Morning Lesson April 16, 2021 Transcription
1. Rav’s Introduction: The beginning of our connection with the Creator, practically, it begins with raising of MAN. Our side is our request whereby we turn to him with corrections, fulfillments, whatever we can relate to Him. The Creator is actually the source of everything. Therefore, raising MAN should truly be a non-stop request on our side. That’s on the one hand. On the other hand, we need to realize that also before we feel the lack, this lack comes to us from above. The Creator specifically arranges for us all of our relations for spiritual ascent to him and even though we feel that it is coming from us, the direction towards the Creator, towards spiritual ascent, in truth, before we feel it, we need to realize that this lack comes from above. As it says, I am the first and I am the last. Therefore, there is nothing that awakens in the will to receive unless it is awakened from above. This is something that we have to discover. Besides that, we need to check how much is our request which we establish according to the number, the quantity, the number of those who participate in a request, according to the quality of the request, according to our inclination, our direction towards the Creator, the intensity of the request, how much all of these details, and there are really many details there, how much all these details and each one of them is influencing the Creator’s response. By that, we can understand Him, get to know Him that of course each and everything that awakens in us awakens from His side, I am the first. When we process it and show a lack to him from our side, it turns out that, by this, we truly begin to connect with his first desire. This is how we enter a connection with the Creator, and out of that the development of this connection brings us all the other stages of the correction. That's it. Let us approach our excerpts and let’s try to understand it better and better. Of course, actually, our main work is in the connection between us and with the inclination to connect with the Creator. Here, in those relations, we need to see where is the MAN and the MAD, the ascents and the descents, and all of the discernments that we need to achieve in our work.
Excerpt 5 (04:25-05:11)
2. R. (05:11) We can be in contact with the Creator only according to the intention to bestow, in order to bestow, to try to be in that. To reach the degree of Bina, to be incorporated in the degree of Bina, that is, to rise above Malchut to Bina. This means to attain the qualities of Bina. This is the work in the desert where we don't yet use our will to receive, but only in rising above it. This is called the work in the desert. That is, that the Creator shines to us without an awakening on our side. Because, well, without an awakening, meaning without the filling of the Kelim, the vessels, from Malchut, we can only awaken above it, above this level of Malchut, above Malchut. This is why what we get is...we get lights, little lights, small lights, because it is not through our will to receive. This is why these lights that we get are considered bread from the heaven. That is, without work. Meaning, without working with Malchut itself, with the vessels of reception in order to bestow. When we enter the land of Israel, the desire that we also want to aim towards the Creator, meaning to place upon it a screen and receive in order to bestow, then it is considered that we are already working with the land, with Malchut. This is why we receive from the Creator greater lights, which are called bread from the earth. So, we have light, which is the vessels of bestowal, this is called bread from the heaven, and light that comes from the vessels of reception, which is called bread from the Earth.
3. S. (07:41) What does it mean that we are connecting with the Creator through the work of connection of Malchut with Bina?
R. In the connection between us we need to reach a state where, at first, we cannot work with our desires to receive in order to connect, but rather, we rise above our desires and we connect above our desires. Let's say that you want to be in some business with someone, but you do not pay attention to his qualities, to all kinds of such things that usually would hinder you, would bother you, but in order to have some business with him, to be his friend, you don't look at anything, whatever there is between you. Rather, the most important thing is to connect above it. As we say, love covers all crimes. This is why the connection is an external one. This is actually the style of our correction in the desert after the reception of the Torah, in the 40 years in the desert. I am speaking roughly. Of course, there are many questions here. Forget about the questions about it, because I just want to take into account that we are not correcting the desires, we are just rising above them in bestowal to each other. After we attain this degree, the lights that influence, these are lights of Katnut, smallness. Therefore, the spirit of time is called the Omer count, it’s the time of Katnut. Later on there are the 40 years in the desert, which is still Katnut. We do work with the vessels, but in the form of Katnut, smallness or infancy, we don't really correct the coarseness in Malchut itself, and this is how we advance. This is called, therefore, that...What we get what through these corrections of Malchut, it is considered that we are receiving bread from the heaven. We received the Torah in the giving of the Torah. Later on, for 40 years, we ate manna. That is, we get lights that are called manna. This is called bread from the heaven. This is how we correct the vessels. That is, we don't truly correct them, but rather, in rising with his Kelim above the intention to receive, and being in in order to bestow, but without using the vessels in order to bestow, but only rising above the will to receive in order to receive, to the will to receive in order to bestow. This is a degree which is on the way, in the middle, before truly working with the will to receive.
4. S. (11:50) What is the difference between the bread from the heaven and bread from the land?
R. When we are in bestowing in order to bestow, this is called bread from the heaven. When we are in receiving in order to bestow, this is called bread from the earth.
5. S. (12:28) This principle of I am first and I am last, it is felt both as the request because we received it from the Creator. What makes the request ours?
R. Everything comes from the Creator, but we do not know it. Now, when I get some awakening towards spiritual work, I think it is mine. I do not see what happened before it, some action or something, so it seems to me that it is mine. This is how this whole world appears to me. Only in a small part and number of incidents that happened I can point out that this is what happened. But in most cases, most things that happen in this world, I don’t know it. I only know it only from the moment that I observed them and I can say that yes, this is what is happening. And accordingly, I can work. That’s it. For sure, before there is any thought or desire inside of the person, there was an action by the Creator who awakens it. There is no blade of grass from below on which there is no angel from above that is striking it, and telling it to grow. This is what it says.
6. S. (14:20) How can the created being, how can we bestow to the Creator if the Creator is seemingly in absolute rest? How does that work? How can we bestow to Him?
R. We bestow to the Creator, or influence the Creator, because the Creator is the upper light who is in absolute rest, and, of course, the actions of the lower ones do not reach him. But, in his relation to the lower ones, since he wants to benefit his creations, he made a condition. It all depends on the desire of the lower ones, because you cannot bestow to someone, delight someone, if he does not enjoy it. You cannot. You have to bring him to a state where he awakens, he recovers, he is in some kind of awakening towards you, he receives your influence, your bestowal, he understands it, he responds to it, he is filled by it, etc. This is why there is an upper force, which is above all of the created beings and everything. We are not talking about Him, because it has nothing to do with us. We are not with Him. We have a connection with what we call Boreh, Creator. Boreh, come and see. This is the attitude of the upper force towards us. We are talking about Him, about how the upper force relates to us, called the Boreh, and how can we reach him, Bo, come, and see him, discover him, Reh, see. This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah talks about.
