Excerpts for Rabash Memorial Day (Yahrzeit) - 2019

1. Baal Hasulam, Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot, 8

Come and see how grateful we should be to our teachers, who impart us their sacred Lights and dedicate their souls to do good to our souls. They stand in the middle between the path of harsh torments and the path of repentance. They save us from the netherworld, which is harder than death, and accustom us to reach the heavenly pleasures, the sublime gentleness and the pleasantness that is our share, ready and waiting for us from the very beginning, as we have said above. Each of them operates in his generation, according to the power of the Light of his Torah and sanctity. Our sages have already said, “You have not a generation without such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

2. Rabash. Article 10 (1989) What Does It Mean That The Ladder Is Diagonal, In The Work?

If the rav teaches the disciples the work that must be done in order to bestow, meaning why a person comes into this world, to do God’s mission, to work for the sake of the Creator, that person is a messenger of the Creator and not a landlord in this world, but is a servant of the Creator. The meaning of “messenger of the Creator” is “angel of the Creator.” This is the meaning of “If the rav is similar to an angel of the Creator, let them seek to learn from him.”

3. Rabash. Records. Article 680. Annulment—the Baal Shem Tov Way
The way to annul the body used to be through abstention. But there is another way, which is annulment before the rav [great one, teacher]. This is the meaning of “Make for yourself a rav.” “Making” is clarified by force, without any intellect. As abstention revokes the body only through action and not through the mind. Likewise, annulment before the rav is by force and not through intellect. That is, even in a place where one does not understand the view of one’s rav, he annuls himself and the Torah and the work, and comes to the rav so he will guide him. There is guidance in the manner of the general public, called Ohr Makif [surrounding light], which is light that shines only from outside, and is without words, but only by coming to the rav and sitting in front of him, sitting at his table during the meal or during the service. Yet, there is another way, which is internal, and this is specifically through “mouth-to-mouth.”

4. Baal HaSulam. Letter 38

I received your letter and I congratulate you for the Semicha [Rabbinical certificate] you have received. This is the first wall that barred you from going forward. I hope that from this day forward you will begin to succeed and go from strength to strength until you come into the King’s palace. I would like you to get another Semicha, but from now on hurry up and spend the majority of your time preparing your body to muster strength and courage “as an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load.” Do not lose a minute, “for the way is long and supplies are scarce.”

And should you say, “Where is this preparation?” I will tell you, as I heard from the ADMOR of Kalshin, that previously, one had to first obtain all seven external teachings, called “the seven maidens that serve the king’s daughter,” as well as terrible mortification. And yet, not many gained favor in the eyes of the Creator. But since we have been rewarded with the studies of the ARI and the work-ways of the Baal Shem Tov, it is truly possible for anyone, and the above preparations are no longer necessary. If you step in those two, which by the Creator’s grace I have been favored by Him and have received them firmly, and my view is as close to you as the closeness of the father to his son, I will certainly pass them on to you when you are ready to receive from mouth to mouth.

5. Rabash. Letter 29
Man should dig and search his purpose, namely what is the purpose for which he has come into this world.

6. Rabash. Article 7. (1987) The Miracle of Hanukkah
That state causes one to begin to contemplate life’s purpose—what is it and what is it for. This is regarded as a person raising his head from the currents of life, where all the creatures are, and they have no time to think about what they are. Rather, they go with the flow where the water goes. And there is no one who can see the end, meaning where the flow of life is leading. Only he, because the lack of pleasure causes him to raise his head up in order to look at life’s purpose, at that time he sees and hears as though a clarion from above tells him that the world was created with the intention to do good to His creations. But in order to taste that benefit, he is told by books and authors that there are conditions in order to achieve that good, called “the purpose of creation.” The Creator demands that they first meet these conditions, or He will not want to give them the delight and pleasure.

7. Rabash, Purpose of Society. Article 1-1(1984)
We have gathered here to establish a society for all who wish to follow the path and method of Baal HaSulam, the way by which to climb the degrees of man, and not remain as a beast.

8. Rabash. Art. 1, part 1 (1984). Purpose Of Society - 1
we gather here—to establish a society where each of us follows the spirit of bestowing upon the Creator. And to achieve bestowal upon the Creator, we must begin with bestowal upon man, which is called “love of others.” And love of others can only be through revoking of one’s self. Thus, on the one hand, each person should feel lowly, and on the other hand, be proud that the Creator has given us the chance to be in a society where each of us has but a single goal: for The Shechina [Divinity] to be among us. And although we have not yet achieved this goal, we have the desire to achieve it. And this, too, should be appreciated by us, for even though we are at the beginning of the way, we do hope to achieve the exalted goal.

