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What Is the Measure of Repentance?

Article No. 01, Tav-Shin-Mem-Tet, 1988-89

It is written (Hosea 14), “Return, O Israel, unto the Lord your God, for you have failed in your iniquity.” We should understand the following: 1) What does “unto the Lord your God” mean? It appears as though if the repentance did not reach “the Lord your God,” it is still not regarded as repentance. Thus, how can we know if the repentance has reached “the Lord your God?” Who can climb up and see if it has reached or not? 2) We should understand the words, “for you have failed in your iniquity.” It appears as though this is the reason why repentance must rise “unto the Lord your God.” We should understand how they are related to each other. 3) We should understand the meaning of “for you have failed in your iniquity.” What does “your iniquity” mean? It appears as though there could be failure from something other than man’s iniquity. This is why the verse says to us, “for you have failed,” meaning that your failure came from your iniquity and not from something else. Thus, what is that other thing that one might think that it did not come to him from his iniquities?

Failure means that a person calculated that now he can make good business, but then lost in the deal because some failure happened to him. It is like a person walking on a road and stumbling on a rock he did not see. In spirituality, we should understand that he suffered a fall and must have stumbled on some rock along the way.

Therefore, we must know what is the rock on which he stumbled and which caused him to fall midway. The writing comes and says that the failure was because of your iniquity, which is the stone on which you stumbled and fell. We need to know this in order to be wary of the stumbling block. Thus, we should understand why one’s iniquity is a stumbling block for which he cannot walk in the path of the Creator and observe Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds].

The thing is that the first iniquity begins with the sin of the tree of knowledge. Adam HaRishon was born circumcised (Avot de Rabbi Natan, 2nd ed., 5). But afterward, because of the sin, he pulled on his foreskin (Sanhedrin 38). As he interprets in the “Introduction to Panim Masbirot,” pulling on his foreskin refers to the foreskin of the three impure Klipot [shells/peels]. When he was born, he did not have this foreskin since the external body of Adam HaRishon, says the ARI, was of Malchut that rose to Bina of Malchut de Assiya, called “Malchut that is sweetened in Bina.” This is considered being born circumcised.

Through the sin of the tree of knowledge, he drew on himself the Malchut from the quality of judgment, which is the form of Gadlut [greatness/adulthood] from the vacant space. This is regarded as pulling on his foreskin. That is, he drew on himself the three impure Klipot, from which come all the sins that one commits. That is, the Gadlut of the reception that Adam HaRishon elicited by himself through the sin causes all the sins, for the root of the sins extends from the mind and heart.

By this we can interpret what we asked, What does it mean that “you have failed in your iniquity”? This refers to your iniquity, which extends from the sin of the tree of knowledge. This is called “your iniquity,” meaning that stone, on which all created beings stumble, is that a person comes and says, “I want to understand if this is worthwhile, if it pays off to observe Torah and Mitzvot,” meaning what the reception for oneself—which extends from the Gadlut of the reception that Adam HaRishonextended to himself due to the sin of the tree of knowledge—will gain out of it.

As in corporeality, when a person walks along the way and stumbles on a rock on the road, he does not see the rock. This is why he stumbles on it. Similarly, in the work, when a person wants to walk on the path of the Creator, he does not see that the rock, which is the will to receive, for Even [stone] comes from the [Hebrew] word Avin [I will understand], when he wants to understand everything—what pleasure will come from this to the receiver for himself.

When a person is told he must believe above reason that Providence is good and does good, he says, “I want to see that this is so.” But to believe is against the understanding. The understanding says that what you see is true, and what you do not see, how can you tell if it is true? When he is told he must believe, he says, “How do you know that what you believe is true?” This is the stumbling block on which people fail.

It follows that the stone on which we fail is only the lack of faith. When a person begins to walk on the path of the work of bestowal, he complains to the Creator, “Why have You made the concealment of Your face to the point that we cannot overcome the concealment that the Creator has placed, so we can overcome those two things—mind and heart?”

Indeed, the question is, Why did the Creator make it so we must believe, and did not do this otherwise, meaning that anyone who begins to work immediately sees the greatness of the Creator? The fact that the Creator made it that we must work with faith causes many people to move away from the work. It is as though the Creator made working with faith a stumbling block for all those who are failing. Why did He do this?

Baal HaSulam said about this that we must believe that the Creator made it this way, that our work will be in the form of “And they believed in the Lord and in his servant, Moses,” is the best way in order to achieve the complete goal, which is to do good to His creations. It is specifically through faith that the creatures can achieve the completion of the goal, which is to receive the delight and pleasure that the Creator contemplated giving to the created beings.

However, we must not say that the Creator could not have done it otherwise, meaning through knowing. Certainly, the Creator is almighty and can do anything He wants. However, as we must believe in the purpose of creation, that it is to do good to His creations, we should also believe about the way to achieve the goal, that faith is the best and most successful way. Therefore, the Creator chose the path of faith, for only by faith will man be able to achieve the completion of the goal.

Accordingly, the clarification, “for you have failed in your iniquity,” is the Gadlut of the vessels of reception, which Adam HaRishon extended on himself due to the sin of the tree of knowledge. We should interpret what we asked, What is the connection between “You have failed in your iniquity” and “Return, O Israel, unto the Lord your God”?

We asked, Can one ascend and see if the repentance has reached “the Lord your God”? According to the above, we should interpret that since all the failures that a person cannot achieve wholeness and fails midway are only because the first iniquity is the stumbling block for which the person falls. Therefore, when a person wants to repent and does not know what is repentance, the prophet says, “Return, O Israel, unto the Lord your God.”

This means that everything a person does will be for “the Lord your God.” It follows that “unto” means “until you clearly know that everything you do is for the Lord your God.” That is, he has reached a degree where he feels that for himself, it is not worth living, and he lives for the sake of the Creator. This is called “repentance.”

But if he has not achieved this degree, it is still not regarded as “repentance.” The reason is that “you have failed in your iniquity,” which is self-reception. That is, the only failure is that a person cannot achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator. Naturally, correcting it is by reaching “unto the Lord your God,” where all his actions are only to bestow. This is called “repentance.”

For this, a person does not need to ascend and see if his repentance has reached “the Lord your God.” Rather, the person himself sees and feels if he has no other aim in life other than what pertains to the benefit of the Creator, and he says that it is not worth living for his own sake.

However, a person might deceive himself in this. That is, he might agree to work for the sake of the Creator because he thinks that it will yield great pleasure for his own benefit.

Still, a person can see the truth about this, too, since according to the rule, if a person really wants to adhere to the Creator and he already has equivalence of form then he needs to be rewarded with opening the eyes in the Torah. According to the rule, “He who learns Torah Lishma [for Her sake] is shown the secrets of Torah,” if he has still not been rewarded with the secrets of Torah, it is a sign that he is still far from aiming only to benefit the Creator.

It is written in the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” (Item 33): “This is the work in Torah and Mitzvot Lishma, in order to bestow and to not receive reward. This work cleanses the will to receive for oneself in him, and replaces it with a will to bestow. To the extent that one purifies the will to receive, he becomes worthy of receiving the five parts of the soul called NRNHY, for they stand in the will to bestow and cannot clothe one’s body as long as the will to receive controls it, since dressing and equivalence of form go hand in hand. And when one is rewarded with being entirely in the will to bestow and not at all for oneself, he will be rewarded with obtaining equivalence of form with his upper NRNHY.”

Accordingly, we see that if a person walks on the path of bestowal, he must be rewarded with the secrets of Torah. If he has not been rewarded, it is a sign that he is still in self-love, although he feels that he wants to work only in order to bestow. For this reason, at that time he must seek more counsels and tactics to be rewarded with love of the Creator and not with self-love. However, we must remember that in order to be rewarded with love of the Creator and not for one’s own benefit is not within man’s power. Rather, it is a gift of God.

However, we should know that when a person wants to emerge from merely performing actions, without the aim, and wants to begin the work of acting with the aim to bestow, there is much work in this, since when the body begins to hear about the aim to bestow, it immediately begins to resist and does not let one continue this work, showing him dark colors in this work.

In that state, a person should believe that only the Creator can help. Here is where a person can make a true prayer. It is called “true” because it is really the truth. That is, the Creator has made man unable to help himself, and the reason is that “There is no light without a Kli,” as we have said several times. As Baal HaSulam says, the Creator made man unable to exit self-love by himself in order for man to need the Creator’s help. How does the Creator help? With a holy soul, as it is written in The Zohar. Otherwise, a person does not have the need to receive the light of the Torah, and will settle for observing Torah and Mitzvot and not needing to receive the NRNHY of Neshama that have been prepared for him.

But when he sees that he cannot exit self-love and be rewarded with equivalence of form, he needs the Creator’s help. How does He help a person? Through a holy soul, called “upper light” that is revealed within man, so he will feel that there is a soul within him that is “a part of God above.” It follows that according to man’s ability to overcome, he increases the disclosure of the light of the Creator. For this reason, the Creator has made the hardening of the heart, so that man will be unable to overcome the evil in him and will need the Creator. By this, man will need to be rewarded with the NRNHY of Neshama.

However, this order of hardening of the heart comes precisely when one wants to work in order to bestow and makes efforts to achieve Lishma [for Her sake]. Then begins the hardening of the heart.

This is similar to a mother wanting to teach her child to walk on his own. She kneels and lets the child approach her. When she sees that the child is near, she moves farther from the child so the child will become accustomed to walking on his own more than before. But the child begins to cry, since he has strained to approach the mother, and he is crying because his mother moved away. He thinks that his mother hates him, and this is why she moved away from him. He cannot judge his mother to the side of merit, that her distancing is to the child’s best.

Conversely, as long as the child did not begin to walk, the mother did not move away from him. Instead, he saw that wherever he walked, she held him by her hand and led him.

It is likewise in the work. Before a person begins to walk alone, meaning before he emerges from the general public, whose work is only in the practical part, without the aim to bestow, it is considered that the mother is holding the child by her hand and leads him. That is, he does not feel remoteness on the part of the upper one. On the contrary, he sees no flaws in his work. Naturally, he cannot say that He is moving away from him, since he feels that He is close.

The reason is that he is following the path of the general public, whose reward is self-benefit. Hence, this view is close to the body. Therefore, the body does not resist his work, and he feels whole. It follows that he is in a state as though his mother is leading him by the hand.

But when he emerges from the general public and wants to work in order to bestow, he is regarded as a child who has begun to walk alone. Then the mother moves away from him. Each time he thinks that he has achieved the work of bestowal, he is shown from above that he is still far from the work of bestowal. How is he shown that he is far? By showing him each time what is “in order to bestow.” At that time, these thoughts bring him foreign thoughts until sometimes he wants to escape the campaign.

Afterward, he is given another nearing and he begins to think that now he is close to the mother. But once again, he is shown that He is moving away from him. This is the meaning of “Do not go far from us.” It is also written, “Do not hide Your face from us.” There are two meanings to this: 1) Your moving away from us causes us to want to escape the campaign. 2) Do not move far from us, let us understand that it is not moving away, but that You are doing this for our sake, so we may know that everything You do is all for our sake.

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

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is the Help in the Work that One Should Ask of the Creator?

Article No. 35, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

Our sages said (Kidushin), “Rabbi Yitzhak said, ‘Man’s inclination is renewed upon him every day.’ Rabbi Shimon Ben Levi said, ‘Man’s inclination overcomes him every day and seeks to put him to death. Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it, as was said, ‘God will not leave him in its hand.’’” They also said (Shabbat 104), “He who comes to purify is aided.”

We should understand what is the assistance that one should ask to be given from above. Clearly, where one feels weakness, there he needs reinforcement. It is like a child who has difficulties understanding, so his father tries to hire someone and pay him to help his son be on par with the rest of the children at school. Or, he knows that his son is not very virtuous, so he speaks to the overseer of the seminary to encourage him and strengthen him so he does not lose spirit over his virtues being unlike those of the rest of the children, and he always fails in them and feels inferior because of it.

Likewise, in the work of the Creator, we should say that where a person sees that he is weak, he needs to ask for help from above on that part, as our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” From the words of our sages, who said, “He who comes to purify,” it seems as though all the weakness in the work is specifically on purity, that only this is out of man’s hands and he needs help.

Yet, our sages promised that he who comes to purify and sees that he cannot overcome, they said about it that he should not be scared off and run from the campaign, nor should he pay attention to his inability to achieve purity. Instead, a person should believe that the Creator will help him.

However, we should also understand why the Creator did this, as this is unclear because there is a contradiction here. On one hand, we are told, “He who comes to purify.” This means that the person must begin the work on purity. Yet, afterward, they said, “Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it.” This implies that man does not have the option of defeating his evil, as our sages said—without the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it.

This means that the Creator did not give man the strength to overcome the evil. Rather, it is precisely the Creator who gives him the power to overcome. Thus, what is the benefit from the fact that man must begin? Instead, he could say, “My work is worthless anyway. I cannot overcome, so why should I even begin the work? I’ll wait until the Creator gives me from above the strength to overcome, and then I will begin to work. Why should I work for nothing?” The person understand that either the Creator gives him the strength to overcome the evil, or the Creator begins the work and finishes it, as we have already said in previous essays.

The answer is that since “There is no light without a Kli [vessel], no filling without a lack,” a person must begin the work on purity because there is a known rule that we must not forget, that there is an order to the work, which is opposite from the view of landlords. Rather, it is the view of the Torah: The work on purity belongs specifically to those who study Torah, and those who study Torah are precisely those who want to achieve the level of the Torah. Our sages said about it: “The Torah exists only in he who puts himself to death over it.”

The explanation of “puts himself to death over it” is that he annuls his self, which is self-love. He wants to achieve Dvekut [adhesion], which is equivalence of form. This is called “purity,” when he purifies himself from the vessels of reception for himself. This is called “puts himself to death over it.”

This is as it is written, “Purify our hearts to serve You in truth.” The purity of the heart will be that our work will be in truth, meaning in order to bestow contentment upon his Maker. A lie means that a person says that he is working for the Creator, when in fact he is working for his own benefit and not for the sake of the Creator. “Learners of Torah” are those who understand that it is worthwhile to attain the Torah, since the Torah cannot be where there is separation, and self-benefit separates man from the Creator. Hence, they want to annul their own authority and be rewarded with Dvekut[adhesion] with the Creator, and with the Torah, which is called “the names of the Creator.” She is also called “to do good to His creations,” and this “doing good” is the Torah.

This is the wholeness that man must achieve because this was His thought. (We say so because “By Your actions we know You.”) For this reason, they said that this is the purpose of creation, “to do good to His creations.” As long as one has not achieved this, it is considered that he has not achieved completion.

However, we should understand why it is implied the help comes specifically on purity, why they do not talk about observing Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] in general and the study of Torah in general, and no explicit emphasis on “Were it not for the help of the Creator.”

On one hand, the words, “Man’s inclination” imply that the inclination overcomes the observance of Torah and Mitzvot in general, and the Creator helps him. On the other hand, they say, “He who comes to purify is aided.” This means that he receives help precisely on purity.

In truth, man needs the Creator’s help in all the things. However, we should determine in the work, between work of the general public and work of the individual. The work of the individual is that all their actions are only in order to bestow, and not for their own sake. This is truly against nature, for the Creator created creation to yearn to receive delight and pleasure, for the pleasure to be from satisfying their lack with delight and pleasure.

In the upper worlds, this is called “the world of Ein Sof [infinity/no end].” It means that the will to receive did not put an end on the abundance, such as to say, “I don’t want to receive due to equivalence of form.” There was still no such thing. Instead, we learn that afterward, this correction was done by the lower one: When the lower one wanted equivalence of form, there was a prohibition that it is forbidden to receive upper abundance in vessels of reception. Afterward, through special corrections, there was a matter that the light of pleasure will shine in vessels of reception, too.

There are many discernments in this. On one hand, The Zohar says that there is a “slim light,” which is a thin light that shines within the Klipot [shells/peels]. Only because of the sin of the tree of knowledge, many sparks fell into the Klipot, and from them ABYA of Klipot were made. As a result, we discern three discernments in our work: 1) Mitzva [commandment/good deed], 2) permission/option, 3) transgression.

All of these three discernments apply in the act called “the practice of Mitzvot.” Also, there is a discernment of Torah in this, “a practice,” which is to know how to observe the Mitzvot. Also, there is Torah that is regarded as a practice, which is “the observing of Torah.”

However, there is also the intention, namely what is the reason for observing Torah and Mitzvot, meaning what compels him to observe Torah and Mitzvot. This intention divides into two discernments: 1) for the sake of reward, called “reward and punishment.” That is, the reward and punishment were said about the reward. In other words, if he observes Torah and Mitzvot, his reward will be that he receives in return for it good things. This, too, divides into two discernments: 1) reward in this world, that he will be happy, 2) that he will be happy in the next world.

Those two are called Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], since the reason he is observing Torah and Mitzvotis his own benefit. His exertion to engage in Torah and Mitzvot is in order to receive something good in return. That is, after his work, he will receive reward. Every single act that he does goes into his calculation, and afterward he is rewarded for every single act that he has done. Nothing is lost; everything is counted. He believes in the sages who said, “You can trust your landlord to pay for your work.”

This is called Lo Lishma, as was said in The Zohar (“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Item 190): “Fear is interpreted in three discernments, two of which do not contain a worthy root, and one is the root of fear. There is a person who fears the Creator so that his sons will live and not die, or fears a bodily punishment, or a punishment to one’s money. Hence, he always fears Him. It follows that he does not place the fear he fears of the Creator as the root, for his own benefit is the root, and the fear is the result of it. Then there is a person who fears the Creator because he fears the punishment of that world and the punishment of Hell. Those two kinds of fear are not the essence of fear and its root. The fear that is the essence is that one should fear one’s Master because He is great and ruling. That is, he should fear the Creator because He is great and rules over everything, and all the worlds He has created, upper and lower, are regarded as nothing before Him, for they do not add a thing to His essence.”

Accordingly, we see that there is a huge difference between the general public and the individual. That is, “individual” means that this work does not belong to the general public, but to individuals who have the inclination to the truth, who yearn to achieve the degree where “All your actions are for the sake of the Creator,” who want to serve the King because “He is great and ruling.” And the only reward they want is to serve the King, meaning to observe Torah and Mitzvot because the greatness of the Creator commits them to observe Torah and Mitzvot, and not for their own sake.

