– SURSĂ DE TEXTE FUNDAMENTALE, CĂRŢI, CURSURI, LECŢII, ÎN LIMBA ROMÂNĂ –
Autor: arhiprofesor
Rene Guenon spunea candva ca numai prostii cred ca se pot initia singuri. Intotdeuna ai nevoie de un maestru. Dar cartea ramane o sursa de imbogatire a cunostintelor noastre fara de care nici maestrii nu-si pot desavarsi lucrarea. Biblioteca de arhitectura este pentru un arhitect tot atat de importanta cat experimentarea in concret a trairii fiecarui spatiu arhitectural.
“Behold, a people has come out of Egypt; behold, they covered the face of the earth.”
We should say that the Sitra Achra [other side] says, “Behold the people of Israel, when they come out of Egypt, out of the governance of the Egyptians, they covered the face of the earth, meaning seeing the good in worldliness, in the will to receive.”
Hence, the Sitra Achra is afraid that by the Creator helping the people of Israel, they might revoke all of our being, as our sages said, “If he performs one Mitzva [commandment], happy is he for he has sentenced himself and the whole world to the side of merit.” Thus, they can certainly cancel all the Klipot [shells/peels].
Said on Shabbat during Passover, Tav-Shin-Tet-Zayin, Fairholt, London, March 31, 1956
To explain the meaning of Hametz [leaven] and Matza [unleavened bread], and why Matza is called “bread of poverty.”
Also, to understand the Mishna, “On Passover, he is judged on the crops of the grain, and on Atzeret[eighth day of Sukkot] on the fruits of the tree. Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Akiva, ‘Why did the Torah say, ‘Bring before me harvest on Passover, so that your crops in the fields will be blessed?’’ Also, why did the Torah say, ‘Bring two loaves of bread on the Atzeret, since the Atzeret is the time of the fruits of the tree’? The Creator said, ‘Bring two loaves of bread before Me on the Atzeret so that your fruits of the tree will be blessed’” (Rosh Hashanah 16). We should understand the connection between the two loaves of bread, which is wheat, from the grains of the earth, to the fruits of the tree.
RASHI brings two interpretations: “The two loaves of bread are wanted for the fruits of the tree because they permit the bringing of the first fruit, for it is forbidden to bring the first fruit prior to the Atzeret. I heard that Rabbi Yehuda thinks that this was the rule, as was said (Sanhedrin 70), ‘The tree that Adam HaRishon ate was wheat [spelt here like “sin”].’ There, in the Sanhedrin, Rabbi Yehuda said, ‘The tree that Adam HaRishon ate was wheat, for an infant does not say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy’ until he tastes the taste of grain.’”
We could ask, since there are five kinds of grain, what is the proof that it was specifically wheat? Also, why is the crop in the fields blessed by the sheaf, which is animal food? And also, why specifically with two loaves of bread, which is human food, and what is the connection between the wheat and the fruits of the tree?
First we need to explain who is man, that he is the will to receive, and the necessity of Dvekut[adhesion].
It is explained in The Zohar (Bo, Item 166) that sourdough and leaven are one degree and are all one. Another authority are the ministers appointed over the rest of the nations. We call it the “evil inclination.” The Creator said, “All those years you stood in another authority and served a different people. From here on, you are free, ‘But on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses.’”
We should interpret… the will to receive is the minister of Egypt. On Passover, you were saved and emerged from that authority and came into the authority of the desire to bestow. This is regarded as being in the authority of the Creator, that the Creator is the Giver and you are liberated from the governance of the will to receive.
A Matza is called “bread of poverty,” as The Zohar says, since then the moon is in diminution. What is the reason that the moon is in diminution? It is because they were not uncovered and the holy sign was not evident. This is because at that time, there was only the circumcision, and circumcision pertains to “And you will circumcise your foreskin,” meaning cut, which is the removal of the will to receive when they became freed from the will to receive and were in the domain of the desire to bestow.
The Torah is called “receiving in order to bestow.” This is called “removing,” which is Parah-Yod-Hey[The Creator uncovered]. This is the Mochin, the light of Torah. This is the meaning of what our sages said, “There is none who is poor except in Daat [reason/knowledge], for only when the Daat[knowledge/reason] of Torah is revealed, it is called “rich bread,” meaning the food of the wealthy.
At that time, he is considered “content with his lot,” as is explained (Mishnah Avot 6:1), “He who learns Torah Lishma [for Her sake] is rewarded with many things, and the whole world becomes worthwhile for him.”
