Autor: arhiprofesor

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Are the Forces Required in the Work?

Article No. 11, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

Our sages said (Megillah 6b), “Rabbi Yitzhak said, ‘Should one tell you, ‘I labored but did not find,’ do not believe; ‘I did not labor but did find,’ do not believe; ‘I labored and found,’ believe.’” We should understand the meaning of “believe.” Are we speaking of people telling lies? We are speaking here of people who engage in Torah; certainly, they are decent people. Why should we think that they are lying? Thus, why does he say, “believe” or “do not believe”?

To understand this, we must first know the meaning of labor. We already said many times that labor is when a person has to do things against nature. That is, since we are born with a desire to receive for ourselves, in order to have Dvekut [adhesion] and equivalence of form—since specifically by this it is possible to receive delight and pleasure without shame—there was a correction that we must do everything in order to bestow. Otherwise, we are left in a vacant space devoid of light, which is called “concealment and hiding,” where we do not feel any Kedusha [holiness] while engaging in self-love.

For this reason, when beginning to work in order to bestow, which is against nature, it is called “labor” because the body resists it. The body resists with all its might to any movement that it sees that it will not be for its own benefit, and it requires great strength to overcome it. This is where the main work begins, of which it was said, “I labored” or “I did not labor.”

We asked about this, How can it be said that if people come and say, “I did not labor but found, do not believe”? After all, we are speaking of people who have already “found.” Certainly, these are decent people. It cannot be said that they are lying! So, why does it say, “Do not believe” them, as though they are lying? But in truth, they did labor, so why are they saying that they did not labor when they say, “I did not labor but found”?

The answer is that when a person begins the work of bestowal, the body begins to resist. Then, a person begins to use the Segula [remedy/power] of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] in order to have the strength to overcome the evil in him. With the assistance he should receive from the Torah and Mitzvot, he sees the opposite. He thought that each time, he would march forward and feel that it is not worthwhile to work for self-love and that it is time for the evil to surrender before, him and he believed that he was given this feeling from above and henceforth he would no longer have any contact with the evil. But suddenly, he sees that he is once again in utter lowliness, immersed in self-love and feeling the concealment and hiding from the purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creations. Although he believes that in order to be rewarded with it we must first be rewarded with the love of the Creator, he sees that he only loves himself and cannot accept that he will annul before the Creator and say that there is no other authority in the world, everything belongs to the Creator, and the lower one does not merit a name.

Therefore, when a thought about annulling before the Creator comes to him, the body stands against him and makes him think, “How do you want to annul yourself before the Creator and have no reality of your own, so there is only the single authority of the Creator and you do not want to merit a name?” This is against nature, since as long as one is alive, he wants to exist and feel his being. So how is he told that he must annul before the Creator and lose his being?

At that time the body says that it does not agree to this. This is called “exile,” meaning that the “nations of the world” in a person control the “Israel” in him. It is known that “Israel” means Yashar-El [straight to the Creator]. That is, a person does not want to have a reality of his own, but wants to annul directly before the Creator. As it was in the exile in Egypt, the Egyptians controlled the people of Israel and they could not emerge from their governance. Rather, as it is written, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt.” This means that a person cannot have the power to overcome and emerge from the control of the body by himself. Rather, the Creator Himself can redeem them from this exile.

Now there is a question: A person made great efforts and went through many states of ascents and descents, and many times despaired, meaning came to the conclusion that the verse “All your works will be for the sake of heaven” is not for him, but belongs to people with exceptional skills, and who are strong and brave. But he himself cannot achieve this, and he has already decided that he must leave this campaign. But then he received another awakening from above, to the point that he has forgotten his decision prior to the current state. He says, “Now I see that I am back on the horse and I, too, can achieve a state of bestowal and emerge from self-love.” But then, he suddenly declines from his degree once more.

Also, there is the matter of forgetfulness. That is, he forgets what he said earlier, that he could come to work in order to bestow, and it did not occur to him that there could be a time when he would fall from his degree once more. Rather, he was certain that now he would move forward. But now he sees that it is not as he thought. Such thoughts and states come upon him ceaselessly.

It therefore follows that when the Creator Himself helps him and delivers him from exile, he does not know what to say, but sees that on one hand, all the efforts he had made bore no fruit. He sees within reason that had the Creator not helped him, he would have left the campaign, since many times he had such thoughts. Thus, he cannot say, “I labored and found”? since he sees that the labor earned him nothing. The fact that he was rewarded with finding was only by the Creator’s salvation, which is why he comes and says, “I did not labor but found.” That is, the labor he had given made no difference.

Now we will understand the question, How can we suspect that he is lying? According to the above, this is simple: He says what he sees, and he sees that all his labor did not help him whatsoever. Therefore, he makes an honest statement: “I did not labor.” That is, with regard to attaining the goal, he did nothing. That is, for all the labor he had given, he remained in a state of lowliness that is even lower than he felt in the beginning of the work, since when he started the work of bestowal, he thought he had a little bit of evil, and he would certainly have the power to overcome it and be able to work in bestowal and not receive for himself.

But what did he earn from the work and the labor he had put? It is that he has reached the worst lowliness. Thus, how can he say, “I labored and found,” since the labor caused him to perceive more evil, and not to find the Kedusha and enter it. Therefore, he knows that he is making a true statement, meaning that the labor is worthless. Thus, he is certain that the labor is not the reason for the finding. This is why he says, “I did not labor but found.” In his eyes, he is not lying.

Now we should ask, Why do they say, “Do not believe”? since he is telling the truth. Thus, what do we find in his words that is untrue, for which our sages said, “Do not believe”?

The thing is that there is a rule: “There is no light without a Kli [vessel].” That is, there cannot be a filling without a lack. Therefore, when a person makes an effort to come to bestow upon the Creator, the more he exerts, the more the need for the filling awakens in him. That is, to the extent of his effort to achieve the degree of bestowing, so he sees that he is far from it.

And who makes him see that he is far from being a giver? It is the work itself. It is like a person who catches a thief, and the thief wants to run away from him. Therefore, if the person is holding the thief and the thief does not show much resistance, the person does not need to make great efforts to hold the thief. But if the thief begins to show more resistance, the person, too, must make greater efforts to prevent the thief from escaping him. And if the thief is more powerful than the person, and he sees that soon he will escape from him, the person begins to yell for help and cries, “Help!”

Thus, when does one yell for help? Precisely when he cannot save himself by himself. Then he begins to yell, “Help!” But if the thief is but a small child and the person caught him in his hands, he would not normally yell, “Help me keep the boy from running away because I haven’t the strength to keep him, since he wants to run away from me!”

Certainly, everyone would laugh at him because we do not normally ask for help where we can do what needs to be done without anyone’s assistance. This is because the conduct is that “there is no filling without a lack.” Therefore, since he has no need for help, when he asks for help needlessly, everyone laughs at him because this does not match the order of correction of creation.

It follows from this that when a person does not need people and has sustenance, yet asks for help and support for his sustenance, those who see him laugh at him, even though he is standing and asking for help. We see that to the extent that he pleads for mercy, people who know him—that he is not in need—laugh at him and do not give him anything.

Now we can understand why when he says, “I did not labor but found,” our sages say, “Do not believe.” As we explained, he makes an honest statement. But as we explained, a filling is not given without a lack. Therefore, a person must work and exert and do all that is required to achieve the degree that “all your works will be for the sake of heaven.” To the extent of the labor he put into the work, so he becomes more needy of the Creator’s help. Then, when he has a Kli, meaning a need for the Creator’s help, when he sees no way that he can achieve the degree of bestowal, this is when he receives help from above.

It therefore follows that both are true. He must say, “I did not labor,” meaning that his labor was worthless, since he sees that he did not gain from the effort he had made. Quite the contrary, through his efforts, he came to realize that the labor is worthless, meaning that nothing can be obtained through the labor. He sees this within reason, and there is no issue of believing above reason here that the labor did not help him and only the Creator helped him, since he sees it with his own eyes.

Then he can say, “I did not labor but found.” This is why he says to everyone that the labor is worthless. In his opinion, he is telling the truth. But our sages said about him, “Do not believe” that he did not toil, since “There is no light without a Kli, no filling without a lack.” This is why we need the labor, as it increases his lack so as to need the Creator’s help more each time, until he acquires a real lack. The Creator knows when is the completion of the lack so it fits the filling, and then the Creator gives him the filling.

It follows that if a person does not labor, there is no place for the Creator to give him the filling. Thus, we see that the labor does have value, so much so that without labor there is no finding, as said above, “There is no filling without a lack.” This is why they said, “I did not labor but found, do not believe.” Indeed, there must be labor, as this gives us the need for the salvation of the Creator.

Therefore, when a person comes and says, “I labored but did not find,” they say, “Do not believe.” That is, if a person truly did exert, and received the need for the Creator to give him the filling, the Creator would certainly give him the filling. Rather, it must be that he did not labor sufficiently to receive the filling. But when is the need completed? This, the Creator knows. Therefore, a person must increase the efforts and not escape the campaign until the Creator helps him.

By this we will understand the question we asked, Which forces does one need in order to be able to achieve the degree that “All your works will be for the sake of heaven”? Does one need great skills, a strong desire, and a brave heart and so forth? That is, does it require having great powers in all those things we find among people, which make them be considered superior to others? Because it is written, “I labored and found, believe,” it implies that we need great powers.

They said about this, “I did not labor but found, do not believe.” That is, it does not require great strength or great skills, but only a desire—to want to adhere to the Creator. Then the Creator brings him closer without any labor or great powers. As said above, when a person is granted with “finding,” he says, “I did not labor,” as he sees that all the labor does not merit a name, for even if one had the greatest powers in the world, it would not help him.

In order to achieve Dvekut with the Creator and emerge from the control of self-love, only the Creator can deliver him from the control of man’s vessels of reception. It is as it is written, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God.” No powers within a person will help in this.

By this we can explain what is written (in the [Hanukkah] song, Mighty Rock of My Salvation), “Greeks gathered around me, then in the days of the Hasmoneans, and broke the walls of my towers and defiled all the oils.” Since we need the labor in order to reveal the lack in us, and only then is it possible to satisfy the lack, in order to know exactly what we need, we can see this specifically when a person wants to approach Kedusha, meaning to do everything for the sake of heaven. This is regarded as the quality of “Hasmoneans,” whose role was to bring out the Kedusha from the governance of the Klipot, which are called “Greeks.”

Precisely when a person wants to draw near the Kedusha, which is done through faith above reason, the “views of the Greeks” appear in a person. This is a Klipa [singular of Klipot] against faith. At that time we see that before he began the work of bestowal, the Greeks were not revealed in the person, and he thought that he had sufficient faith in the Creator and had the strength to observe Torah and Mitzvot, and all that he needed was to do more Torah and Mitzvot.

But when one wants to be a Hasmonean, meaning that only Kedusha will govern the world, the “Greeks,” which is the Klipa opposite faith, appears more vigorously every time and wants specifically to break “the walls of my towers.” Faith is the “wall,” and all the greatness depends on the measure of faith that a person has in the Creator, as it is written in The Zohar about the verse “Her husband is known at the gates,” that each one according to what he assumes in his heart. That is, each person has a different measure of faith in the Creator, as it is written in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot” (Item 14).

Now we can understand when the walls of my towers were broken, meaning that they saw they had no faith, that they could not go above reason. It is precisely when they wanted to come into the work that is all to bestow upon the Creator; this is when the “Greeks gathered around me” and the thoughts of the Greeks began to come, which let us go only where the intellect asserts that it was worth doing.

But that which is against the intellect, they insist on resisting and do not let one move one bit. This is when the labor begins. That is, precisely when we begin to walk in the work of bestowal, only then do we see that a person cannot do anything against his nature, which is the will to receive for oneself.

Therefore, when the Creator made a miracle for them, meaning helped them, everyone saw that all the work did nothing for them, meaning that all the work was in vain, since they could not conquer them, as it is written (in “For the Miracles”), “You delivered mighty in the hands of the weak, and many in the hands of the few.”

That is, naturally, there was no way for them to win because they were weak and few there. Thus, they saw within reason that the Creator helped them. This comes to teach us that when the Creator helps, it cannot be said that He can help specifically a mighty man, and cannot help a weak person.

Now we can see what great forces and good qualities must be in a person so the Creator will help him approach Him. In the work, we should interpret “You delivered mighty in the hands of the weak,” meaning the strong thoughts and the strong desires of the Greeks in a person, in the hands of the “Israel” in a person, who are weak in thoughts and are not skillful. They do not have the strong desire and the ability to overcome the desires of the nations of the world in a person. And yet, You delivered these mighty ones in the hands of the weak. This is called a “miracle” because it is not natural that a person will be able to overcome them.

This teaches us that one cannot say that he is unfit to be a worker for the Creator in order to bestow, since he sees that he does not meet the requirements that make him capable of this. Therefore, we are shown that a person cannot overcome nature, even if a person is the mightiest of the mighty. Rather, the Creator is the one who helps, as our sages said, “I did not labor but found, do not believe.” That is, finding means finding the vessels of bestowal, and this the Creator gives.

This is as it is written (Psalms 33), “The king is not saved by a mighty army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, who hope for His mercy [Hesed], to deliver their souls from death.” The meaning of “Behold, the eye of the Lord” is that the Creator looks at those people “who hope for His Hesed,” who await the Creator to give them the quality of Hesed, meaning give them the vessels of bestowal.

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Does It Mean that the Ladder Is Diagonal, in the Work?

Article No. 10, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

The verse says (Genesis 28:12), “He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” We should understand what it implies that the ladder must stand diagonally, for we see that if a ladder stands upright, it is impossible to climb it. RASHI brings the explanation of our sages in the following words, “Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yosi Ben Zimra, ‘This ladder stands in Beer Sheba, and the middle of its slant reaches opposite the Temple.’” This means that the ladder had to stand diagonally. What does this tell us in the work? Also, we should understand the question of the interpreters, “Why does it say, ‘Angels of God ascending’ and then ‘descending’? It should have been written the other way around.”

To understand all this, we must first understand what is work in creation, which we are given in the observance of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds]. After all, the purpose of creation was to do good to His creations. Thus, why do we need this work, as it is written, “I labored and found, believe; I did not labor but found, do not believe.” Why this labor and what does it add to us in the purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creations?

According to what is written in (the beginning of) the book Tree of Life, in order to “bring to light the perfection of His deeds,” there was the correction of the Tzimtzum [restriction]. That is, concealment and hiding were placed in the place of Malchut, who is called “receiving in order to receive,” and in the place of the will to receive, called Aviut [thickness], there was the correction of the Masach[screen]. This means that one will not receive more than one can receive with the aim to bestow. This is what causes us work, and why our sages said specifically, “I labored and found, believe.”

But what is labor? By nature, man is born with a will to receive for his own sake. Since there was a Tzimtzum and concealment on that Kli [vessel], and one needs to work in order to bestow, because this contradicts nature, it is labor, since it is hard work. Therefore, if someone says that he is working for the Creator but feels no effort, it must be that he is working for his own sake and not for the sake of the Creator. When someone works for the sake of the Creator, the sign is that the body, called “will to receive,” resists it. This is why it is so difficult to work in order to bestow by ourselves, to the point that we must have the Creator’s help. It was said about this, “Man’s inclination overcomes him every day. Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not be able to overcome it.” It follows that this work is considered that we must work for the sake of the Creator.

But we need to work for the sake of the Creator not really for His sake, as though the Creator needs man’s work. Rather, this fits into the perfection of His deeds, for by a person working for the sake of the Creator and not for one’s own sake, he becomes fit to receive the delight and pleasure without any shame, which is called “bread of shame,” since he receives with the intention to bestow, and not to receive for his own sake.

