Morning Lesson February 10, 2024
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio.
Part 1:
Rabash. Article No. 21, 1989. What Is, “A Drunken Man Must Not Pray, in the Work?
Reading Article. (00:32) “Our sages said, ‘A drunken man must not pray…’”
1. Rav intro: (39:13) Thanks a lot to the reader. Questions?
2. S. (39:31) This state of drunk, is it because of the desire or something happens there which is already with the lights, meaning the desire is such that he wants too much?
R. Meaning thanks to what did he reach drunkenness?
S. He demands Hochma more than he can bestow?
R. Yes.
S. This desire who gives it to him, the Creator?
R. Yes.
S. Why is it an abomination if the Creator gives it to him?
R. Because he receives it.
S. He doesn't reject it?
R. Yes.
S. Actually if we try to take it to the work of the screen, is it that the screen is insufficient?
R. You don't have the ability.
S. He doesn't have the possibility to make a screen and he knows there's no possibility to have the screen but still asks for it?
R. Well, it depends.
S. When we learn about the cascading, we learn that every cascading stems from the fact that the screen, we try and we draw light but it's not enough, so we take it out and that's the way in which the worlds cascade.
R. Yes, but if he receives more than the screen then the light departs.
S. Yes, but it happens all the time in the cascading, the light departs or maybe not.
R. No, in this case, the light departs following its action, it's a different thing. It's not that he decides that the light will depart but rather the light departs because he wanted to receive it.
3. S. (41:42) He says that he should find motivation for himself not according to what is accepted in the public, but the motivation and the fuel is the greatness of the Creator. How do we constantly make up such motivation?
R. By connecting and then they have a greater desire and with that desire, they work.
S. The greatness of the Creator is a desire?
R. Yes.
S. What is this desire?
R. We wish to reveal the Creator together as great.
S. Why?
R. With this will enable us to be in adhesion with Him.
S. What does that become the only motivation, the only fuel, or maybe greater than all other motivations?
R. What are all the rest of the fuels?
S. The other things we have in life, the other pleasures.
R. Here it's not a pleasure for the person, it's in that he brings contentment to the Creator.
S. He is giving contentment to the Creator, so it's His pleasure.
R. Yes, to whom does he bring contentment, that's the question.
S. That's the question, so what is this motivation, what does it mean that each time he should muster new motivation?
R. That the Creator will be greater in your eyes than He was before.
S. And if for a moment I leave that?
R. Then you fall, then you begin to demand the Creator to reveal the fuel to you, that He will reveal Himself to you and then you'll be able to be in bestowal upon Him and that is already your problem.
S. What do you mean by your problem?
R. That you demand the greatness of the Creator.
S. To muster this new motivation means to constantly demand from Him that He will give me this fuel, this motivation.
R. Well that's not good.
S. So?
R. Man has to each time reach a state where he can move towards the Creator, the greatness of the Creator even if he has no fuel.
S. What does it mean to muster motivation each time anew?
R. To ask the Creator to give him an opportunity to ascend.
S. I should ask the Creator for it?
R. Yes, but what is he asking? He's asking the Creator to reveal to him His greatness, the greatness of the Creator.
S. Does that mean to give Him a condition?
R. No, without this I can't, I'm incapable.
4. S. (45:47) How do we keep the faith?
R. To work according to the greatness of the Creator, not that you attain it but you accept the recognition of the greatness of the Creator and that does not break your faith.
S. What Rav said now, I think it's something we feel but it contradicts these things in the text where he says you have to keep the right which means that he’s content with little, happy with his share and he has no need for His greatness. There's no need for the greatness because he keeps something that's very small that you have. How long would this wholeness of the right and you’re happy with your share, you can still be in this demand for faith above reason, for greater faith.
R. You want to hold on to the greatness of the Creator above your reason, above whatever you discover and feel, that's basically what you want to hold onto.
S. Exactly, that's my question. How do I hold on to that and not let go and I don't fall to the right or the left or on the right, but I remain with that faith?
R. I remain in that faith because if not that then I fall, I just fall below.
5. S. (48:01) About the same topic, there's a feeling that our war is over the greatness of the Creator really all the time and he writes here that we need to focus all of our thoughts. What is this action of focusing all our thoughts?
