What Does It Mean that the Right Must Be Greater than the Left, in the Work?
Article No. 39, 1991
The Zohar writes (Nasso, Item 174), “This Mitzva [commandment/good deed], that the priest should bless the people each day by pointing out the fingers, since the fingers imply the upper one, the five on the right are more important than those on the left, since the right is more important than the left. Therefore, in the blessing that the priest blesses the people, the right should be raised higher than the left.”
We should understand what is “right” in the work, what is “left” in the work, and why the right is more important than the left.
It is known that in the order of man’s work, when he wants to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, which is equivalence of form, meaning to do everything in order to bestow, we should make two discernments: 1) a state of wholeness, where everything he thinks and does has no deficiency, 2) a state of deficiencies, where everything he thinks and does is full of deficiencies.
We need both of those states. The state of wholeness is in order to receive vitality, joy, and pleasure from his states. When a person feels deficiencies in everything he does, he has nothing to live on, since man was created with a nature that he must receive pleasure as long as he is alive. This stems from the purpose of creation, which is because of “His desire to do good to His creations.” (In the words of the ARI, this is called “Zivug [coupling] to sustain the worlds,” since without vitality the world will be cancelled. Hence, this matter is called “perpetual Zivug.”) This can be only if a person is content with little and is happy with the share that he has, and says that he does not deserve more than the rest of the people.
In the work, this is considered that he says that he is happy with this share, with the fact the Creator gave him a desire and craving to do something in Kedusha [holiness]. In other words, he is happy that he can observe Torah and Mitzvot [pl. of Mitzva] even without any understanding and without any intention. He says that he sees that there are many people who do not even have the little bit of engagement in Torah and work that he has. As in corporeality, a person who wants to be content with little should look at people who live happily although they do not make even half the income that he does. From this, he can be happy with his share in corporeality.
The same is true for spirituality. He is happy with his share when he sees that there are people who have no grip at all on Torah and Mitzvot, while he is happy that he has some grip on Torah and Mitzvot. From this he derives vitality, meaning he can glorify and praise the Creator for giving him some grip on Torah and Mitzvot. We must remember that the gratitude that a person gives to the Creator, at that time he is in a state of closeness to the Creator because the gratitude that one gives is for the present and the past. It follows that he can be in wholeness.
But when a person prays that He will fulfill his heart’s wishes, he should strengthen during the prayer with faith that the Creator hears the prayer of every mouth. Otherwise, his prayer cannot be from the bottom of the heart, since he must believe that the Creator hears every mouth. Baal HaSulam said that during the prayer, one should believe what is written, “For You hear the prayer of every mouth,” where “every mouth” means even a mouth that is unworthy, meaning full of deficiencies and devoid of merits, still, the Creator helps everyone, only if a person prays from the bottom of the heart, meaning believes above reason in what is written, that the Creator hears every mouth. Only then can one pray with all his heart, meaning without any doubts.
It follows that when one works in the manner of the “left,” meaning looks and sees that he is bare and destitute, and wants the Creator to satisfy his wishes, then it is difficult for a person to believe that the Creator will help him, and he needs great strengthening so he can pray with all his heart. For this reason, a person does not receive vitality from the prayer for deficiencies since he is living in doubt. That is, he sees that he prayed several times, and it is as though the Creator does not hear his prayer. Therefore, it is hard for him to derive vitality from prayer.
But in the manner of the right, when he walks on the path of wholeness and is happy with everything he does, from the privilege he has that the Creator lets him do something in Torah and Mitzvot, at that time it is forbidden to look at the deficiencies, since one takes vitality only from wholeness. Therefore, a person must make every effort to see that the Creator is complete with all the virtues and depict to himself every depiction in the world about how He leads the world in utter perfection. As Baal HaSulam said, one should believe above reason that the Creator leads the world in complete delight and pleasure, to a point that there is nothing to add to it. And although a person cannot see this before he achieves the desire to bestow, he should still believe that this is so.
