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9.01 Baal HaSulam,

Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 19, “What Is ‘The Creator Hates the Bodies,’ in the Work?”

The importance of the work is precisely when one comes to a state of zero, when one sees that he annuls his whole existence and being, for then the will to receive has no power. Only then does one enter the Kedusha.

9.02 Baal HaSulam,

“One Commandment”

The focal point in the work of the Creator is the first footing.

9.03 Baal HaSulam,

The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 9, “Inner Observation,” Item 82

Our sages said concerning the conception (Nidah 30), that a candle is lit up on its head and it sees from the end of the world to its end, and it is taught the whole Torah in its entirety.

9.04 RABASH, Article No. 38 (1990),

“What Is, ‘A Cup of Blessing Must Be Full,’ in the Work?”

We should discern between speech and mute in the work. Speech means revealing, when a person already has Yenika in spirituality, and he feels that he is suckling from Kedusha, for nursing on milk indicates Hassadim, for the quality of Hesed [mercy] is bestowal, when a person is rewarded with vessels of bestowal and all his actions are for the sake of the Creator and he has no concerns for his own benefit. This is regarded as the quality of Hesed.

However, before the Yenika there is Ibur, meaning that the upper one corrects him. This can be when a person is like an embryo in its mother’s womb, where the embryo annuls before the mother and has no view of its own, but as our sages said, “An embryo is its mother’s thigh, eats what its mother eats,” and has no authority of its own to ask any questions. Rather, it does not merit a name. This is called “mute,” when he has no mouth to ask questions.

This is so when a person can go with his eyes shut, above reason, and believe in the sages and go all the way. This is called Ibur, when he has no mouth.

 9.05 RABASH,

Article No. 799, “The Birth of the Moon”

The moon is called Malchut. It is called “the renewal of the moon” because we must accept the burden of the kingdom of heaven each day anew. Yesterday’s acceptance is not enough, since each time, says the ARI, we must raise the sparks that fell to BYA and raise them to Kedusha [holiness]. It follows that when a person accepts a new burden each time, it is considered that each time, he takes a part of the separation and admits it into the unity of Kedusha.

This is the meaning of Malchut returning to being a dot each day, and in The Zohar a dot is called “a black dot in which there is no white.” That is, it does not shine, since “white” means that it illuminates. This means that it must be renewed each time.

However, we must know that it is not the same quality as it was before. Rather, it is as it is written, there is no renewal of light that does not extend from Ein Sof [infinity/no end].

This is called “Ibur [impregnation] of the month.” Ibur comes from the words “anger and rage.” That is, a person must overcome while the kingdom of heaven is as a dot in him, meaning that the kingdom of heaven does not illuminate for him so he will be in gladness, as it is written, “Serve the Lord with gladness,” but it is rather in sadness in him.

This is the meaning of Ibur. This is similar to an impregnation in corporeality, that the impreg- nation begins, and then, if the proper conditions are given, an offspring will emerge.

It follows that when one begins the work and sees how far he is from the Creator, and it hurts him, this is regarded as being rewarded with Katnut [smallness/infancy], meaning that he feels his own Katnut. This is called “a lack of a Kli [vessel],” and to that extent he can later obtain the light, called Gadlut [greatness/adulthood], according to the measure of the Kli.

A dot is called “Shechina [Divinity] in the dust,” and rising is called “the sanctification of the month.” That is, that which was in a state of “dust,” he admitted this discernment into Kedusha. This is called “raising the Shechina from the dust.”

9.06 RABASH, Article No. 31,

“Concerning Yenika [Suckling] and Ibur [Impregnation]”

The beginning of the entrance into the work of the Creator is regarded as Ibur [impregnation], when he cancels his self and becomes impregnated in the mother’s womb, as it is written, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” This comes from the verse, “For if you call the mother, ‘understanding [Bina],’” meaning that he cancels self-love, called Malchut, whose orig- inal essence is called “will to receive in order to receive,” and enters the vessels of bestowal, called Bina. One should believe that before he was born, meaning before the soul descended into the body, the soul was adhered to Him, and now he longs to adhere to Him as prior to her descent. This is called Ibur, when he completely annuls his self.

9.07 RABASH, Article No. 31 (1986),

“Concerning Yenika [Suckling] and Ibur [Impregnation]”

Ibur [impregnation/conception] means that a person temporarily Maavir [shifts/removes] his selfness and says, “Now I do not want to think of my own benefit whatsoever, and I also do not want to use my intellect, although to me it is the most important thing. That is, since I cannot do something that I do not understand—meaning I can do anything but I must understand the benefit of it—he still says, “Now I can temporarily say that I am taking upon myself at this time that I determine not to use my intellect. Rather, I believe above reason, believe in faith in the sages, believing that there is an overseer who is watching each and every one in the world in Private Providence.”

But why should I believe it and I cannot feel that this is so? It makes sense that if I could feel the existence of the Creator I could certainly work for Him and would desire to serve Him. Why then is this concealment? What does the Creator gain by hiding Himself from the creatures? Also, he does not provide any answer to this, but rather answers that with this question, too, he goes above reason and says that if the Creator knew that not making the concealment would be better for the creatures, He would not create concealment.

It turns out that to all the questions that come up in his mind he says that he is going above reason, and that now he is going with eyes shut and only with faith.

9.08 RABASH,

Article No. 26 (1990), “What Is, ‘There Is None as Holy as the Lord, for There Is None Besides You,’ in the Work?”

The main thing that is hard for us is to enter the Ubar, meaning that the will to receive will receive within it a different desire called “desire to bestow.” When a person is rewarded with the state of Ubar, meaning that within the desire to receive enters a desire to bestow, this is considered that the Creator forms a form within a form.

We should understand this wonder of forming a form within a form. According to what we interpreted, this is a great novelty, a real miracle, since it is against nature, for only the Creator can change nature, and it is out of man’s hands. This is the novelty, that the Creator forms the form of bestowal within the form of the mother, which is the form of reception. This is called the Kedusha that the Creator gives.

It is said, “There is none as holy as the Lord, for there is none besides You,” as there is no one in the world who can change nature and make within the Kli [vessel] that comes to a person by nature, the desire to receive, that it will later have a different nature, called “desire to bestow.”

9.09 RABASH,

Article No. 22 (1986), “If a Woman Inseminates”

Wanting to exit self-love and begin the work of bestowal is similar to leaving all the states in which he lived, dropping everything off, and entering an area where he has never been. For this reason, he must go through conception and months of pregnancy until he has the ability to acquire new qualities, which are foreign to the spirit he has received since birth.

9.10 RABASH, Article No. 38 (1990),

“What Is, ‘A Cup of Blessing Must Be Full,’ in the Work?”

When a person can go with his eyes shut, above reason, and believe in the sages and go all the way. This is called Ibur, when he has no mouth. Ibur means as it is written (The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 8, Item 17), “The level of Malchut, which is the most restricted Katnut [smallness/infancy] possible, is called Ibur. It comes from the words Evra [anger] and Dinin [Aramaic: judgments], as it is written, ‘And the Lord was impregnated in me for your sake.’”

We should interpret the meaning of “anger and judgments.” When a person must go with this eyes shut, above reason, the body resists this work. Hence, the fact that a person always has to over- come, this is called “anger, wrath, and trouble,” since it is hard work to always overcome and annul before the upper one, for the upper one to do with him what the upper one wants. This is called Ibur, which is the most restricted Katnut possible.

9.11 RABASH,

Article No. 26 (1990), “What Is, ‘There Is None as Holy as the Lord, for There Is None Besides You,’ in the Work?”

We should interpret Ubar from the word Over [passing], which is the first state, when he passes from using the vessels of reception into the degree of Kedusha, where he uses only Kelim [vessels] that can aim to bestow. Otherwise, the Kelim are not used.

It follows that Ibur is the most important. As in corporeality, when a woman conceives, she is certain to also deliver. Thus, all the concern is for the woman to conceive. Afterward, the woman will usually deliver, too.

9.12 RABASH,

Article No. 31 (1986), “Concerning Yenika and Ibur”

There are two forces in the Ibur [impregnation/conception]: 1) A depicting force, where the depic- tion of the fetus is Katnut [infancy/smallness], for in order to obtain Katnut there is an order, since Katnut is preparation for Gadlut [adulthood/greatness], and without Katnut in the degree there is no Gadlut. And as long as he is in Katnut he is still incomplete, and wherever there is a deficiency in Kedusha there is a grip to the Sitra Achra, who might spoil the Ibur so it cannot be completed. By this he is aborted, meaning that he is born before the state of Ibur has been completed.

It is so because there are twenty-five Partzufim [plural of Partzuf ] in the Ibur, meaning NRNHY, and in each of them there is also NRNHY. Therefore, there must be a detaining force, meaning that even in Katnut there should be wholeness there. He receives this through his mother, although the fetus in itself has no Kelim [vessels] in which to receive Gadlut in order to bestow. Still, by annulling before the mother it can receive Gadlut from the Kelim of its mother. This is regarded as “An embryo is its mother’s thigh; it eats what its mother eats.”

That is, since it has no choice of its own but rather eats what its mother eats, meaning that what its mother knows is permitted to eat, it eats, as well, it means that he has shifted the choice of what is good and what is bad from himself. Rather, it is all attributed to the mother. This is called “its mother’s thigh,” meaning that he himself does not merit a name.

9.13 RABASH, Article No. 31 (1986),

“Concerning Yenika [Suckling] and Ibur [Impregnation]”

The importance of the work by appreciating a small service in spirituality. By this we are later rewarded with enhancing the importance to a point where one can say that he has no way to appre- ciate the importance of serving the King. This is called Ibur.

 9.14 RABASH, Article No. 31 (1986),

“Concerning Yenika [Suckling] and Ibur [Impregnation]”

During the Ibur, when his force of depiction is only Katnut, when he can barely observe Torah and Mitzvot with any intention, he must believe that it is very important.

9.15 RABASH,

Article No. 18 (1991), “What It Means that We Should Raise the Right Hand over the Left Hand, in the Work”

To have progress in the work, requires that one walks on two lines, which are called “right and left.” We need the right because it is forbidden to reveal any deficiency, since where there is a deficiency in Kedusha, there is a grip to the Sitra Achra [other side], as the ARI says, “In Ibur [impregnation], we need the depicting force and the detaining force.” Ibur means that this is the beginning of man’s entrance into Kedusha. The depicting force shows the truth, meaning a depiction of the work, meaning if he has a good depiction about the situation he is in and the work shines for him, meaning what form he has when he looks at his work, whether he is in wholeness or not, whether he is working in order to bestow or does he want to nonetheless work in order to bestow.

The detaining force is considered that when the depicting force shows him the truth, that during Ibur, called “beginning of the work,” he certainly sees deficiencies and there can be a grip to the Sitra Achra [other side]. Therefore, there must be a detaining force so the fetus is not aborted, meaning falls into the Sitra Achra. In order to prevent a miscarriage although there is a lack, as the depicting force indicates what is the form of this work, the detaining force is called “right” because he shifts to wholeness. That is, he believes in the sages who said that a person should be happy with his share, meaning whatever grip he has on Torah and Mitzvot he regards it as a great privilege, since he sees that there are people to whom the Creator did not give even the thought or desire for the little bit of grip that I have. This is called the “detaining force,” so he will not fall off from the work and will also be born later, meaning that from this work of keeping himself in Ibur at the beginning of the work, he will have two lines, right and left, and he will be rewarded with birth and with being in Yenika [Suckling] of Kedusha. Thus, through the depicting force and the detaining force, a complete newborn will emerge in Kedusha.

9.16 RABASH,

Article No. 26 (1990), “What Is, ‘There Is None as Holy as the Lord, for There Is None Besides You,’ in the Work?”

The first beginning, when a person enters the Kedusha, is the Ubar. This is the meaning of the Creator forming a form of bestowal within the previous form, which is the mother, who is called “vessels of reception.” In the vessels of reception, the man is born. Afterward, the man shifts to Kedusha, which is that all his actions are for the sake of the Creator.

Thus, who gave him the vessels of bestowal? It is as we learn, that Aviut [thickness] de Keter is called Aviut de Shoresh, and is called Aviut of the Ubar. The Shoresh [root] is the Creator, whose desire is to do good to His creations. When a person receives the first quality of Kedusha, he receives vessels of bestowal, meaning he can aim to bestow in vessels of bestowal.

This is called that the Creator “forms a form,” meaning the form of bestowal, which is that He gives him the power to be able to bestow within the form of his mother, who is the previous state, before he came to connect with the Kedusha. The previous state is called “mother,” and the next state is called Ibur.

9.17 RABASH,

Article No. 837, “Ibur [Conception] – 2”

Ibur Aleph [first conception] is done by the upper one, like a person who receives an awakening from above. Ibur Bet [second conception] means that the lower one must work by himself by the power of the awakening he had received. In other words, he must add, through the awakening he had received from the upper one, and work by his labor. Otherwise, he loses everything and returns to being a black dot, meaning that his spirituality is regarded as darkness that does not shine.

 9.18 RABASH,

Article No. 3 (1985), “The Meaning of Truth and Faith”

In spirituality, there are two discernments in the Ibur:

1. The shape of the Ibur, which is the degree of Katnut [smallness/infancy], which is its real shape. However, since it only has Katnut, it is regarded as a deficiency, and wherever there is a deficiency in holiness, there is a grip to the Klipot [shells/peels]. At that time the Klipot can cause a miscarriage—for the spiritual fetus to fall out before its stage of Ibur has been completed. For this reason, there should be a detaining element, which is that it is given wholeness, meaning Gadlut [adulthood/greatness].
2. However, we should understand how the newborn can be given Gadlut while it is still unfit to receive even Katnut sufficiently, since it still does not have the Kelim [vessels] in which to receive them in order to bestow. To that there is an answer there: Our sages said, “An embryo in its mother’s abdomen eats what its mother eats.” He also said, “A fetus is its mother’s thigh.” This means that since a fetus is its mother’s thigh, the Ibur does not merit its own name. For this reason, the fetus eats what its mother eats. That is, the fetus receives everything that it receives in the mother’s Kelim. For this reason, although the fetus has no Kelim that are fit to receive Gadlut, but in the Kelim of the upper one, which is its mother, it can receive because it is completely annulled before the mother and has no authority of its own. This is called Ibur, when it is completely annulled before the Upper One.

Then, when it receives Gadlut, it is in wholeness. This is why there is no grip to the Klipot there, and this is why it is called the “detaining force.”

 9.19 RABASH,

Article No. 31 (1986), “Concerning Yenika [Suckling] and Ibur [Impregnation]”

It follows that when a person can annul himself a little bit and at that time says, “Now I want to annul myself before the Kedusha,” meaning not to think about self-love. Rather, now he wants to bring contentment to the Creator, and believes above reason that although he still does not feel anything, he believes above reason, that the Creator hears the prayer of every mouth, and before Him, small and great are equal, and as He can deliver the greatest of the greatest, He can also help the smallest of the small.

This is called Ibur, meaning that he passes from his own domain into the domain of the Creator. However, it is temporary. That is, he truly wants to annul himself forever, but cannot believe that there will be annulling forever now since he has already thought many times that it would be so but then descended from his degree and fell to the place of garbage.

However, he does not need to worry about what to eat tomorrow, as was said above, that later he will probably fall from his degree, as this is for lack of faith. Rather, he must believe that the salvation of the Lord is as the blink of an eye. It follows that since he annuls himself for the time being and wants to remain this way forever, it follows that he has the value of Ibur.

9.20 RABASH,

Article No. 9 (1985), “And the Children Struggled within Her”

Baal HaSulam said that this is the order of the work. The beginning of the work is called Ibur [impregnation], when a person begins to work on the path of truth. When he passes by the doors of Torah, the Jacob in a person awakens and wishes to walk on the path of Torah. When he walks by the doors of idol-worship, the Esau in a person awakens to come out.

We should interpret his words. Man consists of vessels of reception by nature, called “self-love,” which is the evil inclination, and also consists of a point in the heart, which is his good inclination. When he begins to work in bestowal, it is regarded as Ibur, form the word, Avra [passed]. This is why he experiences ascents and descents and is unstable. He is influenced by the environment and is unable to overcome.

For this reason, when one moves to an environment where people engage in work that is alien to us, meaning self-love, the self-love in a person awakens and comes out from concealment to disclosure, and takes control over the body. At that time one is unable to do anything except that which concerns his receiver.

When he passes through an environment where people engage in work of bestowal, the Jacob in him awakens and comes out from concealment to disclosure. At that time works of bestowal govern the body. That is, at that time, when he looks back and sees how before he has reached the state he is in he was so immersed in self-love, he cannot understand how can one be so low and derive satisfaction from such base things that are inappropriate for an adult to build his house among lowly and despicable desires and thoughts. He is insulted by these desires and thoughts where his house once was.

But later, when he passes by the doors of idol-worship, meaning when he comes to an environ- ment that engages in self-love, the Esau in him reawakens and wriggles to come out. This continues in the worker repeatedly, day after day. One who works harder may go through these changing states each and every hour.

9.21 RABASH,

Article No. 8 (1989), “What It Means, in the Work, that If the Good Grows, So Grows the Bad”

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

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

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

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8.01 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 57

There is no happier state in man’s world than when he finds himself despaired with his own strength. That is, he has already labored and done all that he could possibly imagine he could do, but found no remedy. It is then that he is fit for a wholehearted prayer for His help because he knows for certain that his own work will not help him.

As long as he feels some strength of his own, his prayer will not be whole because the evil incli- nation rushes first and tells him, “First you must do what you can, and then you will be worthy of the Creator.”

It was said about this, “The Lord is high and the low will see.” For once a person has labored in all kinds of work, and has become disillusioned, he comes into real lowliness, knowing that he is the lowest of all the people, as there is nothing good in the structure of his body. At that time, his prayer is complete and he is granted by His generous hand.

The writing says about this, “And the children of Israel sighed from the work, etc., and their cry went up.” It is so because at that time they came into a state of despair from the work. It is as one who pumps into a punctured bucket. He pumps all day but does not have a drop of water to quench his thirst.

So were the children of Israel in Egypt: Everything they built was promptly swallowed in its place in the ground, as our sages said.

Similarly, one who has not been rewarded with His love, all that he has done in his work on purifying the soul the day before is as though completely burned the next day. And each day and each moment he must start anew as though he has not done a thing in his entire life.

Then, “The children of Israel sighed from the work,” for they evidently saw that they were unfit to ever produce something by their own work. This is why their sigh and prayer were complete, as it should be, and this is why “Their cry went up,” since the Creator hears the prayer, and He only awaits a wholehearted prayer.

It follows from the above that everything, small or great, is obtained only by the power of prayer. All the labor and work to which we are obliged are only to discover our lack of strength and our lowliness—that we are unfit for anything by our own strength—for then we can pour out a whole- hearted prayer before Him.

We could argue about this, “So I can decide that I am unfit for anything, and why all the labor and exertion?” However, there is a natural law that there is none so wise as the experienced, and before one tries to actually do all he can do, he is utterly incapable of arriving at true lowliness, to the real extent, as said above.

This is why we must toil in Kedusha [holiness] and purity, as it is written, “Whatever you find that your hand can do by your strength, that do,” and understand this for it is true and deep.

I revealed this truth to you only so you would not weaken or give up on mercy. Although you do not see anything, for even when the measure of labor is complete, it is the time of prayer, but until then, believe in our sages: “I did not labor and found, do not believe.”

When the measure is full, your prayer will be complete and the Creator will grant generously, as our sages instructed us, “I labored and found, believe,” for one is unfit for a prayer prior to this, and the Creator hears a prayer.

8.02 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 209, “Three Conditions in Prayer”

There are three conditions in prayer:

1. Believing that He can save him. Although he has the worst conditions of all his contem- poraries, still, “Will the Lord’s hand be too short to save him?” If it is not so, then “the Landlord cannot save His vessels.”
2. He no longer has any choice for he has already done all that he could but saw no cure to his plight.
3. If He does not help him, he will be better off dead than alive. Prayer means “lost in the heart.” The more one is lost, so is the measure of his prayer. Clearly, one who lacks luxuries is not like one who has been sentenced to death, and only the execution is missing, and he is already tied with iron chains, and he is standing and pleading for his life. He will certainly not rest or sleep or be distracted for even a moment from praying for his life.

 8.03 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 20, “Lishma [for Her sake]”

In order for a person to obtain Lishma, one needs an awakening from above, as it is an illumination from above and it is not for the human mind to understand. Rather, he who tastes, knows. It is said about this, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Because of this, upon assuming the burden of the kingdom of heaven, one needs it to be in utter completeness, meaning only to bestow and not at all to receive. If a person sees that the organs do not agree with this view, he has no other choice but prayer—to pour out his heart to the Creator to help him make his body consent to enslaving itself to the Creator.

Do not say that if Lishma [for Her sake] is a gift from above, what good is one’s overcoming and efforts, and all the remedies and corrections that he does in order to achieve Lishma, if it depends on the Creator? Our sages said about it, “You are not free to rid yourself of it.” Rather, one must give the awakening from below, and this is considered “prayer.” Yet, there cannot be a real prayer if he does not know first that without prayer it cannot be obtained.

Therefore, the acts and remedies he does in order to obtain Lishma create the corrected Kelim

[vessels] in him that want to receive the Lishma. Then, after all the actions and the remedies he can pray in earnest since he saw that all his actions did not help him whatsoever. Only then can he make an honest prayer from the bottom of his heart, and then the Creator hears his prayer and gives him the gift of Lishma.

8.04 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 18, “My Soul Shall Weep In Secret – 1”

When concealment overpowers a person and he comes to a state where the work becomes tasteless, and he cannot picture or feel any love and fear, and he cannot do anything in Kedusha [holiness], his only counsel is to cry to the Creator to have mercy on him and remove the screen from his eyes and heart.

Crying is a very important matter. It is as our sages write: “All the gates were locked except for the gates of tears.” The world asks about this: If the gates of tears are not locked, what is the need for the gates at all? He said that it is like a person who asks his friend for some necessary object. This object touches his heart, and he asks and begs him in every manner of prayer and plea. Yet, his friend pays no attention to all this. And when he sees that there is no longer reason for prayers and pleas then he raises his voice in weeping.

It is said about this: “All the gates were locked except for the gates of tears.” That is, when were the gates of tears not locked? Precisely when all the gates were locked. It is then that there is room for the gates of tears, and then we see that they were not locked.

However, when the gates of prayer are open, the gates of tears and weeping are irrelevant. This is the meaning of the gates of tears being locked. Thus, when are the gates of tears not locked? Precisely when all the gates are locked, the gates of tears are open since one still has the choice of prayer and plea.

This is the meaning of “My soul shall weep in secret,” meaning when one comes to a state of concealment, then “My soul shall weep,” because one has no other option. This is the meaning of “All that your hand and strength can do, do.”

8.05 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 1, “There Is None Else Besides Him”

It is written, “There is none else besides Him.” This means that there is no other force in the world that has the ability to do anything against Him. And what one sees, that there are things in the world that deny the upper household, the reason is that this is His will.

This is deemed a correction called “the left rejects and the right pulls closer,” meaning that what the left rejects is considered a correction. This means that there are things in the world that, to begin with, aim to divert a person from the right way, and by which he is rejected from Kedusha [holiness]. The benefit from the rejections is that through them a person receives a complete need and desire for the Creator to help him since he sees that otherwise he is lost; not only is he not progressing in the work, he even sees that he regresses. That is, he lacks the strength to observe Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] even Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], for only by genuinely overcoming all the obsta- cles, above reason, can he observe the Torah and Mitzvot. But he does not always have the strength to overcome above reason; otherwise, he is forced to deviate, God forbid, from the way of the Creator, even from Lo Lishma.

And he, who always feels that the shattered is greater than the whole, meaning that there are many more descents than ascents, and he does not see an end to these states, and he will forever remain outside of holiness, for he sees that it is difficult for him to observe even in the slightest bit, unless by overcoming above reason. But he cannot always overcome, so what will be in the end?

Then he comes to the decision that no one can help but the Creator Himself. This causes him to make a heartfelt demand that the Creator will open his eyes and heart and truly bring him closer to eternal Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator.

8.06 RABASH,

Article No. 626, “Anything that the Merciful One Does, He Does for the Best”

Avid [Aramaic: do] comes from the word Avud [Hebrew: lost], for the Ayin and Aleph are inter- changeable. In other words, when a person comes to a state where he is truly lost, when he does not see how he can exist in the world or that he has anything to hold on to, and he has exhausted all the tactics and ideas, and sees that after all the labor and exertions, everything is lost, he must brace himself and say, “Everything that the Merciful one does is for the best.”

In other words, the Creator brought upon him all those states of being lost, and they are for the best. That is, through them he has come to a state where he is at the lowest degree, and by this he will be able to rise up, as it is written, “The Lord is high and the low will see,” for there is no greater lowliness than when one feels completely lost.

This is the meaning of “Everything that the Merciful one does, He does for the best.” Afterward, when he begins to work once more and correct his actions, and makes repentance from love, he says, “This, too, is for the best,” meaning the states when he was lost, and there is no greater transgression than a person coming to a state of being lost.

When he repents from love, he sees that this, too, is for the best, that from the bad itself, the good was done. It follows that there is a difference between “Everything that the Merciful one does” and “this, too, is for the best.”

8.07 RABASH,

Article No. 38 (1990), “What Is, ‘A Cup of Blessing Must Be Full,’ in the Work?”

A person needs great mercy in order not to escape the campaign. Although he uses the counsels that our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice,” but the person says that he has already used this advice several times to no avail.

He also says that he has already used the advice “He who comes to purify is aided,” and it is as though all the counsels are not for him. Thus, he does not know what to do. This is the worst state for a person, meaning he wants to escape from these states but has nowhere to run. At that time he suffers torments at being between despair and confidence. But then a person says, “Where will I turn?”

At that time, the only advice is prayer. Yet, this prayer is also without any guarantee, so it follows that then he must pray to believe that the Creator does hear a prayer, and everything that one feels in these states is to his benefit. But this can be only above reason, meaning although the mind tells him, “After all the calculations, you see that nothing can help you,” he should believe this, too, above reason, that the Creator can deliver him from the will to receive for himself, in return for which he will receive the desire to bestow.

8.08 RABASH,

Letter No. 9

One who sees one’s lowliness sees that he is treading the path leading to the work Lishma. This gives one room for real prayer from the bottom of the heart, when he sees that no one will help him but the Creator himself, as Baal HaSulam interpreted concerning the redemption from Egypt, “I, and not a messenger,” for everyone saw that only the Creator Himself redeemed them from the governance of evil.

And when rewarded with the work Lishma there is certainly nothing to be proud of because then one sees that it is only God’s gift, and not “my power and the might of my hand,” and there is no foreign hand that can help him. Therefore, he feels his lowliness—how serving the king is an immeasurable pleasure, and without His help he would not agree to it. Indeed, there is no greater lowliness than this.

8.09 RABASH,

Article No. 16 (1985), “But the More They Afflicted Them”

“And the children of Israel sighed because of the labor, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God because of the labor. And God heard their groaning.”

We should be precise about the words “because of the labor” being written twice. We should explain that all the sighs were from the labor, meaning that they could not work for the Creator. Indeed, their suffering was from not being able to make the work that they were doing be for the Creator, due to the Klipa of Egypt. This is why it is written, “Because of the labor” twice.

1. All the sighs were not because they were lacking anything. They lacked only one thing, meaning they did not wish for any luxuries or payment. Their only lack, for which they felt pain and suffering, was that of not being able to do anything for the Creator. In other words, they wished that they would have a desire to give contentment to the Creator and not to themselves, but they couldn’t, and this afflicted them. This is called “wanting to have some grip in spirituality.”
2. The second “Because of the labor” comes to teach that, “And their cry came up unto God,” that God heard their groaning, was because their only request was work. This comes to imply to the other “because of the labor.” It turns out that the whole exile that they felt was only because they were under the rule of the Klipa of Egypt and they could not do anything to make it only in order to bestow.

8.10 RABASH,

Article No. 2 (1991), “What Is, ‘Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,’ in the Work?”

The Creator heals the brokenhearted. The thing is that it is known that the essence of man is the heart, as our sages said, “The Merciful one wants the heart.” The heart is the Kli [vessel] that receives the Kedusha from above. It is as we learn about the breaking of the vessels, that if the Kli is broken, everything you put in it will spill out.

Likewise, if the heart is broken, meaning the will to receive controls the heart, abundance cannot enter there because everything that the will to receive receives will go to the Klipot [shells/peels]. This is called “the breaking of the heart.” Hence, a person prays to the Creator and says, “You must help me because I am worse than everyone, since I feel that the will to receive controls my heart, and this is why nothing of Kedusha can enter my heart. I want no luxuries, only to be able to do something for the sake of the Creator, and I am utterly incapable of this, so only You can save me.” By this we should interpret what is written (Psalms 34), “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” That is, those who ask the Creator to help them so their heart will not be broken and will be whole.

8.11 RABASH,

Article No. 37 (1991), “What Is the Torah and What Is The Statute of the Torah, in the Work?”

When he wants to do everything for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake. Here the body resists with all its might, since it argues, “Why do you want to put me and my domain to death? You come to me with having to work only for the sake of the Creator and not for one’s own sake, which is truly annulment of the will to receive from everything. You tell me that our sages said, ‘The Torah exists only in one who puts himself to death over it,’ meaning to put to death all the domain of self-benefit and care only for the benefit of the Creator, and before this, a person cannot be rewarded with the Torah.” Yet, a person sees that it is unrealistic that he will have the strength to go against nature.

At that time, one has no choice but to turn to the Creator and say, “Now I have come to a state where I see that unless You help me, I am lost. I will never have the strength to overcome the will to receive, as this is my nature. Rather, only the Creator can give another nature.”

A person says that he believes that this was the exodus from Egypt, that the Creator delivered the people of Israel from under the governance of Egypt, as our sages said (in the Passover Haggadah [story/narrative]), “And the Lord brought us out from Egypt, not by an angel, and not by a messenger, but the Creator Himself; I am the Lord, it is I and not another.”