R. That all the complaints and our intentions are all in order for the Creator to be revealed in as great a way as possible so that I can use His greatness so as to maintain the state.
S. Well in my ears it feels, it sounded like personal work and here he writes all our thoughts. It means the thoughts of all of us or?
R. No, no, no, the persons.
6. S. (49:14) Also this sentence, “We must focus all of our thoughts on how to come to feel the greatness of the Creator then everything follows that point.” How do we focus our thoughts?
R. That I see I make a calculation, in what kind of inspiration I should be in, from what so as to stand against all the disturbances?
S. On the other hand, he says that we have to reject and repel all the bad thoughts that slander. Do I have the power to replace that thought that passes through me?
R. Try, yes.
S. What can replace my bad thoughts, the slander within me?
R. That there's an upper force which is higher than what you can imagine, and you have to receive this strength from Him in order to cope with what's attacking you now.
S. If I have within me a thought already which is all of myself, where do I bring a higher thought?
R. You don't have a possibility like that.
S. That's my question.
R. There's no question then, no such question because a person is not in a state where he is that deep under the rule of the evil inclination.
S. What is within my power in relation to my thoughts, what power do I have in relation to the thoughts that pass through me? Do I have the possibility to do something with them?
R. Yes.
S. What?
R. That you wish to be independent of them.
S. How?
R. That you want to expel them and receive instead a different force.
S. He writes that Daat means the middle line, well if so, what is Daat is reason, so what is above reason?
R. A higher degree, it's reason of a higher degree.
7. S. (52:04) He writes earlier in the article that there's no measure to the greatness of the Creator so the person can’t evaluate His true greatness. Then he writes as the friends read it now that we have to focus all of our thoughts on how to come to feel the greatness of the Creator. Elsewhere he writes we have to make a great exertion in order to achieve faith in the greatness of the Creator. I'm asking the difference between faith in the greatness of the Creator and feeling the greatness of the Creator, is there a difference between these two discernments?
R. Faith and feeling?
S. Yes.
R. No, if he can correctly interpret what he feels in the greatness of the Creator then it's actually recognizing the greatness of the Creator.
S. I ask because if His greatness is beyond measure, there's no way for us to evaluate His greatness. It means in our feeling we can’t really grasp His greatness so maybe with faith we can rise higher than the feeling.
R. Faith is what a person can depict to himself, yes.
8. S. (53:34) It says when alien and foreign thoughts come, we should reject them. It says that now I'm rejecting, I'm working on the right so I’m going above reason with Hesed but later on he says that you should calculate and introspect, so how's it possible to introspect and calculate truly if a person is delighted in Mercy, he doesn't want anything, he's content with little?
R. He took it upon himself to be on the right, but if he wants to measure then that state is incorrect, then he has to also feel the left. Therefore, on this condition he moves to the left, then again to the right, and again left, then right, and in such a way he balances the middle line within him.
S. What is this left that a person has control over and not spontaneously, so it's actually introspect to calculate in a measured way, that he has control?
R. Yes in control, otherwise he can't measure.
S. How do we open it up?
R. He's on the right and from the right he goes to the left, meaning it's all under his control.
S. What do we open up the left over, how do we?
R. I understand you, that he doesn't exactly have a measurement here of how much he opens and whether he's capable of that and permitted to do that. I would say that the more he turns to the Creator and scrutinizes that he does want to attain the left line as well, then the Creator opens it for him in a way that he's enabled to.
9. S. (55:53) To continue about the greatness of the Creator I wrote down; I calculate what greatness of the Creator I need in order to withstand the disturbances.
R. Yes, how can you, how can you imagine that, according to the disturbances?
S. That's exactly my question. If the disturbances come, they have control over me and I already fell and if it's before that, how do I know how to do this calculation? How do I focus my thoughts before something comes?
R. You can't, you can’t, you only ask.
S. Ask for what, opposite what do I ask?
R. That the Creator will arrange it for you.
S. He will arrange for me His greatness opposite whatever may come?
R. Yes.
S. This is called focusing the thoughts?
R. Yes, in this instance that's how it is.
10. S. (57:20) It says that the priest works in secrecy and the Levite in a loud voice. What does it mean in spirituality and secrecy or raising the voice, they both aspire to bestow to the work of the Creator?
