Part 2:
Morning Lesson August 30, 2021, Transcription
Baal HaSulam, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, #22
Item 22 (0:24) “Thus you see how the five levels of ten Sefirot emerge ….”
1.S. (5:11) What is that state where there are different levels, where he doesn't have all five levels?
R. That the vessel is not complete. Meaning there is no screen on the entire vessel. Only on part of the vessel, part of the desires.
S. What leads it to only having a screen on part of the desire?
R. He doesn't explain the reasons here. Reasons are either from above or below. That they are restrictions. And the cascading made from above to below they are restrictions made from above by the light, and in rising from below above is also by the light but there first must be the work of man preceding the screen.
R. (6:18) Rav Reads: ‘Thus you see how the five levels of the 10 Sefirot emerge by the 5 kinds of couplings, beatings, of the screen applied on its 5 measures of coarseness in it.’ Meaning it all depends on the desire on which there is a screen and the screen works with the upper light and raises the upper light and returns to the Emanator. According to equivalence of form between the reflected light and the attitude of the Creator to the created being, which is direct light, then is made here in the equivalent of the attitude of the Creator to the created being and accordingly the created being is capable of receiving the recognition of the Creator.
‘Now I shall tell you the reason. For it is known that the light is not attained without a vessel. Also, you know that these five measures of coarseness come from the 5 measures of coarseness in the fourth phase. Before the restriction, there were five vessels in the fourth phase, clothing the 10 Sefirot of KHBTM. After the first restrictions they were included in the five aspects of this screen.’ Meaning those same desires, those same qualities before the restriction in the desire to receive. Then after the restriction and the work of the lower ones all of these are Incorporated in the screen and now the vessel works with that same attitude of the Creator to it and returning back to the Creator.
‘Which along with the reflected light, it elevates and returns to being the five vessels with respect to the reflected light on the 10 Sefirot of KHBTM.’ Meaning that the reflected light that rises now, that the vessel raises from its desire to receive, actually expresses the intention and desire of the vessel to be like the Creator, to resemble Him.
‘.and instead of the five vessels in phase four itself prior to the restriction. Accordingly, it is clear that if the screen contains all of these five levels of coarseness (root 1 2 3 4), it attains the five vessels to clothe the 10 Sefirot.’ The difference between the coarseness and the vessel, together they are called a vessel.
‘But when it does not contain all 5 measures since the coarseness of the fourth phase. ‘Meaning that such great coarseness is not revealed and also the restriction is not revealed and the screen is not revealed on it. So, in it there is 5 vessels for the clothing of the sefirot because it doesn't have all of the five aspects.
‘...because it lacks the coarseness of the fourth phase then it only has just four vessels and thus can only clothe four lights, HBTM, and lacks one light, the light of Keter just as it lacks one vessel in the coarseness of the fourth phase.’
The more the coarseness is lacking and the coarseness belonging to the screen is also lacking, we lack the force to reveal our resemblance to the Creator. Thus, we will lack the upper light to be revealed in us, that the Creator should be revealed in us. The revelation of the Creator is dependent on the great desire in the created being and the capability of the created being to make the restriction on the desire. To build an attitude just like the Creator towards him and from him to the Creator. Then the equivalence of these attitudes, these relations, which is called ‘from me to my beloved and my beloved to me,’ then accordingly also the Creator is revealed inside the created being.
2. S. (11:22) It says about all the actions in the mutual vessel of the 10? The action speaks about this, the restriction, the screen.