It follows that among those people, who want to work only Lishma [for Her sake], there is also reward and punishment, because our sages said about them, too, that man must believe in reward and punishment. Thus, what is the difference between reward and punishment in Lo Lishma, and reward and punishment for people who want to walk in Lishma?

The answer is that we must understand what is “reward” and what is “punishment.” Everyone knows that reward is a good thing and punishment is a bad thing. It follows that for people who work for their own benefit, “good” means that they receive for their work something that satisfies their will to receive, and they say that it is worthwhile to work in return for the good things he will receive. “Punishment” means simply that he says, “It is a shame that I did not engage in Torah and Mitzvotbecause I lost the reward and even suffered a punishment, meaning something that makes me suffer.”

Conversely, those who want to work for the sake of the Creator regard the time when they have the strength to work to bestow and not receive for themselves as a “reward.” And when they are immersed in self-love, they regard it as “punishment.” However, the reward and punishment do not pertain to the reward, as with those who work Lo Lishma. In the work Lishma, which is against our nature, is called “purity.” And since it is not within man’s power, our sages said about this, “Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it.”

Conversely, in Lo Lishma, which is natural, there is no need to say, “Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it,” since Lo Lishma is not against nature. That is, it is the work of the general public, called “one line,” who have no knowledge of anything but the reward of this world or the reward of the next world.

And since this pertains to self-love, meaning that they understand that it is worthwhile to relinquish pleasures in this world, which is a passing world, and in return to be able to eat “the wild ox and the whale,” for this reason, many people who work in one line can afflict themselves in this world in order to be rewarded with pleasures in the next world, which is an eternal world. Hence, they do not need the help of the Creator, for they see that they themselves are the workers, and when they look at the general public, they feel superior.

But when those who want to work in order to bestow look at the general public, they feel that they are worse and lower than them, since they feel the evil in them, which is the will to receive for themselves, who is the ruler, and they cannot emerge from self-love. They always look at the how much work they have exerted in order to be able to work in order to bestow, and they are always shown how far they are inherently removed from it. They see that they are dirty in every way and need purification.

Since they walk in two lines, they see the truth. Hence, in order for such a person not to escape the campaign, he is told the truth, that it is not within our power to defeat the evil inclination. Instead, “Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it.”

This is why it was said in The Zohar, “He who comes to purify is aided.” They did not merely say that he is given help, since specifically in purity, a person sees that he is unable to walk on the path where all your work is for the sake of the Creator. It follows that he does not have to believe above reason that “Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it,” since he sees the truth, that he is unable to emerge from self-love. For this reason, many times, a person falls into despair and needs great reinforcement to believe above reason that the Creator can help him emerge from self-love.

But those who walk on one line are completely opposite. A person sees within reason that he overcomes his evil inclination and does not need any help from the Creator in observing the Torah and Mitzvot. Rather, since our sages said, “Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it,” he believes above reason that the Creator helps him. Yet, within reason, he knows that he has the power to overcome his evil inclination and he is not like other people in the general public, who are lowly. He feels superior to them.

It therefore follows that concerning the help of the Creator, there is a big difference between those who walk on one line, and those who walk on two lines. Those who walk on one line see that they are doing everything and do not see that the Creator needs to give the help. Rather, they believe above reason that the Creator has helped them.

However, those who walk on two lines see that they cannot do a thing. They must make great efforts for the help that the Creator gives, and they must exert and say that the Creator can help them. Then, when they emerge from the control of the inclination, they see within reason that the Creator helped them, and otherwise, they would be forever governed by the inclination.

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Are Day and Night in the Work?

Article No. 34, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

It is written, “And God called the light, ‘day,’ and to the darkness, He called ‘night.’” We should understand what this comes to teach us in the work, that He called the light “day,” and to the darkness, He called “night.” What does knowing this add to us? It appears that naming the light and the darkness was for the purpose of some correction. Thus, what do we understand better by Him naming them, which adds to us in the work of achieving Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator?

Afterward, the verse says, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” This, too, we should understand. After He said that darkness is called “night” and light is called “day,” how did the two become one? After all, night is not day, so how can the two of them together be one day? That is, what makes them one day as though there is no difference between day and night?

Concerning “day” and “night,” we see that the verse says (Psalms 19), “Day to day expresses speech; and night to night utters knowledge.” In that regard, we see that it is written (in the Haggadah [Passover narrative], in the poem, “Then, Many Miracles”), “A day approaches that is neither day nor night. Exalted One, make known, for Yours is the day; Yours is also the night. You shine as the day, the darkness of the night.” Thus, we should understand what are day and night, and what are light and darkness.

In order to understand all this, we must return to what we discussed several times—that we should always remember what is the purpose of creation and what is the correction of creation, so as to know what is required of us, meaning what state we should achieve so we can say that we have reached our destination.

It is known that the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations, as our sages said, that the Creator said about the purpose of creation that it is like a king who has a tower filled with abundance but no guests. For this reason, He has created man, so as to give him the delight and pleasure.

Thus, what does it mean that a person has achieved wholeness? It is precisely after a person has come to a state where he receives from the Creator delight and pleasure. This is regarded as achieving wholeness. If he has not come to a state of endless delight and pleasure, it is considered that he has not achieved wholeness. This is the purpose of creation.

Conversely, the correction of creation is that since it is the nature of creation that the branch wants to resemble its root, and since the Creator is the giver and the creature the receiver, there is no equivalence of form here. For this reason, in corporeality, too, we see the rule that when a person receives something from another, he is ashamed. It is as our sages said about the verse, “Chrome is vile for the sons of men,” meaning that when a person needs other people, his face becomes as chrome.

For this reason, a correction of Tzimtzum [restriction] was made in the upper worlds, that the upper light does not reach Kelim [vessels] that receive for themselves. Rather, the light shines only to Kelimthat have the correction of the Masach [screen] that raises Ohr Hozer [Reflected Light], meaning that it receives from the upper one because there is contentment to the upper one when He bestows upon the lower one.

In other words, the fact that he has great yearning to receive delight and pleasure still does not necessitate that he will receive delight and pleasure, since the pleasure is from having equivalence of form with the upper one, called Dvekut [adhesion]. In every possible way, he tries not to part due to disparity of form, and for this reason he does not receive although he yearns to receive delight and pleasure. But at the same time, he derives more pleasure from adhering to the Creator. Hence, he does not receive.

At that time, a person looks at two things: 1) He does not want to part from the Creator. In other words, even when he thinks that he has still not been rewarded with Dvekut, at least he does not want to be more separated than he currently is, since any reception for oneself makes a person farther from the Creator. For this reason, he does not want to receive for himself. 2) By doing what he is doing, distancing himself from reception, this causes him to adhere to the Creator. Although he still does not feel these discernments, he says that he believes in the sages who said that this is so. For this reason, he trusts them and is careful with self-reception.

Because of this, a person tries to do things that will bring him this force of wanting to do things that yield the power to be able to aim to place on every act the intention to bestow. At that time, he is fit to receive delight and pleasure, since now all his actions are for the sake of the Creator.

Accordingly, we can understand what is light and what is darkness. Light is when it shines for a person to walk in the path of the Creator. “The path of the Creator” means that he wants to walk in the way that the Creator walks, and His way is to bestow. When he has light and life by engaging in the work of bestowal and he does not care for his own benefit, this is called “light.”

This is called a “time of ascent,” meaning that the person has ascended in degree. That is, instead of serving a lowly, inferior person, now he is serving the Creator. This is called an “ascent in degree,” for he is serving the King where he used to serve a simple man.

Clearly, the opposite of light is darkness. That is, a person finds no taste in the work of bestowal because he has begun to worry only about his own benefit once again. He finds no flavor in the work of bestowal or has any aspirations. Rather, he settles for satisfying only the passions that his body demands. This is called “a descent,” since he wants to serve the body and not the Creator. This is called “darkness.”

We should know that “day” indicates a complete thing, which consists of light and day, and darkness and night, as it is written, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” We should understand how can it be said that evening and morning are one thing. That is, we do not say that evening and morning are both called “one night,” but rather that the two are called “one day.” What does it imply to us in the work, that specifically both are called “one day,” as though there cannot be wholeness of a day without darkness.

The answer is that when a person says, “And God called the light ‘day,’ and to the darkness, He called ‘night,’” it means that the person believes that God gave him both the light and the darkness. But why has He given him the darkness? It is possible to believe that He has given him the light, meaning that he says that the Creator wants to bring him closer, as our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” Hence, on the ascents that a person has, he can believe that they come from the Creator. But why are the descents?

When a person believes about the darkness, too, as it is written, “And God called … and to the darkness, He called ‘night,’” meaning that the darkness is also “night,” which is part of the day, meaning that there cannot be a day without a night, then the darkness, which is called “night,” comes to teach us that as there cannot be a day without a night, there cannot be light without darkness. Darkness is the Kli [vessel] and the light is the filling of the Kli, following the rule, “there is no light without a Kli.”

In other words, it is impossible to appreciate His salvation without feeling the suffering and pain from the state one is in. Between people, to the extent that one feels that his friend helped him in his distress, to that extent he feels the joy about the help he has received from his friend. That is, there is a difference between helping one’s friend with accessories, which one can live without, and helping one’s friend by saving him from death.

Since the help that comes from above is regarded as lights of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], as The Zohar says, “He who comes to purify is aided,” and The Zohar asks, With what is he aided? “With a holy soul.” Yet, if a person does not appreciate the soul he has received from above because he thinks that it is not that important, the suffering that a person suffers from the states of descent makes him appreciate the help from above. Otherwise, he loses it and it all goes to the Klipot[shells/peels]. It follows that the darkness helps him, meaning that it gives him the possibility to know how to appreciate the importance of Kedusha so he does not lose it for lack of awareness.

Our sages say about this, “Who is a fool? He who loses what he is given,” since he does not know or understand the importance of the nearness when the Creator brings a person near. That darkness is called a Kli, meaning a place where the abundance can be. It is as it is written, “Who will ascend up the mountain of the Lord, and who will rise?” That is, even when a person ascends but does not know how to maintain the value of the importance of nearing, the Sitra Achra [other side] takes it into his own authority. Therefore, the light must depart. This is why there is no resurrection, but each one must descend according to his degree.

Yet, there are several corrections about this: 1) The Klipot must not receive what he has. Therefore, they have nothing to receive from the person because he no longer has Kedusha for the Sitra Achrato receive from him. 2) Once a person has come to a descent and begins to recover and see the state he has come to, meaning after exerting so much work in order to be rewarded with some Kedusha, he suddenly sees that he is left bare and destitute. That is, he is in a state of lowliness that fits a person who did not exert and work in order to be regarded as “You are called ‘man.’” Rather, he is much worse than an ordinary person, meaning that the will to receive for himself has become developed in him to an extent that he never dreamed would be, and the pain and sorrow he feels over it give him the need to appreciate and value the time when he is brought a little closer from above. Now he knows how to be careful and respect that state, and he guards himself from anything so as not to mix that state. At that time he knows that he should be afraid that a stranger might interfere.

It therefore follows that the descents are things that are called “corrections,” which allow longevity when they are rewarded with some nearing on the part of the Creator. By this we can interpret the verse, “And God called the light, ‘day,’ and to the darkness, He called ‘night.’” It means that if a person says that both light and darkness come from God, this is “And God called.” At that time, both the light and the darkness make one day. That is, as there cannot be a complete day without evening and morning, so the light and darkness serve one role—both together are called “day.”

By this we can interpret the words, “Blessed is our God, who has created us for His glory.” We should understand how can we say, “Blessed is our God, who has created us for His glory,” while we are immersed in self-love and our body is more content if we can say “Thank You very much” for creating us for our own glory. Thus, clearly, we are not telling the truth when we bless Him for creating for His glory. It is a total lie.

According to the above, when we believe that “He who comes to purify is aided,” it follows that the Creator gives a person this power to be able to feel the importance of the matter, that when a person feels that he is serving the King, it is worth a fortune to him and he has no words to express its importance. Instead, he says, out of the pleasure and excitement that he feels, “Blessed is our God,” for letting us feel the importance when we are serving the King, and for delivering us from the self-love in which we were immersed. It never occurred to us that we would ever be able to emerge from it. All of a sudden, we see that He has given us this feeling of finding flavor in being able to serve the King.

At that time we say, “Blessed is our God, who has created us for His glory.” We bless Him for this gift that He has given us, which is the most important thing in the world, and we would not be able to obtain this by ourselves. Rather, it is a gift of God. This is why we bless Him for this. This is the meaning of the words, “Blessed is our God, who has created us for His glory.”

However, before a person is rewarded with feeling flavor in His creating us for His glory, how can he say this? We should say that it is like all the blessings and thanks that we say for the future. It is as our sages said about the verse, “Then Moses will sing.” The Zohar asks, “It did not say, ‘sang,’ in present tense, but rather ‘will sing,’ which is future tense. The answer is that the righteous sing about the future. That is, they believe that they will be rewarded with wholeness. For this reason, even before they are rewarded with wholeness, they already sing.” Based on this, we say, “Blessed are you, our God, who has created us for His glory.” The Sulam [Sulam (Ladder) Commentary on The Zohar] interprets the verse, “Day to day expresses speech; and night to night utters knowledge.” These are its words: “Before the end of correction, meaning before we have qualified our vessels of reception to receive only in order to give contentment to our Maker and not to our own benefit, Malchut is called ‘the tree of good and evil.’ This is so because Malchut is the guidance of the world by people’s actions. And since we are unfit to receive all the delight and pleasure … we must accept the guidance of good and evil from the Malchut. This guidance qualifies us to ultimately correct our vessels of reception in order to bestow and to be rewarded with the delight and pleasure He had contemplated in our favor.

…

“Often, the guidance of good and evil causes us ascents and descents… This is why each ascent is considered a specific day, and similarly, each descent is considered a specific night.

“It is written, ‘Day to day expresses speech.’ …At the end of correction, they will be rewarded with repentance from love… At that time, we will evidently see that all those punishments from the time of descents, which made us doubt the beginning, purified us and were the direct causes of all the happiness and goodness. Were it not for those terrible punishments, we would never have come to this delight and pleasure. Then these sins are inverted into actual merits.”

The words, “Day to day expresses speech” mean that all those nights, which are the descents, suffering, and punishments that stopped the Dvekut with the Creator until they became many days, one after the other, now that the nights and the darkness in between have also become merits and good deeds, the night shines as the day and the darkness as light; there are no more breaks between them.

Now we can understand what we asked about the meaning of the verse, “And God called the night, ‘day,’ and to the darkness, He called ‘night.’” The meaning is as Baal HaSulam says, that as we see that “one day” is actually the connection of day and night. Likewise, it is impossible to have light without darkness. That is, the Creator has given us darkness so that through it, the light will appear. This is called “and God called.” That is, the Creator has arranged for us the order of the work to be this way. Although we must believe that it could have been otherwise, since He is almighty, so why did He arrange for us specifically this order? We must say about this that we have no attainment in the Creator, to understand His thought. Rather, everything we learn is only by way of “By Your actions, we know You.” In other words, by looking at the works of the Creator after He has created them, we begin to speak. But to say that He could have done things differently, our sages said about this, “One must not ask, ‘What is above and what is below?’”

Accordingly, we can interpret what is written in the Haggadah: “A day approaches that is neither day nor night.” This refers to the end of correction, when there is a day that does not consist of day and night, but is a day in and of itself. This will be done by “Exalted One, make known, for Yours is the day; Yours is also the night.” It is so because at the end of correction it will be known to all that “Yours is the day; Yours is also the night.” That is, since His will is to do good to His creations, and good means day, so how can it be said that the Creator gives darkness? It is against His purpose! However, the darkness, too, meaning the night, is regarded as “day,” even though the person feels cessations in Dvekut with the Creator, which are called “darkness” and “night.”

But at the end of correction, when it is known that He has given the darkness, too, this is certainly light, as well. The proof of it is that then the sins become as merits. Thus, at that time we know that “Yours is the day; Yours is also the night,” since both belong to You, meaning that both are You, meaning the Creator has given both as “day.”

Conversely, before the end of the work, it is impossible to attribute the cessations that a person has in Dvekut with the Creator to the Creator, that He has sent him this, since this contradicts the purpose of creation. This is the meaning of the words, “The darkness of the night will shine as the light of the day.” That is, since the sins have then become to him has merits, everything becomes day.

Now we can understand what are day and night in the work. A person should know that he must feel what is darkness, or he will not be able to enjoy the light, since in anything that a person wants to taste any flavor, whether it is worth using, he must learn one from the other, as it is written, “as the advantage of the light out of the darkness.” Likewise, a person cannot enjoy rest unless he knows what is fatigue.

For this reason, a person must go through a process of ascents and descents. However, he must not be impressed by the descents. Instead, he should exert not to escape the campaign. For this reason, although during the work he must know that they are two things, at the end of the work he sees that light and darkness are as two legs that lead a person to the goal.

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

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What Is the Difference between General and Individual in the Work of the Creator?

Article No. 33, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

Our sages wrote (Makot 24), “Habakkuk came and established them on one: As it was said, ‘And a righteous lives by his faith.’” This means that the fact that we must observe all of the Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] is in order to achieve this element, which is faith. That is, what is required of a person, that he must achieve wholeness, is to come to faith in the Creator. This means that once he has achieved faith, he is a complete person.

We must understand this matter. There is the matter that a person must engage in the correction of creation, since because man was created with a nature of wanting to receive for himself, which is opposite in form from the Creator, for the Creator is the giver and through disparity of form, man became separated from the Creator, so how does having faith help him if he is still separated from the Creator? Also, why did they say, “Habakkuk came and established them on one: ‘And a righteous lives by his faith’”? which implies that if he has faith then he has wholeness.

The answer is that we must know that there is an important matter here, which is a key issue that requires much attention so that we can accept this as the gate by which man can be rewarded with complete faith. Otherwise, he will have only partial faith. It is written in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot” (Item 14): “Rather, it is partial faith. Thus, one allots oneself out of the measure of his faith in the Creator only one hour a day to practice Torah and work. …The third does not neglect even a single moment. …Thus, only the faith of the last one is whole.” In order for a person to be rewarded with complete faith, he must first emerge from self-love, or he will not be able to be granted with complete faith. Otherwise, he will not be given from above the possibility to have complete faith.

