writings of the Kabbalists, like Rabash, or this is how you see it. This act of connection is a necessary action for the whole of reality, for all of humanity, for the whole world and then you act. I might not have understood your question, but it seems to me that if a person today looks at the whole world with healthy, correct, straight eyes, even egoistic ones, he realizes that the connection of the world is the correction of the world.
9. S. (26:07) The end of the text states that ‘he will bring a new authority under the Kedusha’. Is this the will to receive that we invert to in order to bestow and then come back to the Creator with new reason?
R. Yes, yes.
10. S. (26:42) When we have the opportunity to choose, how do we know if it is more beneficial or less beneficial to the ten?
R. This is something you have to scrutinize. You can talk to the friends but besides that we study how to imagine the corrected vessel of Adam HaRishon. The entire ten is like a mini vessel, a part of it, but nevertheless all the laws of Adam HaRishon exist in this part, but on a small scale and not so conspicuous. Imagine what is considered a complete vessel where all of its ten parts are supporting each other, they are connected, and each one is for everyone. This is how they come closer to each other, everybody together, until they reach being ‘as one man in one heart.’ This entire group becomes like a mini circle, a mini-Adam HaRishon, the structure of ten Sefirot. Ten Sefirot, there is no more than ten as much as those desires are all incorporated and gathered into a ten. The correct and complete connection between the Creator and the created beings is through those eight parts from Keter to Malchut and connect in such a way that they become one and feel themselves corrected.
11. S. (29:17) Is the screen the force that influences the choice?
R. No. When I am in the ten and I have already performed all kinds of previous actions with them, this is what directs me to look at the situation and see in that state what is a commandment, transgression, or permission. It is recommended that you engage in the permission. A permission means that I am going to perform an act of bestowal according to my choice.
S. If I feel that there is a place of choice, how do I do it?
R. Of course you never have forces on your own to perform an act of bestowal. You have to do this by incorporating in them. They also do not have anything but by incorporating through them you will receive the force from above because deep inside of them is the Creator. This is how you discover Him, so pressure the connection with them a little and you see that a fountain of forces comes to you.
S. Do I pressure myself internally or in actions?
R. Yes, you can do it this way or that way.
12. (31:12) What is an act of permission in the group?
An act of permission in the group is that I am not obligated not coerced but I am searching and I find for myself in what can I add to the connection in the group. What else can I do in order to bring all the friends closer to each other, this is considered an act of permission.
13. S. (32:04) What are the prohibited Commandments and what are Commandments of permission of authority?
R. This is not so relevant, it is related to this article but it is not mentioned here, there is the commandment which is allowed, which I can do it or not do it or there is a compulsory commandment which I have to do. Meaning I see before me an opportunity to perform an act of connection with the others and I have to do it and it is revealed to me that I am able to do it so I have to do it. There is something else where the will to receive is pushing me to something and I have to resist it and to reject it because right now I am not able to correct this action or this state that my selfish ego my will to receive is pushing me to. For sure in the future I will be able to correct it. What we see today all kinds of states and actions that I want or would like to perform through the evil inclination but we have to limit ourselves and not to do it. As it says at the end of correction the angel of death becomes a holy angel. We will be able to perform all these actions in order to bestow and to see in them specifically in the greatest form of bestowal. These are things that we need to discover later, I do not quite like to talk about it too much because a person has to discover it out of his own work.
14. S. (34:10) Sometimes we receive tasks from you or from the organization and then we make a decision in the 10 that we are obligated or we are committed to do it and then we forget and we do not do it. Is this entering under the definition of permission or are we all performing a transgression?
R. We need to try to do all of the possible actions of connection, that is all, and not in the meantime to divide it that this is a commandment or permission or transgression but instead an act of connection should always be before us as an act. We have before us and it is both permission and it is also Commandment which is necessary.
15. S. (35:18) Does a persona always know how to discern between a Commandment and a transgression?
R. How can I know, it depends on the person, ask yourself, what kind of question is that?
S. Can’t there be a situation that the person thinks he's doing a Commandment but he is actually transgressing?
R. Certainly. The answer is as I answered, we need to scrutinize it each and every time and give an answer to it, but there is no answer for the question itself. Can I or can I not. Maybe one can, maybe one cannot.
16. S. (36:04) Is there an opportunity that is given to do something for my friends, let's say to join in the morning lesson, to open my camera, is this something?
R. Yes, if you have before you an opportunity to connect to the lesson then you should already see that if you do connect then you are keeping your obligation. It is not for yourself also but it is for the entire world vessel the entire world kli. That is if you do not connect to the lesson even though you have an opportunity and you are in this whole system this is already considered a transgression, it is not permission because we are committed to hold our general vessel and it depends on each and one and one who does not keep it, is truly performing a transgression against the general community and that is a problem. Meaning it is no longer a Commandment of permission but it is a Commandment of necessity it is a Commandment a directive because we have all signed seemingly an agreement of Arvut, mutual guarantee where each one says that I am responsible that our boat will not sink in the ocean but rather it will reach the safe shore.
