Part 2:
Baal HaSulam. Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah (The Division of each Partzuf to Keter and ABYA. #180)
Reading (00:01) #180 “We should know that the general and the particular are equal. Also, what is discerned in the general is also.”
1. S. (02:07) What’s the meaning of the world if every detail has the four worlds of ABYA?
R. The worlds, degrees, divisions, he says each and everyone had the same way it divides. AK and ABYA.
S. In the general, we understand that the worlds are concealment and the upper light. But in a Partzuf we understand the Sefirot, so what is this addition where all of the Partzuf itself, it divides it into worlds?
R. It does divide into worlds, it divides as the example; when all of creation is divided into five parts, the Partzuf also divides into five parts.
S. What is the meaning that these five parts have the same records?
R. We say that it is the same system only that it is in a smaller framework.
Reading (03:28) # 181 “You should know that there are many appellations to the ten Sefirot KHB, HGT, NHYM. Sometimes they are..”
2. S. (05:50) The division, it is Tabur and Parsa, first Tabur, Partzufim below and now there is Peh and Chazeh until the division changes something?
R. Nothing changed, everything as it was here too.
S. So what's the separation in Tabur and Parsa is there something else that separates them?
R. What do you mean separates?
S. There is a divided part, the Peh… the Chazeh… as if it is separated above and below.
R. Yes, they have different vessels.
S. What separates them, except for Tabur and Parsa is there something else that separates?
R. What separates them is the quality of the vessels.
S What prevents the light, there is no restriction or another Parsa or another Tabur?
R. There are new qualities here, they are different, that’s how it comes to enter into the other. What, isn’t that clear? Everything goes by the qualities.
3. S. (07:14) According to the filing can we feel or decide if it's the first restriction or the second restriction?
R. This is not to the point at all; we're not learning that at all.
4. S. (07:40) These different names for the ten Sefirot, that means a Kabbalist feels the ten sefirot differently all the time?
R. Every Sefira is a different effort, it’s a different desire with a different light, Yes.
S. Here in the title it says that ten Safirot in general are called differently. NRNHY in one place GE and AHP in another place. That means a person feels different in the work. And when it says here that there is a different feeling of HaVaYaH, what is that?
R. That in that each and every degree there's a different kind of filling for the four degrees of HaVaYaH. Even the smallest degree includes HaVaYaH and what is that filling for that HaVaYaH? That it determines the essence of that degree.
Reading (09:01) #182 “Know that you should always distinguish two instructions in these different names of the ten Sefirot:
5. R. (12:22) It is clear where we take this name of Keter from, from the upper source. Afterwards from that source we get a world and a Parzuf and a Sefira and that is it.
Reading (12:40) #183 “Know that the special instruction in these appellations of the ten Sefirot named Keter and ABYA is…”
Reading (14:45) “184) Hence, this discernment of the Parsa at the place of the Chazeh splits the degree into four special Behinot,..”
6. S. (16:25) In the previous item he writes about the division that the world of Beria from Tifferet until Sium. From the Chazeh to the Sium of what? The world of Beria? He emphasizes the Sium.
R. To the end of Tifferet.
7. S. (17:03) What does it mean that he divides the world of AK into the first restriction?
R. Because he will divide it later on. Of course the world of AK is above the second restriction but afterwards it comes to the second restriction and the Partzufim that are in the world of AK will also be divided according to that second restriction, so it's already divided here now so that it will be clear where he is referring to.
S. And when he talks about MA and BON in it that are below the Tabur, what does it mean?
R. MA and BON, MA is from Tabur until the Parsa and Parsa and below is BON.
S. And what about MA and BON above the Tabur?
R. There's also such a division in that area.
S. What kind?
R. Of MA and BON.
S. And they are considered to be, if the MA and BON below the Tabur are considered BYA, what about the MA and BON above the Tabur?
R. They are considered Atzilut and BYA.
S. And all those are root and branches?
R. Yes, yes, root and branches exactly.
8. S. (19:00) We learned that the Creator is one unique and unified so how are there so many Keterim, Keters?
R. Each thing has a Keter of its own.
S. So what does it mean one, unique and unified?
R. It doesn’t disturb it. Each Keter has its own special Keter for the specific qualities that cascade from it and below.
S. A person understands his environment is the worlds of BYA. What does the person have to attain, what Keter does he have to attain ultimately?
R. It’s not clear.
S. What are we supposed to attain?
R. We have to attain the Keter which we call Creator, it’s the beginning for all other parts that below Him.
S. Would that be one clear Keter for everyone, one, unified and only?
R. Clear, I don't know but it was the root for everything.
S. What’s the special instruction when he explains about every Partzuf divided into BYA and Keter, what is he trying to explain there?