However, this is for man’s benefit. It is as it is written in the Sulam (“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” [with the Sulam (Ladder) Commentary], Item 138): “It is a law that the creature cannot receive disclosed evil from the Creator, for it is a flaw in the glory of the Creator for the creature to perceive Him as an evildoer, as it is unbecoming of the Complete Operator. Hence, when one feels bad, denial of the Creator’s guidance lies upon him to that extent, and the Operator is concealed from him.”

Therefore, before a person can receive the delight and pleasure from the Creator, he cannot achieve faith. The condition that must be met in order to be given the delight and pleasure is vessels of bestowal. On the vessels of reception, there was a correction not to use them, for by them one becomes distant from the Creator due to the disparity of form between them. It follows before faith, a person must be rewarded with the correction of the Kelim [vessels], called “correction of creation.”

It is as Baal HaSulam wrote there: “Know that this is the whole difference between this world, before the correction, and the end of correction. Before the end of correction, Malchut is called ‘the tree of good and evil,’ since the Malchut is the guidance of the Creator in this world. As long as the receivers have not been completed so they can receive His whole benevolence, which He had contemplated in our favor in the thought of creation (meaning that while our vessels of reception have not been corrected to work in order to bestow, He cannot give us the delight and pleasure because it will all go to the Klipot [shells/peels]), the guidance must be in the form of good and bad, and reward and punishment. It is so because our vessels of reception are still tainted with self-reception, which is very restrictive in its quality, and also separates us from the Creator. Thus, the complete benefit, in the great measure He had contemplated for us, is absent.”

Accordingly, we see that indeed, this element, which is faith, is the most important. We asked, How can it be said that faith is wholeness, since we also need the correction of creation, called “obtaining vessels of bestowal?” Otherwise, the abundance cannot come to the lower ones because of the disparity of form. The answer is that in general, we must observe Torah and Mitzvot in order to obtain vessels of bestowal. It is as our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice, for the light in it reforms him.”

It follows that the first discernment in the order of the work is to reform the evil, called “will to receive for oneself,” meaning that he will have the strength to use everything in order to bestow. However, we should discern here that in order to come to know that the will to receive is called “evil,” we need Torah and Mitzvot. Before a person realizes that the receiver is called “evil,” how can he be reformed? It is as we said in previous essays, that our sages said, “Why is the Torah called Tushia[gumption/resourcefulness]? It is because it Mateshet [drains/exhausts] man’s strength.” We asked, but they said, “If his head aches, let him engage in Torah. If his belly aches, let him engage in Torah, as was said, ‘It is a healing to all his flesh’” (Iruvin 54).

According to what Baal HaSulam said, the Torah is called a “potion.” That is, sometimes it is a potion of life, and sometimes it is a potion of death. He said that a medical potion heals those who are sick. But if a healthy person took medical potions he would become sick. That is, when the Torah comes to one who has a need, it can heal him. Accordingly, we should interpret that first a person must learn Torah, in order to see that he is sick.

This is why they said that the Torah exhausts a person’s strength. That is, through the Torah, he can come to see that the “man” in him is weak and has no strength to overcome. At that time he sees that he is sick in spirituality. Through the Torah, he comes to the recognition of evil, as The Zoharsays about the verse, “Or make his sin known to him,” which means that the Torah notifies him that he has sinned.

If the Torah does not notify him, a person cannot know or feel that receiving for oneself is called “bad” due to the disparity of form between him and the Creator. Knowing that disparity of form causes separation has to come from above, through the Torah. Hence, we should say that the order is that 1) he observes Torah and Mitzvot in order to achieve recognition of evil, and 2) he observes Torah and Mitzvot because “the light in it reforms him.” This is the time when he receives strength from above, called “desire to bestow,” which is regarded as equivalence of form. 3) Faith, which is the meaning of “Habakkuk came and established them on one: ‘A righteous lives by his faith.’” It follows that everything we do in Torah and Mitzvot in general is in order to achieve this element, which his faith. At that time he can receive complete faith. It follows that all of his work is only in order to achieve this.

However, before these three above discernments, there is a discernment that applies to the whole of Israel. This is the first discernment when a person’s education in Torah and Mitzvot begins: It is that the whole world must know for what purpose they should observe the Torah and Mitzvot—to receive reward. And if they do not observe, they will suffer punishment. This is the common order, as Maimonides says, “When teaching children, 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” (Maimonides, Hilchot Teshuva, Chapter 10).

It follows that the order of the work is that 1) the whole of Israel are taught to observe Torah and Mitzvot with all its details and intricacies with an intention of self-love. They must not be taught that they must work Lishma [for Her sake], which is in order to bestow. Rather, they must work and toil only in order to receive for their own benefit.

We should know that work for self-love means to be rewarded with the next world by observing Torah and Mitzvot. If that person has real energy to work for self-benefit, he will be ready to do anything. That is, if he is energetic and wants to be rewarded with the next world, he will be willing to do work that is above reason, which a person’s reason cannot understand. It is as it is written (Deuteronomy 12:30), “Beware, do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’You shall not do so, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.”

RASHI brings the interpretation of our sages: “Including their fathers and mothers. Rabbi Akiva said, ‘I saw a foreigner who tied his father before his dog and ate him.’ The author of the book Siftei Chachamim interprets, ‘He means to say idolatry. ‘He ate him’ means that he burned him in fire.’”

However, we must know that although a man is willing to work for his own benefit and do the hardest work if he believes that he will be guaranteed the next world, even if they are told to burn their sons and daughters and their parents, there are among them with energy and strength for this work, since they are still inside the Kli [vessel] of self-love. It follows that this is still not regarded as “above reason.” In other words, we can understand that it is inherent in nature that a person is willing to do anything for the will to receive for himself.

We also find that during the ruin of the Temple, it is written (Lamentations 4:10), “Compassionate women cooked their own children; they became food for them.” The Holy Alsheich interprets “food for them” to mean that “only they themselves ate their children’s flesh. This is the meaning of ‘for them,’ only the mothers alone ate, and did not share it with their remaining children, even though they, too, were hungry.”

This shows us what a person can do for self-love when there is no Kedusha [holiness/sanctity] but rather the ruin of Kedusha, and only the will to receive for themselves rules: “Compassionate women cooked their own children.”

We have two examples: 1) For the will to receive, in return for burning children and parents, the next world, or in order to receive this world, for which “Compassionate women cooked their own children.” It follows that a person can do anything in order to satisfy the will to receive—the nature in which man is born.

But when beginning to work on the path of the individual, meaning to be rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator, meaning when we must emerge from self-love, a person cannot do even the smallest work. That is, if a person is told, “Do the same thing you are doing, but place over it the aim to bestow upon the Creator without any reward. This is very hard to do because it is against nature, called “will to receive for oneself.”

That is, the same work, meaning the same practical labor that a person does, without needing to add any effort but simply aim to do this for the sake of the Creator, leaves him powerless. It seems to him as though a high mountain stands in front of him and he cannot move the mountain one bit. He feels as though his whole world has been ruined, and all because it is against our nature.

In that state, when a person wants to reach the truth and do the work of the individual, he is notified from above that he is in a state of lowliness, since he sees that he cannot do anything for the sake of the Creator. That state is called “recognition of evil.” This is called “the first state in the work of the individual,” which is recognition of evil.

Afterward begins phase two, when he must observe Torah and Mitzvot so that the light in it will reform him, since through the light he will receive vessels of bestowal, meaning that he will have passion to bestow upon the Creator and from this he will enjoy.

After that comes phase three, which is complete faith, as was said above, that “Habakkuk came and established them on one: ‘And a righteous lives by his faith.’” This is the element [also “individual”] that a person must achieve. When he has faith, he will be rewarded with the delight and pleasure in His providence, as The Good Who Does Good.

We could ask about what is written in the Sulam [Ladder Commentary on The Zohar]: “It is a law that the creature cannot receive disclosed evil from the Creator, for it is a flaw in the glory of the Creator for the creature to perceive Him as an evildoer. Hence, when one feels bad, the Operator is concealed from him.” Why should the Creator mind if a person perceives him as an evildoer? Does the Creator seek respect from the created beings, to respect Him for His sake? He does not need things that pertain to flesh and blood.

Rather, it is for man’s sake. The flaw that we speak of in spirituality, such as that he casts a flaw in Kedusha, the Sitra Achra [other side] is there at the root of the soul of a person who has caused the flaw above. That is, we must believe that the name of the Creator is The Good Who Does Good.

It follows that when a person feels that he is in a bad state, he cannot justify Providence and say that the Creator is behaving toward him as The Good Who Does Good. It follows that a person receives the flaw that he has flawed in the Holy Name, which is The Good Who Does Good. And when a person receives good from above, he is happy and can say wholeheartedly, “Blessed is He who said, ‘Let there be the world.’”

But when a person feels bad, he cannot say, “Blessed is He who said, ‘Let there be the world.’” Instead, a person says what Job said (Job 3), “And Job answered and said, ‘Let the day on which I was born perish, and the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ That day shall be darkness.’” For this reason, this is a correction because at that time, when a person does not believe that the Creator has caused him all the hardships, he does not slander the Creator.

By extension, in corporeality, we sometimes see a person whose son works for a salary that is not enough to sustain him. When he began to work, he was still a bachelor and the salary then was good. But now, he cannot sustain himself on this salary. The father speaks to his son: “Since you see that the employer is not giving you a raise, go look for a job that pays better.” But the son replies, “I am already used to the employer and the coworkers; I cannot leave that place.”

What does the father do? He goes to the employer and tells him of the situation with his son. The employer replies that he cannot give him a raise, but he can send him to where he will be better paid. At that time, the father asks of him: “Tell my son that you have no work for him, so he will go elsewhere. I spoke to him several times about leaving the job where he is not paid well and go where they pay a better salary, but I will tell you the truth, he told me that he likes you and his coworkers and this is why he does not want to leave this place. Therefore, if you fire him, he will have no choice but to go elsewhere. But I am asking you, don’t tell him that I’ve been here and asked you not to let him work for you. Otherwise, he will say that he has a father who is cruel to his son. That is, he cannot understand that by trying to get him fired, it is for his best. That is, when he hears from his employer that I asked that he would be fired, what would he say, ‘May the Lord bless my father, who is trying so hard only for my sake’? There is no doubt, he will be very angry at his father.”

So it is in spirituality—that the Creator sends a person a state of descent. That is, from a situation where he received sustenance, although his father understood that it was not sufficient sustenance and he could earn more, the son did not understand it. For this reason, the Creator sends him a descent, which is akin to being fired from work. At that time, he is angry with the Creator for sending harm his way, since he knows that prior to this, he was in a state of ascent in spirituality, but the Creator threw him, so of course he is angry with the Creator. This is regarded as “He who doubts the Shechina [Divinity], his punishment is very grave.” Therefore, when there is a correction that he does not find the evildoer, he has no one at whom to be angry. It follows that not knowing who is the one doing all these things is to his best.

He said there, “One who exerts not to part from faith in Him, although he tastes a bad taste in Providence, is rewarded. If he does not exert, he will be punished because he has parted from faith in Him. Thus, although He alone did, does, and will do all the deeds, this still remains hidden from those who feel good and bad.”

We see that one who can exert and say that the Creator is sending him the bad, and it is for his best, he remains in faith, to the extent that he can say that the Creator has sent him the state he is in for his own benefit. This is not regarded as “doing harm.” Thus, he remains in faith.

Conversely, if he cannot say that the Creator has sent him this for his sake, but that it is to his detriment, that state is called that the Creator does harm. For this reason, He must hide from him the Operator. This is regarded as losing the faith, and it is regarded as a punishment.

It follows that were it not for the ascents and descents, a person would not be able to feel that he is deficient. That is, he would not feel that he needs heaven’s mercy, that it is not within man’s power to emerge from self-love and make his wish only to bring contentment to his Maker. Rather, all his work can be only for his own sake, and in self-benefit, he has the power to do things that a person cannot imagine. Or, as it was at the time of the ruin of the Temple, when compassionate women cooked their own children, as they served their gods, burning their sons and daughters.

But to work for the Creator, meaning not wanting any return for their work, even merely an intention over the acts of reception, a person cannot do this. That is, if one wants to eat for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake, although the act is reception of pleasure, what he should intend is out of his hands. Only the Creator can help here. This is the difference between the general work, which belongs to the general public, and the work of the individual.

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

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What Are the Two Actions During a Descent?

Article No. 32, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

Our sages wrote in Hulin (p 7b), “Rabbi Hanina said, ‘A person does not lift his finger from below unless he is called upon from above, as it was said, ‘Man’s steps are from the Lord, and how can man understand his way?’” We should understand what our sages tell us by this in the work, so we will know that a person does not lift his finger below unless he is called upon from above.

To explain this, we must always remember the purpose of creation and the correction of creation, which are two contradictory things. The purpose of creation is for the creatures to receive delight and pleasure from the Creator, as was said, that His desire is to do good to His creations. The correction of creation is the complete opposite—to do good to the Creator. This means that the purpose of creation is for the sake of the creatures, while the correction of creation is that the creatures will always think only about the benefit of the Creator. As long as the creatures have not achieved this degree—when they do not need anything for themselves and the only reason they want to live is to benefit the Creator through their actions—and they want to live for their own benefit, the creatures cannot receive the delight and pleasure that the Creator contemplated giving them.

In the work Lishma [for Her sake], reward and punishment are measured by the extent to which they want to bestow upon the Creator. That is, when they want to bestow upon the Creator, they consider it “reward.” And when they see that all they want is their own benefit, and they are utterly unable to crave to work for the sake of the Creator, they regard this as a punishment.

It follows that when a person feels that he is in a state of descent, when he has no yearning or desire whatsoever to bestow upon the Creator, there are two manners in this: 1) He does not feel any suffering or pain from this state—from coming to a state of lowliness. Rather, he accepts the situation and begins to seek satisfaction in things that he had already determined were trash, unfit for human consumption. But now he sees that he cannot derive vitality from spiritual matters because the taste of spirituality has been flawed in him, so in the meantime he wants to live and derive satisfaction from corporeality. He says, “I’m waiting for a time when I can work without overcoming. That is, when I am given an awakening from above, I will return to work. In the meantime, I want to remain in the state I am in.”

2) When he feels he is in a state of descent, he feels pain and deficiency at having fallen from a state where he thought he was rewarded with being like a man. That is, the nourishments that sustained him and from which he derived all his vitality were only from things that are not related to animals. He thought that soon he would be granted admission into the King’s palace and would be rewarded with the flavors of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds]. But without awareness or preparation, he sees that he is in a bottomless pit, which he never thought existed.

That is, after he has come to clear knowledge that he knows his purpose in life, now he sees himself in the company of cats, standing by garbage bins and eating the trash that people threw, since people cannot enjoy this, as it is unfit for human consumption. But now he himself is enjoying this trash, which he himself, when he was in a state of “man,” said that such a life is trash. But now he himself is eating the waste that he threw. Hence, when he looks at his lowliness, it invokes in him pain and suffering at the state he has come to.

However, sometimes a person adds insult to injury. That is, not only has he come to a state of lowliness, but at that time he falls into despair and says that he cannot believe that the Creator hears the prayer of every mouth. Instead, at that time he says, “Since I’ve already been at the highest level several times, and since I have fallen into this state several times, I must conclude that this work is not for me. As I see it, this matter is endless and could continue for the rest of my life. Therefore, why should I afflict myself in vain thinking that perhaps the Creator will finally hear me? After all, every person learns from the past, from what has been registered in him and from what he has been through.” This despair pushes him from the work and he wants to escape the campaign.

However, a person must believe two things, for only by this can he progress in the work: 1) All the descents that foreign thoughts he has in the work did not come from himself. Rather, they all come from the Creator. That is, the Creator sent him these states, and there is no other force in the world. It is as Baal HaSulam said, that a person must believe that there is no other force in the world, and everything comes from the Creator (see Shamati, No. 1, “There Is None Else Besides Him”).

Indeed, we should understand why the Creator sends these states, since this is very unusual, for our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” But here we see the opposite: Where he should have been given help and to see that each day he is progressing, he sees that he is regressing. That is, each time, he sees how immersed he is in self-love. Instead of coming closer each day toward the desire to bestow, he sees each day that he is nearing self-love.

In other words, before he began the work of bestowal, he did not taste such flavors and pleasures in self-love. He thought that whenever he wanted, he could immediately revoke his will to receive for himself, and he could work without any reward for himself. But now, he sees that he cannot make even a single step without the permission of his receiver. He has come to a state that our sages describe as “A wicked is under the authority of his heart.” Conversely, “a righteous, his heart is under his authority.” “Heart” means desire. That is, he is in exile, the will to receive for himself has absolute control over him, and he is utterly powerless to go against his heart, which is called “will to receive.” This is the meaning of the words, “A wicked is under the authority of his heart.”

Yet, the question is, Who is considered “wicked,” that we can say that he is under the authority of his heart? It is precisely when a person has come to a state where he sees that he condemns his Maker, when he cannot observe Torah and Mitzvot in order to bestow, and sees that he is immersed in self-love. When his heart tells him, “Do what I tell you,” he mindlessly follows, and does not even have time to contemplate what he is doing. Our sages call this: “A person does not sin unless a spirit of folly has entered him.” Only after the fact, he looks at himself and sees what folly he has done. Only then, in that state, he sees what our sages said, “A wicked is under the authority of his heart.”

The answer to the question, Why did the Creator send him the states of lowliness? is so that a person will see the truth, meaning what the will to receive is willing to do in order to increase self-love, that it has no regard for anything, and whatever can bring it pleasure, it is willing to do.

It follows that the Creator helps him each time to see his real state. That is, it was concealed in his heart and he did not see his illness. Hence, the help of the Creator came and revealed to him the severity of the illness. In other words, we need not believe that the will to receive is a bad thing. Instead, now he sees it for himself. This is similar to a person seeing that something is wrong with him, and he goes to the hospital for tests and X-rays. The tests show him that he suffers from certain illnesses, such as a heart disease, and also in the lungs. The family members come to the hospital management with complaints saying, “We brought a person with a little fever, and not dangerous illnesses, and you, meaning your doctors and the X-ray, inflicted fatal diseases on our son.”