It therefore follows that when one walks on the path of wholeness and thanks the Creator, he already knows if he thanks the Creator because he already has faith in the greatness of the Creator to some extent, and this is why he thanks the Creator, for the Creator summoning a lowly person like himself to serve Him, meaning observe His Mitzvot. In other words, he is able to observe something in Torah and Mitzvot because the Creator has given him a thought and desire to do something in Torah and Mitzvot, and this is considered that the Creator has summoned a person and told him, “I am giving you permission to enter the palace of Kedusha [holiness] to do some service for Me.”
It follows that a person has no doubt about the gratitude that one gives for the past and for the present. Otherwise, if he does not go completely above reason, he is powerless to thank the Creator. Conversely, a prayer is for the future. At that time, he does not know for sure that the Creator will help him, since he cannot say anything about the future.
It follows that although one should work in the manner of the right, as well as in the manner of the left, and we explained that “right” means wholeness, which should be perpetual, since only from wholeness can one derive vitality, but from wholeness, a person cannot engender a higher level because he has no deficiency. Thus, who says that he should go forward, which is considered that he should engender a higher degree (which is called in the words of the ARI, “a Zivug for begetting souls,” and this Zivug is not permanent but only during an ascent).
In other words, wholeness means that he engages in Hesed [mercy/grace], although it is an act without an intention, to him it is important and he is happy with his share, since from this a person receives vitality. (As said above, this is called “a Zivug to sustain the worlds,” which is Hassadim [mercies], in the manner of “For He desires mercy.” He does not need anything and he is happy with his share, and this is called “a perpetual Zivug.”)
However, in order to achieve a higher degree, which is called “a Zivug to beget souls,” since the meaning of engendering souls can come only from deficiencies and not from wholeness, this is as it is written in The Zohar, “He who comes to purify.” That is, when a person sees that he is impure, meaning he is lying under the governance of the will to receive, which is the Tuma’a [impurity] within man’s heart, and he does everything and cannot emerge from the control of the will to receive, at that time he prays to the Creator from the bottom of the heart to help him. Then what our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided,” comes true. And The Zohar asks, “With what?” And he replies, “With a holy soul.”
We therefore see that specifically from deficiencies we can beget a soul, meaning from a prayer from the bottom of the heart. By this we can interpret the words of the ARI, that the Zivug for engendering the souls is not perpetual but is specifically during an ascent. This means that when a person wants to ascend to a higher degree each time and achieve a higher soul, he must search in himself for a lack to fill. This is specifically when he demands help from the Creator, causing him the birth of new souls. In other words, specifically when he does not settle for less and feels his deficiency, it causes him to be given from above more of a soul until he obtains the NRNHY in his soul.
It follows that the way of the right, meaning wholeness, should be perpetual because a person must do everything with vitality, and from deficiencies, a person has no joy so as to derive vitality from being deficient. For this reason, the left, which is a lack, from which one does not derive vitality, since when a person sees that he is deficient, with what can he be happy? Hence, in general, a person should always be on the right line. Only some of the time he is used to dedicating to Torah and work, he should set a special time, when he is not in descent, but specifically when he is in ascent. At that time he will be sure that he will not fall into a state of sadness when he sees his deficiencies.
Rather, then he will be strengthened; he will be able to give a heartfelt prayer, meaning that the confidence that the Creator hears the prayer of every mouth will illuminate for him during the prayer. But during the rest of the hours of the work, he should walk only on the right path, since on the right path, he is always in wholeness with the Creator. Hence, at that time he receives from the Surrounding Light, as the ARI says, that the Surrounding Light shines from afar. That is, Baal HaSulam said that even when a person is still far from equivalence of form, meaning even when a person has still not been rewarded with the desire to bestow, the Surrounding Light still shines for him, and from this a person receives vitality and joy, whereas with the left, it is to the contrary.