9. Rabash. Article 1, Part 2. Purpose of Society - 2
Without annulling self-love, it is impossible to achieve Dvekut [adhesion)] with the Creator, meaning equivalence of form. And since it is against our nature, we need a society that will form a great force so we can work together on annulling the will to receive, called “evil,” as it hinders the achievement of the goal for which man was created. For this reason, society must consist of individuals who unanimously agree that they must achieve it. Then, all the individuals become one great force that can fight against itself, since everyone is integrated in everyone else. Thus, each person is founded on a great desire to achieve the goal. To be integrated in one another, each person should annul himself before the others. This is done by each seeing the friends’ merits and not their faults. But one who thinks that he is a little higher than his friends can no longer unite with them.

10. Rabash. Article 8 (1985). Make for Yourself a Rav and Buy Yourself a Friend - 2
Those people agreed to unite into a single group that engages in love of friends is that each of them feels that they have one desire that can unite all their views, so as to receive the strength of love of others. There is a famous maxim by our sages, “As their faces differ, their views differ.” Thus, those who agreed among them to unite into a group understood that there isn’t such a great distance between them in the sense that they recognize the necessity to work in love of others. Therefore, each of them will be able to make concessions in favor of the others, and they can unite around that.

11. Rabash. Article 17 (1986) “The Agenda of the Assembly - 2”

We should know that “Two is the least plural.” This means that if two friends sit together and contemplate how to enhance the importance of the Creator, they already have the strength to receive enhancement of the greatness of the Creator in the form of awakening from below. And for this act, the awakening from above follows, and they begin to have some sensation of the greatness of the Creator. According to what is written, “In the multitude of people is the King's glory,” it follows that the greater the number of the collective, the more effective is the power of the collective. In other words, they produce a stronger atmosphere of greatness and importance of the Creator. At that time, each person’s body feels that he regards anything that he wishes to do for holiness—meaning to bestow upon the Creator—as a great fortune, that he has been privileged with being among people who have been rewarded with serving the King. At that time, every little thing he does fills him with joy and pleasure that now he has something with which to serve the King.

12. Rabash. Letter 40
It is known that the paved road that leads to the goal is love of friends, by which one shifts to love of the Creator. And in the matter of love, it is through “Buy yourself a friend.” In other words, through actions, one buys one’s friend’s heart. And even if he sees that his friend’s heart is like a stone, it is no excuse. If he feels that he is suitable for being his friend in the work, then he must buy him through deeds. Each gift that he gives to his friend is like a bullet that makes a hollow in the stone. And although the first bullet only scratches the stone, when the second bullet hits the same place, it already makes a notch, and the third one makes a hole. And through the bullets that he shoots repeatedly, the hole becomes a hollow in his friend’s heart of stone, where all the presents gather. And each gift becomes a spark of love until all the sparks of love accumulate in the hollow of the stony heart and become a flame. The difference between a spark and a flame is that where there is love, there is open disclosure, meaning a disclosure to all the peoples that the fire of love is burning in him. And the fire of love burns all the transgressions one meets along the way.

13. Rabash. Article 30 (1988) What to Look For in the Assembly of Friends
Each one should try to bring into the society a spirit of life and hopefulness, and infuse energy into the society. Thus, each of the friends will be able to tell himself, “Now I am starting a clean slate in the work.” In other words, before he came to the society, he was disappointed with the progress in the work of the Creator, but now the society has filled him with life and hopefulness. Thus, through society he obtained the confidence and strength to overcome because now he feels that he can achieve wholeness. And all his thoughts—that he was facing a high mountain that could not be conquered, and that these were truly formidable obstructions—now he feels that they are nothing. And he received it all from the power of the society because each and every one tried to instill a spirit of encouragement and the presence of a new atmosphere in the society.

14. Rabash. Letter 40

Through the wearing out of the hearts, even of the strongest ones, each will bring out warmth from the walls of his heart, and the warmth will ignite the sparks of love until a clothing of love will form. Then, both of them will be covered under one blanket, meaning a single love will surround and envelop the two of them, as it is known that Dvekut [adhesion] unites two into one. And when one begins to feel the love of his friend, joy and pleasure immediately begin to awaken in him… His friend’s love for him is a new thing for him because he always knew that he was the only one who cared for his own well being.

