Morning Lesson July 28, 2021, Transcription
Baal HaSulam - Introduction to The Book of Zohar. #71
1. R. (00:19) In letter 70 last time we spoke about, or we can say like this: He writes in the Corrections to the Zohar “Woe unto them who cause him to leave the world”, the light of the Messiah, meaning the light that corrects all of reality, “and not return to the world, for they are the ones (specifically) who make the Torah dry…” Meaning that that same method for correction of the nature of man, they make it dry. Meaning that they turn it into just a simple study and do not want to engage in the Wisdom of Kabbalah. They confine themselves to the practical part of Torah and do not want to try to understand the Wisdom of Kabbalah. To know and understand the secrets to the Torah and the flavors of commandments. “Woe unto them, for with these actions they bring about the existence of poverty, ruin, robbery, looting, killing, and destruction in the world.” Meaning that they cause all of the evil and the bad. There is no other source of evil other than the same people who need to engage in the Wisdom of Kabbalah. Instead of this they engage in all of the other things. It is no wonder that the world is in such a natural sensation of anti-Semitism towards that same group. That it doesn't know it but is opposed to the Wisdom of Kabbalah. Whether they want to or not they cause all of the evil in the world. Nothing we can do. This is the system in which we exist and we need to see the truth in order to correct it.
2. S. (02:36) Can we say that he's talking about us? That we're not doing all the possible things?
R. Yes, of course, good thing you said it and reminded me. Meaning that we are talking about the entire same group that once emerged from Babylon. As much as these few thousand years, it has disconnected from the method itself, from the wisdom of Kabbalah, from the attainment of the end of correction for the entire world. That is one thing. That it is not just a dry study like every other science. We are talking about the correction of man. The correction of the world. On the other hand, it is also talking to all those same people who join that same group. Where did that group come from? It came from Babylon where there were people who felt that they want this. They felt that they understand when Abraham turned to them. They felt that they need this, that they are ready for it and they accept it and went after him. Now it is also talking towards you and everyone. Does not matter where the person comes from or what he belongs to. He needs to now understand that this speaks to each and every person. That today we are in the stages of the end of correction. Each one who feels some reaction in him, from this that awakens in him this desire, the sensation, and understanding of the responsibility, he must join and by the Wisdom of Kabbalah understand what needs to be done to connect between us, to turn to the upper force, to form a place which, through us, the upper light, the abundance and goodness towards everyone can influence all the corners of the world.
Item 71 (05:01) “The reason for their words is, as we have explained, that ….”
3. R. (07:35) This is clear to us from here that in sum total those people that awaken in the world to destroy the world, to be in all the conflicts and problems in the world, why do they awaken as such? It is because the force of correction doesn't come to the world at its time. That corrects the human ego. Thus, these nations rise up, and between them, one against the other, and also against Israel. The reason for this is that that same nation of Israel, that part in it that needs to be connected to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, to understand and explain to everyone. So that they will understand what is happening at all, what is the system of nature and what is happening to. We are not doing it. Thus, we are at fault for all of these things that are happening both in the whole world and also with us. It is no wonder that the nations of the world truly turn to Israel and they condemn and blame us. They say that you are causing all of the evil in the world. This is what we see from this great Kabbalists that writes it as such. He was not afraid to write this and it is not simple.
4. S. (09:27) A few days ago you asked us to pay attention and to be meticulous about this discernment about Israel and those who yearn to reach the Creator. That the ones who have the internality and their responsibility to engage in Torah is upon them.
R. There are two discernments here. One is that Israel is called according to their desire. That is directed Yashar-Kel, direct to the Creator. Who wants to reveal him, to get closer to him, and to understand him. That is called Israel. Meaning direct to the Creator. On the other hand, we also have the earthly form we see in this world, upon the earth. There are people who are called the nation of Israel, Jews, according to how they were born. Nevertheless, we need to relate to both. Because if we speak within our study we are talking about Israel as those who yearn for the Creator. If we are speaking about the world, the world doesn't take that into consideration. Rather whoever belongs to the corporeal nation of Israel. Whether we want it or not, that is what we see. We have both of these discernments.
S. In truth, both when we act in dissemination and in the ten. There is confusion of whose responsibility it is. Sometimes we say everything depends only upon me. Meaning if I will intensify my internality over the externality in the ten. Sometimes we say the Jews in general in the world, they are the ones that should sustain this and increase internality. Because of them there is calamity in the world. It's hard to understand who my partner is. To bring the correction, is it only me, me and the ten, or all of the Jews all of all over the world?
R. We need to turn to everyone, to the whole world. That is what I understand and do. Along with this, surely, if we are talking about bringing correction to the world, it refers to those who are called Jews. Because according to the root of their soul, they are in a state that they received the Torah, it is known to all in the nations of the world. They need, in the connection between them, to show an example. To bring these forces of good to the world. On one hand.