R. It is as much as a person should enter the lines of left, right, and middle, and by that, he arranges a sum total of the revelation of the Creator in the right way.
S. It is known that the priest is basically the right, the Kedusha and the Levite is on the left and everything is inside the person. How does it connect, how does it manifest this thing within the person?
R. It comes through the manifestation, that a person reaches the middle line, and he starts to feel in it the balanced state, and from that he begins already to look correctly at the right and at the left.
S. Whatever happens there are always ups and downs in the person?
R. Yes, that's obvious because without that he will never be able to balance himself, it's what the Creator gives him.
S. Inside the person then there's both the priest and the Levite?
R. Yes, of course.
S. That's how he moves from left to right?
R. Yes, he should be Israel, the middle line.
11. S. (59:30) Why when the Creator gives the person desire and ability to bestow, He also gives him foreign thoughts? A person already is going, bestowing but he also has foreign thoughts?
R. To balance him even more on the middle line in order for the person to see how much nevertheless he's not yet established.
S. There will come a moment when he does this action without foreign thoughts in a more clean way?
R. As if, entirely without foreign thoughts, these are already very high corrections.
S. Along with forgoing and bestowing he also has to ask to not to have foreign thoughts?
R. No, the person doesn't ask for that, the Creator knows better what to send to a person.
S. So just to agree with it?
R. Yes, of course, I accept everything that comes from above.
12. S. (01:00:54) How do you correct a state of a drunk, if his wisdom is more than his action?
R. It’s a good question. He lacks Hassadim, you, see? What to do? I recommend in a state where you lack Hassadim to become incorporated specifically with the left because then one will truly have a correct demand that the Creator will balance him on the middle line.
S. To incorporate with the left is to continue the drunkenness.
R. No, I'm depicting a different state to myself. The most correct in that is to stop the action and begin it anew.
13. S. (01:02:58) I have the same question, if a person is already drunk what should he do? Typically, a person drinks water but there is always more Hochma, there's a notion of Hochma and Hassadim is barely there. What should a person do?
R. This state where he feels that he needs the right, first of all, he should stop the left and try to bow down towards the right until he reaches the middle line. This is actually the correct action.
14. S. (01:04:12) Again about the point, we have to focus all our thoughts on how to come to feel the greatness of the Creator, and then everything follows that point. From a point where the person feels the greatness of the Creator, what is given by the greatness of the Creator to these actions of connection Torah and Mitzvot as we call them, what does the greatness of the Creator bring to a person in terms of doing these actions of connection?
R. A person who starts to feel in these states the greatness of the Creator, he bows down with his head and goes to perform the actions that are all arranged on the middle line.
S. In order to realize them I was just missing here the point of the greatness of the advice of the sages. It's not enough to just have the greatness of the Creator, in order to realize it we need the greatness of the sages and the teacher who tells you what to do, is that correct?
R. Yes let's say.
S. It means it's not sufficient for a person to just have the greatness of the Creator so that he comes to the lesson here or connects with the Ten, he needs to have more greatness, something that will show and tell him how to really fulfill the greatness of the Creator. We need the greatness of the teacher and the sages; how do we strengthen this greatness?
R. We learned about it a thousand times; how do we strengthen that? By connecting between us, talking about it, and influencing each other.
S. And the greatness of the teacher, I want to grow the greatness of the teacher in me.
R. Yes also as Rabash writes, by discussing it with the friends.
15. S. (01:06:48) What does it mean to serve the King?
R. Serve the King means to reveal His greatness in the right way.
16. S. (01:07:03) What is the measurement, the indication for the Creator's contentment?
R. That the Creator enjoys the fact that you are constantly praying.
S. Do you need to accept the joy of the Creator with faith above reason?
R. Yes, of course, the vessel for that is faith above reason.
17. S. (01:07:41) It says on the condition that they don't escape the campaign during the work, how do I make sure that I didn't escape the work?
R. According to the group.
S. According to the group, how?
R. If I have a correct, good connection with my friends, then it’s considered that I'm not running away from the Ten.
18. S. (01:08:13) Why is the work because “He is great and ruling,” called holy work? It sounds like it's working out of fear.
R. No it's the opposite, it's above the fear. It’s following the fears and all kinds of such influences that awakened within me, I reach a state where I rise even higher.