However, in the order of the work, when a person must achieve the degree of Dvekut [adhesion], as it is written, “and to cling unto Him,” a person cannot ascend on one leg, but needs two legs—right and left. It is as our sages said (Sotah 47), “The left should always push away and the right pull near.” We should interpret that on one hand, a person should see that he is being pushed away from the Creator, meaning see how far he is from Dvekut with the Creator, called “to bestow,” and that he is immersed in self-love.

And the more he wants to increase the work of bestowal, the more he sees that he is retreating, meaning that the evil within him is intensifying with each day. Finally, he decides that it is impossible that he will be able to be freed from self-love, and says that unless the Creator helps him, he is lost. He says, “Now I do not need to believe that the Creator helps.” Rather, now, when he is rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator, he will say that he sees within reason that the Creator helped him.

This is as it is written (Psalms 127), “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor in it in vain.” There is nothing he can do but ask the Creator to help him emerge from the control of the will to receive.

Sometimes, he does not even have the strength to ask of the Creator to help him. This is called the “left leg,” when he is walking on the path of seeing how full of faults and corruptions he is. As it is known, “Left,” in the work, means something that requires correction. This is called “The left should always push away.”

The other leg is called “right,” since something that does not require correction in the work is called “right.” That is, a person must know that he has a great privilege in being among the servants of the King. That is, he must believe that the little time that he can give of his work that he does for his own needs, to engage in Torah and Mitzvot, which is called “the work of the Creator,” he does not say that this is out of his own strength that he wants to work in the holy work. Rather, the Creator gave him a thought and desire to have some grip on Torah and Mitzvot, and he is happy that he has been rewarded with the privilege of doing some service for the King.

He thanks the Creator for this because he sees that many people in the world do not have such a privilege, and he feels that he is close to the Creator. This is the meaning of “and the right pulls near,” meaning that the right leg is that he feels himself close to the Creator.

Precisely on two legs can we go up and up, and reach the King’s palace. By this we can interpret what is written, “and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven.” That is, the ladder, by which we climb up to the King’s palace, has two ends. 1) “A ladder was set on the earth.” This is the left line, called “earth.” One should see that he is placed in worldliness, immersed in self-love, as in, “the left pushes away.” Then there is room to pray from the bottom of the heart, for then one looks within one’s reason at how he cannot do anything for the sake of the Creator, and only He can deliver him from the governance of the evil in him. It is said about this, “Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not be able to overcome it.” 2) It is written, “its top reaching to heaven.” The other end of the ladder is in “heaven,” as though he has complete wholeness because he is content with his lot, in the little bit of contact that he has with the work of the Creator. He feels that he is happy with this, since it is a great privilege to be rewarded with serving the King and speaking with Him even one moment a day; this is enough for him to be in high spirits, and he thanks the King for this and praises Him.

It follows that this ladder, on which we climb up to the King’s palace, stands diagonally. That is, the bottom of the ladder, which is “a ladder set on the earth,” is not really down, like a ladder standing upright, or it would be impossible to climb it, as we see in corporeality. This shows that even in corporeality the ladder must stand diagonally, and the slant indicates that “above” is not really above.

And likewise, “below” is not really “below.” Rather, as was said, when “its top reaches to heaven,” when one walks on the right line, which is wholeness, it is not the end. Rather, he must also walk “on the earth,” meaning to see that he is still on the earth. And when he is walking “on the earth,” which is the left, he must also know that he needs to walk on the right, as well, which is called “its top reaching to heaven.” That is, although both states are contradictory and opposite, they are not that far off from one another, creating a long distance to walk from one end to the other. That is, we must walk on both lines, and this is called “a slant,” meaning it shows that we must walk on two lines.

This extends from the correction called Tzimtzum Bet [Second Restriction], which is the association of the quality of mercy with judgment, as our sages said, “First, He created the world with the quality of judgment,” called “straight line, where there is above and below, called ‘high importance,’ which is the purest, and is considered the Sefira Keter, the purest, where there are no lacks. Below means of low importance, the thickest, considered the Sefira Malchut, which is the will to receive. He saw that the world could not exist, so He associated with it the quality of judgment.” Since Malchut of the quality of judgment, called “will to receive,” is the root of the created beings, it was difficult to invert her into working in order to bestow. This is called “the world could not exist.”

As he says in the “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” (Item 58), “‘He saw that the world cannot exist’ means that in this way, it was impossible for Adam, who was to be created from this Behina Dalet [Fourth Phase], to acquire acts of bestowal. This is why He ‘put Midat Ha Rachamim [quality of mercy] first and associated itwith the Midat HaDin [quality of judgment].’ The Emanator raised Midat Ha Din, which is the concluding force made in the Sefira Malchut, and elevated it to Bina—Midat HaRachamim. He associated them with one another, and thereby enabled Adam’s Guf [body], which emerged from Behina Dalet, to be integrated with the quality of bestowal, too.”

It follows that specifically by the ascent of Malchut to Bina, the world can exist. The ARI calls the ascent of Malchut to Bina, “a diagonal line.” He says that this is the meaning of what is written (in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 6), “After the Tzimtzum itself placed one Parsa [partition], which is the meaning of ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it divide between water and water.’”

This is the meaning of the [letter] Aleph [א], for the line of the Aleph is diagonal, as he says (in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 6), “The connection of two points in the Tzimtzum is the line of the Aleph, like this [א]. And the first quality of each degree is a Yod [‘], over the line from above, which includes Keter and Hochma of the degree, as in “upper water,” like this Yod [‘].” Thus, the association of the quality of mercy with judgment is called “a diagonal.”

This is the root, and why in the corporeal branch, too, we climb up a ladder only when it stands diagonally, regarded as Tzimtzum Bet. When the ladder stands upright, regarded as “the quality of judgment,” it cannot exist.

However, we should know that the two extremes are regarded as “two writings that deny one another until the third writing comes and decides between them.” That is, the two lines are needed, for by both, we achieve the middle line, for there cannot be a middle line unless there are two lines before it. Therefore, when there is a dispute, it can be said that “the third one comes and decides between them and makes peace.” But if there is no dispute, there is no need to make peace. That is, if we want to have peace, we must first produce a dispute, or there is no room for peace.

Yet, the question is, Why do we need peace? It would be better, so we understand, if there were no dispute and no need for peace. This is common sense.

The answer is that since we have these two opposites in our nature, it follows that this dispute is the reality, for nature has made us this way. That is, from the perspective of the purpose of creation, we have a nature that the Creator gave a desire to receive delight and pleasure. And from the perspective of the correction of creation, we must go in the opposite direction, namely to bestow, like the Creator, “As He is merciful, so you are merciful.”

It follows that those two extremes are in us. And what we say is that a dispute is required, as our sages said, “One should always vex the good inclination over the evil inclination.” As RASHI interpreted, “He should make war with it.” This means that one should reveal the evil in him. He does not produce evil through the dispute. Rather, the evil within us is concealed, and if light of Kedusha[holiness] enters there, the will to receive in us promptly awakens and receives everything for itself. This will immediately go to the side of Tuma’a [impurity] and Klipot [shells/peels].

For this reason, we must wage war, by which the evil will come out of its hiding and fight with the good inclination.

It follows that specifically through war it becomes revealed, since it wants to fight with the good inclination. When it shows its real face, the person sees what a “high mountain” it is and realizes that the only way is to ask the Creator to help him subdue the evil and to be able to work only with the aim to bestow.

By this we will understand the meaning of “two writings that deny one another until the third writing comes and decides between them.” The two ends of the ladder shows that they are opposite from one another. On one hand, it is “set on the earth,” indicating the lowliness, when it sees within reason how far he is from the Creator because he is immersed in self-love, which is disparity of form. On the other hand, “its top reaches to heaven,” as though he has complete wholeness and he is happy with his lot and is delighted as though he is in heaven and has no connection to worldliness. This is regarded as the ladder standing diagonally. This is the meaning of the words, “two writings that deny one another until the third writing comes and decides between them.”

This is the middle line. That is, those two lines engender a third writing, which is the Creator, called “middle line.” This is as our sages said (Nida 31a), “There are three partners in man: The Creator, his father, and his mother. His father sows the white; his mother sows the red; and the Creator places within him a spirit and a soul.”

We should interpret “his father gives the white.” His father is the first discernment in the work, the right line, which is wholeness. The second is the left line, meaning a lack. This is called “gives the red,” which is a lack. At that time, the Creator gives the soul and the spirit, for then the Creator gives him the required assistance, as said in The Zohar, “He is assisted by a holy soul.” This is called “the Creator gives the spirit and the soul.” This interprets what RASHI says, “This ladder stands in Beer Sheba, and the middle of its slant reaches opposite the Temple.” That is, the middle line is opposite the Temple, which is the Creator.

Now we should interpret why it is written, “And behold, angels of God were ascending” and then “descending.” It should have been written “descending” first, and then “ascending.” We should explain this in the work: Those people who want to work for the sake of the Creator and not for their own sake are called “angels of God,” meaning they came to this world as God’s messengers, meaning to serve God.

It is as our sages said (Sukkah 72), “They are messengers of a Mitzva [commandment/good deed].” And RASHI interpreted there, since they went to greet the head of the congregation, and one must greet one’s rav [great teacher] on foot, meaning that when we engage in Mitzvot [plural of Mitzva], we are “messengers of a Mitzva,” meaning messengers of the Commander. In other words, they came to the world to be the Creator’s messengers, and all of them must do and observe everything that the Creator has commanded to do, as it is written, “Which God has created to do.” It is explained in the Sulam [Ladder Commentary on The Zohar] (In “The Introduction of The Book of Zohar”), that “created” means existence from absence. This refers to the will to receive, which comes from the Creator. “To do” pertains to the created beings, meaning that they must work for the sake of the Creator. It follows that those who work for the sake of the Creator are called “angels of the Creator,” as was said, “messengers of the Creator.”

By this we should interpret what is written (Moed Katan 17a), “If the Rav is similar to an angel of the Creator, let them seek to learn from him. If he is not, let them not seek to learn from him. They ask about it, Must one who wants to learn from a rav first see the angel of the Creator and then, after he has seen the form of the angel of the Creator, this is the time to go seek a rav who is similar to an angel of the Creator?”

According to the above, we should interpret that if the rav teaches the disciples the work that must be done in order to bestow, meaning why a person comes into this world, to do God’s mission, to work for the sake of the Creator, that person is a messenger of the Creator and not a landlord in this world, but is a servant of the Creator. The meaning of “messenger of the Creator” is “angel of the Creator.” This is the meaning of “If the rav is similar to an angel of the Creator, let them seek to learn from him.”

Now we can understand why it is written, “and behold, angels of God were ascending” first. The reason is that in the work, being an angel of the Creator means to work for the sake of the Creator, which requires that we first ascend the ladder, called “right,” and called “its head reaches to heaven,” and then descend, which is the left, called “set on the earth,” and then again. This is called “ascending and descending.” Afterward, they are rewarded with the middle line, meaning that the Creator gives the soul, and then they are rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator.

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is, “Calamity that Comes upon the Wicked Begins with the Righteous,” in the Work?

Article No. 09, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

Our sages said (Baba Kama 60), “No calamity comes to the world unless when there are wicked in the world, but it begins with the righteous.”

We should understand why the righteous deserve calamity if the calamity should come to the wicked. Why is it the fault of the righteous?

In the work, we must first interpret what is calamity, what are “wicked” in the work, and what are “righteous” in the work. To understand all this, we must know what is “work.” Also, we should understand why we need to work in the first place, meaning what do we gain by having to work? After all, who created all the things that exist in the world? It was all done by the Creator. Thus, for what purpose did He create this world, where we must work for everything we want to acquire, whether corporeal needs or spiritual needs?

To understand all this, we first need to understand the meaning of the whole of creation, meaning for what purpose the Creator created the world. The answer to this is as our sages said, “to do good to His creations.” For this reason, He created creatures and imprinted in them a desire and yearning to receive delight and pleasure. This is called the “purpose of creation.” Since this is not in equivalence of form with the Creator, the creatures will feel shame in the delight and pleasure.

Hence, a correction was made, called “Tzimtzum [restriction] and concealment,” so as to receive only with the aim to bestow. Since the lower one must make this Kli [vessel], and this is against nature, since the Creator created the creatures with a desire to receive delight and pleasure, for this reason, everything that is not natural is hard for one to do. This is called “labor.”

It therefore follows that labor does not mean that a person must exert himself. Rather, it is a result. Since it is against nature, it is hard to do this act, and this is the labor. This is so between man and the Creator, but there is the same correction between man and man, in order not to have shame, for man is afraid to eat the bread of shame.

For this reason, we were given the matter of negotiation, where the employee gives the landlord the work, and for the work, he gives him money. Naturally, there is no shame here.

Also, between man and man, the landlord’s wish is not that we would labor for him, but that we would work for him. This pertains to the product, which is the matter of swapping—the employee gives the host the produce, and in return, the host gives him money.

With a buyer and seller it is to the contrary. The seller gives the buyer the product, and the buyer gives the seller money. One way or the other, both must give. Otherwise, if one gives and the other only receives and gives nothing back, then there is disparity of form here, and the receiver feels shame.

It follows that the purpose of the labor is not the labor, but rather that in order to prevent shame, both must give. Since by nature, man is created only to receive, this is the labor. Thus, the labor is only a result and not the aim, meaning the purpose. It follows that it is not the labor that we need, but the equivalence of form. The labor comes because we do not have this by nature.

Now we can understand what are “wicked” and what are “righteous,” and why “No calamity comes to the world unless when there are wicked in the world.” In the work, “calamity” means that the delight and pleasure are not revealed, meaning that it cannot be revealed to the created beings that His desire is to do good to His creations due to the disparity of form. As long as man has no vessels of bestowal, which is called “equivalence of form,” this is the reason that detains the abundance from descending to the creatures. It follows that “wicked” is one who is remote from the Creator. Thus, in the work, “wicked” is one who is in disparity of form from the Creator, who is not in the form of “As He is merciful, so you are merciful.”

It follows that the upper abundance cannot descend to the lower ones because of the quality of “wicked” in a person, since in the work, it is considered that the person himself consists of the wicked, which are the sparks of reception. This is the meaning of “No calamity comes to the world unless when there are wicked in the world.” This means that the fact that the abundance is not coming to the world, this is considered a calamity that comes to the world due to the will to receive in man, which detains the delight and pleasure.

By this we can interpret the whole matter of the wicked who do not obey the Creator. He commanded us through Moses that we must obey the Creator, or He will punish us. We should ask about this, We can understand that a flesh and blood king, who demands respect, would punish anyone who did not obey him, but why does the Creator punish for disobeying Him? Does He need honors and to receive respect from the created beings? And if He is not respected, is He offended?

It is like a person walking into a henhouse and giving them orders, and they do not obey him. Can it be said that the person is offended by them? It is much more so with regard to the creatures and the Creator. How can it be said that the Creator is offended by the creatures when they do not obey Him, and that for this reason, He sends them calamities?

However, we should believe that the whole matter of the Creator’s vengeance is not for the sake of the Creator, but for the sake of the creatures. That is, the punishments they suffer bring them to be rewarded with the delight and pleasure, which is the will of the Creator that the creatures will receive from Him.

This means that the suffering brings the creatures to take upon themselves the matter of bestowal, for only they are the real Kelim [vessels] that can receive the upper abundance that the Creator wants to give them. This is the meaning of what is written, “No calamity comes to the world unless when there are wicked in the world.” For this reason, they suffer. That is, everything they do in the work gives them a bitter taste, since they have no vessels of bestowal, for only in them do the delight and pleasure shine. It follows that the wicked, who are the reception within man, prevent the reception of the good.

It is as Nahmanides said (presented in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, Item 1), “There is a difference between ‘One,’ ‘Unique,’ and ‘Unified.’ Interpretation: ‘Uniting to act with One Force,’ when He works to bestow, as is fitting of His Oneness. When He divides to do His work, and His operations are different from one another, and He seems to be doing good and bad, then He is called ‘Unique,’ since all His different operations have a single outcome: to do good. It follows that He is unique in every single act.”

