Article No. 31, 1988
It is written in The Zohar (Ekev, Item 1): “‘And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord your God.’ This Mitzva [commandment] is to bless the Creator for all that he has eaten and drunk, and enjoyed in this world. If he does not bless, he is called ‘a thief from the Creator.’ Concerning the verse, ‘He who robs his father and his mother,’ the friends established that it relates to the Creator, since the blessings that a person blesses the Creator come to extend life from the source of life, which is Bina, to the holy name of the Creator.”
We see here that two things are required: 1) Pleasure, which a person enjoys. 2) A person must bless on the pleasure he received. He says that otherwise, if a person does not bless, he is regarded as stealing from the Creator. He says that the reason is that through the blessing he extends abundance for the sake of the Creator.
We should understand why, if a person does not bless, abundance is not extended for the sake of the Creator. That is, if the Creator can give abundance, why does He need an awakening through the blessing?
He interprets there in the Sulam [Ladder Commentary] that his father is the Creator, and his mother is the Shechina [Divinity], and through the blessing, abundance is extended to the Creator and the Shechina. However, we should understand the importance of the blessing that extending the abundance from above causes. And if he does not bless, he robs the abundance that his father and mother should receive.
These words of our sages are also presented in the Talmud (Berachot 35b): “Anyone who enjoys this world without a blessing, it is as though he robs the Creator and the assembly of Israel, as it was said, ‘He who steals from his father and his mother, and says, ‘there is no crime,’ is a friend of a pernicious man. His father is the Creator, as it was said, ‘For He is your father, your Maker.’ And his mother is the assembly of Israel, as it was said, ‘Hear, my son, your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.’ What is, ‘a friend of a pernicious man’? Rabbi Hanina Bar Papa said, ‘He is a friend of Jeroboam, son of Nevat, who corrupted Israel to their Father in heaven.’”
This text is also difficult to understand. Is one who does not bless for a pleasure he enjoys a friend of Jeroboam, son of Nevat, who corrupted Israel to their Father in heaven? We should understand what is the gravity that we find in the blessing, and why it is worse than one who commits a transgression, that he deserves a punishment for the transgression he has committed, while here, it is as though the transgression of avoiding a blessing is akin to corrupting the entire world.
It is known that the whole world was created only for the fear of heaven, as our sages said (Berachot 6b), “Any person in whom there is fear of heaven, his words are heard, as it was said, ‘In the end, all is heard, fear God.’ He asks, ‘What is, ‘For this is the whole of man’? Rabbi Elazar said, ‘The Creator said, ‘The whole world was created only for this.’’” RASHI interpreted “for this” as “to create this.”
We should understand the meaning of “The whole world was created only for the fear of heaven.” It seems like a contradiction to the known rule, that in the creation of the world, it is written (Midrash Rabbah, Beresheet) that the Creator said to the ministering angels that He wants to create the world, as it is similar to a king who has a tower filled abundantly but no guests. This is why He created man, to give him delight and pleasure.
Yet, here he says that the world was created only for the fear of heaven, as though the Creator needs to be feared and this is why He has created the world.
To understand this, we first need to understand what is called “world,” and what is called “fear.” According to the rule we learned, the reason for the creation of the worlds was to do good to His creations. For this reason, He created in the creatures a desire and yearning to receive delight and pleasure. This is called Malchut de Ein Sof [infinity/no end], since at that time, Malchut still did not put a stop on the expansion of the abundance, but received in the desire to delight herself.
However, afterward, once she received the light, we learned that Malchut craved equivalence of form because every branch wants to resemble its root. For this reason, she did not want to receive because of her own benefit, but in order to bring contentment to the Creator. In other words, because the Creator wants to do good to His creations, he wants to receive.