19. S. (01:08:51) Does faith above reason give us the greatness of the Creator?
R. Yes, for the time being, we can say yes.
20. S. (01:09:15) It follows from the article that we should mostly adhere to the right line which is the priest, and the priest settles for his lot and he doesn't demand anything so how does he bring contentment to the Creator?
R. He bestows, from his line, he bestows forces to the soul.
S. To translate it here, he lives for the friends, and only demands for the friends, not anything for himself. Now we have a state in the Ten where a friend really, really needs the thoughts and protection of the friends for the near future, that this will envelop him with a spiritual force that nothing will hurt him. How can we generate this thought in the Ten?
R. When you constantly think about it.
S. Even above personal states, whatever we go through, above all that this friend’s more important now?
R. Yes.
21. S. (01:10:36) What is the greatness of the Creator?
R. The greatness of the Creator, that There Is None Else Besides Him.
S. Let's say, what is the difference between a person who sits in the lesson now and he has the greatness of the Creator and one who is sitting without the greatness of the Creator?
R. This is the difference.
S. I’m trying to understand. I also remember that Rabash said where is the pharmacy where I can buy the lack for this? Most of the hours of the day this creature called the created being is in the quality of reception, not bestowal. So, how do you create a transformation where I look at our life through the greatness of the quality of bestowal? Even now in the lesson, I’m certain that if I could see the lesson through a perspective of the quality of bestowal it would be a different reality.
R. Well let's say so.
S. I'm asking what can I do for this to be important in my eyes, great in my eyes?
R. You need to perform all the actions with the intention of making the Creator greater in your eyes.
S. For this to begin with I understand I need a different force then that doesn't exist in me.
R. Well think about what it is that you lack.
S. The force of bestowal, all I have is a force of reception. Where does it begin?
R. From the request, a prayer, for a need to reveal this need.
S. I look at my Ten let's say, and I don't really know how to generate the greatness of the Creator in my Ten. I really want to, I have a need, and I feel that I would like that, but I feel that whatever I do it's either not well accepted or not working. I'm kind of baffled in front of this.
R. I understand you, but you need to continue, we have to continue.
22. S. (01:13:34) If I want to change myself, how can my intentions be directed towards others? I am working constantly to change myself, how can my intentions be concentrated on others?
R. Try, you need to feel it through actions.
S. On which line is a drunk person?
R. The one who’s drunk is not in any line he's just below, under, he fell.
23. S. (01:14:54) What is the greatness of the friends that we need to have in order for our actions to be greater than the light of Hochma? How much greatness of the friends should we need or what actions do I have to perform?
R. Actions in love.
S. That our actions won't receive the light of Hochma?
R. Will not receive? I didn’t understand.
S. How to relate to the friends that we’ll have greatness beyond the light of Hochma?
R. What is beyond the light of Hochma?
S. I don't know, he wrote more than the light of Hochma.
R. More than the light of Hochma? I don't know, it’s not clear.
S. He’s asking so he won't be drunk, so he’ll have a greater vessel than the light of Hochma. He's calling the love of friends a vessel.
R. Yes, so?
S. He's asking how to do it.
R. How to do it? First of all, you get to the greatness of the friends, you hold onto that and then you go down to receive the light of Hochma.
24. S. (01:17:04) Why does it seem that the Creator is preventing the friends from reaching the lesson, He’s failing them even though they do feel the greatness of the lesson?
R. Again?
S. Why is the Creator doing it, that there are friends that do see the lesson as important but He's preventing them from coming to the lesson?
R. I guess they need to add more strength to get to the lesson. It is written that anyone whom the Lord loves, that person gets more disturbances, anyone whom the Lord loves He admonishes.
25. S. (01:18:32) How do you detect if you're drunk from the light of Hochma?
R. It is a matter of feeling, I cannot talk about it.
S. And how does it let's say it says a drunken man cannot pray, so say you are in a state of drunk how can you control the state you need to pray?
R. You can't, you can't control it. You can't control it, and this is why you are forbidden to pray.
S. And how do you know it is impossible to pray because if you’re in this state you need to pray actually, to get back into control so how do you see this?