It is as we interpreted, that the matter of “calamity that comes” is not a matter of vengeance by the Creator for not obeying Him. Rather, it is that He wants us to obey Him and observe the Torah and Mitzvot for the sake of the creatures, and not for the sake of the Creator, since He has no deficiency whatsoever for which He needs something for Himself.

All He wants from the lower ones is that they will receive delight and pleasure without any unpleasantness, but that the pleasure will be utterly complete. If there were shame while receiving the pleasure, there would be no wholeness in the pleasure. It follows that the calamity that the wicked feel is for their own good, as this will induce the correction of their actions.

However, we must know the meaning of correcting the actions in the work. It is that on each and every act we do we must place an intention. The intention is that with this act, we want to bring contentment to our Maker. By this we will achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator. When doing the act, it must not have an aim to benefit himself, but all of his concerns should be how to please the Creator.

These people, who want to walk on the path of bestowal, are called “righteous.” That is, although they still have not achieved the degree where their whole intention is to bestow, they want to achieve it. They are regarded as “walking on the path of the righteous,” meaning to achieve the degree of “righteous.” They are named after its end.

But those who work like the general public, who are not concerned with the intention, to achieve the degree of “righteous,” we do not speak of them in the work on the path of truth. Rather, they belong to the work on actions. Their intention in Torah and Mitzvot is as Maimonides wrote, that “they are taught in order to receive reward.” Only those who have already understood that we must work for the sake of the Creator are regarded in the work as walking toward achieving the path of truth.

Although they have not reached it, Maimonides says to them, “They are shown that secret bit by bit.” And what is the secret that is forbidden to reveal “to little ones, women, and uneducated people”? The secret that the act alone is not enough, but there must also be an intention to bestow and not receive reward. Rather, his whole pleasure is in his ability to serve the Creator. This is his reward, and to him, it is worth a fortune. This is why they do not need anything else in return for their work, but the fact that they are serving the King is their entire pleasure, and this is what they expect.

Now we can interpret what we asked, If the calamity comes to the world because of the wicked, why does it begin with the righteous? The answer is that the righteous in the work are those who want to walk on the path of truth. Although they have not reached it, they are walking on that line. Hence, we must know that this calamity is that they feel the taste of dust in Torah and Mitzvot. Where they should have felt that “They are our lives and the length of our days,” they feel a bitter taste.

They ask themselves, But the purpose of the creation of the world was to do good to His creations, so where is it? We see the opposite! We should feel sweetness in the work when we are serving the King without asking for any return, but we see that the body objects to it. This causes them to understand that this entire lack is because the King is a lowly king, and has no importance.

Otherwise, they should have felt the importance of the King and would have annulled before Him, since we see that inherently, it is a great privilege for the small one to serve the great, and we have no work annulling before the great. Why, then, do we not see this with regard to the Creator? We must say about this that the Creator, who is the King of the world, we do not believe in His greatness. On the contrary! In The Zohar, this is called “Shechina [Divinity] in exile” or “Shechina in the dust.”

Thus, all we need is faith that the Creator is a great and important King. It follows that specifically among those people who are called “righteous,” who want to be righteous and serve the Creator without any return, they see and feel the bad in them. That is, they feel the calamity that they are unable to receive delight and pleasure because of the wicked within them. It is simply that they feel that they are wicked, that they are lacking faith that the Creator is a great and important King, and you have no greater wicked than this. They simply see that they are lacking faith in the Creator. It follows that when are the wicked in a person revealed? Precisely when one wants to be righteous.

By this we should interpret what is written, “but it begins with the righteous.” “Begins with the righteous” means that the calamity begins to be apparent and felt from the beginning, meaning as soon as one begins to shift from the work of the general public to the work of individuals, for the work of individuals is called “the path of the righteous.”

For this reason, our sages imply that immediately, as soon as one wants to work in order to bestow, the calamity appears in a person—that he feels that he is far from faith in the Creator, and therefore far from receiving the delight and pleasure that He wishes to impart upon His creations. In such states, a person sees in himself descents and ascents. Thus, the meaning of “but it begins with the righteous,” is that “begins” means when he begins to enter the path of the righteous.

But those who work like the general public do not feel that they are placed under the control of the evil. They do not see that they are lacking faith in the Creator. On the contrary, they know that they have so much faith that they could give to others. They even preach to others why they are not walking on the upright path, so they would understand that what matters is spirituality and not corporeality.

When these people hear their words, they think that the admonition they are giving them, that we must do everything for the sake of the Creator, they must know what “for the sake of the Creator” means, for otherwise they would not preach. But in truth, they do not even know what is to bestow, for bestowal is against nature, and when a person sees how difficult it is to prevail and engage in the work of bestowal, how can he rebuke another? He sees that he is lacking faith, to believe that the Creator is a great King, since by nature, the small can serve the great without any reward.

But when people from the general public say that we must work for the sake of the Creator, they do not even know the meaning of the words, except what they heard when they were taught. They did not understand what they had heard, but they continue this slogan because in them, the evil is only as a hairsbreadth, as our sages said, “To the wicked, it seems like a hairsbreadth, and to the righteous, like a high mountain.”

This is so because there is a correction that a person will not see more bad than he can correct. For this reason, “wicked” in the work are those who have no need to work for the sake of the Creator, but engage in Torah and Mitzvot for their own sake. Therefore, the bad in them, which is the will to receive for oneself, is apparent in them as bad. This is regarded as the evil inclination being as a hairsbreadth.

But the righteous—who want to walk on the path of bestowal and begin to correct the will to receive—see each time that the bad in them appears to a greater extent until it becomes in them like “a high mountain.” Therefore, they cannot lecture others because they are busy asking for faith in the Creator for themselves. This explains what our sages said, “No calamity comes to the world unless when there are wicked in the world, but it begins with the righteous.”

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What It Means, in the Work, that If the Good Grows, So Grows the Bad

Article No. 08, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

The verse says (Genesis 25:22), “And the sons were running within her, and she said, ‘If this is so, why me?’ and she went to seek the Lord.” RASHI brings the words of our sages, “The word ‘running,’ when she was passing by the doors of the Torah of Shem and Ever. Jacob was running and pressing to come out, passing by the doors of idol-worship, Esau was pressing to come out. Another interpretation: Struggling with each other and quarreling about the inheritance of two worlds.”

We see that during pregnancy, one turned toward Kedusha [holiness], and one turned toward idol-worship. Thus, what is the novelty that the Torah tells us later, that “The boys grew, and Esau became a hunter, a man of the field, and Jacob was an honest man, dwelling in tents”? Presumably, when they were born, so they continued according to their qualities.

RASHI explains this and says, “‘The boys grew,’ as long as they were little, they were not recognized by their actions and a person is not meticulous about their nature. When they turned thirteen years of age, one turned toward seminaries, and one turned to idol-worship.”

In order to understand this in the work, how we learn Jacob and Esau in one person, we must first understand the qualities of Jacob and Esau in the work.

It is known that all the evil that we learn, which is against Kedusha, is called in the work, “desire to receive for oneself,” while Kedusha is called “a desire to bestow upon the Creator,” as it is written, “You will be holy, for the Lord am holy.” “Holy” means that he retires from receiving for himself, but only to bestow, since the Creator bestows upon the creatures, and the creatures must bestow upon the Creator, as our sages said, “As He is merciful, so you are merciful.”

For this reason, we call the will to receive for oneself by the name Esau, and the desire to bestow upon the Creator by the name Jacob. Now we can understand the meaning of Esau, as RASHI interprets, “They all called him this because he was complete [made] and fully developed with hair, like one many years old.” This implies the will to receive for oneself, on which there is no need to work because the Creator had already made it, in that the desire to do good to His creations created the will to receive. For this reason, the evil inclination is called “a foolish old king,” as it is written in The Zohar.

But the desire to bestow, which is called Jacob, requires much work before one obtains this desire. It is the complete opposite of Esau, who was done by itself by the Creator. Conversely, the desire to bestow pertains to man’s work, as it extends from the correction of the Tzimtzum [restriction], when Malchut, called “will to receive,” yearned to be a giver like the Emanator. Hence, she made the correction of the Tzimtzum to receive only in order to bestow, and by this she acquires equivalence of form.

This is called the quality of Esau, as RASHI interprets about Esau, “They all called him this because he was complete [made] and fully developed.” In other words, a person does not need to work in order to obtain vessels of reception. Rather, as soon as one is born, he already has the evil inclination, as The Zohar says, that as soon as he is born he has the evil inclination, as it is written, “Sin crouches at the door.” It interprets that the “door” is the opening of the womb. The evil inclination, called “sin,” promptly comes to him, as David said, “My sin is ever before me.”

Conversely, Jacob is vessels of bestowal. For them to control the man comes by deceit, as it is written (Genesis 27:35), “And he said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully and took away your blessing.’” Concerning this deceit, Baal HaSulam said that since the beginning of engagement in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] is in Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], as for this the will to receive can agree, but later, by this, we are rewarded with Lishma [for Her sake]. Then Esau yells, “You deceived me!” as it is written, “And he said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me twice!’” We should interpret that “twice” means in mind and in heart. We begin in Lo Lishma, hence the body does not object so much, since he makes it believe him that he is working only for the sake of the body, which is called “self-love.”

However, to later emerge from this governance of self-love and be rewarded with the love of the Creator, here begins the real work, and here begins the order of the work, regarded as a person wanting to step on the track that leads to Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator.

The work begins with Ibur [conception/impregnation], when we want to shift from the will to receive for oneself and come into the desire to bestow. This is the meaning of the words, “And the boys were running within her.” RASHI interpreted the word “running,” that when she passed over the doors of Torah of Shem and Ever, Jacob was running and pressing to come out, and when she was passing by the doors of idol-worship, Esau was pressing to come out.

Baal HaSulam interpreted that when a person begins the work, this is the time when contradicting thoughts come to him. That is, before he begins the work of bestowal, he cannot really notice the subtle discernments in the order of the work, but when he wants to begin the work of bestowal, he can feel every state that he is in.

He said that when a person passes by the doors of Torah, he awakens and thoughts that he should enter a place of Torah—which is regarded as “for they are our life and the length of our days”—come to him. This is regarded as the awakening of the quality of Jacob. At that time, he thinks he will remain in such thoughts forever, since he feels that this is life’s purpose, and it is not worthwhile to pay attention to corporeality, as this is not what matters in life and not what one should live for.

But later, when he passes by the doors of idol-worship, meaning when he goes out to the street and sees that all the people are immersed in self-love and are not interested in bestowal whatsoever, he immediately gets thoughts that he should follow their path, and forgets all the work he has done in the matter of Lishma, that this is what matters in life. Now, he thinks completely differently. This is called “idol-worship,” when he serves himself and not the Creator.

In the work, this is called “idol-worship,” which means that a person sees that the Esau in him is pressing to come out and partake with them. However, we see this only during the Ibur, when a person wants to shift from self-love to love of the Creator, which is in order to bestow. But when he is still working like the general public, he cannot notice all these sensations although they are in him.

The reason for this is simple. It is as our sages said, “A matter of no interest about a person I do not know.” It means that something that is of little interest to a person, he does not think about it. For this reason, specifically those who want to walk on the path of individuals, called “in order to bestow,” because they want to know if they are advancing in the work, their sense of criticism is developed so as to notice every little thing. They see every little thing to know if they are fine or not. Hence, the above-mentioned running between Jacob and Esau begins in the Ibur.

It is written, “And the sons were running within her, and she said, ‘If this is so, why me?’” That is, when a person begins to see that once he yearns for love of the Creator, and once he yearns for self-love, and then he says, “If this is so, why me?” meaning why do I need all this work, if I see that my ups and downs are endless, and I feel that since I have begun to work on the path of bestowal, I have been left empty handed from here and from here?

That is, while I was working like the general public, I knew that each day I was advancing in the work of the Creator, since each day I could introspect and see how long I prayed, how much I learned, and I had what to look at. I was happy and high spirited, since I was looking only at the actions, and saw that thank God, I was successful in the work.

But now that I have begun to work on the aim to bestow, and I was told that the acts I do with the aim that it is because the Creator commanded us to do and to observe the Torah and Mitzvot are not enough, and I must also aim to bestow, meaning for the sake of the Creator. Yet, I see that as much as I exert, I cannot prevail. Even though I think I did all that I could, I am not moving one step forward. So what is the purpose? If this is so, why me? Why did I leave the work in the manner of the general public?

This is the meaning of the words, “and she went to seek the Lord.” That is, he saw that now there was no choice, since he could no longer return to the general public because once he saw that there was a path of truth, he could no longer work only in practice. Therefore, he had no choice but to seek the Lord, that He will help him, as our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.”

He says, “Now I see what our sages said, ‘Man’s inclination overcomes him every day. And were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it.’” He does not need to believe that he cannot overcome it, since he sees it within reason.

But those who work within reason must believe that the Creator helps them since within reason they see that they are engaging in Torah and Mitzvot, and see that when the body wants to be a little lazy, they immediately overcome the body’s idleness and do not see that there is a flaw in their work. Although they see that there are greater people than they, in quantity and quality, it is known that there is no end to greatness, and thank God, he sees that he is considered among the important people, and he never gets bad thoughts, to think that there is bad in him. Rather, he is almost fine, since “There is not a righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin.” Hence, he believes above reason that he has faults, but it is only because he is looking for lowliness, though in truth, his state in spirituality is not so bad.

Conversely, those who want to shift to working in bestowal, it is within reason that they have no progress in Torah and Mitzvot, so as to be able to aim in order to bestow. Therefore, they see that they have no other choice but to demand of the Creator to help them. Also, it is difficult for them to pray for the help of the Creator because they fall into doubt that the Creator will hear their prayer.

This comes to them because they have already prevailed many times and asked the Creator to help them be able to engage in the work of bestowal, but they received no progress in the work of bestowal. Thus, they need great strengthening in order to be able to pray to the Creator to help them. That is, they must believe above reason that the Creator will help them, while within reason they see that they are bare and destitute with respect to the work of bestowal. This is the complete opposite of how they were while they worked like the general public.

Now we will explain what we asked, Why is it written, “The boys grew, and Esau became a hunter, a man of the field, and Jacob was an honest man, dwelling in tents”? We asked, What is the novelty? Certainly, as they were during the Ibur, so they would be when they grow up. RASHI explains this and says, “As long as they were little, they were not recognized by their actions and a person is not meticulous about their nature. When they turned thirteen years of age, one turned toward seminaries, and one turned to idol-worship.”

We should interpret this in the manner that our sages said (Kidushin 40), “Our sages said, ‘One should always see oneself as half guilty, half innocent. If he performs one Mitzva, happy is he, for he has sentenced himself to the side of merit.” The question is, After he has performed one Mitzva and has sentenced himself to the side of merit, how can he still say that he should see himself as half guilty, half innocent? After all, he has already sentenced himself to the side of merit.

We should explain as our sages said (Sukkah 52), “That old man taught him: ‘Anyone who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him.’” We should also understand this: Why if he becomes great, his evil inclination grows in him, as well? As was said above, it is because they must be half and half, or it will be impossible to choose, to make a decision. Once he has performed one Mitzva, he has already sentenced to the side of merit, or vice versa. Hence, when evil is added to him, when he becomes great, after he has performed one Mitzva, it follows that each time he grows, evil is added to him. This is why he is always in a state of half good and half bad. This is why it says, “One should always see oneself as half guilty, half innocent.”

By this we can interpret what RASHI explains, “And the boys grew.” “As long as they were little, they were not recognized by their actions, and a person is not meticulous about their nature.” That is, when one is small, he does not have much good. Naturally, he also does not have much bad, so that the bad in him becomes apparent. This is why RASHI interprets, “They were not recognized by their actions and a person is not meticulous about their nature.”