Before one is rewarded with the Torah, although he has taken upon himself the quality of the kingdom of heaven, which is the governance of the Creator, meaning to bestow, while he still does not have the view of Torah, at that time he is called a “holy beast,” which is regarded as Malchut, which is Eretz [land/earth], as it is written in The Zohar, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Earth is called “Torah” and Eretz is called “faith.”
Hence, on Passover, when there was only cutting, and they were rewarded with emerging from the authority of Egypt, they entered the degree of “holy beast.” Hence, they bring the harvest of barley, which is animal food. By this, the crops in the fields are blessed, for a field is Malchut, as in “A field that the Lord has blessed.”
Through the fruits of the harvest during the seven weeks, we are rewarded with receiving the Torah, which is reception in order to bestow. At that time, he is called “man” because he already has the Daat [knowledge/reason] of the Torah, called “heaven,” and the Torah is regarded as “the tree of life,” and man is called “a tree of the field.” Hence, two loaves of bread are offered from the wheat, which is “human food.” By this, the fruits of the tree are blessed, implied by the fact that they are blessed with the Torah.
“And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Come unto Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may set these signs of Mine within him.’”
We should understand the following:
The question in The Zohar: Why does it not say “Go unto Pharaoh”?
The question people ask, Why did the Creator need Pharaoh’s consent to bring out the people of Israel?
The question people ask, Why did He deny him the choice?
The reason “I will set these signs of Mine within him.” If the Creator wants to make signs, why did He have to do it by afflicting Pharaoh through the plagues? He could have made signs in different ways that would not harm Pharaoh.
To explain all this, we first need to bring the words of our sages, “One should always see oneself as half guilty, half innocent. If he performs one Mitzva [commandment], happy is he, for he has sentenced himself to the side of merit” (Kidushin 40b).
This is perplexing: If he has already sentenced himself to the side of merit, how can he see himself once more as half and half? Also, we should understand, if he has committed a transgression, he has sentenced himself to the side of guilt, so how can he say afterward that he is half guilty and half innocent? We should also understand, if he knows that he has few merits, how is it that he is taught to lie and make the similitude of falsehood, which is half and half?
Also, we should understand what our sages said, “Anyone who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him” (Sukkah 52). If he is righteous, why does he deserve the punishment of having a greater evil inclination?
We should also understand what our sages said, “Transgressed and repeated? It becomes as though permitted to him” (end of Masechet Yoma). Why was it done so, that it would become for him as though permitted? And we also need to understand what our sages said, “To the wicked, it seems like a hairsbreadth, and to the righteous, as a high mountain” (Sukkah 52). Which is the truth?
The thing is that there is an order in the work of the Creator. Because the Creator wants to prevent the bread of shame, a person has to make a choice—to choose the good and loathe the bad. Hence, the Creator can deliver the people of Israel from the exile in Egypt if He gives them only the good inclination and subdues the evil, and then a person will not be in any exile. However, since the Creator wants man to make the choice, it is required that the people of Israel will emerge from exile in person. This is called “by his own conscious choice.” He must agree that the Pharaoh within him, who is the king of Egypt, will not govern the Israel in him.
Pharaoh comes from the words “Uncovered the head,” meaning revealing. That is, by wanting everything within him to be revealed, or he, the king of Egypt, controls the body with the quality of Egypt, afflicting a person when he wants to do something for the sake of the Creator, so when he wants revealing, meaning that everything will be according to his intellect, that his mind will understand that it is worthwhile to do the actions, he permits man to work. This is why Pharaoh asks, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” and “What is this work for you?” With this force, he controls the Israel in him.
Israel means Yashar-El [straight to the Creator], meaning that everything he does will be directly for the sake of the Creator, meaning in order to bestow. This is as our sages said, “‘There shall be no foreign God within you.’ Who is a foreign God within man’s body? It is the evil inclination” (Shabbat[Sabbath] 105b). This means that if he should do something for the Creator, it is foreign to him to do such actions. This is the opposite of Israel, who wants specifically straight to the Creator [Yashar-El].
Hence, in order to bring Israel out of the governance of Pharaoh king of Egypt, meaning to agree to make a choice, so he can do everything in order to bestow, we need specifically the light of Torah, as our sages said, “The light in it reforms him.”
