Afternoon Lesson March 24, 2023
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio.
Lesson on the subject - "Work is the reward", selected excerpts from the sources, Section number 1.
Rav's Intro: Usually we have an exertion in everything that we do we need to put forth our exertions. Hence against that, we have a very special wisdom called The Wisdom of Kabbalah with which we can put forth our exertion which will not be difficult for us. But rather on the contrary and to the extent in which we put forth exertion, we will feel it as the reward where we have the opportunity to receive pleasure in giving pleasure to the Creator. Hence, our work will never be difficult, not according to time, not according to the efforts. But rather on the contrary, it will all be as work in pleasure, work as the reward. Let's read what the Kabbalists write for us. Mostly Rabash and Baal HaSulam.
Reading Excerpt #1 (01:25) "We must aim..." Twice.
1. R. That means that everything we do in the connection between us, we don't want anything, just for the Creator to have pleasure from this, from us connecting between us. And by this, we want to broadcast to him pleasure, so that he is delighted from us. Like for example, little children who want to behave between them in a certain way that their mother will enjoy from it.
Continue Reading Excerpt #1 (02:48)
2. S. (05:40) Is there a certain sign that a person can see that he brought contentment? Or does it not matter?
R. Not always, it all depends on the measure of connection he has with the Creator and the manner of connection he has with the Creator. But he should try to come closer to the Creator to the extent in which he feels that he's bringing contentment to the Creator. And he has pleasure, and the Creator enjoys him and he enjoys the delighting the Creator.
S. Is the pleasure mutual between me and the Creator?
R. It doesn't have to be and we don't know how the Creator gives us a feeling of pleasure for the sake of something, yes or no that's not important. We actually just want to work in a unidirectional way, only towards the Creator. We want to bring him pleasure. That's it. Let's say like with a mother who gives something to her baby, so she wants the baby to enjoy. That's too important to her the response that he has towards her. Of course it's also important, but not that that's the goal. The goal is for the baby to enjoy.
S. If a person doesn't know what delights the Creator, can he just enter into the connection with the friends?
R. Yes, then we need to perform the commandments the Mitzvot between man and his friend and by that we bring contentment to the Creator.
3. S. (07:54) We know that the desire to receive is the foundation of a person. But on our path how can we use the will to receive?
R. We need to use the will to receive in a way that we work one towards his friend, in aiming it to bring contentment to the Creator. And the answer to the friend is actually also if it's from the group, then by that he delights the Creator as well.
4. (08:37) We're advancing with the years, we're feeling more the friends, the love of the Creator, the importance grows. My question is, what's the purpose of this process of exiting the ego being long? What does that give us?
R. We don't know what things we need to change in us inside this inner mechanism of ours. Our will to receive, our desire to bestow, and all kinds of discernments around that. That come to truly work in order to bestow. That's why it seems to us that this is a long path. We cannot say that it's long, it's simply until we correct the whole. All the stages in it, stage after stag, and then we will start to discover what we're doing in a more disclosed manner, mutual way, I for my beloved and my beloved for me. And this is how we will discover the Creator in a closer way to us.
5. S. (10:10) How is the Creator that does everything not happy? What will we additionally do to make him happy?
R. The Creator is almighty, but he has a condition that we need to come to equivalence of form with him. Therefore, we need to toil a lot and put forth efforts, and actions in bestowing to friends and then from the friends to the Creator. In order for us to truly have the work in bestowal like the nature of the Creator. And the main part of our work is between the person and his friends.
Meaning the moment we finish these jobs between the person and his friend, we discover what it is to work before the Creator and we don't need to add to this a lot of work and exertion. And the main thing is that as we learn how to relate to a friend, by that we prepare ourselves how to relate correctly to the Creator. Therefore, getting into our work between a person and his friend, by doing so, we qualify ourselves as well completely to work before the Creator. It's not that we need to do another stage and another long path in working with a Creator. It's enough for us to come to love thy friend as thyself. By this, as we get accomplished in this, we also become ready for Love thy Lord as thy God.
S. So what is to bestow actually because it is so opposite to us?
R. To practically bestow means that we are incorporated with the desire of the other either a friend or the Creator. And we want to fill this desire with some form of fulfillment, with good, with a good feeling. That's called to bestow.
6. S. (13:13) How do we come to a friend feeling pleasure? Or serve the Creator this way?
R. They need to connect to the friend and to try and fill him. And understand what can I give him so that he will enjoy. Then when I execute this action, and I feel that he receives pleasure, that's called that I'm delighting the friend.
7. S. (14:02) What inner exercise can we do so that we will truly feel that the work itself is the reward? That to work before the Creator is a pleasure. It's a privilege.
R. As I connect with the friend and want to feel how I can fill him with all the good there is, that he would feel for me, that is actually my work. And if I attain this, I attain what fills the friend, that it's called that we're connected together, dependent on one another. And from this I will have pleasure.
