Morning Lesson July 7, 2022 Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Advance By Overcoming - Selected Excerpts From the Sources. #10
1. Rav’s Introduction: We need to go over these excerpts from Baal HaSulam and Rabash who speak about our spiritual work. This is the distilled, short and relatively clear version of the material that gives us the points you have to go over from state to state in order to reach the correction.
Reading (01:11) Item #10 “”The Meaning of Sins Becoming as Merits" -When he gets the foreign thought he says…”
1. R. (01:54) Meaning, when he has disturbances specifically, and they send him disturbances and he sees he needs to overcome them, on top of that he constructs his attitude of bestowal despite his disturbances to him and to the group.
Reading continues: (02:15)
2.. R. (02:30) That's why the evil inclination in general is called the help against, the Creator says it's not good for man to be on his own that's why we created the help against it.
Reading Item #10 (02:49) “When he gets the foreign thought he says…”
3. S. (05:17) In our path, turns out that sometimes we do all kinds of actions when we are alone we don't really want to do but together we do them. And there's a feeling that there's some force that works that gives you these actions and you alone would never do it, what is that force? That suddenly a person can do things that his mind would say I don't want to do anything, but somehow together we are able to do something, how does this work?
R. It is simple, it appears already in our root, where we are connected in one man in one heart, one body, and one desire from the get-go when reality was created and through a special act from above by the Creator where he shattered this desire to many opposing desires. So, when we connect we can attain greater closeness, greater connection to the Creator to the extent that we are more connected to him and that's our work. So, our work is about the connection between us and accordingly we attain the essence of the connection, which is the Creator.
S. There's a feeling that there's something more important in these actions even though in my mind personally I really don't have any importance?
R. Yes but we begin to feel that there is no choice, there is a great force there with the wisdom that is revealed in the connection between us and although we oppose the connection itself. So reluctantly we have to make those actions towards connection, and there we have the evil inclination, the will to receive that objects furiously but as much as it objects, the person eventually profits more because he who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater. So, we have to work as much as possible until nevertheless, we overcome, we ask the Creator for the connection between us, he’s doing it, this is the meaning of, my sons have defeated me, the Creator makes us separate and we demand to be connected. This is called, my sons have defeated me, we work seemingly against it. That's how you do it.
S. So this means that the more a friend has inner resistance and he still puts himself inside the ten, inside the friends, and works despite his resistance, you say he benefits more?
R. Of course. The more resistance you have the more you gain.
S. How does this work, why?
R. Just like in our world, in technology, anything if you want to build something powerful you need to have big parts that each one is in opposition to the other and then when they work together towards one goal, although their actions might be totally opposite from one another, but by that, you create very powerful things, a great engine and that's how it works, until the end of correction. Meaning, each time when we make corrections, we feel that we can put together opposite things as much as possible and at the end of correction, all these opposite parts will be connected in our one mutual guarantee, one connection towards one goal.
S. And if the friend tried and didn’t succeed he still merits the action basically, because he has a resistance but he goes with the friends despite the resistance but the action didn’t succeed.
R. Didn’t succeed?
S. He tried to do something, at the end in this world we try to do all kinds of actions so he wanted to do some action of moving from here to there, but he couldn't do it, he really wanted but there was too much resistance.
R. Not too bad, that's not too bad. Each one has to try as much as they can and later he will see that here was his job to object a little bit, to agree a little bit, and this way to overcome it.
4. S. (11:17) If a person keeps feeling disturbances how does he advance in words above reason?
R. How? He should overcome, in spite of the disturbances.
S. When he doesn't have disturbances.
R. When he doesn’t have disturbances, how can he go above reason then?
S. That is the question.
R. Then there's no question, you can’t do anything, only with disturbances we can go against them, that means to overcome them, to go about reason, above the reason of the disturbances, by that we have climbed to the degrees up to the Creator.