7. S. (16:45) You explain that bread from the earth is receiving in order to bestow. Why is that state considered complete or whole, and not bestowal in order to bestow?
R. Bestowing in order to bestow is not considered something complete, whole, because you are not using your desires, truly, but rather, you are only rising above them. This we will later learn in the wisdom of Kabbalah itself.
8. S. (17:32) Here we are connected with the 10 and with the friends, we rose above our initial desires. And what next? How can we use the desire to receive?
R. When I reach from the correction of the vessels of Bina, the vessels of bestowal, bestowing in order to bestow, to the point where I completed those and now I can begin to work with the vessels of receiving in order to bestow in those same desires, but with greater coarseness. Those who learned the wisdom of Kabbalah, the coarseness of Shoresh, aleph, and bet, or 0, 1 and 2, is called vessels of bestowal, and the coarseness of 3 and 4, Gimel and Dalet, those are the vessels of reception. It turns out that, when I correct the vessels of bestowal, afterwards, I reach working with the vessels of reception. In order to bestow in them, I can bestow only on the condition that I receive and I enjoy it in practice. To that extent, I am bestowing to the upper one.
S. Which desires will we use? We always rose above, rose above the ego, and now we are starting to use them?
R. This will become revealed to you. Very simple. It will become revealed to you. For the time being, you don’t know. Well, maybe you think that if the desires are small, then you can use them, if the desires are great, then you cannot. No. It’s according to the quality of how you use the desire, the depth of your desire and how you want to use it. We will come closer to this.
9. S. (19:45) You said that they are not correcting the desires, that we rise above them thanks to mutual giving, what does it mean to rise above a desire thanks to giving to a friend?
R. We do not use the desires for ourselves because I cannot, I cannot use them in reception in order to bestow but however in bestowing in order to bestow. I can but kind of an example to give I do not know but let's say that I know it is difficult, I do not have in my head such examples for the time being but let's say I am capable of giving you something to eat but how to use this food to fulfill you, I cannot. These are different degrees of connection between the created the beings and the Creator.
S. How can I do this so the desire to give to the friends would be more powerful than my desire to receive?
R. According to the corrections and these corrections come on the according to how much you ask how much you pray to turn the selfish desires in order to bestow, it all depends on how much the light comes from above and influences you. Then you will be able to work with these desires in order to give either to rise above these desires and above them to be connected with others or even with these desires to be connected to others for their benefit.
10. S. (22:04) I am constantly contemplating the question how to correct these vessels if the Creator decides everything. Is it only through prayer or is there other than prayer to the Creator we can do, something else?
R. We need to ask. We have no possibility to do anything else but through a request. In order to reach a request, we also have to do all kinds of actions in order to reach truth request which is aimed correctly and organized according to the right intensity. This is our work. All in all, everything ends with a request, but it has to be very organized, isolated, formatted correctly. Then it will work.
S. So we learn how to establish a request?
R. Yes, eventually.
11. S. (23:30) The Creator, the light of Ein Sof, created the matter?
R. This is not a question, it is a fact, so thank you for telling this to us.
12. S. (23:58) You said that the intensity and the quality of the request influences the response from the Creator, what is the power of this response from the Creator?
R. According to the power of your request, you make yourself ready for the reception of the response, an answer. Meaning according to how much you turn, with what intensity, with what power you reveal the vessels, let's say 10 kg of desire, then accordingly He can give you fulfillment in these 10 kilograms. This has to be one against the other. You cannot ask for 10 gram and get a ton. It has to be equivalent to each other. You cannot feel more than what you asked for.
S. How can I measure the power, let’s say many times we go to the 10 with a request. It seems like the response is opposite to what we requested. Do we even need to translate the answer received from the Creator?
R. You need to scrutinize precisely what you are asking for and accordingly you establish your request, your lack. Then inside of this lack where you are expecting, truly waiting for an answer, you need to feel the answer. In truth, we always get an answer but we might not understand what the answer is because we wanted something. Things are cascading in a way that we don't feel that we received something. Later on, after a few steps between us and the Creator, we start to understand that, yes, we received something. We cannot always precisely know how to ask and receive exactly according to our request. There is no action, even the smallest from the side of the created being that is not awarded and awaken a response from the Creator because we exist inside this light, inside this field called Creator. This is why, for sure, we are activating Him. The fact that we say that the Creator makes these calculations or those calculations and thinks what should He do, what He give us, it is only as it says that ‘the Torah speaks in the language of people’ but in truth, there is no such thing, the Creator is a complete system. And to the extent we turn and whatever we turn to it, this is how the system responds. That is, from the side of the Creator, there is no calculation to do this or that, but rather as we think and speak about ourselves and this is how we each act, we think that the Creator also acting in such a way. But this is not how it is. But rather, you are turning to the light of Ein Sof and it, according to the plan of creation, according to how much you are incorporated in it, it responds. Meaning in your actions you awaken it, a response without any calculations or thoughts or decisions from above. In your action, you are already doing everything. You are operating against a complete system and you are activating this system.
S. And with the action that the 10 receives, how to work with this answer?
R. That you are already receiving a response as a 10, then there is no doubt in you how to work with it because by this you are changing the relations between you. You are upgrading your degree to a higher degree and it will be clear what is happening with you relative to the way you were before and now you will know how to continue -- how to decide and what to do.
13. S. (29:20) When we pray with several friends we have a desire to strengthen but we don't see a result. We don't see they are getting stronger, we don't see them coming more. How do we need to interpret this?
R. I would interpret it that you do not yet have a lack. That, indeed, in truth you are very much interested, you very much want it, that you truly ache, feel pain out of losing those friends who don't come. Because if you had this pain, if you'd had a lack, you would ask for it, for a correction from the heart. Then, as Rabash explains to us in his Social articles, then for sure you would be rewarded with seeing results because the act of praying for a friend that became weak is the strongest possible action. Because you are asking for the vessel which has lost the upper force, and ‘one who prays for a friend is rewarded first,’ that is, you should first receive an awakening for your prayers from above so you can pass it on to those vessels which have become weaker. And if it doesn't happen it is a sign that you are not sufficiently incorporated in the lack of the others, the despair within the friend who left, with his decision to leave. That you take all these things together and you regret that this is how it has been revealed in the friends. You wanted to help him and pass on to him all the light that can correct him and connect him to you. And you truly turn to the Creator, you cry out, you demand, you ask that the Creator gives you the forces and you want to pass these forces on to that friend who has grown weaker. And here it has to be an act of resuscitation, revival.