By this we will understand why it is written “Come” and not “Go.” “Come” means “Come, the two of us together,” so that one will not think that he can submit his evil inclination by himself. Rather, as it is written, “Man’s inclination overcomes him every day. Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it.” Hence, one should not say that he cannot defeat his evil, for he must believe that the Creator will help him. This is the meaning of “Come.”
The Zohar asks about what our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” It asks, “With what is he aided?” and it replies, “With a holy soul. When one is born, he is given Nefesh [soul] from the side of a pure beast. If he is rewarded more, he is given Ruach [spirit].” Thus, each time a person is purified and overcomes his evil, a higher degree is revealed in him, which is called “Torah” or “the light of Torah.”
By this we will understand why the hardening of the heart comes to him, and why if the Creator wants to make signs, he must suffer for no reason by the hardening of the heart. The thing is that when a person wants to walk in the ways of the Creator on the path of truth, he should not say that he is incapable because he has many iniquities, since this is not about coming before the courthouse of above when he is judged on how many merits he has. Here it is about a person himself, judging himself, and saying that he cannot make a choice, since choosing is between two equal things between which he should decide.
For this reason, they said that one should see oneself as half guilty, half innocent, since the Creator deliberately made it so that the good and the bad will always be of equal weight, so he can decide. Hence, if he performs one Mitzva [commandment] and has decided to the side of merit, he becomes great.
At that time, they say, “Anyone who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him.” In other words, the Creator deliberately hardens his heart so he would be able to make a choice once more, for in each choice, a person gains the letters of the Torah. Thus, the signs are not for the sake of the Creator but for the sake of man.
It therefore follows that the hardening of the heart is only for man’s sake, for by this he will be rewarded with the letters of the Torah. Although during the fact, a person does not feel all that he is meant to feel, when he has completed his discernment, what he has done all that time is revealed to him at once.
Like the allegory that Baal HaSulam once gave, this is similar to a person earning nothing but zeros. Each time, he sees that he has earned only zero. After the first time, he has one zero. After the second time, two zeros, and after the third, three zeros, until he accumulates many zeros. But at the end of his work, he earns a one. Thus, he might have one zero with the one, which is only ten, or he might have one million, or more. It follows that each time, letters of the Torah are added in him. This is the meaning of “that I may set these signs of Mine within him.”
“And [God] spoke … ‘I am the Lord, and I appeared to Abraham in Shadai [the Almighty], but My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. Therefore, tell the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord.’’” We should understand the connection if He was not revealed to them by the name HaVaYaH[Lord], and why, therefore, was He revealed to him by the name HaVaYaH: “Therefore, tell the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord.’”
What is the reason for sending Moses to bring them out of Egypt? “And I will take you as My people and I will be a God unto you.” What does it mean that He will be a God only to the people of Israel? What is He to the nations of the world?
Also, concerning what RASHI interprets “to the fathers,” he explains everything in the verse.
We should interpret that the order of revelations is from below upward, and any degree is the cause of the next degree. Thus, to the fathers, He appeared as Almighty, which is being content with little, for the smallest revelation was enough for them. Shadai [Almighty] means “Who said to His world, ‘ Dai [enough], expand no more.’”
In that respect, this pertains only to specific individuals who can advance while in doubt but are in a state of “for he desires mercy,” and whatever understanding and feeling they have in spirituality is enough for them to advance in the ways of the Creator. However, this manner cannot be given to the general public.
Therefore, now, because of cause of consequence, there is a revelation in the name HaVaYaH, and that revelation can be said to the general public so they will approach the Creator and emerge from the exile in Egypt. This is why the text says that since now there is revelation of the name HaVaYaH, “Tell the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord.’” Afterward, the text continues, and by this we can interpret what RASHI interpreted, “And I appeared to the fathers,” meaning that the revelation to Abraham was the reason for the revelation for the name HaVaYaH, since father and son are cause and consequence, meaning that the revelation that the fathers had, in the name God Shadai, was later revealed as the name HaVaYaH.
This is the meaning of the words, “And I will take you as My people and I will be a God unto you.” The writing interprets the meaning of “unto you” and not to the nations of the world. It means “and you shall know that I am the Lord your God,” that I will give this knowledge only to you and not to the nations of the world.
“Who brings you out from under the afflictions of Egypt,” meaning that they were enslaved to Pharaoh king of Egypt and not to the Kedusha [holiness]. I will bring out of this suffering and you will be rewarded with knowing that “I am the Lord your God.”