17. S. (38:06) In a Ten that is connected to a friend who adds from himself, he uses forces to the whole Ten to also add out of themselves?
R. Of course we are connected together the fact that it is concealed from us and we're all at the end of correction and we're all under the 125 degrees of concealment this is only relative to us. To give us the possibility to discover all those degrees and to gradually rise upon them to the degree of revelation and the degree of general correction that it will be revealed to the end of correction. Our state is that being connected together remains, it is only a relative to the creatures in order to give us a place to work in.
S. The friend who pushes the friends to the state of acts of permission encouraging them and giving them an example, is this the optimal advancement for him?
R. Yes, the main thing for me is how can I connect all the friends together at any given state.
18. S. (39:24) In the last sentence it says the result of the choice?
R. We create a new choice and advancing connection, the advancing connection between us.
S. That is every choice of mine opens the next opportunity for choice?
R. Certainly.
19. S. (40:00) Can we say that if I have an action before me that is already a permission and the more the time passes it becomes already a Commandment or a transgression?
R. Yes for the time being it is like that later it becomes much more varied and diversified.
20. S. (40:32) What is a Commandment, what is permission and what is transgression?
R. The Commandment means that I am commanded to do so, I must do it, I must perform connection. Transgression is where I don't aim, don't want to carry out the opportunity of connection before me and permission is where I myself seek how can I do this action, I find and I do it. There is the matter here of seeking as well.
21. S. (41:25) Why is the essence of the war specifically in the permission?
R. In permission we have several things, permission I have to scrutinize and see where I can add. As much as I can add whether the Creator wants this or it will be to his liking, meaning there is a problem here, this is a lot of work. it’s just like we have in our life whereas if I am in the military then maybe I have a Commandment upon me. Do, and don't do, and I kind of don't work with my head but rather only with my hands and feet. Therefore the Commandment and the transgression are clear things and are more difficult because there is a Command and I must do it. Whereas permission is something I seek on my own where I can observe it as much as it will be receiving in order to bestow above reason. We could say that certainly the correct inclination on our behalf is to invert the permission to correction.
22. S. (42:54) What is the difference between effort and choice?
I think that through the effort we carry out the choice in locating the place and the conditions to perform an act of bestowal which is above our will to receive, that's called faith above reason to pray and ask for such a force. To receive it from above and to do an act of bestowal practically. Meaning I discover to the extent I do not want to be connected with others, I simply do not want and this desire this rejection is revealed more and more each time to the extent I am ready to kill them and above that I build my attitude which is love towards them. Love covers all transgressions and that’s how I advance. By the way women feel this much more clearly, a more disclosed and emphasized way than with men. Men always play between them just like we see a group of boys playing between them and they are quarreling but it is a game. Whereas girls, no. Two here, three there and so on. It is always some kind of attraction, rejection and politics between girls. Because the will to receive stands out more in women and the desire to bestow stands out a little more in men, kind of more or less. That’s why it is worth it for us and also later we will differentiate the place of Commandment, transgression and permission in men and women and there are differences there.
23. S. (45:10) What does it mean when it says, you bring a new authority under the Kedusha?
Permission is that he located those conditions in which he can be in order to bestow to connect them together, to unify them towards the Creator and put them under the influence of the Creator to bestowal to the Creator in holiness, Kedusha.
24. S. (45:33) How can we be constantly in the war and use every moment the Creator gives us?
R. I think that through the Arvut hat we develop in the ten. one helps the other and where we turn each other on, we ignite each other than the person feels that he is not successful, that he is behind.
25. S. (46:06) How can I assist each to be a part of the whole?
R. Give examples.
26. S. (46:16) How can I choose spirituality all the time because there is a feeling that such a choice does not depend on me so, who does it depend on, where does the decision and choice arrive when the Creator rules all of reality?
R. We need to bring ourselves to a state where the Creator rules, under the condition we connect and support each other. Nobody can do any correct spiritual action unless we constantly sustain the connection between us and support each other this fact that the person is not connected to the ten, the fact that one is not trying to do, to perform the connection in the ten this is actually the whole transgression and that is the same for men and women.
27. S. (47:16) What commandment is there in the ten, what should each commit to the ten?
R. In the ten is the commandment to become a ten because if it sustains itself all the time in the form of the ten then the Creator is revealed more and more in them and becomes closer to them in the form of increasing and intensifying the lights of the NRNHY.