But when they grow, both grow, and then there is a distinction between the good inclination and the evil inclination. This comes to teach us that in the beginning of the work, during the Ibur, meaning when a person begins to shift from the work of the general public to the work of individuals, the bad immediately begins to appear in him. However, it is not so apparent. Yet, when he begins to ascend in the work and begins to grow, as it is written, “The boys grew,” to the extent and order of the growth, so grows the evil. According to the measure of the good that he does, so grows the measure of the evil in him, as was said, so he will be half guilty, half innocent.

Now we can understand what RASHI explained, “Another interpretation: Struggling with each other and quarreling about the inheritance of two worlds.” We should understand for what purpose there needs to be a quarrel between them. It is as our sages said (Berachot 5), “Rabbi Levi said, ‘One should always vex the good inclination over the evil inclination.’” RASHI explains that he should wage war against the evil inclination. We need to understand what is the purpose of this war. Would it not be better if a person saw that the bad in him did not awaken? Why does he need to awaken it and fight it? It would be better if he did not risk himself, for he might not be able to defeat it, as our sages said, “One must not put oneself in danger.”

In the work, when we want to achieve bestowal, we must say when we perform Mitzvot or engage in Torah, that we want to do everything with the aim to bestow. This is called vexing the good inclination over the evil inclination, since when a person says to his body, “We must work for the sake of the Creator and not for our own sake,” the body immediately becomes angry and resists with all its might. It tells him, “You can do anything, but for the sake of the Creator and not for our own sake? This is out of the question.” It follows that if he does not vex it, he will never be able to achieve the truth.

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is “He Who Did Not Toil on the Eve of Shabbat, What Will He Eat on Shabbat” in the Work?

Article No. 07, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

Our sages said (Avoda Zara 3), “They said to Him, ‘Lord of the world, give us in advance and we will do it’ (give us the Torah now and we will observe it). The Creator said to them: ‘Fools, he who toiled on the eve of Shabbat [Sabbath] will eat on Shabbat. He who did not toil on the eve of Shabbat, from where will he eat on Shabbat?’”

We should understand this in the work: 1) What is the “toil on the eve of Shabbat”? 2) What is “Shabbat” in the work? 3) Why must we toil in order to obtain the quality of “Shabbat”?

It is known that Shabbat is called “the conclusion of the making of heaven and earth.” That is, the purpose of the creation of heaven and earth was for Shabbat. In other words, the revelation of His desire to do good to His creations, when it is revealed to all, is called “Shabbat.” It follows that He “ Shabbat [rested/ceased] from all His work” because there is great work to reveal to all that His guidance is in the form of good and doing good.

At that time, there is no more work to do in the quality of weekdays, since work means turning Hol[unholy/weekday] into Kodesh [holy]. Kedusha [holiness] means Kodesh, when he separates himself from any vessel of reception and does all this work with the aim to bestow, as it is written, “You will be holy, for I am holy.” This means that as the Creator is the giver, the creatures, too, should achieve equivalence of form.

In corporeality, we see that a person works only for sustenance. Sustenance means foods on which the body nourishes. This means that the foods are what he gives to the body, both corporeal life, called eating, drinking, and so forth, and spiritual nourishment, called honor, knowledge, power, governance, etc.

In order to acquire these nourishments, a person must toil. Otherwise, he will not get it. This means that the nourishments one yearns to receive in return for his work are like a meal, and the toil is like the preparation for the meal. Clearly, one who is unfit to toil does not receive corporeal nourishments or emotional nourishments. In other words, if someone wants to be given something, the giver will not give unless the conditions that the giver requires are met.

For this reason, in Kedusha, called “in order to bestow,” man was created with a will to receive for himself, but the Giver demands that he will work for Him, regarded as “All your works will be for the sake of heaven.” Otherwise, if the Giver gives to the receiver into vessels of self-love, everything will go to the Sitra Achra [other side], who robs the abundance from the Kedusha. Kedusha means that what he does is for the sake of the Creator. If the intention is for himself, it is called “disparity of form,” and it is the opposite of Kedusha.

However, since it is against nature, both in mind and in heart, it is called “labor,” and this is the preparation for the meal. In other words, the fact that a person must aim to benefit the Creator and not himself in order to obtain the Kli [vessel] called “in order to bestow” is great labor and toil. This is called the “preparation for the meal,” and the “meal” is called “Shabbat.”

It follows that the work is considered “weekdays,” when we must toil in order to remove the secularity in man’s heart, and place Kedusha there instead. Kedusha means Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, and “secular” means separation from the Creator. All the work is to place over the will to receive the intention to bestow. At that time, a person adheres to the Creator, as was said, “You will be holy for I the Lord am holy.” For this, he obtains Kelim [vessels] that can receive what the Creator wants to give: the delight and pleasure called “the meal.” This is the Shabbat meal, and this is the meaning of “He who did not toil on the eve of Shabbat [before Shabbat], what will he eat on Shabbat?”

Baal HaSulam gave an allegory about working for the sake of the Creator and not working in order to obtain self-benefit, but to do everything for the sake of the Creator, or all the abundance will go to the Klipot. This is brought in the book A Sage’s Fruit (Part 1, p 158): “A great, benevolent king, who did not need any work to be done for him, wished only to delight his countryfolk. He sent out a decree to all the people in the country,none excluded, and dedicated a place in his palace for that purpose.

“He stipulated explicitly that it is forbidden to work outside the designated place, and their reward was with them in the place where they worked, where he prepared for them lush meals. When the work began, they thought that the king had prepared overseers to examine their work so as to know who worked for him and who did not. Yet, the king hid, and there was no supervision. But they did not know about the wondrous invention: He placed a sort of foul powder in the delicacies and confections, and as an antidote, he placed a healing powder in the workplace.

“By this, supervision happened by itself. Those who loved him kept the king’s commandments meticulously, as well as worked precisely in the designated place, and thereby inhaled the healing powder. When mealtime came, the taste of the confections was such that they had never before tasted. Naturally, they praised the king.

“But the lowly ones, who did not understand the king’s merit, for which they should love him, once they saw that there was no supervision, they did not observe the king’s commandments properly. When mealtime came and they tasted the confections, their mouths filled with a foul taste due to the abovementioned powder, and they cursed and vilified the king.”

Accordingly, it is impossible to feel the delight and pleasure found in Torah and Mitzvot[commandments/good deeds] because of the Tzimtzum [restriction] and judgment that were set up, so it is impossible to feel any light in vessels of reception. In vessels of reception there are only darkness and death, due to the disparity of form between the light and the Kli [vessel]. Therefore, when we want to feel taste in Torah and Mitzvot with vessels of reception, there is no taste there. In vessels of reception we can only feel taste in corporeal pleasures, where the sweetness is revealed when a person obtains the corporeal pleasures.

This was done on purpose, so that creation would exist, so there would be something to enjoy even before a person obtains vessels of bestowal, which are called “Kelim for unification with the Creator,” meaning that a person does not become removed from the Creator when receiving the pleasures. And in order to have something from which man receives vitality and pleasure, we learned that because of the breaking of the vessels, a thin illumination shines, a tiny illumination of Kedusha that shines within the Klipot [shells/peels], on which all of the corporeal pleasures feed.

Therefore, in corporeal pleasures, a person can have pleasure and high spirits. But as for feeling real pleasures, which is the primary intention in the desire to do good to His creations, there, there is the powder of concealment, and hiding, and darkness and bitterness, and there is no flavor in Torah and Mitzvot. That is, the hiding and concealment are the bitter powder that is placed there by the correction of the Tzimtzum.

He placed the healing powder in the labor in Torah and Mitzvot. That is, you find the healing powder precisely in labor in Torah and Mitzvot. And why specifically in the labor, and mere engagement in Torah and Mitzvot is not enough to receive the healing powder to cure a person from the bitter powder in the meal? To understand this, we must first know what is the powder that heals the bitter powder that the Creator placed in the meal, and what is the labor in Torah and Mitzvot by which we can find a place to obtain the healing powder.

It is known that the main labor is when we work against reason. That is, when a person does not know why he must work and he must work against his reason. This is very difficult, and it is called “labor in Torah and Mitzvot.” However, we should understand why a person must work in Torah and Mitzvot against reason, which is very difficult and not every person is capable of this, and why we cannot work in Torah and Mitzvot within reason, something that everyone can do.

The thing is that we must know what is above reason, which is called “labor,” that we must labor in engagement in Torah and Mitzvot. The point is that man was created with a desire to receive for himself. Since there was a correction on this will to receive so there would not be disparity of form upon the reception of the abundance but that even during the reception of the abundance he will remain in Dvekut, called “equivalence of form,” hence, a Tzimtzum and restriction were made.

This means that when a person wants to receive the delight and pleasure in vessels of reception, he sees no light at all, but only darkness, called “a space devoid of light.” However, one must fashion for himself vessels of bestowal, regarded as “as He is merciful, so you are merciful.”

How can we obtain these Kelim? It is done by labor in Torah and Mitzvot, when we engage in Torah and Mitzvot in order to obtain vessels of bestowal. This means that a person does not want to receive any reward for his work in Torah and Mitzvot, but his reward and payment will be that he will have the strength to do everything for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake.

This means that if a person observes Torah and Mitzvot in order to receive reward, to obtain delight and pleasure for his own sake, this is called “observing Torah and Mitzvot within reason.” That is, the body does not object to this, since to the extent that he believes he will receive from this pleasure for his own sake, this is called “within reason.”

Maimonides says about this quality, “When teaching little ones, women, and uneducated people, they are taught to work only out of fear and in order to receive reward. Until they gain knowledge and acquire much wisdom, they are taught that secret little-by-little” (Hilchot Teshuva, p 60b).

From the words of Maimonides, we see that there are two aspects to observing Torah and Mitzvot: 1) For one’s own sake, which is in order to receive reward and not work above reason. To the extent that he believes in reward and punishment, since he takes everything for his own benefit, this work is called “the work of uneducated people,” which is within reason. In the work, this is not considered labor (although the general public does regard this as labor).

2) Labor in Torah and Mitzvot. That is, he engages in Torah and Mitzvot not in order to receive any reward for this. Rather, he works completely for the sake of the Creator. This is against reason, since reason obligates that the person will work for his own sake. Therefore, when he says he is observing Torah and Mitzvot in order to thereby receive power to work only for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake, the body begins to resist with all its might, and yells, “What?‼ Are you crazy??? Are you trying to revoke yourself before the Creator? You tell me, what will you get out of it??”

This aspect is considered “great labor” because he must fight against his own body, when justice and commonsense side with the body, as this is its nature. It follows that this is called “labor,” since it is above reason and the body does not agree to work for the sake of the Creator.

This is regarded as engaging in Torah and Mitzvot as labor. That is, by his engagement in Torah and Mitzvot, he wants to be rewarded with the quality of bestowal, which can be obtained precisely by learning in the form of labor—when he engages in Torah and Mitzvot with the intention that our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice, because the light in it reforms him.”

This means that he sees that he has no love for the Creator, but rather self-love. He cannot do a single movement for the sake of the Creator because the body objects to it. Each time he overcomes, yet he is not progressing. Rather, it is to the contrary: After all his labor to overcome, he sees that he is regressing rather than progressing.

This labor gives him room to pray that the Creator will help him. It follows that each time he sees he is regressing, he is actually progressing in his prayer because as he sees it, he is far from the goal, and can therefore pray more wholeheartedly because he sees the place of danger.

This means that he is afraid that the bad might overcome him and make him think he should escape the campaign. That is, the body makes him think that this work was given to people with strong characters and not for the general public. Although now he has taken upon himself to walk on the path of truth, meaning for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake, but since he is not succeeding and is regressing, he is afraid that the bad will overcome him and make him think within reason that the body is right, as he sees the reality, that he does not doubt what the body tells him, that this work is for a chosen few.

Hence, this makes him pray to the Creator from the bottom of the heart to save him from this danger of having to escape the campaign. He says, “Lord of the world, please help me now while I still have the strength to pray to You, since I don’t know what will happen later; there may be no one to ask You for help.”

For this reason, he says, “Lord of the world, help me while the soul is still within me, since I’m afraid that I might die later and decline to a place of separation,” which is despair, and there is no faith in the Creator there, not even a tiny measure, so as to make it possible to pray to the Creator.

A person who falls into a place of despair no longer asks for any help. As long as one has confidence that he will emerge from his state, he still works, as in, “Everything that is in the power of your hand to do, that do.”

It follows that the labor, the fact that he wants to work in bestowal, causes him labor. This, in turn, causes him to pray that the Creator will help him, and to believe in the sages, who said, “He who comes to purify is aided.”

It follows that the healing powder is found in the labor. That is, his labor in Torah and Mitzvot in order to achieve Lishma [for Her sake], the Lishma that he later obtains causes him to have the ability to enjoy the meal, called “delight and pleasure.” Since he already has vessels of bestowal, which remove the concealment and hiding that are on the meal, that concealment pushes away anyone who wants to taste the food, and he says about the meal that it tastes bitter.

By this we can interpret what our sages said, “Fools, he who toiled on the eve of Shabbat will eat on Shabbat.” We asked, What is the “Shabbat meal” in the work? We should interpret as our sages said, that while creating Adam HaRishon, the Creator said, “What is this like? It is like a king who has a tower filled with abundance but no guests.” The meal is called “a tower filled with abundance.”

This is called the “Shabbat meal.” This is after the completion of the work, which is obtainment of the vessels of bestowal, which is all the labor during the weekdays [Hebrew: also, “secular days”]. The week [secular] days are called “six days of action,” which is the making of Kelim that are capable of receiving the general meal for the whole of Israel. This will be at the end of correction, which our sages called “Israel,” as they said, that the creation of the world was for Israel, as it is written, “In the beginning [God] created, and there is no beginning but Israel,” as it is written, “the beginning of Israel.” In other words, the tower filled with abundance is for the whole collective.

Individually, the meal is when a person corrects his actions and comes into a state of “Israel,” called Yashar-El [straight to the Creator]. This means that all his actions are for the sake of the Creator, called El [God]. At that time he is rewarded with the “meal” individually. At the end of correction, all the individuals will come with Kelim that are suitable to receive the meal, as the Creator said, “He who toiled on the eve of Shabbat will eat on Shabbat,” as mentioned in the allegory about the healing powder. In other words, through labor in Torah and Mitzvot, there, in the labor, they will find the cure that revokes the Tzimtzum and concealment lying over the meal.

Accordingly, we should interpret what was presented in Masechet Shabbat (p 119): “The emperor said to Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, ‘Why has the Shabbat dish such a fragrant scent?’ ‘We have a certain spice,’ said he, ‘called Shabbat, which we put into it, and that gives it a fragrant scent.’ He asked, ‘Give us some of it.’ And he replied, ‘To him who observes the Shabbat, it is beneficial, and to him who does not observe the Shabbat, it is of no use.’”

Although the literal meaning concerns he who observes Shabbat, but in the work, we should interpret “observing Shabbat” through the words, “And his father kept the matter.” That is, he sits and waits and says, “When will I be able to obtain the Kelim that can receive the Shabbat meal, whose scent is fragrant, since the Shabbat meal is called “delight and pleasure clothed in the 613 Mitzvot in the form of 613 deposits.”

As it is written in the Sulam [commentary on The Zohar] (Part 1), “In each and every Mitzva, a special light is deposited. This is regarded as the Shabbat meal. We can receive this specifically after the work and labor, as it comes by observing the 613 Mitzvot as counsels, meaning tips how to achieve the quality of ‘The light in it reforms him.’”

For this reason, the meaning of “one who observes” is observing the 613 Mitzvot in the form of counsels how to achieve bestowal, for precisely in vessels of bestowal can we enjoy the Shabbat meal, for then the Tzimtzum and concealment have been removed from the delight and pleasure. This is like the above-said allegory about the healing powder: The powder found in observing the 613 Mitzvot as counsels heals the bitter powder that lies over the delight and pleasure. For this reason, if we do not obtain the vessels of bestowal, found in Torah and Mitzvot, through the labor, the concealment over the delight and pleasure remains.