5. S. (12:10) Foreign thoughts is when I don't think about spirituality or when I resist spiritually?
R. Whenever you are in opposition to the spiritual path, then it is considered that you have foreign thoughts. But if you don’t have such thoughts, just thoughts about this world, about all those things that all of us have in this world, this is not considered foreign thoughts, it’s just thoughts of an animal.
S. Does it matter in what way at foreign thought comes to me from working in the ten or when a person is on his own?
R. I wouldn't scrutinize and sort all the disturbances, it’s still a ways ahead of us because later we construct the Sefirot and the Partzufim on top of these disturbances, for the time being it’s too early, we have to divide it between disturbances has that belong to the group and the ten, that is very important, I have to care about what I do with those, and disturbances that belong to this world, which I need to organize somehow in order to keep surviving and existing, that's it no more than that.
S. More about overcoming, if I am resisting spirituality, what we call foreign thoughts, and lets’ say there comes a time when I have to go into the Zoom meeting with the ten and the ten really brings me to back to spirituality but I didn’t have any work of overcoming here?
R. Yes yes yes, this is also considered that you are overcoming because you are going together with the ten that reminds you of these things because you are with the ten and they have to do it for you and they owe it to you and you owe it to them and this is considered spiritual work.
6. S. (15:09) If there are no disturbances is it right that if a person sees that everything is kind ordinary and so on, does he need to look for what else to do for the ten, for dissemination?
R. Yes that's clear that it says he has to search for it.
S. To initiate something to do something on his own?
R. Yes yes that's clear that's correct, let’s hope that he hears.
S. He's actually an example for always being an initiator.
R. Yes but more actively so he can stand out, he was quiet for many years.
6. S. (15:57) In excerpt number ten, what is the meaning of being happy through the suffering?
R. Where I admit that I cannot approach spirituality any other way except though suffering and I am happy that the suffering nevertheless brings me closer to spirituality, the Creator sends me all these forms in order to help me, all the way down to suffering, including suffering. It is worthwhile. I mean, we don't need to choose suffering because however it is when a person feel bad he can’t be in adhesion with the Creator, he can’t give thanks to the Creator, on the one hand nevertheless it’s helping him. Do not ask to suffer but when the suffering comes, try to be above it as much as possible, with the thought about adhesion with the friends and the Creator, that's how it is.
7. S. (17:47) Excerpt number ten describes this loop where there is foreign thought and overcoming and then joy of Mitzvah and this loop is going to come back again and again. How can you rely on such a thing that keeps repeating and what’s the Mitzvah here?
R. You know the degrees, we have things that repeat themselves, and we have to work with what is before us and what will be will be. In all the states that we need what’s right before us and we will do it again and again and again, we cannot jump from zero to the end of correction. Rather, none is wise as the experienced, along the way we have to acquire all kinds of discernments that help us reach the Creator, understand him, feel him, cleave to him. Using these two opposite forces, the path of Torah and the path of suffering. The light of Hochma and the light of Hassadim, the top of our coarseness, we need the connection to the Creator in order to complete adhesion which is the end of the path. The path includes many opposite discernments and we constantly need to put them together, to be between them, to somehow see how we connect despite that. This connection is taking place through the connection between us where in all the states no matter what we wish to obtain connection and this goes from degree to degree.
8. S. (20:16) If the disturbances in the group and in the ten do not shake me up and do not move me like the disturbances in this world, what does it mean, what should I do?
R. It is not too bad keep, going keep going until the heart softens and you will begin to feel the states in the group as more important than states in this world, just keep going to where everything will be known.
9. S. (20:58) During the lesson there are many thoughts about this world and still somehow disturb you from thinking about the friends and turning to the Creator and if you make some effort, does it not mean that I have to overcome these thoughts?
R. To overcome means to overcome specifically when there are disturbances and then it is considered that you are overcoming. Meaning, you are truly working and you keep pushing forward, so if there are no disturbances then it’s sign for concern it is a sign that you are not coming closer enough to the friends, you are not participating in the ten, and studying but specifically when you have those disturbances all the time, it’s good it is a sign of progress.
