Morning Lesson November 27, 2022 Transcription

Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio

Part 2:

Baal HaSulam. The Freedom

1 R. Yes, A very important article, adds to everything we’ve learned before. We already see articles by Baal HaSulam where in each and every article he adds more and more and more so that he can have the complete picture, and we’ll also continue here. We should collect all these things to receive a picture as whole as possible.

Reading (00:52) “The Freedom”

2. R. (01:37) Yes, meaning there are a few questions here and maybe we don't really know what he’s asking about, moreover the answers. Read it again because the whole article relates to this.

Reading again (01:55) “The Freedom”

3. R. (02:46) Yes, meaning the questions are clear.

Reading (02:54) “Freedom of Will”

4. S. (05:16) So he's asking here what does it mean the freedom of the angel of death, what freedom is she talking about?

R. I don't know what you're talking about when you say freedom, freedom from all kinds of things. You can want to have freedom, for instance, to go on vacation. So that’s your freedom, to go out in the evening with your friends to a pub so that your wife will give you freedom. I don't know,, each one, what he feels that he’s not free.

S. Freedom is okay but what does it mean the angel of death? I can exist without dying some time?

R. Oh maybe, I don't know. If we live from here to there in this framework what determines that I'm not completely free to do what I like, that is called the lack of freedom. What does it mean lack of freedom? The fact that I'm born, well that we can deal with but dying, that puts pressure on me and it determines many definitions, conditions and limitations in my life.

S. You consider freedom as a natural law that spreads over all of life, which means?

R. Every element in creation does not want anyone to limit him starting with mechanical things we’ve learned about in school. When something moves it wants to continue moving with the same force, speed and direction, no one limits it. These are simple laws of nature. So this is what we are talking about, mechanics and all kinds of more complicated creatures. Each and every one wants to remain under his own control of forces, when he is in control no one controls him.

S. He speaks about freedom, what freedom does he speak about, for what?

R. Freedom from alien control.

S. From the ego?

R. I don’t know, he didn't talk about ego yet. It’s freedom from alien control, I'm giving you an example of freedom from corporeal things.

S. He says freedom from death as if you get rid of death?

R. Yes, to such an extent.

5. S. (08:55) Really he's saying here that it relates to the natural law and after he asks and asks, even if we demand the freedom of the individual we need to understand there is such a concept within the individual called freedom. The society at large doesn't need to reach such a freedom, material freedom or democratic in so many words?

R. No. Why must humanity reach an understanding that freedom as you think is essential? Why do you think that you can seemingly tell nature what’s the rules that nature should run by?

S. He writes here that this is a natural law freedom and you also say that, freedom from external influence.

R. First of all I don't see anyone being able to be free, anyone who is not under the influence of alien forces and so the question is still completely open. There is nothing that is completely free from alien influence and there’s nothing that can influence different kinds of alien forces. And so this law of the freedom of the desire, freedom of will I don't see in our world that it can exist. This is considered that each one should do what he wants? What do you mean he can do what he wants? He’s not alone, many forces act upon him. And so we have to understand that only in this accumulation of forces the right way, free together, when each one will agree and each one will be happy by having a good, nice connection to others, then in this way we may be free. Free means I can completely open myself, completely relieve myself from my own criticism and completely hand myself out to everything around me.

That is considered the freedom of will when my will will feel that it’s specifically free. How can we depict such a thing? But nature is probably drawn to that, the fact that we cannot yet depict this law. We think each one puts pressure on the other, pulling the other but the truth is the inner law of nature is not organized this way. It is organized in a way that each one bestows good to the other in order to give the other freedom of movement in various aspects, mechanically, chemically, mentally, spiritually. We don't yet see it.

S. In order to provide for each of you, say for everyone to be aimed and aligned in this direction, I want to provide for each let's say the freedom of movement. If we look at Israel where people live in a democratic country and they have a vote, so in Israel for example and North Korea. In Israel people are studying Kabbalah and in North Korea they don’t. Where is nature's leading us, in such simple examples of freedom or more complex, or is it not related?