S. Before we ask this from the level of 10, is there any responsibility on behalf of this individual, to do some kind of action prior to that?
R. Yes, but that helps less. As Baal HaSulam explains to us in the giving of the Torah or which article is it, that you throw him a rope? An article for The Completion of the Zohar I believe, you throw the rope to the friend who is drowning in the river. So there is no choice, we have to work in such a way. And here it has to be the prayer of many, one cannot help. It does helps to certain extent but if we want to see a result, a strong result, a powerful result, then many have to ask for it.
14. S. (33:07) How not to enjoy the answer of the Creator in my egoistic vessels but move it all to bestow to the Creator?
R. The fact that I am now, let's say in my egoistic vessels, and I am enjoying the fact that I am studying, the fact that I am listening to the lesson, this is also on the way, this is on the way. There is nothing we can do about it, we all come from the Klipa, the shell, and the Klipa grows until we begin to understand what we are, who we are, and to what extent we want to rise above it and start correcting ourselves. In the meantime, we are in states where we have to agree with the fact that we are egoists and we are dirtying our diapers and there is no choice, we have to begin it to rise. The work starts from zero.
15. (34:37) Why is MAN called ‘without exertion and without preparation?’ How can you advance without exertion and preparation?
R. If I now begin to discover some deficiency towards the Creator then I can say that I did this. But in truth, it was the upper light that shined on me showing me a picture between what is desirable and what exists always between two states -- which is higher, which is lower -- and in the gap between them, I find where I am, what I belong to, and accordingly I can respond. That is, before the created being starts to feel that he wants some spiritual action, that he wants to rise to spirituality and so on, clearly there is an action from the side of the upper one because otherwise we would not awaken.
S. And in reception in order to bestow, ‘the bread from the earth,’ is it not starting from the upper?
R. For this, we have to reach the ‘land of Israel’ and we will see what kind of work there is. It is very hard, we are still very far from the state.
16. S. (36:42) How to express the request to get an answer?
R. If the request erupts from the friends who aim themselves to the Creator, then even though the request is not quite right, not so good, however because they already have some inclination toward connection between them, the Creator accepts, corrects and processes it, and gives a response to it. The most important is to try to be as one man with one heart and it is not through physical actions and it's not through physical prayers with words or something. We can only be in a desire where our lack connects into a single lack toward the Creator.
17 S. (38:22) When we make a request, who do we aim the request to? What are we imagining ahead of us, what stands before us? When I aim to a friend I know who I’m aiming a request but I still can't understand who I’m praying to, what stands before me, what is the Creator, what should I imagine?
R. We exist inside the upper force called nature. It is a desire to bestow towards us which is a desire to bestow that created us with an intention that we would discover Him. According to His attitude to us, we call Him, Creator, Bo Reh, ‘come and see.’ Actually, this is what He wants. That we will attain Him, that we will come and see Him, discover Him.
S. I still don't understand to whom I am aiming this request?
R. You should more and more try to be aimed at the upper force, to the force of nature. And out of your efforts, you can begin to feel that He exists and you are connected to Him and you can awaken Him and He turns to you. This is all according to one's effort to find connection with the Creator. You must not forget the Creator, Bo Reh, is called, ‘come and see’ and that we have to constantly aim ourselves to Him. And after many such incursions, attempts, we will be able to start to see some responses from Him and afterwards also to discover Him.
18. S. (41:02) What is the truth lack, deficiency which builds up between us when we’ walk in the desert,’ in the face of bestowing in order to bestow what is this true lack building up between us?
R. This is the lack that we want to bestow. But according to our Kelim, more than we want to ascribe to these upper actions of bestowal, we cannot. It’s like little children. This is called the time of Katnut, smallness or infancy, where we work with the coarseness of Shoresh, Aleph, Bet root, one and two. And this is how we are on the degrees of Malchut and Bina or Zeir Anpin which ‘Zeir’ means small face, literally. This is how we advance. And with this work, I cannot work with my will to receive only by rising above it, overcoming it so when I rise above it, I can already liken myself to the upper one. But only on the condition that, first, I make an effort with Tzimtzum, screen, Ohr Hozer, reflected light and I rise above my will to receive and I work towards the upper.
S. What can I continue to ask for in that state?
R. According to your state, only to be above the will to receive. To connect with the others about your will to receive. This is called at the time of Katnut.
19. S. (43:32) All that exists is a result of some lack or need that the creature raises to Ein Sof. So, how can the Creator need something?
R. Although the Creator is whole, He, nevertheless, wants to create the created beings so they could recognize Him. And to recognize means that they reached all His degrees, this is called true recognition in practice. This is why He created us as He did with a will to receive which is opposite to give us the work where we invert this will to receive to in order to bestow and, by this, to that extends the gets to know the Creator, in practice, until we truly become like Him. And this is the purpose of our development.
20. S. (45:23) What kind of intention should I lack in order to create this prayer? What is that intention?
R. All in order to bestow. In order to bestow in the degree of connection between us in the 10 or in order to bestow from our connection to the Creator. But we have nothing else to do, only to connect between us and from the connection between us to bestow. Because to the extent we connect between us, we're already in a state where the Creator can bestow to us in the connection between us and be revealed there. Then we receive the form of the Creator which is truly revealed above us. This is called ‘the name of the lord will be upon you.’ Instead of further questions, let's read.
Excerpt 6 (47:13 - 47:35)
21. So there is the fact that first we received the bread from heaven which is called Manna from Bina, and then bread from the earth which is from below from Malchut. From Bina and Malchut, Zeir Anpin. This is the order of corrections.
Excerpt 7 (48:06 - 49:46)
22. This is how it is with everything including electricity. Electricity comes to me and I can connect to it thousands of different devices -- heating, cooling, pressure, engines all kinds of other things and this is all, but in electricity, itself, there is no heat or cold or vacuum or pressure or anything else, only the power. And the device that we connect to it can transfer this energy, power, to some special action according to the nature of the vessel of the one who is using it. This is the same with the manna, this is the upper light that comes to us and because in the vessel of the desire of Adam HaRishon, where there are all sorts of desires and nobody is similar to the other. So all of them, even though they use the same manna, that same force from above, they use it according to their own characteristics, and there is nothing special about it.
