Morning Lesson June 7, 2023
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio.
Part 1:
Rabash. Article No. 15, 1985. And Hezekiah Turned His Face to the Wall
1. Rav’s Introduction: As Rabash said, The Introduction to the Book of Zohar actually includes within it the entire Book of Zohar, meaning that there are roots there for everything that is later called in the entire Book of Zohar and this is why we need to relate to it in such a way. It's an article on its own that brings us closer to, attaches us to the Book of Zohar, to the source of the entire wisdom of Kabbalah and the spiritual world. So let's read it.
Reading Article. (01:25) “It is written in The Zohar,..”
2. S. (17:53) At the end of the article he writes that our entire work should be going above reason. How do we make this work practical every day in the ten, in our life?
R. We need to scrutinize what does it mean above reason and by which forces, which actions we can rise to such a degree. This is what I understand that we need to do, where are we and where is that degree of faith above reason? Faith above reason is bestowal and we are not yet truly in the force of bestowal, we feel that there is such a thing, that apparently it is good to rise to such a degree, however, we still cannot. This is why we need more and more to learn what it is and by what do we achieve this degree and how can we perform actions in order to achieve it but this is truly our primary goal.
3. S. (19:40) It is written like the Shechina bestows to the lower ones so one should remove the force of reception and that all of his desire will be to bestow to the Creator. My question is: What does it mean to expel the force of reception?
R. The intentions, we are talking only about the intentions, not about the actual act of expelling, removing some force or drawing certain forces. It is work to give importance to being in bestowal and not to be in reception.
4. S. (20:38) He touches upon it and we already have experience from it, that the more Israel in a person overcomes the nations in the world within the person also grow. What's the right relation that one should have when the nations of the world truly grow more powerful and become central and capture man's attention?
R. This is called the Lord has created one opposite the other, that rising in the force of bestowal can only be upon the forces of reception, that they are revealed in a person with greater strength and the person needs each time to bring himself to rise above them.
S. What does it mean to rise above them? What's the relationship towards these desires?
R. That through actions, The Zohar and the wisdom of Kabbalah explain to us, we try to rise above the forces of reception and in this way each time to rise overall, meaning the forces of reception they grow within us and we are more and more impressed by them but this is in order for us to rise above them with forces of bestowal. This is why all of these things, the forces of reception and the forces of bestowal, they ultimately need to grow within us as in the stages of the ladder, left, right, left, right; this is how we can then rise higher and higher. Ultimately, reaching adhesion with the Creator because we cannot achieve adhesion with the Creator except if it is on a disturbance each time.
S. Sometimes you feel anger and a kind of hatred that these are disturbing forces but sometimes we can also see them as help. What is the right approach?
R. The approach we get it from Above but rather each time we need to see that these things whatever we go through, they are going over us to our benefit so that we will overcome and rise above them more and more with the vessels of bestowal towards the Creator. This, all in all, is the entire process.
5. S. (24:15) Why is bestowal called the work in lowliness?
R. Bestowal seems to us as descending to lowliness because it is against our nature. We feel in the force of bestowal, a force of weakness and here we need to know how to overcome all of these relations, the way we relate to reception and bestowal and how do we apply ourselves in the right way.
6. S. (25:19) About the nations of the world growing stronger in a person. If I see a friend in the ten in whom the nations of the world are growing stronger, how can I help him?
R. An example, this works in the strongest way.
S. Even so it seems not to work in the beginning. Sometimes on the outside it doesn't look like the examples are working, so it does work?
R. That doesn't matter whether it seems to you that it is working or not working, but you must nevertheless show him an example.
S. We need to feel this responsibility, the moment I see a friend in whom the nations of the world are taking control, do I need to feel responsible? Do I need to give an example?
R. You should feel a double responsibility, first of all because the friend is from the same spiritual body like you and on the other hand, that by him giving you an example, or the Creator through him is giving you an example, otherwise you wouldn't see it, so you are being invited to do spiritual work, to a spiritual ascent. Well there are many other flavors in that.