Now, he, too, sees that only the Creator can deliver him from the governance of the will to receive and give him a second nature.

8.12 RABASH,

Article No. 19 (1985), “Come unto Pharaoh – 1”

We should pay attention to “Come unto Pharaoh” and believe through the worst possible states, and not escape the campaign, but rather always trust that the Creator can help a person and give him, whether one needs a little help or a lot of help.

In truth, one who understands that he needs the Creator to give him a lot of help, because he is worse than the rest of the people, is more suitable for his prayer to be answered, as it is written, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Therefore, one should not say that he is unfit for the Creator to bring him closer, but that the reason is that he is idle in his work. Instead, one should always overcome and not let thoughts of despair enter his mind, as our sages said (Berachot, 10), “Even if a sharp sword is placed on his neck he should not deny himself of mercy,” as it was said (Job, 13), “Though He slay me, I will hope for Him.” We should interpret the “sharp sword placed on his neck” to mean that even though one’s evil, called “self-love,” is placed on his neck and wants to separate him from Kedusha by showing him that it is impossible to exit this authority, he should say that the picture he sees is the truth.

However, “He should not deny himself of mercy,” for at that time he must believe that the Creator can give him the mercy, meaning the quality of bestowal. That is, by himself, it is true that one cannot exit the authority of self-reception. But from the perspective of the Creator, when the Creator helps him, of course He can bring him out. This is the meaning of what is written, “I am the Lord your God, who took you out from the land of Egypt to be your God.

8.13 RABASH, Article No. 12 (1985),

“Jacob Dwelled in the Land Where His Father Had Lived”

One must believe that the Creator has created the world with benevolence, and the evil in his body removes him from all the good. That is, when he comes to learn Torah, he finds it utterly tasteless. And also, when he comes to perform some Mitzva [good deed/correction], he finds it utterly tasteless because the evil inclination in his body has the power not to let him believe in the Creator above reason by taking out every flavor. Whenever he begins to approach something spiritual, he feels that everything is dry without any moisture of life.

When the person began his work, he was told—and he believed what he was told—that the Torah is a Torah of life, as it is written, “For they are your life and the length of your days,” and as it is written (Psalms 19), “More desirable than gold, than much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.”

But when one consider this and sees that the evil inclination is to blame for everything, and strongly feels the bad that it is causing him, then he feels on himself what is written (Psalms 34) “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” That is, that verse was said about him.

At that time he looks at what the verse says afterwards, “but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” At that time he begins to cry out to the Creator to help him because he has already done everything that he could think of doing, but nothing helped, and he thinks that “Everything that you find within your power to do, that do,” was said about him. At that time comes the time of salvation—the salvation of the Creator delivering him from the evil inclination—to the extent that from this day forth the evil inclination will surrender before him and will not be able to incite him into any transgression.

8.14 RABASH,

Letter No. 28

I have already written you that there are mitigated judgments. To understand this in the prepara- tion to entering the Creator’s palace is that sometimes a person feels that he is in a state of lowliness, meaning that he has neither Torah nor work, and also thoughts of worldly vanities and so forth. At that time one becomes despaired saying, “‘And I to serve my master’ must have been said about someone else.”

Rather, to people of high degrees, who have been born with good and upright qualities and a good mind, and desire and craving to persist with the study of Torah, and their only engagement since their arrival in the world, their minds and hearts are only about Torah and work. But a man of my value, I belong in the cowshed, and the verse, “For it is not a vain thing for you, for it is your life and the length of your days,” was not said about me.

Sometimes there is mitigation during the awakening of the lowliness, and a person sees that “I did not know how immersed I was in transient things and my idle matters. I did not pay attention to being as one should be. And the psalm that is said, ‘Will be glorified in me for He desires me,’ I too should be saying that psalm because all of Israel have a part in the next world, as in ‘He stood and concealed it for the righteous in the future.’

“But now that I am far from the whole thing, I must not despair and only trust the Creator, that ‘You hear the prayer of every mouth.’ ‘Every’ means that even though my mouth is not as proper as it should be, the thirteen qualities of mercy are bound to awaken on me, as well.

“From this day forth, I hope to be going forward, though I have already said this many times and in the end remained in my lowliness.” At that time he replies that there are “world,” “year,” “soul,” and these three must be united in same time, place, and soul together.

For this reason, he says, “It is now certainly the time for me to come out of all these bad states, and ‘one who comes to purify is aided,’” and he promptly begins the work with renewed vigor and strength.

8.16 RABASH,

Article No. 19 (1985), “Come unto Pharaoh – 1”

To keep from losing what he is given, one must first make great efforts, for something that comes to a person through labor causes him to keep the thing and not lose it. But during the exertion, when a person sees that the work is still far from finished, he sometimes escapes the campaign and falls into despair. At that time he needs great strengthening, to believe that the Creator will help him, and the fact that help has not arrived is because he has not given the required quantity and quality of labor for preparing the deficiency in order to receive the filing, as it is said (“Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 18), “And if one practices Torah and fails to remove the evil inclina- tion from himself, it is either that he has been negligent in giving the necessary labor and exertion in the practice of Torah, as it is written, ‘I have not labored but found, do not believe,’ or perhaps one did put in the necessary amount of labor, but has been negligent in the quality.”

8.17 RABASH,

Article No. 34 (1991), “What Is Eating Their Fruits in This World and Keeping the Principal for the Next World, in the Work?”

When one sees that it is hard to get what he wants, he escapes from the work. He says, “I believe that there are people who have been rewarded and to whom the Creator gave the desire to bestow. But this was because they were more gifted than I am. But a person like me, with worse qualities than others, has no chance of meriting this.” Hence, he escapes the campaign and begins to work like the general public.

Only those who say that they want to escape from the work but have nowhere else to go, since nothing satisfies them, those people do not walk out from the work. Although they have ups and downs, they do not give up. This is as it is written, “And the children of Israel sighed from the work, and they cried, and their cry went up to God from the work.” In other words, they cried out from the work because they were not advancing in the work of the Creator, so they could work in order to bestow contentment upon the Maker. At that time, they were rewarded with the exodus from Egypt. In the work, this is called “emerging from the control of the will to receive and entry into the work of bestowal.”

 8.18 RABASH,

Article No. 23 (1989), “What Is, ‘If He Swallows the Bitter Herb, He Will Not Come Out,’ in the Work?”

When one begins the work, he begins with faith, but the body resists this work, and then comes a state of labor, when he must overcome the body and seek all kinds of counsels, as our sages said, “In trickery shall you conduct war,” since the body does not want to relinquish self-benefit. To the extent that he exerts, to that extent he begins to feel that he is incapable of doing anything since in his view, he has done everything he could. After the labor, he comes to know that only the Creator can help, and it is out of his hands. Then comes the third state—a prayer—and then the prayer is from the bottom of the heart, since it is utterly clear to him that no one can help him but the Creator.

However, even when he comes to know that the Creator can help him, and he understands that the real advice is only prayer, the body comes and makes him see that “You see how many prayers you have already prayed but you received no answer from above. Therefore, why bother praying that the Creator will help you? You see that you are not getting any help from above.” At that time, he cannot pray. Then we need to overcome once more through faith, and believe that the Creator does hear the prayer of every mouth, and it does not matter if the person is adept and has good qualities, or to the contrary. Rather, he must overcome and believe above reason, although his reason dictates that since he has prayed many times but still received no answer from above, how can he come and pray once more? This, too, requires overcoming, meaning to exert above reason and pray that the Creator will help him overcome his view and pray.

8.19 RABASH,

Article No. 16 (1985), “But the More They Afflicted Them”

When he begins to scrutinize the quality of the deficiency, he sees that he feels no pain, that he is seemingly unconscious, unfeeling. And although remoteness from the Creator means not having life, it doesn’t pain him that he has no life. Then he has no other choice but to pray to the Creator to give him some life, so he will feel that he is dangerously ill and needs to cure the soul.

And sometimes one comes to a state where he is in such a decline that he doesn’t even have the strength to pray for it. Rather, he is in a state of complete indifference. This is called “being in a state of still,” meaning he is completely motionless.

In that state, only his society can help him. In other words, if he comes among friends and does not criticize them in any way, testing if they, too, have the same obstructions and thoughts but have overcome them, or they just take no interest in introspection and this is why they can engage in Torah and Mitzvot, how can he be like them?

At that time, he cannot receive any assistance from society because he has no Dvekut [adhesion] with them at all, as they are too small to be his friends. Thus, naturally, he is not affected by them whatsoever.

But if he comes among his friends not with his head high, thinking that he is wise and the friends are fools—but rather tosses his pride away.

8.20 RABASH,

Article No. 5 (1988), “What Is, ‘When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is With Them,’ in the Work?”

What is the meaning of “When Israel are in exile, the Shechina is with them”? As Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai said, “Wherever they exile, the Shechina is with them.” What is the benefit from this in the work, that he says about it, “How beloved are Israel by the Creator”?

We should interpret that when a person feels that he is in exile, meaning feels the taste of exile in the work and wants to escape from the exile, the meaning will be that a person must believe that wherever they are exiled, the Shechina is with them. That is, the Shechina let him feel the taste of exile. “With them” means that the Shechina is attached to them and they are not separated from the Shechina, that they should say that it is a descent. On the contrary, now the Shechina is giving him a push so he will climb the degrees of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], and dresses herself in a garment of descent.

When a person knows and believes that this is so, it will encourage him so he does not escape the campaign or say that the work of bestowal is not for him because he always sees that he is in states of ascents and descents, and he sees no end to these states and falls into despair.

But if he walks in the path of faith and believes in the words of our sage, then he must say the opposite.

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URCUŞURI ŞI COBORÂRI

7.01 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 191, “The Time of Descent”

It is hard to depict the time of descent, when all the works and the efforts made from the beginning of the work until the time of descent are lost. To one who has never tasted the taste of servitude of the Creator, it seems as though this is outside of him, meaning that this happens to those of high degrees. But ordinary people have no connection to serving the Creator, only to crave the corporeal will to receive, present in the flow of the world, washing the whole world with this desire.

However, we must understand why they have come to such a state. After all, with or without one’s consent, there is no change in the Creator of heaven and earth; He behaves in a manner of good and doing good. Thus, what is the outcome of this state?

We should say that it comes to announce His greatness. One does not need to act as though he does not want Her. Rather, one should behave in a manner of fearing the exaltedness, to know the merit and the distance between him and the Creator. It is difficult to understand this with a super- ficial mind, or have any possibility of connection between the Creator and creation.

During a descent he feels that it is impossible that he will have connection or belonging to the Creator by way of Dvekut [adhesion], since he feels that servitude is a foreign thing to the whole world. In truth, this is so. But “In the place where you find His greatness, there you find His humble- ness.” This means that it is a matter that is above nature, that the Creator gave this gift to creation, to allow them to be connected and adhered to Him.

Hence, when one becomes reconnected, he should always remember his time of descent so as to know, understand, appreciate, and value the time of Dvekut, so he will know that now he has salvation above the natural way.

7.02 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 1, “There Is None Else Besides Him”

It is written, “There is none else besides Him.” This means that there is no other force in the world that has the ability to do anything against Him. And what one sees, that there are things in the world that deny the upper household, the reason is that this is His will.

This is deemed a correction called “the left rejects and the right pulls closer,” meaning that what the left rejects is considered a correction. This means that there are things in the world that, to begin with, aim to divert a person from the right way, and by which he is rejected from Kedusha [holiness].

The benefit from the rejections is that through them a person receives a complete need and desire for the Creator to help him since he sees that otherwise he is lost; not only is he not progress- ing in the work, he even sees that he regresses. That is, he lacks the strength to observe Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] even Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], for only by genuinely overcoming all the obstacles, above reason, can he observe the Torah and Mitzvot. But he does not always have the strength to overcome above reason; otherwise, he is forced to deviate, God forbid, from the way of the Creator, even from Lo Lishma.

And he, who always feels that the shattered is greater than the whole, meaning that there are many more descents than ascents, and he does not see an end to these states, and he will forever remain outside of holiness, for he sees that it is difficult for him to observe even in the slightest bit, unless by overcoming above reason. But he cannot always overcome, so what will be in the end?

Then he comes to the decision that no one can help but the Creator Himself. This causes him to make a heartfelt demand that the Creator will open his eyes and heart and truly bring him closer to eternal Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator.

7.03 Baal HaSulam, Shamati,

Article No. 33, “The Lots on Yom Kippurim and with Haman”

Through the faults in the work of the Creator, it causes him to rise up, as without a push one is idle to make a movement and agrees to remain in the state he is in. But if one descends to a lower degree than he understands, this gives one the strength to overcome, for one cannot stay in such a bad state, since one cannot agree to remain like that, in the state to which he has descended.

For this reason, one must always prevail and emerge from the state of descent. In that state, he must draw upon himself the exaltedness of the Creator. This causes him to extend higher forces from above, or he remains in utter lowliness. It follows that through the Se’arot, one gradually dis- covers the exaltedness of the Creator until one finds the names of the Creator, called “the thirteen attributes of Mercy.” This is the meaning of “and the elder shall serve the younger,” and “the wicked will prepare and the righteous will wear,” and also, “and you shall serve your brother.”

This means that all the enslavement, meaning the contradictions that there were, which appeared to be obstructing the holy work, and were working against Kedusha [holiness]. Now, when granted the light of the Creator, which is placed over these contradictions, we see the opposite—that they were serving the Kedusha. That is, through them, there was a place for the Kedusha to clothe in their dresses. This is called “the wicked will prepare and the righteous will wear,” meaning that they gave the Kelim [vessels] and the place for the Kedusha.

7.04 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 25

One who repents from love is rewarded with complete Dvekut [adhesion], meaning the highest degree, and one who is ready for sins is in the netherworld. These are the farthest two points in this entire reality. It would seem that we should be meticulous with the word “repentance,” which should have been called “wholeness,” except it is to show that everything is preordained, and each and every soul is already established in all its light, goodness, and eternity. But for the bread of shame, the soul went out in restrictions until it clothed in the murky body, and only through it does it return to its root prior to the Tzimtzum [restriction], with its reward in its hand from all the terrible move it had made. The overall reward is the real Dvekut, meaning that she [the soul] got rid of the bread of shame because her vessel of reception has become a vessel of bestowal and her form is equal to her Maker, and I have often spoken to you about that.

By this you will see that if the descent is for the purpose of ascending, it is regarded as an ascent and not as a descent. Indeed, the descent itself is the ascent as the letters of the prayer themselves are filled with abundance, and with a short prayer, the abundance is small for lack of letters.

7.05 Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 19,

“What Is ‘The Creator Hates the Bodies,’ in the Work?”

We must know that during the work, when the will to receive comes to a person with its arguments, no arguments or rationalizations help with it. Though one thinks that they are just arguments, it will not help one defeat his evil.

Instead, as it is written, “Blunt its teeth.” This means to advance only by actions, and not by arguments. This is considered that one must add powers coercively. This is the meaning of what our sages said, “He is coerced until he says ‘I want.’” In other words, through persistence, habit becomes a second nature.

One must especially try to have a strong desire to obtain the desire to bestow and overcome the will to receive. A strong desire means that a strong desire is measured by the increment of the in-between rests and the arrests, meaning the time gaps between each overcoming.

Sometimes one receives a cessation in the middle, meaning a descent. This descent can be a cessation of a minute, an hour, a day, or a month. Afterward, he resumes the work of overcoming the will to receive and the attempts to achieve the desire to bestow. A strong desire means that the cessation does not take him a long time and he is immediately reawakened to the work.

It is like a person who wants to break a big rock. He takes a big hammer and hammers many times all day long, but they are weak. In other words, he does not hammer the rock with one swing but brings down the big hammer slowly. Afterward, he complains that this work of breaking the rock is not for him, that it must take a very strong man to be able to break this big rock. He says that he was not born with such great powers to be able to break the rock.

However, one who lifts this big hammer and strikes the rock with a big swing, not slowly but with a great effort, the rock immediately surrenders to him and breaks. This is the meaning of “like a strong hammer that shatters the rock.”

Similarly, in the holy work, which is to bring the vessels of reception into Kedusha [holiness], we have a strong hammer, meaning words of Torah that give us good counsels. However, if it is not consistent, but with long intermissions in between, one escapes the campaign and says that he was not made for this, but this work requires one who was born with special skills for it. Nevertheless, one should believe that anyone can achieve the goal, but he should try to always increase his efforts to overcome, and then one can break the rock in a short time.

We must also know that for the effort to make contact with the Creator, there is a very harsh condition here: The effort must be in the form of adornment. “Adornment” means something that is important to a person. One cannot work gladly if the labor is not of importance, meaning that one is happy that now he has contact with the Creator.

7.06 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 42, “What Is the Acronym Elul in the Work?”

Those who wish to work in order to bestow are admitted into the King’s hall, and when one works in order to bestow, he does not mind what he feels during the work.

Rather, even in a state where he sees a shape of black, he is not impressed by it, but he only wants the Creator to give him strength to be able to overcome all the obstacles. It means that he does not ask the Creator to give him a shape of white, but to give him the strength to overcome all the concealments.

Hence, those people who want to work in order to bestow, if there is always a state of whiteness, the whiteness allows one to continue in the work. This is because, while it shines, one is able to work even in the form of reception for oneself.

Hence, one will never be able to know if his work is in purity or not, and this causes him never to be able to be awarded Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator. For this reason, he is given from above a form of blackness, and then he sees if his work is in purity.

This means that if one can be in gladness in a state of blackness, too, it is a sign that his work is in purity, since one must be glad and believe that from above he was given an opportunity to be able to work in order to bestow.

7.07 Baal HaSulam,

Introduction to A Sage’s Fruit, Vol. 4, “Three Partners”

It is impossible to attribute the bad to the Creator since he is the absolute good. Hence, as long as one feels bad states, he must say that they come from elsewhere, from the environment. But in truth, when one is rewarded with seeing only good and that there is no bad in the world, and everything is turned to good, then he is shown the truth, that the Creator did everything because He is almighty, and He alone did, does, and will do all the deeds.

7.08 Baal HaSulam, Shamati

Article No. 83, “Concerning the Right Vav and the Left Vav”

In any state one is in, he can be a servant of the Creator since he does not need anything, but does everything above reason. It turns out that one does not need any Mochin with which to be the servant of the Creator.

Now we can interpret what is written, “Set up a table before me, against my enemies.” A table means, as it is written, “and sent her out of his house, and she departed his house, and went” (Deuteronomy 24:1-2). A Shulchan [table] is like VeShlacha [and sent her], meaning exit from the work.

We should interpret that even during the exits from the work, meaning in a state of decline, one still has a place to work. This means that when one prevails above reason during the declines, and says that the descents, too, were given to him from above, by this the enemies are canceled. This is so because the enemies thought that through the declines the person will reach utter lowliness and escape the campaign, but in the end the opposite occurred—the enemies were canceled.

This is the meaning of what is written, “the table that is before the Lord,” that precisely in this manner does he receive the face of the Creator. This is the meaning of subduing all the judgments, even the harshest judgments, since he assumes the burden of the kingdom of heaven at all times. That is, he always finds a place for work, as it is written that Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai said, “There is no place to hide from You.”

7.09 Baal HaSulam, Shamati,

Article No. 70, “With a Mighty Hand and with Fury Poured Out”

We should know that of those who want to come into the work of the Creator in order to truly adhere to Him and enter the King’s palace, not everyone is admitted. Rather, he is tested: If he has no other desires but only a desire for Dvekut [adhesion], he is admitted.

And how is one tested if he has only one desire? He is given disturbances. This means that he is sent foreign thoughts and foreign messengers to obstruct him so he would leave this path and follow the path of all the people.

If one overcomes all the difficulties and breaks all the bars that block him, and little things cannot push him away, the Creator sends him great Klipot [shells/peels] and chariots to deflect one from entering into Dvekut with the Creator alone, and with nothing else. This is considered that the Creator is rejecting him with a mighty hand.

If the Creator does not show a mighty hand, it will be hard to push him away since he has a strong desire to adhere only to the Creator and to nothing else.

But when the Creator wants to reject one whose desire is not so strong, He pushes him away with a small thing. By giving him a great desire for corporeality, he already leaves the holy work entirely, and there is no need to repel him with a mighty hand.

Yet, when one overcomes all the hardships and the disturbances, one is not easily repelled, but with a mighty hand. And if one overcomes even the mighty hand and does not want to move from the place of Kedusha [holiness] whatsoever, but wants to adhere specifically to Him in truth, and sees that he is repelled, then one says that fury is poured out on him. Otherwise, he would be allowed inside. But because fury is poured out on him by the Creator, he is not admitted into the King’s palace to adhere to Him.

It follows that before one wants to move from one’s place, and breaks in and wants to enter, it cannot be said that he feels that fury is poured out on him. Rather, after all the rejections that he is rejected, and he does not move from his place, meaning when the mighty hand and the fury poured out have already been revealed upon him, then “I will be King over you” comes true. This is so because only through bursting and great efforts does the kingdom of heaven become revealed to him, and he is rewarded with entering the King’s palace.

7.10 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 121, “She Is Like Merchant-Ships”

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on what proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” This means that the life of Kedusha [holiness] in a person does not come specifically from drawing closer, from entries, meaning admissions into Kedusha, but also from the exits, from the removals. This is so because through the dressing of the Sitra Achra in one’s body, and its claims, “She is all mine,” with a just argument, one is awarded permanent faith by overcoming these states.

This means that one should dedicate everything to the Creator, that is, that even the exits stem from Him. When he is rewarded, he sees that both the exits and the entries were all from Him. This forces him to be humble, since he sees that the Creator does everything, the exits as well as the entries.

This is the meaning of what is said about Moses, that he was humble and patient—that one must tolerate the lowliness, meaning that in each degree one should keep the lowliness. The minute he leaves the lowliness, he immediately loses all the degrees of Moses he had already achieved.

This is the meaning of patience. Lowliness exists in everyone, but not every person feels that lowliness is a good thing. It turns out that we do not want to suffer. However, Moses tolerated the humbleness, which is why he was called “humble,” since the lowliness made him glad.

7.11 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 172, “The Matter of Preventions and Delays”

All the preventions and delays that appear before our eyes are but a form of nearing—the Creator wants to bring us closer, and all these preventions bring us only nearing, since without them we would have no possibility of approaching Him. This is so because, by nature, there is no greater dis- tance, as we are made of pure matter while the Creator is higher than high. Only when one begins to approach does he begin to feel the distance between us. And any prevention one overcomes brings the way closer for that person.

(This is so because one grows accustomed to moving on a line of growing farther. Hence, whenever one feels that he is distant, it does not induce any change in the process, since he knew in advance that he is moving on a line of growing farther, since this is the truth, that there are not enough words to describe the distance between us and the Creator. Hence, every time he feels that distance to a greater extent than he thought, it causes him no contention.)

7.12 RABASH,

Letter No. 24

You must always stand guard, all day and all night, when you feel a state of day or feel a state of night. We say to the Creator, “Yours is the day, and Yours is also the night.” Thus, the night, too, the darkness of night, comes from the Creator to man’s favor, too, as it is written, “Day to day utters speech, and night to night expresses knowledge.”

It follows that you must awaken the heart of the friends until the flame rises by itself, as our sages said about it, “When you mount the candles.” By that, you will be rewarded with awakening the love of the Creator upon us.

7.13 RABASH, Article No. 44,

“Ruin by Elders—Construction; Construction by Youths—Ruin”

“Ruin by elders—construction; construction by youths—ruin” (Megillah 31b).

Elders are those who are accustomed to the work of the Creator. Youths are those who are in the beginning of their work. “Ruin” means a descent or a fall, where previously they had some ascent in the work, which is regarded as building, meaning that they appreciated the ascent, but the ruin is when they felt some fall, which comes from the concealment of the Creator, that the Creator hides Himself from them. This is called “ruin.”

“Ruin by elders” means that they say that the Creator sent them the concealment. It follows that they are already building, since they believe that the Creator is tending to them, and from this they derive vitality.

Faith is apparent primarily during the descent, when it does not shine for a person. At that time, he faces a dilemma: Either he says, “I do not need any benefits. Rather, I want to bring contentment above and I do not care what I feel,” or it is otherwise.

7.14 RABASH,

Article No. 71, “The Meaning of Exile”

“When Israel are in exile, the Shechina [Divinity] is with them.” This means that if one falls into a descent, spirituality is also descended in him. But according to the rule, “a Mitzva [commandment] induces a Mitzva,” why does he come into a descent? Answer: He is given a descent from above so as to feel that he is in exile and ask for mercy, to be delivered from exile. This is called “redemption,” and there cannot be redemption if there is no exile there, first.

What is exile? It is that he is under the rule of self-love and cannot work for the sake of the Creator. When is self-love considered exile? It is only when he wants to emerge from this control because he suffers from not being able to do anything for the sake of the Creator.

It follows that when he began to work, there had to be some pleasure and reward for which the body agreed to this work. Afterward, when he was permitted to see that there is the matter of “for the sake of the Creator,” because a Mitzva induces a Mitzva, and he had to ask to be delivered from exile, then he runs from the exile.

How does he run from the exile? It is by saying that he will not succeed in this work. Thus, what does he do? He commits suicide, meaning leaves the work and returns to corporeal life, which is regarded as “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead.’”

It follows that where he should have asked for redemption from exile, he runs from the exile and commits suicide. This is as it is written, “The ways of the Lord are straight; the righteous will walk in them, and transgressors will fail in them.” However, he should go above reason.

A descent in spirituality does not mean that now he has no faith. Rather, now he must do more work, and the previous faith is considered a descent compared to this work.

7.15 RABASH, Article No. 8 (1991),

“What Is, ‘And Abraham Was Old, of Many Days,’ in the Work?”

One who is clever and wants to save time does not wait until he suffers a descent from above. Rather, while he is in an ascent and wants to acquire the importance of the state of closeness to the Creator, he begins to depict to himself what is a state of descent, meaning how he suffered from being far from the Creator compared to how he feels now that he is close to the Creator. It follows that even during the ascent he learns from the discernments as though he were in a state of descent. At that time, he can calculate and discern between an ascent and a descent.

At that time he will get a picture of the advantage of light over darkness, since he can create a depiction of how he was back in the state of descent, and thought that the whole matter of the work of bestowal does not pertain to him, and how he suffered from these states when he wanted to escape the campaign, and only from one place he could get some relief, meaning only from one hope, that he thought, “When will I be able to go to sleep?” for then he would escape from all the states of impatience, when he felt that the world has grown dark on him.

Now, during the ascent, he sees everything differently. At that time, he wants to work only for the sake of the Creator, and he has no concern for his own benefit. From all those calculations that he will do during the ascent, it follows that now he has a place where he can discern between light and darkness, and he does not need to wait until he is given from above a state of descent.

7.16 RABASH, Article No. 9 (1991),

“What Is, ‘The Smell of His Garments,’ in the Work?”

When a person is in a state of ascent, he must learn from his state during the descent in order to know the difference between light and darkness, as it is written, “as the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” However, for the most part, a person does not want to remember the time of darkness because it pains him, and people do not want to suffer for no reason. Rather, a person wants to enjoy the state of ascent that he is in.

However, one must know that if he considers the descents while he is in an ascent, he will learn two things from this, which will benefit him and he will therefore not suffer from descents for no reason: 1) He must know how to keep himself as much as he can from falling into a descent. 2) “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” At that time, he will have more vitality and joy from the state of ascent, and he will be able to thank the Creator for bringing him closer to Him. That is, now a person has a good feeling from being in a state where he understands that it is worth- while to be a servant of the Creator, since now he feels the greatness and importance of the King.

But during the descent, it is the complete opposite. The body asks him, “What will you get out of wanting to annul before Him and cancel yourself from this entire world, and care only about how to bring contentment to the Creator?” When a person considers both extremes, he sees the differences between them. At that time he has the values of a different importance than he thought about the ascent. It follows that by looking at the descent, the ascent rises in him to a higher level than he feels without looking at the descent.

7.17 RABASH, Article No. 22 (1989),

“Why Are Four Questions Asked Specifically on Passover Night?”

What it gives us to feel within reason that we are regressing instead of progressing. In other words, for what purpose does one need to feel that he is in decline? What is the benefit in that? We see that in a state of ascent, when one has a desire for spirituality and regards mundane pleasures—which the whole world chases so as to obtain these pleasures—as though they were created needlessly, meaning that it would be better if the Creator created all creations enjoying spiritual things.

Thus, regarding thoughts of declines, what does one gain by the fact that after each ascent he comes to a descent? As a result, a person always asks, “How many are the ascents and descents and why are they needed anyway? It would be better if I could stay in the state of ascent.”

But the answer is that it is impossible to appreciate anything without knowing its importance. In other words, there is a rule that the joy that a person takes in something depends on the importance of the matter. Sometimes a person is given something important, and if he could appreciate it, he could receive great pleasure from it. But since he does not know the value of the thing, that person cannot enjoy it, except to the extent that he understands its importance.

For example, a person buys an object, a book, which is not so beautiful on the outside, and later that book is reprinted and costs more, but since he did not have much money, he bought this book. The seller, too, was not aware of the importance of the book and sold it to him for a low price. But sometime later, a man comes to his house, sees the book, and says, “Since this book was printed 300 years ago, this book is worth a fortune, as there are only three such books in the world.” Now that he hears about the great value of the book, he begins to take pleasure in the book.

The lesson is that we do not know how to appreciate the ascent. That is, we do not understand the value of a single moment of having the power to believe in the Creator, and to have some sensa- tion of the greatness of the Creator. In a state of ascent, we desire to annul before Him without any rhyme and reason, like a candle before a torch. Naturally, we cannot enjoy the fact that the Creator has brought us closer and has given us some nearness, from which we should derive the joy and elation that it should bring us. But since we haven’t the importance to appreciate it, we can only enjoy according to the importance, as explained in the allegory.

This is why we were given descents: to be able to learn the importance of the ascents, as it is writ- ten, “as the advantage of the light from the darkness.” Specifically through descents, one can come to know and appreciate ascents, and then he can enjoy the ascents and come to feel that “They are our lives and the length of our days.”