23. S. (51:09) Each tastes something different?
R. Each receives from the upper light, the small bestowal just like his vessel is aimed towards. I will tell you moreover, the entire impression that we have is from the upper light. There are endless waves, whatever wave I aim towards, I receive and I enjoy. If you have a radio receiver, you turn it on and then you search for which radio station you want. So you turn the dial and according to what you choose, you hear the broadcast. So you have in the air, millions of different radio waves, and you are receiving according to your desire, a certain, specific wave. The upper light includes in it all the possible fillings, and vessels, variations between them, it includes everything. This is why it all depends only on the vessels. The upper light is in absolute rest without any change, everything is in Him. The kli is according to the measure of equivalency of form with the light. He receives a part of Him, like you turn the dial on the radio receiver and through it, you connect to a certain wave, a certain frequency that you are choosing. So it all depends on us. And in an environment which has endless waves, has everything there, and it only depends on the user on the vessel.
24. S. (53:57) We heard that we have to scrutinize exactly what we are asking to establish the request together in the 10, not whatever each one has according to his deficiency. How do we scrutinize in the 10, what is the correct lack? How do we even approach this?
R. In the ten, we need to scrutinize first of all whether we are aimed to the Creator. The Creator is called the general force of bestowal. Whether we are aimed to this in the connection between us, not each of us apart, each part does not count. But rather in the connection between us whether we are aimed toward the general bestowal from us. To who? Towards what? Towards the Creator. Where we want to connect between us in order to bestow to Him. And how will we know we have reached that? We will feel it. If we have really come to a state where we are bestowing to Him, we will feel that we are bestowing.
S. On the way, we go through all kinds of processes and states. We spoke about envy, that we should be envious of each other and we tried to scrutinize in the 10, is the 10 envious of other 10s or not, and we found we cannot even approach this scrutiny. There's no agreement about how we scrutinize things. There is some gap between whether we have to act the corrected state and the fact that we have to scrutinize what we’re lacking. There’s a fear to touch this issue of a lack.
R. Why?
S. Because we’re in a state of don't tell me what you are lacking. Show me the corrected state. Then we seemingly have an existing situation. The desirable state which we aspire to, but the existing with Situation remains with each person. We don't have the desired state in the 10. We're talking about the desired but not the existing situation.
R. You need to continue to scrutinize
S. How?
R. Search for it and talk between you. I can't enter into that.
25. S. (56:50) What does it mean to limit the Creator? In the first excerpt it says we can't limit the Creator. The Creator is all-powerful. How do I limit Him?
R. To say about Him that He is not capable, that He can't. That something depends upon Him and not you. As far as the action, it all depends upon you. As far as the ability at all depends upon Him. We are scrutinizing these things slowly.
26. S. (57:44) Let's say that a friend has a certain deficiency, a certain lack that has awoken, should it pass it on to the 10 or should the friend wait until the deficiency appears in the whole ten and join that lack?
R. I can't get confused with you, with all of these different questions because each moment there's a thousand new questions you're not scrutinizing on your own, and don't want to scrutinize and I need to be together with. I don't agree with that, that's not the work. We have before us a plan and the work is immense ahead of us. I won't do in your place what you need to do, if you have questions scrutinize them between you. Even if you will be wrong and make mistakes with the questions, in all kinds of actions it is not important. Don't be afraid of mistakes as long as you continue and do something. But don't ask me about every little detail that awakens within you, as you don't grow in this way, you need to grow in a more mature way.
Excerpt 8 (59:14 - 01:01:13) Twice
Excerpt 9 (01:01:20 - 01:03:12) Twice
27. S. (01:03:14) It says in the previous excerpt one should not chase after money and business all day long... (Cut off by Rav)
R. No we're not going to ask about that anymore, only about excerpt number 9. You can't ask about something that the friends are not on that.
Excerpt 10 (01:04:10 - 01:06:13) Twice
28. S.(01:06:27) The excerpt speaks about the means for attainment through Torah and Commandments (Mitzvot) however we learned that our main means is the love of friends so why does he even mention this here?
R. The main commandment (Mitzvah) is ‘Love thy friend is yourself’, the great rule in Torah, very simple. And all of the Mitzvot in the Torah are in order to reach connection. To the correction of the vessel of Adam HaRishon. when you read the Torah this is called the reforming light the Mitzvot are called the correction of the intentions from in order to receive to in order to bestow and by this you connect all of the desires that are shattered and distanced from one another during the shattering of Adam HaRishon and you want to connect them together with one intention, through the intention in order to bestow and through the friends we bring contentment to the Creator. Then either you are saying about Torah and Mitzvot, Torah is the reforming light that is I have created the evil inclination and I have created the Torah because the light in it reforms. Then you have no confusion when you are being told Torah and Mitzvot or being told the upper light in place of the Creator, the vessels to receive in order to bestow which are called Mitzvot. The correction of the will to receive in order to be in the intention to bestow is called making a Mitzvah, how do we do this correction? Through the upper light which is called Torah.
29. S. (01:08:53) It describes there, a state of our work where we already raised MAN with the blessings. What kind of process is it describing in our advancement towards the Creator?
R. Where we are raising a MAN and by that receive forces from above and can already correct our desires to, in order to bestow. Prior to that we raise the deficiency in order to receive the force and through this force we correct our desires with the intention in order to bestow and then with this desire is with the intention to bestow, we can come to bestowal and to the extent of bestowal we begin to resemble the Creator, we start to enter into adhesion, Dvekut with him. This is what we need as we conclude all of these corrections, we will be at the end of correction.
S. Does he describe the process of working with the vessels of reception in order to bestow. The transition from infancy (Katnut) to adulthood (Gadlut)?
R. It is not yet that I don't want to be confused, I don’t want us to talk about those states and the difference between them we are learning in an orderly manner. The order is that we are learning about Katnut right now.
30. S.(01:11:04) We said that in order to reach the MAN we need to perform a sequence of actions and we also said that we are not yet working with the will to receive so what is the difference between these two kinds of work? How do I create these actions? Based on what? We talked about Mitzvot but we shouldn’t touch our will to receive at this stage, is that correct?