S. When you say example it is also to increase what I am already doing?
R. Yes, that you take seriously all of these signs that you see from the friends and how much through that the Creator is talking to you and he is also showing you good, correct examples and also such that are not so good and not so correct and you sort them and you advance.
7. S. (27:43) He writes here that the wall is the Lord of the land and the Shechina. If you can explain more, what does it mean that the wall is the Shechina?
R. The wall is a boundary that exists, let's say, between what we understand and feel and what we do not yet attain and feel. This is the boundary between this world and the next world. That's the wall.
8. S. (28:38) Is the present state that we can correct called the wall?
R. We are always before the wall and we need to relate to the present disturbance as a wall, that we should use it in order to pass through it and to get closer to the Creator.
9. S. (29:26) He writes here, “you are worse than the animal of the field” and so forth and about that state of the serpent that eats the dust and so on. What is that state within us, how does it belong to us and how to overcome it?
R. It is written that man is a small world. That everything exists inside of man and therefore, we need to see reality in this way, that the whole of reality, everything there is everything that is felt, it all exists only inside of man. And we need to try to detect these discernments and work with them correctly.
10. S. (30:37) He writes about the city of God, that the body wants that the Creator will control, what does it mean the city of God?
R. The Zohar uses all kinds of discernments from this world, man, dust, the city, planet Earth, the sun, the moon etc.. The Zohar uses all of these names in order to show us the forces that exist within us. That this is how these forces depict to us the external world and also our inner world inside each and every one of us. And so we need to accept it this way. Bit by bit, we will begin to feel what these depictions are and how to relate to them correctly.
S. What is the Creator's rulership over us in that city?
R. That everything that is depicted to us comes to us from a single force called the Creator, Bo-Re, from the words Boh-Re, [come and see], so that through all of these depictions that are depicted in us, which is me, people, the world, what is near, what is far, what is internal, what is external; through all of these pictures I ultimately begin to discover and recognize the inner force that is operating all of them which is the Creator.
11. S. (32:48) It is written here that one should not pray but next to the wall. We know that a person has a more effective prayer whenever he doesn't feel anything about the Creator or anything, so how to understand this?
R. It is written who is the one who is standing behind our wall, that the Creator is seemingly beyond the wall and we turn to Him in such a way, we are on one side and He is on the other side of the wall. We will read many more articles about that in The Zohar.
S. You said that the Creator stands behind the wall, here it says that the Creator is the wall?
R. Okay, yes, it can be this way also, we can't yet get into all of these subtleties.
12. S. (34:16) He says in the writing here that the body wants the Creator to dwell there and the organs resist it, so what happens inside a person that it is so strong, that he wants the Creator to dwell there, and when does this happen and why do the organs resist it?
R. The person wants to discover the Creator because this is the upper force, the One, Unique and Unified, There Is None Else Besides Him and the person completely depends on Him. And this actually becomes the purpose of our life, the purpose of our existence, of our study etc., to discover the Creator, because in our connection with the Creator, we attain everything. And the main thing is that we attain the possibility to bestow contentment to Him and then we are in adhesion with Him, “I to the Creator and the Creator to me,” this is our work. And this is called the purpose of our life.
S. Why do the organs resist this? I guess the organs are the nations of the world?
R. The nations of the world, also the organs, these are all of our uncorrected desires. The desires in order to receive, this is why we are in a state where they control us, all of our corrupted desires yet.
13. S. (36:36) As far as I understand, the Creator wants us to be behind the wall, is that correct?
R. Yes, we are on the other side of the wall, that's right.
S. He wants us to be happy about that state?
R. Well, the fact that we discover that we are on the other side of the wall from the Creator, this already is some kind of revelation because nevertheless, I feel that there is between us a certain disturbance, that's on the one hand, on the other hand it actually links me, connects me to the Creator.
S. Is it okay to yearn for it?
R. Yes, yes, we should yearn for it.
14. S. (38:05) The Creator loves the poor man that wants to give but he's in the dust like the Shechina, in truth he's loved by the Creator, but why is he called poor?
