Morning Lesson August 09, 2022 Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Baal HaSulam. The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence
1. R. (00:12) Yes in the framework of our study that we want to go over all of the writings of Baal HaSulam, Rabash, ARI, we are going over this article “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence”.
Reading The teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence” - “ What is the wisdom…”
2. R. (01:00) In shorter words, the wisdom of Kabbalah is the wisdom of the revelation of Godliness to man, that’s it. Stages in degrees in steps for each and everyone and everyone together ultimately this thing has to happen the Creator has to be revealed before everyone and in a complete manner just as his actions are and these actions are called the wisdom of Kabbalah.
3. S. (01:47) Revelation and attainment of Kabbalists, is that connected to the spiritual attainment of their group or all of humanity?
R. Both, both of course. The Creator has to be revealed to all of the created beings as he writes to all the creatures completely. That’s the plan and it will certainly be executed because the plan is from above and all we want is to go forward with this plan because we seemingly hasten the revelation of the Creator, we accept Him come out of ourselves towards Him we respect Him we honor Him so that He can be revealed in us, it’s just like you for instance you’re going out to meet an important guest to accompany him to place you’ve prepared for him okay?
S. In revealing the wisdom in every generation is that for all of the Kabbalists of a certain generation?
R. That’s related to Kabbalist in each and every generation and all the generations because we see how much from one generation to another we pass on the method of revelation and we all advance in all of humanity.
Reading Again (04:21)
4. R. (04:50) We see how much he wants to cover in this definition all of creation, human beings and also all of the worlds in everything, everything that there’s an upper force that wants to be revealed in all of creation.
Reading “The Purpose of Creation” (05:12)
5. R. (06:27) This means that the whole purpose of creation that we talked about is entirely organized only for man especially because he is higher than everyone else in his mind and emotion and he can receive and realize the purpose of creation.
Continues (06:56) “But we must understand the purpose for which the Creator…”
6. S. (10:31) He says that just as he feels his friends’ desires he will know the ways of the Creator. How can you feel, how do you connect the friend to the Creator?
R. I don't know but if he writes it I guess he knows.
S. What did he mean?
R. That we’ll reach this state that just as we get to know each other and even more than we know right now. much more, so we can connect and reach connection with the Creator this means that you and the Creator can be as one body that knows everything, all the actions, desires, and in general everything the lies and creation which is all His, you too will attain all of the creation.
S. What’s the action I need to do before the friend in order to attain the Creator?
R. It’s the same thing adhere to the friend and the Creator is the same.
S. What’s adhesion with the friends?
R. When you hand yourself in a way that you won't feel yourself but instead of yourself you will feel the friend, to that extent you will feel the Creator as well.
Reading “ From Above Downward.” (12:00) “It is known that the end of the act…”
7. R. (13:27) This means that our purpose is to rise to the degree of the Creator without anything else.
Reader continues (13:37)
8. R. (15:16) Meaning the cascading from above downward restriction after restriction until we reach the corporeal world which is lower than all the rest and we have to rise all the way up.
Reading “From below upward” (15:40) “Afterward begins an order from below upward..”
Reading “The necessity to study Kabbalah” (16:21) “An opposer might say…”
9. R. (17:17) That is what people usually think.
Reader continues (17:19) “...without any additions or anything…”
10. R. (20:17) Meaning what we should do it doesn't matter what actions but only because of that, in other words, we come closer to the Creator, and if we don't come closer to the Creator we have no business we have no interest with these actions.
Reader continues (20:41) “...hence the study of physical conducts…”
11. S. (22:14) What the study as he writes studying those things that bring person to the right intention?
R. I didn't understand. We need to learn from what he learns from what he writes we need to learn what brings us the intention in order to bestow that’s what is important basically, all of the rest of the things we have no importance for. only to the extent that they can help us to build an intention.
S. How to study the right intention?
R. To the extent that we can draw the light that reforms by which the right intention comes to us.
12. S. (23:08) I never understood a sentence he says what does the Creator care whoever cuts either from the back of the neck or from the throat, so everything is redundant, why was it given if you say slaughter this way or slaughter that way?
R. I don't know, I don't know, in the meantime I learned what we’re learning together and from that I bring out my conclusions I hope they are right, not more than that.
S. Why does he write that a deed is just the preparation?
R. Because still we have to perform actions that cause connection between us, the purpose, the goal, is the connection, that’s why connection between us is the main thing, both in the corporeal action and in the spiritual one.
S. I know that the Kabbalists and especially Rabash, especially Baal HaSulam in Passover how they used to be meticulous on every little thing, they really kept all those habits.
R. That for him was a special thing because it was a symbol for the evil inclination and in our world the symbol of the evil inclination is the leavened bread on Passover, that’s why we were so meticulous about it.
S. Then today we don't need it anymore? Why not? Rabash forbade us all…
R. Rabash didn’t allow all of us to, he said we should all be meticulous as he was and his last ten years when I was by his side I took part in all the cleaning process he used to take on Passover but it's not that in my house it was the same atmosphere.