 7.18 RABASH,

Article No. 15 (1991), “What Is the Blessing, ‘Who Made a Miracle for Me in This Place,’ in the Work?”

A person should accustom himself with anything to compare between the time of suffering and the time of pleasure, and to bless for the miracle of delivering him from suffering to a state of pleasure. By this, he will be able to thank the Creator and enjoy in the new Kelim that have been added to him now when he compares the two times to one another. From this, a person can advance in the work. This is as Baal HaSulam said, that it does not matter whether a person receives from the Creator something great or small. What matters is how much a person thanks the Creator. To the extent of his gratitude, so grows the giving that the Creator gives. Therefore, we must take note to be grateful, to appre- ciate His gift, so we can approach the Creator. Hence, when a person always looks during the ascent at the state he was in while in descent, meaning how he felt during the descent, he can make a distinction as in, “as the advantage of the light from within the darkness,” and he already has new Kelim in which to receive joy and be thankful to the Creator. This is the meaning of what is written, that a person should bless, “Blessed is He who made a miracle for me in this place,” meaning in the place where he is now, during the ascent, since there cannot be an ascent if there was no prior state of descent.

 7.19 RABASH,

Article No. 6, 1991 “What Is, ‘The Herdsmen of Abram’s Cattle and the Herdsmen of Lot’s Cattle,’ in the Work?”

A person must believe that he has a point in the heart, which is a spark that shines. But sometimes, it is only a black dot and does not shine. We must always awaken that spark because at times that spark awakens by itself and reveals a lack in a person, where he feels that he needs spirituality, that he is too materialistic and he sees no purpose that enables him to emerge from these states.

That spark gives him no rest. That is, as a corporeal spark cannot illuminate, but using the spark, a person can light up things, so that through the things that the spark touches, a great fire can ignite. Likewise, the spark within man’s heart cannot shine, but that spark can light up his actions so they will illuminate because the spark pushes him to work.

However, sometimes the spark quenches and does not shine. This can be in the middle of the work, and this is regarded as a person having a road accident. In other words, in the middle of the work, something happened to him and he descended from his state and was left unconscious. Now he does not know that there is spirituality in reality, he has forgotten everything, and he has entered the corporeal world with all of his senses.

Only after some time does he recover and sees that he is in the corporeal world and he begins to climb up once again, meaning to feel the spiritual lack. Then, once again, he receives a drive to approach the Creator.

Afterward, he descends from his degree once more, but he must believe that each time he raises his spark to Kedusha [holiness]. Although he sees that he has descended from his state and fell back to the place where he was at the beginning of his work, each time he nonetheless raises new sparks. That is, each time, he raises a new spark.

In the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” (Item 43), he says, “When man is born, he imme- diately has a Nefesh [soul] of Kedusha. But not an actual Nefesh, but the Achoraim [posterior] of it, its last discernment, which, during its Katnut [smallness/infancy], is called a ‘point,’ and it dresses in man’s heart.”

We should interpret that this “point,” which is still in the dark, reveals and shines each time according to one’s work on purifying his heart. At that time, the point begins to shine. This means that each time a person begins to ascend once more after the descent, he should believe that this is a new discernment from what he had during the previous ascent, for he has already elevated it to Kedusha. Thus, each time he begins a new discernment.

 7.20 RABASH,

Article No. 18 (1988), “When Is One Considered ‘A Worker of the Creator’ in the Work?”

In the work, we should interpret that “a worker of the Creator” is one who wants to work for the sake of the Creator. Although he is not succeeding, since this requires a real prayer that the Creator will help him, if he began to walk on the right line, meaning that he already has a “left” that resists the right line, then the order of the path of the Creator begins. For this reason, he is already regarded as “a worker of the Creator,” since his goal is to come to a state where all his works are for the sake of the Creator.

And although there are many descents and ascents along the way, everything follows the plan, meaning that the descents, too, a part of the work, since by this we acquire the need for the sal- vation of the Creator. Through the descents, a person comes to the decision that it is impossible to do anything by himself, but that only the Creator can help. This attainment, a person achieves specifically through the descents.

7.21 RABASH,

Article No. 164, “What to Ask of the Creator—to Be His Servant”

When a person sees that he has disturbances in his work of the Creator and he wants to pray to the Creator to have the strength to work, what should he ask?

There are two options:

1. That the Creator will take away from him the disturbances. As a result, he will not need to make great efforts in order to walk in the ways of the Creator.
2. For the Creator to give him a greater taste for the Torah and prayer and good deeds, and by this the disturbances will not be able to detain him because when Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] are important, disturbances cannot rule.

For example, a person cannot say that he has many disturbances so he cannot save his life. That is, it is not true if he argued that because his relatives or his environment are disturbing him, he is unable to save his life. Rather, of course, a person will give all that he has for his life, and all the obstacles do not matter to him.

Therefore, he asks the Creator to give him the taste of life in Torah and Mitzvot, and against life, one cannot say that he has disturbances because the importance of life does not let him relate to the disturbances.

7.22 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1990), “When Should One Use Pride in the Work?”

When he engages in Torah and Mitzvot, since a person must walk on two lines—right and left— meaning a time of wholeness and a time of lack, on one hand we must thank the Creator, and one who feels he has received a lot of good from the Creator is more capable of giving more gratitude, so when a person engages in Torah and Mitzvot, this is the time to be in wholeness, as though the Creator has brought him close, to be among the King’s servants. However, one must not lie to oneself and say that he feels that he is serving the King when he does not feel this way. Therefore, how can he be grateful to the Creator for drawing him near if he does not feel it?

Instead, at that time a person should say that although he is in utter lowliness, meaning he is still immersed in self-love, and still cannot do anything above reason, the Creator still gave him a thought and desire to engage in Torah and Mitzvot, and has also given him some strength to be able to overcome the spies who speak to him and poke his mind with their arguments. And still, he has some grip on spirituality.

At that time, a person should pay attention to this and believe that the Creator is tending to him and guides him on the track that leads to the King’s palace. It follows that he should be happy that the Creator is watching over him and gives him the descents, as well. That is, a person should believe, as much as he can understand, that the Creator is giving him the ascents, since certainly, a person cannot say that he himself receives the ascents, but that the Creator wants to bring him closer; this is why He gives him the ascents.

Also, a person should believe that the Creator gives him the descents, as well, because He wants to bring him closer. Therefore, every single thing that he can do, he must do as though he is in a state of ascent. Therefore, when he overcomes a little during the descent, it is called an “awakening from below.” Each act that he does, he believes that it is the Creator’s will, and by this itself he is rewarded with greater nearing, meaning that the person himself begins to feel that the Creator has brought him closer.

7.23 RABASH,

Article No. 24 (1991), “What Does It Mean that One Should Bear a Son and a Daughter, in the Work?”

That one yearns for knowledge, meaning he does not want to work above reason, but specifically within reason, meaning that he says that if the body understands the benefits of working and observing the Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] of the King, he is willing to labor and work. But to believe above reason, to this the body does not agree. Instead, he stands and waits for the body to understand it, but otherwise, he cannot do the holy work. Sometimes, he does overcome these thoughts and desires, and this causes him the ascents and descents.

Yet, if one decides that he wants to work as “dust,” meaning even if he tastes the taste of dust in the work, he says that it is very important for him to be able to do something for the sake of the Creator, and for himself, he does not care which taste he feels, and says that this work, in which one tastes the taste of dust, meaning that the body mocks this work, he says to the body that in his view, this work is regarded as “raising the Shechina [Divinity] from the dust.”

In other words, although the body tastes dust in this work, the person says that it is Kedusha and does not measure how much flavor he feels in the work. Rather, he believes that the Creator does enjoy this work, since there is no mixture of the will to receive here, since he has nothing to receive because there is no flavor or scent in this work, as there is only the taste of dust here. For this reason, he believes that this is the holy work, and he is delighted.

7.24 RABASH,

Article No. 34 (1991), “What Is Eating Their Fruits in This World and Keeping the Principal for the Next World, in the Work?”

When one sees that it is hard to get what he wants, he escapes from the work. He says, “I believe that there are people who have been rewarded and to whom the Creator gave the desire to bestow. But this was because they were more gifted than I am. But a person like me, with worse qualities than others, has no chance of meriting this.” Hence, he escapes the campaign and begins to work like the general public. Only those who say that they want to escape from the work but have nowhere else to go, since nothing satisfies them, those people do not walk out from the work. Although they have ups and downs, they do not give up. This is as it is written, “And the children of Israel sighed from the work, and they cried, and their cry went up to God from the work.” In other words, they cried out from the work because they were not advancing in the work of the Creator, so they could work in order to bestow contentment upon the Maker. At that time, they were rewarded with the exodus from Egypt. In the work, this is called “emerging from the control of the will to receive and entry into the work of bestowal.”

 7.25 RABASH,

Article No. 34 (1989), “What Is Peace in the Work?”

The Creator is good and does good, so why is He not behaving toward us as we understand? We understand the ascents and descents in such a way that sometimes, during the ascent, we are at peace with the Creator and say about Him that He leads the world as the good who does good. But during the descent, we haven’t the strength to say that He behaves with a guidance of the good who does good. Hence, we are always in dispute.

Indeed, why is the order of the work so difficult that it requires ascents and descents? The known answer to this is what is written, “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” In other words, it is impossible to receive light if he has no lack and need for the light.

For this reason, when a person sees that the nations of the world in him object to the Creator, and he cannot tolerate the enemy of Israel within him, he becomes jealous for his God and does not look at any descents he has, and does what he can and cries out to the Creator to help him be able to defeat the wicked ones within him.

By this he overcomes and does not escape the campaign. At that time, the Creator gives him the covenant. That is, he makes a covenant with Him that there will be peace between him and the Creator, by receiving a gift from the Creator, which is the vessels of bestowal. This is regarded as mak- ing the covenant, which is the Klipa [shell/peel], called “will to receive for himself,” and instead of the foreskin, the Creator gives him vessels of bestowal, and by this they make a covenant, meaning peace.

7.26 RABASH,

Article No. 29 (1986), “Lishma and Lo Lishma”

A person who wishes to walk on the path of bestowal, he must understand that from above he is given a special treatment, that he was lowered from the previous state so he would begin to really contemplate the goal, meaning what is required of man and what man wants the Creator to give him. But when he is in a state of ascent, when he has desire for Torah and Mitzvot, he has no need to worry about spirituality. Instead, he sees that he will stay this way his whole life because he is happy this way.

It therefore follows that the descent he has received is for his own good, meaning that he is receiving special treatment, that he was lowered from his state where he thought that he had some wholeness. This is apparent in his agreeing to remain in the current state his whole life.

But now that he sees that he is far from spirituality, he begins to think, “What is really required of me? What should I do? What is the purpose I should achieve?” He sees that he has no power to work, and finds himself in a state of “between heaven and earth.” Then, man’s only strengthening is that only the Creator can help, but by himself, he is doomed.

It was said about this (Isaiah, 4:31): “Yet those who hope for the Lord will gain new strength,” meaning those people who hope for the Creator. This means that they who see that there is no one else in the world who can help them regain strength each time. It follows that this descent is actually an ascent, meaning that this descent that they feel allows them to rise in degree, since “there is no light without a Kli.”

7.27 RABASH,

Article No. 46 (1991), “What Is the Son of the Beloved and the Son of the Hated in the Work?”

The Zohar says (VaYishlach, Item 4), “If a man comes to be purified, the evil inclination surrenders before him and the right governs the left. And both the good inclination and the evil inclination join to keep man in all the roads he travels, as it is written, ‘For He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.’”

We should understand how it can be said that the evil inclination keeps a person walking on the straight path. After all, it advises a person not to walk in the way of Torah, fails him in all his ways, and detains him from working for the sake of the Creator but only for his own sake. Thus, we should know how the evil inclination helps him.

The descents that a person receives, when the evil inclination gives him thoughts that are foreign to the spirit of Torah, cause him descents. According to a person’s opinion, it must be that the evil inclination brought him the feeling that love of self is more important than love of the Creator, and that this is the cause of the descents.

But in truth, one should believe that the Creator does everything. In other words, the Creator sends these descents to a person in order for them to give man momentum in the work so he will not be content with little. When a person feels that he does all that he can in Torah and Mitzvot, and he cannot discern the matter of the intention for the sake of the Creator, or that he is working for his own benefit, since when one works in the manner of the general public, an illumination shines on a person as Surrounding Light, giving him satisfaction so he will not feel any lack in his work.

Only when one wants to work in the manner of individuals, meaning that the aim will also be for the sake of the Creator, and not specifically the act (as said in Article No. 45, Tav-Shin- Nun-Aleph), then he is notified from above that he is not all right, and from this he falls into a descent. At that time, one sees his real situation and begins to seek a way by which to emerge from the control of self-love.

It therefore follows that were it not for the evil inclination, which brings him the state of descents, he would remain in a state of ascent and would not need to achieve the goal of Dvekut with the Creator. It follows that the evil inclination is an angel of God, a messenger of the Creator to keep him from staying in a state of “still of Kedusha [holiness],” but rather needing to advance. This is why he says, “For He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Thus, the evil inclination is also a messenger of the Creator to keep the person.

 7.28 RABASH,

Letter No. 77

The whole foundation is that one should ask that all of one’s thoughts and desires will be only to benefit the Creator, a depiction of lowliness, called Shechina in the dust, immediately appears. Hence, we must not be impressed by the descent, since many pennies join into a great amount.

This is as we learned, “there is no absence in spirituality,” rather that it has temporarily departed in order to have room for work to advance. This is so because every moment that we scrutinize into holiness enters the domain of holiness, and a person descends only in order to sort out more sparks of holiness.

However, there is an advice that one should not wait until his degree is lowered for him, and when he feels his lowliness he goes up again, and that ascent is regarded as sorting a part into holiness. Instead, he himself descends and elevates other sparks, and raises them into the domain of holiness. It is as our sages said, “Before I lose, I search” (Shabbat, 152), meaning before I lose the situation I am in, I start searching. It is as Baal HaSulam said about King David, who said, “I awaken the dawn.” Our sages said, “I awaken the dawn and the dawn does not awaken me.”

Therefore, the keeping is primarily during the ascent, and not during the descent. During the ascent we need to extend fear, lest we are pushed out, God forbid. But after all these, all we need is to cry out to the King and ask for His mercy on us once and for all.

 7.29 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1989), “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

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

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

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

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

 7.30 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1991), “What Is, ‘The Herdsmen of Abram’s Cattle and the Herdsmen of Lot’s Cattle,’ in the Work?”

Since in every beginning a person must start over the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven, it is not enough that yesterday he had faith in the Creator. For this reason, every acceptance of the kingdom of heaven is considered a new discernment. That is, now he receives a part of the vacant space that was devoid of the kingdom of heaven, and admits that empty place and fills it with the kingdom of heaven. It follows that now he sorted out a new thing, which did not exist before he took that empty place and filled it with the kingdom of heaven. This is regarded as elevating a new spark into the Kedusha. Finally, from all the ascents, he always raises sparks from the vacant space into the Kedusha. It follows that from each descent he arrives at a new beginning and raises new sparks. Hence, when a person sees that he has descents, he should be careful not to escape from the campaign, even though he sees that he is not progressing. Rather, he must try to start anew each time. That is, the fact that he begins to ascend does not mean that he returned to his previous degree. This would mean that he did nothing by his work, since he thinks that he is now ascending to his previous level. Rather, he must believe that this is a new discernment, that each time, he raises different sparks, until he raises the sparks that pertain to his essence.

7.31 RABASH,

Article No. 24 (1986), “The Difference between Charity and Gift”

In the work of the Creator, in the beginning of his work he had energy and confidence, and great impor- tance for Torah and prayer because at that time he had grace of holiness, and felt that the work of the Creator is important. However, this was still not considered a “deficiency” that the Creator will satisfy, a deficiency is called Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, since the lack and pain of not having Dvekut with the Creator was still not felt in him as he has not exerted for it because he has just begun the work. But after a long period of time of making efforts and not achieving satisfaction of his deficiency, torments and pain begin to form in him because he has made efforts but sees no progress in his work. At that time the thoughts begin to come one-by-one. Sometimes it is with sparks of despair, and sometimes he grows stronger, but then he sees once more that he has fallen from his state, and so on repeatedly. Finally, a real deficiency forms in him, which he has obtained through exertion in ascents and descents. These ascents and descents leave him with pain each time at not having been granted Dvekut with the Creator. Finally, when the cup of labor has been filled sufficiently, it is called a Kli. Then the filling of it comes from the Creator, since now he has a real Kli.

It follows that his seeing that now—after several years of work—he has retreated, this happens deliberately so he will ache at not having Dvekut with the Creator. It turns out that each time he must see that he is approaching the making of the Kli, called “real deficiency.” That is, his gauge of Katnut [infancy/smallness] and Gadlut [adulthood/ greatness] of the deficiency is to the extent of the suffering he feels at not having the filling, which is called here “Dvekut with the Creator,” where all he wants is only to bring contentment to the Creator. Before the deficiency is completed, it is impossible for the filling to come in full.

7.32 RABASH,

Article No. 30 (1989), “What Is the Meaning of Lighting the Menorah in the Work?”

The advantage of the light is from within the darkness. By this we can see why the matter of choice, choosing the good, namely the desire to bestow, and loathing the bad, is so difficult. It is because we must taste the taste of darkness. However, we must not be shown the darkness as it truly is. If we saw the measure of bad within us, we would immediately escape from the work. Then we would not feel darkness because he does not mind that the will to receive for himself is the ruler as he does not feel this as darkness. Only one who labors and works as much as he can, and goes through ups and downs, can say that he tastes the taste of darkness because he cannot overcome his will to receive for himself.

Thus, the descents that a person receives when he wants to walk on the path of truth are instru- ments for the sensation of the help he will receive. We must believe the words of our sages who said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” A person must not escape the campaign when he sees that he is not making progress. Sometimes he gets thoughts of the spies, who said that this work is not for us and requires special people who can walk on the path of overcoming.

All this comes to him because he understands that each time, he must see how he is making prog- ress. However, it does not occur to him that he must advance in obtaining darkness, that this is the only Kli he needs to acquire. A Kli is a need for a filling. That is, if he has no filling for the lack, he feels that he is in the dark. For this reason, a person must not say that he is not advancing in the work. Hence, he wants to escape the campaign, for it is not the truth, since he sees each time how far he is from obtaining the light, meaning for the Creator to give him the Kli called “desire to bestow.” He cannot obtain the desire to bestow by himself, and then he comes to feel that the world has grown dark on him. At that time, the light comes, meaning help from above, as it is written, “He who comes to purify is aided.”

 7.33 RABASH,

Article No. 24 (1991), “What Does It Mean that One Should Bear a Son and a Daughter, in the Work?”

When a person prevails and asks for help from the Creator, after he has decided that he has a harm- doer in his heart, called “will to receive,” and that he cannot emerge from it, meaning after going through several ascents and descents, he finally sees that he has remained bare and destitute. At that time, his prayer is from the bottom of the heart. That is, he sees that if the Creator does not help him, he cannot overcome it.

Although one can say that he believes above reason that only the Creator helps him, within rea- son, he does not feel this, since he knows that he himself made the efforts and the labor to obtain something in spirituality. But when one sees that after all the exertions, he cannot emerge from the governance of the will to receive for himself, then he sees within reason that only the Creator can help him.

7.34 RABASH, Article No. 27 (1989),

“What Is the Meaning of Suffering in the Work?”

Our sages said (Shabbat 152), “What I did not lose, I seek.” That is, an old man walking bent, always looking at the ground as though searching for something. He says, “I have lost nothing, yet I search.” We should interpret “Old is he who has acquired wisdom.” That is, he is “Wise, who sees the future.” Since he can come to a descent in order acquire empty Kelim, so the Creator may fill them or he will remain in a state of lowliness because he will not feel deficient. Then, when he loses the state of ascent, he begins to seek advice how to ascent in spirituality once again.

Therefore, one who is old, meaning wise and sees the future, begins to search how to ascend in spirituality even before he loses the state of ascent. He begins to follow all the counsels about the ways to ascend on the spiritual degrees, and this is done by seeking deficiencies in the state he is in. In that case, there is no need to throw him down in importance so he will find and see deficiencies in himself, since he himself will be looking for deficiencies so as to have empty Kelim that the Creator may fill.

 7.35 RABASH,

Article No. 15 (1991), “What Is the Blessing, ‘Who Made a Miracle for Me in This Place,’ in the Work?”

During an ascent, he must remember and say, “In this place, where I now have an ascent, I had a descent and the Creator saved me and raised me from the netherworld, and I emerged from death, called ‘removal from the Creator,’ and I have been rewarded with some measure of nearing to the Creator, which is called ‘some measure of Dvekut with the Life of Lives.’”

For this, a person should be thankful, for by this he has now come to a state where there he suffered, and now he is in a mood of delight and pleasure because the Creator bringing him closer has given him new Kelim of a lack that he can fill with the state of ascent that he is in now.

It follows that he extends a light of joy in new Kelim that he has obtained now by looking at the miracle that he has had, where the Creator saved him. Therefore, when he considers the suffering, it is as though now he is the recipient of the suffering, and now he fills them up with pleasure.

It follows that depicting to himself the state of descent causes him that the ascent he has received now will spread in new Kelim according to the rule “There is no light without a Kli.” Hence, during the ascent, when he begins to contemplate the state of descent that he had, the suffering of the descent are regarded as Kelim in which the light of the ascent may spread.

 7.36 RABASH,

Article No. 43 (1990), “What Is, ‘You Shall Not Plant for Yourself an Asherah by the Altar,’ in the Work?”

Every descent is a trial. If a person can endure the trial, meaning that the thought that comes to a person causes him to see if he is under the governance of Kedusha or not, during the descent, a person can see that at the time of ascent, his whole structure was built on the will to receive for oneself.

During the descent, a person cannot make any calculations. But afterward, when he receives nearing from above once more, which comes to a person by what is written, “I am the Lord, who dwells with them in the midst of their impurity,” meaning that even though a person is still in the authority of self-love, still, an illumination comes to him from above, called “an awakening from above.” At that time, he must awaken the state of descent that he had by himself, and think what was the reason he received the descent, and what he must correct so as not to come into a descent once more. A person must believe that the fact that he suffered a descent is because he was thrown from above. This is why he fell into such lowliness. At that time, he can work on himself, correct corrections so he does not fall again, since he must believe that the descent is a correction for him.

7.37 RABASH,

Article No. 29 (1988), “How to Recognize One Who Serves God from One Who Does Not Serve Him”

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.

 7.38 RABASH,

Article No. 23 (1987), “Peace after a Dispute Is More Important than Having No Disputes At All”

Only during the ascent, when he calculates what he gains and what he loses by being enslaved to the will to receive, that he cannot gain and only loses, that calculation that he does can make him feel how his inclination is harming him.

In each and every ascent, he must calculate what he lost from the descent. By this he sees that the inclination is causing him many harms. In order to set in his heart the need for the help of the Creator, many troubles come to him and he suffers from it, as in the words of The Zohar, which explained about the verse, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous,” that the righteous suffers many troubles from the inclination.

According to what we explained, we should interpret the verse, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” That is, after the righteous has suffered many afflictions, since “righteous” is named after the future, meaning one who wants to be righteous, who wants to work for the Creator, he suffers many afflictions until many afflictions are accumulated. This is why it is written, “from all of them,” meaning that when he has many afflictions, the Creator will save him, since then he has a real need for the Creator’s help and he will know how to appreciate the Creator’s salvation, since there is no light without a Kli.

7.39 RABASH, Article No. 27 (1989),

“What Is the Meaning of Suffering in the Work?”

The best advice in a state of ascent is that when a person feels that now there is a state of spirituality, and he wants to find deficiencies, in that state he should delve in the Torah and find the connection between the Torah and man. From this he will be able to take knowledge about how to serve the Creator, as it is written, “a soul without knowledge is also not good,” and as it is written, “grant us wisdom, understanding, and knowledge from You.” In that state, he will see the lack in him and will have empty Kelim. By this, he will be saved from coming into a real descent.

7.40 RABASH,

Article No. 840, “Quick Nearing”

One does not enter the work of the left, called “trouble,” unless during an ascent. At that time, he enters the left, meaning while he is still not in a descent.

“Rabbi Elazar said, ‘One should always precede trouble with prayer’” (Sanhedrin 44b). This means that even when one is in a state of ascent, he must ask the Creator to bring him closer with another, greater nearing, so he will advance in the work. If he feels no deficiency, he cannot advance. This is why he is given a descent from above, so he will have a lack. A descent is called “trouble,” and then he prays.

Hence, there is an advice: Before the trouble comes to him, he already prays.

7.41 RABASH,

Article No. 34 (1988), “What Are Day and Night in the Work?”

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, mean- ing 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.

 7.42 RABASH,

Article No. 5 (1988), “What Is, ‘When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is With Them,’ in the Work?”

What is the meaning of “When Israel are in exile, the Shechina is with them”? As Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai said, “Wherever they exile, the Shechina is with them.” What is the benefit from this in the work, that he says about it, “How beloved are Israel by the Creator”?

We should interpret that when a person feels that he is in exile, meaning feels the taste of exile in the work and wants to escape from the exile, the meaning will be that a person must believe that wherever they are exiled, the Shechina is with them. That is, the Shechina let him feel the taste of exile. “With them” means that the Shechina is attached to them and they are not separated from the Shechina, that they should say that it is a descent. On the contrary, now the Shechina is giving him a push so he will climb the degrees of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], and dresses herself in a garment of descent.

When a person knows and believes that this is so, it will encourage him so he does not escape the campaign or say that the work of bestowal is not for him because he always sees that he is in states of ascents and descents, and he sees no end to these states and falls into despair.

But if he walks in the path of faith and believes in the words of our sage, then he must say the opposite.

7.43 RABASH,

Article No. 10 (1991), “What Does ‘The King Stands on His Field When the Crop Is Ripe’ Mean in the Work?”

The correction of a person walking on the left line is because he does not wait to get a decline and fall, and then he will wait until an awakening from above comes to him. Instead, he draws upon him the left, and then he sees that he is in a state of descent, meaning that he does not have a single spark of desire to work in order to bestow and not for his own benefit. And then he can pray.

It is as Baal HaSulam said about what our sages said of David, who said, “I awaken the dawn, and the dawn does not awaken me.” That is, King David did not wait for the dawn, which is called “black,” which is darkness, meaning that the darkness awakens him. Instead, he awakens the dark- ness. He prays to the Creator to illuminate His face for him and thus he gains time from having the preparation for the darkness, and then it is easier to correct it.

And the two above-mentioned lines—right and left—beget a third line, the middle line. It is as our sages said, “And the Creator places the spirit and soul within him.” Thus, after a person has completed the work in two lines, all the evil is revealed in him. This came to him because those two lines are as two verses that refute one another. And one sees that there is no end to the ups and downs, and then he makes an honest prayer for the Creator to help him receive the desire to bestow.

 7.44 RABASH,

Article No. 255, “Words of a Dead Man”

“Dead” means during the fall. At that time, he is in a state of “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead.’” Then, when he is told words of Torah from others so he will wake up and return to work, it does not help him. It is called “Mocking the poor,” since he is not impressed by others saying Torah. However, if he is told the words of a dead man, meaning what he himself said when he was in ascent, regarded as when he was alive, and he is told, “Look what a great state you had,” and that he had vitality of Kedusha [holiness], and “Look what words of Torah you said then,” from this he can be resurrected. But if he is told words of Torah that others said, it does not impress him.

“Worldly matters do not belong here.” “World [or worldly]” means faith. It is possible to speak with him about faith also from others, who encourage him and tell him, “Look, this and that person have fear of heaven, while you remain as still as dead.” He might be inspired and come back to life when he hears matters of faith pertaining to others. Thus, even in worldly matters, only his own words should be said to him.

According to RASHI, this is perplexing. He says that everyone must speak words of Torah, and he is still. Therefore, it is regarded as mocking the poor. But with worldly matters, not everyone must speak, so why is it regarded as mocking the poor?

The reason it is forbidden to speak of worldly matters pertaining to faith, for faith is called “world” (as it is written in The Zohar in several places), since Alma [Aramaic: world] comes from the words He’elem [concealment] and Hester [hiding], which is faith. Therefore, they think, according to the view that some people say, that in matters of faith he will also not listen, that he will not be impressed by what others say.

But from the words of the dead, meaning from what he himself did in matters of faith during his life, it is possible that the Reshimot [recollections] will awaken in him and will revive him. But from others, even concerning faith, it will also not work.

Thus, when speaking to him of worldly matters that others do, he will not listen. Thus, he would be mocking the poor because all the words will be in vain. Hence, only his own Reshimot can awaken him. This is called “from the words of the dead himself,” from when he was alive, when he was in a state of ascent.

7.45 RABASH,

Article No. 16 (1988), “What Is the Foundation on which Kedusha [Holiness] Is Built?”

“I awaken the dawn” will mean “Whenever I want, I awaken the dawn.” In other words, I myself awaken the darkness and the blackness within me—that I am still immersed in self-love and I still do not have love for the Creator. I am still without the glory of the Torah and I still do not have the importance of the Torah to know that it is worthwhile to do everything to obtain the light of Torah, as well as how to appreciate the importance of observing the Mitzvot that the Creator commanded for us.

When I need to perform some Mitzva and intend that it will be in order to bestow, the resistance in the body promptly awakens in full force. And he has a great struggle to do anything and he sees the ascents and descents each time. And then he has room for prayer. This is so because a person awakens himself at the right time, meaning when he feels that he will be able to pray instanta- neously, and not that the black will bring him sadness and depression, that he will not have the ability to pray for the blackness.

One can see for himself whether it comes to him from the side of Klipa or not. The sign for this is that something that comes from Kedusha is always in the form of “increasing holiness and not decreasing.” In other words, one always asks the Creator to elevate him to a higher degree than the one he is on. But when the blackness comes from the side of Klipa, a person cannot ask the Creator to raise him above his state.

