Part 2
Baal HaSulam. The Freedom (The Necessity to Choose a Good Environment)
Reader begins at subtitle (0:40): “The Necessity to Choose a Good Environment”
1.S. (04:42) Concretely speaking, practically in each and every moment he says that a person governs himself through the environment, in general we choose the environment and by that we direct ourselves?
R. To the extent that you connect to the good environment you progress more and more. If you have a tendency, a correct tendency, by building the environment to reach and come closer to the Creator according to the qualities you receive in the environment, then this is what is called that you learn Torah. Within the connection is revealed to you more and more new discernments and this is how you attained creation. In sum total, the creation is the same broken will to receive, that as much as you arrange it and sort it, this is called that you learn Torah. That same system that the Creator intentionally broke and you by correcting it, by uniting it, within the correct environment then you by this learn the corrected system more and more. In the gap between the broken and the whole, you learn the qualities of the Creator. Actually He both formed the system, broke it and gave you the opportunity. Just like with children who put together, let's say a building or a house from blocks. In this manner you are performing actions through which you understand what the mind of the operator is. That is how you attain the Creator. To the extent that you performed the correct actions, meaning that you become like Him, that which helps you be like the Creator is the light that reforms. The upper light which is called Torah. It includes in it all that we need to know to attain the force of the operator. This is our goal, the force that operates such that we attain and come closer to the attainment of the Creator. The attainment of the corrections and it cannot be otherwise. Meaning that there are bad states, that the Creator initially broke the vessel, and we need to make an effort, truly like little kids, to put together the puzzle, the blocks, what matches what. In such a way that each time we form the image of the Creator. This is what it is called, Boreh, come and see. That from Your actions we shall learn You. That is all our work, that we become familiar with the upper force more and more. In our correction we're already in His degree and His place, where we can say that we reach identification, adhesion with Him. That this is the goal, to reach the degree of the Creator. Thus, then we are called Adam, the complete and corrected Adam.
2. S. (08:50) Here it is written that one of the roles of the Kabbalists is to bring from potential into practice. W we read that the Rosh is the potential and the Guf is the practice, so until there is the correction in the body, it is not considered real work?
R. Yes, the result of the correct work, that we put together the correct connection between us, according to the Rosh, the head, the light expands by the force to the body, and the body is arranged in such a manner that it comes to recognize the whole system. The person that becomes familiar with the entire still, vegetative, animal, and speaking within him, he reveals that the entire world is him. And that it seems to him that there are still many still, vegetative, animal, and speaking, they are all his parts in that if he unites them into one system, that is called one body. Then the force that operates in the system is revealed as the Creator. Boreh, come and see. In sum total this is all of our work. Until we reach a state that all of the parts connect in such a manner that they truly work as one. This is called that the darkness shall illuminate as light. That the same body that was broken, the same desires that were opposed to one another, they already work in harmony between them.
3. S. (10:44) Can we say that if I always try to surround myself in thoughts of the ten that this is an environment?
R. Yes, when I think all the time about how all of these parts that I see before me that I see as broken and distant and I want to connect them into one system, this is the most beneficial thing for correction. That is all of our work. As much as we see how much they are in the breaking, we need to actively worry that all humans, all mankind, will ultimately connect into one system.
4. S. (11:52) Today in our times there is abundance. Twenty years ago we didn't even have books. Do you think that it is harder or easier to do spiritual work today?
R. We need to understand the uniqueness of the system that is being revealed more and more to us in this world. The system of Adam HaRishon reveals that we are all tied to everyone and so we see groups and clusters of people and how much they all influence one another in a negative manner. They don't understand that connection is the purpose of creation and as much as we are against it, we are losing. We can say that all the changes that will be through recognition of evil will occur and obligate us to come closer and to unite. We need to see the future, how much the programs of all of the governments, the plans of all of the different bodies and organizations, corporations and nations, oppose connection above all of the obstacles, and how much their path to correction will be more difficult with great big crisis. We need to understand that all of man's progress, all of society's progress, all the country's progress, is that we need to match ourselves to the demand to connect. The ability to connect is revealed in human society in each and every era. Now we are in a time where before us we have more opportunity and obligation to connect between us in an ideal manner, as one man in one heart. Of course, we are still distant and far from this but we have to understand that whoever is opposed to this ultimately will fall and whoever is closer to that will succeed and progress nicely. You can even see it in the world, how much the countries, governments, leaders, are getting farther from connection between them. Accordingly they will lose and suffer. The upper force will progress them.
S. It says that the sages warn us. Why do they warn us?
R. If you want to advance in a good and correct manner that is desirable in the eyes of the Creator then try to realize what the Torah is demanding. Only connection. What else does the Torah demand?
S. What does it mean to make for yourself a Rav and buy for yourself a friend?
R. ‘Rav’ is actually the Creator that teaches us each and every moment what we need to do in order to bring the world to more and more connection in practice. ‘To buy your friend’ means you need to make the effort to connect all the parts of creation between them, just like you are putting together a building from blocks.