R. I have the will to receive, corrupted one and through it I want to acquire everything in the world. First of all I need to perform a restriction upon it where I don't use it like the true will to receive in a pure manner and then I need to think how I stand with my will to receive in such a way that I don't receive any pleasures. Then more and more I am given pleasures. I don't want to receive them because I don't want to be in order to receive. This is how I move through the time of Katnut, in smallness, in all of the degrees and then I enter into a state where I can correct my will to receive and it is not that I just rise above it but rather that I use it itself also in order to bestow. Meaning that I can delight in it and this pleasure I attribute to the Creator. This is already considered the time of Gadlut or the work with the Earth, meaning that we are talking about a period of after reception of the Torah where we come closer to the land of Israel, the 40 years in the desert where we are talking of the time of Katnut, of smallness. We're not yet talking about the desire, not yet working with the desire which is called Eretz, land, desire, Eretz Israel, the land of Israel which is all connected with the Creator, no, only above it we are and when we complete this whole period of 40 years in the desert where we acquire the quality of Bina, to bestow in order to bestow, Katnut then we move to the state which is called the land of Israel. We start to work there on receiving in order to bestow which is a very difficult degree and let us hope that we will reach that as well, we will get there for certain but we understand that it is not a simple degree.
31. S. (01:15:12) It is written that he is lacking Torah and fear of heaven. What does this mean?
R. We are missing Torah and we are missing the fear of Heaven. We are missing other things but at least that. I will read a quote from excerpt 10: “Man is called a deficiency but what does the lower one lack by which to add abundance in the worlds? When one engages in Torah and Mitzvot.” meaning in corrections because Torah is called the reforming light and Mitzvot are called that I'm raising each time a desire and another desire and the upper light corrects it. “The Torah and Mitzvot first create the MAN in a person,” where one wants to correct, “Meaning a person receives a deficiency seeing that he's lacking Torah and fear of Heaven because of the concealment and the hiding in the world due to the restriction. It turns out that a person receives then a lack and raises it upward so as to be filled.” Why? So those deficiency will be filled. “It therefore follows that through Torah and Mitzvot a person receives MAN. And this MAN he elevates upwards and causes revelation in all of the worlds.” So what is the question?
S. What does that mean that a person is lacking Torah and fear of Heaven?
R. A person is lacking Torah, this means the reforming light and he is lacking the fear of heaven that he wants to bestow to the Creator and this is the only thing that he is going now to do actions for. He is not certain that he has enough fear of heaven in order to do an action that would only going to benefit the Creator and it is certain this is missing, according to the extent of the fear of heaven and according to the extent of my desire to bestow to the Creator I operate.
32. S.(01:18:22) When I pray for the friends in the 10, recently it turns out that I see my evil inclination more as a result of it. So is this considered the revelation of this deficiency of this lack? Why am I shown more of my will to receive instead of the friends being filled? Later on the problem is that I need to pray to correct this… (Cut off by Rav)
R. A person receives what he needs for correction, not what appears to him, not what seems to him. Let's say I passed a test successfully and after the test I get again the next test. I thought that I would not receive some sort of gift, no. The next test and then the next test as I'm constantly receiving additional work. Why is it that way? Because I passed the previous states. All of our work needs to be understood to us not as work but as a reward, the fact that the Creator is giving me some problem for me to work upon, I get this problem, I swallow it, in me I scrutinize it and by this I advance and become wiser, More similar to the Creator and more connected to him. Therefore to start with I need to thank the Creator for awakening problems before me. That which we think is work is not work, it is a reward and when I actually feel the reward it is the work, the great work is not to receive it in order to receive.
S. Seemingly I have to correct myself and everything is corrected so seemingly I'm asking for myself like an egoist.
R. You are asking for yourself to bestow to the world, to bestow to others. That is what is happening.
S. The Creator is deliberately showing me that I'm the one who is corrupted and I have to ask to correct myself so it would be good for the friends?
R. I asked for corrections in order to bestow through this society to the Creator. To the extent in which I correct the society I give the Creator the possibility to bestow. The Creator doesn't need anything he just needs for there to be a place to give. He has like a cow as the Kabbalist writes, just like the cow suffers from not being milked, from not taking milk out of her this is how the Creator is, he wants to be received from, this is what he enjoys.
S. Many times it happens like you said, it is a test after a test, it becomes more and more difficult and I try to hold on to the friends because that is the salvation but I don't understand why the Creator of revealing more and more evil?
R. It's written about this in a thousand different places. You've read it so many times that we are walking on degrees that are greater and higher where the evil is being revealed more. It is always confusing because a person always thinks that if you reach a certain success why is it all the sudden being revealed as greater darkness than before? Because now he is rewarded with receiving greater work. Our problem is that we don't understand that the work is the reward, that work is the payment. This is the whole difference, if you take a little child and you have some caregiver or a nanny to take care of him and she works, taking care of him and receives money for her care, for what she does for the baby. But if you have a wife and it is her baby and she has the possibility to take care of him you don't pay your wife, why? Why are we arranged in such a way we don't pay our wives? You say it's hers, so what if it's hers? According to her nature she receives pleasure from caring for her baby. Therefore the society doesn't feel that it owes her anything for it. That is the difference, the whole difference between the work in order to receive and the work in order to bestow, the work in order to receive a reward and not in order to receive a reward that is the whole difference, how you received these things. This is why our attitude towards our work is to come to a state in which reception will be as bestowal and bestowal is truly above all of the possibilities. We have read about this so much, it is good that you are asking about it as it's a sign that you are in a new degree.
33. S. (01:26:00) In order for the work to become a reward there is fear, earlier you said we have to restrict ourselves in order to not get pleasure for ourselves so what do we enjoy for the work to become a reward? So we will be able to have fear?
R. If we want to invert our work into pleasure we need to raise the importance of the Creator. It is like a baby and the mother and the nanny. The nanny takes care of the baby and gets money for it, the mother takes care of the baby and does not receive money because the care for the baby itself brings her pleasure. The nanny doesn't receive pleasure from caring for the baby but rather she needs to receive pleasure from the money. This is how it is for us and this is the difference between the vessels prior and after the correction.
34. S. (01:27:39) In the 10 we feel states of fear, spiritual fear and confusion, are we lacking faith in the good will of the upper one?