“Rather, they bring down,” meaning bring him down to the netherworld, and he loses the small portion of faith that he had and he remains seemingly dead.

 7.46 RABASH,

Article No. 15 (1989), “What Is, ‘The Righteous Become Apparent through the Wicked,’ in the Work?”

In order for a person to progress on the path of the Creator, to be rewarded with all his work being for the sake of the Creator, and now he feels that he is in a state of ascent, what more should he do? For this reason, the Creator leads His world with wicked. That is, at that time the Creator gives him thoughts of wicked—that it is not worthwhile to work for Him, but only for himself. By this, he suffers a descent and thinks that the descent he has received is not because it was given to him so he would advance in the path of the Creator, to be rewarded with knowledge of Kedusha [holiness]. Rather, he thinks that he regressed because he cannot work in the manner of individuals, but needs to work like the general public. And since he has departed from the general public, he is left empty handed from here and from there, since he cannot return to the general public.

For this reason, in that state, a person stands between heaven and earth, and feels that his situ- ation is worse than that of the rest of the people. At that time, he can ask the Creator with all his heart, and pray as it is written, “Pardon me, O Lord, for I am wretched. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed, and You, O Lord, how long?” That is, how long will I stay in a situation where I feel that my condition is worse than any other person, that I have no grip on spirituality.

For this reason, he has no other choice but to believe what is written, “For You hear the prayer of every mouth.” Baal HaSulam explained that a person must believe that the Creator hears the prayer of every mouth, meaning even the worst mouth in the world, of which there cannot be lowlier and worse in the world. Still, the Creator hears him, as our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.”

 7.47 RABASH,

Article No. 5 (1988), “What Is, ‘When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is With Them,’ in the Work?”

The Creator wants him to see his real state, how remote he is from working for the benefit of the Creator. For this reason, the Creator has taken from him the flavor he felt in Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], which leaves him lifeless. It follows that the Creator is tending to him and wants to admit him into Kedusha.

Therefore, now he must pray to the Creator to help him, since now he needs His help. Otherwise, he sees that he is completely lost. This is regarded as having obtained a Kli and a need for the Creator’s help, since now he sees that he is truly separated from the Creator because he has no life, for one who adheres to the Creator has life, as it is written, “For with You is the source of life.” Now he can certainly pray from the bottom of the heart, for a real prayer is specifically from the bottom of the heart. Accordingly, he should be thankful to the Creator for letting him see his true state. Now he sees that he needs the Creator to give him the necessary assistance, as our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” And The Zohar asks, “With what is he aided?” and it replies, “With a holy soul.”

Therefore, now the Creator has given him an opportunity to obtain a holy soul. He should be delighted about the state of descent and suffering that he feels in this state. For this reason, he should say that he is not in a state of descent, but on the contrary, he is in a state of ascent.

By this we can interpret what our sages said, “When torments come upon Israel, they surrender and pray.” This means that when they come into a state of descent, they see their true state, that they are in lowliness. This is considered that they surrender, since they see their state—that they have parted from the Life of Lives, for one who has Dvekut with the Creator is alive. Otherwise, he feels only suffering. Therefore, it is clear to him that now is the time for prayer from the bottom of the heart. This is the meaning of the words, “They surrender and pray.”

7.48 Zohar for All, “Introduction of the Book of Zohar,”

“On the Night of the Bride,” Item 140

The guidance of good and evil causes us ascents and descents, each according to what he is. You should know that for this reason, each ascent is regarded as a separate day because due to the great descent that he had, doubting the beginning, during the ascent he is as a newly born child. Thus, in each ascent, it is as though he begins to serve the Creator anew. 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 pours forth speech,” a holy day, from among those upper days of the King. In other words, on each ascent that a person had, when he clung to the upper days of the Creator, the friends are praised and each tells his friend that thing that he said. This is so because through the great Zivug at the end of correction they will be rewarded with repentance from love, for they will complete the correction of all the vessels of reception, so they will be only in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. In that Zivug, all of the great delight and pleasure of the thought of creation will appear to us.

At that time, we will evidently see that all those punishments from the time of descents, which brought us into doubting the beginning, were the things that purified us and were the direct causes of all the happiness and goodness that have come to us at the time of the end of correction. This is so because were it not for those terrible punishments, we would never have come to this delight and pleasure. Then these sins will be inverted into actual merits.

“Day to day pours forth speech” means that each ascent prior to the end of correction is one of those upper days of the King, praising the friends. Thus, now it reappears in all the magnificence of its wholeness, which belongs to that day, and praises the friends who keep the Torah with that thing which each said to the friends, which is, “It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge,” which at the time inflicted great punishments.

This is because now they have been turned into merits, since the entire wholeness and happiness of that day would not be able to appear now, in that grandeur and magnificence, were it not for those punishments. This is why those who speak those words are regarded as “Those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name,” as actual good deeds. This is why it was said about them, too, “I will have compassion over them as a man has compassion for his own son who serves him.”

It is said, “Day to day pours forth that speech” and praises it. This is so because all those nights are the descents, the suffering, and the punishments that arrested the Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator until they became many days one after the other. Now, once the night and darkness have become merits and good deeds, as well, the night shines like the day and darkness like light, there are no more arrests, and all 6,000 years unite into a single great day.

Thus, all the Zivugim that came out one at a time and disclosed ascents and descents that were separate from one another have now assembled into a level of one, sublime, and transcendent level of Zivug, which shines from the end of the world through its end. It is written, “Day to day pours forth that speech” because the word that separated between one day and the next has now become a great praise and praises it, for it has become a merit. Thus, they all became one day for the Lord.

7.49 Talks with the ADMOR of Mogalintza

Once, a famous man confessed to the Rabbi of Lublin that all the restrictions and limitations he applies on himself do not save him from the evil inclination and there is hardly a day without a sin. The Rabbi of Lublin answered him: “It sounds from your words that you still have not begun the work of the Creator whatsoever, since anyone from Israel who does not find in himself 400 sins from the morning to the morning prayer, it is a sign that he has not begun to serve the Creator in holiness and purity.”

7.50 Rabbi Nachman of Breslow,

Likutey Moharan, Last Edition, Mark 48

The work of the Creator requires great persistence, whatever happens to him. Remember this well for you will need it very much as you begin the work of the Creator. It requires great tenacity, and to be strong and brave, to brace oneself and stand still, even if you are dropped down every time. You must not allow yourself to fall off altogether, for it is necessary to experience all those falls, descents, and confusions prior to entering the gates of Kedusha [holiness], and the true righteous, too, have gone through all of it. Know, that man must cross and very, very narrow bridge, and the rule and the most important thing is not to be afraid at all.

7.01 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 191, “The Time of Descent”

It is hard to depict the time of descent, when all the works and the efforts made from the beginning of the work until the time of descent are lost. To one who has never tasted the taste of servitude of the Creator, it seems as though this is outside of him, meaning that this happens to those of high degrees. But ordinary people have no connection to serving the Creator, only to crave the corporeal will to receive, present in the flow of the world, washing the whole world with this desire.

However, we must understand why they have come to such a state. After all, with or without one’s consent, there is no change in the Creator of heaven and earth; He behaves in a manner of good and doing good. Thus, what is the outcome of this state?

We should say that it comes to announce His greatness. One does not need to act as though he does not want Her. Rather, one should behave in a manner of fearing the exaltedness, to know the merit and the distance between him and the Creator. It is difficult to understand this with a super- ficial mind, or have any possibility of connection between the Creator and creation.

During a descent he feels that it is impossible that he will have connection or belonging to the Creator by way of Dvekut [adhesion], since he feels that servitude is a foreign thing to the whole world. In truth, this is so. But “In the place where you find His greatness, there you find His humble- ness.” This means that it is a matter that is above nature, that the Creator gave this gift to creation, to allow them to be connected and adhered to Him.

Hence, when one becomes reconnected, he should always remember his time of descent so as to know, understand, appreciate, and value the time of Dvekut, so he will know that now he has salvation above the natural way.

7.02 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 1, “There Is None Else Besides Him”

It is written, “There is none else besides Him.” This means that there is no other force in the world that has the ability to do anything against Him. And what one sees, that there are things in the world that deny the upper household, the reason is that this is His will.

This is deemed a correction called “the left rejects and the right pulls closer,” meaning that what the left rejects is considered a correction. This means that there are things in the world that, to begin with, aim to divert a person from the right way, and by which he is rejected from Kedusha [holiness].

The benefit from the rejections is that through them a person receives a complete need and desire for the Creator to help him since he sees that otherwise he is lost; not only is he not progress- ing in the work, he even sees that he regresses. That is, he lacks the strength to observe Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] even Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], for only by genuinely overcoming all the obstacles, above reason, can he observe the Torah and Mitzvot. But he does not always have the strength to overcome above reason; otherwise, he is forced to deviate, God forbid, from the way of the Creator, even from Lo Lishma.

And he, who always feels that the shattered is greater than the whole, meaning that there are many more descents than ascents, and he does not see an end to these states, and he will forever remain outside of holiness, for he sees that it is difficult for him to observe even in the slightest bit, unless by overcoming above reason. But he cannot always overcome, so what will be in the end?

Then he comes to the decision that no one can help but the Creator Himself. This causes him to make a heartfelt demand that the Creator will open his eyes and heart and truly bring him closer to eternal Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator.

7.03 Baal HaSulam, Shamati,

Article No. 33, “The Lots on Yom Kippurim and with Haman”

Through the faults in the work of the Creator, it causes him to rise up, as without a push one is idle to make a movement and agrees to remain in the state he is in. But if one descends to a lower degree than he understands, this gives one the strength to overcome, for one cannot stay in such a bad state, since one cannot agree to remain like that, in the state to which he has descended.

For this reason, one must always prevail and emerge from the state of descent. In that state, he must draw upon himself the exaltedness of the Creator. This causes him to extend higher forces from above, or he remains in utter lowliness. It follows that through the Se’arot, one gradually dis- covers the exaltedness of the Creator until one finds the names of the Creator, called “the thirteen attributes of Mercy.” This is the meaning of “and the elder shall serve the younger,” and “the wicked will prepare and the righteous will wear,” and also, “and you shall serve your brother.”

This means that all the enslavement, meaning the contradictions that there were, which appeared to be obstructing the holy work, and were working against Kedusha [holiness]. Now, when granted the light of the Creator, which is placed over these contradictions, we see the opposite—that they were serving the Kedusha. That is, through them, there was a place for the Kedusha to clothe in their dresses. This is called “the wicked will prepare and the righteous will wear,” meaning that they gave the Kelim [vessels] and the place for the Kedusha.

7.04 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 25

One who repents from love is rewarded with complete Dvekut [adhesion], meaning the highest degree, and one who is ready for sins is in the netherworld. These are the farthest two points in this entire reality. It would seem that we should be meticulous with the word “repentance,” which should have been called “wholeness,” except it is to show that everything is preordained, and each and every soul is already established in all its light, goodness, and eternity. But for the bread of shame, the soul went out in restrictions until it clothed in the murky body, and only through it does it return to its root prior to the Tzimtzum [restriction], with its reward in its hand from all the terrible move it had made. The overall reward is the real Dvekut, meaning that she [the soul] got rid of the bread of shame because her vessel of reception has become a vessel of bestowal and her form is equal to her Maker, and I have often spoken to you about that.

By this you will see that if the descent is for the purpose of ascending, it is regarded as an ascent and not as a descent. Indeed, the descent itself is the ascent as the letters of the prayer themselves are filled with abundance, and with a short prayer, the abundance is small for lack of letters.

7.05 Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 19,

“What Is ‘The Creator Hates the Bodies,’ in the Work?”

We must know that during the work, when the will to receive comes to a person with its arguments, no arguments or rationalizations help with it. Though one thinks that they are just arguments, it will not help one defeat his evil.

Instead, as it is written, “Blunt its teeth.” This means to advance only by actions, and not by arguments. This is considered that one must add powers coercively. This is the meaning of what our sages said, “He is coerced until he says ‘I want.’” In other words, through persistence, habit becomes a second nature.

One must especially try to have a strong desire to obtain the desire to bestow and overcome the will to receive. A strong desire means that a strong desire is measured by the increment of the in-between rests and the arrests, meaning the time gaps between each overcoming.

Sometimes one receives a cessation in the middle, meaning a descent. This descent can be a cessation of a minute, an hour, a day, or a month. Afterward, he resumes the work of overcoming the will to receive and the attempts to achieve the desire to bestow. A strong desire means that the cessation does not take him a long time and he is immediately reawakened to the work.

It is like a person who wants to break a big rock. He takes a big hammer and hammers many times all day long, but they are weak. In other words, he does not hammer the rock with one swing but brings down the big hammer slowly. Afterward, he complains that this work of breaking the rock is not for him, that it must take a very strong man to be able to break this big rock. He says that he was not born with such great powers to be able to break the rock.

However, one who lifts this big hammer and strikes the rock with a big swing, not slowly but with a great effort, the rock immediately surrenders to him and breaks. This is the meaning of “like a strong hammer that shatters the rock.”

Similarly, in the holy work, which is to bring the vessels of reception into Kedusha [holiness], we have a strong hammer, meaning words of Torah that give us good counsels. However, if it is not consistent, but with long intermissions in between, one escapes the campaign and says that he was not made for this, but this work requires one who was born with special skills for it. Nevertheless, one should believe that anyone can achieve the goal, but he should try to always increase his efforts to overcome, and then one can break the rock in a short time.

We must also know that for the effort to make contact with the Creator, there is a very harsh condition here: The effort must be in the form of adornment. “Adornment” means something that is important to a person. One cannot work gladly if the labor is not of importance, meaning that one is happy that now he has contact with the Creator.

7.06 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 42, “What Is the Acronym Elul in the Work?”

Those who wish to work in order to bestow are admitted into the King’s hall, and when one works in order to bestow, he does not mind what he feels during the work.

Rather, even in a state where he sees a shape of black, he is not impressed by it, but he only wants the Creator to give him strength to be able to overcome all the obstacles. It means that he does not ask the Creator to give him a shape of white, but to give him the strength to overcome all the concealments.

Hence, those people who want to work in order to bestow, if there is always a state of whiteness, the whiteness allows one to continue in the work. This is because, while it shines, one is able to work even in the form of reception for oneself.

Hence, one will never be able to know if his work is in purity or not, and this causes him never to be able to be awarded Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator. For this reason, he is given from above a form of blackness, and then he sees if his work is in purity.

This means that if one can be in gladness in a state of blackness, too, it is a sign that his work is in purity, since one must be glad and believe that from above he was given an opportunity to be able to work in order to bestow.

7.07 Baal HaSulam,

Introduction to A Sage’s Fruit, Vol. 4, “Three Partners”

It is impossible to attribute the bad to the Creator since he is the absolute good. Hence, as long as one feels bad states, he must say that they come from elsewhere, from the environment. But in truth, when one is rewarded with seeing only good and that there is no bad in the world, and everything is turned to good, then he is shown the truth, that the Creator did everything because He is almighty, and He alone did, does, and will do all the deeds.

7.08 Baal HaSulam, Shamati

Article No. 83, “Concerning the Right Vav and the Left Vav”

In any state one is in, he can be a servant of the Creator since he does not need anything, but does everything above reason. It turns out that one does not need any Mochin with which to be the servant of the Creator.

Now we can interpret what is written, “Set up a table before me, against my enemies.” A table means, as it is written, “and sent her out of his house, and she departed his house, and went” (Deuteronomy 24:1-2). A Shulchan [table] is like VeShlacha [and sent her], meaning exit from the work.

We should interpret that even during the exits from the work, meaning in a state of decline, one still has a place to work. This means that when one prevails above reason during the declines, and says that the descents, too, were given to him from above, by this the enemies are canceled. This is so because the enemies thought that through the declines the person will reach utter lowliness and escape the campaign, but in the end the opposite occurred—the enemies were canceled.

This is the meaning of what is written, “the table that is before the Lord,” that precisely in this manner does he receive the face of the Creator. This is the meaning of subduing all the judgments, even the harshest judgments, since he assumes the burden of the kingdom of heaven at all times. That is, he always finds a place for work, as it is written that Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai said, “There is no place to hide from You.”

7.09 Baal HaSulam, Shamati,

Article No. 70, “With a Mighty Hand and with Fury Poured Out”

We should know that of those who want to come into the work of the Creator in order to truly adhere to Him and enter the King’s palace, not everyone is admitted. Rather, he is tested: If he has no other desires but only a desire for Dvekut [adhesion], he is admitted.

And how is one tested if he has only one desire? He is given disturbances. This means that he is sent foreign thoughts and foreign messengers to obstruct him so he would leave this path and follow the path of all the people.

If one overcomes all the difficulties and breaks all the bars that block him, and little things cannot push him away, the Creator sends him great Klipot [shells/peels] and chariots to deflect one from entering into Dvekut with the Creator alone, and with nothing else. This is considered that the Creator is rejecting him with a mighty hand.

If the Creator does not show a mighty hand, it will be hard to push him away since he has a strong desire to adhere only to the Creator and to nothing else.

But when the Creator wants to reject one whose desire is not so strong, He pushes him away with a small thing. By giving him a great desire for corporeality, he already leaves the holy work entirely, and there is no need to repel him with a mighty hand.

Yet, when one overcomes all the hardships and the disturbances, one is not easily repelled, but with a mighty hand. And if one overcomes even the mighty hand and does not want to move from the place of Kedusha [holiness] whatsoever, but wants to adhere specifically to Him in truth, and sees that he is repelled, then one says that fury is poured out on him. Otherwise, he would be allowed inside. But because fury is poured out on him by the Creator, he is not admitted into the King’s palace to adhere to Him.

It follows that before one wants to move from one’s place, and breaks in and wants to enter, it cannot be said that he feels that fury is poured out on him. Rather, after all the rejections that he is rejected, and he does not move from his place, meaning when the mighty hand and the fury poured out have already been revealed upon him, then “I will be King over you” comes true. This is so because only through bursting and great efforts does the kingdom of heaven become revealed to him, and he is rewarded with entering the King’s palace.

7.10 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 121, “She Is Like Merchant-Ships”

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on what proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” This means that the life of Kedusha [holiness] in a person does not come specifically from drawing closer, from entries, meaning admissions into Kedusha, but also from the exits, from the removals. This is so because through the dressing of the Sitra Achra in one’s body, and its claims, “She is all mine,” with a just argument, one is awarded permanent faith by overcoming these states.

This means that one should dedicate everything to the Creator, that is, that even the exits stem from Him. When he is rewarded, he sees that both the exits and the entries were all from Him. This forces him to be humble, since he sees that the Creator does everything, the exits as well as the entries.

This is the meaning of what is said about Moses, that he was humble and patient—that one must tolerate the lowliness, meaning that in each degree one should keep the lowliness. The minute he leaves the lowliness, he immediately loses all the degrees of Moses he had already achieved.

This is the meaning of patience. Lowliness exists in everyone, but not every person feels that lowliness is a good thing. It turns out that we do not want to suffer. However, Moses tolerated the humbleness, which is why he was called “humble,” since the lowliness made him glad.

7.11 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 172, “The Matter of Preventions and Delays”

All the preventions and delays that appear before our eyes are but a form of nearing—the Creator wants to bring us closer, and all these preventions bring us only nearing, since without them we would have no possibility of approaching Him. This is so because, by nature, there is no greater dis- tance, as we are made of pure matter while the Creator is higher than high. Only when one begins to approach does he begin to feel the distance between us. And any prevention one overcomes brings the way closer for that person.

(This is so because one grows accustomed to moving on a line of growing farther. Hence, whenever one feels that he is distant, it does not induce any change in the process, since he knew in advance that he is moving on a line of growing farther, since this is the truth, that there are not enough words to describe the distance between us and the Creator. Hence, every time he feels that distance to a greater extent than he thought, it causes him no contention.)

7.12 RABASH,

Letter No. 24

You must always stand guard, all day and all night, when you feel a state of day or feel a state of night. We say to the Creator, “Yours is the day, and Yours is also the night.” Thus, the night, too, the darkness of night, comes from the Creator to man’s favor, too, as it is written, “Day to day utters speech, and night to night expresses knowledge.”

It follows that you must awaken the heart of the friends until the flame rises by itself, as our sages said about it, “When you mount the candles.” By that, you will be rewarded with awakening the love of the Creator upon us.

7.13 RABASH, Article No. 44,

“Ruin by Elders—Construction; Construction by Youths—Ruin”

“Ruin by elders—construction; construction by youths—ruin” (Megillah 31b).

Elders are those who are accustomed to the work of the Creator. Youths are those who are in the beginning of their work. “Ruin” means a descent or a fall, where previously they had some ascent in the work, which is regarded as building, meaning that they appreciated the ascent, but the ruin is when they felt some fall, which comes from the concealment of the Creator, that the Creator hides Himself from them. This is called “ruin.”

“Ruin by elders” means that they say that the Creator sent them the concealment. It follows that they are already building, since they believe that the Creator is tending to them, and from this they derive vitality.

Faith is apparent primarily during the descent, when it does not shine for a person. At that time, he faces a dilemma: Either he says, “I do not need any benefits. Rather, I want to bring contentment above and I do not care what I feel,” or it is otherwise.

7.14 RABASH,

Article No. 71, “The Meaning of Exile”

“When Israel are in exile, the Shechina [Divinity] is with them.” This means that if one falls into a descent, spirituality is also descended in him. But according to the rule, “a Mitzva [commandment] induces a Mitzva,” why does he come into a descent? Answer: He is given a descent from above so as to feel that he is in exile and ask for mercy, to be delivered from exile. This is called “redemption,” and there cannot be redemption if there is no exile there, first.

What is exile? It is that he is under the rule of self-love and cannot work for the sake of the Creator. When is self-love considered exile? It is only when he wants to emerge from this control because he suffers from not being able to do anything for the sake of the Creator.

It follows that when he began to work, there had to be some pleasure and reward for which the body agreed to this work. Afterward, when he was permitted to see that there is the matter of “for the sake of the Creator,” because a Mitzva induces a Mitzva, and he had to ask to be delivered from exile, then he runs from the exile.

How does he run from the exile? It is by saying that he will not succeed in this work. Thus, what does he do? He commits suicide, meaning leaves the work and returns to corporeal life, which is regarded as “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead.’”

It follows that where he should have asked for redemption from exile, he runs from the exile and commits suicide. This is as it is written, “The ways of the Lord are straight; the righteous will walk in them, and transgressors will fail in them.” However, he should go above reason.

A descent in spirituality does not mean that now he has no faith. Rather, now he must do more work, and the previous faith is considered a descent compared to this work.

7.15 RABASH, Article No. 8 (1991),

“What Is, ‘And Abraham Was Old, of Many Days,’ in the Work?”

One who is clever and wants to save time does not wait until he suffers a descent from above. Rather, while he is in an ascent and wants to acquire the importance of the state of closeness to the Creator, he begins to depict to himself what is a state of descent, meaning how he suffered from being far from the Creator compared to how he feels now that he is close to the Creator. It follows that even during the ascent he learns from the discernments as though he were in a state of descent. At that time, he can calculate and discern between an ascent and a descent.

At that time he will get a picture of the advantage of light over darkness, since he can create a depiction of how he was back in the state of descent, and thought that the whole matter of the work of bestowal does not pertain to him, and how he suffered from these states when he wanted to escape the campaign, and only from one place he could get some relief, meaning only from one hope, that he thought, “When will I be able to go to sleep?” for then he would escape from all the states of impatience, when he felt that the world has grown dark on him.

Now, during the ascent, he sees everything differently. At that time, he wants to work only for the sake of the Creator, and he has no concern for his own benefit. From all those calculations that he will do during the ascent, it follows that now he has a place where he can discern between light and darkness, and he does not need to wait until he is given from above a state of descent.

7.16 RABASH,

Article No. 9 (1991), “What Is, ‘The Smell of His Garments,’ in the Work?”

When a person is in a state of ascent, he must learn from his state during the descent in order to know the difference between light and darkness, as it is written, “as the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” However, for the most part, a person does not want to remember the time of darkness because it pains him, and people do not want to suffer for no reason. Rather, a person wants to enjoy the state of ascent that he is in.

However, one must know that if he considers the descents while he is in an ascent, he will learn two things from this, which will benefit him and he will therefore not suffer from descents for no reason: 1) He must know how to keep himself as much as he can from falling into a descent. 2) “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” At that time, he will have more vitality and joy from the state of ascent, and he will be able to thank the Creator for bringing him closer to Him. That is, now a person has a good feeling from being in a state where he understands that it is worth- while to be a servant of the Creator, since now he feels the greatness and importance of the King.

But during the descent, it is the complete opposite. The body asks him, “What will you get out of wanting to annul before Him and cancel yourself from this entire world, and care only about how to bring contentment to the Creator?” When a person considers both extremes, he sees the differences between them. At that time he has the values of a different importance than he thought about the ascent. It follows that by looking at the descent, the ascent rises in him to a higher level than he feels without looking at the descent.

7.17 RABASH, Article No. 22 (1989),

“Why Are Four Questions Asked Specifically on Passover Night?”

What it gives us to feel within reason that we are regressing instead of progressing. In other words, for what purpose does one need to feel that he is in decline? What is the benefit in that? We see that in a state of ascent, when one has a desire for spirituality and regards mundane pleasures—which the whole world chases so as to obtain these pleasures—as though they were created needlessly, meaning that it would be better if the Creator created all creations enjoying spiritual things.

Thus, regarding thoughts of declines, what does one gain by the fact that after each ascent he comes to a descent? As a result, a person always asks, “How many are the ascents and descents and why are they needed anyway? It would be better if I could stay in the state of ascent.”

But the answer is that it is impossible to appreciate anything without knowing its importance. In other words, there is a rule that the joy that a person takes in something depends on the importance of the matter. Sometimes a person is given something important, and if he could appreciate it, he could receive great pleasure from it. But since he does not know the value of the thing, that person cannot enjoy it, except to the extent that he understands its importance.

For example, a person buys an object, a book, which is not so beautiful on the outside, and later that book is reprinted and costs more, but since he did not have much money, he bought this book. The seller, too, was not aware of the importance of the book and sold it to him for a low price. But sometime later, a man comes to his house, sees the book, and says, “Since this book was printed 300 years ago, this book is worth a fortune, as there are only three such books in the world.” Now that he hears about the great value of the book, he begins to take pleasure in the book.

The lesson is that we do not know how to appreciate the ascent. That is, we do not understand the value of a single moment of having the power to believe in the Creator, and to have some sensa- tion of the greatness of the Creator. In a state of ascent, we desire to annul before Him without any rhyme and reason, like a candle before a torch. Naturally, we cannot enjoy the fact that the Creator has brought us closer and has given us some nearness, from which we should derive the joy and elation that it should bring us. But since we haven’t the importance to appreciate it, we can only enjoy according to the importance, as explained in the allegory.

This is why we were given descents: to be able to learn the importance of the ascents, as it is writ- ten, “as the advantage of the light from the darkness.” Specifically through descents, one can come to know and appreciate ascents, and then he can enjoy the ascents and come to feel that “They are our lives and the length of our days.”

 7.18 RABASH,

Article No. 15 (1991), “What Is the Blessing, ‘Who Made a Miracle for Me in This Place,’ in the Work?”

A person should accustom himself with anything to compare between the time of suffering and the time of pleasure, and to bless for the miracle of delivering him from suffering to a state of pleasure. By this, he will be able to thank the Creator and enjoy in the new Kelim that have been added to him now when he compares the two times to one another. From this, a person can advance in the work. This is as Baal HaSulam said, that it does not matter whether a person receives from the Creator something great or small. What matters is how much a person thanks the Creator. To the extent of his gratitude, so grows the giving that the Creator gives. Therefore, we must take note to be grateful, to appre- ciate His gift, so we can approach the Creator. Hence, when a person always looks during the ascent at the state he was in while in descent, meaning how he felt during the descent, he can make a distinction as in, “as the advantage of the light from within the darkness,” and he already has new Kelim in which to receive joy and be thankful to the Creator. This is the meaning of what is written, that a person should bless, “Blessed is He who made a miracle for me in this place,” meaning in the place where he is now, during the ascent, since there cannot be an ascent if there was no prior state of descent.

 7.19 RABASH,

Article No. 6, 1991 “What Is, ‘The Herdsmen of Abram’s Cattle and the Herdsmen of Lot’s Cattle,’ in the Work?”

A person must believe that he has a point in the heart, which is a spark that shines. But sometimes, it is only a black dot and does not shine. We must always awaken that spark because at times that spark awakens by itself and reveals a lack in a person, where he feels that he needs spirituality, that he is too materialistic and he sees no purpose that enables him to emerge from these states.

That spark gives him no rest. That is, as a corporeal spark cannot illuminate, but using the spark, a person can light up things, so that through the things that the spark touches, a great fire can ignite. Likewise, the spark within man’s heart cannot shine, but that spark can light up his actions so they will illuminate because the spark pushes him to work.

However, sometimes the spark quenches and does not shine. This can be in the middle of the work, and this is regarded as a person having a road accident. In other words, in the middle of the work, something happened to him and he descended from his state and was left unconscious. Now he does not know that there is spirituality in reality, he has forgotten everything, and he has entered the corporeal world with all of his senses.

Only after some time does he recover and sees that he is in the corporeal world and he begins to climb up once again, meaning to feel the spiritual lack. Then, once again, he receives a drive to approach the Creator.

Afterward, he descends from his degree once more, but he must believe that each time he raises his spark to Kedusha [holiness]. Although he sees that he has descended from his state and fell back to the place where he was at the beginning of his work, each time he nonetheless raises new sparks. That is, each time, he raises a new spark.

In the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” (Item 43), he says, “When man is born, he imme- diately has a Nefesh [soul] of Kedusha. But not an actual Nefesh, but the Achoraim [posterior] of it, its last discernment, which, during its Katnut [smallness/infancy], is called a ‘point,’ and it dresses in man’s heart.”

We should interpret that this “point,” which is still in the dark, reveals and shines each time according to one’s work on purifying his heart. At that time, the point begins to shine. This means that each time a person begins to ascend once more after the descent, he should believe that this is a new discernment from what he had during the previous ascent, for he has already elevated it to Kedusha. Thus, each time he begins a new discernment.