This is the meaning of what we say in the songs: “All who delight in the Lord will be rewarded with much good.” It means that those who delight in a manner of being content with little, called Katnut[smallness/infancy], and will be happy with their share, will later be rewarded with much good. “Much” means Gadlut [greatness/adulthood], meaning that settling for little means that although he needs much, yet settles for little, this is the reason for the Gadlut.
“And God spoke to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the Lord.’”
We should understand what this statement means to us. It seems to refer to Moses’ question that was said at the end of the portion, Shemot [Exodus 5:23], where it is written, “Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You did not save Your people at all.”
Moses’ question was that when he told them they had to work Lishma [for Her sake], everyone thought that their work would be more intense and with greater force, but the truth was to the contrary—they weakened in the work.
As a result, they cried out to Moses, “What good did you do for us when you promised that we would emerge from the exile in Egypt, meaning that our mind was in exile and that by the way you are giving us, to work Lishma, we will be freed from the enslavement of the body, called ‘Pharaoh’? In truth, we haven’t any motivation! Thus, our mind is that we cannot receive your sublime goal.”
To this came the answer, “And God spoke to Moses.” God is nature. As far as nature is concerned, you are correct that you haven’t the fuel to continue your work. “And said to him, ‘I am the Lord.’” The Creator is the quality of mercy, and by His mercy they can extend forces and fuel above nature and above reason, and on this they can no longer argue because all the arguments that a person can make are only where reason affirms it. But above reason, anything might happen, except we must increase the faith that the Creator can help above nature.
In fact, it is impossible to receive something above nature before one decides that this cannot happen within nature. Only after one despairs from nature can he ask for help from above, to be given help above nature.
“And he said, ‘When you deliver the Hebrew women, see upon the birth-stool; if it is a boy, put him to death; and if it is a girl, she shall live.” “Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ‘Every boy who is born, cast him in the Nile, and every girl, keep alive.’”
We should interpret this. When a person begins to walk on the path of the Creator, Pharaoh king of Egypt is the king who rules over the bodies, to keep those who work in order to bestow so that the bodies will resist and they will not be able to achieve the desired wholeness, which is that all his actions will be for the sake of the Creator.
For this reason, he said, meaning commanded that when the workers engage in Torah and Mitzvot[commandments], called “Hebrews,” when the work in Torah and Mitzvot belongs to servants of the Creator, while the Egyptians are when one engages in corporeal actions in which the Egyptians engage, as well. Only when they engage in Torah and Mitzvot, they are called “Hebrews.”
“See on the birth-stool” is the time when one says that he wants to understand what he is doing, for what purpose he engages in Torah and Mitzvot. “If he is a boy,” meaning his work is in order to bestow, and this is his desire when he engages in Torah and Mitzvot, “put him to death,” meaning do not give him any vitality or strength, so he will stop his work.
“If it is as girl,” meaning his intention has the quality of “female,” in order to receive, “she shall live,” meaning you can give him strength and vitality because that person does not wish to come out of Egypt and there is no reason to fear him. Hence, you may help him, let him do whatever he wants, even if he is meticulous in all kinds of manners, since in any case, he will remain with us in Egypt and it is not worthwhile to exert for no reason, for in any case, he is one of ours.
But if he is a boy, if his aim is to come to aim for the sake of the Creator and not for his own benefit, from this he can be rewarded with “the savior of Israel,” called “the quality of Moses,” as our sages said, “The expansion of Moses in each and every generation.”
If he is rewarded with the quality of Moses, called “the savior of Israel,” who will deliver them from Egypt, we must see beforehand so as to prevent him from reaching a state where he emerges from the exile in Egypt.
However, how can they know that he is going for the aim to bestow? After all, he is still in Egypt, which is working for self-benefit and not in order to bestow. However, now he wants to be rewarded with it, and for this, he gave them as sign: “A male, his face is downward; a female, her face is upward.”
He interprets face and back in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” that when seeing a person from behind, we cannot know if this is truly the person of whom we are thinking. He might be another and we could be mistaken. But if we see the other’s face, there are no doubts.
Hence, when we want to imply that we understand something in utter certainty, that we have no mistakes, this is called “face.” Conversely, something that is not clear to the mind is called “back.”
For this reason, “face” is called “knowing,” that he is serving the Creator only in a manner of knowing. This is considered that his face is up in terms of importance, since what counts for him is the awareness. The “back,” which is faith, since in the mind, it could be either or, he regards this as below in its importance.