R. That every Partzuf is divided into BYA, every Partzuf is divided into five parts.
S. Why does he make this distinction between BYA and Keter? What are BYA and Keter?
R. Keter is above everything and BYA specifically comes below the Tabur.
9. S. (21:09) What happens when the ending Malchut ends the correction of the world of BYA for instance? So the world disappears when it rises up and clothes on the upper world?
R. No, when Malchut ends each and every degree so that degree doesn't disappear.
S. So what happens to the worlds of BYA? The worlds are in concealment because of the will to receive that keeps receiving for itself. So if she corrects and ends what happens to the ascent of the worlds without concealment of the worlds?
R. I don't know what you're talking about.
S. When we correct the desires, the desires are the concealments, the worlds that are built in the world to receive by which we distinguish between the corrected will to receive for myself or for the Creator. Up until here am I correct?
R. No, I don't know.
S. So what happens to the desires we correct?
R. That we correct?
S. Each one in the ten of course, the will to receive giving it the intention to bestow.
R. Those decides join their root of the worlds.
S. What's the role of the ending Malchut, to end what? To show us the degree we went through? What’s the role of the ending Malchut?
R. The ending Malchut ends all the expansion from below downward.
S.The ascent from below upwards, how does that depict in the ascent of the worlds?
R. By MAN the vessels enter couplings of higher degrees. They all join there and are incorporated there.
S. Then the worlds remain in the same state?
R. No, according to that the worlds change, they rise and incorporate in the worlds in higher degrees.
S. That was basically the beginning of the my question, what happens to the world that corrected the desires? What happens to the world, it stays the world?
R. The worlds don't correct themselves.
S. No the souls correct them they rises in the worlds. What are these five words? It’s a degree in which we have to correct our will to receive and give it an intention to bestow.
R. Yes.
S. Let's suppose in the world of Assiya all the degrees were corrected so what happens to this world? Does it stay the world of Assiya?
R. If the world of Assiya corrected itself by the souls that were incorporated in it, so the souls and the world itself rise accordingly to a higher degree.
S. From the aspect of TES does it stay the world of Assiya, the definition of the world of Assiya?
R. It’s the world of Assiya that rises to the degree of the world of Yetzira or Beria or even Atzilut until all the world's rise to Ein Sof.
S. And as the worlds rise to Ein Sof there’s no worlds left?
R. No. Because the worlds come from the word concealment, there are no more concealments.
10. S. (25:12) It seems to me that these last items are more about what we learned before, about 1:40 etcetera, because the items we learned up until here were about ascents, the lower and the upper, the the NRN of the righteous. Many times I see that Baal HaSulam ends his introduction with our role, what are we supposed to do, the role of the people of the Israel, the role of the prayers and the righteous. Here, these last items are general as if he added them later.
R. What’s the question? Why divide it in such a way?
S. I would have ended it before that in NRN of the righteous, in the division between the particular and the general. I would write it before.
R. So write it. You’re right. It's really not their place supposedly but on the other side we have to understand that he wants to seal this in a general way this whole study; that it all accumulates into the worlds and is incorporated in such a way together. That's what I think, how it seems to me. I don't know what his intention was by writing in such a way in such an order.
11. S. (27:10) To me it seems that in what we read he didn't talk about Keter or below the Parsa.
R. There really isn’t a Keter. Keter in only in the Rosh of Galgata.
S. So in Atzilut there is a Keter. So below Parsa isn’t there such a concept of Keter?
R. Not below the Parsa.
S. Why doesn't he talk about the world of Nekudim?
R. The world of Nekudim did its job, it developed, expanded and shattered and in exchange for that came the world of Atzilut with the worlds of BYA.
S. So what’s left from the world of Nekudim? It did its job and disappeared?
R. The shattering, that from those pieces the world of Atzilut was put together and the worlds of BYA.
S. Still he mentions Keter when Arich Anpin and Atic are the upper and lower part of Keter of Nekudim. Why does he mention it this way and then he doesn't talk about Nekudim anymore?
R. Yes, because they're special roles even to parts of Nekudim that were active.
12. S. (29:17) In the beginning he talks about the ten Sefirot that are the first nine and Malchut, the Partzufim of Kedusha and Malchut doesn’t receive the light of Hochma. We also learn in different places about the Yesod, the crown of Yesod, everything bestows from it to the lower ones. The majority of the preface is the NHY, the bottom three Sefirot of ZA don’t belong. They belong to Malchut and Tabur goes above them not below them. So how do these two things coincide?
R. We’ll learn, we’ll discuss it, we’ll feel it and attain it. You think it's all clear? No. When I studied this with the people that had great attainment like Rabash and a few more may they rest in peace, they also had their doubts. This way, that way because it's a world that you will attain only fragments of it and only in the final correction everything will become clear. When it will be clear at the end of correction every detail will be clear and before that even the details aren't clear. It still wasn't all revealed to anybody, that's why people say until Elijah comes that he should give us the answers to all the questions. Before that there are many things that aren’t clear, we’re in a world that is still in concealment.