 7.20 RABASH, Article No. 18 (1988),

Article No. 18 (1988), “When Is One Considered ‘A Worker of the Creator’ in the Work?”

In the work, we should interpret that “a worker of the Creator” is one who wants to work for the sake of the Creator. Although he is not succeeding, since this requires a real prayer that the Creator will help him, if he began to walk on the right line, meaning that he already has a “left” that resists the right line, then the order of the path of the Creator begins. For this reason, he is already regarded as “a worker of the Creator,” since his goal is to come to a state where all his works are for the sake of the Creator.

And although there are many descents and ascents along the way, everything follows the plan, meaning that the descents, too, a part of the work, since by this we acquire the need for the sal- vation of the Creator. Through the descents, a person comes to the decision that it is impossible to do anything by himself, but that only the Creator can help. This attainment, a person achieves specifically through the descents.

7.21 RABASH,

Article No. 164, “What to Ask of the Creator—to Be His Servant”

When a person sees that he has disturbances in his work of the Creator and he wants to pray to the Creator to have the strength to work, what should he ask?

There are two options:

1. That the Creator will take away from him the disturbances. As a result, he will not need to make great efforts in order to walk in the ways of the Creator.
2. For the Creator to give him a greater taste for the Torah and prayer and good deeds, and by this the disturbances will not be able to detain him because when Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] are important, disturbances cannot rule.

For example, a person cannot say that he has many disturbances so he cannot save his life. That is, it is not true if he argued that because his relatives or his environment are disturbing him, he is unable to save his life. Rather, of course, a person will give all that he has for his life, and all the obstacles do not matter to him.

Therefore, he asks the Creator to give him the taste of life in Torah and Mitzvot, and against life, one cannot say that he has disturbances because the importance of life does not let him relate to the disturbances.

7.22 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1990), “When Should One Use Pride in the Work?”

When he engages in Torah and Mitzvot, since a person must walk on two lines—right and left— meaning a time of wholeness and a time of lack, on one hand we must thank the Creator, and one who feels he has received a lot of good from the Creator is more capable of giving more gratitude, so when a person engages in Torah and Mitzvot, this is the time to be in wholeness, as though the Creator has brought him close, to be among the King’s servants. However, one must not lie to oneself and say that he feels that he is serving the King when he does not feel this way. Therefore, how can he be grateful to the Creator for drawing him near if he does not feel it?

Instead, at that time a person should say that although he is in utter lowliness, meaning he is still immersed in self-love, and still cannot do anything above reason, the Creator still gave him a thought and desire to engage in Torah and Mitzvot, and has also given him some strength to be able to overcome the spies who speak to him and poke his mind with their arguments. And still, he has some grip on spirituality.

At that time, a person should pay attention to this and believe that the Creator is tending to him and guides him on the track that leads to the King’s palace. It follows that he should be happy that the Creator is watching over him and gives him the descents, as well. That is, a person should believe, as much as he can understand, that the Creator is giving him the ascents, since certainly, a person cannot say that he himself receives the ascents, but that the Creator wants to bring him closer; this is why He gives him the ascents.

Also, a person should believe that the Creator gives him the descents, as well, because He wants to bring him closer. Therefore, every single thing that he can do, he must do as though he is in a state of ascent. Therefore, when he overcomes a little during the descent, it is called an “awakening from below.” Each act that he does, he believes that it is the Creator’s will, and by this itself he is rewarded with greater nearing, meaning that the person himself begins to feel that the Creator has brought him closer.

7.23 RABASH,

Article No. 24 (1991), “What Does It Mean that One Should Bear a Son and a Daughter, in the Work?”

That one yearns for knowledge, meaning he does not want to work above reason, but specifically within reason, meaning that he says that if the body understands the benefits of working and observing the Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] of the King, he is willing to labor and work. But to believe above reason, to this the body does not agree. Instead, he stands and waits for the body to understand it, but otherwise, he cannot do the holy work. Sometimes, he does overcome these thoughts and desires, and this causes him the ascents and descents.

Yet, if one decides that he wants to work as “dust,” meaning even if he tastes the taste of dust in the work, he says that it is very important for him to be able to do something for the sake of the Creator, and for himself, he does not care which taste he feels, and says that this work, in which one tastes the taste of dust, meaning that the body mocks this work, he says to the body that in his view, this work is regarded as “raising the Shechina [Divinity] from the dust.”

In other words, although the body tastes dust in this work, the person says that it is Kedusha and does not measure how much flavor he feels in the work. Rather, he believes that the Creator does enjoy this work, since there is no mixture of the will to receive here, since he has nothing to receive because there is no flavor or scent in this work, as there is only the taste of dust here. For this reason, he believes that this is the holy work, and he is delighted.

7.24 RABASH,

Article No. 34 (1991), “What Is Eating Their Fruits in This World and Keeping the Principal for the Next World, in the Work?”

When one sees that it is hard to get what he wants, he escapes from the work. He says, “I believe that there are people who have been rewarded and to whom the Creator gave the desire to bestow. But this was because they were more gifted than I am. But a person like me, with worse qualities than others, has no chance of meriting this.” Hence, he escapes the campaign and begins to work like the general public. Only those who say that they want to escape from the work but have nowhere else to go, since nothing satisfies them, those people do not walk out from the work. Although they have ups and downs, they do not give up. This is as it is written, “And the children of Israel sighed from the work, and they cried, and their cry went up to God from the work.” In other words, they cried out from the work because they were not advancing in the work of the Creator, so they could work in order to bestow contentment upon the Maker. At that time, they were rewarded with the exodus from Egypt. In the work, this is called “emerging from the control of the will to receive and entry into the work of bestowal.”

 7.25 RABASH,

Article No. 34 (1989), “What Is Peace in the Work?”

The Creator is good and does good, so why is He not behaving toward us as we understand? We understand the ascents and descents in such a way that sometimes, during the ascent, we are at peace with the Creator and say about Him that He leads the world as the good who does good. But during the descent, we haven’t the strength to say that He behaves with a guidance of the good who does good. Hence, we are always in dispute.

Indeed, why is the order of the work so difficult that it requires ascents and descents? The known answer to this is what is written, “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” In other words, it is impossible to receive light if he has no lack and need for the light.

For this reason, when a person sees that the nations of the world in him object to the Creator, and he cannot tolerate the enemy of Israel within him, he becomes jealous for his God and does not look at any descents he has, and does what he can and cries out to the Creator to help him be able to defeat the wicked ones within him.

By this he overcomes and does not escape the campaign. At that time, the Creator gives him the covenant. That is, he makes a covenant with Him that there will be peace between him and the Creator, by receiving a gift from the Creator, which is the vessels of bestowal. This is regarded as mak- ing the covenant, which is the Klipa [shell/peel], called “will to receive for himself,” and instead of the foreskin, the Creator gives him vessels of bestowal, and by this they make a covenant, meaning peace.

7.26 RABASH,

Article No. 29 (1986), “Lishma and Lo Lishma”

A person who wishes to walk on the path of bestowal, he must understand that from above he is given a special treatment, that he was lowered from the previous state so he would begin to really contemplate the goal, meaning what is required of man and what man wants the Creator to give him. But when he is in a state of ascent, when he has desire for Torah and Mitzvot, he has no need to worry about spirituality. Instead, he sees that he will stay this way his whole life because he is happy this way.

It therefore follows that the descent he has received is for his own good, meaning that he is receiving special treatment, that he was lowered from his state where he thought that he had some wholeness. This is apparent in his agreeing to remain in the current state his whole life.

But now that he sees that he is far from spirituality, he begins to think, “What is really required of me? What should I do? What is the purpose I should achieve?” He sees that he has no power to work, and finds himself in a state of “between heaven and earth.” Then, man’s only strengthening is that only the Creator can help, but by himself, he is doomed.

It was said about this (Isaiah, 4:31): “Yet those who hope for the Lord will gain new strength,” meaning those people who hope for the Creator. This means that they who see that there is no one else in the world who can help them regain strength each time. It follows that this descent is actually an ascent, meaning that this descent that they feel allows them to rise in degree, since “there is no light without a Kli.”

7.27 RABASH,

Article No. 46 (1991), “What Is the Son of the Beloved and the Son of the Hated in the Work?”

The Zohar says (VaYishlach, Item 4), “If a man comes to be purified, the evil inclination surrenders before him and the right governs the left. And both the good inclination and the evil inclination join to keep man in all the roads he travels, as it is written, ‘For He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.’”

We should understand how it can be said that the evil inclination keeps a person walking on the straight path. After all, it advises a person not to walk in the way of Torah, fails him in all his ways, and detains him from working for the sake of the Creator but only for his own sake. Thus, we should know how the evil inclination helps him.

The descents that a person receives, when the evil inclination gives him thoughts that are foreign to the spirit of Torah, cause him descents. According to a person’s opinion, it must be that the evil inclination brought him the feeling that love of self is more important than love of the Creator, and that this is the cause of the descents.

But in truth, one should believe that the Creator does everything. In other words, the Creator sends these descents to a person in order for them to give man momentum in the work so he will not be content with little. When a person feels that he does all that he can in Torah and Mitzvot, and he cannot discern the matter of the intention for the sake of the Creator, or that he is working for his own benefit, since when one works in the manner of the general public, an illumination shines on a person as Surrounding Light, giving him satisfaction so he will not feel any lack in his work.

Only when one wants to work in the manner of individuals, meaning that the aim will also be for the sake of the Creator, and not specifically the act (as said in Article No. 45, Tav-Shin- Nun-Aleph), then he is notified from above that he is not all right, and from this he falls into a descent. At that time, one sees his real situation and begins to seek a way by which to emerge from the control of self-love.

It therefore follows that were it not for the evil inclination, which brings him the state of descents, he would remain in a state of ascent and would not need to achieve the goal of Dvekut with the Creator. It follows that the evil inclination is an angel of God, a messenger of the Creator to keep him from staying in a state of “still of Kedusha [holiness],” but rather needing to advance. This is why he says, “For He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Thus, the evil inclination is also a messenger of the Creator to keep the person.

 7.28 RABASH,

Letter No. 77

The whole foundation is that one should ask that all of one’s thoughts and desires will be only to benefit the Creator, a depiction of lowliness, called Shechina in the dust, immediately appears. Hence, we must not be impressed by the descent, since many pennies join into a great amount.

This is as we learned, “there is no absence in spirituality,” rather that it has temporarily departed in order to have room for work to advance. This is so because every moment that we scrutinize into holiness enters the domain of holiness, and a person descends only in order to sort out more sparks of holiness.

However, there is an advice that one should not wait until his degree is lowered for him, and when he feels his lowliness he goes up again, and that ascent is regarded as sorting a part into holiness. Instead, he himself descends and elevates other sparks, and raises them into the domain of holiness. It is as our sages said, “Before I lose, I search” (Shabbat, 152), meaning before I lose the situation I am in, I start searching. It is as Baal HaSulam said about King David, who said, “I awaken the dawn.” Our sages said, “I awaken the dawn and the dawn does not awaken me.”

Therefore, the keeping is primarily during the ascent, and not during the descent. During the ascent we need to extend fear, lest we are pushed out, God forbid. But after all these, all we need is to cry out to the King and ask for His mercy on us once and for all.

 7.29 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1989), “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

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

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

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

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

 7.30 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1991), “What Is, ‘The Herdsmen of Abram’s Cattle and the Herdsmen of Lot’s Cattle,’ in the Work?”

Since in every beginning a person must start over the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven, it is not enough that yesterday he had faith in the Creator. For this reason, every acceptance of the kingdom of heaven is considered a new discernment. That is, now he receives a part of the vacant space that was devoid of the kingdom of heaven, and admits that empty place and fills it with the kingdom of heaven. It follows that now he sorted out a new thing, which did not exist before he took that empty place and filled it with the kingdom of heaven. This is regarded as elevating a new spark into the Kedusha. Finally, from all the ascents, he always raises sparks from the vacant space into the Kedusha. It follows that from each descent he arrives at a new beginning and raises new sparks. Hence, when a person sees that he has descents, he should be careful not to escape from the campaign, even though he sees that he is not progressing. Rather, he must try to start anew each time. That is, the fact that he begins to ascend does not mean that he returned to his previous degree. This would mean that he did nothing by his work, since he thinks that he is now ascending to his previous level. Rather, he must believe that this is a new discernment, that each time, he raises different sparks, until he raises the sparks that pertain to his essence.

7.31 RABASH,

Article No. 24 (1986), “The Difference between Charity and Gift”

In the work of the Creator, in the beginning of his work he had energy and confidence, and great impor- tance for Torah and prayer because at that time he had grace of holiness, and felt that the work of the Creator is important. However, this was still not considered a “deficiency” that the Creator will satisfy, a deficiency is called Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, since the lack and pain of not having Dvekut with the Creator was still not felt in him as he has not exerted for it because he has just begun the work. But after a long period of time of making efforts and not achieving satisfaction of his deficiency, torments and pain begin to form in him because he has made efforts but sees no progress in his work. At that time the thoughts begin to come one-by-one. Sometimes it is with sparks of despair, and sometimes he grows stronger, but then he sees once more that he has fallen from his state, and so on repeatedly. Finally, a real deficiency forms in him, which he has obtained through exertion in ascents and descents. These ascents and descents leave him with pain each time at not having been granted Dvekut with the Creator. Finally, when the cup of labor has been filled sufficiently, it is called a Kli. Then the filling of it comes from the Creator, since now he has a real Kli.

It follows that his seeing that now—after several years of work—he has retreated, this happens deliberately so he will ache at not having Dvekut with the Creator. It turns out that each time he must see that he is approaching the making of the Kli, called “real deficiency.” That is, his gauge of Katnut [infancy/smallness] and Gadlut [adulthood/ greatness] of the deficiency is to the extent of the suffering he feels at not having the filling, which is called here “Dvekut with the Creator,” where all he wants is only to bring contentment to the Creator. Before the deficiency is completed, it is impossible for the filling to come in full.

7.32 RABASH, Article No. 30 (1989),

“What Is the Meaning of Lighting the Menorah in the Work?”

The advantage of the light is from within the darkness. By this we can see why the matter of choice, choosing the good, namely the desire to bestow, and loathing the bad, is so difficult. It is because we must taste the taste of darkness. However, we must not be shown the darkness as it truly is. If we saw the measure of bad within us, we would immediately escape from the work. Then we would not feel darkness because he does not mind that the will to receive for himself is the ruler as he does not feel this as darkness. Only one who labors and works as much as he can, and goes through ups and downs, can say that he tastes the taste of darkness because he cannot overcome his will to receive for himself.

Thus, the descents that a person receives when he wants to walk on the path of truth are instru- ments for the sensation of the help he will receive. We must believe the words of our sages who said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” A person must not escape the campaign when he sees that he is not making progress. Sometimes he gets thoughts of the spies, who said that this work is not for us and requires special people who can walk on the path of overcoming.

All this comes to him because he understands that each time, he must see how he is making prog- ress. However, it does not occur to him that he must advance in obtaining darkness, that this is the only Kli he needs to acquire. A Kli is a need for a filling. That is, if he has no filling for the lack, he feels that he is in the dark. For this reason, a person must not say that he is not advancing in the work. Hence, he wants to escape the campaign, for it is not the truth, since he sees each time how far he is from obtaining the light, meaning for the Creator to give him the Kli called “desire to bestow.” He cannot obtain the desire to bestow by himself, and then he comes to feel that the world has grown dark on him. At that time, the light comes, meaning help from above, as it is written, “He who comes to purify is aided.”

 7.33 RABASH,

Article No. 24 (1991), “What Does It Mean that One Should Bear a Son and a Daughter, in the Work?”

When a person prevails and asks for help from the Creator, after he has decided that he has a harm- doer in his heart, called “will to receive,” and that he cannot emerge from it, meaning after going through several ascents and descents, he finally sees that he has remained bare and destitute. At that time, his prayer is from the bottom of the heart. That is, he sees that if the Creator does not help him, he cannot overcome it.

Although one can say that he believes above reason that only the Creator helps him, within rea- son, he does not feel this, since he knows that he himself made the efforts and the labor to obtain something in spirituality. But when one sees that after all the exertions, he cannot emerge from the governance of the will to receive for himself, then he sees within reason that only the Creator can help him.

7.34 RABASH, Article No. 27 (1989),

“What Is the Meaning of Suffering in the Work?”

Our sages said (Shabbat 152), “What I did not lose, I seek.” That is, an old man walking bent, always looking at the ground as though searching for something. He says, “I have lost nothing, yet I search.” We should interpret “Old is he who has acquired wisdom.” That is, he is “Wise, who sees the future.” Since he can come to a descent in order acquire empty Kelim, so the Creator may fill them or he will remain in a state of lowliness because he will not feel deficient. Then, when he loses the state of ascent, he begins to seek advice how to ascent in spirituality once again.

Therefore, one who is old, meaning wise and sees the future, begins to search how to ascend in spirituality even before he loses the state of ascent. He begins to follow all the counsels about the ways to ascend on the spiritual degrees, and this is done by seeking deficiencies in the state he is in. In that case, there is no need to throw him down in importance so he will find and see deficiencies in himself, since he himself will be looking for deficiencies so as to have empty Kelim that the Creator may fill.

 7.35 RABASH,

Article No. 15 (1991), “What Is the Blessing, ‘Who Made a Miracle for Me in This Place,’ in the Work?”

During an ascent, he must remember and say, “In this place, where I now have an ascent, I had a descent and the Creator saved me and raised me from the netherworld, and I emerged from death, called ‘removal from the Creator,’ and I have been rewarded with some measure of nearing to the Creator, which is called ‘some measure of Dvekut with the Life of Lives.’”

For this, a person should be thankful, for by this he has now come to a state where there he suffered, and now he is in a mood of delight and pleasure because the Creator bringing him closer has given him new Kelim of a lack that he can fill with the state of ascent that he is in now.

It follows that he extends a light of joy in new Kelim that he has obtained now by looking at the miracle that he has had, where the Creator saved him. Therefore, when he considers the suffering, it is as though now he is the recipient of the suffering, and now he fills them up with pleasure.

It follows that depicting to himself the state of descent causes him that the ascent he has received now will spread in new Kelim according to the rule “There is no light without a Kli.” Hence, during the ascent, when he begins to contemplate the state of descent that he had, the suffering of the descent are regarded as Kelim in which the light of the ascent may spread.

 7.36 RABASH,

Article No. 43 (1990), “What Is, ‘You Shall Not Plant for Yourself an Asherah by the Altar,’ in the Work?”

Every descent is a trial. If a person can endure the trial, meaning that the thought that comes to a person causes him to see if he is under the governance of Kedusha or not, during the descent, a person can see that at the time of ascent, his whole structure was built on the will to receive for oneself.

During the descent, a person cannot make any calculations. But afterward, when he receives nearing from above once more, which comes to a person by what is written, “I am the Lord, who dwells with them in the midst of their impurity,” meaning that even though a person is still in the authority of self-love, still, an illumination comes to him from above, called “an awakening from above.” At that time, he must awaken the state of descent that he had by himself, and think what was the reason he received the descent, and what he must correct so as not to come into a descent once more. A person must believe that the fact that he suffered a descent is because he was thrown from above. This is why he fell into such lowliness. At that time, he can work on himself, correct corrections so he does not fall again, since he must believe that the descent is a correction for him.

7.37 RABASH,

Article No. 29 (1988), “How to Recognize One Who Serves God from One Who Does Not Serve Him”

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.

 7.38 RABASH,

Article No. 23 (1987), “Peace after a Dispute Is More Important than Having No Disputes At All”

Only during the ascent, when he calculates what he gains and what he loses by being enslaved to the will to receive, that he cannot gain and only loses, that calculation that he does can make him feel how his inclination is harming him.

In each and every ascent, he must calculate what he lost from the descent. By this he sees that the inclination is causing him many harms. In order to set in his heart the need for the help of the Creator, many troubles come to him and he suffers from it, as in the words of The Zohar, which explained about the verse, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous,” that the righteous suffers many troubles from the inclination.

According to what we explained, we should interpret the verse, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” That is, after the righteous has suffered many afflictions, since “righteous” is named after the future, meaning one who wants to be righteous, who wants to work for the Creator, he suffers many afflictions until many afflictions are accumulated. This is why it is written, “from all of them,” meaning that when he has many afflictions, the Creator will save him, since then he has a real need for the Creator’s help and he will know how to appreciate the Creator’s salvation, since there is no light without a Kli.

7.39 RABASH,

Article No. 27 (1989), “What Is the Meaning of Suffering in the Work?”

The best advice in a state of ascent is that when a person feels that now there is a state of spirituality, and he wants to find deficiencies, in that state he should delve in the Torah and find the connection between the Torah and man. From this he will be able to take knowledge about how to serve the Creator, as it is written, “a soul without knowledge is also not good,” and as it is written, “grant us wisdom, understanding, and knowledge from You.” In that state, he will see the lack in him and will have empty Kelim. By this, he will be saved from coming into a real descent.

7.40 RABASH,

Article No. 840, “Quick Nearing”

One does not enter the work of the left, called “trouble,” unless during an ascent. At that time, he enters the left, meaning while he is still not in a descent.

“Rabbi Elazar said, ‘One should always precede trouble with prayer’” (Sanhedrin 44b). This means that even when one is in a state of ascent, he must ask the Creator to bring him closer with another, greater nearing, so he will advance in the work. If he feels no deficiency, he cannot advance. This is why he is given a descent from above, so he will have a lack. A descent is called “trouble,” and then he prays.

Hence, there is an advice: Before the trouble comes to him, he already prays.

7.41 RABASH,

Article No. 34 (1988), “What Are Day and Night in the Work?”

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, mean- ing 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.

 7.42 RABASH,

Article No. 5 (1988), “What Is, ‘When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is With Them,’ in the Work?”

What is the meaning of “When Israel are in exile, the Shechina is with them”? As Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai said, “Wherever they exile, the Shechina is with them.” What is the benefit from this in the work, that he says about it, “How beloved are Israel by the Creator”?

We should interpret that when a person feels that he is in exile, meaning feels the taste of exile in the work and wants to escape from the exile, the meaning will be that a person must believe that wherever they are exiled, the Shechina is with them. That is, the Shechina let him feel the taste of exile. “With them” means that the Shechina is attached to them and they are not separated from the Shechina, that they should say that it is a descent. On the contrary, now the Shechina is giving him a push so he will climb the degrees of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], and dresses herself in a garment of descent.

When a person knows and believes that this is so, it will encourage him so he does not escape the campaign or say that the work of bestowal is not for him because he always sees that he is in states of ascents and descents, and he sees no end to these states and falls into despair.

But if he walks in the path of faith and believes in the words of our sage, then he must say the opposite.

7.43 RABASH,

Article No. 10 (1991), “What Does ‘The King Stands on His Field When the Crop Is Ripe’ Mean in the Work?”

The correction of a person walking on the left line is because he does not wait to get a decline and fall, and then he will wait until an awakening from above comes to him. Instead, he draws upon him the left, and then he sees that he is in a state of descent, meaning that he does not have a single spark of desire to work in order to bestow and not for his own benefit. And then he can pray.

It is as Baal HaSulam said about what our sages said of David, who said, “I awaken the dawn, and the dawn does not awaken me.” That is, King David did not wait for the dawn, which is called “black,” which is darkness, meaning that the darkness awakens him. Instead, he awakens the dark- ness. He prays to the Creator to illuminate His face for him and thus he gains time from having the preparation for the darkness, and then it is easier to correct it.

And the two above-mentioned lines—right and left—beget a third line, the middle line. It is as our sages said, “And the Creator places the spirit and soul within him.” Thus, after a person has completed the work in two lines, all the evil is revealed in him. This came to him because those two lines are as two verses that refute one another. And one sees that there is no end to the ups and downs, and then he makes an honest prayer for the Creator to help him receive the desire to bestow.

 7.44 RABASH,

Article No. 255, “Words of a Dead Man”

“Dead” means during the fall. At that time, he is in a state of “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead.’” Then, when he is told words of Torah from others so he will wake up and return to work, it does not help him. It is called “Mocking the poor,” since he is not impressed by others saying Torah. However, if he is told the words of a dead man, meaning what he himself said when he was in ascent, regarded as when he was alive, and he is told, “Look what a great state you had,” and that he had vitality of Kedusha [holiness], and “Look what words of Torah you said then,” from this he can be resurrected. But if he is told words of Torah that others said, it does not impress him.

“Worldly matters do not belong here.” “World [or worldly]” means faith. It is possible to speak with him about faith also from others, who encourage him and tell him, “Look, this and that person have fear of heaven, while you remain as still as dead.” He might be inspired and come back to life when he hears matters of faith pertaining to others. Thus, even in worldly matters, only his own words should be said to him.

According to RASHI, this is perplexing. He says that everyone must speak words of Torah, and he is still. Therefore, it is regarded as mocking the poor. But with worldly matters, not everyone must speak, so why is it regarded as mocking the poor?

The reason it is forbidden to speak of worldly matters pertaining to faith, for faith is called “world” (as it is written in The Zohar in several places), since Alma [Aramaic: world] comes from the words He’elem [concealment] and Hester [hiding], which is faith. Therefore, they think, according to the view that some people say, that in matters of faith he will also not listen, that he will not be impressed by what others say.

But from the words of the dead, meaning from what he himself did in matters of faith during his life, it is possible that the Reshimot [recollections] will awaken in him and will revive him. But from others, even concerning faith, it will also not work.

Thus, when speaking to him of worldly matters that others do, he will not listen. Thus, he would be mocking the poor because all the words will be in vain. Hence, only his own Reshimot can awaken him. This is called “from the words of the dead himself,” from when he was alive, when he was in a state of ascent.

7.45 RABASH,

Article No. 16 (1988), “What Is the Foundation on which Kedusha [Holiness] Is Built?”

“I awaken the dawn” will mean “Whenever I want, I awaken the dawn.” In other words, I myself awaken the darkness and the blackness within me—that I am still immersed in self-love and I still do not have love for the Creator. I am still without the glory of the Torah and I still do not have the importance of the Torah to know that it is worthwhile to do everything to obtain the light of Torah, as well as how to appreciate the importance of observing the Mitzvot that the Creator commanded for us.

When I need to perform some Mitzva and intend that it will be in order to bestow, the resistance in the body promptly awakens in full force. And he has a great struggle to do anything and he sees the ascents and descents each time. And then he has room for prayer. This is so because a person awakens himself at the right time, meaning when he feels that he will be able to pray instanta- neously, and not that the black will bring him sadness and depression, that he will not have the ability to pray for the blackness.

One can see for himself whether it comes to him from the side of Klipa or not. The sign for this is that something that comes from Kedusha is always in the form of “increasing holiness and not decreasing.” In other words, one always asks the Creator to elevate him to a higher degree than the one he is on. But when the blackness comes from the side of Klipa, a person cannot ask the Creator to raise him above his state.

“Rather, they bring down,” meaning bring him down to the netherworld, and he loses the small portion of faith that he had and he remains seemingly dead.

 7.46 RABASH,

Article No. 15 (1989), “What Is, ‘The Righteous Become Apparent through the Wicked,’ in the Work?”

In order for a person to progress on the path of the Creator, to be rewarded with all his work being for the sake of the Creator, and now he feels that he is in a state of ascent, what more should he do? For this reason, the Creator leads His world with wicked. That is, at that time the Creator gives him thoughts of wicked—that it is not worthwhile to work for Him, but only for himself. By this, he suffers a descent and thinks that the descent he has received is not because it was given to him so he would advance in the path of the Creator, to be rewarded with knowledge of Kedusha [holiness]. Rather, he thinks that he regressed because he cannot work in the manner of individuals, but needs to work like the general public. And since he has departed from the general public, he is left empty handed from here and from there, since he cannot return to the general public.

For this reason, in that state, a person stands between heaven and earth, and feels that his situ- ation is worse than that of the rest of the people. At that time, he can ask the Creator with all his heart, and pray as it is written, “Pardon me, O Lord, for I am wretched. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed, and You, O Lord, how long?” That is, how long will I stay in a situation where I feel that my condition is worse than any other person, that I have no grip on spirituality.

For this reason, he has no other choice but to believe what is written, “For You hear the prayer of every mouth.” Baal HaSulam explained that a person must believe that the Creator hears the prayer of every mouth, meaning even the worst mouth in the world, of which there cannot be lowlier and worse in the world. Still, the Creator hears him, as our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.”

 7.47 RABASH,

Article No. 5 (1988), “What Is, ‘When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is With Them,’ in the Work?”

The Creator wants him to see his real state, how remote he is from working for the benefit of the Creator. For this reason, the Creator has taken from him the flavor he felt in Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], which leaves him lifeless. It follows that the Creator is tending to him and wants to admit him into Kedusha.

Therefore, now he must pray to the Creator to help him, since now he needs His help. Otherwise, he sees that he is completely lost. This is regarded as having obtained a Kli and a need for the Creator’s help, since now he sees that he is truly separated from the Creator because he has no life, for one who adheres to the Creator has life, as it is written, “For with You is the source of life.” Now he can certainly pray from the bottom of the heart, for a real prayer is specifically from the bottom of the heart. Accordingly, he should be thankful to the Creator for letting him see his true state. Now he sees that he needs the Creator to give him the necessary assistance, as our sages said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” And The Zohar asks, “With what is he aided?” and it replies, “With a holy soul.”

Therefore, now the Creator has given him an opportunity to obtain a holy soul. He should be delighted about the state of descent and suffering that he feels in this state. For this reason, he should say that he is not in a state of descent, but on the contrary, he is in a state of ascent.

By this we can interpret what our sages said, “When torments come upon Israel, they surrender and pray.” This means that when they come into a state of descent, they see their true state, that they are in lowliness. This is considered that they surrender, since they see their state—that they have parted from the Life of Lives, for one who has Dvekut with the Creator is alive. Otherwise, he feels only suffering. Therefore, it is clear to him that now is the time for prayer from the bottom of the heart. This is the meaning of the words, “They surrender and pray.”