It is likewise with us. Our will to receive was not so bad as to be dangerous. When we came to work here, we were told that pretty soon we would achieve the wholeness that we thought about the evil in us. But suddenly, after tests and examinations that you do, we see that the evil in us is very dangerous, that it can kill you and cause you to lose your spiritual life.

As it is in corporeality, we should thank the hospital for diagnosing the illnesses, meaning the evil in the body. Likewise, we should thank the Creator for revealing to us the danger of the evil in us, which is really mortal danger that could cost us our spiritual life. And certainly, we should thank the Creator for assisting us in discovering the illness we are suffering from, since previously, we thought that we were only slightly unwell, but the Creator revealed to us the truth. It follows that we did progress toward seeing the truth, meaning the real form of the evil in us.

By this we can interpret what we asked, What is the meaning of “A person does not lift his finger from below unless he is called upon from above,” in the work? A “finger” means that a person sees within reason, as it is written, “Each and every one shows with his finger,” or from the words, “pointing with the finger.” “Lifting” means a lack from below. That is, a person who feels deficient, that his importance is low, meaning that he is far from the Creator, does not feel this awareness unless he is called upon from above.

There are two interpretations to “above”: 1) “He is called upon from above” means that it came to him from private Providence. That is, it cannot be said that since he did not guard himself from “lifting” [the finger], meaning that he was not careful with guarding the body, we were given laws by which man should guard himself from harm, so the body will not suffer some damage, but he was not careful so his body received a flaw, which is called “lifting.”

Yet, even if he did watch himself with a hundred types of care, it would not help at all because so it was sentenced about him “from above.” It is as RASHI interpreted, “‘called upon,’ he is sentenced.” That is, it is a sentence from above and it is not the person’s fault. Yet, we could ask, Why was he sentenced to this from above?

2) “From above” means that it is of high importance. That is, the person received a flaw in his work that he did within reason, which is called “lifting his finger from below.” In other words, now he sees that he is in a state of lowliness, meaning he sees that he is bare and destitute in matters of work on the path of truth.

This brings up the question, Did seeing his lowliness come to him for not observing Torah and Mitzvot, or is it the other way around—because he began work more enthusiastically, which brought him to a state of descent, called “lifting his finger from below”? We should say that it came because he put more effort into the work. According to the rule, a Mitzva [commandment/good deed] induces a Mitzva, he should have seen that he was in a state of “above,” so why is he in a state of “below”?

The answer is that he is “called upon from above.” That is, he has been sentenced from above to be admitted into a place of high importance. For this reason, he has been shown the real state of the evil in him, so he would know what to pray for. There is certainly a difference when we see in corporeality that a person comes to ask someone for a loan, to lend him money, or when someone comes to another to ask for a favor and speak on his behalf so he will not be thrown in prison, or when someone is sentenced to death, and he asks the one person who can save him from death. There are big differences among the pleas.

In spirituality, we understand these matters with regard to the Kli [vessel]. In spirituality, a prayer is regarded as a Kli. According to the rule, “There is no light without a Kli,” there is a difference between a person praying to the Creator to help him so he can receive wholeness, meaning that in truth, he observes Torah and Mitzvot and engages in charity, but he understands from rumors he had heard that there is more wholeness than his observing of Torah and Mitzvot, both in quantity and quality. He believes in the verse, “There is not a righteous man on Earth who does good and did not sin,” therefore he asks of the Creator to help him. It follows that he needs only one small thing.

For example, when someone comes to get a loan from someone, he is told that he can get it elsewhere, too. That is, we do not pay much attention when it comes to the lending. Therefore, normally, when a person refuses to lend, he leaves him.

This is not so when a person is sentenced to death, and there is one person who can save his life. If that person refuses to do him the favor of saving him, he will not leave him and say that he will go to another person to save him from death, since only the king himself can pardon him. For this reason, we do not leave the king, and we seek out every possibility for the king to give him the absolution.

Similarly, in spirituality, we need a real Kli, meaning a real need for the Creator to give us the filling. For this reason, when we are shown from above our true state, that we are truly bare and destitute, we can place the filling in that Kli, since a person has realized that he is lacking spiritual life, called “complete faith,” and he has no grip on spirituality. In other words, he cannot say that he is doing something for the Creator, but it is all for his own benefit. This means that the entire structure of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity] is ruined in him, and everything he does is only lip-service. This is called a “real prayer,” since he has no one to turn to, and only the Creator Himself can help him, as was said in the exodus from Egypt, that it was done by the Creator Himself, as it is written, “I the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt.”

This is similar to a person who was sentenced to death, and only the king can pardon him. It follows that when a person feels that he is in a state of “wicked,” and “wicked in their lives are called ‘dead,’” this is considered that he has been sentenced to death. However, when a person asks the Creator to give him his life as a present, this is considered that he has a Kli that can receive the filling, since the person is not asking the Creator for luxuries, but simply for his spiritual life.

Thus, on one hand, a person should say, “If I am not for me, who is for me?” That is, he should choose by himself. This means that anything he thinks that he can do, anything he thinks will help him emerge from self-love, he should do. On the other hand, a person should say that everything comes from above, as was said, “A person does not lift his finger from below unless he is called upon from above.” Once a person has come to the recognition of the evil in him, which is risking his life, this is called an “act.” But he should attribute this act to the Creator, too.

Afterward, he should pray for the action. That is, a person must attribute both the lack and the filling to the Creator. That is, once a person has begun the work of bestowal and worked devotedly to achieve the truth, the Creator sends him a sensation of his lack. A person can feel this only after he has made great efforts to achieve the quality of bestowal. At that time, he is notified that he is remote from Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, which is called “life.” It is written about it, “And you who cling to the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.”

At that time, when he prays, it is regarded as a prayer for lack of life, and not as praying for things that one can live without. Instead, he simply asks for life, called “complete faith in the Creator.”

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What Is the Work of Man, in the Work, which Is Attributed to the Creator?

Article No. 31, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

It is written in The Zohar (Ekev, Item 1): “‘And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord your God.’ This Mitzva [commandment] is to bless the Creator for all that he has eaten and drunk, and enjoyed in this world. If he does not bless, he is called ‘a thief from the Creator.’ Concerning the verse, ‘He who robs his father and his mother,’ the friends established that it relates to the Creator, since the blessings that a person blesses the Creator come to extend life from the source of life, which is Bina, to the holy name of the Creator.”

We see here that two things are required: 1) Pleasure, which a person enjoys, 2) A person must bless on the pleasure he received. He says that otherwise, if a person does not bless, he is regarded as stealing from the Creator. He says that the reason is that through the blessing he extends abundance for the sake of the Creator.

We should understand why, if a person does not bless, abundance is not extended for the sake of the Creator. That is, if the Creator can give abundance, why does He need an awakening through the blessing?

He interprets there in the Sulam [Ladder Commentary] that his father is the Creator, and his mother is the Shechina [Divinity], and through the blessing, abundance is extended to the Creator and the Shechina. However, we should understand the importance of the blessing that extending the abundance from above causes. And if he does not bless, he robs the abundance that his father and mother should receive.

These words of our sages are also presented in the Talmud (Berachot 35b): “Anyone who enjoys this world without a blessing, it is as though he robs the Creator and the assembly of Israel, as it was said, ‘He who steals from his father and his mother, and says, ‘there is no crime,’ is a friend of a pernicious man. His father is the Creator, as it was said, ‘For He is your father, your Maker.’ And his mother is the assembly of Israel, as it was said, ‘Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.’ What is, ‘a friend of a pernicious man’? Rabbi Hanina Bar Papa said, ‘He is a friend of Jeroboam, son of Nevat, who corrupted Israel to their Father in heaven.’”

This text is also difficult to understand. Is one who does not bless for a pleasure he enjoys a friend of Jeroboam, son of Nevat, who corrupted Israel to their Father in heaven? We should understand what is the gravity that we find in the blessing, and why it is worse than one who commits a transgression, that he deserves a punishment for the transgression he has committed, while here, it is as though the transgression of avoiding a blessing is akin to corrupting the entire world.

It is known that the whole world was created only for the fear of heaven, as our sages said (Berachot6b), “Any person in whom there is fear of heaven, his words are heard, as it was said, ‘In the end, all is heard, fear God.’ He asks, ‘What is, ‘For this is the whole of man’? Rabbi Elazar said, ‘The Creator said, ‘The whole world was created only for this.’’” RASHI interpreted “for this” as “to create this.”

We should understand the meaning of “The whole world was created only for the fear of heaven.” It seems like a contradiction to the known rule, that in the creation of the world, it is written (Midrash Rabbah, Beresheet) that the Creator said to the ministering angels that He wants to create the world, as it is similar to a king who has a tower filled abundantly but no guests. This is why He created man, to give him delight and pleasure.

Yet, here he says that the world was created only for the fear of heaven, as though the Creator needs to be feared and this is why He has created the world.

To understand this, we first need to understand what is called “world,” and what is called “fear.” According to the rule we learned, the reason for the creation of the worlds was to do good to His creations. For this reason, He created in the creatures a desire and yearning to receive delight and pleasure. This is called Malchut de Ein Sof [infinity/no end], since at that time, Malchut still did not put a stop on the expansion of the abundance, but received in the desire to delight herself.

However, afterward, once she received the light, we learned that Malchut craved equivalence of form because every branch wants to resemble its root. For this reason, she did not want to receive because of her own benefit, but in order to bring contentment to the Creator. In other words, because the Creator wants to do good to His creations, he wants to receive.

In the words of the ARI, this is called “Tzimtzum [restriction], “concealment,” and “hiding.” In the book Tree of Life, he says that before the worlds were created, the upper light had filled the whole of reality, and there was no Rosh [head] or Sof [end], but everything was completely even. However, when He wished to emanate the emanations and create the creatures, He restricted Himself, leaving a vacant space. He says there, “And behold, after the aforementioned Tzimtzum, there was a place where the emanated, created, fashioned, and made could be.”

We see that prior to the Tzimtzum, there was no matter of worlds, for Olam [world] comes from the words He’elem and Hester [“concealment” and “hiding”]. The concealment and hiding that took place then were as it is written, “In order to bring to light the perfection of His deeds.” He explains there in Ohr Pnimi [“Inner Light,” Baal HaSulam’s commentary on the words of the ARI] that it means it is in order to have equivalence of form, called “receiving in order to bestow.” Otherwise, they will not receive any abundance, so there will not be disparity of form called “separation,” and Malchut de Ein Sof desired this.

Had there been disclosure of light in the vessels of reception, there would not be any room for work, so they could ever achieve equivalence of form. This is why there was the departure of the light, called “concealment and hiding.” Afterward, according to the power to overcome, called “a Masach[screen] on the upper light,” so they can receive in order to bestow, to that extent the light appears.

Since this Kli [vessel] comes from the lower one, meaning that the lower one must make the Kli, hence, the lower one is unable to receive all the light that was in the purpose of creation when the Creator placed the light in the Kli that He had made, called “will to receive.” Rather, the light that illuminated in the vessels of reception is now received in portions, one at a time, called “bit by bit,” since the Kelim [vessels] that the creatures make, which are called “in order to bestow,” cannot do everything at once.

For this reason, many worlds emerged, meaning many Masachim [plural of Masach], where on the one hand, each Masach makes a concealment, and on the other hand through it, there is revelation. Yet, prior to the Tzimtzum, there was no place for the worlds, meaning that there was no place for the concealment simply because as it is written, “the upper light had filled the whole of reality.”

It therefore follows that there are two actions in man: 1) He wants to receive everything for his own benefit, regarded as wanting to receive every delight and pleasure that he sees into the Kli called “receiving for himself.” 2) He wants to bestow upon others.

According to the above, we should say that the act of wanting to receive for his own benefit comes to him from the Creator, meaning that the Creator imprinted in the creatures a Kli called “receiving in order to receive.” A person does not need to work on this Kli or acquire it. Rather, it comes to him with the nature that the Creator created.

Conversely, an act that a person does in favor of another comes from the creatures, meaning that a person must make an effort to acquire this Kli, since the Creator did not intend that the creatures would give to Him, but rather that the Creator would give to the creatures. However, in order to avoid shame, the lower one made the Tzimtzum and the concealment so as not to receive any light except according to what it can receive in order to bestow. For this reason, since the lower one must perform this act by itself, the lower one must exert great efforts to acquire this Kli, as it is against the nature in which the creatures were created.

It follows that the question we asked, Which action that a person does do we attribute to the Creator, meaning that the Creator created it? It is that a person wanting to receive abundance for his own benefit comes directly from the Creator. But an act of bestowal we attribute to the creature. Hence, it is difficult for a person to acquire this Kli because it is against nature.

Accordingly, we can interpret what we asked about what our sages said, that the whole world was created for this, for the fear of heaven, as it is written, (Ecclesiastes 3:14), “And God made it that He would be feared.” Yet, this contradicts what our sages said, that the creation of the world was in order to do good to His creations, and not in order to have fear, and this is why the world was created, as our sages said, that the whole world was created only for this, meaning for the fear of heaven, implying that the Creator needs to be feared, and this is why He has created the creatures.

As we explained, Olam [world] means He’elem and Hester [“concealment” and “hiding”]. This brings up the question, Why did the Creator create concealment and hiding when the reason for creating the world was to do good to His creations? However, there is a matter of correction here. In the book Tree of Life, the ARI refers to it as “In order to bring to light the perfection of His deeds, He restricted Himself.” We see that the concealment and hiding, called Tzimtzum, was so they could receive the upper light and remain in Dvekut, called “equivalence of form.”

In other words, although they receive delight and pleasure, since they are receiving in order to bestow, it is called “equivalence of form.” This means that from the perspective of the desire and yearning they have for the upper abundance, they relinquish the reception of delight and pleasure. However, because the Creator derives delight and pleasure from their joy, as this was the purpose of creation, they receive, since the Creator wants them to enjoy and not because they want to receive pleasure for themselves.

That correction is specifically through the concealment and hiding, for then there is room for choice to say that without the aim to bestow, he does not want to receive. But if the light were revealed, as it was prior to the Tzimtzum, how could he say while the upper light fills the whole of reality, that there is room for choice, meaning that if he cannot aim to bestow, he will not receive? It would have been impossible, since we see that after all the restrictions that took place, it does not shine openly in this world.

The ARI says that only a slim light descended from the Kedusha [holiness/sanctity] to sustain the Klipot [shells/peels]. This means that all the pleasures in the corporeal world are but a slim light compared to the lights that exist in Kedusha. Yet, we see that when a person receives pleasure in the corporeal world, which is a tiny pleasure compared to spirituality, where the bulk of the pleasure is found, how difficult it is for him to say, “If I cannot aim to bestow, I relinquish the pleasure.” Thus, we can imagine that if the light were revealed, such as the light clothed in the commandment of Tzitzit [prayer shawl], how could a person say that he relinquishes the pleasure if he cannot aim to bestow?

Now we can understand that the word “world” means “concealment,” and by this we can interpret what they said, “The world was created only for this,” meaning for the fear of heaven. However, what does “fear of heaven” mean in the work of achieving the truth? It means as it is said in the “Introduction of The Book of Zohar” (Item 203), “Both the first fear and the second fear are not for his own benefit, but only for fear that he will decline in bringing contentment to his Maker.”

By this we will understand what was written, “The whole world was created only for fear of heaven.” This means that the whole matter of concealment, which is called “world,” was created only in order to make it possible to achieve bestowal. That is, if there were no concealment, there would be no room for us to work in order to bestow.

Accordingly, the meaning of what we asked about what is written, that the world was created in order to do good to His creations, this refers to the purpose of creation, as was said, that the Creator said that it is like a king who has a tower filled abundantly. And then comes the correction of creation, which is to work in order to bestow, which is Dvekut [adhesion], equivalence of form, called “fear,” and on this correction was the world made, meaning that there would be concealment and hiding.

It turns out that the world, which is concealment, was done so that He would be feared. This means that fear is for man’s sake, so he would be able to work for the sake of the Creator. We should not say that the Creator needs to be feared, but that the fear is that a person fears he might not be able to work in order to bestow. This is why the concealment took place. This work pertains to man, who should make great efforts to acquire these Kelim, as it is against nature because the Creator placed in the creatures a desire to receive delight and pleasure.

Now we can interpret what is written, “And Godmade it that He would be feared.” That is, in order for a person to maintain the fear, called “kingdom of heaven,” He had made a correction. As soon as a person leaves the kingdom of heaven, called “faith above reason,” the Creator made it so that man will immediately descend from his state, where he thought about spirituality, and fall into the corporeal world, where there is no connection between them.

These falls cause man to keep himself from changing the order of the work of faith above reason. See in the “Introduction of The Book of Zohar”: “The whole matter of fear is only for man’s sake, and not that the Creator needs to be respected, such as a flesh and blood king. Instead, all that He has done is in man’s favor, for these corrections that the Creator has performed will guide a person on the right path to lead him to the purpose of creation, namely for the creatures to receive delight and pleasure.”

Now we will explain what we asked about the blessing, where it is written, “He who enjoys in this world without a blessing, is as Jeroboam, son of Nevat.” We asked, Why is the transgression of enjoying without blessing so much graver than other transgressions? It is as though with other transgressions that a person performs, he is not as Jeroboam, son of Nevat, who was a sinner who made the public sin. But one who enjoys without a blessing is similar to Jeroboam, son of Nevat, who corrupted Israel to their Father in heaven?

In the work, we should interpret that when a person enjoys something and blesses for it, there is a matter of renewing the faith here. That is, when a person says the blessing, he must believe that the Creator has given him the pleasure, which falls into the category of “His desire to do good to His creations.” Therefore, in corporeal pleasures, too, the pleasure that the Creator wants to give to the creatures is clothed, as well, since only the Creator sustains everything, as it is written, “And you sustain them all.”

However, as long as a person is unfit to feel who is his provider, the Creator dresses in corporeal dresses, meaning that only in inferior dresses, which animals, too, can enjoy in these dresses, and the speaking can also feel pleasure in them.