According to the above, we should interpret what is written (Numbers 26:53-54), “Among these the land shall be divided for an inheritance. To the large you shall increase their inheritance, and to the small you shall diminish their inheritance.” The interpreters of the Torah ask, If it says, “To the large you shall increase their inheritance,” it is obvious that “to the small you shall diminish their inheritance,” so why the repetition concerning the small? We should interpret this in the work. In the work, it is known that we learn everything in one person. That is, “to the large you shall increase and to the small you shall diminish” applies to the same person.
We should therefore interpret “large” and “small.” “Large” means “whole” and “small” means “deficient.” As we learn, the right line is called “wholeness,” hence the right line is called “large,” as one says, “Any grip that I have on the work,” he believes that the Creator has given him the thought and desire to observe Torah and Mitzvot, and he says that he is not more important than the rest of the people. Rather, as before he began to work on the left line, he had vitality and pleasure in the work that he did, he knew that it was very important and he would certainly receive a great reward for this, so now that he has begun to walk on the left line, he should be in a state of humbleness, as it is written, “Be very, very humble.” In other words, even after he has begun to walk on the left line, to see his deficiencies, which the left line shows him, which he received from the state of “His heart was high in the ways of the Lord,” but now that he is working in the state of the right, when he should lower himself, this is a lot of work because they are called “two writings that deny one another,” and this was not so when he was walking on one line.
Yet, such are the ways of the Creator. A person should believe in the sages that such is the order of the work. It follows that there is a huge difference in the work between his work being in the right or being in one line. But according to what we learn, we need two lines. Both cannot be at the same time in the same subject. Rather, they can be one at a time.
Now the question will be that if we need two lines, and we must dedicate some time to the right, and some time to the left, the question is how much of one’s work should he dedicate to walking on the right line, and how much time should he dedicate to walking on the left line.
According to the above said, we should interpret what is written, “To the large you shall increase their inheritance.” “Large” means work that is called “wholeness” and “right line,” which is called “large,” meaning wholeness. “You shall increase their inheritance” means that you will increase the time you dedicate to the right line, giving much of your time of engagement in Torah and Mitzvot.
When it says “and to the small, you shall diminish their inheritance,” “to diminish” means to lessen, a deficiency called “left line,” where one begins to contemplate what he has gained when he left the one line and began the work of bestowal. He sees that not only did he not advance in the work, but he even regressed. That is, now he does not have the vitality and joy he had while walking on one line. Although he prays to the Creator to give him the power of the desire to bestow, he sees that he has prayed many prayers for this but he is not being noticed from above, so many times he wants to escape the campaign. Although the work on the left line is important, for the birth of souls comes specifically from the left line, we must still believe in faith in the sages that we can engage in the left line precisely at a time of ascent, for then a person is strong and can overcome the left through prayer. But only for a little while, as it is written, “To the small you shall diminish their inheritance,” where “diminish” means that you will not dedicate to it much of your work time.
It follows that the word “small” has two meanings: 1) “small” as in “deficient,” such as when saying, this person has little income, 2) little time.
It follows that when it writes, “to the small you shall diminish,” and “diminish” means a lack. Diminishing in the work of bestowal and “diminish” is diminishing in time. Accordingly, we should interpret what it means that the right should be greater than the left in the work, and also what it means that The Zohar says that “when the priest blesses the people, he should raise the right higher than the left.” We should interpret that “right” indicates wholeness, which is Hesed. Hesed means that he does not need anything except to give. Therefore, when a person feels his lowliness and says that the Creator is doing Hesed with him by giving him some grip on Torah and work, he thanks the Creator for this.
Therefore, when we speak in the work about the priest who blesses the people, since all matters pertain to the same person, the “priest” is a servant of the Creator. He “blesses the people,” meaning the person himself, called “the people,” in the work. It is as our sages said (Sanhedrin 37), “Therefore, each one must say, ‘The world was created for me.’” For this reason, in the work we learn the whole world within one person. “He must raise the right higher than the left,” in order to know that the right is more important than the left, although from the left we are rewarded with the birth of new souls.