5. S. (17:14) How to relate correctly to doing things on the corporeal level; on the other hand this desire is coming to me from the environment, from above?
R. He told you in the article “The Freedom” that we are reading now, that your freedom of choice is only to make an effort to unite the ten into one body. Leave all of humanity, that is the next stage, the next step, where you begin to see all of them in the system of one ten, Adam HaRishon, the ten Sefirot, that the Creator created and no more. In the meantime you have a group and you need to make an effort to unite the group, that all will think and feel to you as one body, one man and one heart. As much as you will operate like this you will see that you are doing this and not the Creator. Rather you, with the assistance of the upper force, will be able to bring the parts more and more closer despite the gap that is revealed between. You will even want to kill each other but you will still want to tie yourself to one another in one system. By studying the actions in the group you will understand who the Creator is, who is the created being, and what is the correct system of connection of the created being with the Creator. The created being is the ten and the Creator is the upper force which stands above it. It will happen. We are understanding these things more and are advancing.
S. In the first lesson you said you have to do a restriction, to restrict your ego and through the reflected light you have to see and observe the actions of the Creator to be similar to that force. Does true integration of Bina mean that we have to go through Gevura?
R. I don't want to use words that we are not actively revealing. We need to make an effort to recognize ourselves and bring ourselves to connection in all the states that are revealed from above by the Creator. That is our work.
S. How?
R. By each one shall help his friend. Start to talk about it together and see how much each one adds to the other. Some upper wisdom, some upper force, will suddenly be revealed and will direct you onwards by your efforts. You will truly feel that this upper force that is revealed leads you forward. All of the action is in the ten, and as such, you will advance.
6. S. (22:38) Why didn't Rabbi Yossi ben Kisma see a time to disseminate to move to the new state that he was offered?
R. Because there weren't people there who were ready for it, if there were people who were ready then he would join them. Here he had a group to connect to draw it forward and he himself could also grow and advance and give contentment to the Creator. That is how it is but if there is no group that is capable of it or is ready for it then what is the use to be in such a group that is called to be in such a city. We make an effort each time to correct our 10 each one and in whatever he is in in order to raise it like an elevator, that each one raises himself and it cannot be that a person rises higher than the 10, truly like the 10, within the 10 until we reach 10 Sefirot of Adam HaRishon.
Reader: (24:24) “The Mind’s Control over the Body”
7. R. (27:51) Meaning all that we are lacking is a way to attain that instrument that will help us in this enlarged and a clear way to see that this harms and the other gives benefit. Only this tool, this microscope is what we need to have, then shortly we will grow further away from evil and come closer to the good out of no choice. If this is how it happens, I surrender, where do we find this microscope after which we have no work, we will certainly grow further from bad and come closer to the good.
Reader: (28:43) “Furthermore since man knows his….”
8. R. (29:46) If we are in the right and good environment, through the friends I can discover much better the size of the harm doer and the size of what benefits and the right size with them and then I can have the force to go on the right way.
Reader: (30:08) “As we have clarified above….”
9. R. (32:49) This means that if a person is in the right environment he acquires from them, it doesn't have to be a wise environment, a smart environment because the entire wisdom of Kabbalah comes from the integration and incorporation between the different vessels that are even alien to each other. To the extent that there are collisions, gaps nonetheless above it you want to connect accordingly you advance. The entire advancement is from trying to connect things that are contradictory. We see this in technology, and mechanics, and all kinds of things that all of our advancements in it are when we try to connect together different qualities of matters or different shapes.
10. S. (33:54) Is two things a good environment like when Rabbi Yosef Ben Kisma as the dearest thing in the group each time?
R. Yes, our choice is when I, every time I need with new strength and new appreciation to look at the group and to awaken myself, to evaluate more and to the extent that I subjugate myself to them, to that extent I am advancing more.
11. S. (34:46) Rabbi Yossi ben Kisma did not want to leave his 10 and we belong to tens and sometimes the 10 changes, how do we know if the Torah is specifically in my 10?
R. We don't need to think about this, we need to think about incorporation, to what extent I try to incorporate in my 10, what I need according to different plans from above to move from one 10 to another I don't need to make a calculation here. It is a Creator that's going to organize.
12. S. (35:31) Over the course of the meetings of the tens the egoism forms this picture that the environment doesn't have a force and can’t unite, how does the environment unite and to incorporate in it to become part of the whole?
R. Here what we need to do is to go with faith above reason, to see the group as a whole group. Then I will have the strength to incorporate and subjugate in it, to bend to them and to feel myself as the smaller child who is under the care of the grown-ups and in this way, there will be an integration between everyone if that is what they want to do. We will come to that and by this I would like to leave you and for you to continue the lesson on your own and we will see each other as usual tomorrow. In the meantime stay in contact between yourselves and read the first article again and also these excerpts about the Free Choice in the Freedom article. This article used to be called Free Choice. We will meet tomorrow, I will be happy to hear your questions and answer everything you have. For now take care of each other in short, come closer and from that I hope that you will have even more understanding, attainment and result of the material we are learning. All the best, be healthy.