28. S. (47:49) How does the woman examines herself, if he performs a crime in terms of not being or being present in the lesson because the ego always can make excuses why she did not participate because he has all kinds of necessities preventing herself from participating, how can I know when I truly cannot and I can add?
R. The question is very correct, very right and very complex and certainly that is why there is a condition that women are not obligated to carry out a commandment that time is evident in them. A woman is not obligated to carry out an action when others define for her because it could be that she has through that some obligation to take care of her baby, to take care of the home, all kinds of things which she is not the owner of her time. So therefore this rule of being exempt from time related commandments is relevant for women. However if it is not correct, if she is not committed at the moment to do something that binds her to the family or to her life is obligating her then certainly, she has to participate in the connection of the ten. The same rules that the men have, the women also have, only there are certain conditions that enable her to perform physical actions prior to entering spirituality.
29. S. (50:07) It says here that even if one fails that crime is not so great, this is why it is considered near to the reward. The question is why is the person not allowed to succeed in the right choice in the group, why is it considered for him as near the reward?
R. Because he chose, we are talking about the commandment of permission, he chose, that he wanted to do with nobody obligated him to do it and even if he did not succeed nevertheless, he tried and it is ascribed in him as wanting to do it but could not so next time he will know how to be more ready for that and succeed in doing.
30. S. (50:56) We learned that the commandment is the Creator's desire, does it mean that for all actions with the right intention we are observing a commandment?
R. Every correct action that we do towards the form of connection is the observance of a commandment.
31. S. (51:21) What is the struggle, the choice to fight over the intention or over the desires?
R. The choice is how to choose actions that bring us to connection to restore the original vessel of Adam HaRishon, meaning every action which contributes to the connection of the ten or any specific group by which he wants to reveal the Creator which is the general force of connection between us, which is love and mutual support. Therefore every such inclination, every step we make is called a commandment because in the end it is basically a commandment. We realize there is no permission or crime but everything is a commandment, do and do and do, but from our point as we look at it there is a method of permission, crime and commandment, cannot come to a commandment. We cannot reach the connection between us unless we choose prior to that in the form of permission and don’t discover that we are not capable and note that we cannot do this and this is called a transgression. This is as it is written “one cannot stand in the manner of commandment unless he first failed in it.” We cannot ever succeed if prior to that we did not fail in it, it is very simple.
32. S. (53:24) Are our intentions over the commandments in the ten considered permission?
R. Yes.
33. S. (53:35) What is the connection between prayer and choice?
R. Between prayer and choice we need first to be in a state that we have before us a choice of prayer meaning that eventually there is no more than prayer.
34. S. (54:05) The matter that women are exempt from time-related commandments makes all the operations in the ten to be permission, how can I truly check myself and what is my commitment to the ten?
R. This is not correct, the fact that women are exempt from commandments that are time related, the fact that it makes all commandments permission it is not correct. After we cut off all the possibilities that are towards the women and say that she is not obligated to do these and those things that are ahead of her because she had to do something at that time, this is the matter of time that causes them. There are such actions the woman is obligated to do, so after that she does not have the possibility to have any permissions here, no. There is an obligation, there is a commandment and there is permission and then there is the crime, it is very simple and if I now need to engage in serving my family or I have a baby or other such obligations, I must do them. After I have done those things or in some way, I complete my engagement in the obligated things then I return to my actions which are nevertheless commandments, transgressions and permissions.
Meaning from all the actions that the women do, they have a part of such actions that they cannot do but do, delay, because this is about necessities, it is not that they themselves choose this. I have now the necessity to take care of my baby and now there is the lesson, so what can I do? So of course I take care of the baby and there is no argument about this, this is me carrying out a different commandment of the Creator who created this situation for me. Therefore by this I am correcting the world as a woman by taking care of my baby but as long as the baby does not demand care at that point, I can already choose on my own. The Creator is no longer putting the baby before me, that you have to take care of the baby, so let's say I gave the baby the bottle and the baby fell asleep and I am free to connect, so I connect to the lesson and for me this is the commandment of a different choice. We need to see all these things not just to do this and that, but some of the time the woman enters correction through not the commandment of choice but by obligations having to take care of her family in such a way. This is against the Malchut as there are certain actions in this that the woman must correct herself even without the intention, this is something we will learn you will see this out of our general progress.
35. S. (58:02) What is the test of necessity to do right now, sometimes the ego makes us make inaccurate calculations, what is the true examination?
R. The real examination is if I can do it another time or if I have to do it right now, it could be anything from caring for the baby, caring for the family, for all kinds of other reasons. But can I postpone this so that I would do this after the lesson, after the gathering of friends if I can, I can do that, if I cannot I have no choice I have to do it. But the question is if I am sorry, am I sorry for being disconnected from the connection with my friends.