By this we can interpret what our sages said (Avot 2:21), “You can trust your landlord to pay you for your work, and know that the reward of the righteous is given in the future.” This is perplexing, since we must work not in order to receive reward. Thus, why do they say, “know that the reward of the righteous is given in the future”? Accordingly, we should interpret that our sages explain to us what is the reward of the righteous in the future.

That is, all the labor they give in order to receive reward, we are told what is their reward. It is in the future, meaning that they will be rewarded with working only so that “all your works will be for the sake of heaven,” which is vessels of bestowal. For this, they give all the labor, in order to obtain “in the future” in different Kelim than the ones they have now, which are vessels of reception. In the future, they will be rewarded with vessels of bestowal, and this is the meaning of “The reward of the righteous is in the future.”

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is Above Reason in the Work?

 Article No. 06, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

It is written in the Musaf [supplemental] prayer of Rosh Hashanah [Hebrew New Year], “Thus said the Lord, King of Israel and his redeemer, the Lord of Hosts: ‘I am the first, and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.’” We should understand the words “King of Israel.” Is He not the king of the nations of the world? After all, He is the king of the world.

The thing is that we should know that all that we say about the Creator is not about the Creator Himself, as was said about this, “There is no thought or perception in Him whatsoever.” Rather, all the appellations we attribute to the Creator are how the creatures attained Him according to these names, as it is written, “By Your actions, we know You.”

Therefore, although the Creator is the king of the world, even if the created beings do not want to recognize His kingship, He does not need their consent in order to be king over them. He rules without asking them and does what He wants. No one has any say in the world, but He does what He wants and He does not need the consent of the created beings, as it is written, “I believe in whole faith, and He alone does, is doing, and will do all the deeds.”

Yet, we could ask, If He is king over us without asking us, why must we take upon ourselves the burden of His kingship, if He rules over us in any case? The answer is that we must know that He rules over us, and before a person takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven above reason, meaning that we cannot understand this within reason, and a person cannot see that His guidance is in the form of good and doing good. Instead, every person feels lack in pleasure, in enjoyment in his life. Each one thinks that if he could see that he immediately receives what he prays for and asks of the Creator, which is called “within reason,” he would not have to believe that the Creator hears the prayer, since he would see with his own eyes that the Creator helped him.

But when he prays to the Creator several times and thinks that the Creator does not grant his prayer, as evidenced by the fact that he did not receive anything he prayed for, then a person must strengthen himself and say that he believes what is written, “For You hear the prayer of every mouth.” Since this is against reason, because reason shows him that the Creator does not answer him, when he overcomes and says that what the intellect and reason oblige him to believe, he says, “I am not looking, but I believe in the sages who told us that the Creator does hear the prayer of every mouth,” this is called “faith above reason.”

By assuming the burden of the kingdom of heaven in this way, we are later rewarded with “And you will love the Lord your God with all your heart,” and with equivalence of form, called “vessels of bestowal,” the Kelim [vessels] in which the Creator bestows the delight and pleasure that He wanted to give.

Now we understand what we must attain by crowning the Creator over us, since by this we acquire Kelim with which we can enjoy the Creator. Therefore, while we have no connection with the Creator, He does not give us anything, meaning that we cannot enjoy something that is not in us, meaning we cannot enjoy the Creator.

Only to the extent that a person believes in the Creator, he can say that he is receiving from the Creator. However, one who does not believe in the Creator cannot receive from Him. Only to the extent of the faith in Him can one receive from Him what He wants to give to the created beings.

However, it takes a lot of work to achieve the degree of assuming the burden of the kingdom of heaven. 1) A person must know that if he has no faith in the Creator, how can he ask anything of Him? 2) What will it give him if he has fear of heaven? That is, for whose sake should he assume the burden of the kingdom of heaven? Is it for his own sake or for the Creator’s sake? If we say that it is for the sake of the Creator, the question is, What will this give to the Creator if we believe that He is the king? What does this add to Him? We can understand that a flesh and blood king needs respect, but does the Creator need the creatures to respect Him? Is He needy of His created beings?

This is as it is written in the “Introduction of the Book of Zohar” (Item 191): “Fear, which is the most important, is when one fears the Creator because He is great and rules over everything. He is great because He is the root from which all the worlds expand, and His greatness is seen by His actions. And He rules over everything because all the worlds He has created, upper and lower, are regarded as nothing compared to Him for they add nothing to His essence.” In other words, all the creatures do not add anything to Him.

Thus, why do we need to work for the sake of the Creator, as it is written, “All your works will be for the sake of heaven, and not for your own sake”? After all, the Creator does not get anything from our work for Him because He has no lacks. Why then do we need to work in order to bestow?

Indeed, this is only for the sake of the created beings, for by this they will be saved from disparity of form from the Creator and will be rewarded with equivalence of form, called “As He is merciful, so you are merciful.” It is not that He needs them to work for Him, as though He needs the respect of the creatures. Rather, by working for the sake of the Creator, called “only for the sake of heaven,” the creatures will benefit from this and will enjoy. This is called that the Tzimtzum [restriction] and the concealment were in order to bring to light the perfection of His deeds, meaning for the creatures to be able to enjoy without feeling any shame. This is the meaning of equivalence of form and Dvekut[adhesion] with the Creator.

By this we will understand what we asked about the words, “King of Israel.” Is He not the king of the nations of the world? The answer is that in the work, every person is a whole world, as it is written in The Zohar. For this reason, man consists of the nations of the world, and of Israel. Therefore, the meaning of “king of Israel” is that when a person takes upon himself the kingdom of heaven, He is called “king of Israel.”

In other words, “Israel” means Yashar-El [straight to the Creator], when a person says that He is his king. In other words, he does not say that the Creator is the king of the world from His perspective, meaning without the created beings accepting His kingship over them of their own volition. Rather, “king of Israel” means that the person consciously takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven.

The “nations of the world” means that He rules over them unconsciously. That is, the Creator is the king of the world although they have no idea about faith in the Creator, and do not even want to think about the matter of the kingdom of heaven. This is considered that the Creator is the king of the nations of the world, meaning rules over them and does what He wants without their awareness that He is doing and will do all the deeds. This is why when it says, “king of Israel,” it refers to those who have taken upon themselves the kingdom of heaven consciously and willingly. This is called “king of Israel.”

This is as it is written (Avot 3:20), “A person repays consciously and unconsciously.” “Consciously” means “king of Israel,” and “unconsciously” means the nations of the world, whom He rules although a person is unconscious, and does not even give one thought to faith. This aspect of man is called “the nations of the world within a person.”

Accordingly, “Thus said the Lord, King of Israel” means that to those who have taken upon themselves the burden of His kingship, it says, “his redeemer, the Lord of hosts.” That is, they feel that the Creator has redeemed them from the nations of the world, whose control is in the mind and heart. “In the mind” means that the nations of the world say that only what reason confirms is true, and they do not give a person permission to go by the way of believing above reason. “In the heart” means that they do not let a person emerge from self-love. Rather, they say that what the heart wants and feels that it is for one’s own sake, these actions they permit. But if a person wants to work in order to bestow, they resist with all their might and a person cannot emerge from their control. Instead, the Creator Himself redeems him from their governance.

This is the meaning of the words, “king of Israel and his redeemer.” That is, once they have taken upon themselves the kingdom of heaven, called “king of Israel,” they attain that the Creator is his redeemer, meaning that only the Creator redeemed them from the control of the evil, and they themselves were powerless to do so.

In this way, we should interpret the words “Lord of hosts.” This name means, as Baal HaSulam interpreted, that as he said, Tzevaot [hosts] are two words: Tze [leave/go out] and Ba [comes]. That is, Tzava [army] are men of war. These are people who go each day to fight the evil inclination. They are called “army.” Therefore, after they have been rewarded with redemption, meaning after they conquer the evil inclination and emerge from the control of the evil, their conduct in the work is by way of ascents and descents, which is called Tzevaot [plural of Tzava (army)]. Meaning, at times they emerge from their control, and then are under their control again. Thus, the name for ascents and descents is Tzevaot.

During the work, a person should say, “If I am not for me, who is for me?” At that time in the work, they think that they themselves are doing the ascents and descents, that they are men of war, called Tzava, “mighty men.” Afterward, when they are redeemed, they attain that the Lord is of hosts [Tzevaot], meaning that the Creator made all the ups and downs they had.

In other words, even the descents come from the Creator. A person does not get so many ups and downs for no reason. Rather, the Creator caused all those exits. We can interpret “exit” as “exit from Kedusha [holiness],” and Ba [comes] as “coming to Kedusha. The Creator does everything. Hence, after the redemption, the Creator is called “Lord of Hosts.” And who is He? “The king of Israel and his redeemer.”

Accordingly, we should interpret what is written, “The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau.” Har [mountain] means Hirhurim [thoughts/contemplations], which are thoughts that lead to the state of Zion, from the word Yetziot [exits]. Mount Zion means contemplations and thoughts that bring descents upon a person, meaning that he ejects himself from Kedusha. These thoughts—it will later be revealed—are where the deliverers ascended from, “to judge the mountain of Esau.”

The “mountain of Esau” means thoughts and contemplations pertaining to wicked Esau. “To judge” means to conquer and subdue the contemplations of wicked Esau. And what is the meaning of “The deliverers will ascend”? Who delivered them to conquer the mountain of Esau? It is Mount Zion. That is, the thoughts that caused them to exit the Kedusha, meaning the descents, are themselves what helped them conquer the mountain of Esau.

This is as it is written, “From the blow itself he makes a bandage.” The fact that they had descents, which is called “a blow,” since at that time he fell from the Kedusha into the authority of the Sitra Achra [other side], from this itself came only good. This is also called as it is written, “He brings down to the netherworld, and He lifts us.” By seeing that one is worse than everyone else, it makes him do what he can, and not rest until he sees that the Creator took him out and delivered him from the control of wicked Esau. This is the meaning of the words, “The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau.”

It is written, “And the kingship will be the Lord’s.” This means that specifically then, the kingship will be the Creator’s, meaning during the redemption, as it is written, “The king of Israel and his redeemer.”

And before this, is the kingship not the Lord’s? Who else governs the world? We should interpret that Malchut has two names: 1) Zion, 2) Jerusalem. In the work, we should say that Zion is when she is still not revealed in and of herself. This is called Malchut that is inside, meaning it is still not evident to the creatures that Malchut is the ruler of the world, and there is no other force in the world, and only the Creator is the king. This discernment is still hidden from the creatures. This aspect of Malchut is called “Zion,” meaning Yetziot [exits] from Kedusha.

At that time, a person thinks that the Sitra Achra governs him because he feels that he has no need for spirituality. This means that faith in the greatness of the Creator is in concealment. Sometimes, he exits the work to such an extent that he forgets altogether about the existence of the work of the Creator. This is regarded as having fallen from his state, when he worked enthusiastically and thought that from this day forward he will remain permanently in the holy work.

Yet, after some time, he suddenly sees that he has been completely ejected from Kedusha. That is, he does not remember the zero point, meaning he cannot recall the moment he was ejected from Kedusha and fell to the corporeal world, since during the fall, a person is unconscious and remembers nothing. As in corporeality, when a person falls from a high place, he does not remember having fallen. Only when he comes to, he sees that he is in the hospital. So it is in the work.

This is regarded as “Zion.” That is, at the time of redemption, when he sees the kingdom of heaven openly, he attains that the Creator has delivered him from wicked Esau. Then Malchut is called “Jerusalem,” whose governance is revealed. This is the time to see that all those descents came from the king, as well. That is, all the foreign contemplations and thoughts they had, no other force was there, but the Creator sent them. In other words, the Creator sent them the descents, as well, so that through them they would need the help of the Creator.

It follows that Mount Zion—as was said, that “The deliverers will ascend to judge the mountain of Esau”—now they say that Mount Zion was also Malchut, called “Zion.” In other words, her power was concealed, and she helped judge the mountain of Esau. That is, they conquered the quality of wicked Esau, meaning corrected the quality of Esau, and now they attain that there is no other force in the world.

This is the meaning of “And the kingship will be the Lord’s,” meaning that now they see that the kingship was the Lord’s then, too, and not only now, but before, as well, since there is none else besides Him. Now that they have been redeemed, they attain that this was so before, as well.

However, during the concealment, we also must believe that the Creator does everything. But this is above reason. Conversely, now they attain that this is so. However, afterward, they will need to come to the end of correction, which is called “in the future,” and at that time, “The Lord will be king over all the earth,” meaning even over the nations of the world. This means that the Creator will be revealed among the nations of the world, as well, as it is written, “For they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.”

This is called, “The Lord is king over all the earth.” That is, even before the end of correction, the Creator is the king over all the earth, but this is called “unconsciously.” That is, they do not know that the Creator is the leader of the world, as it is written (in the Morning Prayer, in the Shema de Korbanot section), “Who in all Your works in the upper ones and in the lower ones will tell You what to do and what to work?” Only He does everything, and there is no other force in the world but Him.

However, this pertains to the people of Israel, who believe in the Creator. With respect to them, it can be said that the Creator is the king. That is, consciously, meaning that they, too, know that the Creator rules over them. It is not necessarily that the Creator Himself knows that He is the king, which is called “unconsciously.” Rather, they took upon themselves the burden of the kingdom of heaven as faith above reason, and they regard it as though it were within reason.

This is called “consciously,” meaning that in the work, “faith above reason” means we must believe although the mind does not see that this is so, and it has several proofs that it is not as he wants to believe. This is called “faith above reason,” meaning he says that he believes as though he sees it within reason. This is called “faith above reason” in the work.

In other words, it is a lot of work for a person to take this upon himself; it is against reason. This means that the body does not agree to this, yet he accepts it nonetheless as though it were within reason. Such faith requires help from the Creator. For this reason, for such faith, a person needs to pray that He will give him the power to be similar to Him as though he had attained it within reason.

In other words, a person should not pray to the Creator to help him understand everything within reason. Instead, he should pray to the Creator to give him the strength to assume faith above reason as though it were within reason.

But before this, he must have faith in the sages that such is the will of the Creator—that we will take upon ourselves faith in the Creator above reason. And here, in this order, begins the ascents and descents. Sometimes he grows stronger in faith, and sometimes he falls from his degree and must believe, while he is praying to the Creator, that He will help him. Yet, he does not see that he received the help he needs.

Then, too, he must believe above reason that everything comes from the Creator, and at the same time say “If I am not for me, who is for me?” Then he comes to the state of “Mount Zion,” and then to the state of the “mountain of Esau,” for all the work at that time—before we are rewarded with redemption—to emerge from their control.

At that time, we come to know the work, as it is written, “Thus said the Lord, King of Israel and his redeemer, the Lord of Hosts: ‘I am the first, and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me,’ and the kingship will be the Lord’s, and the Lord will be king over all the earth.” It is as it is written, “All who are of flesh shall call in Your name, to turn to you all the wicked of the earth; all the dwellers of the world will know and recognize.” That is, at that time, everyone will know that the Creator is the king, and before this, only the people of Israel know that He is the king.

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Does It Mean that the Creation of the World Was by Largess?

Article No. 05, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

The first ones explained that the creation of the world was not because of lack, for it cannot be said about the Creator that He is deficient. Rather, the creation of the world was out of largess. That is, as it is said (in Midrash Rabbah, Beresheet), “The Creator said to the angels when He wanted to create Adam HaRishon, and they said, ‘What is man that You should remember him?’”

The Creator replied to them, “What is this like? It is like a king who has a tower filled abundantly but he has no guests.” This is not a lack; it is simply that He wants to give with largess so the created beings will enjoy. A lack is what a person must receive, but cannot receive it. This is regarded as a lack. But to bestow is not considered a lack. Therefore, we learn that the creation of the world because of His desire to do good to His creations was out of largess and not out of a lack.