R. You don't come out of it, this is why a drunken person is a person who has no control of his plea to the Creator.
S. So he cannot ask for help?
R. You can ask for help but not in the same way that gives you the possibility to rise from the situation.
S. I've been searching for that point of balance, how can I balance let's say in this point of Daat?
R. There isn't. You want to be drunk and at the same time have balance, it is impossible. It’s against the definition of drunkenness who thinks that the whole world belongs to him; he wants to seemingly be instead of the Creator, you understand? So, good luck. You come out of it the way drunken people come out of their situation in this world, time passes, and the person recovers.
26. S. (01:21:37) What does it mean that from the greatness of the Creator, we reach to the light of Hochma? The greatness of the Creator, the greatness of the friends?
R. Yes, this is how it is clarified. The greatness of the Creator or the friends brings us an addition of the light of Hochma.
S. What does it mean when we need to ensure ourselves that we won't reach that state of drunkenness?
R. What to do? so we would fall into the state of drunkenness to be equipped with Hassadim to equip ourselves with Hassadim.
S. How do you do that?
R. How to do that? Connection with friends. You become incorporated with the vessels of the friends more than the level than the measure of drunkenness comes to you, because the measure of drunkenness means you become disconnected from the external vessels, and here you do the opposite you have to connect to them more than to yourself and then you receive greater vessels, and you don’t get drunk.
27. S. (01:23:38) Above reason is a higher degree, is that through incorporation with the friends and subduing to the teacher?
R. Again?
S. Above reason is reason on a higher degree, that’s what I heard. Does that come with incorporating with the friends and subjugation to the teacher?
R. Well of course connection with the friends and subjugation before the teacher helps attain the higher degree without a doubt.
S. What else helps?
R. What else helps? I will tell you later.
28. S. (01:24:38) I am very confused. I hear all kinds of terms and all kinds of questions that people are asking about and at least what I understand it is only when a person reaches spiritual attainment, so?
R. I guess they are already there.
S. I heard you a few times saying that once there will be about 10 friends or a few that will be in spiritual attainment will be able to start bestowing on the external environment in a way.
R. No, no, no that's unrelated.
S. That's what I heard you say.
R. It is not a means for a solution for our society.
S. I don't understand?
R. I don't know why you're doing this.
S. I heard you say a few times how important it is also Rabash articles to understand what our current state is, what the desired state is, and how to pray correctly; if I hear friends that are already spiritual attainment like you say I also heard you say that our purpose in dissemination is to reach spiritual attainment then we'll be able to bestow to the world, I’m a systematic person and when things don't connect in such a way I get confused?
R. Okay, a little more time and it will pass.
S. Not an answer.
R. It's not a question.
29. S. (01:26:26) Rabash writes that there's a great danger that his wisdom is greater than his deeds and he offers a solution that he accepts everything because the Creator wants it and not for his own benefit. How do we in the work between us in the Ten do this work what the Creator wants and not for ourselves?
R. Well, it's obvious that this is what we are trying to do. This is called in order to bestow; how do you check your action? First of all, according to the will of the Creator as opposed to your own will.
S. The Creator’s will I don't feel I try to feel the friend's desires.
R. Through the friends, yes.
S. How do we search for the friend’s desires in this work all the time? It is something that constantly escapes you.
R. And then opposite that you have a possibility to constantly organize it more and more. There is no other way, it is the means to come to acts of bestowal.
30. S. (01:27:52) How can we reach a state of drunkenness in a system of bestowal?
R. Reasonably thinking you are right, where do they take it; but the approach itself is obtaining light of Hochma, wisdom and that it will shine in all the vessels, this in itself gives the feeling of drunkenness. I have nothing more to say.
S. The intention itself?
R. Yes.
31. S. (01:29:00) Could you maybe help me? I will try to depict something from the article we just read. He says Kohen and Levite, the Kohen is covered with Hassadim, even just coming is enough for him, just being connected to the Creator he's happy about it and feels good about it, he even doesn’t reveal it outward because people won’t understand what he's happy with because it seems he has nothing with external eyes; now the other state he is describing that the person is enjoying the light of Hochma that receiver. So, what comes first, the first state of the Kohen comes before Levite, through a development of a degree?
R. Of course the Levite comes first.
S. The Levite comes first?
R. Of course, the priest is higher.