10. S. (22:08) Is it always possible to detect that the thought is aforeign thought, is it always obvious?
R. Relatively speaking, it’s easy. If a person wishes to detect if a thought is a foreign thought or on the path, it is simple, even by looking at those thoughts, sorting them to see if those help me or object, resist my efforts towards the Creator, then it's clear to me that they assist me in this way, and those that pull me backward or off to the side where I don't feel any need, any connection between the thought and the path, these thoughts are neither for nor against but they simply deviate me from the path. A thought that is against one's progress also helps one to progress and it’s helped against and we need to respect it and not to erase it.
11. S. (23:37) What does it actually mean my ability to look at your bad state though faith above reason.
R. My state of faith above reason. I can imagine it to myself that I have a force of faith, bestowal, the quality of faith, the quality of bestowl,the ability to connect and to acquire, take upon myself the importance of connection more than my own personal importance in this way I can measure it. if I am in faith above reason or in reason.
S. This of observing, what is the observer actually and which phase is this? It is difficult to understand if you're both faith above reason and to be in faith above reason
R. Faith means that I go according to what the Creator wants me to do and not what I want to do. This decision is called walking in faith above reason page above my own reason. My reason, my desire, opinion, I decided my understanding and all that is above it. If I agree what I'm about to do is considered within my reason, if I rise above it and I do what I do not wish to do then it is considered that I am walking in faith above reason.
12. S. (26:07) It turns out that faith above reason is only possible under the basis of disturbance?
R. Yes of course you will have a reason and you go above the reason and inspite of the reason.
S. You said that spiritual degrees, Sefirot, Partzufim are all built on disturbances of different sorts. What does it mean?
R. Each state, each degree, each action has its own disturbances it is like in our life.
S. What determines the quality of the disturbances?
R. Typically the quantity of accumulated disturbances that add up to one disturbance we will work on it.
13. S. (27:34) Following the topic of disturbances, there is a friend in the ten that recently comes to the lessons. I spoke with him yesterday and he said I have a lot of disturbances and I want to connect to him. What should we be doing in such a state? We are doing enough for me. What should we do in this state when he claims that?
R. Awaken him before the lesson, talk to him during the day, as much as possible, maybe speak to people in his house with his wife to tell him something so on and so forth. Do not apply too much pressure or he will run away from it and pulling him gently with love
S. If he found his kind of work for necessities and the system is but most of it is doing the lesson as well and he asked more than was what we can do about it but it is is there something we can do in terms of his necessities that he found a job during the lesson what can we do?
R. Help him to change jobs, help him change jobs.
14. S. (29:08) How do we expand our perception so that this becomes an illusion for us?
R. Spend more time among the friends and it will come. When you are connected with them more and more you will feel the world and later you will feel the world disappearing. The importance of the perception of the world will decrease and you will feel that the importance of the friendst, the relationships between you will become more important because you will begin to discover more and more the upper force. The force that governs everything, that rules everything.
15. S. (30:18) Disturbance is always measured against the importance of the goal?
R. Yes, you weigh the disturbance with importance.
16. S. (30:39) How to do the action of overcoming not by persuading the will to receive?
R. How else can you do it?
S. That's exactly the question, how do you not fall to a place of reception where you convince yourself in receiving?
R. You can leave to the friends, try to disappear among them as if you dissolve yourself between them. In this way you will go through the state and you'll feel it exactly as it should be.
Reading twice (31:24) (33:39) “11. RABASH, Article No. 1 (1991), What Is, “We Have No Other King But You,” in the Work?”
17. S. (35:50) It says here that according to the person’s qualities he's remote from the Creator and still the Creator is close to him. How does this happen?