But one who receives something must have a deficiency. That is, if the receiver wants to enjoy what he is receiving, the receiver must choose only those things he wants. Otherwise, he will derive no pleasure from this. He wants to enjoy but it is impossible. This is what we see in our nature. Moreover, the extent of the pleasure he receives depends on the extent of the yearning. Thus, the yearning for something determines the extent of the pleasure from it, whether a lot or a little.

In order for His desire to do good, meaning for the creatures to enjoy the delight and pleasures, He created in the creatures a desire and yearning to always crave to receive pleasure. If they cannot satisfy the lack for the thing they want, they suffer, and the extent of the suffering from not being able to satisfy the lack also depends on the extent of the yearning for it.

Sometimes, the suffering becomes such that a person says, “I’d rather die than live,” if I cannot satisfy my deficiency. But this is because of the suffering he suffers from his lack. Naturally, when he receives the satisfaction of his need, of which he said “I’d rather die than live,” what pleasure he feels when he receives the filling!

When speaking of the work, a person must come to such a lack at not having Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator that he says, “If I cannot achieve Dvekut with the Creator, this absence causes me such torments that I say, ‘I’d rather die than live.’”

This is called a “real desire,” and this desire is worthy of satisfaction. The order of the work is that each time, a yearning for Dvekut awakens in a person, and when he walks on the path toward Dvekutwith the Creator, he always checks if he has been granted nearing the Creator. That is, when it says, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,” does he really love the Creator or does he love himself, as well?

This is as our sages said (Sukkah 45), “Anyone who joins for the sake of the Creator with another thing is uprooted from the world.” This means that he prays to the Creator to help him be able to do everything for the sake of the Creator, meaning that his only aim will be to bestow. However, he also adds a little bit of the aim for himself, as well, which is another thing from “for the sake of the Creator.” “For the sake of the Creator” is to bestow, while he, during the prayer that the Creator will help him, wants also for his own sake, which is another thing from the desire to bestow, the complete opposite.

This is why he is “uprooted from the world.” That is, the Creator created the world in order to do good to His creations, and from this world he is uprooted due to lack of equivalence of form. Hence, each time, he criticizes himself to see if he is walking on the right path. If he sees that he is not, it pains him. But the suffering must be to a great extent, meaning that the suffering is the result of the need.

That is, it does not mean that he should suffer, but he must have a need, and the need causes suffering. In other words, the suffering he suffers testifies to the extent of his need.

It follows that the birth of the created beings with a desire to receive was necessary, for without a desire and yearning to receive pleasure, we would not have the concept of pleasure. Thus, why are we not feeling pleasure when we already have a desire and yearning for the pleasure, and we must labor or we will not be given pleasures in corporeality or spirituality?

The answer pertains to the above-mentioned intention to do good to His creations, as it is written (in the book Tree of Life), in its beginning: “The Tzimtzum [restriction] was in order to bring to light the perfection of His deeds.” It explains there (The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1) that it means that “Since there is the matter that every branch wants to resemble the root, when the created beings receive the delight and pleasure from the Creator, there will be shame in them. Hence, there was a correction in favor of the creatures, that if they receive in order to bestow, there will be no shame during the reception of the pleasures.”

Accordingly, we should understand that if we say that the Creator desires to do good to His creations out of largess, from where do the wicked come? This implies that one who does not want to receive the delight and pleasure is called “wicked,” but why is he called “wicked” if he does not want to receive the abundance, and one who does receive the delight and pleasure is called “righteous”?

The matter of observing Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] is as our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.” Through Torah and Mitzvot, the evil will be corrected. But what is the evil? It is that we cannot receive delight and pleasure because of the disparity, which causes us the shame. Because of the shame, we cannot be given, since the shame prevents the completeness of the delight and pleasure. This is why we are not given the delight and pleasure. Hence, they are told, not only are they not given delight and pleasure, but they are also given a name, “wicked.”

We should understand why they are called “wicked” if they cannot receive delight and pleasure. Since the Creator created the world out of largess, it is like a rich man who has everything and does not need a thing. He wishes to give almsgiving to the poor, and since he wants the poor to feel elated when they receive the almsgiving, and not feel any unpleasantness, the rich person said, “I will give the almsgiving, great or small, but on one condition.” That is, the almsgiving, great or small, does not depend on the giver, but on the receiver.

This is so because from the perspective of the Giver, He can give much more than the receiver can attain. That is, the receiver cannot know how much delight and pleasure the Giver can give him, since the receiver does not know what is the possession of the Giver. Instead, to the extent that the receiver tries to demand delight and pleasure, according to what he evaluates and understands that the Giver can give him. And indeed, what the Giver has to give to him is also above man’s intellect, and he cannot evaluate anything above his intellect.

Therefore, he must believe that there are things that are more precious and important than what the receiver can imagine, since all the attainments of the lower one are built on a corporeal, external mind, whereas spirituality is built on an internal mind. It is written about it in the introductions: “Each lower world, with respect to the world above it, is like a seed of mustard compared to an entire world.” For this reason, all the giving of the upper one, which we say is a great or small giving, does not depend on the upper one, but on the ability of the lower one to meet the conditions of the Giver. Only to the extent that the lower one tries to meet the conditions, to that extent the lower one receives. That is, if the lower one can place an aim on great giving, he receives great giving.

And what are the conditions that the Giver wants to give, which the lower one should meet? since the Creator created the world out of largess! That is, He is not deficient, so why does He need the lower one to follow His will? It seems as though the Giver does not want to give to him unless He receives from the receiver something in return.

The answer is that the Creator placed conditions at the time of the giving, that the receiver would not receive the almsgiving because of the yearning of the receiver, although the yearning for the giving that the Giver wants to give is very strong. Still, the Giver wants that on this reason, he should relinquish the reception and receive the almsgiving only because of the pleasure this gives to the Giver, who bestows upon the receiver. Our sages called this, “All your works will be for the sake of heaven and not for your own sake.”

However, we must know that this condition, that the Creator wants everyone to work only for Him, and not for one’s own sake is not in order to benefit the Creator, as though He needs this. Rather, the fact that the creatures work for the sake of the Creator is for the benefit of the creatures! That is, it is so that the creatures will not feel unpleasantness when they receive the almsgiving from the Giver. This is why the Giver placed this condition that they must do everything for the sake of the Creator and not for their own sake.

Now we can understand what we asked, Why are those who do not want to observe Torah and Mitzvot called “wicked”? After all, the Torah and Mitzvot were given in order to cleanse Israel with it, as Rabbi Hanania Ben Akashia says. It follows that one who does not observe Torah and Mitzvot will not receive delight and pleasure.

But, why are they called “wicked”? This is like a great doctor who comes to a hospital where cancer patients, which is a fatal illness, are operated. He says that he has a cure, and if they take the cure, they will all survive. Moreover, everyone will say that now they are enjoying life. That is, they will say that now they see that it was worthwhile to be born in order to receive these pleasures. And afterward, everyone will say wholeheartedly, “Blessed is He who said, ‘Let there be the world,’” since they will be in a world that is all good.

However, there is a group of people who are not letting the doctor come into the hospital. And when the doctor finally enters, after several pleas, and gives his cure to the patients, this group interferes and insists that they should not take the doctor’s cure. The question is, What name should be given to this group, which does not let these patients heal, since the patients are under their control? And it is so because as long as they are sick, this group has provision, but if they were cured from their illness, this group would have no provision. Certainly, they are regarded as wicked!

From aside, each one understands that if the doctor can punish them for not letting the patients heal, the doctor should certainly do so. No one will even think of saying that the doctor is angry at these wicked ones because they are disobeying him, but the doctor is punishing them for the sake of the patients. That is, the doctor wants to heal the patients out of largess and does not need any reward, since the doctor does not need anything that the patients should give him, but he comes to heal the patients only so the patients will feel good and be able to enjoy life. Certainly, one who sees what the doctor does will not say about him that he is doing something for his own sake.

For this reason, when the doctor says that this group, which does not let the patients take the cure, is wicked and deserves punishment, so that through the punishments they will suffer, these sufferings that the wicked will feel will cause them to stop interfering with the patients so that they can take the cure, as everyone understands that this is for the sake of the patients and not for the sake of the doctor.

By this we should interpret that although the Creator created the world out of largess, and the Creator has no lacks that the creatures can give Him something to complement it, since the Creator is complete and has no lacks in Him, still, because He wants the creatures to enjoy life, He sets a condition that the creatures will receive everything because the Creator wants them to receive delight and pleasure, for by this the delight and pleasure will be without any shame. This is called “the completeness of His actions.”

This is the cure that the doctor wants to give to the patients, who are near death, called “the wicked in their lives are called ‘dead.’” Through the cure, called “desire to bestow,” they will achieve Dvekut, and will adhere to the Life of Lives. It therefore follows that those who do not want the patients to receive, do not let them engage in Torah and Mitzvot, by which they can be rewarded with the cure called “desire to bestow.” In these Kelim [vessels], the Creator can place the delight and pleasure, since when they receive the delight and pleasure in these Kelim, they will not lose the Dvekut called “equivalence of form.” Dvekut means that they emerge from the state of “the wicked are called ‘dead,’” and are rewarded with life.

Thus, what does it mean that this group does not want and interfere with the reception of the cure? With what do they interfere? By not letting them observe Torah and Mitzvot, for by this they receive the cure, which is the aim to bestow. Naturally, it is clear why they are considered wicked for interfering with the reception of the cure. That is, the cure by which they will be rewarded with life is called “desire to bestow.” The forces that interfere do not let them take the cure, called “Torah and Mitzvot,” as our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.”

For this reason, those who interfere, who are considered wicked, deserve punishments. Through the suffering they will feel, they will stop interfering with the reception of the cure. It follows that everything that the Creator does, meaning the punishments, is all for the sake of the created beings.

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is a Flood of Water in the Work?

Article No. 04, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

The Zohar, Noah (Item 148), interprets the verse, “Behold, I bring the flood of water on the earth.” These are its words: “Rabbi Yehuda opened: ‘These are the waters of Merivah [Hebrew: quarreling], where the children of Israel quarreled.’ He asks, ‘Did the children of Israel not quarrel with the Creator elsewhere?’ He answers, ‘These were the waters of quarreling, which gave power and might to the accuser to grow stronger because there is sweet water, and there is bitter water, Kedusha[holiness] and the opposite of the right line. There is clear water and there is murky water, the Kedusha and the opposite of the left line. There is water of peace and water of quarreling, Kedusha and the opposite of the middle line. Hence, the verse says, ‘These are the waters of Merivah, where the children of Israel quarreled with the Creator,’ indicating that it is the opposite of the middle line, for they extended on themselves what they should not have extended—the opposite, called ‘waters of quarreling’—and were defiled in it, as it is written, ‘And He sanctified in them.’”

We should understand the meaning of the three types of water, which he says correspond to three lines. What is it in the work? The Zohar certainly speaks from high degrees, where there is the matter of three types of abundance that manifest in three manners, but what can we learn from this in the work?

First, we must know what is “a flood of water” in the work. This flood was the saboteur who “obliterated every living thing.” It is known that when a person begins to work in the work of bestowal, the body complains, “What is this work for you?” “What point is there in it, that you do not want to work for your own benefit? since you must see that you will enjoy life, and bestowing means that you will not work for yourself. What benefit will you derive from working to delight the Creator by observing His Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], which He has commanded us through Moses? Will He reward you for your work, that you labor in Torah and Mitzvot?”

“To this, you tell me that you want to work without reward. How is it possible to understand such a thing as working for no reward? It makes no sense! Our inherent nature is a desire to receive delight and pleasure, and if we exert in something, it must be that we are receiving delight and pleasure in return for our efforts. Thus, it is against our nature!” This is called the “What” argument.

However, there is another argument by which the body resists the work of the Creator when a person tells the body, “We must believe in the Creator, that He is the overseer who leads the world as The Good Who Does Good.” At that time, the body comes to the person and makes the Pharaoh argument, who said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” That is, it is hard for him to believe in the Creator. He says he can work for the sake of the Creator, but on condition: If he felt the greatness of the Creator, he would understand that it is worthwhile to work for Him.

It is as we see in corporeality: If a great person comes and many people determine that he is great, and common sense agrees with those who say that he is great, then just as in corporeality, a person can work and serve the great one. Clearly, if he could feel this greatness about the Creator he would also be able to work and serve the Creator. Yet, we do not have this feeling with regard to the Creator. Rather, as we see, the Shechina [Divinity] is in exile and there is no sensation whatsoever of the greatness of the Creator. Thus, how can he annul his self-benefit before the benefit of the Creator?

When those two— Mi and MA [“Who” and “What” respectively]—connect, it creates the combination Mayim [in Hebrew]. This is the meaning of the words “a flood of water on the earth,” by which they died. That is, all the spirituality, which is called “life,” was lost due to these waters, which are the two questions, “Who” and “What.” The spirit of life of Kedusha departed from them and they remained dead, as it is written, “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead.’” This is called “the waters of the flood” in the work. Because of these waters, they died in the work and could not continue the work of the Creator due to the arguments, “Who” and “What.”

This is the meaning of what is written in The Zohar (Item 200): “Rabbi Yosi said, ‘He saw the angel of death coming with the floodwater and therefore went into the ark.’” This means that the saboteur, who is the angel of death, is within the arguments, “Who” and “What.”

The salvation of the ark from the flood in the work means that there is the matter of above reason. This is regarded as wanting to walk with his eyes shut, meaning that although reason and the senses do not understand what our sages tell us, they assume upon them faith in the sages and say that we must take upon ourselves faith in the sages, as it is written, “And they believed in the Lord and in His servant, Moses.” Without faith, nothing can be achieved in spirituality.

This discernment is called Bina, which is covered Hassadim and is called “desiring mercy.” This means that he does not want to understand anything, and says about everything that it is certainly God’s Hesed [grace/mercy] that He does with him. Although he does not see the Hassadim [plural of Hesed] that the Creator does with him and with the entire world, he still believes that the Creator leads His world with private Providence of benevolence, as it is written, “And all believe that He is good to all, the good who does good to the bad and to the good.”

This is covered Hassadim, meaning that although he does not see that it is Hassadim, he still believes above reason and says, “They have eyes and see not.” This is also called an “ark,” for one who enters covered Hassadim and accepts everything above reason, in that place there is no control to the Sitra Achra [other side]. This is so because all the questions that the Sitra Achra asks can control only within reason, but above reason, that territory belongs to the Kedusha, for all the questions are only according to the external mind.

Conversely, the internal mind comes after a person has been rewarded with equivalence of form. At that time he understands within the internal mind and sees that everything that the external mind thought that it was right, once he is rewarded with the internal mind, he sees that everything that the external mind argues is untrue, as Baal HaSulam wrote in an essay in Tav-Shin-Gimel [1942-43].

Accordingly, “the saboteur being inside the floodwater and puts a person to death” means that within the water, which is the “Who” and “What,” meaning with these arguments, he kills people. This is the meaning of what The Zohar says, “Rabbi Yosi said, ‘He saw the angel of death coming with the floodwater and therefore went into the ark.’”

In other words, he saw that with these arguments he would lose his spirit of life. At that time, he went into the quality of above reason, which is Bina, which desires mercy, meaning that he wants only to bestow and not receive a thing. Instead, he is happy with his share and regards whatever understanding and feeling about the work of the Creator that he has as a great reward. He is also happy about all the arguments he heard from the “Who” and “What” because now he can go above reason. By this he is saved from the flood of water.

According to the above, we can interpret what The Zohar says (Noah, Item 196), “A person should certainly hide himself so as not to be seen by the saboteur when he is in the world, so he will not look at him, for he has permission to destroy all those seen by him.”

(And in Item 200) “This is why the Creator sought to cover Noah and hide him from sight. And Noah came to hide from the eye, from the water of the flood, for the water pressed him into the ark. He saw the water of the flood and feared it, hence he came to the ark.”