R. Of course we are missing that as well as the upper has the good desire.
35. S. (01:28:17) It says here in the very last sentence that this prayer causes revelation in all of the worlds. What does it mean, all of the worlds?
R. the Creator is revealed not towards the worlds, but the created beings as the worlds are just systems and they also don't exist on their own but only relative to the created beings. To the extent in which you want to connect to the Creator and then between you the system of connection called ‘world’ is revealed.
36. S. (01:29:11) What is the connection between fear and compensation?
R. Fear is a quality and the compensation is an action.
37. S. (01:29:43) We do work in the 10, every day we build a new prayer after the lesson, can we call this work in Torah and Mitzvot?
R. Torah is called the upper light that bestows upon a person where he wants to make a change in his intention to an order to bestow. The Mitzvot are considered the efforts that a person makes that he wants to do these actions in order to bestow, all of our work is in Torah and Mitzvot meaning to try to reveal vessels in which we want to change the intention from in order to receive to in order to bestow. The change of intention from in order to receive to in order to bestow is done by the reforming light it is called Torah. After we correct these desires with the intention in order to bestow we need to receive the upper light within these vessels in order to bestow, this light also is called the light of Torah. Later when we attain this light, receive it from these vessels then also the reception of the light within the vessels, it is a sensation within the vessel it's also called Torah, Torah is called the upper light that comes for correcting the vessels and filling the vessels.
38. S. (01:31:55) What is the meaning of the departure of light?
R. The departure of the light is all with regards to the lower ones, the human, the person who stopped attaining the light because he no longer has equivalence of form with the upper light.
39. S. (01:32:52) You gave an example that the Creator is like electricity net and the deficiency of the friend is like electrical instrument connecting to that net so there can be individual deficiencies according to needs and demands of each one but what is united between all the instruments is the plug in the cable so what is common between all of us in raising the prayer?
R. In the raising of the prayer, MAN, there is only one thing between us that in various options between us that each one does in his desire that we want to connect our results, our outcome that they will all be aimed at the Creator. So even though we are 10 and all of the actions that we do between us that we want to connect, altogether we want all of it to be aimed at the Creator.
40. S. (01:34:24) Does a deficiency mean not to feel the suffering like a blessing, can we pray to feel like that?
R. Of course, you can pray from any state and for any state, always pray, as it is said one should wish that he will pray all day.
Excerpt 11 (01:40:55 - 01:44:09) Twice
41. R. Meaning nothing is attained if not through the raising of the prayer this is why it says that Torah was only given to those who eat the Manna meaning that only by raising the prayer can we receive the upper light and grow by them to achieve all of the spiritual degrees.
42. S. (01:44:39) He says there is no new light only from Infinity. That's why the upper one ascends in the degrees to receive the abundance and bestow to the lower one. The upper one has everything why should it go up to bring abundance to the lower one?
R. No, the light comes from above and by and according to the request of the lower one it works on the lower one and according to how the lower works with the upper he rises with one degree to the next. What is your question?
S. The upper one has everything. First of all what is the upper one?
R. It depends on what you're talking about it, is either the adjacent degree to the lower one or were talking about the general upper light, the Creator, the light of Ein Sof.
S. He says here no new light in the world except from Ein Sof so the upper one ascends in degree to receive abundance for the lower one, why does he go up to receive abundance?
R. If he wants to receive something in order to bestow to the lower one he himself has to rise, to ascend because what he has is what he has. But in order to give the lower one something he has to rise further because he has nothing to give to the lower one, no degree has anything to give to the lower degree unless it is according to the request of the lower one that he will rise higher to attain what the lower one is asking for.
S. Is there an upper one in the 10?
R. Yes, there is a concept like that in the ten and in anything if the 10 is already working with the lights in the vessels.
S. How do you turn to the upper one to get abundance for the lower one?
R. The moment we begin to feel there are lights and vessels, upper and lower.
S. How do you do that?
R. When we get there we'll talk about how, he talks about how this indicates you're not there yet.
S. Annulment in the 10?
R. I don't understand what you want.
S. Is the work by annulment towards the friends?
R. What work are you asking about?
S. The work we're doing in the 10?
R. In the ten we work in mutual bestowal until we come to the states where we can do that with lights and vessels, in the meantime we do that only according to our mutual influence over each other in order to connect, in order to raise our common desire above.
S. Who is a lower one in the 10?
R. Everyone with regards to the others feels himself as the lower one.
43. S. (01:47:58) The illumination from Malchut from the upper one is complete darkness?
R. I don't understand what illumination is?
S. Does the illumination from Malchut from above perceive in the lower one as complete darkness?
R. Yes, correct.
44. S. (01:49:07) To connect means to create a mutual deficiency we can raise a prayer from?
R. Correct.
45. S. (01:49:27) If a person is successful he finds a deficiency from the state he is in what does it mean to be successful?
R. That he is looking how to advance towards the Creator, then he tries and manages to attain a deficiency for that in every state that he is in.
46. S. (01:49:55) He writes here that the quality of water is Bina that receives the Malchut but there is also a deficiency so it turns out that the MAN is Bina turning to us?
R. That depends what states we are talking about, typically the whole means a deficiency and MAN prayer is the raising of the deficiency towards bestowal and correspondingly receive a response typically called MAN, prayer which means forces of bestowing that we cannot begin to work with. There is a lot here as the whole wisdom of Kabbalah is between these two actions.
S. The MAD we receive from the Creator, this response we can only receive for bestowing?
R. If it is not in order to bestow then you don't even feel it, then it is in order to receive if you don't feel the spiritual actions as they are not there.
S. Those two degrees we learned about today raising MAN, prayer bestowing in order to bestow and receiving in order to bestow, is all one spiritual action?
R. It's not all in one action but it is part of the spiritual actions.
S. When we raise MAN, when we raise the prayer and we wait for a response from the 10 we have to get an answer?
R. Otherwise it doesn't work, if it's not in order to bestow nothing is working, there is no spirituality, everything disappears.
S. The problem is that… (Cut off by Rav)
R. This is your problem that you come down from it, but spirituality means you are aimed at the Creator. Whether it is through friends or on your own somehow but that you are always aimed at him.
47. S. (01:52:56) Who gives the lower one the deficiency? He himself or the upper one does it for him?
R. All the deficiencies we discover on our own meaning within us but certainly it happens by the treatment of the upper one.