7.48 Zohar for All, “Introduction of the Book of Zohar,”

“On the Night of the Bride,” Item 140

The guidance of good and evil causes us ascents and descents, each according to what he is. You should know that for this reason, each ascent is regarded as a separate day because due to the great descent that he had, doubting the beginning, during the ascent he is as a newly born child. Thus, in each ascent, it is as though he begins to serve the Creator anew. 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 pours forth speech,” a holy day, from among those upper days of the King. In other words, on each ascent that a person had, when he clung to the upper days of the Creator, the friends are praised and each tells his friend that thing that he said. This is so because through the great Zivug at the end of correction they will be rewarded with repentance from love, for they will complete the correction of all the vessels of reception, so they will be only in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. In that Zivug, all of the great delight and pleasure of the thought of creation will appear to us.

At that time, we will evidently see that all those punishments from the time of descents, which brought us into doubting the beginning, were the things that purified us and were the direct causes of all the happiness and goodness that have come to us at the time of the end of correction. This is so because were it not for those terrible punishments, we would never have come to this delight and pleasure. Then these sins will be inverted into actual merits.

“Day to day pours forth speech” means that each ascent prior to the end of correction is one of those upper days of the King, praising the friends. Thus, now it reappears in all the magnificence of its wholeness, which belongs to that day, and praises the friends who keep the Torah with that thing which each said to the friends, which is, “It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge,” which at the time inflicted great punishments.

This is because now they have been turned into merits, since the entire wholeness and happiness of that day would not be able to appear now, in that grandeur and magnificence, were it not for those punishments. This is why those who speak those words are regarded as “Those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name,” as actual good deeds. This is why it was said about them, too, “I will have compassion over them as a man has compassion for his own son who serves him.”

It is said, “Day to day pours forth that speech” and praises it. This is so because all those nights are the descents, the suffering, and the punishments that arrested the Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator until they became many days one after the other. Now, once the night and darkness have become merits and good deeds, as well, the night shines like the day and darkness like light, there are no more arrests, and all 6,000 years unite into a single great day.

Thus, all the Zivugim that came out one at a time and disclosed ascents and descents that were separate from one another have now assembled into a level of one, sublime, and transcendent level of Zivug, which shines from the end of the world through its end. It is written, “Day to day pours forth that speech” because the word that separated between one day and the next has now become a great praise and praises it, for it has become a merit. Thus, they all became one day for the Lord.

7.49 Talks with the ADMOR of Mogalintza

Once, a famous man confessed to the Rabbi of Lublin that all the restrictions and limitations he applies on himself do not save him from the evil inclination and there is hardly a day without a sin. The Rabbi of Lublin answered him: “It sounds from your words that you still have not begun the work of the Creator whatsoever, since anyone from Israel who does not find in himself 400 sins from the morning to the morning prayer, it is a sign that he has not begun to serve the Creator in holiness and purity.”

7.50 Rabbi Nachman of Breslow,

Likutey Moharan, Last Edition, Mark 48

The work of the Creator requires great persistence, whatever happens to him. Remember this well for you will need it very much as you begin the work of the Creator. It requires great tenacity, and to be strong and brave, to brace oneself and stand still, even if you are dropped down every time. You must not allow yourself to fall off altogether, for it is necessary to experience all those falls, descents, and confusions prior to entering the gates of Kedusha [holiness], and the true righteous, too, have gone through all of it. Know, that man must cross and very, very narrow bridge, and the rule and the most important thing is not to be afraid at all.

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RUŞINEA

6.01 Baal HaSulam,

Baal HaSulam, Letter No. 25

Everything is preordained, and each and every soul is already established in all its light, goodness, and eternity. But for the bread of shame, the soul went out in restrictions until it clothed in the murky body, and only through it does it return to its root prior to the Tzimtzum [restriction], with its reward in its hand from all the terrible move it had made. The overall reward is the real Dvekut, meaning that she [the soul] got rid of the bread of shame because her vessel of reception has become a vessel of bestowal and her form is equal to her Maker.

6.02 Baal HaSulam,

“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 15

Man’s nature is to cherish and favor the quality of bestowal, and to despise and loathe reception from one’s friend. Hence, when one comes to one’s friend’s house and he [the host] invites him for a meal, he [the guest] will decline even if he is very hungry, since in his eyes it is humiliating to receive a gift from his friend.

Yet, when his friend sufficiently implores him until it is clear that he would do his friend a big favor by eating, he agrees to eat as he no longer feels that he is receiving a gift and that his friend is the giver. On the contrary, he [the guest] is the giver, doing his friend a favor by receiving this good from him.

Thus, you find that although hunger and appetite are vessels of reception designated to eat- ing, and that that person had sufficient hunger and appetite to receive his friend’s meal, he still could not taste a thing due to the shame. Yet, as his friend implored him and he rejected him, new vessels for eating began to form in him, since the power of his friend’s pleading and the power of his own rejection, as they accumulated, finally accumulated into a sufficient amount that turned the measure of reception into a measure of bestowal.

In the end, he saw that by eating, he would do a big favor and bring great contentment to his friend by eating. In that state, new vessels of reception to receive his friend’s meal were made in him. Now it is considered that his power of rejection has become the essential Kli in which to receive the meal, and not the hunger and appetite, although they are actually the usual vessels of reception.

6.03 Baal HaSulam,

“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 18

We must thoroughly understand that even though Behina Dalet was banned from being a vessel of reception for the ten Sefirot after the Tzimtzum, and the Ohr Hozer that rises from the Masach through the Zivug de Hakaa became the vessel of reception in its stead, it must still accompany the Ohr Hozer with its power of reception. Had it not been for that, the Ohr Hozer would have been unfit to be a vessel of reception.

You should also understand this from the allegory in Item 15. We demonstrated there that the power to reject and decline the meal became the vessel of reception instead of the hunger and appetite. This is because hunger and appetite, the usual vessels of reception, were banned from being vessels of reception in this case due to the shame and disgrace of receiving a gift from one’s friend. Only the powers of rejection and refusal have become vessels of reception in their stead, as through the rejection and refusal, reception has been inverted into bestowal, and through them he achieved vessels of reception suitable to receive one’s friend’s meal.

Yet, it cannot be said that he no longer needs the usual vessels of reception, namely the hunger and the appetite, as it is clear that without appetite for eating he will not be able to satisfy his friend’s wish and bring him contentment by eating at his place. But the thing is that the hunger and appetite, which were banned in their usual form, have now been transformed by the forces of rejection and decline into a new form—reception in order to bestow. Thus, the humiliation has become dignity. It turns out that the usual vessels of reception are still as active as ever but have acquired a new form. You will also conclude, concerning our matter, that it is true that Behina Dalet has been banned from being a Kli for reception of the ten Sefirot because of its Aviut, meaning the difference of form from the Giver, which separates from the Giver. Yet, through correcting the Masach in Behina Dalet, which strikes the upper light and repels it, her previous, faulty form has been trans- formed and acquired a new form, called Ohr Hozer, like the transformation of the form of reception into a form of bestowal in the above allegory.

The content of its initial form has not changed; it still does not eat without appetite.

 6.04 RABASH,

Article No. 454, “He Who Prays for His Friend”

“To You Lord is the righteousness, and to us is the shame.” “And he believed in the Lord and He considered it for him as righteousness.” Concerning shame, it must be felt over the Giver, and then the shame comes by itself, as our sages said, “afraid to look at his face.” However, when he does not feel the Giver, from whom will he be ashamed? Therefore, “To You Lord is the righteousness,” meaning that he gives Him the faith. Then it can be said, “and to us is the shame.”

This is as it is written in The Zohar: “It is known that no quality can rise above its degree before upper illumination is lowered down to it, so that afterward it will be able to grow and rise up”.

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FRICA

5.01 Baal HaSulam,

Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 38, “The Fear of God Is His Treasure”

Our sages said, “Everything is in the hands of heaven but the fear of heaven,” is because He can give everything but fear. This is because what the Creator gives is more love, not fear.

Acquiring fear is through the Segula [power/remedy] of Torah and Mitzvot. It means that when one engages in Torah and Mitzvot with the intention to be rewarded with bringing contentment to one’s Maker, that aim that rests on the acts of Mitzvot and the study of Torah brings one to attain it. Otherwise, one might remain—although he observes Torah and Mitzvot in every item and detail— he will still remain merely in the degree of still of Kedusha [holiness].

It follows that one should always remember the reason that obligates him to engage in Torah and Mitzvot. This is the meaning of what our sages meant by “that your Kedusha will be for My Name.” It means that I will be your cause, meaning that all your work is in wanting to delight Me, meaning that all your actions will be in order to bestow.

Our sages said (Berachot 20), “Everything there is in keeping, there is in remembering.” This means that all those who engage in observing Torah and Mitzvot with the aim to achieve “remem- bering,” by way of “When I remember Him, He does not let me sleep.” It follows, that the keeping is primarily in order to be awarded remembering.

Thus, one’s desire to remember that the Creator is the cause for observing Torah and Mitzvot. This is so because it follows that the reason and the cause to observe the Torah and Mitzvot is the Creator, as without it one cannot adhere to the Creator, since “He and I cannot dwell in the same abode” due to the disparity of form.

5.02 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 2

There is none so wise as the experienced. Therefore, I shall advise you to evoke within you fear of the coolness of the love between us. Although the intellect denies such a depiction, think for yourself—if there is a tactic by which to increase love and one does not increase it, that, too, is considered a flaw. It is like a person who gives a great gift to his friend. The love that appears in his heart during the act is not like the love that remains in the heart after the fact. Rather, it gradually wanes each day until the blessing of the love can be entirely forgotten. Thus, the receiver of the gift must find a tactic every day to make it new in his eyes each day.

 5.03 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 211, “As Though Standing before a King”

One who is sitting at one’s home is not as one who is standing before a King. This means that faith should be that he will feel all day as though he is standing before the King. Then his love and fear will certainly be complete. As long as he has not achieved this kind of faith, he should not rest, “for this is our lives and the length of our days,” and we will accept no recompense.

And the lack of faith should be woven in his limbs until the habit becomes a second nature, to the extent that “When I remember Him, He does not let me sleep.”

5.04 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 38, “The Fear of God Is His Treasure”

In His treasury, the Creator has only the treasure of fear of heaven (Berachot 33).

Yet, we should interpret what is fear: It is the Kli, and the treasure is made of this Kli, and all the important things are placed in it. He said that fear is as it is written about Moses: Our sages said (Berachot, p 7), “The reward for ‘And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look,’ he was rewarded with ‘the image of the Lord does he behold.’”

Fear refers to one’s fear of the great pleasure that is there, that he will not be able to receive it in order to bestow. The reward for this, for having had fear, is that thus he had made for himself a Kli in which to receive the upper abundance. This is man’s work, and besides that, we attribute everything to the Creator.

Yet, it is not so with fear, because the meaning of fear is not to receive. And what the Creator gives, He gives only to receive, and this is the meaning of “Everything is in the hands of heaven except the fear of heaven.”

This is the Kli that we need. Otherwise, we will be considered fools, as our sages said, “Who is a fool? He who loses what he is given.” This means that the Sitra Achra [other side] will take the abundance from us if we cannot aim in order to bestow, because then it goes to the vessels of recep- tion, which is the Sitra Achra and Tuma’a [impurity].

This is the meaning of “And you shall observe the commandment of unleavened bread.” Observing means fear. Although the nature of the light is that it keeps itself, meaning that the light leaves before one wants to receive the light into the vessels of reception, yet one must do it by himself, as much as he can, as our sages said, “You will keep yourselves a little from below, and I will keep you a lot from above.”

The reason we attribute fear to people, as our sages said, “Everything is in the hands of heaven but the fear of heaven,” is because He can give everything but fear. This is because what the Creator gives is more love, not fear.

5.05 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 11, “Joy with Trembling”

Joy is considered love, which is existence. This is similar to one who builds for himself a house without making any holes in the walls. You find that he cannot enter the house, as there is no hollow place in the walls of the house by which to enter the house. Therefore, a hollow space must be made through which he will enter the house.

Therefore, where there is love, there should also be fear, as fear is the hollow. In other words, one must awaken the fear that one might not be able to aim to bestow.

It follows that when there are both, there is wholeness. Otherwise, each wants to revoke the other.

For this reason, we must try to have both of them in the same place. This is the meaning of the need for love and fear. Love is called existence, whereas fear is called a deficiency and a hollow. Only with the two of them together is there wholeness. This is called “two legs,” where precisely when one has two legs can one walk.

5.06 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 138, “Concerning Fear that Sometimes Comes Upon a Person”

When fear comes upon a person, he should know that there is none else but Him. And even witch- craft. And if he sees that fear overcomes him, he should say that there is no such thing as chance, but the Creator has given him a chance from above, and he must contemplate and study the end to which he has been sent this fear. It appears that it is so that he will overcome and say, “There is none else besides Him.”

But if after all this, the fear has not departed him, he should take it as an example and say that his servitude of the Creator should be in the same measure of the fear, meaning that the fear of heaven, which is a merit, should be in the same manner of fear that he now has. That is, the body is impressed by this superficial fear, and exactly in the same way that the body is impressed, so should be the fear of heaven.

5.07 RABASH,

Article No. 295, “Anyone Who Sanctifies the Seventh – 1”

Once he has obtained the degree of bestowal, meaning obtained the degree where all he wants is only to bestow contentment upon the Creator, he fills himself with all the pleasures that his eyes see, as in the explanation, “The whole earth is full of His glory.”

It follows that all that one needs to obtain that he can define as a reward after he has toiled several years is only one thing: the desire to bestow, meaning the degree of wanting to serve the rav not in order to receive reward.

All the labor where one needs to exert himself in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] is only to obtain this. This is called “fear of heaven,” as it is written, “What does the Lord your God ask of you? Only to fear Me.”

5.08 RABASH,

Article No. 31, “How I Love Your Teaching”

“God has made it that He will be feared,” that all the bad situation that we feel is only so that man will not remain in the state he is in. That is, unless a person rises on the degrees of greatness of the Creator, he will not be able to overcome, and only when one feels the greatness of the Creator does his heart surrender. This is regarded as having to climb the degrees of fear of the Creator.

It follows that these questions cause him to need the Creator to open his heart and eyes to be rewarded with the greatness for the Creator. Otherwise, he suffices for the fear of heaven he has acquired through his upbringing. But when the wicked one’s question keeps coming to him, it is not enough for him and he needs to constantly ascend up the degrees of greatness of the Creator.

5.09 RABASH,

Article No. 5 (1990), “What It Means that the Land Did Not Bear Fruit before Man Was Created, in the Work”

In the work, man is regarded as one who has emerged from the control of the quality of a beast. A “beast” means one who is immersed in self-benefit, like a beast, and man means one in whom there is fear of heaven and works because of fear, which The Zohar calls “Because He is great and ruling,” where he works only because of the greatness of the Creator and does not care for his own benefit, but for the benefit of the Creator. It is as our sages said about the verse, “In the end of the matter, fear God and observe His commandments, for this is the whole of man. What is ‘for this is the whole of man’? Rabbi Elazar said, ‘The whole world was created only for this’” (Berachot 6).

It follows that man is regarded as one in whom there is the fear of heaven. And what is the fear of heaven? That is, what is fear? It is as he says (“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Item 191), “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.”

According to the above, we already know the meaning of Adam. It is one who has fear of heaven, who is afraid that perhaps he will not be able to do everything in order to bestow. This is called “man.” A “beast” is the opposite: one who cares only for one’s own benefit, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 3), “Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth?” We should interpret that “spirit of man” goes upward means that everything he does is for the sake of the Creator. This is called “upward,” when his intention is that everything will be only in order to bestow. From this man derives contentment.

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POVARA INIMII

4.01 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 4, “What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels when Annulling before the Creator in the Work?”

We must know the reason for the heaviness one feels when he wants to work in annulling his self before the Creator and not worry about his own benefit. A person comes to a state as though the entire world stands still, and he alone is now seemingly absent from this world, and leaves his family and friends for the sake of annulling before the Creator.

There is but a simple reason for this, called “lack of faith.” It means that one does not see before whom he nullifies, meaning he does not feel the existence of the Creator. This causes him heaviness.

But when he begins to feel the existence of the Creator, his soul immediately yearns to annul and connect with the root, to be contained in it like a candle in a torch, without any mind or reason. However, this comes naturally, as a candle is canceled before a torch.

It therefore follows that the essence of one’s work is only to come to feel the existence of the Creator, meaning to feel the existence of the Creator, that “the whole earth is full of His glory,” and this will be one’s entire work. That is, all the energy one puts into the work will be only to achieve this, and nothing else.

One should not be misled into having to acquire anything. Rather, there is only one thing a person needs: faith in the Creator. He should not think of anything, meaning that the only reward that he wants for his work should be to be rewarded with faith in the Creator.

4.02 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 121, “She Is Like Merchant-Ships”

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on what proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” This means that the life of Kedusha [holiness] in a person does not come specifically from drawing closer, from entries, meaning admissions into Kedusha, but also from the exits, from the removals. This is so because through the dressing of the Sitra Achra in one’s body, and its claims, “She is all mine,” with a just argument, one is awarded permanent faith by overcoming these states.

This means that one should dedicate everything to the Creator, that is, that even the exits stem from Him. When he is rewarded, he sees that both the exits and the entries were all from Him. This forces him to be humble, since he sees that the Creator does everything, the exits as well as the entries.

This is the meaning of what is said about Moses, that he was humble and patient—that one must tolerate the lowliness, meaning that in each degree one should keep the lowliness. The minute he leaves the lowliness, he immediately loses all the degrees of Moses he had already achieved.

This is the meaning of patience. Lowliness exists in everyone, but not every person feels that lowliness is a good thing. It turns out that we do not want to suffer. However, Moses tolerated the humbleness, which is why he was called “humble,” since the lowliness made him glad.

 4.03 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 33, “The Lots on Yom Kippurim and with Haman”

We must know that what appears to one as things that contradict the guidance of “The Good Who Does Good” is only to compel one to draw the upper light on the contradictions, when wanting to prevail over the contradictions. Otherwise, one cannot prevail. This is called “the exaltedness of the Creator,” which one extends when having the contradictions, called Dinim [judgments].

This means that the contradictions can be annulled if one wants to overcome them, only if he extends the exaltedness of the Creator. You find that these Dinim cause the drawing of the exalted- ness of the Creator. This is the meaning of what is written, “and cast his mantle upon him.”

It means that afterward he attributed the whole mantle of hair to Him, to the Creator. That is, now he saw that the Creator gave him this mantle deliberately, in order to draw the upper light on them. However, one can only see this later, after one has been granted the light that rests on these contradictions and Dinim that he had had in the beginning. This is so because he sees that without the hair, meaning the descents, there would not be a place for the upper light to be there, as there is no light without a Kli [vessel].

For this reason, he sees that all the exaltedness of the Creator he had obtained was because of the Se’arot and the contradictions he had had. This is the meaning of “The Lord on high is mighty.” It means that the exaltedness of the Creator is awarded through the Aderet, and this is the meaning of “let the exaltedness of God be in their mouth.”

This means that through the faults in the work of the Creator, it causes him to rise up, as without a push one is idle to make a movement and agrees to remain in the state he is in. But if one descends to a lower degree than he understands, this gives one the strength to overcome, for one cannot stay in such a bad state, since one cannot agree to remain like that, in the state to which he has descended. For this reason, one must always prevail and emerge from the state of descent. In that state, he must draw upon himself the exaltedness of the Creator. This causes him to extend higher forces from above, or he remains in utter lowliness. It follows that through the Se’arot, one gradually dis- covers the exaltedness of the Creator until one finds the names of the Creator, called “the thirteen attributes of Mercy.” This is the meaning of “and the elder shall serve the younger,” and “the wicked will prepare and the righteous will wear,” and also, “and you shall serve your brother.”

This means that all the enslavement, meaning the contradictions that there were, which appeared to be obstructing the holy work, and were working against Kedusha [holiness]. Now, when granted the light of the Creator, which is placed over these contradictions, we see the opposite—that they were serving the Kedusha. That is, through them, there was a place for the Kedusha to clothe in their dresses. This is called “the wicked will prepare and the righteous will wear,” meaning that they gave the Kelim [vessels] and the place for the Kedusha.

 4.04 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 172 “The Matter of Preventions and Delays”

All the preventions and delays that appear before our eyes are but a form of nearing—the Creator wants to bring us closer, and all these preventions bring us only nearing, since without them we would have no possibility of approaching Him. This is so because, by nature, there is no greater dis- tance, as we are made of pure matter while the Creator is higher than high. Only when one begins to approach does he begin to feel the distance between us. And any prevention one overcomes brings the way closer for that person.

(This is so because one grows accustomed to moving on a line of growing farther. Hence, whenever one feels that he is distant, it does not induce any change in the process, since he knew in advance that he is moving on a line of growing farther, since this is the truth, that there are not enough words to describe the distance between us and the Creator. Hence, every time he feels that distance to a greater extent than he thought, it causes him no contention.)

4.05 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 42, “What Is the Acronym Elul1 in the Work?”

It is impossible to obtain disclosure before one receives the discernment of Achoraim [posterior], discerned as concealment of the Face, and to say that it is as important to him as the disclosure of the Face. It means that one should be as glad as though he has already acquired the disclosure of the Face.

However, one cannot persist and appreciate the concealment like the disclosure, except when one works in bestowal. At that time, one can say, “I do not care what I feel during the work because what is important to me is that I want to bestow upon the Creator. If the Creator understands that He will have more contentment if I work in a form of Achoraim, I agree.”

However, if one still has sparks of reception, he comes to thoughts, and it is then hard for him to believe that the Creator leads the world in a manner of “good and doing good.” This is the meaning of the letter Yod in the name HaVaYaH, which is the first letter, called “a black dot that has no white in it,” meaning it is all darkness and concealment of the Face.

It means that when one comes to a state where one has no support, one’s state becomes black, which is the lowest quality in the upper world, and that becomes the Keter to the lower one, as the Kli of Keter is a vessel of bestowal.

The lowest quality in the upper one is Malchut, which has nothing of its own, meaning that she does not have anything. Only in this manner is it called Malchut. It means that if one takes upon himself the kingdom of heaven—which is in a state of not having anything—gladly, afterward, it becomes Keter, which is a vessel of bestowal and the purest Kli. In other words, the reception of Malchut in a state of darkness subsequently becomes a Kli of Keter, which is a vessel of bestowal.

4.06 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 70, “With a Mighty Hand and with Fury Poured Out”

We should know that of those who want to come into the work of the Creator in order to truly adhere to Him and enter the King’s palace, not everyone is admitted. Rather, he is tested: If he has no other desires but only a desire for Dvekut [adhesion], he is admitted.

And how is one tested if he has only one desire? He is given disturbances. This means that he is sent foreign thoughts and foreign messengers to obstruct him so he would leave this path and follow the path of all the people.

If one overcomes all the difficulties and breaks all the bars that block him, and little things cannot push him away, the Creator sends him great Klipot [shells/peels] and chariots to deflect one from entering into Dvekut with the Creator alone, and with nothing else. This is considered that the Creator is rejecting him with a mighty hand.

If the Creator does not show a mighty hand, it will be hard to push him away since he has a strong desire to adhere only to the Creator and to nothing else.

But when the Creator wants to reject one whose desire is not so strong, He pushes him away with a small thing. By giving him a great desire for corporeality, he already leaves the holy work entirely, and there is no need to repel him with a mighty hand.

Yet, when one overcomes all the hardships and the disturbances, one is not easily repelled, but with a mighty hand. And if one overcomes even the mighty hand and does not want to move from the place of Kedusha [holiness] whatsoever, but wants to adhere specifically to Him in truth, and sees that he is repelled, then one says that fury is poured out on him. Otherwise, he would be allowed inside. But because fury is poured out on him by the Creator, he is not admitted into the King’s palace to adhere to Him.

It follows that before one wants to move from one’s place, and breaks in and wants to enter, it cannot be said that he feels that fury is poured out on him. Rather, after all the rejections that he is rejected, and he does not move from his place, meaning when the mighty hand and the fury poured out have already been revealed upon him, then “I will be King over you” comes true. This is so because only through bursting and great efforts does the kingdom of heaven become revealed to him, and he is rewarded with entering the King’s palace.

4.07 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 14

“Come to Pharaoh.” It is the Shechina [Divinity] in disclosure, from the words, “and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose,” as it is written in The Zohar. The thing is that to the extent that the children of Israel thought that Egypt were enslaving them and impeding them from serv- ing the Creator, they truly were in the exile in Egypt. Hence, the Redeemer’s only work was to reveal to them that there is no other force involved here, that “I and not a messenger,” for there is no other force but Him. This was indeed the light of redemption, as explained in the Passover Haggadah [story].

This is what the Creator gave to Moses in the verse, “Come to Pharaoh,” meaning unite the truth, for the whole approaching the king of Egypt is only to Pharaoh, to disclose the Shechina. This is why He said, “For I have hardened his heart,” etc., “that I may place these signs of Mine within him.”

In spirituality, there are no letters, as I have already elaborated on before. All the multiplication in spirituality relies on the letters derived from the materiality of this world, as in, “And creator of darkness.” There are no additions or initiations here, but the creation of darkness, the Merkava [chariot/structure] that is suited to disclose that the light is good. It follows that the Creator Himself hardened his heart. Why? Because it is letters that I need.

This is the meaning of “that I may place these signs of Mine within him, and that you may tell … that you may know that I am the Lord.” Explanation: Once you receive the letters, meaning when you understand that I gave and toiled for you, as in, do not move from “behind” Me, for you will thoroughly keep the Achoraim [posterior/back] for Me, for My name, then the abundance will do her thing and fill the letters. The qualities will become Sefirot, since before the filling they are called “qualities,” and upon their fulfillment for the best, they are called Sefirot, sapphire, illuminating the world from one end to the other.

This is the meaning of “that you may tell.” I need all this for the end of the matter, meaning “And you shall know that I am the Lord” “and not a messenger.” This is the meaning of the fiftieth gate, which cannot appear unless the forty-nine faces of pure and impure appear in one opposite the other, in which the righteous falls [forty-nine in Gematria] before the wicked.

4.08 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 19

To Him who knows the mysteries, the desire in one’s heart for His nearness is known, and that it might still be interrupted. Hence, He increases His stimuli, meaning the beginnings of the coituses, for if one listens to His voice, as in “The Lord of your shade,” one does not fall and descend due to the increasing affliction of the stimuli since he sees and hears that the Shechina also suffers as he does by the increased longing. Thus, one’s longing grows and intensifies each time until one’s point in the heart is completed with complete will in a tight knot that will not crumble.

4.09 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati,  Article No. 19, “What Is “The Creator Hates the Bodies,” in the Work?”

One must always examine oneself, the purpose of one’s work, meaning if the Creator receives con- tentment in every act that one performs, because he wants equivalence of form with the Creator. This is called “All your actions will be for the sake of the Creator,” meaning that one wants the Creator to enjoy everything he does, as it is written, “to bring contentment to his Maker.”

Also, one needs to conduct oneself with the will to receive and say to it, “I have already decided that I do not want to receive any pleasure because you want to enjoy, since with your desire I am forced to be separated from the Creator, for disparity of form causes separation and distance from the Creator.”

One’s hope should be that since he cannot break free from the power of the will to receive, he is therefore in perpetual ascents and descents. Hence, he awaits the Creator, to be rewarded with the Creator opening his eyes, and to have the strength to overcome and work only for the sake of the Creator. It is as it is written, “One have I asked of the Lord; her will I seek.” “Her” means the Shechina [Divinity]. And one asks “that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

4.10 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 101

As long as one is not rewarded with a guidance of revelation of the face, the abundance of Torah and Mitzvot he has performed make his concealment of the face much heavier. This is the meaning of “The Creator hides Himself in the Torah.”

Indeed, all that heaviness he feels through the Torah is but proclamations by which the Torah itself calls him, awakening him to hurry up and give the required measure of labor to promptly endow him with the revelation of the face, as God wills it.

4.11 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 47

The nature of spirituality: One who is adhered to the Creator feels himself as not adhered. He wor- ries and is insecure about it and does all that he can do by his strength to be rewarded with Dvekut [adhesion]. A wise one feels opposite from one who is not adhered to the Creator, who feels content and satisfied, and does not worry properly, except to keep the Mitzvot [commandments] of worry and longing, for “a fool does not feel.”

4.12 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 18

One who assumes the complete burden of the kingdom of heaven finds no labor in the work of the Creator, and can therefore adhere to the Creator day and night, in light and in darkness. The Geshem [“rain,” but also “corporeality”]—which is created in coming and going, changes and exchanges—will not stop him since the Keter, which is Ein Sof, illuminates to all completely equally. The fool—who walks under a flood of preventions that pour on him from before and from behind—says to all that he does not feel the cessation and the lack of Dvekut [adhesion] as a cor- ruption or iniquity on his part.

Had he sensed it, he would certainly have strained to find some tactic to at least be saved from the cessation of Dvekut, whether more or less. This tactic has never been denied of anyone who sought it, either as in “the thought of faith” or as in “confidence,” or as in “pleas of his prayer,” which are suitable for a person specifically in the narrow and pressured places.

4.13 RABASH,

Article No. 1 (1989), “What Is the Measure of Repentance?”

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.

4.14 RABASH,

Article No. 29 (1986), “Lishma and Lo Lishma”

A person who wishes to walk on the path of bestowal, he must understand that from above he is given a special treatment, that he was lowered from the previous state so he would begin to really contemplate the goal, meaning what is required of man and what man wants the Creator to give him. But when he is in a state of ascent, when he has desire for Torah and Mitzvot, he has no need to worry about spirituality. Instead, he sees that he will stay this way his whole life because he is happy this way.

It therefore follows that the descent he has received is for his own good, meaning that he is receiving special treatment, that he was lowered from his state where he thought that he had some wholeness. This is apparent in his agreeing to remain in the current state his whole life.