On the other hand, we need to understand that Jews are called those who are drawn to the Creator and we have millions among the nation of Israel who are drawn in different foreign directions and they have no interest in the wisdom of Kabbalah. They look down on it, truly degrading it, the wisdom of Kabbalah, Torah and the country of Israel and Judaism, and everything. They want to belong to the world and to feel secure there, without restrictions. I understand it. Nonetheless, we need to turn to those and to those, to everyone. Because in subtotal, the forces of nature operate according to their systems of these forces and not according to the desires and understanding of people in this world. They don't understand anything from the world they are in.
In the meantime, we need to advertise to everyone what Baal HaSulam writes here. Each one, according to how he will understand it and be impressed by it, will change himself in life. Because otherwise we will find ourselves in very complicated and complex states. We are in a state of great opposition to the general nature which is the Creator. In frontal opposition. Do you see what is happening? Just how much we have of floods, fires, earthquakes and hurricanes. This is just the beginning. And of course, coronavirus and so on. This is all just the beginning. I don't want to scare you, but you know that usually when we talk about something, it happens later. Therefore, we need to explain to everyone what the true reason for all of the crises is that are coming and that they will not leave us. They are coming to everyone, to all of humanity. It is not just some farmers there in South America or South Africa. It is all of us. Those who understand and are connected to the correction of the world. We are at fault. This is how each of us must think. This is why we received this knowledge, this connection that entered our systems to truly reach the correction of the world.
There is nothing to be embarrassed about here. That these are high words. Who are we? Yes, we have to do it. There is nobody here who loses or benefits. We are all in danger. If there are some countries who still feel as if it hasn't touched upon them yet, just wait, they will all flip. These are like waves that go from place to place and you will see how it works. From day to day, it changes and the direction is clear. The entire world will suffer until the world won't pressure itself and especially Israel to take care of this problem. Until the world will start pressing on Israel to correct the attitude of man towards nature, towards godliness.
Reader continues (17:36) “After through our many faults, we have witnessed ….”
5. R. (20:58) We finished the Introduction to the Book of Zohar; you can add infinite questions and answers but we will go with how much you want to scrutinize these things.
6. S. (21:21) About man's nature, I can understand there is internality and externality but why is it said about Torah there is internality and externality?
R. What do you want to get out of the Torah, either stories as it is written or you want to take out of its knowledge of the system through which you want to draw the light that reforms in order to resemble the Creator, it is all dependent on man. What is he drawn to, externality, to know the stories or does he want the force in the power to help them change himself.
S. Why are people given the opportunity to bring the externality out of the Torah?
R. It is written in such a manner in order to approach internality you have to pass from the externality because otherwise you won't grow, why do we not create it already in the upper world, in the spiritual world. Why do we need to be here in this world and from this world by all of these troubles, thousands of years of suffering to then reach the spiritual world and begin to rise in each degree is until the end of correction. This is actually your question,
a person needs to be comprised of all of creation and resemble the Creator and it is not possible other than from the darkness to reach the light. We begin from the lowest possible degree to the extent that we begin the path. We are less than still, vegetative, and animate with this drop of seed that we get from it, it is not worthy of anything of itself, still, vegetative and animate are still more worthy of development in our world and within spirituality they are entirely unworthy as we reach spirituality in a manner which is truly opposite from zero and it is all in order to acquire all the spiritual discernments in a true manner on ourselves out of that which was born this way. That we can learn and be critical and truly be within the scrutiny, a person needs to be comprised of everyone, of all and then connect everyone as they all emerged from the Creator and a person in this can reach resemblance of the Creator. There is something to talk about here and learn as these are very high things.
7. S. (25:13) Why doesn't he take into account any light by Israel?
R. When he spoke about here with Lithuania and other places is mainly where there were Jews here. All of the Jews who initially reached Russia and came from Poland and.it wasn't as today as much higher borders. That is how it was and that is how they write about Poland and Lithuania that they are the source of all of the Jews who spread upon the great area of Russia and also further south in countries there, there are sources from there.
8. S. (26:40) We are seeing all the time that other calamities in the world occur because Israel is not engaging in Torah?
R. We are talking about this, that the nation of Israel is not engaged in correcting the world and in order to correct the world that needs to correct itself. In order to correct itself it needs to engage in the wisdom of Kabbalah. It needs to draw the light that reforms, in order to correct itself, in order to draw the light that reforms it needs to engage in the internality of the Torah which speaks about the soul and the correction of the soul.
9. S. (27:49) How to precisely understand who the people of Israel are and who must engage in correcting themselves, many have not heard about it yet?
R. The nation of Israel is called those who have accepted that they are part of the nation of Israel and humankind and this is also called those who desire for the same goal of correction of the world, the correction of the soul that they are in it already internally in this process. Just like we have now in people for the entire world, friends from the whole world that according to their direction they are called Israel, Yashar Kel, direct to the Creator, so despite the fact that they are not Jew’s corporeality this is not important that is upon the earth and the only place that it plays a role. According to the spiritual tendency they belong to Israel, Yashar Kel, straight to the Creator.
S. This tendency, that desire is revealed along life not from birth?
R. Okay sure.
10. S. (29:24) We know about the importance of dissemination so how should we relate to the words that are written that we shouldn't give the Torah to the idol worshippers?