R. When the Creator wants to bring the person closer to Him, He awakens in him desires that are opposite. On the other hand the person feels how far he is from the Creator and all those things appear because the Creator awakens them. Meaning that the Creator is interested in him. The Creator is interested in him. When people feel how day by day they’re farther from the Creator and they find themselves in a variety of disturbances they also have to understand that the Creator awakens them in order to bring them closer. That's how we should understand the Creator’s behavior with us. Ane, so from day-to-day, from one moment to the next, we need to read the Creator's attitude towards us, and if we pay attention the right way then we will see that every moment the Creator awakes us, shakes us, brings us closer.
S. What is the perception of that state that points to the fact that the person interprets this state correctly?
R. That he continues on the path. That he keeps going on the path, it says it very simply “you can do anything besides a leave”; anything besides leaving the ten, leaving the path, besides that do anything. Because whatever responses you have the Creator accept it, except leaving, because if you leave your contact with Him and you disregard Him and throw him away, and that means you are going to have to wait again until the wheel keeps changing and spinning until it happens, if at all in this cycle, who knows?
18. S. (39:12) Earlier all those foreighn thoughts, all those negative things perceived as something individual. Some anger towards myself and now everything perceived in regard to the ten and arises against the friends. It's like the friends are trying to ruin something, how to correctly overcome it?
R. Be as connected to the friends as possible and with them to the Creator. That’s it, I have no more to add. It’s the only way.
19. S. (40:04) It says here in the last line that a person must ask the Creator to bring him closer and give him a desire to bestow, when you read such excerpts. I have this conflict in me. Why is it written in this way? I am seemingly asking for myself because we keep highlighting that we need to ask for the friends,the general pain,the world and the general vessel. Why is it written in this way?
R. It means that you want to adhere to the group in order to strengthen them and push them towards the Creator. you join the Arvut.
S. You can say that these words simply sound egoistic in our perception but the meaning is not?
R. Yes, correct.
20. S. (41:15) What to do if some friends decide that they want to do something outside of our usual schedule, not related to our lesson or regular meetings?
R. If most of them decide and they truly make a decision from whole heart that it is worthwhile doing then it is worthwhile to join them, understood?
Reading (41:49) “12. Baal HaSulam. Shamati. Article 13 “A Pomegranate” Twice
21. S. (46:03) What does it mean that the degree of feeling is to the extent that you raise yourself above reason?
R. That he not going to with his own head but above his head,even though he doesn't know or understand, he doesn't feel he's going with what we call the power of faith, the power of Hassadim, mercy that he wants all the emptiness to be filled with the light Hassadim like he say,s the when these thoughts of emptiness come to the person so the person will have a need to take it upon himself with faith above reason.
S. What is the meaning of emptiness?
R. Emptiness with knowledge, feeling, discernments that he can feel and hold in his hand and our whole work is to try to raise ourselves to faith above reason.
22. S. (47:48) This emptiness I've heard this morning, I felt this emptiness this morning when I came to the lesson because I am asking deep inside, why am I doing this work for? When we look at humanity that way it moves and operates,and behaves I understand the Creator is almost hearing me and listening to me but in longer periods. What can we do, is this emptiness the way we advance? Are we going to understand it later?
R. I have to try to fill all my emptiness with Hassadim, with mercy the upper light. The Creator dwells there, so that the force of bestowal. Emptiness is only in a place where there is no existence meaning, the eye of the person does not do well there, does not control there. What is filling, the measure of the empty place ? The answer is according to one's elevation of oneself above reason. It means that he agrees to go above reason. This means that the emptiness should be filled with exaltedness.
Meaning even though I have emptiness that I can not understand, that I don't feel, and even if I disagree with them I can go about it and I'm going for it. Meaning faith above reason and I ask the Creator to give him that strength to be above reason. There is a reason and I'm going above it. It doesn't matter if this is how I feel, this is what I think, this is how I take it, I just go above it. This means that all the emptiness was created, meaning comes to a person to feel this way that he is empty only in order to fill it with the exaltedness of the creator'. Meaning why do I receive such a feeling of emptiness in me? This is so I will say to the Creator, that I am going to be in adhesion with Him. This means that I take everything above reason "This is the meaning of the verse, “God has made it that He will be feared.” This means that these thoughts of emptiness come to a person in order for one to have a need to take upon himself faith above reason."