But now that he sees that he is far from spirituality, he begins to think, “What is really required of me? What should I do? What is the purpose I should achieve?” He sees that he has no power to work, and finds himself in a state of “between heaven and earth.” Then, man’s only strengthening is that only the Creator can help, but by himself, he is doomed.

It was said about this (Isaiah, 4:31): “Yet those who hope for the Lord will gain new strength,” meaning those people who hope for the Creator. This means that they who see that there is no one else in the world who can help them regain strength each time. It follows that this descent is actually an ascent, meaning that this descent that they feel allows them to rise in degree, since “there is no light without a Kli.”

4.15 RABASH,

Article No. 38 (1985), “A Righteous Who Is Happy, a Righteous Who Is Suffering”

When one wants to go on the path of doing everything for the Creator, where in everything he does he thinks what benefit the Creator will derive from this, and does not think of his own benefit, then the body comes to him with arguments. It begins to slander this path, called “the path of bestowal and not for one’s self-benefit,” and argues the arguments of Pharaoh and the argument of the wicked, which are regarded as “mind and heart,” namely “who and what.”

When a person begins to listen to their arguments, he begins to wonder because he has never heard such strong arguments coming from his body as the ones he hears now. When he began the work he thought that each time he would advance further toward the goal, meaning that each time he would see that it is worthwhile to work for the Creator.

But suddenly he sees that where he should have had a greater desire to serve the Creator, he hears rejection from the body, which tells him now, “Why don’t you want to go the way the whole world goes, where you should be meticulous with the nitty gritty actions, and concerning the intention you should say, ‘May it be as though I intended.’” “But now,” says the body, “I see that you are paying attention specifically to the intentions, meaning that you can aim that everything will be for the Creator and not for yourself. Can it be that you will be different? Don’t you want to be like everyone else, who say that this is the safest way? And the evidence of this is to look at everyone else, how they behave.”

At that time begins the work of overcoming. That is, he needs to overcome their arguments and not surrender to their demands. He must certainly give them clear answers to what they are making him see, that his desire to intend that all his works will be only to bestow and not for his own benefit is against reason, since reason mandates that since man was created with a will to receive delight and pleasure, and there is a natural demand to satisfy it—or else, why does he need life if not to enjoy it, to satisfy the body’s demands—and so it lets him understand that this makes perfect sense, and there is no excuse to answer its arguments.

The clear reply should be that we believe in the words of the sages, who taught us that we must go above mind and reason. That is, true faith is specifically above reason, and what the mind understands is not all true, since with respect to the Creator, we learn that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor My ways your ways.”

 4.16 RABASH,

Article No. 20 (1990), “What Is Half a Shekel in the Work? – 2”

There are two manners that cause a person to escape the campaign even when he enters the work of being adhered to the Creator. Once a person begins to walk on the path of truth, he is shown from above his lowliness, meaning that the more he overcomes, the more hardening of the heart he receives from above, because as it is written, “That I may set these signs of Mine within him.” This means that by this, there will be room for the revelation of the light of Torah, called “letters,” and this reforms him. That is, since there is no light without a Kli, through the hardening of the heart, the lack appears sufficiently, and the Creator knows when the measure is sufficient, when the Kli is completed.

Therefore, sometimes a person escapes the campaign when he sees that he has already prayed a lot in his opinion, but the Creator does not notice him. At that time, sometimes a person sentences the Creator to the side of merit for not granting his prayer, and says that it is because he has a poor character in every way, in virtues, and in good qualities, etc.

It was said about this, “The poor shall not give less,” meaning that a person should not belittle himself and say that the Creator cannot help a lowly person such as him, for it was said about this, “The Lord is high and the low will see.”

And sometimes, a person leaves the campaign because he knows that he is rich, meaning he has much Torah and many good deeds, and he knows that he is superior to others. Therefore, when he asks the Creator to help him be able to do everything in order to bestow, why is the Creator not granting him, for he knows that he has already given many prayers for it. Therefore, he says that the Creator does not want to answer him, and therefore he runs.

And yet, a person must always overcome.

 4.17 RABASH,

Article No. 18 (1990), “Why the Speech of Shabbat Must Not Be as the Speech of a Weekday, in the Work”

The first assistance he receives is the revelation of the evil in him. This is called “hardening of the heart,” as it is written, “For I have hardened his heart.” This is regarded as obtaining the Achoraim of Kedusha. Kedusha is called Panim, and Panim is considered something that illuminates, as he says (“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 47), “We must first understand what is the meaning of the ‘face of the Creator,’ about which the writing says, ‘I will hide My face.’ It can be thought of as a person who sees his friend’s face and knows him right away. However, when he sees him from behind he is not certain of his identity. He might doubt, ‘Perhaps he is another and not his friend?’ So is the matter before us: Everyone knows and feels that the Creator is good and that it is the conduct of the good to do good. Hence, when the Creator generously bestows upon His creations, it is considered that His face is revealed to His creations, since then everyone knows and recognizes Him. Yet, when He behaves with His creations the opposite from the above mentioned, meaning when they suffer afflictions and torments in His world, it is considered the Achoraim of the Creator, for His face, meaning His complete attribute of goodness, is entirely concealed from them.” Therefore, in that state, if he can accept the Achoraim, which is called “exile,” and does not run, but rather, “And they cried out to the Lord” to deliver him from the exile, then he accepts the Achoraim and says that it comes from the Creator, hence he asks Him that as He made him feel the taste of exile, so He will help him emerge from exile.

4.18 RABASH,

Article No. 24 (1986), “The Difference between Charity and Gift”

In the work of the Creator, in the beginning of his work he had energy and confidence, and great importance for Torah and prayer because at that time he had grace of holiness, and felt that the work of the Creator is important. However, this was still not considered a “deficiency” that the Creator will satisfy, a deficiency is called Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, since the lack and pain of not having Dvekut with the Creator was still not felt in him as he has not exerted for it because he has just begun the work.

But after a long period of time of making efforts and not achieving satisfaction of his deficiency, torments and pain begin to form in him because he has made efforts but sees no progress in his work. At that time the thoughts begin to come one-by-one. Sometimes it is with sparks of despair, and sometimes he grows stronger, but then he sees once more that he has fallen from his state, and so on repeatedly. Finally, a real deficiency forms in him, which he has obtained through exertion in ascents and descents. These ascents and descents leave him with pain each time at not having been granted Dvekut with the Creator. Finally, when the cup of labor has been filled sufficiently, it is called a Kli. Then the filling of it comes from the Creator, since now he has a real Kli.

It follows that his seeing that now—after several years of work—he has retreated, this happens deliberately so he will ache at not having Dvekut with the Creator. It turns out that each time he must see that he is approaching the making of the Kli, called “real deficiency.” That is, his gauge of Katnut [infancy/smallness] and Gadlut [adulthood/greatness] of the deficiency is to the extent of the suffering he feels at not having the filling, which is called here “Dvekut with the Creator,” where all he wants is only to bring contentment to the Creator.

4.19 RABASH,

Article No. 236, “The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory”

Before one is fit to attain the truth, he must believe that the truth is not as he knows or feels, but that it is as it is written, “They have eyes and they will not see; they have ears and they will not hear.”

This is only because of the correction, in order for man to achieve his wholeness, for he feels only himself and not another reality.

Hence, if one returns his heart to trying to walk in faith above the intellect, by this he qualifies it and establishes it so as to achieve the revelation of the face, as is presented in The Zohar, that the Shechina [Divinity] said to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, “There is no place to hide from you,” mean- ing that in all the concealments that he felt, he believed that here was the light of the Creator. This qualified him until he achieved the revelation of the face of His light.

This is the meaning of the measure of the faith that pulls one out of every lowliness and conceal- ment if a person strengthens himself in this and asks the Creator to reveal Himself.

This is the meaning of what Baal HaSulam said, “Run my Beloved until she pleases,” meaning that before one is fit to reveal His light, we ask of Him, “Run my Beloved,” meaning that He will not reveal Himself to the created beings because the concealment is only the correction of creation.

Hence, one must brace oneself and pray for those two:

1. To be worthy of the revelation of the light of the Creator.
2. That the Creator will give him the power to grow stronger in faith above reason, for by this, he merges Kelim [vessels] that are fit for the revelation of the face.

 4.20 RABASH,

Article No. 19 (1985), “Come unto Pharaoh – 1”

We should pay attention to “Come unto Pharaoh” and believe through the worst possible states, and not escape the campaign, but rather always trust that the Creator can help a person and give him, whether one needs a little help or a lot of help.

In truth, one who understands that he needs the Creator to give him a lot of help, because he is worse than the rest of the people, is more suitable for his prayer to be answered, as it is written, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Therefore, one should not say that he is unfit for the Creator to bring him closer, but that the reason is that he is idle in his work. Instead, one should always overcome and not let thoughts of despair enter his mind, as our sages said (Berachot, 10), “Even if a sharp sword is placed on his neck he should not deny himself of mercy,” as it was said (Job, 13), “Though He slay me, I will hope for Him.” We should interpret the “sharp sword placed on his neck” to mean that even though one’s evil, called “self-love,” is placed on his neck and wants to separate him from Kedusha by showing him that it is impossible to exit this authority, he should say that the picture he sees is the truth.

However, “He should not deny himself of mercy,” for at that time he must believe that the Creator can give him the mercy, meaning the quality of bestowal. That is, by himself, it is true that one cannot exit the authority of self-reception. But from the perspective of the Creator, when the Creator helps him, of course He can bring him out. This is the meaning of what is written, “I am the Lord your God, who took you out from the land of Egypt to be your God.”

4.21 RABASH,

Article No. 44 (1990), “What Is an Optional War, in the work – 2?”

All those thoughts that the will to receive brings him are sent to him from above because he wants to walk on the path of bestowal, and in the meantime he is idle in the work, because he prayed for the Creator to bring him closer to being in Dvekut with the Creator, which is equivalence of form, when it is apparent that the person is idle in the work, he is sent the foreign thoughts that a person cannot agree to be under such a control. This, in turn, gives a person a push that he must overcome the state he is in. It therefore follows that from this bad, when a person feels that he is in such a lowly state that he never imagined that he could be under such governance, for this reason, he should not be alarmed and escape the campaign. On the contrary, he should believe that the Creator is taking care of him now, and He is bringing him closer through a state of Achoraim [posterior].

This is as it is written in the book A Sage’s Fruit (Vol. 1, p 139), “About the verse, ‘My beloved is like a gazelle,’ our sages said, ‘As the gazelle looks back when he runs, when the Creator leaves Israel, He turns back His face.’ Then the face returns to being in the Achoraim, meaning craving and longing to cling to Israel once more. This begets in Israel longing and craving to cling to the Creator, too, and the measure of the longing and craving is actually the face itself.”

We should interpret that he means that when a person is in a state of lowliness, it is considered that the Creator has moved away from him, and he has no desire or yearning for the work, this is regarded as the Creator giving a person a shape of tastelessness about spirituality. Moreover, a person wants to escape and forget about the work altogether. This is regarded as the Creator showing him the Achoraim. The Panim [face/anterior] of the Creator is His desire to do good to His creations, and the Achoraim is the complete opposite. Why does the Creator show a person the Achoraim? It is on purpose, for by this a person gets a thrust toward Dvekut with the Creator, for he cannot remain in a state of lowliness. It follows that here, within the Achoraim is the discernment of Panim.

 4.22 RABASH,

Article No. 21 (1988), “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given Out of the Darkness in the Work?”

In the work, “the nations of the world” means that the body comprises seventy nations that want the Torah not because they feel darkness when they have no vessels of bestowal. Rather, their only desire is the vessels of reception and they have no desire to emerge from that control. They want the Torah in order to add more light to themselves, meaning more pleasure than they receive from corporeal matters. That is, they also want the next world, as it is written in The Zohar, “They howl as dogs Hav, Hav [give, give], give us the wealth of this world, and give us the wealth of the next world.” That is, the wealth of this world is not enough for them, but they also want the wealth of the next world. It follows that the Torah was given specifically to those who feel that their will to receive controls them. They cry out from the darkness that they need the Torah in order to deliver them from the darkness that is the control of the vessels of reception, on which there was a Tzimtzum [restriction] and concealment so that no light will shine in that place. But that place is the cause for the need to receive the Torah.

4.23 RABASH,

Article No. 5 (1988), “What Is, ‘When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is With Them,’ in the Work?”

What is the meaning of “When Israel are in exile, the Shechina is with them”? As Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai said, “Wherever they exile, the Shechina is with them.” What is the benefit from this in the work, that he says about it, “How beloved are Israel by the Creator”?

We should interpret that when a person feels that he is in exile, meaning feels the taste of exile in the work and wants to escape from the exile, the meaning will be that a person must believe that wherever they are exiled, the Shechina is with them. That is, the Shechina let him feel the taste of exile. “With them” means that the Shechina is attached to them and they are not separated from the Shechina, that they should say that it is a descent. On the contrary, now the Shechina is giving him a push so he will climb the degrees of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], and dresses herself in a garment of descent.

When a person knows and believes that this is so, it will encourage him so he does not escape the campaign or say that the work of bestowal is not for him because he always sees that he is in states of ascents and descents, and he sees no end to these states and falls into despair.

But if he walks in the path of faith and believes in the words of our sage, then he must say the opposite.

4.24 RABASH, Article No. 30 (1989),

“What Is the Meaning of Lighting the Menorah in the Work?”

Only one who labors and works as much as he can, and goes through ups and downs, can say that he tastes the taste of darkness because he cannot overcome his will to receive for himself.

Thus, the descents that a person receives when he wants to walk on the path of truth are instru- ments for the sensation of the help he will receive. We must believe the words of our sages who said, “He who comes to purify is aided.” A person must not escape the campaign when he sees that he is not making progress. Sometimes he gets thoughts of the spies, who said that this work is not for us and requires special people who can walk on the path of overcoming.

All this comes to him because he understands that each time, he must see how he is making prog- ress. However, it does not occur to him that he must advance in obtaining darkness, that this is the only Kli he needs to acquire. A Kli is a need for a filling. That is, if he has no filling for the lack, he feels that he is in the dark. For this reason, a person must not say that he is not advancing in the work. Hence, he wants to escape the campaign, for it is not the truth, since he sees each time how far he is from obtaining the light, meaning for the Creator to give him the Kli called “desire to bestow.” He cannot obtain the desire to bestow by himself, and then he comes to feel that the world has grown dark on him. At that time, the light comes, meaning help from above, as it is written, “He who comes to purify is aided.”

4.25 RABASH,

Letter No. 77

The whole foundation is that one should ask that all of one’s thoughts and desires will be only to benefit the Creator, a depiction of lowliness, called Shechina in the dust, immediately appears. Hence, we must not be impressed by the descent, since many pennies join into a great amount.

This is as we learned, “there is no absence in spirituality,” rather that it has temporarily departed in order to have room for work to advance. This is so because every moment that we scrutinize into holiness enters the domain of holiness, and a person descends only in order to sort out more sparks of holiness.

However, there is an advice that one should not wait until his degree is lowered for him, and when he feels his lowliness he goes up again, and that ascent is regarded as sorting a part into holiness. Instead, he himself descends and elevates other sparks, and raises them into the domain of holiness.

It is as our sages said, “Before I lose, I search” (Shabbat, 152), meaning before I lose the situation I am in, I start searching. It is as Baal HaSulam said about King David, who said, “I awaken the dawn.” Our sages said, “I awaken the dawn and the dawn does not awaken me.”

Therefore, the keeping is primarily during the ascent, and not during the descent.

 4.26 RABASH, Article No. 44,

“Ruin by Elders—Construction; Construction by Youths—Ruin”

“Ruin by elders—construction; construction by youths—ruin” (Megillah 31b).

Elders are those who are accustomed to the work of the Creator. Youths are those who are in the beginning of their work. “Ruin” means a descent or a fall, where previously they had some ascent in the work, which is regarded as building, meaning that they appreciated the ascent, but the ruin is when they felt some fall, which comes from the concealment of the Creator, that the Creator hides Himself from them. This is called “ruin.”

“Ruin by elders” means that they say that the Creator sent them the concealment. It follows that they are already building, since they believe that the Creator is tending to them, and from this they derive vitality.

Faith is apparent primarily during the descent, when it does not shine for a person. At that time, he faces a dilemma: Either he says, “I do not need any benefits. Rather, I want to bring contentment above and I do not care what I feel,” or it is otherwise.

4.27 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1991), “What Is, ‘The Herdsmen of Abram’s Cattle and the Herdsmen of Lot’s Cattle,’ in the Work?”

In every beginning a person must start over the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven, it is not enough that yesterday he had faith in the Creator. For this reason, every acceptance of the kingdom of heaven is considered a new discernment. That is, now he receives a part of the vacant space that was devoid of the kingdom of heaven, and admits that empty place and fills it with the kingdom of heaven. It follows that now he sorted out a new thing, which did not exist before he took that empty place and filled it with the kingdom of heaven. This is regarded as elevating a new spark into the Kedusha. Finally, from all the ascents, he always raises sparks from the vacant space into the Kedusha.

It follows that from each descent he arrives at a new beginning and raises new sparks. Hence, when a person sees that he has descents, he should be careful not to escape from the campaign, even though he sees that he is not progressing. Rather, he must try to start anew each time. That is, the fact that he begins to ascend does not mean that he returned to his previous degree. This would mean that he did nothing by his work, since he thinks that he is now ascending to his previous level. Rather, he must believe that this is a new discernment, that each time, he raises different sparks, until he raises the sparks that pertain to his essence.

 4.28 RABASH,

Article No. 289, “The Creator Is Meticulous with the Righteous”

The blow that one receives from the Creator, when He takes from him the flavor of the work, by this itself He heals him because then he has no other way to serve the Creator but with faith above reason. It follows that the blow that he received from the Creator, from this itself he can be healed, for otherwise, he will remain in separation.

By this we understand what our sages said, that by the blows of the Creator, He heals (Mechilta BeShalach). In other words, this is the healing—that He gives him room to work with faith without any support.

Also, we should understand what our sages said, “The Creator makes a decree and a righteous revokes it” (Moed Katan, 16). This means that the Creator makes a decree, taking from him the plea- sure of the work, and there is no harsher decree than taking from someone the vitality in the work. But the righteous revokes it. That is, if a person says he wants to work without any reward of vital- ity and pleasure, then the decree is revoked in any case. Moreover, now he rises to a higher degree, for now he is in a state of pure faith and is regarded as having no self-interest.

4.29 RABASH,

Article No. 21, “Sanctification of the Month”

A person must take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven on the lowest quality, and say about it that to him, even that state, the lowest that can be, meaning one that is entirely above reason, when he has no support from the mind or the feeling, so he can build its foundations on it, and at that time, he is seemingly standing between heaven and earth and has no support, for then everything is above reason, then a person says that the Creator sent him this state, where he is in utter lowliness, since the Creator wants him to take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven in this manner of lowliness.

At that time, because he believes above reason, he takes upon himself that the situation he is in now comes to him from the Creator, meaning that the Creator wants him to see the lowest possible state that can be in the world.

And yet, he must say that he believes in the Creator in all manners. This is considered that he has made an unconditional surrender. That is, a person does not say to the Creator, “If You give me a good feeling, to feel that ‘The whole earth is full of His glory,’ I will be willing to believe.”

Rather, when he has no knowledge or sensation of spirituality, he cannot accept the burden of the kingdom of heaven and observe the Torah and Mitzvot [commandments]. Rather, he must accept the kingdom of heaven unconditionally.

 4.30 RABASH,

Article No. 926, “Come unto Pharaoh”

They said that one should see oneself as half guilty, half innocent, since the Creator deliberately made it so that the good and the bad will always be of equal weight, so he can decide. Hence, if he performs one Mitzva [commandment] and has decided to the side of merit, he becomes great.

At that time, they say, “Anyone who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him.” In other words, the Creator deliberately hardens his heart so he would be able to make a choice once more, for in each choice, a person gains the letters of the Torah. Thus, the signs are not for the sake of the Creator but for the sake of man.

It therefore follows that the hardening of the heart is only for man’s sake, for by this he will be rewarded with the letters of the Torah. Although during the fact, a person does not feel all that he is meant to feel, when he has completed his discernment, what he has done all that time is revealed to him at once.

Like the allegory that Baal HaSulam once gave, this is similar to a person earning nothing but zeros. Each time, he sees that he has earned only zero. After the first time, he has one zero. After the second time, two zeros, and after the third, three zeros, until he accumulates many zeros. But at the end of his work, he earns a one. Thus, he might have one zero with the one, which is only ten, or he might have one million, or more. It follows that each time, letters of the Torah are added in him. This is the meaning of “that I may set these signs of Mine within him.”

4.31 RABASH, Article No. 38 (1990),

“What Is, ‘A Cup of Blessing Must Be Full,’ in the Work?”

When a person is already standing near the place from which he will receive the help from above, and “near” means that the Kli [vessel], meaning the desire to bestow, is far away from him, then he sees that only the Creator can save him. As Baal HaSulam said, this is the most important point in man’s work, for then he has close contact with the Creator because he sees one hundred percent that nothing can help him but the Creator Himself.

Although he believes this, still, this faith does not always illuminate for him that specifically now is the best time to receive the salvation of the Creator, that specifically now he can be saved and the Creator will bring him closer, meaning give him the desire to bestow and emerge from the control of self-love, which is called “exodus from Egypt.” In other words, he comes out of the control of the Egyptians, who afflicted Israel and did not let them do the holy work. “And the children of Israel sighed from the work, and their cry rose up to God,” and then the Creator brought them out from the exile in Egypt.

In other words, since the people of Israel felt the enslavement and wanted to escape from this exile that the Egyptians were enslaving them, when they came to this important point of feeling their lowliness, the Creator brought them out of Egypt. This is as the ARI says, that when the people of Israel were in Egypt, they were already in forty-nine gates of Tuma’a [impurity], and then the Creator brought them out from Egypt.

This means that they already came to the worst lowliness, the lowest that can be, and then the Creator brought them out.

4.32 RABASH, Article No. 16 (1988),

“What Is the Foundation on which Kedusha [Holiness] Is Built?”

I am still immersed in self-love and I still do not have love for the Creator. I am still without the glory of the Torah and I still do not have the importance of the Torah to know that it is worth- while to do everything to obtain the light of Torah, as well as how to appreciate the importance of observing the Mitzvot that the Creator commanded for us.

When I need to perform some Mitzva and intend that it will be in order to bestow, the resistance in the body promptly awakens in full force. And he has a great struggle to do anything and he sees the ascents and descents each time. And then he has room for prayer. This is so because a person awakens himself at the right time, meaning when he feels that he will be able to pray instanta- neously, and not that the black will bring him sadness and depression, that he will not have the ability to pray for the blackness.

One can see for himself whether it comes to him from the side of Klipa or not. The sign for this is that something that comes from Kedusha is always in the form of “increasing holiness and not decreasing.” In other words, one always asks the Creator to elevate him to a higher degree than the one he is on. But when the blackness comes from the side of Klipa, a person cannot ask the Creator to raise him above his state. “Rather, they bring down,” meaning bring him down to the netherworld, and he loses the small portion of faith that he had and he remains seemingly dead, without the spirit of life.

4.33 RABASH,

Article No. 21 (1988), “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given Out of the Darkness in the Work?”

When a person wants to draw near to the Creator, meaning use the vessels of bestowal, but he can- not because the body disagrees with it, since his body extends from vessels of reception, at that time a person feels that the world has grown dark on him, for he understands that if he cannot obtain vessels of bestowal, he will never be rewarded with the upper light, which is the light of “doing good to His creations.”

It follows that the darkness he feels from not being able to obtain vessels of bestowal by himself gives him the need that someone will help him obtain those Kelim [vessels]. According to the rule, “There is no light without a Kli [vessel], no filling without a lack,” it follows that now he has received a need for the light of Torah. It is as our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.”

Thus, the Torah is given specifically to the deficient, and that deficiency is called “darkness.” This is the meaning of the words, “The Torah was given out of the darkness.” That is, one who feels darkness in his life because he has no vessels of bestowal is fit to receive the Torah, so that through the Torah, the light in it will reform him and he will obtain the vessels of bestowal. Through them, he will be fit to receive the delight and pleasure.

4.34 RABASH,

Article No. 22 (1985), “The Whole of the Torah Is One Holy Name”

We must always consider the goal, which is to “do good to His creations.” If the evil inclination comes to a person and asks him all of Pharaoh’s questions, he should not reply with lame excuses, but say, “Now, with your questions, I can begin with the work of bestowal.”

This means that we should not say about the questions of the evil inclination that it came to us in order to lower us from our degree. On the contrary, now it is giving us a place to work, by which we will ascend on the degrees of wholeness. That is, any overcoming in the work is called “walking in the work of the Creator,” since each penny joins into a great amount.” That is, all the times we over- come accumulate to a certain measure required to become a Kli for the reception of the abundance.

Overcoming means taking a part of a vessel of reception and adding it to the vessels of bestowal. It is like the Masach [screen], which we must put on the Aviut [thickness/will to receive]. It follows that if one has no will to receive, one has nothing on which to place a Masach. For this reason, when the evil inclination brings us foreign thoughts, this is the time to take these thoughts and raise them above reason.

This is something one can do with everything one’s soul desires. He should not say that now he has received rejection from the work. Rather, he should say that he was given thoughts and desires from above so as to have room to admit them into Kedusha [holiness]. It therefore follows that it is to the contrary: because he is brought closer from above, he was sent work.

It was said about this: “The ways of the Lord are straight; righteous walk in it and transgressors fail in it.”

 4.35 RABASH,

Article No. 71, “The Meaning of Exile”

“When Israel are in exile, the Shechina [Divinity] is with them.” This means that if one falls into a descent, spirituality is also descended in him. But according to the rule, “a Mitzva [commandment] induces a Mitzva,” why does he come into a descent? Answer: He is given a descent from above so as to feel that he is in exile and ask for mercy, to be delivered from exile. This is called “redemption,” and there cannot be redemption if there is no exile there, first.

What is exile? It is that he is under the rule of self-love and cannot work for the sake of the Creator. When is self-love considered exile? It is only when he wants to emerge from this control because he suffers from not being able to do anything for the sake of the Creator.

It follows that when he began to work, there had to be some pleasure and reward for which the body agreed to this work. Afterward, when he was permitted to see that there is the matter of “for the sake of the Creator,” because a Mitzva induces a Mitzva, and he had to ask to be delivered from exile, then he runs from the exile.

How does he run from the exile? It is by saying that he will not succeed in this work. Thus, what does he do? He commits suicide, meaning leaves the work and returns to corporeal life, which is regarded as “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead.’”

It follows that where he should have asked for redemption from exile, he runs from the exile and commits suicide. This is as it is written, “The ways of the Lord are straight; the righteous will walk in them, and transgressors will fail in them.” However, he should go above reason.

A descent in spirituality does not mean that now he has no faith. Rather, now he must do more work, and the previous faith is considered a descent compared to this work.

4.36 RABASH,

Article No. 4 (1998), “What Is a Flood of Water in the Work?”

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

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

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

4.37 RABASH,

Article No. 16 (1985), “But the More They Afflicted Them”

“And the children of Israel sighed because of the labor, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God because of the labor. And God heard their groaning.”

We should be precise about the words “because of the labor” being written twice. We should explain that all the sighs were from the labor, meaning that they could not work for the Creator. Indeed, their suffering was from not being able to make the work that they were doing be for the Creator, due to the Klipa of Egypt. This is why it is written, “Because of the labor” twice.

1. All the sighs were not because they were lacking anything. They lacked only one thing, meaning they did not wish for any luxuries or payment. Their only lack, for which they felt pain and suffering, was that of not being able to do anything for the Creator. In other words, they wished that they would have a desire to give contentment to the Creator and not to themselves, but they couldn’t, and this afflicted them. This is called “wanting to have some grip in spirituality.”
2. The second “Because of the labor” comes to teach that, “And their cry came up unto God,” that God heard their groaning, was because their only request was work. This comes to imply to the other “because of the labor.” It turns out that the whole exile that they felt was only because they were under the rule of the Klipa of Egypt and they could not do anything to make it only in order to bestow.

4.38 RABASH,

Article No. 34 (1991), “What Is Eating Their Fruits in This World and Keeping the Principal for the Next World, in the Work?”

Those who say that they want to escape from the work but have nowhere else to go, since nothing satisfies them, those people do not walk out from the work. Although they have ups and downs, they do not give up. This is as it is written, “And the children of Israel sighed from the work, and they cried, and their cry went up to God from the work.” In other words, they cried out from the work because they were not advancing in the work of the Creator, so they could work in order to bestow content- ment upon the Maker. At that time, they were rewarded with the exodus from Egypt. In the work, this is called “emerging from the control of the will to receive and entry into the work of bestowal.”

4.39 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1990), “When Should One Use Pride in the Work?”

A person should pay attention to this and believe that the Creator is tending to him and guides him on the track that leads to the King’s palace. It follows that he should be happy that the Creator is watching over him and gives him the descents, as well. That is, a person should believe, as much as he can understand, that the Creator is giving him the ascents, since certainly, a person cannot say that he himself receives the ascents, but that the Creator wants to bring him closer; this is why He gives him the ascents.

Also, a person should believe that the Creator gives him the descents, as well, because He wants to bring him closer. Therefore, every single thing that he can do, he must do as though he is in a state of ascent. Therefore, when he overcomes a little during the descent, it is called an “awakening from below.” Each act that he does, he believes that it is the Creator’s will, and by this itself he is rewarded with greater nearing, meaning that the person himself begins to feel that the Creator has brought him closer.

4.40 Zohar for All,

Beresheet [Genesis], “Let Us Make Man”

According to the extent of the Panim of the degree, so is the extent of its Achoraim. The instilling of the Achoraim is a calling and an invitation to instill the Panim. This is why by the measure of the concealment of the Achoraim that they attained, they knew the measure of disclosure that they were about to attain.

As Rabbi Shimon heard, he was calling him Shimon and not Rabbi Shimon. This means that the instilling of the Achoraim, which is a calling, was so strong that he lost all his degrees and became a simple person, Shimon from the market. By that, he recognized that it was a calling and an invitation for very high attainment of Panim.