For this reason, he gave them the sign: If you want to know if he is going for the goal of achieving the aim to bestow, if his face is downward, if knowing is of little importance to him, and his back is upward, meaning that faith is of high importance to him, it is a sign that he wants to achieve the quality of “boy,” the aim to bestow.
Hence, “Put him to death,” disrupt him however you can because he will certainly be rewarded with the quality of Moses, who is the savior of Israel, and will deliver them from the exile in Egypt and will enter the land of Israel, the palace of Kedusha [holiness]. This is the meaning of “And you shall see My back,” meaning faith, “but My face shall not be seen,” namely you will not attain Me through knowledge.
“Pharaoh commanded all his people,” meaning he does not know from which nation the savior of Israel will be born, whether from Egypt or from Israel. Every person consists of corporeal actions, called “Egyptians,” for the Egyptians also engage in corporeal actions. Hence, man’s work in corporeal actions is called “Egypt,” and when he engages in Torah and Mitzvot, he is called “Israel.”
He says that he does not know from which discernment a person might be rewarded with the quality of Moses, called “the savior of Israel.” That is, it could be that while a person engages in corporeality while all his intentions are in order to bestow, even while doing corporeal actions, he might be rewarded with the quality of the savior of Israel.
For this reason, keep an eye while they engage in corporeal actions, that if they aim in order to bestow, which is called “a male,” “cast him in the Nile.” That is, do not let him aim for the sake of the Creator, called “a boy,” even with corporeal actions. “And every girl keep alive.” Only when his aim is to receive in order to receive, you can give him vitality and strength to do corporeal deeds.
But if it is a boy, he might be rewarded with the quality of Moses, called “the savior of Israel,” at that time, too, who will deliver him from the exile in Egypt and into the land of Kedusha [holiness].
“The more one speaks of the exodus from Egypt, the better.” We should understand why we should speak so much about the exodus from Egypt, to the point that they said, that the more one speaks of it the better. Also, we should understand what is said, “Each generation, one must see oneself as though he came out from Egypt.”
It is known that there is nothing to add in the light, but rather in the Kelim [vessels]. Hence, “more” pertains to the Kelim, which pertains to the lack of sensation of exile. When one comes to feel the exile, he feels that he himself is in Egypt. In such a state, how can he praise the exodus from Egypt while he is in Egypt?
This is the meaning of “must see himself as though he came out from Egypt.” It is as Baal HaSulam said, “In the future [end of correction], the righteous will sing, ‘Then [Moses] will sing,’” etc.
“‘They are to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households.’ The Creator said, ‘You do the deed below, and I will break their force above. And as you make them burn in fire, as it is written, ‘But roast with fire,’ I, too, will take them through fire above, in a river of fire’” (Bo, Item 162).
We need to understand why the Creator needs the work of below, and what is the meaning of breaking and burning the power of the Klipot [shells/peels] above, what is the power of the Sitra Achra [other side].
We should also understand what is written, “Israel did not come out of Egypt until the government of all their ministers was broken above, and Israel departed their domain and came to the domain of the upper holiness in the Creator, and tied to Him, as it is written, ‘For the children of Israel are Mine; they are My servants.’ What is the reason ‘they are My servants’? It is that, ‘I brought [them] out from the land of Egypt’; I have brought them out of the other authority and brought them into My authority.”
To understand all the above, it is known that the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations. For this purpose, a desire to receive pleasure has been imprinted within man, and this power controls a person. This is why the evil inclination is called “king,” since it controls with this power, meaning it gives man pleasures, and because of them a person becomes enslaved to it and is as a slave, while the evil inclination is the king.
This power of giving pleasure is the governance of the evil inclination, and man is in exile under its governance. But while it has nothing to give to a person, it has no control whatsoever over a person. Also, if man could relinquish his pleasures, he would also not be enslaved to it.
Hence, in the exile in Egypt, when Pharaoh bestowed his pleasures upon them, they were enslaved to Pharaoh and could not emerge from the exile. But after they acted, meaning awakened to emerge from the exile, since this act is regarded as choosing, the Creator broke his powers above, meaning took from him the pleasures with which he enslaved the people of Israel. When he has nothing to give, it is considered that the Creator breaks his power and burns him in the river of fire. That is, He took from him all of his influence.
It follows that the Sitra Achra [other side] has nothing with which to control a person. For this reason, they could emerge from the exile. At that time, they entered the domain of Kedusha[holiness], meaning began to feel a good taste in the power of bestowal. It follows that then they became servants of the Kedusha.