15. Rabash. Letter 42

Our sages said, “As their faces are not similar to one another, their views are not similar to one another,” so how could they be as one man with one heart? Answer: If we are saying that each one cares for himself, it is impossible to be as one man, since they are not similar to one another. However, if they all annul their selves and worry only about the benefit of the Creator, they have no individual views, since the individuals have all been canceled and have entered the single authority.

17. Rabash. Letter 8

And once I have acquired this above-mentioned clothing, sparks of love promptly begin to shine within me. The heart begins to long to unite with my friends, and it seems to me that my eyes see my friends, my ears hear their voices, my mouth speaks to them, the hands embrace, the feet dance in a circle, in love and joy together with them, and I transcend my corporeal boundaries. I forget the vast distance between my friends and me, and the outstretched land for many miles will not stand between us.It is as though my friends are standing right within my heart and see all that is happening there, and I become ashamed of my petty acts against my friends. Then, I simply exit the corporeal vessels and it seems to me that there is no reality in the world except my friends and I. After that, even the “I” is cancelled and is immersed, mingled in my friends, until I stand and declare that there is no reality in the world—only the friends.

17. Rabash. Article 6 (1984) Love of Friends - 2

The purpose of creation is not necessarily for a select group. Rather, the purpose of creation belongs to all creations without exception. It is not necessarily the strong and skillful, or the brave people who can overcome. Rather, it belongs to all the creatures.

18. Rabash. Records. Article 162. Love of Others - 1
I look at one tiny dot, called “love of others,” and I think about it: What can I do in order to benefit people? As I look at the general public, I see the suffering of individuals, illnesses and pains, and the suffering of individuals inflicted by the collective, meaning wars among nations. And besides prayer, there is nothing to give. This is called “He who aches because of the affliction of the public—a medium.”

19. Rabash. Letter 78

Thus far we did not engage in building buildings and matters that concern wide publicity...and especially the wisdom of Kabbalah and the wisdom of the hidden...In this generation, when the wisdom of the poor is despised, and each city is built firm, while the city of God is lowered to the bottom, this is the time of the footsteps of the Messiah, as it is known to those who know the hidden wisdom.Therefore, I have agreed this time to the request of our friends who wish to expand our ranks and build a synagogue ...to be named after the great man, Baal HaSulam, a place from which his fountain shall flow outwards and the wisdom shall sing in the street, and all who wish to take the Lord may come and take...With this I appeal to all our brothers from the house of Israel that the spirit of the Lord is beating within them, and who regret the exile of the Shechina [Divinity], to assist the builders who are engaging in this great matter. By this merit we will be rewarded with complete redemption, as it is said in the holy Zohar, “By this the children of Israel will come out of exile.”

20.Rabash. Letter 8

At the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered in a certain place, under a certain leader, to be together. With superhuman courage they face up to all those who rise against them. Indeed, they are brave men with a strong spirit, and they are determined not to retreat one inch. They are first-class fighters, fighting the war against the inclination to their last drop of blood, and their only wish is to win the battle for the glory of His name.

21.Rabash. Article 5 (1991). What Is, “The Good Deeds of the Righteous Are the Generations,” in the Work?

We ask the Creator to give us the strength so we can perform all our actions for You, meaning for the sake of the Creator. Otherwise, meaning if You do not help us, all our actions will be only for our own benefit. That is, “If not,” meaning “If You do not help us, all our actions will be only for ourselves, for our own benefit, for we are powerless to overcome our will to receive. Therefore, help us be able to work for You. Hence, You must help us.” This is called “Do for Your sake,” meaning do this, give us the power of the desire to bestow. Otherwise, we are doomed; we will remain in the will to receive for our own sake.

22. Rabash. Letter 65

Before a person qualifies himself to be fit to receive wholeness, he cannot see the length of the way that he has already traversed on his way toward the goal of wholeness, for only at the end of his work he will be able to see, but not midway, since he will not be able to receive His abundance before he has complete Kelim that are ready for it. This is why we must brace ourselves and say that we are already near the king’s palace, for every penny joins into a great amount, and perhaps soon we will see that the gate is open before us and we will be rewarded with entering delighting with the king.