Morning Lesson January 08, 2024

Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio

Part 1:

Rabash. Article No. 40, 1991. What Are Truth and Falsehood in the Work?

https://kabbalahmedia.info/sources/Zo9qIKe0

(00:42) “We should understand how truth and falsehood pertain to the work of the Creator…”

1. S. (38:08 ) It says that 'Through man’s intention in Torah and Mitzvot, the clothing of the soul is completed. Through the Torah, Noga of Yetzira is cleansed, a clothing of Ruach, and through practical Mitzvot, Noga of Assiya is cleansed, and becomes the clothing of Nefesh.” What is Torah through Torah and Commandments practical Commandments?

R. We don't know what it is yet. Practical Torah and Mitzvot is when a person understands that he exists in the Torah, in the system in a network where through his actions meaning his intentions he can shake this network and thus correct it so that he too becomes an active part inside this network and brings it closer to correction. 

2. S. (39:49) He writes the time where a person feels distancing from the work he has no desire for the work there he should look at himself and ask the Creator to look at him why? To bring him closer?

R. If he's distant?

S. Yes.

R. I don't know what he wrote about before that.

S. I find that he writes, if you remember the rule in the order of the work, that one may not examine himself to see if he's fine or not. That is if a person sees that he's not all right this is the time when he should pray to the Creator to help him be all right. This is specifically when one feels that he has some closeness to the Creator. At that time he's permitted to regard his situation with criticism, but when a person feels that he's removed from the work meaning that he does not have a desire for the work at that time he must not examine himself and pray.

R. So what?

S. Why during such a time when he feels that he's becoming distant from the work, he has no desire for the work, he should examine himself and should not pray?

R. You start close to the Creator.

S. That's why there's room for prayer?

R. He doesn't feel that he's close and that he has room for prayer.

S. There are times when a person should not feel great?

R. No it all depends on how a person feels.

3. S. (42:06) Shats here reminds me a little bit of what the Pharaohs used to do with the Hebrews when they wanted to change, to replace the work of men and women and the work of women with men. If you want to make intentions then stop doing intentions and start doing actions and vice versa as he writes here. What should a person scrutinize? What should a person do to scrutinize the correct order of the work before starting to work?

R. I don't think that one can already sort out the correct order in a work, but one should try to be as close as possible to the society and together with the society if he's in a state where he cannot see by himself what to do at all then even more so together with the society to get closer to the Creator.

S. Yes but it says here start on the right line, you don't have the ability to scrutinize on the left and in a regular society it's like they are saying you're lying you're deceiving yourself and you're doing things that you're not in them you consider yourself righteous close to the Creator and you're not close to the Creator. This we do have to respect for the person to feel as he told the friend that he's not close to the Creator that he would find connection closest to the Creator?

R. From the state that he's in he can also raise a prayer and the Creator will also bring him closer.

4. S. (44:11) In the example about the knife and deriving pleasure for himself and they tell him that he has to pay for it because he receives pleasure for himself. I want to scrutinize when a person is doing actions for himself, how does he pay for it? What is the debt that accumulates here?

R. How does he pay? With money.

S. For this money here how does it work?

R. He covers what he does.

S. I'm doing actions for myself, for my own sake and I guess I have a debt accumulating. What is that debt that we're getting, accumulate here?

R. In that I harmed the friend.

S. The moment I receive pleasure for myself I automatically harmed the friend? Now if I wish to repay this debt I can do it?

R. Do you want to pay?

S. Yes because there's now a debt and I want to pay it off?

R. Through prayer.

S. Prayer on the friend?

R. Yes, prayer to the Creator for the friend that you harmed.

5. S. (46:14) He wrote here that the practical Torah and Mitzvot means that a person enters the system and moves it towards correction. What is for us practical Torah and Mitzvot?

R. Practical Torah and Mitzvot is when we try in action to connect and to turn to the Creator.

S. Then he says here that when a person is only the practical actions he's in the state of falsehood because he’s not seeing the truth and then comes the state where he receives the intention with the ability the intentions on these Torah and Mitzvot we cannot work with one alone only on the intentions and it's not enough and only on the actions and it's not enough I can explain it the connection?

R. Yes, only the action is not enough, it requires an intention what we are doing it for? What do we want to get closer to but here the intention also is not enough that we just want to do it, but we don't do it in action.

S. Meaning if we sit and close our eyes and just want to connect?

R. It's not going to work.

S. If we begin to perform actions of unity between us and forget what for?

R. That's also not good, that's also not practical Torah and Mitzvot and the intention on them.

S. What's the difference between doing both? What's the difference between doing Lo Lishma and Lishma?

R. That I perform my actions only as actions without an intention or that I do it as intention without the actions, it is incomplete.