In the words of the ARI, this is called “Tzimtzum [restriction], “concealment,” and “hiding.” In the book Tree of Life, he says that before the worlds were created, the upper light had filled the whole of reality, and there was no Rosh [head] or Sof [end], but everything was completely even. However, when He wished to emanate the emanations and create the creatures, He restricted Himself, leaving a vacant space. He says there, “And behold, after the aforementioned Tzimtzum, there was a place where the emanated, created, fashioned, and made could be.”
We see that prior to the Tzimtzum, there was no matter of worlds, for Olam [world] comes from the words He’elem and Hester [“concealment” and “hiding”]. The concealment and hiding that took place then were as it is written, “In order to bring to light the perfection of His deeds.” He explains there in Ohr Pnimi [“Inner Light,” Baal HaSulam’s commentary on the words of the ARI] that it means it is in order to have equivalence of form, called “receiving in order to bestow.” Otherwise, they will not receive any abundance, so there will not be disparity of form called “separation,” and Malchut de Ein Sof desired this.
Had there been disclosure of light in the vessels of reception, there would not be any room for work, so they could ever achieve equivalence of form. This is why there was the departure of the light, called “concealment and hiding.” Afterward, according to the power to overcome, called “a Masach [screen] on the upper light,” so they can receive in order to bestow, to that extent the light appears.
Since this Kli [vessel] comes from the lower one, meaning that the lower one must make the Kli, hence, the lower one is unable to receive all the light that was in the purpose of creation when the Creator placed the light in the Kli that He had made, called “will to receive.” Rather, the light that illuminated in the vessels of reception is now received in portions, one at a time, called “bit by bit,” since the Kelim [vessels] that the creatures make, which are called “in order to bestow,” cannot do everything at once.
For this reason, many worlds emerged, meaning many Masachim [plural of Masach], where on the one hand, each Masach makes a concealment, and on the other hand through it, there is revelation. Yet, prior to the Tzimtzum, there was no place for the worlds, meaning that there was no place for the concealment simply because as it is written, “the upper light had filled the whole of reality.”
It therefore follows that there are two actions in man: 1) He wants to receive everything for his own benefit, regarded as wanting to receive every delight and pleasure that he sees into the Kli called “receiving for himself.” 2) He wants to bestow upon others.
According to the above, we should say that the act of wanting to receive for his own benefit comes to him from the Creator, meaning that the Creator imprinted in the creatures a Kli called “receiving in order to receive.” A person does not need to work on this Kli or acquire it. Rather, it comes to him with the nature that the Creator created.
Conversely, an act that a person does in favor of another comes from the creatures, meaning that a person must make an effort to acquire this Kli, since the Creator did not intend that the creatures would give to Him, but rather that the Creator would give to the creatures. However, in order to avoid shame, the lower one made the Tzimtzum and the concealment so as not to receive any light except according to what it can receive in order to bestow. For this reason, since the lower one must perform this act by itself, the lower one must exert great efforts to acquire this Kli, as it is against the nature in which the creatures were created.
It follows that the question we asked, Which action that a person does do we attribute to the Creator, meaning that the Creator created it? It is that a person wanting to receive abundance for his own benefit comes directly from the Creator. But an act of bestowal we attribute to the creature. Hence, it is difficult for a person to acquire this Kli because it is against nature.
Accordingly, we can interpret what we asked about what our sages said, that the whole world was created for this, for the fear of heaven, as it is written, (Ecclesiastes 3:14), “And God made it that He would be feared.” Yet, this contradicts what our sages said, that the creation of the world was in order to do good to His creations, and not in order to have fear, and this is why the world was created, as our sages said, that the whole world was created only for this, meaning for the fear of heaven, implying that the Creator needs to be feared, and this is why He has created the creatures.
As we explained, Olam [world] means He’elem and Hester [“concealment” and “hiding”]. This brings up the question, Why did the Creator create concealment and hiding when the reason for creating the world was to do good to His creations? However, there is a matter of correction here. In the book Tree of Life, the ARI refers to it as “In order to bring to light the perfection of His deeds, He restricted Himself.” We see that the concealment and hiding, called Tzimtzum, was so they could receive the upper light and remain in Dvekut, called “equivalence of form.”