We should understand how it can be said about a sabotaging angel that if Noah enters the ark, the angel cannot see him because he is in the ark. How can we understand this if the Creator advised Noah to enter the ark so the sabotaging angel would not see him? Clearly, when he saw the ark, what would he think, that this is an empty ark without people? Even if the saboteur were corporeal, he would certainly want to see what is in the ark, all the more so with an angel, does he not see what is in the ark? Is this possible?

In the work, we should interpret that the sabotaging angel sees those people who walk within reason. With them, he can argue with arguments of “Who” and “What.” But when the Creator told him to go into Bina, which is called “the covered world,” meaning it is covered from external ones, who are those who go with the external mind, the saboteur can see them because they have a common language, meaning externality.

But those who go above reason, who do everything because of faith in the Creator and through faith in the sages, who give them guidance how to go and achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, and be rewarded with the internal mind, called “the mind of the Torah,” in that place it is regarded that the sabotaging angel has no means to see because his vision is in vessels of reception.

For this reason, our sages said, “Once the saboteur is given permission, it does not distinguish between good and bad.” We interpreted that this means that when the saboteur is given permission, even people who engage in reception in order to bestow, who are considered good, since they engage in reception, there can be slandering by him. Hence, they, too, enter Bina, which is vessels of bestowal, where the Sitra Achra has no grip. This is regarded as the sabotaging angel not being able to see who is in the ark, since his grip is only on vessels of reception, where he can slander and accuse.

But one who walks into the ark, which is Bina, a vessel of bestowal, the Sitra Achra does not see them. That is, they have no common language making it possible to understand what the Sitra Achraargues against the work.

When a person walks on the path of bestowal, which is regarded as above reason, faith, until the point of faith the Sitra Achra can argue with a person. But as soon as a person has entered the ark of faith, above reason, the Sitra Achra remains standing by the gate of faith and cannot continue.

It is as it is written in The Study of the Ten Sefirot (Part 14), “This Bina is still not regarded as devoid of Rosh [head] (meaning wholeness) because Bina does not suffer from any force of Tzimtzum[restriction].” This means that since Bina is regarded as desiring mercy, which is a vessel of bestowal, she does not need anything for herself, and anything that she can do above reason, she feels that she has something to give. That is, Tzimtzum is called “lack,” and the lack always comes by one’s desire to receive something. If he needs to receive and someone interferes, meaning that the giver says, “Yes, I will give you, but only on my terms. If you agree to my terms, you will receive. Otherwise, you will not.” Here there is room for interferences.

That is, if the receiver is unfit to meet the terms that the giver requires then the giver is deficient. That is, the conditions that the giver requires are called “limitations and restrictions,” and the receiver is not always willing to meet these terms.

But if he does not want to receive anything from the giver, he does not mind that the giver wants to give only according to restrictions, since he has no business with the giving of the giver. This is called Bina, a vessel of bestowal. She wants to give and not receive anything.

However, there is great depth here in Bina wanting to give and not receive anything. Here, there is already a condition on the part of the lower one, the giver. That is, the fact that the lower one wants to bestow, the lower one says, “Only according to the term I will present to You, I am willing to bestow upon You. Otherwise, I cannot give You anything.” What is the condition? “I want to see if You are really important. And not simply important, but in order for me to be able to give You everything and leave nothing for myself, but observe ‘with all your heart and with all your soul,’ I can give You this only on condition that I feel Your greatness and importance. Then I will be ready for anything. Otherwise, I cannot give You what You ask of me.”

It follows that when a person does not feel the greatness of the Creator, the body cannot annul before Him “with all your heart and with all your soul.” However, in truth, by presenting a condition that says, “I agree to work for You only on condition that I see Your importance and greatness,” he already wants to receive from the Creator—the greatness of the Creator—or he will not want to work with all his heart. Thus, a person is already limited and placed under the governance of concealment, and he is not free to say that he wants nothing but to bestow. This is not true since he does want something before he observes “that all your works will be for the sake of the Creator.” That is, he first wants to receive the greatness of the Creator, and then say that he will annul before the Creator. Certainly, this is not regarded as Bina because Bina desires mercy and wants nothing, for she does want.

It follows that Bina, whose quality is desiring mercy, meaning that she does not need to receive anything, is therefore free, since only one who needs to receive is limited and dependent on the view of others. But one who goes with his eyes shut and does not need any greatness or anything else, this is called “freedom.”

However, we must know that it is a lot of work before we attain the quality of Bina. That is, to be content with little with his feeling and his mind, and be happy with his share, with what he has. That person can always be in wholeness because he is happy with his share.

But what can one do if he has not yet obtained this quality, and he sees that he cannot overcome his will to receive. At that time, he must pray to the Creator to help him so he can go in the work with his eyes shut, and will not need anything, and will be able to do everything for the sake of the Creator despite the resistance of the body to this.

That is, he does not tell the Creator how He should help him. Rather, he must subjugate himself and annul before the Creator unconditionally. But since he cannot overcome his body, he asks the Creator to help him win the war against the inclination, since he understands his lowliness.

For this reason, he asks the Creator to have mercy on him because he is worse than other people, who can be servants of the Creator, whereas he is worse than them. He sees that he has a desire to receive in self-love more than all of them. Therefore, he is ashamed of himself that he can be so lowly. For this reason, he asks the Creator to have mercy on him and deliver him from the governance of the evil inclination.

Yet, he does not ask for help because he is more important than other people. Rather, he is worse than the rest of the people because his will to receive is more developed and works within him more vigorously.

However, he is not asking to be given more knowledge about the greatness of the Creator, and then he will be able to emerge from the governance of evil. Although this is true, he does not want to tell the Creator that he wants to present Him with conditions and only then he will annul before the Creator. Rather, he agrees to remain with little understanding and little feeling, not more than he has now. But since he does not have the power to overcome, he asks the Creator to give him the power to overcome, and not brains, mind, or feeling.

Any advice that a person gives to the Creator seems as though he is setting conditions, as though he has a status and a view. But this is insolence of a person to present the Creator with conditions and say, “If You give me, for example, good taste in the work, I will be able to work for You. Otherwise, I cannot.” Instead, one should say, “I want to annul myself and surrender unconditionally, just give me the strength to really be able to emerge from self-love and love the Lord ‘with all your heart.’”

If a person presents conditions, it does not point to one’s lowliness. On the contrary, it shows that this person considers himself worthy and proud. It is as though he says, “The rest of the people are mindless; they can work for You. But I am not like other people; I know better what it means to be Jewish and what is the work of the Creator.” Therefore, he says to the Creator that He should treat him as he understands it, and not as the Creator understands it.

Accordingly, we can understand the matter of three lines, where The Zohar introduces three discernments: 1) Sweet water, and the opposite of Kedusha, which is bitter water. It is known that “right” means wholeness, as it is written in Baal HaSulam’s essay from Tav-Shin-Gimel [1942-43], that one must believe above reason that he is complete. The opposite of complete is that the Sitra Achra comes and shows him all the deficiencies, how he is not following the path of the Creator, thus dropping a person into a state of sadness to the point that the person wishes to escape the campaign. At that time he only wishes to kill time and sees everything as black.

2) The “left line” is when a person wants to introspect within reason to see what he is truly like according to his eyes, whether he is whole or lacking. Since he has prepared himself for this scrutiny and shifted to the left line because now he wants to pray to the Creator to help him love the Lord with heart and soul, this is called “clear water,” since there is no waste or mixture here. Rather, he wants to find a place where he can pray to the Creator.

Conversely, the opposite of Kedusha comes with complaints and makes him see that he is just fine and has nothing to pray for. This is called “murky water,” for “clear” means that there are no mixtures there. That is, he sees the truth, as he sees according to his view and mind. He sees that he is wrong and has the power and desire to pray to the Creator to help him be rewarded with loving the Creator “with all your heart.” At that time comes the opposite of Kedusha and mixes falsehood there, telling him that he is fine and has nothing to pray for. This is murky water, where falsehood is intermingled in that they say that he is fine and has nothing to pray for.

We should also interpret what The Zohar says, “There is water of peace and water of quarreling, Kedusha and the opposite of the middle line.” The law is that the middle line is a merger of the two lines. Since the right line of Kedusha is wholeness, with respect to above reason, and the left line means that he sees within reason that he is incomplete, but quite the contrary, he is full of deficiencies.

For this reason, the middle line consists of two lines. That is, it is impossible to go above reason before he has reason that shows him the situation, how it seems to him within reason. Then it can be said that he is not looking at what the mind obligates him to do. Rather, he goes above the intellect and believes in the sages, in what the sages tell him, and does not use his own mind.

But if he has no mind and reason to tell him something, it cannot be said that he is going above reason. This is why the middle line is called “peace,” since he needs the two lines. That is, by having two opposite lines and needing both.

But why is it called “peace”? We should interpret that when he has two lines together, he must raise the right line over the left line, as it is written in The Zohar. It means that the line of wholeness is built on the above reason, on the left line, and by this we acquire the desire to love the Creator. This is the Segula [virtue/remedy/quality] of above reason.

It is as Baal HaSulam said, that the fact that the Creator wants us to serve Him above reason, the Creator chose this way since this is the most successful way for the created beings to be rewarded with Dvekut, and then they are rewarded with peace. It is as it is written (Psalms 85), “I will hear what the Lord God shall speak, for He shall speak peace unto His people and unto His followers, and let them not turn back to folly.” It follows that the merging of two lines is called “peace,” and this is the middle line in Kedusha.

Conversely, the opposite of Kedusha is called “waters of quarreling,” since they extended upon themselves that which they should not have extended, called “waters of quarreling,” and were defiled in it. This means that the opposite of Kedusha raised the left line over the right line, meaning said the exact opposite of Kedusha.

The path of Kedusha is that we need the “within reason,” which resists what the “above reason” says. The reason why they need to use and engage in the left line is not that they want to walk in the left line and listen to it. On the contrary, they need to use and engage with the reason so as to have room to go above reason. But what did the opposite of Kedusha do? They extended the left line so as to control the right line, meaning go within reason.

This is real Tuma’a [impurity], for Tuma’a in the work is called “the denseness of the heart.” That is, the will to receive blocks the heart so the Kedusha cannot enter the heart due to disparity of form. Thus, a quarrel with the Creator ensued over why the Creator is not giving them delight and pleasure, which is the opposite of peace. For this reason, we must try to go with faith above reason.

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is the Difference between the Gate of Tears and the Rest of the Gates?

Article No. 03, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

Our sages said (Berachot 59), “Rabbi Elazar said, ‘Since the day of the ruin of the Temple, the gates of prayer have been locked. Although the gates of prayer have been locked, the gates of tears have not been locked.’” People ask, If the gates of tears were not locked, why are gates needed, if they are not locked?

We see that when little children cry when they want something, or when a person sees children playing with games and one child snatches something from another and the child cries, when people pass by them, who pays attention to this? Everyone knows that although now they are squabbling, later they will make up. Therefore, no one pays attention to the weeping of children.

But when a grownup walks on the street and people see that he is crying, it captures the attention of those who pass by him to know why he is crying, because certainly, a grownup does not cry over nothing. Therefore, the crying of a grownup causes interest; perhaps he can help him.

It is likewise in the work. There are people who observe Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] with all the details and consider themselves complete and with fear. But since we must observe what our sages said, “Be very, very humble,” this causes them a lot of work since they must search within them for some flaw that will enable them to say that they are lowly.

For example, I heard of a person who asked a wise disciple how come he says that he is lowly and has transgressions, when he sees for himself that not many people in the world are as wise and God fearing as he. It follows that by saying that he is lowly, he is lying. He replied to him that he believes in our sages who said, “No person is saved from the dust of slander.” Therefore, he already has a flaw. A person like him, who knows about himself that he is a complete person, when he cries for the Creator to give him strength to engage in Torah and Mitzvot, is not crying over an essential matter—that the Creator will bring him closer to Torah and Mitzvot. Rather, he lacks some supplement to the completeness that he has. Although he cries bitterly, no one looks at his cries since he is crying over luxuries.

It follows that there are gates of tears before this person, but they are closed and do not let his prayer enter for the same reason as in corporeality, one does not cry over luxuries, but over necessities.

This is similar to the allegory about a person who came from abroad and went to a certain town or a small settlement. The secretariat of the settlement wanted to charge him, say, $10,000 in order to give him a place to stay at the settlement. But that Jew did not have the required amount. He went to the rabbi and poured his heart out. The rabbi promised him that on Shabbat [Sabbath], before the reading of the Torah [the highlight of the Shabbat service], he would speak to the congregants and they will certainly donate.

So it was. The rabbi raised his voice wailing about how a man tending to children came from Russia and suffered a great deal, now he has no place to live and no job, and we can save this person. The rabbi’s wailing impressed the congregants and they gave him the required sum.

Six months later, the rabbi came to the congregants once more and started wailing and crying out once more: “Compassionate Jews, now, too, I need $10,000. My wife was at a wedding and another rabbi’s wife came from America, and wore a diamond ring worth $10,000. Now my wife wants me to buy her such a ring, as well. The rabbi raised his voice weeping, but no one in the crowd would donate for the rabbi’s wife’s ring. As the rabbi began to wail more loudly, the crowd began to laugh at his weeping. He complained to the congregants, “Why when I came to collect money for an ordinary person, each gave according to his heart’s desire, and now that I am asking for money for a wise disciple, who is a rabbi, too, you are not helping me? Where is the glory of the Torah?”

The lesson is that when a person cries and his tears are over necessities, meaning that he cries out and wails to the Creator to help him be a simple person, not even a wise disciple, but simply a Jew who believes in the Creator, and to be able to observe “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul,” and that he will not be immersed in self-love, but wants to be a simple person, meaning to always want to love the Creator and not work for his own sake, yet he sees that he has no power to overcome the self-love, and everything he does is for his own sake, so what makes him be regarded as a Jew when he cannot even observe the Shema reading [a key section in every Jewish prayer], and when he says, “And you shall love the Lord your God,” he sees how far he is from it. He cries over this and sees that he has already done everything in order to be rewarded with anything that is true, and he has already been to all the gates with his prayer, but saw that all the gates are locked. Then, in his anguish, he begins to cry.

When these tears come to the gate of tears, he sees that this gate was not locked, since he is not asking for luxuries, for supplements to the possession of Torah and Mitzvot that he already has. Rather, he is asking only to be a simple Jew, to believe in the Creator and to love Him, and not be immersed in self-love. But since he cannot do anything for the sake of the Creator, he feels that he is simply not a Jew.

That is, he asks himself, “I believe in the Creator, and He is very great, yet He sees that I cannot relinquish my self-benefit before the benefit of the Creator.” Therefore, he yells and cries simply that he lacks faith, to truly believe in the Creator, and not as lip-service. This is similar to a person whispering that he is taking upon himself faith in the Creator, when in fact, he is not impressed when he says, “I hereby take upon myself the burden of the kingdom of heaven,” and he does everything for his own sake, and has no strength to work for the sake of the Creator. It is said that before such a person, the gates of tears were not locked, since he is asking for necessity and not for luxury, as in the above allegory about the wise disciple rabbi who asked to be given money for a diamond for his wife.

It follows that saying that the gates of tears were not locked, and we asked, “If they were not locked, why is a gate required in the first place?” The answer is that the gate of tears was locked before those who cry over luxuries. Their tears are as the tears of a child crying over nothing, or as in the allegory about the rabbi. This is not so for those who cry over necessity, which are things that concern every person who sees that he is standing between life and death, since he believes what our sages said, “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead,’” since they have no Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator and are immersed in self-love, which is considered separation from the Life of Lives, and this is why they are called dead. It follows that he is crying simply to be given life. Certainly, one who prays for life, who is afraid of death, cries from the bottom of the heart, and his prayer is not mere weeping.