The Creator helps him, making him an empty space because if it were full he would not be able to rise above it. "And for this we need the help of the Creator." Meaning to receive ascent above the empty space and faith above reason for that you need help from above. meaning a person has to ask the Creator to give him the power to believe above reason and to be able to walk, to take it to have the strength to go above reason even though he has nothing in which to rely. It's got enough foundation, this means that the earth hangs on nothing..” It turns out that it is precisely then that one needs the Creator to help him. Meaning we come to a state where we have no control whatsoever then acquire the force of faith Bina above Malchut, faith above reason.
23. S. (53:15) In all these excerpts it says that suffering comes as disturbances, the emptiness, The Creator gives all that to strengthen a person so the person would approach the Creator by himself. Is there an intention for a person to look for the disturbances at least the emptiness of evil to awaken it by some negative things but to yearn for it himself?
R. No, a person cannot do this on his own. A person has to go as it is written, in adhesion with the friends as much as possible towards the Creator and on the way there he will feel all those places where he can't follow a adhesion with the friends and the Creator and then he will have to reach the help of the Creator and he will be rewarded with it.
S. Maybe you can be more precise, that's what I meant, to feel that you wish to come closer to the friends and to the Creator so to place your inner attention on the fact that I don't want it, that I am opposite to it, that I need correction.
R. Yes, you have to determine that and immediately go above that.
S. In this article there is always the emphasis on give me the strength. In that moment can you fill the emptiness with thoughts of the ten with the request for connection between the friends in order to come out of this emptiness and not ask for myself?
R. It might be true sometimes but usually we need to determine that this void, this space that is now in me is in order to turn to the Creator and ask from Him. Not to escape the prayer, it is the action, it is the highest of actions.
24. S. (56:03) Where is the place of fear? This fear, it says that He did it so they will fear Him.
R. Where I fear that I was thrown out, outside of the path and I don't know how to connect I don't know how to go, this is called that hangs in thin air.
25. S. (56:42) Is the state of faith above reason really the main restriction?
R. It is all in order to rise above the restriction, yes. Our whole work is that. We maintain the restriction, rise above it and there we have adhesion with the Creator.
26. S. (57:23) How do we accept emptiness or faults in our feelings as the beginnings of a new degree?
R. We receive it when we feel that it is so, that I have nothing to rely on, that I don’t know, I don’t feel, I don’t see, the world is empty. What I first thought of as a path, as a process, I don’t feel it and these are the best states because by them I can rise to the level of faith, from Malchut to Bina. Imagine yourself standing on the Malchut and then the Malchut disappears. Then you see that you are in thin air, you have no infrastructure. Where do you go? What to do? Who do you turn to? In that situation there is only one thing, connect to the group of course and try to pray to the Creator that you need the force of bestowal. If the force of reception disappears you feel no infrastructure, no ground. Ask for the force to raise you above the ground, the force of Bina.
27. S. (59:10) How can I tell if the Creator Answered my prayer to give me the forces of Bina, or the force of faith?
R. What to do? Only prayer. Nothing else to say.
S. How can I understand or feel that I have received these forces in order to keep going on the path?
R. You would feel it, what do you mean? You will feel it and you will see that you got it. What do you need to get a telegram, an email?
28. S. (01:00:24) The two previous excerpts talk about a very high degree. A person accepts with joy, with singing, with everything, compared to the last excerpt we read about emptiness. How do we combine it with a true request?
R. The more we advance, the sense of emptiness is more and more dominant. That's how it works.
S. So, in order to reach repentance out of love first we have to find a place of emptiness where I am stopping between heaven and earth?
R. Yes.
29. S. (01:01:15) You get this impression that when we come with emptiness we go to connect and we ask for Bina. Why is this the order and why does this request end with a request for Bina, the quality of bestowal ?