S. That's Lo Lishma?

R. Yes.

S. Then we’re in a state of falsehood because we don't see the Good Who Does Good?

R. Yes, it's on the way but this is how it is for the time being.

6. S. (48:36) It's written in the holy Zohar “Come and see, in the day, he engaged in Torah to complement the judgments, and at night he engaged in singing and praising until the day came. Specifically during the day, meaning during ascent he engages in the left, sorts the judgements but at night when he does not illuminate he does not engage in crisis. It’s really connected to what you said yesterday that each state that the Creator gives us is whole and comes to a person to advance him to the next state. Meaning if a person checks himself about them being in ascent during the day this is the place to open up deficiencies where we can connect more again. On the contrary, on the left he has to engage in singing and praises until the day comes. It really explains the work.

R. Yes, this is also how it's explained nicely in Psalms.

7. S. (49:50) What is it about Lo Lishma that brings the person to Lishma?

R. When we awaken the Creator the upper light, the sources of the upper light, so that they will shine on us.

S. What inverts here because I work like a beast here?

R. No.

S. Why not?

R. That's not called Lo Lishma. Lo Lishma means that you work and want to and reach Lishma.

S. You say in the article that you can't even reveal to them the matter of Lishma, so they would still continue to work this way and in the end we'll come to Lishma. What's the inversion here? Where is the inversion, where do we get inverted?

R. When a person gradually discovers that the goal is Lishma?

S. Yes.

 R. He discovers it along the way when he works in that the light reforms him. Bit by bit it brings him closer to realizing that his work is incomplete and there is nothing that he can do in that state, and he can get closer to the Creator only through the friends. Bit by bit this is what he reads, what he learns and he's also engaging in such actions.

S. This changes the perception of reality, all of it changes?

R. Yes.

8. S. (51:37) What is the connection between the act that we're doing in the Mitzvah, the commandment?

R. The commandment itself is the act.

S. It says that we have to engage in love of friends, so we engage in love with friends. What would make our action, turn our action into a Mitzvah a commandment? What does it depend that we say that this is a commandment, or we missed it, and we didn't do a commandment?

R. Again.

S. We work in love of friends, so how can you tell that the action is a commandment or that we didn't reach the making of a Mitzvah. Is the action a Mitzvah or should there be a certain attitude, a decree from the Creator or something because there are many societies that we could do that in the society and you can do it without any understanding any intention, any intention and understanding. I don't understand it but I do it but how do I do Mitzvah even in order to receive?

R. I don't understand what should I do so that my action will at least be in order to receive?

S. No, that my action will be a Mitzvah, a commandment.

R. That it will be in order to give contentment to the Creator? Otherwise, what kind of Mitzvah is it?

S. Here it says that also in Lo Lishma without understanding anything he can perform a Mitzvah in Lo Lishma.

R. This is what happens to a person when he tries to do something and it doesn't know what in the Creator brings him to such actions where he's capable of performing, to perform them to some extent and by that he becomes incorporated in the public. 

9. S. (54:10) We, during the time of preparation, all of the actions that we're doing come from within the will to receive is connection . He doesn't know about it, or he should think and scrutinize his intention and then it's considered that he's doing something.

R. Everyone performs commandments, Mitzvot everyone but to scrutinize and to agree with it and from that to work in Lishma, that's already the work of the individual.

S. This is our primary work?

R. Yes.

11. S. (56:34) The transition from Lo Lishma to Lishma where does it take place? Is it the result of some prolonged work, where every moment, every thought, and every desire?

R. No it's the result of an ongoing war of a person on himself.

S. Let's say a person has a certain desire or a thought. How does this transition take place here from Lo Lishma to Lishma ?

R. A person doesn't do it. It is a gift from the Creator.

12. S. (57:26) There was a sentence here that at night he should raise prayers, praises to the Creator. How can we use this advice and when should we do it? Praises at night to the Creator?

R. Whenever you can use it.

S. Should we feel a descent then we can use it or when it's difficult for you to ask and pray?

R. From each and every state.

13. S. (58:20) We now read an article by Rabash about truth and falsehood in the spiritual work. In our egoistic world it's difficult for the truth to break through a cover our lies. Winston Churchill said once that a lie manages to run through half the world where the truth just puts on its pants when the category of truth will be able to govern over the falsehood. How much does it depend on us, the members of the worldwide Bnei Baruch?

R. I can't answer such a question.

14. S. (59:08) You said that Lo Lishma is a gift, but I have a feeling that I am bad, and that when the light shines on my desire it makes my will to receive worse, so where is the transition?

R. Which transition? Between what and what?

S. From Lo Lishma to Lishma?

R. The transition between Lo Lishma to Lishma is found inside of a person in his attitude toward the group and toward the Creator and toward actions that they can do.

15. S. (01:00:22) I have a feeling that I am always worse. Is that good or bad?

R. It's not good you have to be in this way in this direction and that direction, on that it says a fool sits idly by tormenting himself or eating his own flesh, literally.