R. Usually yes, it could be that. The problem is that a person cannot reach personal work with the Creator if he is not incorporated in the 10 because that is where he scrutinizes all of these details that he needs to turn to the Creator with. We think that we can turn to the Creator just like “me”. No. In order to calibrate myself to the Creator, where I will understand exactly and feel how it is possible to come to Him, that I clothe in and that I am ready to come to him in the right way., I simply need to 10. Imagine to yourself that you are taking a certain person from the street and you are placing him before an important person. He needs to know the language, to know how to approach and what way to prepare his request. For that he also needs to know the other side of the person that he is turning to, what he wants. How can you even interest him and this is what you are asking. For him to feel that in place of giving you, he is receiving from you. You are coming in order to give him or receive from him. We need to adapt ourselves to the meeting with the Creator. That is why the vessel was shattered to start with, the vessel Adam HaRishon, and then by us collecting its parts, its pieces and from its pieces are trying to rebuild the vessel to be as one man with one heart and one desire. If we will all be in that one desire, we can address the Creator and for certain we will receive from Him what we want. Meaning, this is not some side condition that I have to do to engage in society but rather it is in order to concentrate the intentions correctly, my desires together. I seemingly am broken into 10 friends, 10 parts and if I collect them together, it is called that I am ready for a meeting with the Creator. That I can approach Him and to ask, and He will answer me.
S. What does it mean in this mutual vessel that we are building and gathering, that there in the screen five levels of coarseness?
R. That is according to the will to receive that is being revealed. Because we have from the four phases of direct light the light that appears from above until it builds this discernment of root 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or we could say 0, 1, 2, 3, 4. Where the light comes and builds the degrees in the desire to receive until the 4th discernment feels itself as opposite to the light and feel shame through this. It cannot tolerate such distancing from the light and therefore she performs the restriction and says she will do anything just to have a screen and for her to come to identification with the upper light with the Creator, with the landlord. This is how she begins to work. Therefore, all of this discernment of roots, 1, 2, 3, 4, also in the fourth discernment itself, the will to receive that feels itself where the creature begins to feel itself. It feels itself as the 4th discernment not as in the previous ones. Then it turns out that we need to respond accordingly.
3. S. (16:24) The phases of coarseness are dependent on each other?
R. They certainly are. I just don’t understand what you were asking. Everything depends on everything. If I use the first discernment then later the desire to receive is added with the coarseness of the second discernment, so that I will take care of it also and through this it the Creator will be revealed to me in a higher way.
S. In the state, let's say, in which there is no fourth phase, no screen or opportunity to make a coupling in the fourth phase.
R. Without the 4th discernment you can't talk about anything. The vessel must be included from all five parts. There is no ‘somewhat’ in spirituality. The law is that way. How can you talk about the fact that you don't have the desire to receive in some part of creation. It is not a part the, it doesn't exist. The upper light that builds creation comes to a state in which it builds a vessel in such a way that eventually there will be the fourth phase. Otherwise, it did not finish creation. Otherwise, there is no creature.
S. What does he mean here when he says that it lacks the third phase?
R. In the fourth discernment you have all five discernments of coarseness. To the extent in which there are screens on them, then the fourth discernment raises the reflected light and attains the Creator, in accordance with the equivalence of form with the reflected and the direct light.
S. What is the difference between making the coupling of striking between four or five phases?
R. To the extent we can adapt ourselves to the Creator. It is like you are with the landlord, where he puts 5 courses before you and you say ‘no, that I'm not eating. Why? That is such a precious and special portion that I can't eat it and to think about you, about the host. Rather, only of the pleasure. The pleasure is greater in my belly than the pleasure that I am eating with you. Therefore, I do not receive this portion.
S. If I come to the meal and the main course is fish. Is it different in my attitude between if the main course is meat and also fish?
R. Yes of course it makes a difference because your desire is not too great and you can maybe work with it in order to bestow.
S. Meaning, the coupling is different on the same discernment according to what is in the sum total of the coarseness and the screens?
R. Of course because from above down we have all of the degrees. We learned about the lights that cascade and build the five worlds until it comes to this world and to us. It begins to awaken us from below upward in order for us to grow in accordance with the building of this screen in us. Also, the coarseness is revealed according to the extent we have a screen. It's not that it's revealed once the coarseness of the will to receive is greater than that which we can compose a screen on.
S. So what they call the first level of coarseness, is the same first level that we're always talking about, does it change forms?
R. It is the same first level of coarseness in every stage of development. Of course not. It is never the same. In every vessel, in every form that it will be, it will always be only in the same vessel. Just like you don't have two people in the world that are similar to one another truly, although everyone has the same body parts.
4. S. (21:14) The qualities of the screen belong to the four phases of direct light? They are suitable to the four phases of direct light, and what qualities do these discernments have?