13. S. (32:09) What ultimately is the essence of correction? What happened that wasn't there previously, what was corrected? There was a shattering and then we correct. What did the correction bring that wasn't there before?
R. We are correcting our vessels in order to understand what's happening in creation, that's it.
S. So only for the understanding? What is corrected?
R. To the extent that we understand we can enter that system in a way that it will cause it's correction.
S. So previously we didn't understand, that's why there was a shattering. Now we learn to understand better so there won't be another shattering?
R. There won’t be another shattering.
S. Because of the change of the places, the worlds?
R. Because we include inside us all the shatterings and when we correct the parts of the shattering inside us one by one we cause the correction of the shattering.
S. Excuse me but again the last part?
R. We correct the parts of the shattering us, that's why the shattering can’t….
S. We correct the parts of the shattering in us how?
R. By MAN, by wanting to connect and so on.
14. S. (33:48) There is a feeling that he writes in a way that to begin with there are parts missing. Yes, we’re ending the Preface and I have this feeling that okay, let's read it again.
R. And if you’d end TES?
S. I don't know, I guess then too.
R. Even more, because if you take the tree of life of the Ari you’ll see there places that aren’t in TES, like the worlds of BYA of impurity, it’s not there. All kinds of things that are parts of creation. It's like taking the universe and slicing off half of it and you’re only speaking about the other half.
S. When a Kabbalist does that….?
R. He doesn't want to explain more or he understands that he doesn't have the forces to do more. I think Baal HaSulam had no limits in understanding all of creation but there was a limit to the extent that he could express it, in expressing it.
S. So this concealment, these parts that are missing, is that a purposeful way or it’s subjective? How does a Kabbalist conceal, why does he decide now not to write about something?
R. Because he thinks he can do it through his letters, through all kinds of other parts, articles. That's what he thought.
S. There is this law he writes about to reveal a portion and to conceal two. Is that limitation natural or is it something that is purposeful?
R. Purposeful of course. But it’s purposeful because from above there is concealment too.
15. S. (36:41) The light restricted itself, the Creator and it restricted itself to one point. Our whole study basically started from that line of straightness then we moved on to the circles. How in the final correction does everything becomes equal in the circle? How does this processes of changing from the direct light, the straight light becomes a circle in order to bring humanity to the final correction?
R. When we correct we bring creation to a participation exactly according to the qualities, forces in a mutual way. That's why there's no problem that creation will remain as it was but it must enter that circle.
S. And that's basically the reason that we have to reach love? In the direct, straight line there's no love?
R. Yes yes, it's a result.
16. S. (38:15) The Preface we usually teach to beginners if one wants to learn the structure of the worlds.
R. Correct.
S. I thought beginners would ask all the questions but actually the veterans are asking the questions. We feel a very big deficiency. What will we learn after the Preface? The Study of the Ten Sefirot, the Zohar? Actually the friends are here for a long time, what should we learn?
R. I don't know I do not know. Rabash and I started part 16 in the Study of the Ten Sefirot. I don't know what to do with you.
17. S. (39:29) There's a part in the Preface we should go into, in TES there are parts we learn more and some less but is there such a thing in Preface?
R. Also in TES it's more or less. Not that it’s determined and also in the Preface, no. Okay, no more hands in the air.
18. S. (40:21) It says in item 182 that we have no perception in the vessels of the first restriction. Every time we move to the second restriction I'm completely lost. You also said that in the second restriction we understand less so why does he say we don't have the perception in the vessels of the first restriction? There it seems that things are more or less clear.
R. Until we don't attain, we don't understand anything. But we're playing with the words and no more than that. So, we need to try and reach revelation, from there we will be able to advance.
19. S. (41:27) Is there a place where he writes clearly about the birth of the soul, the shattering of the soul, where it's made after the correction of the world of Atzilut?
R. You think he’s going to write it in a way that you can understand with your current brain? By this he’s actually putting an obstacle before himself. He wants you to invest forces until your vessels develop and in those new vessels that have developed, in them you’ll start attaining the new reality. And not that now you can already go and receive everything.
20. S. (42:46) You said that we won’t understand until we attain. Today we learned all kinds of different expressions of the ten Sefirot. So how in our connection can we come to a feeling of these ten Sefirot, that they’re our connection?
R. We need to connect between us as strong as possible, to come closer to the Creator as much as possible, to receive from the Creator the light that reforms. And that light will divide all kind of parts between us, we’ll start learning them, understanding them, feeling them. And from this it will be clear to us where we are.
S. It's like a miracle that we feel the ten Sefirot?
R. It’s written that it’s a miracle. That is a miracle, yes, a miracle from above.
S. It happens in one moment that you certainly feel the ten Sefirot or your sensitivity changes?
R. We will start feeling the mind and heart of all of us and each one starts developing, that man supposedly opens himself and starts feeling where he is, in what system. That's how it’s going to happen to us, soon.
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