R. Because actually according to his feeling he is weak and he doesn't have forces to carry out what he should have been doing, he doesn't have forces of bestowal, forces of bestowal and he cannot get closer to the Creator and this is why he feels himself as lowly and poor.
15. S. (39:17) What does it mean to raise the Shechina from the dust in the ten?
R. When we elevate the connection between us towards the Creator and these states we elevate their importance above everything above all the other States. This is called to raise the Shechina from the dust. The Shechina is what we build in the connection between us and we want this connection between us to raise in its importance from zero and all the way up to Ein Sof [infinity] because according to that we discover the Creator.
16. S. (40:21) Back to the matter of the partition and the wall: I want to see if I am precise about it, otherwise correct me. What I understand the more we overcome the partition, which is the will to receive between ourselves, we get closer to the true obstacle which is the wall of the difficulties on the spiritual path and we relate to these difficulties not as detainment but as an opportunity to grow and reach the wall, is that how it is?
R. Yes, all the questions and difficulties and disturbances that we have are in order for us to climb stronger on the wall and by that we will be able to pass through it and unite between us and with the Creator.
17. S. (41:20) It says here that the qualities of mercy should develop in us. May we have the power to go with the qualities of Hesed [mercy]. What does it mean for your mercy? It says here we should interpret your mercy and your truth that we pray to the Lord to give us your glory so that we will have the power to go with the quality of mercy called vessels of bestowal. What does it mean that the quality of mercy will be imparted upon us?
R. That the light will start to influence us and we will start to feel ourselves in the right way.
18. S. (42:28) What attention should I pay in my daily work in order to raise the Shechina from the dust or from the exile?
R. Connection with the friends, this is the safest thing, the most certain to actually work, that works on us.
S. And I need to ask only for the connection because it says this should be the primary prayer, this is what I should ask for?
R. Yes, the primary prayer for the time being is only connection between us. After we feel how much we are capable of coming closer to each other, then we can expand our prayer.
19. S. (43:48) It says the work of bestowal is in utter lowliness and in this work there is a taste of dust. So how do we advance if it tastes like dust?
R. We connect between us and raise this work working with dust too, is very important work because it is as though it is very special, that its merit is truly infinite.
20. S. (44:40) I didn't understand from the article if the taste of dust changes only through prayer, or we, by our work between us, we change that taste of dust?
R. We work in bestowal, acquiring the force of bestowal, advancing and getting closer to the friends and to all the people in the world even, that work seems to us as work in the dust, that it has no importance, no one supports it and we don't see any benefit from it. And this is why our work is to ascribe to this work great importance and to try, to try to be close to each other, to build such a connection between us so that the connection between us, not whatever exists inside each and every one, but what exists between everyone, that this connection will give us a new feeling of this system, a new system, a new desire, so that instead of each and every one of us, we will feel the connection between us. This is already a different kind of work. This is already a different feeling that we will feel the connection between us means that we discover the Shechina which is the connection between us. And in the connection between us, when we discover it in such a way, we can begin to rise.
21. S. (47:05) So what he describes now with the prayer, the force of prayer or is it possible to reach that without the force of prayer?
R. As much as we are able to pray, yes, but if we don't feel the need for the prayer then, no; it is all according to our state. Usually, the fact that we feel how much we are not capable of advancing, so then we search by what is it possible and then we pray; we turn to the Creator.
S. Is it worthwhile in the ten to talk about the Shechina in the dust, to feel this state?
R. Yes, yes of course.
22. S. (47:51) In our nature when we have something that we don't want, we simply run away from it, we ignore it. Is there a certain activity or a certain action that if I don't feel like it, I simply run away from it right, it is natural? Here it says that we need to feel the taste of dust and relate to it as though this is the place for our work and not run away from it. So there's a point here where we need to overcome our ordinary nature, if not to run away from something and also to search for spiritual forces and nevertheless, succeed in holding on and turning this state of dust to that wall here we can cross. So how in a ten can we provide these two kinds of support? What forces work in the ten in order to help us attain this transition or this crossing?