In these corporeal pleasures, in which man feels delight and pleasure like animals, there is room for choice. That is, it is possible to say here that all the pleasures in these dresses are nature. That is, they say that there is no leader to nature, and from this it follows that all the secular people do not want to believe that there is a leader to nature, since they have clear proof within reason that it is as they say.

Some believers say that they are going above reason. That is, although it makes sense to say that everything is only nature, still, they are devout believers and have faith in the sages, who say that there is a Creator who leads the good. It follows that the fact that the Creator dresses in corporeal pleasures and they receive delight and pleasure is enough for them to lead a happy life, and they have no need to know if there is a leader to nature, for what will this add to our pleasures?

Instead, they want to increase the pleasures by increasing the dresses, such as more money, more respect, and more food and drink. The reason they have no need to search perhaps there is a leader to nature extends from the verse, “A slave in abandonment is content,” as our sages said, that one does not want to take upon himself any enslavement from anyone. Rather, a person wants to be free and not be enslaved to any person. It follows that when a person seeks to find tactics to know that there is a leader to nature, if he takes upon himself the view that there is a leader, then he must follow the commandments of the leader and will have to say that there is reward and punishment. Thus, it is better to say that nature is without a leader. By this he can lead a life of abandonment.

It follows that the fact that the delight and pleasure in Torah and Mitzvot are hidden from us is deliberate, so there will be room for choice, since in Torah and Mitzvot, it cannot be said that there is no leader, for who is the Giver of the Torah and Mitzvot?

However, who awakens to choose and believe there is a leader to nature? When a person calculates that it is impossible that a person, who is the speaking level, will have the same level of life as animals, that is, they cannot accept that they do not have a more important role in life than animals, they begin to search for a purpose to their lives.

It is as our sages said about Abraham, who asked, “Is there a city without a leader? Promptly, the leader of the city appeared before him and said to him, ‘I am the leader of the city.’” That is, he saw a city lit up, meaning he saw the world, which is called ‘a city,’ where everyone was suffering. He said about this, “Is there a city without a leader?” Certainly, nature does not afflict the world without a leader to nature. Thus, he began to search for the leader. Promptly, the leader appeared before him and said, “I am the landlord of the World.”

We see that there must be an awakening by the lower one. He needs to want to know and feel that there is a leader to nature, and crave Dvekut with Him, and do whatever he can, although he sees that it is hard for him to see this within reason that nature’s leader is good and does good, since he sees that he himself is devoid of delight and pleasure. Also, when he examines the world, he sees that the whole world is in suffering and poverty, both in corporeality and in spirituality. Yet, he must believe with faith above reason that the Creator leads the world and that He gives to the whole world only good.

It is as Baal HaSulam says (Shamati, Article No. 1), that one must believe above reason that the Creator leads the world in private Providence by way of “The Good Who Does Good.” Although within reason he sees the opposite, he should know, “They have eyes and see not.” As long as one has not been rewarded with entering the authority of the Creator and annuls his own authority, a person cannot see the truth.

Thus, we see that when a person enjoys in this world, meaning in the will to receive pleasure for himself, although this desire comes from the Creator, meaning that this was the only desire of the Creator—that the creatures will enjoy abundance—it follows that when a person enjoys, he does the will of the Creator.

Therefore, why does he need to bless the Creator? Was the intention of doing good to His creations because the Creator needs to be blessed? where blessing is about blessing the Giver that he will be blessed in everything he does.

We should ask, Does the Creator need to be given blessing and success? This applies only to the creatures, who are weak, and therefore need blessing and success in what they cannot obtain through their own work, for they are powerless. But how can you say this about the Creator?

Yet, as we learned, with respect to the correction of creation, there was the matter of Tzimtzum and concealment so the lower ones could receive and there would be no shame upon the reception of the pleasures.

In this regard, we can discern two things: 1) the act, meaning a person receives pleasure; 2) the intention, meaning the reason. That is, who makes him receive the pleasure, which is called “an act”? At that time a person contemplates so as to see who and what caused him pleasure, his enjoyment. He sees that any pleasure depends on the yearning for the matter. We attribute this to our nature, meaning that the Creator has given us a desire and yearning to receive pleasure from something from which we can derive pleasure. When a person calculates, he sees that this separates him from the Creator. That is, he sees that reception removes him from the work of the Creator because of the disparity of form. This, in turn, forces him to draw nearer to corporeality, and the main meaning of corporeality is that he takes upon himself to work for his own benefit. Man is called “corporeal,” and not for the sake of the Creator, and the Creator is regarded as “spiritual.”

For this reason, it is upon man to put an aim on the act of pleasure: 1) He should believe that this pleasure he is receiving comes from the Creator and from no other source. 2) He should intend to bestow, and say that since the Creator wants the creatures to receive pleasure, he is doing the Creator’s will. Otherwise, if he cannot aim to benefit the Creator, he is willing to relinquish this pleasure.

However, one does not achieve this work at once. This is called “blessing the Creator.” That is, through the work of bestowal, it is considered that a person gives the Creator Kelim [vessels] so He can bestow pleasure upon the person. Since the Tzimtzum was not to bestow into the vessels of reception, now it will be possible for the Creator to bestow, since the Tzimtzum has been removed from them because now he is receiving not for his own sake, but for the sake of the Creator.

For this reason, now we can say that a person who blesses, meaning that while receiving pleasure, he intends that his pleasure is that by doing the Creator’s will, whose desire is to do good to His creations, this is regarded as blessing the work of the Creator. In other words, since the work of the Creator is to bestow upon the creatures, by aiming to bestow, there is power above to bestow unto the lower ones, since now the lower ones are not removed by the reception. On the contrary, now it is apparent that they are adhered to the Creator.

The proof of this is that the abundance can spread in the Kelim that are fit to receive, since the Kelimwill remain in Kedusha. It follows that through the blessing, he causes the expansion of abundance to the lower ones.

By this we will understand what we asked, What is the gravity of the blessing? Apparently, he does more harm than other transgressions. But according to the above, the meaning of the blessing pertains to the qualification of the Kelim, so the Creator will be able to give to the lower ones delight and pleasure, and that abundance will not be detrimental to them. That is, they will not be pushed away by the reception of delight and pleasure from Him, due to disparity of form, as it is known that disparity of form causes moving away from the Creator.

It follows that one who does not bless for the pleasure, meaning he does not aim that it will be in order to bestow, causes the prevention of the abundance from above. It follows that it is as though he causes the Creator not to be able to carry out the purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creation.

As said above, there are two actions in man: 1) that which comes from the Creator, which is the desire and yearning for pleasures, 2) the act that we attribute to the creature, which is the intention to bestow. We attribute this to the lower one, who should aim in order to bestow.

It therefore follows that there are two conditions under which the Kli will be fit to receive the abundance and remain in Dvekut while receiving the abundance: the act and the aim. Also, there is partnership in building the wholeness of the Kli: 1) the Creator, 2) the creatures.

This is as it is written in The Zohar (“Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 67): “‘And to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’’ Do not pronounce ‘You are My people [Ami]’ with a Patach in the Ayin, but ‘You are with Me [Imi],’ with a Hirik in the Ayin, which means partnering with Me. As I made heaven and earth with My words, as it is written, ‘By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,’ you, with your words of wisdom, have made new heaven and earth. Happy are those who exert in Torah.”

This means that through the Torah, whose light reforms him, they can achieve the degree of annulling their own authority, and everything a person does will all be in order to bestow contentment upon his Maker.

Accordingly, if a person does not give his part to the Kli, which is the second part, called “desire to bestow,” he thereby causes the abundance that should come to the lower ones through the work of the lower one, by not giving the intention, the abundance delays because of him. In other words, by not giving the blessing, the connection of upper and lower is missing, since the upper one is the giver and the lower one is the receiver. Hence, there is disparity of form between them and they have no Dvekut, so how can the abundance come to the lower one?

Therefore, when there is a connector, meaning that the lower one also wants to be a giver like the upper one, the abundance can flow onto the lower one because of the connection that exists between them. Without this connection, it is as though he steals the nourishments that his father and mother should give to the children—that man steals and the children have nothing to sustain them.

In other words, if he enjoys and does not bless, it means that he did not give the intention for the sake of the Creator. Therefore, he has taken the pleasure, which is reception, and gave it to the Sitra Achra [other side], who take all the reception in order to receive, and this nourishes them. Had he aimed to bestow through the blessing, the Kedusha would have been nourished by this, meaning that through it, abundance would be added to the worlds of Kedusha. By acting without the aim, he has given strength to the Klipot.

We could ask, What does it mean that he corrupted the world, since he did not corrupt his self? Also, what is the connection between him and the entire world? We should interpret as our sages said (Kidushin 40b), “Rabbi Elazar Bar Rabbi Shimon says, ‘Since the world is judged by its majority, and the individual is judged by its majority, if he performs one Mitzva [commandment/good deed], happy is he, for he has sentenced himself and the entire world to the side of merit. If he commits one transgression, woe unto him for he has sentenced himself and the entire world to the side of sin.’”

We therefore see that through his sin, one person robs the nourishments that should reach the entire world. For this reason, one who does not bless robs his father and his mother. That is, the abundance that they should give him, and what his father and mother should give to the entire world, he prevents this from them. It follows that he has corrupted the world to their Father in heaven.

This means the abundance and nourishment that their father in heaven should have given to the whole world, he robs this force that should have been received in order to add Kedusha throughout the world, and hands that power to the Sitra Achra. Every reception in order to receive that the lower ones perform adds power to the Sitra Achra, and every aim on an act that he intends in order to bestow causes addition of abundance in the Kedusha.

Now we can understand the gravity of “He who enjoys in this world and does not bless.” As said above, it is the intention, for only through the blessing, abundance is added in all the worlds and abundance reaches the whole world.

Hence, if a person’s intention is only to bring contentment to the Creator and not for his own benefit, he does not mind the amount of pleasure. He only looks at the amount of passion with which he wants to delight the Creator, since through the yearning to delight the Creator, he causes equivalence of form at the root of his soul. This, in turn, causes more abundance to be drawn, since the upper one wants to give more than the lower one wants to receive, and only vessels of bestowal are missing. It follows that by overcoming in bestowal, great abundance is extended. For this reason, we need not ask to have great lights, only try to have big vessels, which are vessels of bestowal.

It is as we interpreted, that our sages said, “Why is it written, ‘For this is the whole of man’”? And he replies, “Rabbi said, ‘The whole world was created only for this,’” meaning for fear of heaven, as it is written, “What does the Lord your God ask of you? Only fear.” Fear is as he says in the Sulam [Ladder Commentary on The Zohar], that he is afraid he will not be able to bestow upon the Creator. “And this is the whole of man,” meaning this is all that man should do, meaning offer Him vessels of bestowal. The rest, meaning the lights, the Creator gives. This is the meaning of “Everything is in the hands of heaven but the fear of heaven.”

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

How to Recognize One Who Serves God from One Who Does Not Serve Him

Article No. 29, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

Our sages write in [Masechet] Ketubot: “Rabbi Hiya Bar Ashi said, ‘Rav said, ‘All infertile trees in the land of Israel are destined to bear fruit, as was said, ‘For the tree has borne its fruit, the fig tree and the vine have yielded strength.’’’”

The MAHARSHA interprets that “Although it is an infertile tree, which by nature is unfit for yielding fruit, it will still bear fruit.” We should understand what this teaches us in the work.

The Sulam [Baal HaSulam commentary on The Zohar], in its commentary on the “Essay about Letters” (“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Item 23) writes, “It is known that God has made them one opposite the other. As there are four worlds ABYA de [of] Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], there are four worlds ABYA de Tuma’a [impurity] opposite them. Hence, in the world of Assiya there is no distinction between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. Accordingly, how can we tell good from evil? However, there is one, very important scrutiny, which is that another god is barren and does not bear fruit. Hence, those who fail in him and walk by the path of ABYA de Tuma’a, their source dries out and they have no blessing of spiritual fruits. Thus, they wither away until they shut completely. The opposite is those who adhere to Kedusha. Their works are blessed, ‘As a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.’ This is the only scrutiny in the world of Assiya to know if he is in Kedusha or to the contrary.”

We should understand the meaning of “fruits” in spirituality. The word “fruits” is used to mean “profits,” similar to saying, “I struck a big deal but it is yet to bear fruit.” It means that he is still not making profit out of it. In work matters, we should interpret that when a person begins to take on the burden of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], the understanding he has about fear of heaven and the importance of the Mitzvot, and especially the importance of the Torah, when he is at the age of twenty or thirty, he does not know much about the work of the Creator, meaning what is fear of heaven and what is the feeling in Torah and Mitzvot.

Although he sees that he has already acquired the possession of several years of engagement in Torah and Mitzvot, he has not progressed in the understanding that he had since he became obliged to engage in Torah and Mitzvot. That is, he thought that as he grows up, he would probably have different intentions than when he first began the work of the Creator. However, he has remained in the same intention and he agrees to the general view that says about him, when they see that he observes Torah and Mitzvot in all its details and intricacies, they respect him and exalt him and honor him for his work in Torah and Mitzvot.

Therefore, he is in a state of “The whole world tells you that you are righteous.” For this reason, he can never achieve wholeness, called “serving the Creator.” He remains “a servant of himself.” That is, all the work he does is for his own benefit. This is called “not serving Him.” Instead, he is working for himself and not for the Creator.

In work matters, it is impossible to become a servant of the Creator before we come to a state of “not serving Him,” for they are two degrees and it is impossible to rise to a higher level before one is on the lower level. Rather, first one enters the degree called “not serving Him.” That is, a person must come to feel that as long as he is working for his own benefit, it is called “not serving Him.”

Also, “not serving Him” does not mean that he sees that he is in a state of Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], which is called in the work, “not serving Him.” He accepts the situation regardless of the excuses he has for this, since the reasons do not change the situation. Therefore, if he agrees to remain in that state, it is regarded as still not being in a state of “not serving Him.”

When he sees that he is in a state of “not serving Him,” he seeks advice to emerge from it, both by books and by authors. It pains him that he is in such lowliness and so immersed in self-love that he cannot emerge from this control, and he fears that he will stay this way forever. This is called being in a state of “not serving Him.”

However, we should ask, How should one name the situation where he sees that he is in a state of “not serving Him”? That is, when a person comes to that state where he sees that he is immersed in self-love, and all the beastly lusts awaken in him—such that he has never dreamed of—in a state of “not serving Him,” such thoughts and desires awaken that according to the work he has invested, which he exerted in order to be rewarded with Kedusha [holiness/sanctity] and for which he should have at least seen that although he has not been rewarded with Kedusha, he should have seen himself liberated from beastly lusts.

Otherwise, he asks, Our sages said, “The reward matches the pain,” meaning that a person is rewarded according to the effort he has made. Yet, now he sees that he made the effort, but what reward did he receive? That he has become worse. Before he began the work of bestowal, he knew that he was a servant of the Creator. Although he knew even then that there are higher degrees, meaning those who work Lishma [for Her sake], he knew that work Lishma was meant for a chosen few. At that time he was certain that although he was not counted among the chosen few, he was regarded as a servant of the Creator like the rest of his environment. But now that he wants to work for the sake of the Creator, he is regressing. That is, he feels that he is worse than before. This brings up the question, Where is what our sages said, “The reward matches the pain”?

The truth is, as Baal HaSulam said, that because he has invested much effort to be rewarded with a little bit of Kedusha, by this he was rewarded with attaining the quality of truth. That is, he was rewarded from above with awareness of his true state—how the evil within him, meaning the will to receive for himself is so worldly and remote from the Creator. This means that before he began the work, he could not understand the lowliness of his state whatsoever.

Rather, as we said in previous articles, The Zohar interprets the verse, “if his sin is made known to him,” that the Creator tells him that he has sinned, or the Torah notifies him that he has sinned. For himself, a person cannot see the evil in him, since a person is close to himself and is biased, and it is written that “bribe blinds the eyes of the wise,” and the blind do not see. For this reason, a person cannot see the evil in him by himself. Instead, he is notified from above, which, in the words of The Zohar, is regarded as the Torah or the Creator notifying him. Both are made clear to us by one matter, meaning that it comes from above and not from himself, since recognition of evil is knowledge from above.

By this we can interpret what people ask: On one hand, our sages said (Nida 30b), “He is sworn, ‘Be righteous and do not be wicked, and even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous, be wicked in your own eyes.’” They ask, But the Mishnah (Avot, Chapter 2) says, “Do not be wicked in your own eyes,” so how come they say, “Be wicked in your own eyes”?

There are many answers to this. According to the above said, recognition of evil comes from above, and a person cannot come to the recognition of evil unless he has exerted in Torah and Mitzvot in order to come to work for the sake of the Creator. At that time he is shown from above the evil, and only then can he see that he is wicked. Naturally, in such a state, when he is shown from above that he is wicked, although judging by his actions, he seems righteous to the world, since no one can know what another has been shown from above.

It was said about this: “Even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous,” since they do not know you, meaning your intentions, you should still know the truth. For this reason, they said, “Be wicked in your own eyes.” “In your own eyes” means not as the world regards your externality. Rather, “in your own eyes” means the form of the intention, which none can see but you. This is called “in your own eyes.” Then, you will see that you are wicked, as it is written, “Be wicked in your own eyes.”

However, as said above, a person cannot see the truth, that he is wicked, until he has made great efforts in Torah and Mitzvot in order to achieve the truth. At that time he is shown from above the truth that he is in a state of “not serving Him.” But by himself, without help from above, a person cannot see that he is wicked. This is the meaning of what is written, “Do not be wicked in your own eyes.” This means that from his own perspective, a person cannot be wicked. Rather, this requires help from above.

For this reason, a person must ask the Creator to let him know the truth about his state in spirituality, where he is, meaning if he is among those who are called “servants of the Creator,” or among those who are called “not serving Him.” But by himself, a person cannot know. This is why they said, “Do not be wicked in your own eyes.”

Now we will explain what we asked, How should one name the situation he is in, if he sees that he really is in a state of “not serving Him,” meaning if he is not moving at all in the work but is regressing and his work has been in vain, without any profits? He should believe in what our sages said, “The reward is matches the pain,” but he evidently sees that it would be better if he did not begin this work of bestowal in the first place. He sees that he is only descending in the work, and not ascending. Accordingly, the state of “not serving Him” should have been named “a descent.”