In other words, although they receive delight and pleasure, since they are receiving in order to bestow, it is called “equivalence of form.” This means that from the perspective of the desire and yearning they have for the upper abundance, they relinquish the reception of delight and pleasure. However, because the Creator derives delight and pleasure from their joy, as this was the purpose of creation, they receive, since the Creator wants them to enjoy and not because they want to receive pleasure for themselves.
That correction is specifically through the concealment and hiding, for then there is room for choice to say that without the aim to bestow, he does not want to receive. But if the light were revealed, as it was prior to the Tzimtzum, how could he say while the upper light fills the whole of reality, that there is room for choice, meaning that if he cannot aim to bestow, he will not receive? It would have been impossible, since we see that after all the restrictions that took place, it does not shine openly in this world.
The ARI says that only a slim light descended from the Kedusha [holiness/sanctity] to sustain the Klipot [shells/peels]. This means that all the pleasures in the corporeal world are but a slim light compared to the lights that exist in Kedusha. Yet, we see that when a person receives pleasure in the corporeal world, which is a tiny pleasure compared to spirituality, where the bulk of the pleasure is found, how difficult it is for him to say, “If I cannot aim to bestow, I relinquish the pleasure.” Thus, we can imagine that if the light were revealed, such as the light clothed in the commandment of Tzitzit [prayer shawl], how could a person say that he relinquishes the pleasure if he cannot aim to bestow?
Now we can understand that the word “world” means “concealment,” and by this we can interpret what they said, “The world was created only for this,” meaning for the fear of heaven. However, what does “fear of heaven” mean in the work of achieving the truth? It means as it is said in the “Introduction of The Book of Zohar” (Item 203), “Both the first fear and the second fear are not for his own benefit, but only for fear that he will decline in bringing contentment to his Maker.”
By this we will understand what was written, “The whole world was created only for fear of heaven.” This means that the whole matter of concealment, which is called “world,” was created only in order to make it possible to achieve bestowal. That is, if there were no concealment, there would be no room for us to work in order to bestow.
Accordingly, the meaning of what we asked about what is written, that the world was created in order to do good to His creations, this refers to the purpose of creation, as was said, that the Creator said that it is like a king who has a tower filled abundantly. And then comes the correction of creation, which is to work in order to bestow, which is Dvekut [adhesion], equivalence of form, called “fear,” and on this correction was the world made, meaning that there would be concealment and hiding.
It turns out that the world, which is concealment, was done so that He would be feared. This means that fear is for man’s sake, so he would be able to work for the sake of the Creator. We should not say that the Creator needs to be feared, but that the fear is that a person fears he might not be able to work in order to bestow. This is why the concealment took place. This work pertains to man, who should make great efforts to acquire these Kelim, as it is against nature because the Creator placed in the creatures a desire to receive delight and pleasure.
Now we can interpret what is written, “And God made it that He would be feared.” That is, in order for a person to maintain the fear, called “kingdom of heaven,” He had made a correction. As soon as a person leaves the kingdom of heaven, called “faith above reason,” the Creator made it so that man will immediately descend from his state, where he thought about spirituality, and fall into the corporeal world, where there is no connection between them.
These falls cause man to keep himself from changing the order of the work of faith above reason. See in the “Introduction of The Book of Zohar”: “The whole matter of fear is only for man’s sake, and not that the Creator needs to be respected, such as a flesh and blood king. Instead, all that He has done is in man’s favor, for these corrections that the Creator has performed will guide a person on the right path to lead him to the purpose of creation, namely for the creatures to receive delight and pleasure.”
Now we will explain what we asked about the blessing, where it is written, “He who enjoys in this world without a blessing, is as Jeroboam, son of Nevat.” We asked, Why is the transgression of enjoying without blessing so much graver than other transgressions? It is as though with other transgressions that a person performs, he is not as Jeroboam, son of Nevat, who was a sinner who made the public sin. But one who enjoys without a blessing is similar to Jeroboam, son of Nevat, who corrupted Israel to their Father in heaven?