But on the surface, a person cannot tell if one is crying over nothing, the way children cry, or like the rabbi allegory. However, above, it is known what a person is asking for so that his request will be answered, since luxuries are not given from above, as he is certain not to keep what he is given and the Sitra Achra [other side] will receive it all. Therefore, if a person sees that his prayer was not accepted, he must go over the request that he is making and see whether he really needs heaven’s mercy, or if what he is lacking is a mere luxury. A person should believe that when he prays for necessity, his prayer will be answered, as was said, “The gates of tears were not locked,” when a person asks for his life to be saved and not to remain in a state of “The wicked are called ‘dead.’” Instead, he will be rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator.

This is similar to what Baal HaSulam explained about the words, “When the gates of prayer were locked, the gates of tears were not locked.” That is, when were the gates of tears not locked? It is when a person has been to all the gates and saw that they were all locked before him. In that state, the wailing and the tears burst from his heart, when he sees that all the gates were locked and he has no hope of approaching the Creator. These tears cause the gates of tears not to be locked.

But mere tears, before a person sees that all the gates were locked, these tears cannot be accepted at the gate of tears. For this reason, before him, the gate of tears is locked, since he still does not have a real desire for the Creator to bring him closer. Rather, he thinks that he can approach the Kedusha by himself, as well. As a result, his prayer is incomplete, so he really needs the Creator to help him.

Accordingly, we can interpret what we ask (at the Yom Kippur closing prayer), “Open a gate for us, when a gate is locked.” We should understand why specifically when a gate is locked, we need a gate to open up to us. After all, we have been praying all day, so why is it not enough for our plea to be accepted, and we ask that only now, when a gate is locked, it will open for us, as though only now we can pray and before, our prayers were not enough?

The thing is that we should pray two kinds of prayers: 1) When a person comes to pray to the Creator for his needs, he still does not know what he needs. He might be crying bitterly to the Creator to grant his wish, but he is praying for trivialities, such as in the allegory about the children or the allegory about the wise disciple rabbi. Therefore, a person’s first prayer is that the Creator will let him know what he really needs, so he will know what to ask.

In the Rosh Hashanah [beginning of the year] prayer, and in the Musaf [supplemental] prayer on Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement], we say, “Be the mouths of Your people, the house of Israel, who are poised to ask for prayer and litany before You for Your people, the house of Israel. Instruct them what to say; make them understand what they will say; answer what they will ask; make them know how to glorify.”

It is known that in terms of the work, every person is a small world. Therefore, “Your people, the house of Israel,” means the person himself. “The messenger of Your people, the house of Israel” means that the person prays and asks that the Creator will save him. The one who prays is called a “messenger” for the person himself, and the person himself is regarded as “Your people, the house of Israel.” We must pray that our messenger will know what to pray for, since one does not know what he really needs. Rather, the Creator should notify a person what is important and what is unimportant, meaning what is regarded as necessity, and what is considered luxury.

This is why we are told to pray for those who pray, “Instruct them what to say; make them understand what they will say; answer what they will ask.” We pray that the Creator will let us know what to pray. At the time of the locking of a gate, we believe that we already have the knowledge, meaning we already understand what to pray for because we already know how to pray for the main thing we need.

2) At that time begins the second kind of prayer, where He sheds real tears, meaning for a real need. It is about this that we pray, “Open a gate for us when a gate is locked.” When a gate is locked, we believe that we already received the knowledge from above what to pray for. For this reason, we say, “Do not close the gate,” as though now, at the end of the day of all the prayers, we can ask on a real prayer.

By this we can interpret what we say on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, “And all believe that He answers the anxious, opens a gate to those who knock in repentance.” We should understand why we need to pray to open the gate if the gate is open. That is, why do we need to pray that He will open the gate if there is a very simple way—to shed tears in the prayer he is praying? It is known that the gate of tears was not locked, so a person has the option of crying and he does not need to ask for a favor, that the gate will be opened for him. Thus, why does one need to believe this, as it is written, “And all believe that He answers the anxious, opens a gate to those who knock in repentance”? After all, he has a good solution—that the person making repentance will cry with tears and that gate will not be locked.

However, a person must pray first, in order to know what he really needs. Then, he is notified from above that he does not need luxuries, but as The Zohar says about the verse “Or make his sin known to him,” the Creator makes him know the sin. At that time he knows on what he needs to repent, meaning to restore what he is lacking.

It follows that when a person knows that he is wicked, as in “the wicked in their lives are called ‘dead,’” when he has come to realize that the fact that he is placed under the control of the will to receive separates him from the Life of Lives, he knocks about this and wants to repent. That is, he wants to be given help from above so he can emerge from self-love and be able to love the Creator with all his heart. Thus, he feels that he is wicked, since where he should love the Creator, he loves himself.

It follows that his knocks, we understand that he does what he can to make the Creator bring him closer and take him out of the control of his own evil. This is called “real tears.” This is the meaning of what we explained, “Open a gate for us, when a gate is locked.” That is, since he sees that all the gates are closed, he begins to knock. It follows that at the time of the locking of the gate, when he has already prayed and was notified the reason for the sin, he begins to shed the real tears, meaning at that time he simply wants to be a Jew. At that time, his knocks are regarded as tears, and this is the meaning of “Who opens a gate to those who knock in repentance.”

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is a Great or a Small Sin in the Work?

Article No. 02, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

First, we need to know what is regarded as “work.” That is, what is the meaning of the word “work” that we use? We should know that we were given the 613 Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] of the Torah to observe, and the seven Mitzvot of our great sages [De Rabanan]. We should also observe the customs of Israel that the sages of Israel established, each place according to its custom. They determined for us what is a great Mitzva [singular of Mitzvot] and what is a great transgression.

For example, our sages said, “Great is respect of the father and mother, for the Creator was more strict about it than about His own glory” (Jerusalem Talmud, Chapter 1, 5:1). Or, “Almsgiving is greater than charity” (Sukkah 49), and many others like it by our sages. The same applies to transgressions. Our sages said, “The punishment for slander is worse than the punishment for idolatry” (Mid rash Gadol and Gedolah, Chapter 18).

It follows that they determined what is a great Mitzva and what is a small Mitzva by comparing one to the other. Also, concerning transgressions, they determined which is a grave transgression, and opposite it, which is a small transgression. We must believe that what they determined is really so. This is the meaning of “faith in the sages,” that we must believe what they said and we must not doubt them. All this is called “Torah,” meaning that man’s hand has no connection to it.

“Work” is named after man, after what he does, since a person who works makes the measures, how to keep them. That is, the intention over the act is not in one’s hand to change in any way. Rather, this pertains to the reason, meaning that the worker has measures of the reason for which he observes Torah and Mitzvot.

This is as Maimonides said (Hil chot Teshuva, Chapter 11), “Therefore, when teaching little ones, women, and uneducated people, they are taught to work only out of fear and in order to receive reward. Until they gain much knowledge and acquire much wisdom, they are taught that secret little-by-little.”

We see that Maimonides says that there are measures in the reason, meaning that “women,” “little ones,” and “uneducated people” have the reason of Lo Lishma [not for Her sake]. But those who have already gained much knowledge and acquired much wisdom are given a different reason, which is the Lishma [for Her sake], which is that they must work in order to bestow contentment upon their Maker, and not for their own sake.

It follows that in terms of the act, there is no difference between small and great. But in the intention, meaning in the reason for observing Torah and Mitzvot, there are differences between types of people. Some people belong to the general public, or as Maimonides says, “uneducated people.” There is a difference between the general public and the individual. That is, some individuals do not want to walk in the path of the general public and work for their own sake, but a passion has awakened in their heart to work in order to bestow.

We should know that the work of bestowal means that the person is the giver, while in the work in order to receive reward, the Creator is the giver. There is a big difference between them because the reason for the work is what one receives for it. Thus, a person evaluates the Mitzvot according to the reward. If there is a great and important reward for the work, a person regards it as a great Mitzva, since he is examining the reward.

Conversely, in the work of bestowal, where man is the giver, the consideration is the greatness of the receiver, meaning to whom a person gives. The greater the receiver, the greater and more important is the giving. It is as our sages said, “With an important person, if she gives and he says, ‘You are hereby dedicated [wedded],’ it is as though he has given, since she enjoyed his receiving from her.”

Thus, we see that the greatness of the giving depends on whom we give. By this we measure the greatness of the act. That is, if we give to a great person, it is considered “great giving.” If we give to a small person, it is “small giving.”

From this we can gauge the measure of the work of bestowal. If a person bestows upon a small king, it is small work, since the giver is not so impressed while giving to a small king. But if the person bestows upon a great king, the act of giving is great because “she enjoyed his receiving from her.” It is a great pleasure because he is bestowing upon a great king.

Thus, we see that the greatness or smallness of the giving depends on the worker himself. One who works in Torah and Mitzvot determines to which type he belongs. If he is still in the education called “commandments taught by people,” it means he is still working in Torah and Mitzvot for his own sake, as mentioned in the words of Maimonides, who says, “When teaching little ones, women, and uneducated people, they are taught to work in order to receive reward,” called Lo Lishma.

“Taught” means that as he has been used to working thus far, which was the time of Lo Lishma, that person measures smallness and greatness according to the measure of the reward. But those who work in order to bestow, measure according to the greatness of the receiver of the work.

Accordingly, we can understand that there might be two people performing the same Mitzva. To one, it will be considered a great Mitzva, since he gives his work to a great king. Thus, he feels that he is serving a great king, which makes him delighted and elated that he has been given the great privilege of entering and serving a great king, and there is no end to his joy.

Conversely, the other one does not think that in everything he does, he is serving a great king, but rather a small king. That is, he sees that no one appreciates observing his commandments. But since he feels sorry for this king, he observes his commandments. In that state, a person understands that the king should be considerate of him because he feels sorry for the king when no else wants to look at the king. In that state, a person measures what the king pays him for his work.

If the reward that the king gives him does not shine for him, although he does everything that the king commanded him, then he does it lazily, without vitality, since the reward that the king will give him for his work does not shine for him.

It follows that those two people, who are doing the same, to one it is regarded as performing a great commandment because he receives much vitality and elation in serving a great king, while the other has no elation and he does it by force, since the reward he will receive later does not shine for him as important.

Hence, there is a great difference between them: One thinks that the Mitzva he is observing is a small Mitzva, meaning of little importance, and the other considers it a great Mitzva, meaning he says that he cannot grasp the importance and greatness of the Mitzva, and feels that he does not need to be given any reward for it later.

Rather, he feels right now the reward in that he derives great pleasure in the privilege of serving a great king. It follows that he is delighted because he has already received the reward. He does not have to believe he will receive reward, and he has no doubts about the reward, that we can say that he is unhappy since he doubts the matter of reward and punishment because he has received the reward right on the spot, and he does not expect any other reward.

Rather, he believes that in serving a great king, this gives him pleasure, and for this, it is worthwhile to be born, to have the privilege of serving a great king. It follows that the person himself determines what is regarded as a great Mitzva or a small Mitzva.

However, sometimes it might be to the contrary, meaning that he is walking on one line, where all his actions are only to aim that the act will be in order in its every detail and subtlety. He engages in Torah and Mitzvot in order to later receive reward in this world or in the next world, and he believes in reward and punishment when he performs the Mitzva, and is meticulous in doing the most important Mitzvot that our sages determined which is a great Mitzva and which is a less important one.

When he performs the Mitzva that he has chosen as a great Mitzva, he is happy and feels that he is the most important person, since he has a greater reward than the rest of the people. Naturally, he performs the Mitzva with great enthusiasm.

But his friend, who is doing the same great Mitzva as he, does not want to work in order to receive reward. Rather, he wants to work in order to bestow. And in order to work in order to bestow he must believe that he is serving a great and important king, worth serving without anything in return. If the faith he has in the Creator cannot make him feel that he is serving a great King then he has no power to work joyfully.

Instead, at that time he works compulsively, overcoming resistance, since the body makes him see that it is not worthwhile to work in order to bestow upon a small king. It tells him, “I can understand your friend, who is working in order to receive reward, so it does not matter if he is serving a great king or a small one, since he looks mainly at the reward.”

Thus, it makes no difference whether he is a great or a small king, since what makes him a great king is mainly the reward. If he gives a small reward, he is a small king. It follows that here there is a different order than in bestowing contentment upon his Maker, which is the only reason obligating him to engage in Torah and Mitzvot, compared to the reason obliging him to engage in Torah and Mitzvot being to receive reward.

We see that it is impossible to determine the truth according to man’s feelings. When a person sees that he is working gladly and enthusiastically, it still does not mean that he is on the right path. This is why our sages said, “Make for yourself a rav [great one/teacher],” for only the rav can guide him and determine which way he is going.

But a working person, although he feels which is good and which is bad, he still cannot know the truth because he still can understand only one scrutiny—the scrutiny of “bitter and sweet.” This is so because when he is happy and works with enthusiasm, he feels a sweet taste. Therefore, he says that he is on the right path. But when a person has to work coercively, he tastes a bitter flavor. Then, a person understands that he is in a state of descent, and a person takes this discernment to know that this is a true scrutiny.

However, the scrutiny of “bitter and sweet” was before the sin of the tree of knowledge. After the sin of the tree of knowledge we were given a different scrutiny called “true and false.” That is, a person might taste sweetness in a state but it is a lie, and he might taste bitterness but it is true.

This is similar to what is written in the “Introduction to Panim Masbirot” (Item 16): We should thoroughly know the two types of scrutiny applied in us: The first scrutiny is called “scrutinies of good and bad,” and the second scrutiny is called “scrutinies of true and false.”

The first scrutiny is a physical active force, which works through the sensation of bitter and sweet. It loathes and rejects the form of bitterness because it feels bad, and loves and attracts the form of sweetness because it feels good.

In addition to them there is the human species, in whom the Creator has imprinted an intellectual active power, which works in the second scrutiny: rejecting falsehood and vanity by loathing to the point of nausea, and attracts true matters and any benefit with great love. This scrutiny is called “the scrutiny of true and false.” This applies only to the human species, each according to his own extent.

Know that this second active force was created and came to man because of the serpent. By creation, he had only the first active force from the scrutinies of good and bad, which was enough to serve him at that time.

Accordingly, we see that when a person wants to go by “bitter and sweet,” that scrutiny is no longer true after the sin of the tree of knowledge. Instead, it might be that a person feels sweetness in the work, while he is immersed in falsehood, or the other way around. For this reason, they said, “Make for yourself a rav and depart from doubt” (Avot, Chapter 1:16).

Although the person himself determines how he feels, he might still feel sweetness though it is not on the path of truth that enables us to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, since he might be walking in the opposite direction than the track that leads to Dvekut with the Creator, where all his labor is in order to achieve equivalence of form, which applies to all the degrees, as this is the meaning of the Masach [screen] that is on the Aviut [thickness], where specifically by placing the Masach, the delight and pleasure are revealed.

By this we should interpret what our sages said (Avot, Chapter 2:1), “Be careful with a light Mitzva as with a grave one, for you do not know the reward for the Mitzvot.” There is seemingly a contradiction in the words of our sages, who said, “Great is respect of the father and mother, for the Creator was more strict about it than about His own glory,” or “Almsgiving is greater than charity,” and many others like them. If they said, “Be careful with a light Mitzva as with a grave one,” what does it mean that it is great, how is it expressed that one Mitzva is greater than another?

While performing the Mitzvot, it is impossible to know whose Mitzvot he is observing. Certainly, one who observes the Mitzvot of a great king, who commanded us to observe, is certainly more important than one who observes the Torah and Mitzvot of a small king. It follows that a light Mitzva, but one that a great king commanded to do, is certainly more important than one who observes a grave Mitzva of a small king.

Man is always in ascents and descents, meaning that sometimes he believes that he is serving a great king, and sometimes to the contrary. Therefore, our sages instructed us that we should know that greatness or smallness do not depend on the commandment, but on the greatness of the one who gives the commandments. This is what a person should mind, that he believes each time that there is a great king. In other words, a person should try to obtain the greatness of the Creator. This is the most important thing, and not other things.

Inapoi la pagina 1989 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link