However, according to what we said, that it is impossible to achieve a higher degree prior to attaining a lower one, regarded as “not serving Him,” it follows that that state is not regarded as a “state of descent,” but rather as a “state of ascent,” for such is the way: The lower degree is the reason and the cause of the upper degree. Therefore, this descent, when he feels that he is in a state of descent, causes him to ascend to a higher degree.

That is, “the reward matches the pain.” In other words, to the extent that he suffers from being in a state of “not serving Him,” it causes him to seek counsel and advice to emerge from that state and ascend to a higher degree, called “serving the Creator.” For this reason, that state is called “a time of ascent,” and it is called “a state of progress toward the goal.” However, even at a time of “not serving Him” there are ups and downs, and these descents are also regarded as ascents.

Explanation: A descent causes a person to see the state of the bad in him—to what he might come, meaning to what lowliness it might bring a person. That is, during an ascent, when a person has passion for Torah and prayer, and he thinks that now he is among the servants of the Creator and he no longer needs the Creator to help him out of his evil inclination since he feels good taste in the work, he looks at the times he was in descent and is ashamed of himself. It pains him very much if he remembers his descents.

But suddenly he falls “from the rooftop to the deep pit.” That is, he feels from a state of thinking that he was already in heaven into seeing that he is already in a deep pit. Moreover, he does not remember how he fell into the pit and for what reason. Once he falls into the pit, he is there unconscious, meaning he does not feel how he has fallen into the pit. However, after some time he recovers and begins to feel that he is in the pit. The recovery time may take a minute, or an hour, or a day or two days, or a month, until he regains consciousness and sees the lowliness that he was in.

Afterward, he is given once more from above a desire and craving for the work. Once more, he is in a state of ascent, and this is the time that he can enjoy the descent. That is, during the ascent he can know the benefits from experiencing the descent, since according to what is said, the punishments given to a person are not as with a flesh and blood king, who avenges the person not following the king’s orders. Rather, here there is a matter of correction. Thus, what benefit can he say that he has from the descents?

The answer is that the descent was not given to man so he would learn from the descent while he is in descent. During the descent he is unconscious. That is, he does not feel that he is in descent, since at that time there is no living being to feel some lack in vitality of Kedusha, since he has lost the awareness that there is spirituality in anyone in the world, and all his thoughts are only about life in self-love.

That is, since it is known that without life, it is impossible to live, therefore, each one chooses the right clothing from which to elicit life, which is called “pleasure,” since there is no life without pleasure. When a person cannot find pleasure in his life, he immediately chooses death, which is called “committing suicide.”

Therefore, during the descent, when he finds pleasure in some clothing, it does not matter to him what is the clothing, but how much pleasure he can derive from this clothing. This is called that at that time he does not think about spirituality, since the pleasure he receives makes him forget everything else, for he is completely preoccupied with continuing to obtain the pleasures in the dresses that suit his spirit at the time. In this he is immersed. At that time, he has no thoughts that there is such a reality called “service of the Creator,” since a descent is called “death.” That is, the little bit of spirituality when he was somewhat adhered to Kedusha has departed from him. For this reason, at that time he is regarded as “dead,” without vitality of Kedusha.

However, afterward, he wakes up and begins to see that he is devoid of spiritual life. His awakening from the descent is called “the revival of the dead,” when he begins to feel that he is deficient of life. Conversely, one who is dead does not feel that he is deficient of life so as to want to be awarded life.

Yet, the question is, Who revived him? The answer to this is “A King who puts to death and brings to life.” And why do we need this? The answer is “and brings forth salvation.” This means that by the Creator giving him a descent, called “putting to death,” on the one hand, and on the other hand, by giving an ascent, called “and brings to life,” by this comes salvation, as it is written, “and brings forth salvation.”

Thus, when does one learn and profit from the descent? Certainly not during the descent, for then he is dead. However, afterward, when the Creator revives him, meaning gives him an ascent, this is the time to learn what happened to him during the descent, meaning in what lowliness he was, what he craved and what he expected—that if he were to have it, he would feel like a complete human being. At that time he sees that his entire life of being in descent was nothing short of the life of an animal.

Let us take, for example, when trash is thrown in the garbage. When the cats in the area feel that there is some leftovers of an animal that was thrown in the trash, they find it and eat it. With the strength from eating, each of them runs to its place to obtain other pleasures. If a person observes during the ascent, he understands that it is not worthwhile to occupy his mind and heart in beastly lusts. In his current eyes, it is complete trash. When he looks at such a life, it makes him so nauseous that he wants to vomit.

It follows that the great benefit from this descent is that he sees his own lowliness, to what state he might come, and that only the Creator has brought him out of that lowliness. This is the time to see the greatness of the Creator, that He can bring a person “out of the miry clay,” where he could drown and remain forever in the hands of the Sitra Achra [other side], and only the Creator has brought him out of there.

Accordingly, we can see that during the ascent, a person should read everything that is written about the time of descent. From this reading he will know how to ask the Creator for his soul so He will not throw him once again into the trash. Also, he will know how to thank the Creator for raising him from the bottomless pit, as it was said, “A king who puts to death and brings to life, and brings forth salvation.” That is, salvation grows out of the descents and ascents.

Thus, after he has completed the first stage, called “not serving Him,” begins the time of being “a servant of the Creator.” That is, once he has tried every advice and tactic to exit the state of “not serving Him,” he receives help from above, as it is written in The Zohar, “He who comes to purify is aided,” by giving him “a holy soul.” By this he emerges from the governance of self-love and can work only in order to bestow.

Thus, how can a person come to be a servant of the Creator? By being rewarded with a soul from above. This is regarded that now he is bearing fruit. And what is the fruit? It is that he has been rewarded with a soul. This is the fruit. In other words, a person must know that before he was rewarded with fruits, called “a soul,” he cannot be a servant of the Creator. Rather, he must be serving himself, which is called “not serving Him,” for the above reason that a person cannot go against the nature in which he was born, which is self-love. Rather, only the Creator can make this miracle.

By this we should interpret what our sages said, “All infertile trees in the land of Israel are destined to bear fruit.” That is, once a person has been rewarded with Eretz Yashar-El [Land of Israel], by being rewarded with a soul, everything becomes corrected, meaning even the quality of “infertile trees,” which do not bear fruit. This refers to the time of “not serving Him”—that it also receives correction, as in “sins become to him as merits.”

In other words, it is impossible to be a servant of the Creator before one feels that he is in a state of “not serving Him.” That is, through the descents and ascents he had while in a state of self-love, these ascents and descents were stages and degrees so he would be able to climb up to the place of wholeness, and then everything enters Kedusha because all those things helped him achieve wholeness.

Now we can understand that “infertile trees,” which are naturally unfit to bear fruit, will still bear fruit. That is, when a person is in Lo Lishma, that state is far from bearing fruit, meaning with being rewarded with understanding in work and Torah, regarded as being rewarded with entering the King’s palace. But in a state of Lo Lishma, it is to the contrary: He moves himself away from Dvekut[adhesion] with the Creator. Still, after he has been rewarded with entering the land of Israel, all the Lo Lishma, called “infertile trees,” will bear fruit, meaning that the upper light, called “a soul,” will be on those Kelim, as well, since everything comes into Kedusha.

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is, His Guidance Is Concealed and Revealed?

Article No. 28, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

Midrash Rabbah, Ruth (Chapter 2:11) asks, “One verse says, ‘For the Lord will not abandon His people and will not leave His inheritance,’ and another verse says, ‘For the Lord will not abandon His people for the sake of His great name.’ Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachmani said, ‘At times He does for the sake of His people and His inheritance, and at times He does for the sake of His great name.’ Rabbi Ibi said, ‘When Israel are worthy—for the sake of His people and His inheritance. When Israel are not worthy—for the sake of His great name. And our sages said, ‘In the land of Israel, for the sake of His people and inheritance. Abroad, for the sake of His great name, as it was said, ‘For My sake, for My sake I will do.’’”

We should understand the meaning of “His great name,” and the meaning of “His people and His inheritance.” We should also understand the difference between “abroad,” attributed to His great name, and “the land of Israel,” which is “for the sake of His people and inheritance.”

We are told to believe in His guidance—that He leads the world as good and doing good. We must believe that the purpose of creation was because He desires to do good to His creations. We must believe even though we suffer from what Providence sends us to feel. Nonetheless, we should believe that the punishments we suffer for not observing the Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] of the Creator, which the Creator has commanded us, these punishments are not due to vengeance, as it occurs among flesh and blood, who punish because their honor was tarnished when their orders are disobeyed. Instead, here there is a matter of correction.

That is, the torments a person suffers for not observing the Creator’s commandments is because the giving of Torah and Mitzvot was for man’s sake. Through them, he is to receive Kelim [vessels] that can receive the delight and pleasure that the Creator has prepared for the creatures. For this reason, when a person does not observe Torah and Mitzvot, he is devoid of those Kelim. Hence, the Creator sends him suffering so he would take upon himself the Torah and Mitzvot. It is as Baal HaSulam said, that we must believe that the sin is the punishment and the punishment is the correction. This is the opposite of the common view.

It is as the Nahmanides says (presented in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, Histaklut Pnimit, Item 1), “Nahmanides had already explained to us the matter of His uniqueness, as expressed in the words, ‘One, Unique, and Unified.’ There is a difference between ‘One,’ ‘Unique,’ and ‘Unified’: When He unites to act with one force, He is called ‘Unified.’ When He divides to act His act, each part of Him is called ‘Unique.’ When He is in a single evenness, He is called ‘One.’ Interpretation: Uniting to act with one force, when He works to bestow, as is fitting of His oneness, and His operations are unchanging. When He divides to act His act, meaning when His operations differ, and He seems to be doing good and bad, He is called ‘Unique,’ since all His different operations have a single outcome: doing good. We find that He is unique in every single act and does not change by His various actions. When He is in a single evenness, He is called ‘One.’ ‘One’ points to His essence.” He also writes there, “‘One’ indicates a single evenness. ‘Unique’ implies that all those multiplicities are in Him as single as His essence. ‘Unified’ shows that although He performs many actions, one force performs all those, and they all return and unite in the form of ‘Unique.’”

We see that all of Guidance is in the form of corrections. Although it is difficult to understand this, we must take upon ourselves faith in the sages, which is called “oral Torah [law].” That is, we must believe what they are telling us about what to do and what to believe, and we must follow their views blindly and without criticism because our reason cannot understand the ways of His Providence. Thus, everything must be in faith above reason, and specifically by this we are then rewarded with the delight and pleasure, since we are following the ways of the sages, who have determined for us in which way and manner to go, and not the way our intellect understands.

Specifically in this way of above reason, we are later rewarded with feeling in the organs that the Creator leads the world in a manner of good and doing good. At that time we do not have to believe because we can already feel this, and then we ourselves testify that the creation of the world was with the intention to do good to His creations.

We must believe that the Creator leads the world as Elokim [God], which is called Teva [nature], as it is written, the Gematria of “nature” is “God,” which is the quality of judgment.

God is the quality of judgment, and HaVaYaH [the Lord] is the quality of mercy. Hence, the for the world in general, who do not believe in the Creator, they say that the guidance of the world follows the quality of nature, that nature determines the guidance of the world. However, they do not say that nature is God, but that it is nature, without any leader. We see that this nature, which the Creator created with the quality of judgment, has no mercy in the judgment, since nature has no intellect from which to ask for mercy so it does not punish us so harshly because we are so weak that we cannot follow its commandments.

The answer to this is “There is no mercy in the judgment.” For example, if someone throws his friend in the water, and the water wants to drown him, he says to the water, “Is it my fault that my friend threw me into your domain? Therefore, I’m asking you to please have mercy on me, since I have a big family with many children and no one to take care of them. So please forgive me for entering your domain.” The answer is “There is no mercy in the judgment” to those who break nature’s laws, which is God, who is the quality of judgment. This is as it is written, “Judgment will puncture the mountain [justice should be done at all costs].” Only those who believe that nature is God, meaning that there is a leader to nature, through prayer, they can induce change in nature, since there is a landlord to nature, and therefore He can change nature.

It is written (Taanit 25a) that when Rabbi Hanina Ben Dosa saw on the eve of Shabbat [Sabbath] that his daughter was sad, he told her: “‘My daughter, why are you sad?’ She said to him: ‘I swapped the jar of oil with the jar of vinegar, and I placed the vinegar in the candle. The candle will quench and it will be dark on Shabbat.’ He replied, ‘He who said to the oil, ‘Burn!’ will tell the vinegar, ‘Burn!’’”

We see that one who believes that nature has a landlord can change nature. For this reason, those righteous for whom nature is regarded as God, meaning that the Creator is nature’s landlord, through their prayer, the Creator changes nature because of them. This is why we pray to the Creator to help us change nature, meaning that even if as far as nature is concerned, all the doctors have given up on that person, and medicine gives him no chance of recovery, the Creator can still heal and change nature.

It is written (Berachot 10), “Even if a sharp sword is placed on his neck, he should not deny himself mercy.” Although from the perspective of nature, there is a judgment that he will certainly die, a Jew believes that there is a leader to nature and that He has mercy, which is called HaVaYaH. Therefore, they said, “he should not deny himself mercy.” This is the meaning of the words, “HaVaYaH is Elokim” [the Lord is God].

Conversely, those who say that nature is without a landlord and there is no one to lead it have no mercy in the judgment. Therefore, they have no complaints to nature because there is no one to be angry with, since it has no mind that you can speak to or ask for mercy.

This is similar to an old custom: Before the invention of road-signs as a means to put order in traffic, police officers would stand and streamline traffic. At that time, many people were angry and had grievances against the officers for not doing their job right, and that they were not noticing the line of cars. Sometimes, a person would approach the officer and ask for a favor, since he has a sick person at home, etc., or ask for some special treatment, and the officer would act on his own judgment. At that time everyone thought that the officers were not working properly. Many people were happy, and many were not.

But today, the streamliner of traffic has become inanimate, mindless. So, now each one accepts the verdict of the road-sign (traffic light), and no one gets angry with it or asks it for favors. For example, sometimes an ambulance drives with a sick person that must be rushed to the hospital on a life or death situation. He does not speak to the road-sign, which is similar to nature, “streamlining the conduct of creation,” to let him through, since it is similar to nature, which is judgment, and there is no mercy in judgment.

Accordingly, we can understand that when the Creator wanted the physical world to exist and for the species to continue, and that generations will continue in succession and man will not be able to spoil the order of the existence of the world, for this reason, He has created the world as “nature.” Since it is not revealed as orderly guidance and everyone thinks that there is no landlord to the world, and that man can do whatever he wants, since when they do not know that there is a landlord watching over the world, each one does as he pleases and they might spoil the world. What did He do? He revealed the reward and punishment. That is, anyone who wants to break nature’s laws, which He did, will immediately be punished. And if they observe nature’s laws they will be rewarded for their work. This is called “revealed reward and punishment.”

For this reason, in the physical world, because of the correction called “equivalence of form,” it is forbidden to receive for one’s own sake. Rather, as it is written (Avot, Chapter 2:17), “All your actions will be for the sake of heaven.” Since the greatest pleasure is when a person feels that he is standing in the King’s palace and speaking with the King, and since any reception of pleasure must be for the sake of the Creator and not for one’s own sake, it means that a person should aim—while receiving the pleasure—to receive because the Creator wants the creatures to enjoy. But for himself, he would relinquish the pleasure.

It is known that the greater the pleasure, the harder it is to relinquish it. For this reason, if the Creator were revealed and they would not have to believe in Him, it would be impossible for man to be able to aim in order to bestow, since a person is utterly unable to say that if the Creator did not want us near Him and to feel how we speak to Him, we would relinquish the pleasure of this meeting.

Hence, a concealment was made, so there would be room for choice. That is, we must believe that “The whole Earth is full of His glory.” Before a person is rewarded with vessels of bestowal, a person cannot have permanent faith, as it is said in the “Introduction of The Book of Zohar.” For this reason, there is a Tzimtzum [restriction] and concealment on spirituality. And in order not to have corruption in the world, the reward and punishment are revealed.

Conversely, if the reward and punishment in spirituality were revealed, there would not be any need to observe Torah and Mitzvot for the sake of the Creator. Instead, the reason mandating observing Torah and Mitzvot would remain in Lo Lishma [not for Her sake]. That is, where there are revealed reward and punishment, which is called “open Providence,” there is no need to observe Torah and Mitzvot because the Creator has commanded us to do so, and we want to do His will, and not because of reward and punishment.

Since we must observe Torah and Mitzvot because “He is great and ruling,” it is a great privilege if we can do His will and observe His commandments. But if the reward and punishment were revealed, it would not matter to us who gives us the reward or punishment. It follows that if this were so, man would have no choice as to whether to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, since he would have no need for this because the reward and punishment would instruct man to keep the rules. The reward and punishment are as man’s two legs, by which he walks and advances toward the goal to which his legs lead him, since from a place where he feels suffering, which is a punishment, he runs, and to a place where he feels he can derive delight and pleasure, he runs.

Naturally, at that time he has no need to know who is the landlord of the world, for what will it add to him to know that there is a leader to the world; he would only be interested in scrutinies of pleasure and suffering. Where one can derive more pleasure, in this he is immersed, and all his calculations in life are only about these matters. For this reason, the Creator hid Himself in the Torah, meaning that by engaging in Torah he can find Him, for otherwise He is hidden.

It follows that to the entire world, who have no connection to spirituality and He is hidden from them, He must lead the world with open Providence, meaning that the reward and punishment will be revealed. Naturally, they will not spoil the conducts of creation, for the Creator has created the world in nature, and they say that there is no landlord here, but only nature—which is seemingly inanimate—is the leader of the world.

And when there is no landlord to fear, each does as he pleases and they might spoil creation. (But because the Creator) leads (the whole world) in open Providence, naturally, they will observe every condition that nature stipulates, or nature will punish them. It follows that He can be hidden and everyone do His will, as He has arranged the world by nature, which is called “God,” “the quality of judgment.” It follows that He is hidden and the reward and punishment are revealed.