8. S. (15:11) The reward is service to the Creator because the work already unites us with Him. How to become at work, so that we will know that we're doing the best if the ego is always at work as well?
R. Yes, but if I connect to the friend and want to bestow to him, then my bestowal towards him is also my pleasure. And then we connect with one pleasure.
S. And then in this way we already are at work with the Creator together? We're united with Him?
R. Yes, both with the friend and with the Creator.
9. S. (16:56) With all the efforts, small and great, the most difficult thing to let go of is wanting to attain spirituality for myself. Even though I want that for my friends, my will to receive still wants that. That's why I started studying Kabbalah. So how do we let go of that strongest part of the will to receive to want that for ourselves?
R. We don't have to give that up. We need to replace the pleasure that I receive from bestowal to a friend to a pleasure that I would receive bestowal to myself. That's it. Where I feel myself connected with my friends, and that feeling that we're connected. That I'm making efforts to bestow to us both, yes? For it to be greater than the pleasure that I am serving myself here.
10. S. (18:31) Does a friend need to feel that the pleasure comes from me? Or should I have no connection with that?
R. Both. This depends on the form of relations between us. The more the friend will enjoy from feeling that the pleasure comes from me, or that it is, let's say such that there's like the giving of reward in concealment. There are many matters here, we will learn those things.
11. S. (19:26) If we receive pleasure from the work, is that bad?
R. No to receive pleasure from the work is not prohibited. The question is whether the pleasure compels me to work or that the work itself for me is pleasure.
12. S. (20:02) What can I do when a friend says to me that I did something that she is not happy about or that she feels that I hate her? I have to identify what she doesn't like? Or why is she saying that to me? How can I behave with such things that my friend says to me?
R. You have to erase that bad impression that you gave to your friend. That's it. In all the possible ways at your disposal.
13. S. (20:55) Your answer, connect is for almost every question. What's the special thing that happens in the upper worlds when we connect between us?
R. When we connect, we can bestow to a higher up world because there we are connected together. And then from there, we can receive an addition of abundance, the light, the abundance. The addition of good. And this is how we come to correction.
Reading Excerpt #2 (21:51) "The essence of one's work…" Twice.
14. R. (24:12) Meaning to feel the Creator that he fills all of nature above, below, in all the directions, and everything and besides Him there is nothing. Only one force that fills all of reality that is called to attain faith in the Creator. And this is the feeling we have to come to, then we will have no problems, no mistakes, and no doubts, where we are or who we are.
15. S. (24:49) Please tell me in what way our efforts to connect and to give to the friends, moving us to the feeling of the glory King fills all the Earth?
R. Because it's against our nature. We also want to scrutinize, the one Creator for us all. That we're connecting between us and then the one upper force is revealed and illuminates upon us. And this is how we come closer to each other and reveal the Creator.
16. S. (25:39) If a person gives the opportunity for person to work, to connect with the friends to do something, and the person misses this opportunity with a feeling of regret, what do we do?
R. Come closer to the friends and learn from them. Try and be as close as possible to them. And that will influence and benefit a person. There's no other way.
S. To look back?
R. No no no, no. God forbid, it's prohibited to look back. All together.
17. S. (26:45) If I feel the Creator, does it mean I cannot make mistakes any more, since I know what My maker wants of me?
R. To that extent, yes. To the extent in which you feel Him, you are no longer making mistakes.
18. S. (27:14) What binds between a person and the Creator in the ten? Meaning what's in the ten that connects the person to the Creator?
R. Through the ten. The ten is that vessel that the Creator bestows upon and then a person that is incorporated in the ten, when he connects to the then, where for him the whole ten is like his. By that he begins to reveal the Creator.
19. S. (27:55) The way I feel in the ten, we're already discovering this mutual dependency in an absolute manner. But we can't move to the level of feeling of the dependency of the whole ten in the Creator, what can we do?
R. You don't need help in any way. The fact that the ten is completely dependent on the Creator, it's true. And we just need to absorb that feeling so that it will dwell in us. And all of that is called adhesion of a person in the Creator. The ten is this form, the system, through which a person adheres to the Creator.
20. S. (28:59) My question is my personal work. I received for it this feeling of the greatness of the Creator and by this, I actually serve the friends. There's another one here. I want my friends to also feel that they're in this work. What do I need to ask so that I will feel that they're already in this work?
R. You need to ask for connection with the friends fully. Meaning you'll later not just feel this but all the rest as well.
Reading Excerpt #3 (29:39) "As in corporeality…"
21. R. (32:30) What is it trying to tell us? That we look at the reward, then according to the extent of the reward, we appreciate the work. Better or worse and so on. There is nothing here actually special, everything is according to the reward. But the question now is, what is the reward? Is it the reward that with this work I come closer to the Creator, reveal him? Or I'm looking for a different reward. This is what we need to scrutinize.