In the work, we should interpret that when a person enjoys something and blesses for it, there is a matter of renewing the faith here. That is, when a person says the blessing, he must believe that the Creator has given him the pleasure, which falls into the category of “His desire to do good to His creations.” Therefore, in corporeal pleasures, too, the pleasure that the Creator wants to give to the creatures is clothed, as well, since only the Creator sustains everything, as it is written, “And you sustain them all.”
However, as long as a person is unfit to feel who is his provider, the Creator dresses in corporeal dresses, meaning that only in inferior dresses, which animals, too, can enjoy in these dresses, and the speaking can also feel pleasure in them.
In these corporeal pleasures, in which man feels delight and pleasure like animals, there is room for choice. That is, it is possible to say here that all the pleasures in these dresses are nature. That is, they say that there is no leader to nature, and from this it follows that all the secular people do not want to believe that there is a leader to nature, since they have clear proof within reason that it is as they say.
Some believers say that they are going above reason. That is, although it makes sense to say that everything is only nature, still, they are devout believers and have faith in the sages, who say that there is a Creator who leads the good. It follows that the fact that the Creator dresses in corporeal pleasures and they receive delight and pleasure is enough for them to lead a happy life, and they have no need to know if there is a leader to nature, for what will this add to our pleasures?
Instead, they want to increase the pleasures by increasing the dresses, such as more money, more respect, and more food and drink. The reason they have no need to search perhaps there is a leader to nature extends from the verse, “A slave in abandonment is content,” as our sages said, that one does not want to take upon himself any enslavement from anyone. Rather, a person wants to be free and not be enslaved to any person. It follows that when a person seeks to find tactics to know that there is a leader to nature, if he takes upon himself the view that there is a leader, then he must follow the commandments of the leader and will have to say that there is reward and punishment. Thus, it is better to say that nature is without a leader. By this he can lead a life of abandonment.
It follows that the fact that the delight and pleasure in Torah and Mitzvot are hidden from us is deliberate, so there will be room for choice, since in Torah and Mitzvot, it cannot be said that there is no leader, for who is the Giver of the Torah and Mitzvot?
However, who awakens to choose and believe there is a leader to nature? When a person calculates that it is impossible that a person, who is the speaking level, will have the same level of life as animals, that is, they cannot accept that they do not have a more important role in life than animals, they begin to search for a purpose to their lives.
It is as our sages said about Abraham, who asked, “Is there a city without a leader? Promptly, the leader of the city appeared before him and said to him, ‘I am the leader of the city.’” That is, he saw a city lit up, meaning he saw the world, which is called ‘a city,’ where everyone was suffering. He said about this, “Is there a city without a leader?” Certainly, nature does not afflict the world without a leader to nature. Thus, he began to search for the leader. Promptly, the leader appeared before him and said, “I am the landlord of the World.”
We see that there must be an awakening by the lower one. He needs to want to know and feel that there is a leader to nature, and crave Dvekut with Him, and do whatever he can, although he sees that it is hard for him to see this within reason that nature’s leader is good and does good, since he sees that he himself is devoid of delight and pleasure. Also, when he examines the world, he sees that the whole world is in suffering and poverty, both in corporeality and in spirituality. Yet, he must believe with faith above reason that the Creator leads the world and that He gives to the whole world only good.
It is as Baal HaSulam says (Shamati, Article No. 1), that one must believe above reason that the Creator leads the world in private Providence by way of “The Good Who Does Good.” Although within reason he sees the opposite, he should know, “They have eyes and see not.” As long as one has not been rewarded with entering the authority of the Creator and annuls his own authority, a person cannot see the truth.
Thus, we see that when a person enjoys in this world, meaning in the will to receive pleasure for himself, although this desire comes from the Creator, meaning that this was the only desire of the Creator—that the creatures will enjoy abundance—it follows that when a person enjoys, he does the will of the Creator.