This is not so in spirituality, where He wants to be revealed to the lower ones. At that time Providence is covered, meaning that the reward and punishment are not revealed. Instead, one must believe that there are reward and punishment. Why are the reward and punishment concealed? It is because He wants them to search Him, meaning that the quality of “great and ruling” will compel them to engage in Torah and Mitzvot, and not the reward, but rather that everything will be Lishma [for Her sake], namely that the Creator is the reason for engaging in Torah and Mitzvot because this is His will.

Conversely, if we feel reward and punishment while observing the Mitzvot, this is called Lo Lishma, as it is written, “Crave His commandments” (Psalms 112:1). They interpreted, His commandments and not the reward for His commandments, but rather to observe because the Creator has commanded to do and a person wants to bring contentment to the Creator, and this is why he observes His commandments. It is as the RADAK says there: “Crave His commandments” is the positive Mitzvot[commandments to certain actions]. He does them willingly, out of love of the Creator, who commanded him to do them. For this reason, he says, “crave,” meaning that he chases the Mitzva[sing. for Mitzvot] and exerts to do it with all his might, with his body and his wealth.

Accordingly, where we want the Creator Himself to be revealed to a person in the form of Dvekut, the reward and punishment are in concealed guidance. Otherwise, he will have no need to connect to Him. Instead, they would observe Torah and Mitzvot because of his own benefit, and from this they will derive satisfaction in their lives. But where it is impossible that they would be interested to know if there is a leader or not, which means that the world is governed only by corporeal things, it follows that the Creator is concealed there because they have no need to know if there is a landlord and a leader to the world. Instead, they say that the leader is nature, as though inanimate.

And what did the Creator do in order not to spoil nature’s order? He placed a correction on nature, and that correction is called “revealed reward and punishment.” This is a strict guarding that they will not spoil the nature that the Creator has created.

For this reason, we should say that where the Creator remains concealed, the reward and punishment are revealed. And where the Creator must be felt among the lower ones, the reward and punishment must be concealed from the lower ones.

Now we can interpret what we asked, What does it mean that they said about the verse, “For the Lord will not abandon His people,” for two reasons: 1) for the sake of His people and His inheritance, 2) for the sake of His great name.

We asked, What is the difference between them? Our sages said (Masechet Sanhedrin 98) about the verse, “‘For My sake, for My sake I will do,’ Rabbi Alexandri said, ‘Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi Rami, ‘It is written, ‘in its time’ and it is written ‘I will hasten it.’ If they are rewarded, I will hasten it. If they are not rewarded, in its time.’’” We should interpret the meaning of “I will hasten it.” We learn that the creatures must come to be rewarded with the purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creations, and all of our work is to correct ourselves with vessels of bestowal, for only in those Kelimcan the upper lights clothe, so there will be equivalence of form between the light and the Kli. This is the correction of the Tzimtzum, in order not to have the bread of shame. It follows that it is within man’s power to correct this.

This is called “accelerating the achieving of the goal,” which is to do good to His creations. We can do this only by annulling the authority, and only then is it possible to receive everything in order to bestow. For this reason, when the Creator imparts the abundance, He imparts to “His people and His inheritance.” That is, everything is regarded as His, and the lower one has no authority of his own because he has annulled his own authority. For this reason, “He will not abandon,” but He rather bestows upon “His people and His inheritance.”

But if they are “not rewarded,” meaning that they do not want to annul their authority and are unworthy of receiving the abundance, this is called “in its time.” At that time the Creator works “for the sake of His great name,” and the name of the Creator is The Good Who Does Good. For this reason, He bestows upon them because He is good and does good, which is called “His great name.”

This is the meaning of what is written, “Our great sages say, ‘In the land of Israel, for the sake of His people and His inheritance. Abroad, for the sake of His great name.” What is the relation in the work between “the land of Israel” and “His people and His inheritance”? In the work, “the land of Israel” is when a person has already been rewarded with all his actions being Yashar-El [straight to the Creator], and he does not do anything for his own sake. It follows that “The Lord will not abandon.” Instead, He bestows upon them delight and pleasure because they have vessels of bestowal. This is why they are called “His people and His inheritance,” since they have no authority of their own.

Conversely, abroad, while they are still not in the land of Israel, when their actions are still not for the sake of the Creator, called Yashar-El, it is only by an awakening from above, regarded as “on the part of the upper one,” whose purpose is His will to do good to His creations. This is called “in its time,” and it is called “for the sake of His great name,” where His great name is the name of the Creator, which is The Good Who Does Good. Also, “great” means Hesed [mercy], meaning that His manner is to bestow. For this reason, “The Lord will not abandon” only from the perspective of the awakening from above, since from the perspective of the lower ones, they are still not worthy of the Creator bestowing upon them delight and pleasure.

It therefore follows that in all the descents that a person suffers in the work, he must believe in reward and punishment although he does not see. Instead, he must believe that the Creator will not leave him even when he is in descent. Although it is a punishment when the Creator removes him from the work, since the fact that he feels no flavor in the work is only because the Creator has thrown him out, so that a person will not think that now he does not want to be a servant of the Creator, but it is the Creator who does not want him. He must believe that this is a punishment, but he must also believe that it is not out of vengeance, but that it is corrections by which he will be rewarded with ascending and achieving the desired goal.

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

What Is, “The Creator Does Not Tolerate the Proud,” in the Work?

Article No. 27, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

Our sages said (Sotah 5), “Any person in whom there is crassness, the Creator said, ‘He and I cannot dwell in the world,’ as was said, ‘Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; one who has haughty eyes and a broad heart, him I cannot.’ Do not read, ‘him I cannot,’ but rather ‘with him I cannot.’” And about the words, “one who has haughty eyes and an arrogant heart,” the Metzudat David interprets, “‘Haughty eyes’ means proud, and ‘a broad heart’ means one who covets and craves everything.”

We should understand why the Creator did not say about the rest of the transgressions that He could not dwell with him in the world, and about pride, He cannot dwell with him. Also, we should understand what he said there, “Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, ‘Any person in whom there is crassness, it is as though he is idol-worshipping.’ And Rabbi Yohanan himself said, ‘as though he has become a heretic.’”

Thus, we should understand why pride is so grave. Also, we should understand what is written, “The Lord is high and the low will see,” which means that a person should see the greatness of the Creator and his own lowliness. We can understand that a person should try to obtain the greatness of the Creator, since the purpose of man’s work should be because “He is great and ruling.” For this reason, to the extent that he appreciates the Creator, his work can be with his heart and soul. But for what purpose does he need to try to see his own lowliness? What will this add to him in the work?

First, we must know the purpose of creation, meaning what is the purpose for which we were born, so we may know what is the goal we must achieve, which will be our completion, and that before we have achieved this goal, we are incomplete. We learned that the purpose of creation is “His desire to do good to His creations.” It follows that before the creatures come to a state where they feel happy in the world, they are regarded as incomplete because they have not found peace and quiet.

Yet, the question is, since the Creator created the creatures in order to give them delight and pleasure, and because of this, He has created a desire and yearning in the created beings to receive delight and pleasure, it follows that the Giver has a desire to give, and the receivers have a desire to receive. Thus, who is withholding them from achieving immediate wholeness? However, we were given work in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] by which we will be able to receive the delight and pleasure. Otherwise, we remain bare and denied of all the good that the Creator wants to give.

Even after a person engages in Torah and Mitzvot, not everyone is rewarded with receiving the good, as our sages said (VaYikra Rabbah 2:1), “A thousand people enter the Bible, a hundred of them emerge to the Mishnah, ten to the Talmud, and one to teach.” It therefore follows that only one in a thousand can be rewarded with teaching, and “teaching” means wholeness. Otherwise, he is regarded as a “disciple who did not achieve teaching and instruction” (Avoda Zarah 19b). This is regarded as an “indecent judge.” Our sages said about this (Sanhedrin 7b): “Rish Lakish said, ‘Anyone who positions an indecent judge is as one who plants Ashera [tree used for idolatry] in Israel.’”

We see that it is not so easy to be rewarded with the delight and pleasure. Thus, the question is, Who is the obstructor? Here it seems as though there is no obstruction on the part of the Giver or on the part of the receiver. Clearly, the Creator, who created the creatures, has given them a desire to receive pleasure. This desire, which yearns to receive pleasures, cannot be revoked. Thus, what is the reason that we can receive it only through labor?

The answer is that it is known that in order to have equivalence of form, called Dvekut [adhesion], and to thereby prevent the issue of shame, a novelty was made—that the Kelim [vessels] that the Creator created in the creatures, which are desires to receive for oneself, are disqualified for the above-mentioned reason. Instead, a person must work to correct the vessels of reception so they work in order to bestow. This is the only prevention.

That is, no changes took place from the perspective of the Creator. However, from the perspective of the correction of creation, it is regarded as though he has no Kelim that are fit to receive the abundance. This matter was established in the upper worlds, and it is called Tzimtzum [restriction]. It is placed on the lower ones, so they cannot receive the delight and pleasure before they are rewarded with vessels of bestowal. It follows that what delays us from being able to receive the delight and pleasure is the will to receive for ourselves.

This means that there are two authorities: 1) the Creator, 2) the creatures, who must elicit from the authority of the Creator into their authority.

It follows that we should speak of two subjects here: Creator and creature. The difference between them is that the Creator is the giver, and the creature is the receiver. This means that the abundance imparted from the Creator must seemingly part from the Creator in order to enter the authority of the receiver, and this is considered separation. Yet, the Tzimtzum and concealment were primarily so the upper light would not part from the Creator. Rather, as we learned, the Tzimtzum was because Malchut wanted to adhere to the root, which is called “annulling her own authority,” and to cling to the Creator, which is called “singular authority.” This means that the authority of the receiver would be annulled and only the authority of the Creator would remain.

We see that what detains us from receiving the good is only our own authority—that we are unwilling to annul our authority, called “will to receive for ourselves.” That is, everything that a person wants to receive is only into his own authority, as it is written, “Everything that a person has, he will give for his soul.” A person is willing to give anything if only to keep his soul, meaning to feel his existence, but not the other way around.

That is, a person is told, “I will give you anything you want, and everything your soul desires, but first give me your soul.” Then, the person asks, “To whom are you giving if not to his own authority?” meaning to his will to receive, meaning that he will have an authority of his own and he will receive everything into his own authority, otherwise a person cannot work. This derives from the nature that the Creator has imprinted in the creatures a desire to enjoy, which will befit the goal, which was the intention to do good to His creations.

Our sages said (Masechet Berachot 17), “Rabbi Alexandry said after he prayed, ‘Lord of the world, it is revealed and known to You that our wish is to do Your will, and who detains? The leaven in the dough and the enslavement of Malchuts [plural of Malchut].’” RASHI interprets that “the leaven in the dough” is the evil inclination in our hearts, which makes us sour.

We should understand “after he prayed,” as it is written, “said after he prayed.” It means that after the prayer, he prayed another prayer. What did he pray for? that he must pray another prayer on top of the prayer he has already prayed. We should interpret that before he prayed, it was still not apparent to a person what he was missing. But after he has prayed, he is shown from above what is the real lack. That is, the prayer that a person prays for what he thinks he needs is only a Segula[remedy/power] where through this prayer, the Creator will send him from above an answer, to know what he needs and what to ask for.

This is as it is written (in the Musaf [supplement] prayer on Rosh Hashanah), “Be with the mouths of the messengers of Your people, the house of Israel, who are rising up to seek prayer and litany before You for Your people, the house of Israel. Teach them what to say; make them understand what they will speak; answer what they will ask.” We see that there is a special prayer when we pray—that the Creator will send us knowledge to understand what we need, and for which to pray from the bottom of the hearts.

It is known that in the work, man is called “a whole world.” Thus, when a person prays, that state is called “messenger of the public,” for he is praying for the whole of Israel, of which one is a part. For this reason, there is a special prayer that one should pray, a prayer that the Creator will give him help form above to know the truth about what man is missing, and for this, ask the Creator’s help.

By this we can interpret the words of Rabbi Alexandry, that after the prayer he would pray the main prayer, saying that he wants the Creator to help him with our obstructor, who does not let us come and receive the delight and pleasure the way the Creator wants it. This obstructor is called “the leaven in the dough and the enslavement of Malchuts,” meaning the will to receive for oneself, which is man’s authority, which is separated from the authority of the Creator, and comes from Malchut, who is regarded as the root of the will to receive for oneself and controls a person and does not let him out of her authority.

Malchut of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity] means (The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 2, “Answers,” “Answer No. 39”), “The last discernment is called Malchut, since from her extends assertive governance and in complete control, such as ‘the fear of Malchut [kingship].’” As we learned, Malchutis called “the will to receive.” She received the delight and pleasure and then that Malchut made a Tzimtzum, not to receive unless with a correction called “in order to bestow.” Under this control, all the Partzufim of Kedusha emerged.

It follows that it is only in this Malchut, who gave control so that no Kedusha would pour onto the vessels of reception except those who can aim to bestow and cancel their own authority. It follows that all the actions are only for the sake of the Creator, and for himself, he says that it is not worth living. By this he makes a singular authority in the world.

It follows that when he extends some pleasure, the intention in receiving the pleasure is not that it will enter his own authority, but the Creator’s authority. That is, the pleasure he receives is for the sake of the Creator, and not for his own sake. Thus, there is only one authority here. This is called “singular authority.” This awareness, to know what he really needs, comes after the prayer, once he has prayed to be notified what he really needs. At that time he prays an honest prayer that Malchut, meaning the enslavement of Malchuts, which is the opposite of Kedusha, namely the will to receive for himself, is the only obstructor from achieving the goal that a person should achieve.

But why do we need to pray for this and a person cannot overcome the vessels of reception for himself by himself? Our sages said about this, “Man’s inclination overcomes him every day. Were it not for the Creator’s help, he would not overcome it.” It is not within man’s power to exit the control of Malchut, for man was born in this nature and only the Creator Himself can deliver man from this control.

This is called “the exodus from Egypt,” where only the Creator Himself delivered the people of Israel from Egypt, as it is written (in the Passover Haggadah [story]), “And the Lord took us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, not by an angel, not by a seraph [type of angel], and not by an emissary, but the Creator Himself.” This means that since the Creator created man with a nature of wanting to receive for himself, only He can give man a second nature, which is the desire to bestow.

Accordingly, we see that we should make three discernments in man, since he was born after the cascading of the worlds, when Klipot [shells/peels] came out due to the breaking of the vessels that took place in the world of Nekudim. For this reason, in the work, we find in man himself, 1) People who have no connection to Torah and Mitzvot. These are called “a nation similar to an ass.” They are simply asses, who have no notion of anything beyond beastly passions. 2) Those who do observe Torah and Mitzvot, but Lo Lishma [not for Her sake]. These are called “the nations of the world,” as it is written in The Zohar about the verse, “The mercy of nations is a sin, for any good that they do, they do for themselves.” This means that they do everything only for their own benefit. That is, all the good, called “acts of bestowal,” is for their own benefit. This is called a “beast,” which is a female, receiving. Conversely, “man” is called “male,” as it is known that ZA, who is the giver, is called Adam [man]. In Gematria, Adam is the name MA, whereas Malchut, which is the receiver, is called BON, which in Gematria is Behema [beast], called “receiving.”

As he writes in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot” (Item 31): “All flesh is hay, they are all as hay eating beasts, and all their mercy is as the bud of the field. Every mercy they do, they do for themselves, and even when they exert in Torah, every mercy they do, they do for themselves.” From the words of The Zohar, we see that those who engage in Torah for their own benefit and not in order to bestow are as beasts, as it is written, “as hay eating beasts.” We can call this, “the beast in man,” since they already engage in Torah and Mitzvot, except it is Lo Lishma.

3) This is the “man in man,” meaning those who work Lishma [for Her sake], which is because of the fear of the Creator and not for their own benefit. They are called “man,” which is a male, as said above, that Adam [man] in Gematria is MA, who is ZA, the giver. This is as it is written (Yevamot61a), “Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai says, ‘The graves of idol-worshippers are not defiled in a tent, as was said, ‘And you, you are My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are man. You are called ‘man,’ and the idol-worshippers are not called ‘man.’’”

However, we should understand what is the quality of “man” that specifically Israel are called “man.” We should interpret this as we explained about what our sages said (Berachot 6b) about the verse, “In the end, all his heard, fear God.” The Gemara asks, “What is, ‘for this is the whole of man?’ Rabbi Elazar said, ‘The whole world was created only for this.’”

This means that “fear God” is “the whole of man.” In other words, “man” is one who has fear of the Creator, as Rabbi Elazar said, that the whole world was created only for this, for fear of heaven. However, we should understand why he says about “for this is the whole of man,” that “the whole world was created only for this.”

Our sages said (Iruvin 13), “It is better for man not to be created than to be created. But now that he is created, he should look into his actions.” We should understand how it can be said that the Creator created man seemingly needlessly, meaning that it would be better if the Creator did not create him. Can it be said that when the Creator came to create man, He did not see through the end of time, and still created him? If so, how can it be said, “It is better for man not to be created than to be created”? Also, what is the advice that they gave, “Now that he is created, he should look into his actions”?

According to what Baal HaSulam interprets, we should interpret “it is better for man” to mean that “for man” means for him. That is, if a person wants to work only for his own benefit, it would be better if he were not created than if he were created. This is as our sages said (Berachot 17a), “Anyone who works Lo Lishma, it is better if he were not created.”

However, we should understand the reason why in Lo Lishma, it is better if he were not created. The reason is the correction that took place, where even if the creatures receive delight and pleasure from the Creator, it will not be regarded as disparity of form and separation. For this reason, there was a correction that it is impossible to receive delight and pleasure unless in vessels of bestowal. That is, specifically when a person works only in order to bestow, His thought comes true, which is to do good to His creations—when he thinks only about the benefit of the Creator.

This means that when all of man’s thoughts are about how he can bring contentment to the Creator, he comes to feel that by receiving the delight and pleasure he will be bringing contentment to his Maker, for this was the purpose of creation, and because of this, now he wants to receive delight and pleasure. And by this, the purpose of creation will come true.