S. What does it mean to work in mutuality with the upper one towards a deficiency?
R. That I want by the upper one, on my own I don't understand or attain, but by the upper one I want to attain a deficiency for bestowal.
S. How does he help me with that? How do I find help?
R. By the illumination from above the light that reforms, how else? Nothing can be for my correction, or for me if it's not by the upper light.
48. S. (01:54:04) With all the spiritual actions in the connection between the ten is there something it belongs to more or less?
R. We are not going there yet that is unrelated to the text right now. We are talking about how a person inside the 10 directs himself to the Creator and by receiving MAD from above he receives his vessels in order to rise. The connection between the tens is not what we are discussing.
49. S. (01:54:48) How do I cling to the degree of the upper light? How do I cling to the deficiency?
R. For bestowal, the deficiency for bestowal the upper light is for bestowal.
50. S. (01:55:23) The state of satisfaction is what stops us from advancing. Is this something we should be cautious of as it prevents us from feeling the deficiency to ask?
R. No, the goal of creation is to enjoy, to receive unlimited pleasure, therefore don't say that it is a problem for us, what is problematic is only the intention as this is what prevents us to enjoy bestowal. This condition is that we can only receive by joy bestowal and then the more you enjoy bestowal the greater you are.
51. S. (01:56:26) Before when you answered you said the prayer is like a frequency that we can tune ourselves to that frequency, how do we choose this, what will help me choose the right frequency to reach the prayer?
R. Look for it yourself, how did they connected with the friends and the Creator and by that you will see your whole spiritual expression as that is where you will discover the upper world and the Creator and your spiritual forces to work with as you'll discover everything there, Israel, the Light and the Creator is what we have to do.
52. S. (01:57:32) The upper one doesn't have the light that the lower one needs. He needs to ascend to bring the light so what is the upper one considered an upper one compared to the lower one?
R. The upper one is considered an upper one because it has a greater force to overcome its will to receive, a force of Masach according to the intention to bestow and a greater spiritual degree with the intention to bestow meaning greater coarseness and a greater restriction and screen and a greater reflected light. What he perceives in the reflected light is the revelation of the upper light, meaning a greater Creator, because Creator means come and see, what is dressed in our reflected light. All of that means that the upper degree has a greater level than the lower level.
S. Both of them don't have light, the upper or the lower also the upper has to ascend to bring the light so what do all these forces help?
R. The upper one has no deficiency, the lower one has the deficiency the upper is whole with regards to its own state, when the upper one raises the prayer he forces the deficiency upon him so the upper one with the deficiency of the lower one starts making an action and then this action is purely an action of bestowal. Because he does this according to the request of the lower one. The lower one that receives from the upper one also receives that in order to bestow so the question is?
S. The deficiency comes from the attempt to come closer to the upper one, this comes from above, so what is the difference between the upper and lower.
R. There's no difference in the degrees .It's not who receives and gives the deficiencies. It is how he himself does what comes to him. No one has a deficiency to bestow to begin with, it is all with regards to what he does.
53. S. (02:00:54) How to understand the state of the desert and to work correctly in the 10 to get the correct prayer?
R. We have to awaken a mutual longing for connection and if we don't have that we don't feel ourselves that we are filled in anything anymore. Meaning to constantly be filled with deficiencies that is also called to be filled with spiritual discernment, the fact that I am in a tendency towards the Creator and I want to bestow to him and even if I can see it but that I am filled with my desire to bestow to him, this is already me with a spiritual discernment. I am already in a spiritual state. This is why I don't think the filling of the upper light is spirituality, the deficiency to bestow to the Creator that is true spirituality.
S. What is the proper state of the desert?
R. If I am not in bestowal; then I am in Malchut, in a dry state with a deficiency of everything. The feeling of the desert that without bestowing I am dead, dry. Bina is water, Malchut that is filled with water, with the water of Bina raises itself to Bina.
S. Is there a connection between the desert and the speaking?
R. I don't want to speak with such nonsense as we're not speaking about philosophy or theology we are speaking about spiritual qualities not comparing slang and languages, please don't deal with these things.
54. S. (02:04:38) When MAN comes from above it is identified meaning there is a deficiency to bestow to the Creator, so why do we need to bestow in order to bestow above this deficiency why not use it?
R. It doesn't come directly, it awakens your will to receive and you have to check what the will to receive wants by this, usually you awaken towards the upper one because you have something to receive, that something is drawing you so you can't just by the awakening to start bestowing you have to process these things, to acquire new vessels, new deficiencies and you start processing the new state that you build from the upper awakening back to the upper one. You don't receive it directly, that it is just ready for use.
55. S. (02:05:59) Is it possible to say the state of the desert is when we enjoy the work itself?
R. Yes and no meaning it's not everything but it is a condition that we start working in order to bestow without any desire to receive from it. We try to raise Malchut to Bina.
56. S. (02:06:59) If there is a deficiency that awakens in the 10 and this deficiency basically raises as a question from another 10 to the upper one, how to relate to that state?
R. It happens and that is the nature of things that what awakens in you could awaken in a thousand more people in the world because it is a general time that is working where we all think in such a way.
Excerpt 12 (02:08:19 - 02:10:26) Twice
57. R. After the shattering of the vessels the sparks fell into the shattered vessels and if we want to correct them we have to raise these deficiencies and it is called raising MAN.
58. S. (02:10:54) What is the measurement we can measure with the reward that comes from raising MAN, is this our coarseness?
R. You can't measure it because you don't have anything to measure, you don't have a ruler or any gauge of like a kilo, this is why you don't know what the discernments are, the phases, you don't know what is fear is, the coarseness, you don't have a way to measure this as you're still like a baby who doesn't understand whether it is more or less or how much. Afterwards it will come.
59. S. (02:11:56) What is the reflected light that we need to raise within the group?
R. We need to connect and the same desire that will be mutual between us in something we have to raise this towards the Creator and then this desire that we will raise will do all of the work as the reflected lights, as the request, raising the prayer. We won't start speculating now what this is called or that is called because we don't understand it as we're not in it yet. It's like before you taste some portion that you are sitting in a restaurant and they give you a meal and you begin to taste it and you're not certain what we're talking about yet, it can be very tasty but what is it? Let us not speak about specific lights or vessels, we will reach it in a few lessons but first let's somehow understand the state in general, what is happening.