22. S. (33:12) I need to verbally express every action I raise to the Creator? Or is it enough that my intention is to bestow to Him with each action?
R. In each and every action I need to think whether I'm bringing contentment to the Creator through this action.
23. S. (33:55) This faith in the Creator that we are rewarded with, is it always connected to pleasure? Or do we sometimes receive this pleasure through deficiency and loss and pain?
R. Sometimes we receive it through suffering or pain. But nevertheless, we need to try and move to pleasure in order to be connected to the Creator. Should be pleasure for me and it can even be higher than the pain and any other comfort matters.
24. S. (34:48) When in our work, I collect deficiencies in the ten and eventually when some quantity of deficiencies are accumulated, I noticed that I'm already asking for help from the Creator. Is this result the end of the work or do I need to see some other corrections there? How do these deficiencies get filled?
R. As a result of my work with the Creator, I want to see the complete and whole correction of mine. Meaning the complete revelation of the Creator in all my qualities.
S. My correction, not a correction outside of me, of the friends, some other states?
R. No, no, no, I want to wish correction for the friends. But eventually, I am the one who's corrected.
25. S. (36:00) If I notice small corrections, little changes in my perception of reality, I manage more in connection. Those little corrections, can we think that they are the reward from the Creator?
R. If you consider it that way, then yes.
26. S. (36:30) Sometimes the friends try to bring pleasure to the Creator. But there's the feeling of some of it self pleasure, and just me let's say. So how to deal with that state and what to do?
R. Try to do everything that the friends demand of you.
S. They're praising.
R. They're praising? Accept it, remember it, and may you have strength in return to praise them.
27. S. (37:39) What is the measure of the reward, the revelation of the Creator or the measure of the greatness of the Creator?
R. Again.
S. What is the measure of the reward, the revelation of the Creator or the measure of the greatness of the Creator?
R. That depends on you. Depends on what you want, his greatness or his revelation. These are different things.
S. For us, it's more correct to want His greatness?
R. It is necessary for you, in order to work for the benefit of the group, the whole world, then yes.
28. S. (38:54) I wanted to refine the question as written somewhere, that the king is awaiting our deficiencies, is waiting for me to come to Him, and to ask for the friends. And on my behalf, I just want to meet the King. That's my goal. I feel sufferings from a lack of connection and such a power that brings me to the King's palace and I'm already talking to him. So after that, there's a state which that's it. I have nothing else to do. I talk to the King and I've calmed down.
R. Wait a second, it all depends on what you ask the Creator for.
S. Could I ask for connection to the ten all kinds of problems in the ten that I see?
R. Well that's very good. Everything's passed. That's it. The ten rose to the final correction?
S. Of course not. Here's the problem, everything remains like it was. That's why I'm asking, do I not need to see some kind of reward or some kind of change from my prayers?
R. You need to see a result from your correction, that the whole ten is connecting, and is rising all the way to the degree of the Creator. And is included in the Creator.
S. But I can see that and it then it all disperses, is that okay?
R. That's okay, it's normal, so that you will rise even higher.
S. If you can give an example. I feel like this simply and again, it's something that repeats itself. I don't know how correct it is. Many times it appears as if it's like, like in the family. That's it, the brothers between them when they're fighting between them. There's certain clashes between brothers. And the child is going to complain to his mother and he's complaining, oh, the mum calms him down. She says everything's okay. And that's it. The problem is, just like it was, it continues. That kind of situation in the ten.
R. Of course that's not normal, we need to scrutinize why and how and what we need to do so that it won't repeat itself. But all of this needs to be in coming closer to love.
S. Exactly when we try to do this through love, it seems like a very prolonged time that we need a lot of patience.
R. It's not important. It's completely not important. It's long, not long. The main thing is what we're yearning for, what we want.
29. S. (41:45) What are our actions in the ten that will help us strengthen the faith?
R. What actions in our group will help us strengthen the faith? Only connection between us, within which the Creator will be revealed.
30. S. (42:26) In the world, we can work for a reward for some kind of fee. In the world people work for fees because it gives them some kind of effort. The question is if you can do the same thing in spirituality?
R. In spirituality, the reward is the attainment of the Creator. Meaning to the extent in which I resemble Him as close as I am to Him, as adhered as I am to to Him. That's the reward in spirituality. Just as it is written, return to the Lord your God.
S. So the more effort, the better?
R. It depends on what state we're in. If we're in a state of receiving in order to bestow, then the more we receive, we bestow more.
31. S. (43:42) I always say when I feel in everything, the action of the Creator, He makes it so that all the disturbances in the corporeal life is replaced. I have free time for the lessons. No one's bothering me. The Creator is doing like this for me. I feel like He's doing everything, is that good or not?