R. The screen only has one thing. It wants to invert the desire to receive, meaning the coarseness that is in the creature, to the desire to bestow from the created being to the Creator. That is actually the role of the screen. To just invert the relation where it feels how the Creator relates to him, gives him, spoils him, loves him. Then he needs to be like steel, strong, to stop itself from the pleasures, from the filling and to make out of it only an act of bestowing in return to the Creator. Then in accordance with the extent that he comes to bestow to the Creator he begins to discover the qualities of the Creator. The stature of the Creator. That this is truly above all that he can possibly imagine. He starts to feel truly like the Creator feels, somewhat like the Creator. He becomes like Adam, which is resembling.
5. S. (23:34) The first restriction emerges in the screen which is built on the first phase or the root phase?
R. If we're talking about created beings the screen doesn't go out but the creature needs to build this screen therefore every single state that we have begins from 0 and we demand for the reforming like to come and together we will work upon it to draw the light and it will build in us the screen. This is how we will raise the reflected light and in it we will discover the direct light and that is how the Creator will be revealed from the concealment from reflected light.
S. From below the screen begins with the fourth level of coarseness?
R. Here we are talking about the screen after the first restriction in the world of EinSof is being revealed on the whole kli, on the entire vessel and by that builds the first world of Adam Kadmon, the first Partzuf of Galgata.
6. S. (25:11) After we build the screen, we have heard many times that each stage is a stage that we work on for a while until it is built so first of all we are building the coarseness of the root?
R. Correct.
7. S. (25:43) The screen raises Malchut to the level of relation with the Creator?
R. That is something we will talk about, not now. Do you want to, right now go through a stroll through the whole wisdom of Kabbalah.
8. S. (26:11) How can a person invite and increase the hardness of the screen?
R. Only in working with the 10 and drawing himself to the 10 and then by receiving a change in the reforming light, he changes.
Item 23 (27:19) “Yet, we must still find out why it is that when the Kli of Malchut….”
Item 24 (28:17) “The answer is that there is always an inverse relation….”
9. R. (31:54) You need to try to also draw for yourselves what he writes here to depict it in such a way so that it will be clear for you schematically. There are many diagrams in our archive because for dozens of years I drew out these matters to all kinds of groups and use them. There are even colorful, beautiful, big ones, truly very well processed and enjoy it. Being connected to those discernments is very important but one who is not drawn to these diagrams but rather wants to feel them within as inner depictions, that is even better but it may take longer. When you explain it schematically to regular human beings on the street, then when you draw these arrows and these qualities it is good and they can grasp it right away as something that you can see, it appears very logically and rationally. But for us I think we need to give an explanation and for these explanations to be more emotional as well because all of spirituality is in our feelings and our desire and therefore the higher discernments or lower discernments are being filled, being emptied in order to receive and bestow in the degrees of coarseness that are rising the desire more or less in according to bestowing to the Creator. Meaning we need to establish these things in us and everything is much as possible in an emotional way. Don't think that you are not people of emotions but that the matter of the desire to bestow in you is in a comatose state and doesn't differentiate these flavors, just like you are severed a new thing until we start to get to know it, to understand and to feel it, that way activate it and through that we learn. Then we have a certain feeling and mindful concept towards it and is the same thing here, the more we depict these things inside of us in an emotional way even though it won't be correct, but it will develop enough the inner emotion system that will be ready to absorb and receive spirituality. Hence try to be impressed and excited from what we are learning.
10. S. (35.45) It is talking here about the degrees of the desire to receive?
R. Yes.
11. S. (36:16) In sensation can you explain to us, what does it mean that the great light enters the purest vessel in our work and feeling?
R. The more refined the more pure according to its coarseness, it is thick and heavy but according to the desire to bestow from this coarseness it is more refined and purer because there is a certain inverse relation there, the opposite, the more coarse the person is but I corrected myself in order to bestow and to love others then I am more pure.