S. We as Bnei Baruch do we have to keep that?
R. No, no when the holiday comes you will get an explanation and instructions.
13. S. (25:42) I wanted to ask about what the words mean, it’s opposite than what we're used to he says that from above downward the cascading of the light is corporality and from below upward is spiritual attainment, it’s opposite the one we got used to.
R. I don't understand what he's saying.
S. He’s relating to the text in the article in the title “From Above Downward”, he says there’s a definition “these ascentions are like rungs of the ladder”, the second paragraph “these ascensions…”
R. Rav reading “These ascentions are like the rungs of the ladder arranged degree by degree until this is completed and achieves its purpose. Here there's no question and you should know that the quality and the quantity of these rungs are set in two realities right, one the existence of material substance and two, the existence of spiritual concepts. In the language of Kabbalah they are called above downward and from below upward, this means that the corporeal substances are a sequence of disclosure of His light from above downward from the first source when a measure of light was cut off from His Essence and was restricted, Tzimtzum by Tzimtzum, restriction by restriction, until the corporeal world was formed out of it with corporeal creatures at its very bottom”.
S. So that's the question, why is the cascading of the lights from above downward was called corporeal and material?
R. Because bit by bit and goes to corporeality it becomes corporeal by the descent of the degree so even though it's not yet corporeal it’s justl spiritual but still more and more and more it's being corporeal because as every degree comes down from above it has less and less powers of bestowal.
S. So that's according to the final goal?
R. Yes, but in each and every degree it still has more force of the will to receive where the will to bestow can overcome less of it, everything depends on the balance between the will to receive and the will to bestow. What is the descent of the degrees? When the ratio between the will to receive and the will to bestow, even though it's not yet in order to receive but still there is less and less will to bestow upon the will to receive. The will to receive is not in order to receive yet but it still doesn't give the ability for the will to bestow to be in the degree of Ein Sof.
S. Why is the second reality called spiritual concepts or attainments?
R. Where does he write this?
S. Two lines above that “there are two realities which are one”.
R. Corporeal concepts and the spiritual concepts.
S. In the language of the Kabbalah they’re called from above downward and from below upward, so why from below upward are called the spiritual concepts? Why is that from below upward?
R. That's because we discover these things by our effort from below. That’s why this is how we act from corporeality to spirituality.
S. We keep saying that the feeling is the most important?
R. Our emotion in the meantime is all in order to receive.
14. S. (30:42) What does it mean for us to concentrate on correcting the intention and not the deeds?
R. The primary thing is the intention that’s written everywhere the entire wisdom of Kabbalah is about intentions, it's all about intentions, meaning where does a man's heart turn to, that is the intention.
S. What does it mean not to concentrate on the deeds or is it together with the deeds?
R. A deed if it soothes the intention, if it can hold intention, support the intention, it’s a good action and this we do we connect we perform kinds of actions but the main thing is to do in connection when that's helping us to be in the right direction.
S. So what deeds do benefit the intention?
R. The main thing is what Rabash writes in his articles about the connection in the society. To connect to as much as possible in order to see himself that I support everyone and I serve everyone in the ten.
S. So is it deeds or intentions because it’s inner deeds what the Rabash says in his articles.
R. What are inner actions?
S. In the deeds, attitude, relation, that I try to see the friends as great, that I’m small the ten is whole, behind every friend is the Creator.
R. I should do that in practice as well if it's required, we're connecting, we’re performing actions, doing things, learning together as much as possible and more, we disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah to the whole world. We're doing actions towards connection, connection, that for us is the main thing that for us is sacred, from the ten to the whole world.
S. What does it mean not to perform deeds that bring this intention, what should we be cautious about?
R. Do them only to the extent that you have to exist, it's like in your workplace or family …. do it as temporary.
Reading (33:39) “The Torah as a Spice”
15. R. (33:52) Meaning the main thing we need is to do everything in order to draw the light that reforms, that’s the only solution for our whole situation what we need to draw the light that reforms by that we bring the light closer, we bring the Creator closer, we bring ourselves closer to the light and to the Creator and by that we are rewarded with the realizing creation.
Reading (34:30) “The majority of the words…”
16. R. (35:30) So obviously we need to engage with all the books of the Torah to the extent that the light that reforms is in there more or less there is a difference between the different books they’re or sources that’s why we engage in it more or less usually it is according to what Baal HaSulam determined.
Reader continues (35:55) “A candle is a Mitzvah…”
17. R. (36:38) So if we won't be rewarded with the upper light that in it we'll see where we are so we will remain in the same place as we are now in the same forms as we are now, and we won’t really know where we are or what we are, but we’ll remain in the dark, and gradually science lately is also starting to speak about it that we're in some kind of some kind of closed bubble black bubble.
Reader continues (37:26) “Not all portions of the Torah are of equal light”
18. R. (38:47) Meaning that in all our sources there are such that the sources talk about revelation of the Creator and those that don't speak about relation of the Creator, so we need some more and more to invest ourselves in sources that relate to the revelation of the Creator and from that we will get more of the light that reforms, it will bestow upon us more, influence us more, and quicker and in a more correct way we’ll reach revelation of the Creator to us.