Therefore, why does he need to bless the Creator? Was the intention of doing good to His creations because the Creator needs to be blessed? where blessing is about blessing the Giver that there will be blessing in everything he does.
We should ask, Does the Creator need to be given blessing and success? This applies only to the creatures, who are weak, and therefore need blessing and success in what they cannot obtain through their own work, for they are powerless. But how can you say this about the Creator?
Yet, as we learned, with respect to the correction of creation, there was the matter of Tzimtzum and concealment so the lower ones could receive and there would be no shame upon the reception of the pleasures.
In this regard, we can discern two things: 1) the act, meaning a person receives pleasure; 2) the intention, meaning the reason. That is, who makes him receive the pleasure, which is called “an act”? At that time a person contemplates so as to see who and what caused him pleasure, his enjoyment. He sees that any pleasure depends on the yearning for the matter. We attribute this to our nature, meaning that the Creator has given us a desire and yearning to receive pleasure from something from which we can derive pleasure. When a person calculates, he sees that this separates him from the Creator. That is, he sees that reception removes him from the work of the Creator because of the disparity of form. This, in turn, forces him to draw nearer to corporeality, and the main meaning of corporeality is that he takes upon himself to work for his own benefit. Man is called “corporeal,” and not for the sake of the Creator, and the Creator is regarded as “spiritual.”
For this reason, it is upon man to put an aim on the act of pleasure: 1) He should believe that this pleasure he is receiving comes from the Creator and from no other source. 2) He should intend to bestow, and say that since the Creator wants the creatures to receive pleasure, he is doing the Creator’s will. Otherwise, if he cannot aim to benefit the Creator, he is willing to relinquish this pleasure.
However, one does not achieve this work at once. This is called “blessing the Creator.” That is, through the work of bestowal, it is considered that a person gives the Creator Kelim [vessels] so He can bestow pleasure upon the person. Since the Tzimtzum was not to bestow into the vessels of reception, now it will be possible for the Creator to bestow, since the Tzimtzum has been removed from them because now he is receiving not for his own sake, but for the sake of the Creator.
For this reason, now we can say that a person who blesses, meaning that while receiving pleasure, he intends that his pleasure is that by doing the Creator’s will, whose desire is to do good to His creations, this is regarded as blessing the work of the Creator. In other words, since the work of the Creator is to bestow upon the creatures, by aiming to bestow, there is power above to bestow unto the lower ones, since now the lower ones are not removed by the reception. On the contrary, now it is apparent that they are adhered to the Creator.
The proof of this is that the abundance can spread in the Kelim that are fit to receive, since the Kelim will remain in Kedusha. It follows that through the blessing, he causes the expansion of abundance to the lower ones.
By this we will understand what we asked, What is the gravity of the blessing? Apparently, he does more harm than other transgressions. But according to the above, the meaning of the blessing pertains to the qualification of the Kelim, so the Creator will be able to give to the lower ones delight and pleasure, and that abundance will not be detrimental to them. That is, they will not be pushed away by the reception of delight and pleasure from Him, due to disparity of form, as it is known that disparity of form causes moving away from the Creator.
It follows that one who does not bless for the pleasure, meaning he does not aim that it will be in order to bestow, causes the prevention of the abundance from above. It follows that it is as though he causes the Creator not to be able to carry out the purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creation.
As said above, there are two actions in man: 1) that which comes from the Creator, which is the desire and yearning for pleasures, 2) the act that we attribute to the creature, which is the intention to bestow. We attribute this to the lower one, who should aim in order to bestow.
It therefore follows that there are two conditions under which the Kli will be fit to receive the abundance and remain in Dvekut while receiving the abundance: the act and the aim. Also, there is partnership in building the wholeness of the Kli: 1) the Creator, 2) the creatures.