Thus, what controls a person is pleasure, and a slave is one who is enslaved to the pleasure. When people’s pleasure comes from reception, they are called “Pharaoh’s servants.” But if the pleasure comes from bestowal, they are called “the Creator’s servants.” But without pleasure, it is impossible to exist.
A person cannot break the pleasure. Only the Creator can break it by taking from it the abundance so he has nothing to give to the creatures. This is called “breaking the power of the Sitra Achra.” All that one needs is to discover that he wants the force of bestowal, and to ask the Creator to give him that force. This is called “choice” on the part of man, and only this is regarded as “awakening from below.”
“‘And he took six hundred select carriages.’ Whose were they? If you say that they were from Egypt, it was already said, ‘All the livestock of Egypt died.’ If you say that they were from Pharaoh, it was already said, ‘The hand of the Lord is on your livestock.’ If you say that they were from Israel, it was already said, ‘Our livestock too shall go with us.’ Rather, it was from those ‘who fear the word of the Creator among the servants of Pharaoh.’ Thus, we learn that those who fear the word of the Creator are an obstacle to Israel” (Midrash Tanchuma, BeShalach).
This means that the primary guard is from an environment of those who fear the Creator. They are Pharaoh’s servants. Pharaoh is as the ARI said, that the exile in Egypt was that the Daat[reason/knowledge] of Kedusha [holiness] was in exile. Pharaoh would suck out the abundance, meaning he is the will to receive. They are called “working only for their own benefit” and they have no connection to the work of bestowal, for their sole intention is only to please themselves.
The keeping should mainly be from them, since on the outside, it seems as though they are working—engaging in Torah and prayer enthusiastically and making all kinds of precisions. For this reason, they are called “those who fear the Creator.” Otherwise, they would not be called so.
And yet, internally, they are enslaved to Pharaoh, meaning that their only aim is to satisfy their own wishes and needs, and they have no connection to the work of bestowal.
Such an environment creates an obstacle to a servant of the Creator because he wants to walk on the path of the Creator and sees their work when they engage in fearing the Creator, and he is impressed by their zeal, since when they work as Pharaoh’s servants, their bodies show no resistance because the efforts they make are also only for the body. Thus, there is no resistance here at all. On the contrary, the body agrees to give them strength.
It follows that such an environment is an obstacle to Israel, to one who wants to be “Israel” and not among Pharaoh’s servants. Because a servant of the Creator is impressed by the work of the servants of Pharaoh, he likes the servitude of Pharaoh’s servants and is lured after them. Thus, he absorbs their thoughts and intentions and thereby regrets all the efforts he has given in the work of bestowal.
Henceforth, he will have no strength to continue the work of bestowal.
But in an environment of unaffiliated, who are not of the type that fears the Creator, they have no connection to him because he knows that there is nothing to learn from them. At that time, there is no connection of thoughts because he knows he must not learn from the actions and thoughts of the unaffiliated. Hence, such an environment does not pose an obstacle.
Conversely, those who fear the Creator and are Pharaoh’s servants do pose an obstacle for Israel, and one must run far away from them.
Adar 7, Tav-Shin-Lamed-Bet, February 22, 1972, Tiberias
“The Torah spoke regarding four sons.” The whole Torah is only for the evil inclination, as our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice” (Kidushin 30b). Therefore, “He who does not know how to ask, open for him.” We should understand what we should ask, and with what is it opened for him. What is the Segula [power/quality/virtue] with which to open for one who does not know how to ask.
The thing is that when there is an evil inclination, there is a need for the Torah. Hence, if one believes in reward and punishment, he can already observe the Torah and Mitzvot [commandments], since he has a reward. Thus, he is not asking the wicked one’s question, “What is this work for you?” When he has no evil, he has no need for the Torah. Hence, “open for him.”
If you see that a person engages in Torah and Mitzvot because he believes in reward and punishment, he is closed, meaning his evil is closed, concealed. For this reason, it is impossible to correct him because one corrects only that which one sees. Hence, at that time a person is taught to work in order not to receive reward.
Then the wicked one comes and asks, “What is this work for you?” That is, “What will we have if we work for the Creator without any reward? This is against our nature! We were born with a nature of delighting ourselves and not of delighting others without anything in return.” At that time, a person needs the Torah, and then it can be said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.”
But if he has no evil inclination, it means that the will to receive is not evident in him, for only this is called “evil,” and nothing else.