R. Nature leads us to the general freedom, to ideal freedom. We cannot depict these things right now because our minds and emotions are not built to such systems. This is why we can talk about it but what it is, we cannot grasp.

6. S. (14:43) Can we think of freedom as eternal life?

R. No, it’s not related, freedom and eternal life, no.

7. S. (15:11) Refer the paragraph where it says, how did they lose it again, how did the eternal become absent. Is that related to not wanting to blemish the King’s honor that we were talking about yesterday, not limiting the greatness of the Creator so we willingly conceal the Creator?

R. This is how we develop. If we want to develop, to evolve each time more and more, we have to depict the Creator as great and more universal, every time in each degree.

8. S. (16:02) We see through experience that the more the person evolves, understands, the less he feels himself as free and reveals a dependence from everything. Here Baal HaSulam writes that it is not for nothing that humanity has fought for the past several hundred years for the freedom of the individual. So what freedom of the individual did we receive, our freedom to fulfill oneself as he wants?

R. Yes, you're right. Each one he fights for his right to enable himself with what seems to him to be essential if it doesn't harm others. Here we put all kinds of limitations like the police, the courthouse excetera, just so each one can fill himself as much as he can.

S. As the individual develops and reveals the dependence from practically anything it feels absurd to strive for some freedom, it feels like a degradation, this is unclear.

R. No. We understand in principle that the correct life is between the two extremes, between completely free and completely dependent. That's why we are always looking for this ability to be neither yours or ours, in between.

9. S. (18:19) Can I clarify how did they lose this again; the question doesn't make sense what they lost.

R. Ask the question normally from beginning to end so everyone can understand you.

S. In the beginning of the second question it says ‘how did they lose this again’. It’s not clear what they lost. Yes they write ‘furthermore once they have attained the eternal body that cannot die, the acceptance of the Torah, how did they lose it again’.

R. So he's talking about the ones who received the Torah, then they lost it. It’s the group called the people of Israel who by the Torah they could attain freedom, not corporeal freedom, spiritual freedom first of all, and they lost it. So how can it be they lost it?

10. S. (20:01) Can I understand that we have an illusion of freedom? The Creator is giving us this illusion that it seems to us that we’re free. What freedom can there be? Even freedom to do what I want is a desire that the Creator gave me. Where is this concept at all, that there is freedom in reality?

R. This is what he's trying to explain to all of us, what freedom we’re talking about.

S. Is there such a thing as freedom?

R. I don't know. Do you hear what I just said? You're not here hearing what I'm saying. We're about to scrutinize this exactly, what freedom the Creator is intending, what freedom He gave us so we can keep what is our boundaries. On the other hand He tells us that we have to reach the freedom of will. Maybe we do not sufficiently understand this freedom, what he means by freedom of will. If we have a will to receive and from the Creator we can receive some correction on it, the will to bestow, so what freedom do we have? Let's read and see. But now we're asking only so it will be clear to us what he's telling us.

11. S. (22:00) Here if writes Harut on the tables. Does it mean that we can get out of a closed system only with the laws of nature?

R. I don't know.

12. S. (22:23) Since it brings us shame when we cannot bestow we tend to limit our desire when we cannot bestow. But is there a problem with that since we actually limit our freedom as well?

R. That's correct. Here there's a problem that we are not correctly relating to the conditions we are in, that we are not advancing, we’re not developing.

13. S. (23:04) What is the relationship between freedom and not wanting anything?

R. Freedom is when probably, we haven't scrutinized it yet; freedom is when I can do anything within my disposal. But what is within my disposal? it To what extent that it includes everything when we're talking about freedom. I don't know. If you leave a small child in a room alone he feels that he is free, home alone. Is that called that he is really free? So we are the same. We should know the whole system we’re in, all the worlds, all the abilities and then after these examinations we may say if we are free or not. And if we are how do we attain freedom, what does it mean to be in freedom, freedom from whom? These are great questions, we will come to them.

14. S. (24:58) What is the eternal body that one acquires through Torah?

R. I guess it is a eternal body that is filled with light and this is why it's called eternal.

15. S. (25:41) If we accept our nature, the left line and right line and rise above it to the middle line, is the middle line a stage where we claim we can have freedom or is that something that is freedom?