This is as it is written in The Zohar (“Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 67): “‘And to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’’ Do not pronounce ‘You are My people [Ami]’ with a Patach in the Ayin, but ‘You are with Me [Imi],’ with a Hirik in the Ayin, which means partnering with Me. As I made heaven and earth with My words, as it is written, ‘By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,’ you, with your words of wisdom, have made new heaven and earth. Happy are those who exert in Torah.”
This means that through the Torah, whose light reforms him, they can achieve the degree of annulling their own authority, and everything a person does will all be in order to bestow contentment upon his Maker.
Accordingly, if a person does not give his part to the Kli, which is the second part, called “desire to bestow,” he thereby causes the abundance that should come to the lower ones through the work of the lower one, by not giving the intention, the abundance delays because of him. In other words, by not giving the blessing, the connection of upper and lower is missing, since the upper one is the giver and the lower one is the receiver. Hence, there is disparity of form between them and they have no Dvekut, so how can the abundance come to the lower one?
Therefore, when there is a connector, meaning that the lower one also wants to be a giver like the upper one, the abundance can flow onto the lower one because of the connection that exists between them. Without this connection, it is as though he steals the nourishments that his father and mother should give to the children—that man steals and the children have nothing to sustain them.
In other words, if he enjoys and does not bless, it means that he did not give the intention for the sake of the Creator. Therefore, he has taken the pleasure, which is reception, and gave it to the Sitra Achra [other side], who take all the reception in order to receive, and this nourishes them. Had he aimed to bestow through the blessing, the Kedusha would have been nourished by this, meaning that through it, abundance would be added to the worlds of Kedusha. By acting without the aim, he has given strength to the Klipot.
We could ask, What does it mean that he corrupted the world, since he did not corrupt his self? Also, what is the connection between him and the entire world? We should interpret as our sages said (Kidushin 40b), “Rabbi Elazar Bar Rabbi Shimon says, ‘Since the world is judged by its majority, and the individual is judged by its majority, if he performs one Mitzva [commandment/good deed], happy is he, for he has sentenced himself and the entire world to the side of merit. If he commits one transgression, woe unto him for he has sentenced himself and the entire world to the side of sin.’”
We therefore see that through his sin, one person robs the nourishments that should reach the entire world. For this reason, one who does not bless robs his father and his mother. That is, the abundance that they should give him, and what his father and mother should give to the entire world, he prevents this from them. It follows that he has corrupted the world to their Father in heaven.
This means the abundance and nourishment that their father in heaven should have given to the whole world, he robs this force that should have been received in order to add Kedusha throughout the world, and hands that power to the Sitra Achra. Every reception in order to receive that the lower ones perform adds power to the Sitra Achra, and every aim on an act that he intends in order to bestow causes addition of abundance in the Kedusha.
Now we can understand the gravity of “He who enjoys in this world and does not bless.” As said above, it is the intention, for only through the blessing, abundance is added in all the worlds and abundance reaches the whole world.
Hence, if a person’s intention is only to bring contentment to the Creator and not for his own benefit, he does not mind the amount of pleasure. He only looks at the amount of passion with which he wants to delight the Creator, since through the yearning to delight the Creator, he causes equivalence of form at the root of his soul. This, in turn, causes more abundance to be drawn, since the upper one wants to give more than the lower one wants to receive, and only vessels of bestowal are missing. It follows that by overcoming in bestowal, great abundance is extended. For this reason, we need not ask to have great lights, only try to have big vessels, which are vessels of bestowal.
It is as we interpreted, that our sages said, “Why is it written, ‘For this is the whole of man’”? And he replies, “Rabbi said, ‘The whole world was created only for this,’” meaning for fear of heaven, as it is written, “What does the Lord your God ask of you? Only fear.” Fear is as he says in the Sulam [Ladder Commentary on The Zohar], that he is afraid he will not be able to bestow upon the Creator. “And this is the whole of man,” meaning this is all that man should do, meaning offer Him vessels of bestowal. The rest, meaning the lights, the Creator gives. This is the meaning of “Everything is in the hands of heaven but the fear of heaven.”