S. The coarse person, is the vessel or the light that passes through it?
R. A person is the desire and then the more his desire is great, his desire to receive his greater and if he corrects it becomes more refined. If you have one kilo of desire to receive and you correct it and now you are a corrected person by 1 kilo. If someone who has 5 kilos of a desire to receive who is really big, who is very cruel and a pirate, I don't know, if he corrects himself in order to bestow, do you know how much he can do? Imagine to yourself that all of those pirates are actually billionaire’s today and if they would become refined, they would empty their treasuries for others, then what can they do and what in spirituality could they accordingly reach, if they were to correct themselves in such a way. Whereas if you reach your vessels, and you look at them, how much do you have desire there in gold, there’s nothing. Therefore, anyone who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater because he had a bigger desire and inclination, then he came through the to work to higher discernments. Therefore, it has become anyone who is greater than his friend but that is on the condition that he worked on his coarseness and made it into purity.
S. When a person begins to learn Kabbalah, it seems when he begins the study he feels more, he is more sensitive but, in the years, the more he progresses, he understands less, is this like the coarseness that’s made greater?
R. That is on one hand and the other hand is because he's coming closer to spirituality and he understands less because he needs to change his approach here but he needs to continue as the main thing.
12. S. (39:54) Why is the first Partzuf Galgatta that takes all the lights and then the other Partzufim use less coarseness. In this process of learning, wouldn't it be the opposite that we start from the small capacity to the big one?
R. Everything is understood, we will learn that from tomorrow or maybe the day after tomorrow. There is a matter of the cascading from above down and don’t get confused from our ascent from below upwards. We have from the world of EinSof there is the cascading of the degrees unitil 0, until this world. All in all, because we have Shoresh, 0,1234, five degrees and each degree is divided into 5 and another to 5 and again to 5, therefore we have 125 degrees from EinSof to this world. We are learning how those degrees cascade down, but in truth we need to learn how we raise ourselves upon all those degrees from below upwards. About that we will talk, we still have several lessons ahead of us.
13. S. (41:36) We who in the crew who are organizing the preparation to the Congress, the task that we want to give everyone is to make an action called a gift Ibur now every 10 is requested to prepare a song, a clip, a dance, a reading of something together in the 10. To show us how we're preparing for the new state to the Congress, that it will bring us all to make a preparation in our 10. There's a bit of pressure of time. Is it okay to do this during the time where people are already meeting during their regular zooms or meeting times?
R. If there is no choice you can do through the zoom meetings, just don't waste your time. If you are doing preparation and you are using it correctly in your zoom meetings it is possible.
14. S. (43:01) What is the purpose of the screen to raise the reflected light or to fill the vessel?
R. To bring the created being, the creature that is in this world, that is living and dying according to the beastly body only and has nothing remaining in it after his life to bring him to the degree of internality and perfection that exists in creation and to resemble the Creator, to truly be like the Creator in every possible manner and way of this word. This is what we need to reach otherwise the Creator that is eternal and whole would not begin the creation if he intended to make a person like us. Rather only because the end of the action was already in the initial thought then the initial thought was in the end of the action and in the end of the action there, we depicted there that a person will be like Him and accordingly he arranges the whole process from above down of how it will come in the cascading and the shattering and the corrections from below upwards. Just like I wrote in the tale about the wizard that the Creator is searching how to create a person that I will have someone to play with, as that was for little children. But the end of the action starts with the initial thought and this is how the Kabbalists speak about the Creator that from the end, meaning from the corrected state that already exists he builds the whole of reality in order for us to discover the corrected state in a complete and perfect in-depth way of all of creation. The entire spiritual creation and this is what we must attain the whole of Creation in all of its details and all of depth. He created all of the reality of the five worlds and the shattering and Partzufim so that we can observe this final state. If it weren't for this final state, the perfection of creation with the Creator then there wouldn't be creation as the Creator would not have begun that as his perfection covers everything.
S. Can we say we need to attain everything in order to attain that there is no barrier or no degrees?
R. Yes, we need to integrate in Infinity after we attain differentially, all the other states and in the end of Correction it is all incorporated in the beginning and the end with all the plus and minus that is incorporated together specifically to emphasize each and every state to the extent it was to start with, as perfect.