R. Yes, apparently it is.

16. S. (26:20) It’s clear that in our world there is no freedom. The true freedom, can we say that it’s the provision of the Creator?

R. Everything is coming only out of the governance of the Creator.

17. S. (26:48) When you talk about having alien forces that we don't know, what forces are you referring to and how do they act on us, what is their purpose? Are these forces dependent and can they influence and negate our freedom?

R. I don't know. I haven't reached these forces so what do I have to speak about them?

18. S. (27:41) Who has free choice in humanity?

R. Who in humanity has a free choice? Whoever reaches the free choice.

S. What does that mean?

R. Whoever reaches the free choice. Now the question is how to reach a free choice, what does it mean to have a free choice? It means that whoever exists within a system, the same system as the Creator, he has the freedom to choose within the system that he is in on the same degree. It is called that he is choosing the freedom of choice but only within that degree, not above because there the conditions change and he needs to acquire more forces to be in freedom.

S. How is a person's free choice expressed?

R. We still don’t have a clear definition but freedom of choice is apparently when a person knows the past, present and future within the same forces that act on him and that he can act upon and activate. And then he exists with them in a certain resemblance and this is how he can determine freedom of choice.

19. S. (29:31) How can we reach a degree with a true free choice?

R. This is what we study, and hopefully we understand how to reach to be free. To be free essentially is being like the Creator. So to reach the same system that the Creator exists in, to be in that system and cleave, adhere to the Creator and be within the same forces as Him and the same abilities as Him, this is what it's called to be free. We will rise together, study together and we will do it.

20. S. (30:42) The subject of freedom is pretty complicated, it means that nothing is free and we’re always influenced by alien forces and now I hear that the only freedom is to be under the influence of the Creator, subjugated to the Creator. So the question is: accepting this decision of being subjugated to the Creator or to the ten, is that freedom, can we call that freedom?

R. No we still haven't learned where our freedom is. Freedom doesn't mean that I’m free to choose to enter this prison or that prison. I don't know what it means to be free and so how to reach it or how to choose it I don't know.

Reading (32:01) “Pleasure and Pain - However, when we examine the acts of an individual, we will find them compulsory…”

21. R. (38:56) Well, there are words here that are very, very precise and difficult.

22. S. (39:07) Is the Creator free or is he also compelled by love, and who is more free man or the Creator?

R. I don’t know because to say this or that, I don't have enough information, enough data. What we attain we attain in our vessels, in our Kelim, and in our Kelim we receive some information that the Creator is above us and on a degree that is higher than us. Is there something above Him? I don’t know. This is why we cannot speak about that and discuss it. We can discuss only what is within us, below us, and above us in one degree, that's it.

23. S. (40:20) Can we say that man’s true free will is the same as the Creator’s will?

R. No, you cannot say that.

24. S. (40:45) If a person knows everything, he knows all results, he does everything, he makes a choice because he does everything that’s required. But if the person doesn’t know anything he chooses with some risk, he doesn’t know what he’s choosing. So what are the conditions to receive freedom?

R. I don't know what is reception of freedom. I know that I receive certain conditions, practices for me to reach freedom and when I reach freedom then I will be able to get rid of the desire to receive, my desire to receive which confuses me and drags me from side to side. And then I’ll be free of it and I’ll be able to choose between good and bad, this and that and thus I’ll reach the truth. And until then I have no way, no opportunity to reach freedom. I don't know where it is.

25. S. (42:25) The article is written in this provocative way as if we’re little children that can’t face this law. On the other hand we use this law all the time. Can we say that when we depict the pleasure of the final correction that it also helps us now to choose and to disconnect from our short term pleasures? So the question is can we compare what we have learned in the previous part about wholeness and emptiness, the same laws as pleasure and pain?