R. In our times that's not really so relevant. We can open ourselves up in what we learned to everyone. Do you see what I do, there's no problem there's no secrets as we're getting closer to the end of correction and this needs to be understood by everyone and open to everyone.
11. S. (30:12) Can we grow as Israel?
R. That depends on your direction, what are you asking me, whoever wants to reveal the soul to reveal the Creator is called Yashar Kel, direct to the Creator, Israel but again in that world of Israel there are a few levels, Jews in this world and the spiritual level which is the internal tendency of man.
12. S. (31:00) Why is the spiritual work in a small group rather than the majority?
R. It is always as such, high spiritual things that are closer to the Creator they are in a small minority.
13. S. (31:25) According to what discernment will the nations of the world acknowledge the merit of Israel?
R. According to the attainment of the goal that we will cause a change in the world for the good we should understand we are still far from this, but when we will begin to cause the change the whole world for the good then all the nations of the world and in general, the whole world will begin to feel that it is a result of this that we are worrying about it, that we care about it, that the source is from us.
14. S. (32:15) Is this the reason that Kabbalah was revealed now so we wouldn't use externality in the wrong way?
R. Yes of course, how is it possible to reveal Kabbalah in the Middle Ages or before, truly people were not capable of grasping, digesting the opposite, Kabbalists concealed the wisdom of Kabbalah as much as possible so it would not be revealed, only in our times two or three hundred years ago since the Baal Shem Tov, that is actually when it began to be revealed. There were also big problems from the Baal Shem Tov when he began this work, but he made big corrections and the wisdom of Kabbalah was revealed at least in the entire Western Europe.
S. We being more egoistic isn't it that we would use the wisdom of Kabbalah externally?
R. You use the wisdom of Kabbalah in externality, you see all the religions and the faiths, all sorts of methods that they use the upper force, the Creator, all of the fundamentalist, extreme religious movements that we see in every place nowadays in every nation. That also is the result of this, that the wisdom of Kabbalah was revealed and there is a tendency for it in an extreme manner in each nation and in each time, each era. All of the evil things also happen because of the wisdom of Kabbalah and soon it needs to be revealed also the good things. Now we are actually at this stitching point between the bad time frame and the good time frame, this is precisely the time now. If we activate ourselves correctly it will turn all of the negative forces in nature that are revealed into good, otherwise we will find ourselves in very difficult states throughout humanity. I am certain that you will read and hear about it in the media and everything. It is not a secret anymore, if we are going to continue this way then more than a few decades we won't even exist on this planet anymore, humankind.
15. S (35:51) I wanted to know if I'm all right or if there's something I can improve. It seems like I'm entirely in the internality of Torah, every morning I am in the morning lesson, the writings of Baal HaSulam, externally I don't invest anything in externality so am I all right or is there something I can improve?
R. You need to enter some system of ours and to be under people who will direct you, otherwise you are bound to just get confused and cause harm to yourself and others.
S. What do you mean dissemination or what?
R. I don't know, you need to turn to those in charge and let them direct you where you belong to in order to benefit yourself and others.
16. S. (37:05) If I understand correctly the entire creation is divided into internality and externality, Israel and 70 nations of the world, why is Torah also divided the same?
R. That is towards human beings, it’s not that Torah is divided, Torah is the light that fills creation, it is not divided into anything. They say there are 70 faces to the Torah and many parts in the Torah, it is not that itself is divided but that we receive it and realize it.
17. S. (37:58) I see the floods and people suffering, yet I don’t ascribe it to myself. Relate to the 10 more seriously, should I add dissemination or how to increase sensitivity and responsibility?
R. Only by this. That, we will talk about it between us and incorporate what the Kabbalists write regarding our responsibility to the world. As much as we will be drawn to our correction and to the correction of the world in dissemination as well, as much as possible. Today it is not so difficult because look what is written in every place about all these tragedies, and crises in the world, we just need to add correction. We don’t need to tell them about the bad state, we just need to explain to them how to reach good and that is it.
18. S. (39:33) There are so many discussions about the interpretations of Torah and it caused a lot of suffering throughout history. Who is the Torah intended for?
R. It is meant for whoever wants to correct themselves and by this you correct all of reality, it is called Yashar Kel straight to the Creator and the Torah is meant for him.
19. S. (40:17) Is there room for externality or not, maybe we should cancel it if I don't get it?
R. I can’t explain to you now the structure of reality, it will just confuse you and won't give you any opportunity to understand anything, it won't be beneficial now as we will reach a state where you will begin to worry. It all depends on how much you will connect with the 10.
S. Meaning there is internality and externality?
R. I answered that already, you won’t confuse me.
S. Yesterday you gave us a great exercise to think about the conditions of how to enter spirituality and to build a prayer in the ten, is there an exercise you would give us today?
R. The main topic of today is how to build a womb out of the ten, how each one depicts the ten as a womb in which he needs to hide, conceal himself and begin to grow by the womb. Truly to enter the womb, to immerse in the web, this is the ten and as much as you see them as one collection to reveal the upper force which is actually connecting them as one this is how you grow and is the first step in spirituality.
20. WSQ: How do we build the womb out of the ten, this is the most foundational and important thing. How to build a womb out of the ten.