R. That we connect between us in order to attain the goal and the goal can be achieved only in the connection between us, then it turns out that we begin to identify, we begin to identify or detect the connection between us as the most important thing, the most important point. It is that point of transition to the upper degree. This way we each time try, despite of the forces of disturbances, to overcome the resistance and rise to the next rung of the ladder until we begin to identify the new degrees.
S. There are many things that we naturally ignore. Do we find this point upon which we have to work as a ten, out of all of the bad sensations and in all things that we run away from we push away? How do we detect precisely the point that we do have to overcome? This connection that we have to find between us, it's also something that we naturally resist just like many other things that we receive. How can we characterize it and feel what it is and give it strength, put power into it? Sometimes you can't get it, you can't capture it. How can you capture it?
R. Only through connection with the friends between them you clarify everything. You can't pre- organize it in advance and so forth.
S. But that's it, we come in the morning, we sit down and seemingly we don't know which way to shoot, we don't know which way, so over time and with the books it does happen but it's not something that we are inclined to do, it just happens from the environment?
R. That's from the Creator who organizes a new network of connection between us and that's how we will advance. That's always the case. You'll see, even how in the beginning of the lesson you reject each other, can't hear, feel hatred, all kinds of complaints towards each other and so forth and that's still ahead of us.
23. S. (52:10) We are talking about the taste of dust but on the other hand it also says, “taste and see that the Lord is Good,” so should we try to reach that taste?
R. Yes, but reaching taste and seeing that the Lord is good is through the path of dust.
24. S. (52:38) It is written that the wall is the Lord of the whole earth. This is the Shechina. Accordingly, we should interpret that it says that we should pray next to the wall, meaning next to the Shechina. How does one pray close to the Shechina?
R. According to what he learns and understands, he tries to get closer to the qualities of the Creator and the safest as it is written, “within my people do I dwell”. Meaning that he wants to get closer to the group and become incorporated in it and in such a way he achieves more and more in his inner feeling how he becomes incorporated with the Shechina, until he begins to discover it in practice and then he has a new reality.
25. S. (53:51) Is the wall what should give power to the Kli?
R. Yes, the wall, that wall establishes the connection between us.
26. S. (54:14) If we identify a lack of connection between us, what do we do in order to rise? What does it mean that we correct this between us?
R. Without connection between you you won't be able to rise even a bit. That's it, as simple as that, point blank.
27. S. (54:36) Is the work in faith above reason only in strengthening the intention? How can we strengthen that intention?
R. By wanting to be closer to each other.
28. S. (54:54) I heard in the lesson that the Creator is showing us good and correct examples but also such that are not so good and correct. What does it mean to sort the good examples versus the not so good examples of the friends?
R. Towards connection we always have to try and move towards connection. We don't have that many mistakes to make here.
29. S. (55:27) It says he doesn't see that this work that he will have what to receive for his will to receive and then all the organs resist this work. So what do we do about the objection, the resistance of the organs?
R. You try as best you can and in whatever you can you move forward; you move on. If I have some barrier in front of me, some disturbance, I have to check how can I overcome it, that hurdle and thus, continue. What else do we have to do? To take into account all of the disturbances and see how much we can swallow them and move through them, plow through them, forward.
30. S. (56:36) Who are the servants of the soul and what should a person do or what should a ten do in order to attain this force?
R. Man has to try and connect inside his ten, see how much he succeeds, pray to the Creator and ask for strength to succeed better and thus, advance from side to side. I don't have more to add.
31. S. (57:50) How does a person measure his success in connection in the ten?
R. According to what he receives in response to his questions, to his requests, to his prayers.
S. But inside my request I need to ask of the Creator that my reward will be contentment, so if I feel something, how does it work in parallel?
R. That's how it works, so you feel that you have brought contentment to the Creator.
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