R. We come to a state where we have no place to run, only to rise above the degree of the will to receive to the will to bestow. That only in it, in the will to bestow, we begin to feel that we have some chance to come out of this world which is a prison that is unbearable.
S. When we feel emptiness and we try to connect between us, it happens differently right? How do we connect through the emptiness?
R. First try and then we'll talk. These questions that are theoretical, I don’t like that.
30. S. (01:02:36) When you get to the state of the empty Malchut can I use the Malchut of the friends, their desire for spirituality becomes our fuel and we need forces of bestowal for that?
R. Yes. That is what we need.
31. S. (01:03:11) How to turn the will to receive to emptiness?
R. How what?
S. How to turn the emptiness? I understand that these are different things. In the past we learned that we have to rise through faith above reason, above the will to receive and here we learn that we have to rise above the emptiness and build above it.
R. All of these states will come to the person from working between us in connection between us and aiming to reach adhesion with the Creator. It will all come on time, you cannot divide states that you have not reached in an artificial way.
S. Are these different things?
R. No. First of all whatever happens happens in the will to receive. Besides the will to receive there is nothing.
32. S. (01:04:17) When friends from the ten decide to perform an action outside of the regular schedule and I'm not able to join it, what to do?
R. Unable, so don't join. What can you do? These things happen sometimes.
S. Ten is not a democracy, what if they decide to travel abroad, how do we decide if this is good for spirituality?
R. This I do know, this is not for now.
33. S. (01:04:57) You described the state where Malchut from below disappears and stops pulling and from above the attracting force does not show up yet. Is this a place where a person can express his free choice?
R. It is not a choice, it is not pulling up or down, he is just staying in corporeality.
34. S. (01:05:28) Why only the exaltedness can fill the emptiness? What does that mean?
R. The greatness of the Creator should fill the empty vessels and then I will cling to Him and be sure that I'm in the right place. Not because of my ego but because I finally found the right place for adhesion.
35. S. (01:06:12) What does it mean to fill the emptiness with the greatness of the Creator? With the empty space?
R. The empty space is our desires and if I fill them with the greatness of the Creator then I adhere to that space, to the Creator and more than that I don't need. I don't need anything else.
36. S. (01:06:32) Should there be a general feeling of emptiness in the ten that we should fill together with the general feeling of the exaltedness of the Creator?
R. That's not a must.
37. S. (01:06:45) Is the revelation of emptiness the distancing and isolation of me from the ten and the ten from the Creator?
R. Sometimes like that, sometimes it's even in a corporeal way, the sense of emptiness.
38. S. (01:07:13) How to deal with a state of emptiness of a friend?
R. How to cope with the state of emptiness in the ten?
S. No, of a friend in the ten?
R. Of a friend? That she I guess feels…
S. That she feels there is someone else in the ten and they are empty. There is a ten and one friend is empty.
R. And she complains about it and we can help her? I don’t understand the question.
39. S. (01:07:43) It says in excerpt 12: a person has to ask the Creator to give him power to believe above reason. Do I get this power because I connected and I merged with the ten, and if so, how do I get there?
R. If not the in connection with the ten then you receive the egoistic force or you can receive some force of Bina that will help you for a short time to be above your ego above the will to receive but still you will go back to your ego.
40. S. (01:08:41) Is the process of no filling, of emptiness in the will to receive, the same goes for humanity?
R. Humanity is coming closer, it is actually coming closer quite well. All those shake ups that are now happening through the economy and the war and the climate and many other events. We see what is happening, different circumstances, all these are gradually preparing humanity to be ripe for rising to the degree above reason in their respect. It is not in the same personal way that we go through, each of us, but in a collective way.
40. S. (01:09:30) About excerpt 11 it says: “Meaning he has to ask the Creator to bring him closer to give him the will to bestow which is a second nature”. In that lowly state, can you raise a prayer alone without the ten?
R. Alone too but better in the group.