Yet, when a person engages in deficiencies, he cannot receive from this vitality. For this reason, he must work on the right, as well. The Zohar comes to tell us that we should dedicate the majority of our time to the right. This is why he says that “the priest must raise the right above the left,” since the right is more important. And in The Zohar (Pekudei, Item 683), he says, “The most important is that the left will not be greater than the right.” This is the meaning of what our sages said (Yevamot 63), “One of inferior degree receives a woman” (a person should descend from his degree in order to receive a wife).
There, he speaks in the manner of degrees in the upper worlds. As above, in the upper degrees, so it is below, in man’s work, even before one is rewarded with opening the eyes in the Torah. There the meaning of “left” is when the light of Hochma shines, which is in vessels of reception. Certainly, this should be in order to bestow, and he still did not receive the right, which is light of Hassadim. It is called “left” because everything where there is a deficiency is called “left.”
At that time, the path of correction is that the light of Hassadim, called “right,” should be greater than the light of Hochma. That is, the light of Hochma must not take more than half a degree, and the light of Hassadim, which is “right” which guards the light of Hochma so it stays in order to bestow, should be greater than the light of Hochma. At that time, the light of Hochma exists in the degree, and this is the meaning of the priest, when he blesses, should raise the right above the left, meaning that the Hesed should be more important than the left.
This is the meaning of what is written, “This is the meaning of ‘one who is of inferior degree receives a woman.’” It means that when a person comes to receive the light of Hochma, which is Malchut, where Malchut is called “bottom Hochma,” he should not take her in her state of Gadlut [greatness/adulthood]. Rather “inferior degree,” meaning when one comes to receive the light of Hochma, called “woman,” which is Malchut, one should try that she will already be in a state of descent, meaning that she has only half of what she had. At that time he can receive Hassadim, and the Hassadim will be more than the Hochma. Then the words “One of inferior degree receives a woman” will come true.
According to the above-said, we should interpret what is written (Sanhedrin 44b), “Rabbi Elazar said, ‘One should always precede prayer to trouble.’” We should interpret that one does not go into the work of the left before he first worked in the manner of the right, which is regarded as wholeness, meaning that he does not lack anything and he thanks and praises the Creator for giving him some grip on the work of the Creator, and then he begins the work of the left. At that time, he sees that he is in trouble, that he has neither Torah nor work that is suitable for one who is serving the Creator. At that time, he feels how far he is from the work of the Creator, meaning from working for Him, namely working only with the aim to bestow contentment upon his Maker, and not at all for his own benefit. At that time, he sees how the body objects to this, and he does not see that he will ever be able to do anything only in order to bestow.
It follows that when he begins the path of the left, this is called “trouble,” and he has no other choice but to pray to the Creator to help him and give him the desire to bestow, called “second nature.” At that time, the prayer is from the bottom of the heart, and the Creator hears his prayer.
Accordingly, we should interpret what our sages said, “One should always precede prayer to trouble,” since it is possible that when he comes to work in the state of the left and sees the state of lowliness that he is in, he might fall into despair and want to escape the campaign. This is called “trouble,” and he must precede with a prayer, meaning first see if he will have the strength to pray when he is in a state of trouble. Otherwise, he must not begin the work of the left line. This is the meaning of what they said, that the “priest who blesses the people should raise the right higher than the left.” In other words, the right should be greater than the left. This means that he must wait for the right time to exit from the work of the right to the work of the left.
We must remember that the work of the right, which is called “wholeness,” is the work of the general public. It is work in practice, meaning he observes Torah and Mitzvot because of the commandment of the Creator and in order to receive reward in this world and in the next world. This is called “work in practice.” But the intention to bestow, which is called “the work of the left,” this he does not touch. Hence, a person feels wholeness during the work.
This work of wholeness is called “one line.” That same work of wholeness of the general public, when he begins to work with the intention, that same one line, meaning the practice of the general public, acquires a different name: Now it is called “right line.” Hence, it is now difficult to shift to work on the line of wholeness of the practice when it receives a new name, “right.”