60. S. (02:13:49) How is it possible to rise from receiving in order to receive to bestowing in order to bestow without running into a state called bestowing in order to receive?
R. There is a restriction in the degree of bestowing in order to bestow and then receiving in order to bestow and what are you asking about?
S. There is an intermediate state in between receiving in order to receive and bestowing in order to bestow and that is called bestowing in order to receive, still egoistic?
R. Of course it is egoistic.
S. How do we keep ourselves from being stuck there?
R. It depends on your goal, your purpose, what does a person want, to bestow in order to receive is that you see what all the politicians are doing, all of those who want to gain on the account of the others, they are bestowing in order to receive.
S. If we want to receive spirituality to get that fruit do we want to benefit as well?
R. The way you begin doesn't matter but you will reach a state where you begin to scrutiny and in there you will see that bestowing in order to receive is just not working as you can't stand it, you keep going if you have a point in the heart.
61. S. (02:16:14) The Reshimot of the Ohr Hozer remains and descends in order to sustain the vessels, in what way does it sustain the vessels?
R. The Reshimot of the reflected light, how else do we awaken? That awakens us to repent, the residue from the reflected light, we used to have reflected light now we don't have the light itself but the Impressions from it awakened us.
S. So how does this happen that the residue awakens and sustains?
R. Reshimot are lights that they sustain, they awaken and exist around the shattered vessels.
S. Do these lights help with the prayer or is this only the will to receive that has to come to the prayer?
R. You need to reach the prayer or correction, correction is about your intention, the desire you don't need to correct it, only the intention, whether bestowing or receiving that rides upon the desire to receive, that intention from in order to receive, you have to take it in order to bestow. Simple things. Very concrete, don't get confused.
62. S. (02:18:48) What is that spark of holiness that remains from the reflected light that needs to be raised?
R. The spark is called a part and they small illumination of the light that was there before is called a spark.
S. We need to develop that spark?
R. Yes, to develop it until that instead of a spark becomes light again.
S. It exists? It's not something that I create?
R. You don't create anything, who do you think you are that you're creating something?
S. Are we actually doing something in the 10 that we have to develop? Like the Creator created it and now He said ok take and eat it, it isn’t not something we create the spark has to be created already.
R. Of course all of these things exist and the light of Ein Sof, everything exists but it is revealed according to the degree.
S. What do we do, basically what does the 10 do?
R. We awaken the lights that they bestow to the vessels and the vessels will receive them, realize them to be filled by them reaching wholeness.
S. This is called raising the prayer?
R. Raising a prayer is raising a deficiency for corrections.
S. Does this develop the spark, causing the point in the heart and the raising of the prayer?
R. Yes of course.
63. S. (02:20:48) How do shattered vessels can even feel something from the Ohr Chozer that was, Ohr Chozer is bestowal, what is the connection to Shattered vessels?
R. Shattered vessels are vessels that have Reshimot that they feel that they are shattered, that they are not in order to bestow, that they feel they are not in order to bestow, they feel they are shattered. This is why to that extent they can receive abundance or bestowal from the light. The shattered vessel is very not simple as it is a very specific discernment.
S. The fulfillment that comes to us is not an ordinary fulfillment that awakens the feeling that my vessel is broken?
R. Yes, and very as it really shakes you up.
64. S. (02:22:09) In the summary of the lesson we're going to raise a prayer, in talking about the deficiency to bestow when we raise our deficiency we have a confusion that it's not the same thing?
R. You need to have confusion. Without confusion you won't demand the light that reforms, so it will come and organize everything in your feelings and not in your mind. You want to organize everything in an intellectual way and spirituality is not in the mind, only in the feeling. The Torah was only giving to the heart filled people this is why we need to search for the way to find the correct opening into spirituality as we are next to it this opening and we can't recognize that yet in our feelings, we can't find it in our mind, we can't find it in the combination between them but from a few lessons like this I think we will start feeling what the desert means and developing the desert. Also in the desert when they go through it is the whole Torah, do you understand this? The whole Torah is about what Israel went through is the 40 years in the desert, afterwards there is nothing to study anymore.
65. S. (02:24:03) You recommend to find the common desire and raise that to the Creator. The technique is that we gather our deficiency and the friends, they formulate a few words and this is our prayer for the day. Is this correct technically?
R. You need to search. We won't understand each other as we will probably just disturb and confuse each other. Search how to prepare the vessel for revealing the mutual force of bestowal between us and in it the general force of bestowal will be revealed from above called Creator. To build such relationships in the 10 that the Creator will be revealed between us this is all we need. There will be many ascents and descents, all kinds of things that you can read in the Torah so that it won't confuse you too much as they went through many states from receiving the Torah in Mount Sinai until entering Israel which is the end of the Torah. Torah isn't speaking about how to behave in Israel but only before it, in that time frame. So you will see where it is talking about the problems and many events as it is written for us because it explains the spiritual laws. That the shattered will to receive that wants to reach correction to reveal the whole plan of creation, the whole purpose of life this is what happens to it.
66. S. (02:26:42) We want to say thank you with gratitude from the power of the lessons that we feel now following the story of the Torah. We are very excited. How can it be on one hand we talked about so advanced states but on the other hand friends are really excited to tears with it?
R. It's not distanced, it is very close, one step and we are in spirituality this is why there are those who don't feel that it is like a wall, some already start feeling that be on the wall there is a new life, spirituality, a scrutiny of all of creation, life and above this corporeal life that everything is before us and all that we need is to go through this timeframe of building the correct vessel.
S. What is unique about learning these states specifically about raising the prayer, the counting of the Omer in the desert, all of these advanced states as compared to our state?
R. We are scrutinizing our vessels as much as they are ready or not for the revelation of the Creator to reveal him in an equivalence of form with him, this is the work we have been talking about many times. Now we have to be very precise on how to implement this between us, enforces and from the forces to make it practical and we will do it. We still have much to learn as we also want to finish this topic, because before me there are a few more topics that I want to go with, there is no choice even if we're in a state that we didn't go out of Egypt yet but that we are going to keep studying even though we haven't received the Torah in practice in our groups but that we are going to keep studying it and according to that we will work as if we are in it. We still have to go through this and then we will come back and implement it with God's help in our days. Amen.
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