R. It's not good or bad, you simply need to rise and overcome all the states. We need to go through all these states. And then you will discover what really is good and what really is bad.
S. The revelation of the qualities of the Creator, that's my correction?
R. Yes.
S. The friends in my heart resemble, express the corrections that I needed to go through?
R. Yes.
32. S. (45:13) If it's possible, we have two questions. First I would like to ask you if I am looking for a way to justify the friend, I am looking at this as a result of connection between us?
R. Yes.
S. The spark that I take out of this search and when I find it, there's this joy?
R. Yes.
S. And second question if possible. If I heard correctly, now, when I ask for my correction and the Creator does this, then also the ten is corrected by this. Does that mean that I see the ten is corrected and I see it from my corrected vessels?
R. Of course, because we see everything from within our desire, if our desire is corrected, then we see the whole world as corrected.
S. This is out of my perception of reality, yes?
R. Yes.
Reading Excerpt #4 (46:23) "If one wants…" Twice.
33. S. (49:10) What's the quality of the Creator?
R. Love, only that.
34. S. (49:31) How do we see that we're actually working in bestowal and not for the benefit of our ego? Because just like the ego becomes more and more cunning this way.
R. To the extent in which I love all my friends in the ten and I only want for their benefit. I'm not asking for anything else for my exertion, but rather only for them to rise to adhesion with the Creator. This is actually my reward.
35. S. (50:20) What is the quality of love of the Creator?
R. The quality of love of the Creator is that he wants to bestow to all the created beings, only good with no limits.
36. S. (51:06) You said that we're not to look backwards in our spiritual work. Will this keep us from advancement if we look backwards? Does Pharaoh confuse us in our advancement?
R. Yes, yes.
37. S. (51:57) To pray for the friends correctly, I need to know what his desire is? And I need to pray for them to come to the end of correction so that the whole ten will be corrected?
R. It's best to pray for their final correction.
38. S. (52:25) Please tell me in the excerpt: a person is every friend in the ten or is it the whole group altogether? Because what can we do if I want the result of this examination to be more precise?
R. We need to pray for the whole group together. Even if it might be that it's done for each friend separately. The main thing is for the whole group to try and push them towards the Creator and pray for them.
S. Clear and a person is the whole group or a certain individual in the group?
R. A person is one from the group.
39. S. (53:25) For our prayer for the Creator for the ten, the fact that we receive what we're asking for, it's like we're entering the ego. Because we receive pleasure from the result from the prayer that we've done. Question, how to move this to the service of the Creator?
R. I don't understand the question.
S. I'll explain, I'm praying for the ten for to connect I really am asking. And as a result of that really, what I asked for it's happening. There's this feeling of pride that I did this in my prayers, in my work. How to correct myself that I will feel that I did it for the sake of the Creator?
R. What you want to be only for the sake of the Creator, that's ready correction.
S. Can I continue to do that?
R. Yes, yes.
40. S. (54:48) The goal is Him and I need to have this yearning towards Him. And they also need to work with the friends so that I will take the friends to Him to connection. In these two actions, they always need to be together or can they be separated? One helping the other supporting?
R. One supports the other.
41. S. (55:20) I understood from the text that when we build the Creator in the ten, but we don't have faith in it. It's because our image of the Creator is small and lowly. And that's why we don't find the greatness in the ten. The image of the Creator in our eyes is small.
R. Correct, that's our problem. That's why we need to make the character of the Creator in our eyes bigger, and then it will be hard for us not to bestow to Him.
42. S. (56:22) How can we be in annulment through all the actions of the Creator upon us all day long?
R. That is if you all will want and you'll think about this as much as possible, the more you can, then you will hold on to one another.
43. S. (56:41) The greatness of the Creator, the greatness of the group, and the greatness of the Rav. It can also be for self pleasure. How can we differentiate between those things?
R. That I'm only thinking about the group and not about myself. We gradually will begin to feel this in order to not lie to ourselves.
44. S. (57:23) What measure of responsibilities are upon me to bring the friends to the goal and the connection with the Creator? What responsibilities are upon me in this matter?
R. You're responsible for everyone. And the whole group is dependent on, they should ask for you from the whole group.
45. S. (57:59) What's the addition of pleasure from serving a great King?
R. What addition? The light of Yechida.
S. That's what's received from the pleasure?
R. Yes.
46. S. (58:24) How to grow the image of the Creator inside the group, so that the friends will not fall?
R. Together with the friends.
47. S. (58:41) Does a person need to feel clearly the state that the work is the reward? And understand what's happening in this state?
R. Yes, a person needs to check all of this, to discover all of this, to analyze and implement. Then everything will be okay. All the best to you. May everything be good with you. May you be able to scrutinize all these problems through the spiritual path to implement it quickly. In our times, in this lifetime. Good luck. All the best.