R. Yes it's possible. Until we reach this directly, we start feeling it within us, we can’t say anything.

S. So, is our freedom in the meantime to go according to these laws and to know them and to use them?

R. Yes, that is correct.

26. S. (43:49) According to what we read here the more we’re under our own feelings we’re under the feeling of reward and punishment so we limit our freedom. So it turns out that we should feel our fellow man to feel free?

R. No. What freedom is we still need to study, we still need to learn.

S. But he writes here that the more you feel reward and punishment you’re more..

R. You’re more, but you’re not yet.

27. S. (44:48) Can we understand freedom as this sensation we have to the extent that we turn to the Creator?

R. No.

S. Meaning we can’t describe freedom with words?

R. Yes, that's correct.

28. S. (45:36) We're not free in anyway, not in the way we sit or the way will look, and others manipulate us by fear. When I identify that and choose the Creator with faith above reason, is that the first step for freedom?

R. Yes.

29. S. (46:10) In what way can a person organize this contradiction, between doing whatever I feel like and the complete servitude to nature?

R. To combine these two conditions, that's exactly our work.

30. S. (46:41) Do we attain freedom only by us loving our friends?

R. No. Freedom is in our ability to become like the Creator, otherwise it is not freedom. I'm telling you this from the side, without the article. We cannot feel ourselves free until we resemble the Creator. This we’ll need to clarify more and this is what pushes us to rise all the way to His degree, “to the Lord Our God” as it says.

31. S. (48:10) Now I choose the will to receive automatically because if I don't receive I suffer. In spirituality when a person is in the will to bestow where is his choice? If he won’t bestow he’ll also suffer.

R. Of course.

S. So where is his freedom if he chooses bestowal?

R. Suffering helps us to leave our desires, to realize them.

S. Where is the freedom if he chooses bestowal? It turns out he’s a slave to bestowal.

R. No, we’re coming to the point where we can work in both regimes, the left and the right and we choose freely.

32. S. (49:27) You said that we would be like the Creator, to feel the true freedom. So the only tool I have is to choose the path of Torah. That’s the only way I can have a chance to get to equivalence of form. So that’s the freedom of choice that I have?

R. For now.

33. S. (50:14) A few articles ago we learned about the rich person that gives everything to his guest and he asks when will you be content? So the poor man says when I have everything you have but on my own accord. Is this a reason we’re only free when we’re like the Creator?

R. Yes, yes, as it’s written ‘return the sons of Israel to the Creator,’ we need to reach the degree of the Creator.

34. S. (51:05) If the environment shapes us can we choose the environment, can this be our freedom of choice?

R. Pretty much so.

35. S. (51:30) I heard you say that only when a person gets rid of his ego can know what freedom is. So what is the purpose of this world? Why do we need all this show?

R. In order to fulfill everything that the Wisdom of Kabbalah requires of us. To reach adhesion with the Creator we need all of this world, all of this world until the last detail.

S. But until we get rid of the ego everything is dictated, we’re like machines Baal HaSulam says. So why didn’t the Creator create us at a point of choice already?

R. We need to reach the point of choice from our state and then we’ll see and feel that this is the point of choice and we’ll be able to realize it.

S. So, what’s the true relation that we should have, to being in this world?

R. To rise above our existing ego, the present one.

Kabbalah Media

Kabbalah Media

My LibrarySign in to like, save and subscribe to videos

Lezione del giorno18 מאי 2022(Morning)Part 1 Lesson on the topic of "The Approach to Studying the Wisdom of Kabbalah"

Part 1 Lesson on the topic of "The Approach to Studying the Wisdom of Kabbalah"

Lesson on the topic of "The Approach to Studying the Wisdom of Kabbalah"

LoadingHold on tight

Kabbalah MediaCopyright © 2003-2026 Bnei Baruch – Kabbalah L’Am Association, Tutti i diritti riservati

My Library
Sign in to like, save and subscribe to videos

Lezione del giorno18 מאי 2022(Morning)
Part 1 Lesson on the topic of "The Approach to Studying the Wisdom of Kabbalah"

Loading
Hold on tight

Kabbalah Media
Copyright © 2003-2026 Bnei Baruch – Kabbalah L’Am Association, Tutti i diritti riservati