Conversely, if he works Lo Lishma, but for his own sake, on this Kli, called “receiving for himself,” there was a Tzimtzum and concealment. Naturally, he will never achieve the goal for which man was created. For this reason, if a person does not work Lishma then he was created in vain, meaning pointlessly. This is why our sages said, “He who learns Lo Lishma, it is better that he were not created than if he were created.” This is the meaning of what our sages said, “It is better for man not to be created than to be created,” meaning that if a person works for himself, it is better if he were not created.

By this we should interpret what we asked, “Can it be said about the work of the Creator that it would be better if He did not do the deed, meaning the creation of man, than if He did the deed of the creation of man? Do we have permission to slander the work of the Creator? And also, what does it mean that “now that he was created, he should look into his actions”?

Indeed, our sages come to open our eyes so we will see what we must do, meaning the purpose for which we were given the work in Torah and Mitzvot. For this reason, first they make us see that the fact that man was created and yearns to receive pleasures for his will to receive—which the Creator placed in our nature, meaning for ourselves—it would be better if it were not created. However, the Creator created man to do, and “doing” refers to the correction of the Kelim [vessels]—where we must place the aim to bestow over the will to receive. By this, man will be able to receive the delight and pleasure. This is the meaning of the words, “now that he was created.” Hence, what should he do? “Look into his actions” and see that each and every thing he does is in order to bestow.

By this we will understand what we asked, why the Creator cannot dwell in one abode with one who is proud. It is known that equivalence of form connects one to the other, and disparity of form separates one from the other. Therefore, one who does not have equivalence of form becomes separated from Him. Hence, one who is proud means that he cannot annul his own authority and being. The “existence from absence” that was created is the authority of oneself, and the desire that the Creator will give him all the delight and pleasure into his own authority. This is called “will to receive for oneself.”

It follows that anyone who is proud, the Creator says, “Know that this causes separation and remoteness. It follows that he and I cannot dwell in the world. Why? Because there is separation and remoteness.” For this reason, they cannot be in the same world.

This is why Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai says that any person in whom there is crassness, it is as though he is idol-worshipping. That is, a person must work for the sake of the Creator, yet he works for himself. This is called “idol-worship.”

Rabbi Yohanan says that it is as though he has become a heretic. That is, it is as though he has denied the purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creations. One who has crassness can never achieve Dvekut [adhesion], which is equivalence of form. If he has no vessels of bestowal, he will never be able to receive the delight and pleasure. It follows that he has denied the purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creations, for without vessels of bestowal, man is in the dark. For this reason, they advise man to lower himself and annul his authority and give everything to the Creator.

By this will understand the question, Why we need to know our own lowliness, why is it not enough to know the greatness of the Creator, and what does it give us to know our own lowliness? The answer is that our lowliness means that we are powerless to annul ourselves before the Creator. Therefore, before we achieve the recognition of evil, we have no need to ask the Creator to help us because we think that we ourselves have knowledge and understanding, and what we understand, we have the power to do. We are unafraid of any force that can stop our spirit and purpose in life, and if we understand with our intellect that the Creator is important, we promptly do what befits intelligent people.

In the end, we see that when some small passion comes along, we surrender before it. Especially, when the work of dedicating ourselves to the benefit of the Creator comes along, and the body does not see what it will gain by this, a person immediately sees what weak heart he has, and he immediately wants to escape the campaign. Therefore, when he sees his own lowliness, this gives him the need for heaven’s mercy, to be helped 1) not escape the campaign and have the ability to at least pray to the Creator, 2) that the Creator will truly help him emerge from the control of the body.

It follows that when a person is proud and has no desire to annul his authority before the Creator, and says that he has no lowliness in him, but he rather does what he wants, from this come to him all the bad qualities. The light of pleasure, which comes from above, illuminates as a slim light in order to sustain the world. As is known, it dresses in three qualities, called “envy,” “lust,” and “honor,” and all three qualities are included in the quality of pride.

But seemingly, what is the connection between lust and pride? After all, lust is a beastly quality, so how is pride connected here? The thing is that pride is not necessarily between man and man. Primarily, it is between man and God. For this reason, when a person is proud with regard to the Creator and does not want to annul his own authority, this is the reason for the control of the will to receive for himself. But when a person annuls his authority before the singular authority, he is rewarded with eternal life.

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link

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What Is the Difference between Law and Judgment in the Work?

Article No. 26, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het, 1987-88

It is known that “law” means without intellect, meaning above reason. That is, there is no reasonable way to answer why this was done this way, or why it should be done this way, in the way and manner that the Torah requires of us.

For example, our sages said (Minchot 29b), “Rav Yehuda said, ‘Rav said, ‘When Moses went to heaven, he found the Creator sitting and tying crowns to the letters. He said to Him: ‘Master of the world, who is holding You back?’ (RASHI interprets that ‘crowns’ are like the tags [markings] in a book of Torah. ‘Who is holding You back?’ refers to what You wrote, that You must add tags to them). He told him, ‘In a few generations time, there will be a man whose name is Akiva Ben Yosef. He will interpret myriad laws over each and every dot.’ He said to Him: ‘Master of the world, you have such a person, yet You are giving the Torah through me?’ He replied, ‘Be quiet! Such was My thought.’ He said to Him: ‘Master of the world, You showed me his Torah [law], show me his reward.’ He saw that his flesh was being weighed in a slaughterhouse. (RASHI interprets that this is the place where butchers weigh meat, as said in Berachot, p 61, that his flesh was combed with iron combs.) He said to Him: ‘Master of the world, this is the Torah, and is this its reward?’ He replied, ‘Be quiet! Such was My thought.’’’”

We see Moses’ above reason in two ways: 1) Above reason that the Creator gave to Moses, as it is written, “Moses will delight with the gift of his lot, the gift of the Torah that will come through him, which is certainly only the salvation of the Lord.” A person does not know why he deserves such a great gift. That is, Moses saw that this was not according to his actions. In his view, the Torah should have been given through Rabbi Akiva and not through him. 2) Above reason in the opposite way: Moses asked, “This is the Torah, and is this its reward?” It seems to be a punishment. Above reason, he had to say that this was a reward and not a punishment, as Moses thought. This is called “the law of above reason,” which the mind cannot attain.

It follows that when a person takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven, the body asks, “What will you get out of it?” There should be two answers to this: 1) Lo Lishma [not for Her sake]. That is, a person should make up for himself some answer that the body will understand with its reason that the goal is worthwhile. This is called Lo Lishma and it is called “within reason.” As we explained (Essay No. 23, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het), we should discern five manners in Lo Lishma, and a person should sort out the Lo Lishma in the state that he is in, so the body will understand that it is worthwhile to work because of the Lo Lishma, that now it understands that it is worthwhile. In this manner, he will have fuel for work and he will always have a place to work.

However, a person should also try to begin to work and seek tactics by which to get to Lishma [for Her sake], since a person does not know what is Lishma. Its literal meaning is “to work for the sake of the Creator,” and who does not know what is to work for the sake of the Creator? Still, before a person begins to engage in work in order to achieve this “for the sake of the Creator,” he cannot know what “for the sake of the Creator” means, since in the work, what counts is the feeling, not the intellect.

For this reason, any person who wants to achieve Lishma must take time, part of his workday, meaning his Lo Lishma, and begin to work on Lishma. Then he will understand the meaning of “above reason,” meaning that the body does not understand why it needs to work for the sake of the Creator. At that time, he also begins to understand what it means that a person must believe above reason. Conversely, in Lo Lishma, it is not so difficult to believe in the Creator since the body understands that it is worthwhile to observe Torah and Mitzvot, as it is written (Essay No. 23, Tav-Shin-Mem-Het) that there are five manners of Lo Lishma, and when the body finds something for which it is worthwhile to observe Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], it is regarded as “working within reason.” Since the body understands within reason that the matter is worthwhile, that he will gain more by being secular, meaning that his body will enjoy more than one who does not observe Torah and Mitzvot, for this reason, the Lo Lishma is called “within reason,” meaning that the need for it makes sense.

But if he takes some of the time he has dedicated to Torah and work on the basis of Lo Lishma, for example half an hour a day, and begins to ponder whether it is worthwhile to work for the sake of the Creator, meaning not for his own benefit. Then, the body begins to ask the person Pharaoh’s question, who said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?”

We should ask, How come before he began to think of working Lishma, he was content with faith in the Creator and the body did not ask those questions, whereas now that he is thinking only about walking on the path of bestowal, the body begins to ask such questions? The answer is that we see that when a person works for an employer, we should consider who is the employer and what is the salary that the employer pays. However, although he wants to know the employer, it does not matter. That is, even if he never sees the employer, but he is confident about the reward, a person agrees to work. Moreover, even if he is told that he will never see the employer, it will still not matter. Rather, what matters is the salary. This determines if the work is worthwhile.

But if a person is told, “There is an important person here who needs people to work for him. However, he does not pay anything for the work.” In this case, he needs to see for whom he needs to work. That is, he wants to know if he is really an important person worth working for without any reward. However, if there are people who respect him and he sees that he will be honored, meaning that people who know the important person will respect him for his work because he is serving an important person, he can work even if he himself will never see him and will never be able to see if what they say is true so that he will grasp his greatness and importance.

This is also because this honor is not that the important person respects him, but he derives pleasure from people’s respect for him because he is serving an important person. It follows that here it is enough that he sees the people who respect him, and therefore does not have such a great need to see the employer. Rather, he is content with knowing the people who pay his salary through their respect for him. That is, it is enough for him to see the people who pay his reward, which is called “respect.”

Conversely, if he is in a place where there are no people who respect that important person, meaning he sees that according to the service that people give him, he sees that they appreciate him as one who is a little bit important, and only a handful of people regard him an important person, but those people are not important in the eyes of those who have little regard for him. In that state, a person faces a dilemma: Should he listen to those people who are not appreciated among the respected people?

That is, people of influence in the general public say that that person should be appreciated because of his importance, but only to a degree, not simply admire him above reason, meaning more than seems reasonable. But a person sees that the influential people are the majority and the most valued, and if he listens to them, meaning serve him according to their appreciation of him, these people will respect him.

Or, he should slightly obey those who are not influential, or even worse, that it is a disgrace to openly say that he has connected to these lowly people who say that he is an important person and worth serving devotedly. Since the rule is that the majority rule over the individual with their views, when a person begins to work in order to bestow and not accept any return, each time, the majority view awakens—perhaps it is not worthwhile to work and serve him with his heart and soul.

For this reason, Pharaoh’s question awakens each time: “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?”

It follows that the reason that the “who” question appeared is the “what” question, which is the wicked’s question. It is written about it, “A Wicked, what does he say? ‘What is this work for you?’” That is, when a person wants to go against the general public, who say that they settle for working Lo Lishma because Lishma is for people who can go above reason, and we, the majority of Israel, settle for being able to observe Torah and Mitzvot with the aim to benefit ourselves, and doing everything with the aim to benefit the Creator is no business for us.

Yet, he does want to work in order to bestow and not receive at all. At that time the body asks, “Who is the Lord?” That is, are you sure that He is so important that it is worthwhile to work for Him? In other words, working for respect, meaning to work in order to be respected, does not apply here because the general public does not appreciate him because he is working in order to bestow. On the contrary, they degrade him and say about him that he is a fool.

For this reason, he must establish the importance of the Creator by himself. Here is where man’s ascents and descents begin. Those two—the “who” and “what”—come to together and ask him their questions, and a person cannot always overcome them.

It follows that the main reason why a person begins to ask questions, and he is seemingly asking because he is ready to do the holy work and has no lowliness in himself, except it is hard for him to go with faith above reason, this is why he asks the “who” question. But in truth, the questions arise out of man’s lowliness, since he is immersed in self-love and cannot overcome his self-love.

It is human nature that it is difficult for him to say that he is wrong, that he does not have a view about himself, but that he follows his heart, as our sages said, “A wicked is in the hands of his heart,” as it is written, “And Haman said in his heart.”

For this reason, it is better for him to say that if he knew the Creator, he would certainly serve the Creator. But since the mind does not understand the whole matter of faith above reason, it argues, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” But in truth, his will to receive claims that it only wants to understand if this is true, and wants an answer to the question, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” That is, when we say to the body that we need to work for the sake of the Creator and not for our own sake, this is why he asks the “Who is the Lord” question.

But when he worked with the intention Lo Lishma, he did not need to ask the “Who is the Lord” question, since the work Lo Lishma is within reason. Hence, the acceptance of faith is also within reason for him. That is, both the mind and the heart are built above reason, and both need the Creator’s help in order to be rewarded with mind and heart.

It follows that “law” means that it is above reason, and the intention pertains to faith, and by faith above reason he becomes Israel. Conversely, before he was rewarded with faith above reason, he is regarded only as “sacred still,” called “dust.” That is, he still tastes in the spirituality that he attains the taste of dust. This is called “Shechina [Divinity] in the dust.” This is so as long as he does not accept above reason. This is as we said above, that we must ask the Creator to give us the strength to be able to go above reason and not be enslaved to our reason.

Conversely, the Torah is called “judgment,” which is specifically within reason. In other words, he must understand the Torah, called “the names of the Creator.” However, it is impossible to attain the Torah, called “within reason,” before he is rewarded with “Israel,” as it is written (Hagigah 13a), “Rabbi Ami said, ‘One does not deliver words of Torah to idol-worshippers, as it was said, ‘He did not do so to any nation, and they do not know the ordinances.’’”

From this we see two things: 1) The Torah is called “judgment,” as it is written, “and they do not know the ordinances.” 2) It is forbidden to teach judgments, meaning Torah, to idol-worshippers.

The question is, Why is it forbidden to teach an idol-worshipper Torah if he wants to learn? It stands to reason that it should be to the contrary: By learning, there will be sanctification of the Creator. That is, even the idol-worshipper will acknowledge the importance of the Torah, so why the prohibition?

We should interpret this in the work. It means that idol-worshippers and Israel are in the same person. Before one is rewarded with the law, called “faith above reason,” he is still not called “Israel,” who can attain the Torah as “the names of the Creator,” regarded as “within reason.”

In the work, there is a rule that Baal HaSulam said, that where it is written “forbidden,” it means “impossible.” This is the meaning of the Torah being given specifically to Israel, since Israel is the quality of Yashar-El [straight to the Creator], which means that all his actions are for the sake of the Creator. This is called Dvekut [adhesion], “equivalence of form.” When a person is rewarded with this law, then comes the time when he can be rewarded with the judgment called Torah. This is the meaning of the Torah being given only to Israel.

It therefore follows that “judgment” is the first nine Sefirot, which is regarded as the Torah. This is received within reason. It is as our sages said (Baba Metzia 59b), “Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said, ‘She is not in heaven.’ Rabbi Yirmiah said, ‘For the Torah has already been given on Mount Sinai.’”

By this we will understand the side-locks, which are like the edges of the field. We must leave a side-lock, as the ARI wrote (The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 13), “Malchut de Galgalta is called Pe’ah[side-lock]. This is known from the words, ‘You shall not reap the sides of your field. Leave them for the poor and for the stranger.’ Malchut is the last of them, like the edge of the field that remains after the harvest. Likewise, after one shaves the hair of the head, which is like the harvesting of the field, one should leave the side-lock, which is as the Malchut of the hair. It follows that the Pe’ah [side-lock] is forever Malchut.”

Accordingly, we see in the words of the ARI that he likens the reaping of the field to the shaving of the hair of the head. A person must not receive for himself the Pe’ah, which implies Malchut. Rather, both on the field and on the hair of the head, the Pe’ah must be kept, implying Malchut.

The meaning is that Malchut is regarded as faith above reason, when a person has no clue. This is the intimation that a person has no permission to receive into his reason, but that he must leave this to the Creator. That is, a person’s hand does not reach there, and “hand” means “attainment,” from the word “If a hand attains.”

This is called “law.” Conversely, the Torah, which pertains to the upper nine, is regarded as “judgment,” which pertains specifically to man. That is, he must attain this within reason, as was said about the Torah, “She is not in heaven.” This means that the field, except for the Pe’ah of the field, is called “the upper nine,” regarded as the Torah, which pertains to man. But the Pe’ah of the field and the Pe’ah of the head imply Malchut and pertain only to the Creator, meaning above human reason. This is called “entirely for the Creator, and man’s hand does not attain there at all.”

The Torah is the opposite. It pertains specifically to people, to accept it within reason. This is the difference between Torah and Mitzva [commandment/good deed]. Concerning the Mitzva, we were not given the reasons for the Mitzvot. Rather, we accept the Mitzvot without any rhyme or reason, but as a constitution.

But the Torah, our sages said, is named after man. That is, the Torah pertains to man. The question is that once it is written, “He desires the Torah of the Lord,” and another time, it is written, “He will contemplate His Torah day and night.” They interpret, first it is called “the Torah of the Lord,” and once he has learned it and has internalized it, it is called “his Torah.” This is why Raba said, “The Torah is not his, for it is written, and he will contemplate His Torah day and night” (Kidushin 32b).

We see that the Torah is named after man. That is, it must come within reason. This is called “judgment,” the opposite of “law,” which is faith. However, this work of faith, which is regarded as Tzedakah [righteousness/charity] and not Torah, should be with joy, as it is written, “Serve the Lord with joy.”

In other words, a person taking on himself the kingdom of heaven should be with joy. He must not look at the nature of humans, that it is hard for him to go against the intellect, and that instead, he wants to understand and to know what he wants. And since a person cannot immediately assume this work of acceptance of faith above reason, so it will give him joy, we must begin this work coercively, even though the body disagrees. This is regarded as a person having to “take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven as an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load.”

However, one must know that he must achieve the degree of joy upon assumption of the kingdom of heaven. It is as we say after reading Shema Israel [Hear, O Israel], “And you will love the Lord.” This means that although a person begins coercively, he must come to a state of joy, and then he will not feel “like an ox to the burden,” which always wants to throw away the burden because it cannot stand it. Conversely, when he is glad about it, it cannot be said that he regards it as a burden.

Now we can interpret the meaning of the “red cow on which no burden has been placed.” Since a red cow is called a “law,” which is Malchut, it is written, “on which no burden has been placed.” A “burden” means that he is still not in gladness and still cannot observe, “And you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Inapoi la pagina 1988 (ŞLAVEY HASULAM (TREPTELE SCĂRII) – link