4.41 Zohar for All, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,”

“The Second Commandment,” Item 201

Complete love is love on both sides, whether in Din, or in Hesed and successful ways. He will love the Creator even if He takes His soul away from Him. This love is complete, for it is on both sides, in Hesed and in Din. Hence, the light of the act of creation came out, and was then concealed. When it became concealed, the harsh Din came out and the two sides, Hesed and Din, were included together, becoming whole.

This is proper love, for the light that was created in the six days of creation, in the verse, “Let there be light,” was concealed again, as it is written in The Zohar, “Let there be light for this world, and let there be light for the next world.” The light from this world was concealed, and appears only for the righteous in the next world.

Why was it concealed? It is because with the concealing of the light, harsh Din came out in this world, by which the two sides, Din and Rachamim, were integrated, becoming whole. This gave room for the inclusion of the two ends as one. This is so because now it became possible to disclose the wholeness of His love even while He takes one’s soul away from him. Thus, room was given to complement the love in a way that had it not been hidden and the harsh Din had not been revealed, this great love would have been devoid of the righteous, and it never would have been possible for it to become disclosed.

4.42 Rabbi Nachman of Breslov,

Likutey Moharan

The work of the Creator requires great persistence, whatever happens to him. Remember this well for you will need it very much as you begin the work of the Creator. It requires great tenacity, and to be strong and brave, to brace oneself and stand still, even if you are dropped down every time. You must not allow yourself to fall off altogether, for it is necessary to experience all those falls, descents, and confusions prior to entering the gates of Kedusha [holiness], and the true righteous, too, have gone through all of it. Know, that man must cross and very, very narrow bridge, and the rule and the most important thing is not to be afraid at all.

inapoi la EXTRASE DIN SURSE (link)

inapoi la EXTRASE DIN SURSE (link)

RECUNOAŞTEREA RĂULUI

3.01 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 21

Your letter from the thirteenth of Tishrey [the first Hebrew month]. What you write me about, “I recognize how much I need external mortifications to correct my externality,” thus far your words, I say that you neither need mortifications nor to correct the externality. Who taught you this new law? It must be that you are not as attached to me as before, and are therefore learning other ways. Know that you have no other trusted friend in your whole life, and I advise you not to correct your externality at all, but only your internality, for only your internality is destined to be corrected. And the main reason why the internality is corrupted due to the proliferation of sins is the filth, whose sign is pride and self-importance. That filth fears no mortification in the world. On the contrary, it relishes them because the self-importance and pride increase and strengthen by the mortification. But if you do wish to cleanse the sins off you, you should engage in annulment of self-importance instead of the mortifications, meaning to feel that you are the lowest and the worst of all the people in the world. It requires much learning and education to understand this, and each time you should test yourself to see if you are not fooling and deceiving yourself. It also helps to lower yourself before your friend in practice.

However, you should be mindful that you lower yourself only before the right people. So if you wish to engage in it in practice, you can annul yourself before our group, and not before strangers, God forbid. However, you must know for certain that you are the worst and the lowest of all the people in the world, as this is the truth.

3.02 Baal HaSulam,

“The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

When one detests any self-reception and his soul loathes the petite physical pleasures and respect, he finds himself roaming free in the Creator’s world, and he is guaranteed that no damage or misfor- tune will ever come upon him, since all the damages come to a man only through the self-reception imprinted in him.

3.23 Baal HaSulam,

“The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

The crass, undeveloped person does not recognize egoism as bad at all. Therefore, he uses it openly, without any shame or restraint, stealing and murdering in broad daylight wherever he can. The somewhat more developed sense some measure of their egoism as bad and are at least ashamed to use it in public, stealing and killing openly. But in secret, they still commit their crimes, but are careful that no one will see them.

The even more developed sense egoism as so loathsome that they cannot tolerate it in them and reject it completely, as much as they detect of it, until they cannot, and do not want to enjoy the labor of others. Then begin to emerge in them sparks of love of others, called “altruism,” which is the general attribute of goodness.

But that, too, evolves gradually. First develops love and desire to bestow upon one’s family and kin, as in the verse, “Do not ignore your own flesh.” When one develops further, one’s attribute of bestowal expands to all the people around him, being one’s townspeople or one’s nation. And so one adds until he finally develops love for the whole of humanity.

3.04 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 107, “Concerning the Two Angels”

Concerning the two angels that accompany one on the eve of Shabbat [Sabbath], a good angel and a bad angel, a good angel is called “right,” by which one comes closer to serving the Creator. This is called “the right brings closer.” And the bad angel is considered “left,” pushing away. This means that it brings him foreign thoughts, whether in mind or in heart.

When one prevails over the bad and brings himself closer to the Creator, meaning that each time, he overcomes the evil and attaches himself to the Creator, it follows that through the two of them, he has come closer to Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator. This means that both performed a single task—they have caused him to adhere to the Creator. In that state one says, “Come in peace.” And when one has completed all of one’s work and has admitted all the left into Kedusha [holiness], as it is written, “There is no place to hide from You,” the bad angel has nothing more to do, as the person has already overcome all the difficulties that the evil presented. At that time, the bad angel is idle. At that time, the person tells it, “Go in peace.”

3.05 Baal HaSulam,

“The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

For engaging in Mitzvot and the work to bring contentment to our Maker rapidly develops in us that sense of recognition of evil.

3.06 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 56, “Torah Is Called Indication”

When one engages in the Torah and sees the truth, meaning his measure of remoteness from spir- ituality, and sees that he is such a lowly being that there is not a worse person than him on earth.

3.07 Baal HaSulam,

“The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

I would like to clear up the essence of that development, which is attained through engagement in Torah and Mitzvot.

Bear in mind that it is the recognition of the evil within us that engagement in Mitzvot can slowly and gradually purify those who delve in them. And the scale by which we measure the degrees of cleansing is the measure of the recognition of the evil within us.

3.08 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 5

I rejoice in those revealed corruptions and the ones that are being revealed.

I do, however, regret and complain about the corruptions that have still not appeared, but which are destined to appear, for a hidden corruption is hopeless, and its surfacing is a great salvation from heaven. The rule is that one does not give what he does not have. Hence, if it has appeared now, there is no doubt that it was here to begin with but was hidden. This is why I am happy when they come out of their holes because when you cast your eye on them, they become a pile of bones.

3.09 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 5

When buried wicked appear, although they have not been fully conquered, their very appearance is regarded as a great salvation and causes the Kedusha [holiness] of the day.

 3.10 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 52, “A Transgression Does Not Quench a Mitzva”

“A transgression does not quench a Mitzva [commandment], and a Mitzva does not quench a trans- gression.” It is the conduct of the work that one must take the good path. But the bad in a person does not let him take the good path.

For this reason, evil has no existence on its own. Rather, the existence of evil depends on love for the evil or the hate for the evil. It means that if one has love for evil then one is caught in the authority of the evil. If one hates the evil, he exits their premises and one’s evil has no dominion over that person.

It follows that the primary work is not in the actual evil, but in the measure of love and the measure of hate. For this reason, transgression prompts transgression. We must ask, “Why does he deserve such a punishment?” When one falls from one’s work, he must be aided to rise from the fall. But here we see that more obstacles are added to him so he would fall lower than the first fall. But in order to feel hatred for the evil, he is given more evil, so as to feel how the transgression removes him from the work of the Creator. Although he regretted the first transgression, he still did not feel regret enough to bring him hatred for the evil.

Hence, a transgression prompts a transgression, and every time he regrets, and each remorse certainly instigates hatred for the evil until the measure of his hatred for the evil is completed, and then he is separated from the evil, since hatred induces separation.

It therefore follows that if one finds a certain measure of hate at a level that prompts separation, he does not need a correction of transgression-prompts-transgression, and therefore saves time. When one has been rewarded, he is admitted to the love of the Creator. This is the meaning of “You who love the Lord, hate evil.” They only hate the evil, but the evil itself remains in its place, and it is only hatred to the evil that we need.

3.11 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 56, “Torah Is Called Indication”

Brought in Masechet Taanit (p 20), that Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, came from a fenced tower from the house of his teacher. He was riding his donkey and strolling along the riverbank feeling great joy. And his mind was crude, as he had been studying much Torah.

A person who was very ugly came by his way. He told him, “Hello rabbi,” but he did not reply. He told him, “Vain, how ugly is that man, are all your townspeople as ugly as you?” He replied, “I do not know, but go and tell the craftsman who made me, ‘How ugly is this vessel that you have made.’” Because he knew that he had sinned, he descended from the donkey.

According to the above, we can see that since he learned much Torah, through it he was granted seeing the truth about the distance between himself and the Creator, meaning the measure of his remoteness and nearness. This is the meaning of his mind being crude, meaning that he saw the complete form of one who is proud, which is his will to receive, and then he could see the truth that it was he himself who was very ugly. How did he see the truth? By learning much Torah.

Thus, how will he be able to adhere to Him, since he is such an ugly person? This is why he asked if all the people were as ugly as him or was he the only ugly one and the rest of the people in the world were not ugly.

What was the answer? “I don’t know.” It means that they do not feel and therefore do not know. And why do they not feel? It is for the simple reason that they were not rewarded with seeing the truth, since they lack Torah, so the Torah will show them the truth.

To that Elijah replied to him, “Go to the craftsman who made me.” Because he saw that he came to a state from which he could not ascend, Elijah appeared and told him, “Go to the crafts- man who made me.” In other words, since the Creator created you so ugly, He must have known that with these Kelim [vessels] it is possible to achieve the goal. So do not worry, go forward and succeed.

3.12 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 23, “You Who Love the Lord, Hate Evil”

In the verse, “You who love the Lord, hate evil; He preserves the souls of His followers; He will save them from the hand of the wicked,” he interprets that it is not enough to love the Creator, and to want to be awarded Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator. One should also hate evil.

Hatred is expressed by hating the evil, called “the will to receive.” One sees that he has no way to get rid of it, and at the same time, he does not want to accept the situation. He feels the losses that the evil causes him, and also sees the truth, that one cannot annul the evil by himself, since it is a natural force from the Creator, who imprinted the will to receive in man.

In that state, the verse tells us what one can do is hate evil. And by this the Creator will keep him from that evil, as it is written, “He preserves the souls of His followers.” What is preservation? “He will deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” In that state, since he has some contact with the Creator, be it the smallest contact, he is already a successful person.

In truth, the matter of evil remains and serves as an Achoraim [posterior] to the Partzuf. But this is only through one’s correction: Through sincere hatred of evil, it is corrected into a form of Achoraim. The hatred comes because if one wants to obtain Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator then there is a conduct among friends: If two people realize that each of them hates what his friend hates, and loves what and whom his friend loves, they come into perpetual bonding like a stake that will never fall. Hence, since the Creator loves to bestow, the lower ones should also adapt to want only to bestow.

The Creator also hates to be a receiver, as He is completely whole and does not need anything. Thus, man, too, must hate the matter of reception for oneself.

It follows from all the above, that one must bitterly hate the will to receive, for all the ruins in the world come only from the will to receive. And through the hatred, one corrects it and surrenders under the Kedusha [holiness].

3.13 Baal HaSulam,

“Peace in the World”

Everything in reality, good or bad, and even the most harmful in the world, has a right to exist and must not be destroyed and eradicated from the world. We must only mend and reform it because any observation of the work of creation is enough to teach us about the greatness and perfection of its Operator and Creator. Therefore, we must understand and be very careful when casting a flaw on any item of creation, saying it is redundant and superfluous, as that would be slander about its Operator.

3.14 Baal HaSulam,

“The Freedom”

The Torah and the Mitzvot were given only to purify Israel, to develop in us the sense of recogni- tion of evil imprinted in us at birth, which is generally defined as our self-love, and to come to the pure good defined as “love of others,” which is the one and only passage to the love of the Creator.

 3.15 RABASH, Article No. 1 (1991),

“What Is, ‘We Have No Other King But You,’ in the Work?”

Is written (Psalms 89), “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, generation after generation I will make known Your faith with my mouth.” We should understand the meaning of “sing forever.” How can one sing to the Creator when he sees that he is full of faults and his heart is not whole with the Creator, and he feels far from the Creator? And sometimes, he even wants to escape the campaign. How can he say that this is the Lord’s mercies and he is singing about this to the Creator? According to the above, a person should say that the fact that he in a lowly state is not because now he has become worse. Rather, now, since he wants to correct himself so that all his actions will be for the sake of the Creator, from above he is shown his true state—what is in his body, which until now was concealed and was not apparent. Now the Creator has revealed them, as it is written in the book A Sage’s Fruit.

A person says about this that it is mercy that the Creator has revealed to him the bad in him so he would know the truth and would be able to ask of the Creator for a real prayer. It follows that on one hand, now he sees that he is far from the Creator. On the other hand, a person should say that the Creator is close to him and tends to him, and shows him the faults. Hence, he should say that they are mercies.

This is the meaning of the words, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever.” That is, on one hand, he is happy and is singing about this. On the other hand, he sees that he must repent. In other words, he must ask of the Creator to bring him closer and give him the desire to bestow, which is a second nature.

3.16 RABASH, Article No. 18 (1987),

“What Is Preparation for Reception of the Torah? – 1”

It is written, “And they stood at the foot of the mountain.”

We must understand what is a “mountain.” The word Har [mountain] comes from the word Hirhurim [thoughts], which is man’s intellect. Anything that is in the intellect is regarded as “in potential.” Afterward, it can expand into actual fact. Accordingly, we can interpret “And the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain,” as the thought and intellect of man, meaning that the Creator informed all the people that the inclination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth. After the Creator informed them in potential, meaning at the top of the mountain, that which was in potential expanded in actual fact.

For this reason, the people came to actually feel and everyone now sensed the need for the Torah, as it is written, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the spice of Torah.” Now they said that through actually feeling that they were forced to accept the Torah, meaning without choice, since they saw that if they received the Torah they would have delight and pleasure, and if not, there it would be their burial. In other words, if we remain in our current state, our lives will not be lives but they will be our burial place.

Accordingly, we should interpret “And the Lord came down to the top of the mountain” to mean that once the Creator informed them on the mountain, in the intellect, that the evil is man’s heart, and once this has been set in their minds, in their thoughts and intellect, it immediately operated, as it is written, “And they stood at the foot of the mountain.” In other words, the descent that was on the mountain operated on them and they stood at the foot of the mountain, meaning the above descents controlled them.

It follows that “forced the mountain on them like a vault” means the descent and the information they received on the mountain, meaning with the thought about them that now they will have to receive the Torah because this mountain, meaning this descent, causes them the need to receive the Torah, so they can overcome the evil in their hearts.

 3.17 RABASH,

Article No. 28 (1991), “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”

The beginning of his work is the recognition of evil, meaning that a person asks the Creator to feel how bad is the will to receive. This awareness that the will to receive is called “bad,” only the Creator can make him feel. This is considered that through the Torah, a person can achieve recognition of evil, meaning to understand how much his will to receive is bad, and then he can ask to replace the will to receive and give him instead the desire to bestow.

 3.18 RABASH,

Article No. 68, “The Order of the Work”

When one believes in the delight and pleasure that exists in above reason, he comes to consciously feel, to know the evil within him. That is, he believes that the Creator imparts such delight and pleasure, and although he sees all the good above reason, he achieves recognition. That is, he feels in all the organs the power of the evil that is found in receiving for oneself, which prevents him from receiving the abundance. It follows that faith above reason causes him to feel his enemy within reason—who obstructs him from reaching the good. This is his standard. That is, to the extent that he believes in the delight and pleasure above reason, to that extent he can come to feel the recognition of evil.

Later, sensing the bad yields the sensation of delight and pleasure, since the recognition of evil in the sensation of the organs causes him to correct the bad.

This is done primarily through prayer, when he asks the Creator to give everything in bestowal, called Dvekut [adhesion]. Through these Kelim [vessels], the goal will be revealed in open Providence, meaning that there will be no need for the concealment because there will already be Kelim that are able to receive.

 3.19 RABASH,

Article No. 143, “The Need for Recognition of Evil”

Why do we need recognition of evil, that we are submerged in the mud, unable to come out? This is the allegory. It is all because we must be very thankful. But there is a difference in how He helped him. To the extent of the favor that he received, so he comes to love Him and adhere to Him and can work for Him because He is great and ruling.

That is, the greatness of the Creator becomes evident to a person precisely if He made for him a great miracle. To the extent of the miracle, so the love awakens and His greatness is seen by His ability to help him out of the great trouble. Conversely, the spies said, “The Landlord cannot save His vessels.” This is the meaning of the verse, “From the narrow place I called on the Lord; answer me in the broad space, Lord,” meaning specifically when one is in a state of trouble.

 3.20 RABASH,

Article No. 22 (1985), “The Whole of the Torah Is One Holy Name”

We must always consider the goal, which is to “do good to His creations.” If the evil inclination comes to a person and asks him all of Pharaoh’s questions, he should not reply with lame excuses, but say, “Now, with your questions, I can begin with the work of bestowal.”

This means that we should not say about the questions of the evil inclination that it came to us in order to lower us from our degree. On the contrary, now it is giving us a place to work, by which we will ascend on the degrees of wholeness. That is, any overcoming in the work is called “walking in the work of the Creator,” since each penny joins into a great amount.” That is, all the times we over- come accumulate to a certain measure required to become a Kli for the reception of the abundance.

 3.21 RABASH,

Article No. 401, “Hear, O Israel”

A person should begin the work of the Creator on the right, called “male,” which is wholeness, called happy with his share, which is regarded as “desiring mercy.” Whatever flavor and vitality he has in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] is enough for him to labor in Torah and Mitzvot because he believes in private Providence, that such is the will of the Creator, and feels that he is a complete person, and thanks and praises the Creator for giving him a part in His work.

This is called a “male,” when he feels himself as whole and he is always happy and observes, “Serve the Lord with gladness.”

However, this is called “half a body”; he does not have the quality of female, which is a lack. From the perspective of the left, he begins to calculate to what extent his qualities and thoughts are whole, and then he sees the truth, that he is still immersed in the will to receive for his own benefit, and cannot work for the sake of others, whether between man and man or between man and the Creator.

To the extent that he has the recognition of evil, he can exert, meaning work, perform actions, as in “Everything that is in the power of your hand to do, that do.” Also, he can pray from the bottom of the heart, since only to the extent that a person feels the bad, meaning feels that it is bad, to that extent he acts in order to be rid of the bad. This is called “female,” meaning a lack.

It follows that he has room for two opposite qualities. On one hand, he is regarded as complete, which is the “right,” Hesed [mercy], happy with his share. He can praise and thank the Creator for letting him into a place of Torah and good deeds. On the other hand, he can pray to the Creator for remaining outside of the work of the Creator because everything was built on the basis of self-love.

At that time, the person is called “complete”.

3.22 RABASH,

Article No. 6 (1989), “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

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

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

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

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

3.23 RABASH, Article No. 29 (1989),

Article No. 29 (1989), “What Is the Preparation to Receive the Torah in the Work? – 2”

Our sages said, “The Torah exists only in one who puts himself to death over it.” We should under- stand the word “exists.” What does it tell us? We should interpret this according to what our sages said, “The Creator said, ‘I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.’” That is, the Torah should be a spice. In whom is this so, since “There is no light without a Kli, no filling without a lack”?

For this reason, they said that those who want to put their selves to death, meaning want to put to death the will to receive for their own sake, and want to do everything for the sake of the Creator, see that they cannot do this on their own. To them the Creator said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.”

3.24 RABASH,

Article No. 273, “The Mightiest of the Mighty”

“Who is the mightiest of the mighty? He who makes his foe his friend” (Avot de Rabbi Natan, Chapter 23).

In ethics, we should interpret that “mighty” is “one who conquers his inclination” (Avot, Chapter 4). That is, he works with the good inclination and subdues the evil inclination.

The mightiest of the mighty is one who works also with the evil inclination, as our sages said, “With all your heart—with both your inclinations” (Berachot 54), where the evil inclination, too, serves the Creator. It follows that he makes his foe, the evil inclination, his friend. And since the evil inclination is also serving the Creator, it follows that here he has more work, for which he is called “the mightiest of the mighty.”

 3.25 RABASH,

Article No. (1990), “Why the Speech of Shabbat Must Not Be as the Speech of a Weekday, in the Work”

The work on obtaining the vessels of bestowal comes by obtaining the state of Gadlut [greatness/ adulthood] of the evil, as it is written, “For I have hardened his heart,” meaning the attainment of the bad, then, when the people of Israel came to a state where they saw that they could not escape from the bad, meaning they saw that the power of the bad was on all sides and they did not see any salvation by nature, this is considered that the Kli of the bad has been completed.

At that time comes State 5), when the Creator gives them the light, and this light reforms them. In other words, by this they emerge from the governance of evil, called “vessels of self-reception,” and are rewarded with vessels of bestowal. This is the meaning of “Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will do for you today.” This means that once the Kli of the bad has been completed, there is room for disclosure of light on the part of the upper one. This is considered that the Creator is giving them the vessels of bestowal.

 3.26 RABASH,

Article No. 11 (1991), “What It Means that the Good Inclination and the Evil Inclination Guard a Person in the Work”

When a person wants to walk on the path of achieving Dvekut with the Creator and do all his work for the sake of the Creator, meaning to bestow contentment upon his Maker and not for his own sake, as it is against human nature, who was created with the will to receive for his own sake, and all of man’s work is that he is told that he will not obtain this by his own strength, but only the Creator can give him this power called desire to bestow, and a person should only prepare the Kli to receive this power called “second nature,” it follows that specifically through the evil inclination, which grows within him to its completion, a person sees his real deficiency—that he is unable to obtain the desire to bestow by himself. This brings him to a state where the Creator gives him the desire to bestow.

Thus, both the good inclination and the evil inclination lead a person to achieve the goal of equivalence of form, called “Dvekut with the Creator.”

3.27 RABASH,

Article No. 305, “The Meaning of Evil”

The evil in a person is regarded as evil only when one feels that it is evil. That is, the extent that the evil prevents him from receiving abundance determines the measure of the evil.

Normally, if one loses a penny to one’s friend, he does not hate him for this, since a penny is not important enough to fight with the other over it. But to the extent that his friend causes him losses, the level of hatred forms in him until he cannot stand him.

It follows that to the extent that a person has importance of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments], to that extent he can determine the measure of hatred for the evil, which interferes with his engage- ment in Torah and Mitzvot. For this reason, if a person wants to come to hate the evil, he must increase the importance of spirituality.

At that time, he will receive such a measure of hatred that will remove him from befriending his evil, as it is written, “You who love the Lord hate evil.” That is, to the extent that a person loves the Creator, so he hates those who interfere with loving the Creator.

3.28 RABASH,

Article No. 21 (1986), “Concerning Above Reason”

If one does not do good deeds, does not engage in Torah and prayer, and wish to draw near the Creator, he has no light to illuminate his heart and to allow him to see the evil in his heart. It turns out that the reason why he is still not seeing that there is more evil in his heart than in all of the friends is that he needs more good. For this reason, he thinks that he is more virtuous than his friends. It therefore turns out that his seeing that his friends are worse than he comes from his lack of the light that will shine for him, so he will see the evil in himself. Thus, the whole matter of evil that is in man is not in finding the evil, since everyone has this evil, called “will to receive in order to receive,” which is self-love. Instead, the difference is entirely in the disclosure of the evil. In other words, not every person sees and feels that self-love is bad and harmful, since a person doesn’t see that engagement in satisfying his will to receive, called “self-love,” will harm him.

Yet, when he begins to do the holy work on the path of truth, meaning when he wishes to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, so all his actions will be for the Creator, by that he receives a little more light that shines for him each time, and then he begins to feel self-love as a bad thing.

It is a gradual process. Each time he sees that this is what obstructs him from achieving Dvekut with the Creator, he sees more clearly each time how it—the will to receive—is his real enemy, just as King Solomon referred to the evil inclination as “an enemy.” It is written about it, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread, for you will heap burning coals on his head.”

3.29 RABASH,

Article No. 18 (1987), “What Is Preparation for Reception of the Torah? – 1”

After all the work that a person has put into awakening to achieve the truth, meaning to really know why he was born and what goal he should achieve, so now the Creator disclosed to him that the inclination of a man’s heart, which is the receiver, is evil from his youth. That is, it cannot be said that now he sees that the inclination has become bad. Rather, it is evil from his youth. However, until now he could not determine that it was really evil; therefore, the person was in states of ascent and descent. In other words, at times he would listen to the inclination and say that from now on I will know that this is my enemy and everything it advises me to do is to my detriment.

But afterwards, the esteem of the inclination rises again and once again he listens to it and works for it wholeheartedly, and so on and so forth. He feels that he is as “a dog returning to its vomit.” That is, he has already determined that it was unfit for him to listen to it because all the nourishments that the inclination gives him are but food fit for beasts and not for man. But all of a sudden, he returns to animal food and forgets all the decisions and views he had before.

Afterward, when he regrets, he sees that he has no other way but for the Creator to make him see that the inclination that is called “evil” really is evil. Then, once the Creator has given him this knowledge, he does not go astray again but asks the Creator to give him the strength to overcome it each and every time the inclination wants to fail him, so he will have the strength to overcome it. It therefore follows that the Creator should give him both the Kli [vessel] and the light, meaning both the awareness that the inclination is evil and there is a need to emerge from under its reign, and the correction for this is the Torah, as it is written, “I have created the evil inclination, I have created the Torah as a spice.” Accordingly, the Creator gave him both the need for the Torah, as well as the Torah. This is regarded as the Creator giving him the light, as well as the Kli.

3.30 RABASH, Article No. 12 (1985),

“Jacob Dwelled in the Land Where His Father Had Lived”

One must believe that the Creator has created the world with benevolence, and the evil in his body removes him from all the good. That is, when he comes to learn Torah, he finds it utterly tasteless. And also, when he comes to perform some Mitzva [good deed/correction], he finds it utterly tasteless because the evil inclination in his body has the power not to let him believe in the Creator above reason by taking out every flavor. Whenever he begins to approach something spiritual, he feels that everything is dry without any moisture of life.

When the person began his work, he was told—and he believed what he was told—that the Torah is a Torah of life, as it is written, “For they are your life and the length of your days,” and as it is written (Psalms 19), “More desirable than gold, than much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.”

But when one consider this and sees that the evil inclination is to blame for everything, and strongly feels the bad that it is causing him, then he feels on himself what is written (Psalms 34) “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” That is, that verse was said about him.

At that time he looks at what the verse says afterwards, “but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” At that time he begins to cry out to the Creator to help him because he has already done everything that he could think of doing, but nothing helped, and he thinks that “Everything that you find within your power to do, that do,” was said about him. At that time comes the time of salvation—the salvation of the Creator delivering him from the evil inclination—to the extent that from this day forth the evil inclination will surrender before him and will not be able to incite him into any transgression.

3.31 RABASH,

Article No. 8 (1989), “What It Means, in the Work, that If the Good Grows, So Grows the Bad”

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

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

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

3.32 RABASH, Article No. 25 (1990),

“What Is, ‘Praise the Lord, All Nations,’ in the Work?”

When a person is rewarded with vessels of bestowal, he is rewarded with the delight and pleasure that were in the thought of creation. This is called, “When the Lord favors a man’s ways, even his enemies make peace with him.” Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi interprets, “This is the serpent” (Jerusalem Talmud, Terumot 8:3). The serpent is the evil inclination, who is the appointee of the seventy nations. As was said, the quality of the nations of the world in one’s body cause him not to be able to be rewarded with the delight and pleasure.

3.33 RABASH, Article No. 25 (1990),

“What Is, ‘Praise the Lord, All Nations,’ in the Work?”

Man’s enemies, which is the evil inclination, called “enemy,” as it is written, “If your enemy is hun- gry, feed him bread,” referring to the evil inclination, as our sages said, that King Solomon would call the evil inclination by the name “enemy,” so he, too, will make peace with him. This is called, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with both your inclinations,” namely with the good inclination and with the evil inclination. When a person’s vessels of reception obtain the force to receive in order to bestow, at that time he serves the Creator with the evil inclination, too. That is, the evil inclination also loves the Creator, for it, too, receives delight and pleasure.

This is why it is written, “and the truth of the Lord,” as he interprets in The Study of the Ten Sefirot about the seventh correction of the thirteen corrections of Dikna, called “and truth,” that it is called “and truth” because in this correction it becomes revealed to all that this is the truth, that such was the purpose of creation: to do good to His creations.

3.34 RABASH,

Article No. 16 (1984), “Concerning Bestowal”

It is said about that (Kidushin, 30), “Man’s inclination overcomes him each day and seeks to kill him, as it is said, ‘The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.’ And if the Creator did not help him, he would not overcome it, as it is said, ‘The Lord will not leave him in his hand.’”

This means that first, one must see if he has the strength to come to be able to act with the aim to bestow contentment upon the Creator. Then, when he has already come to realize that he cannot achieve it by himself, that person focuses his Torah and Mitzvot on a single point, which is that “the light in it reforms him,” that this will be the only reward that he wants from the Torah and Mitzvot. In other words, the reward for his labor will be for the Creator to give him this strength called “the power of bestowal.”

3.35 Zohar for All, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,”

“On the Night of the Bride,” 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, for this is unbecoming of the complete Operator. Hence, when one feels bad, denial of the Creator’s guidance lies upon him and the superior Operator is concealed from him to that same extent. This is the greatest punishment in the world.

Thus, the sensation of good and evil in relation to His guidance brings with it the sensation of reward and punishment, for one who exerts to not part from faith in the Creator is rewarded even when he tastes a bad taste in Providence. And if he does not exert, he will have a punishment because he is separated from faith in the Creator.

3.36 Zohar for All, VaYera [The Lord Appeared],

“Your Wife Shall Be As a Fruitful Vine,” 453

Man is created in utter wickedness and lowliness, as it is written, “When a wild ass’s foal is born a man.” And all the vessels in one’s body, meaning the senses and the qualities, and especially the thought serve him only wickedness and nothingness all day. And for one who is rewarded with adhering unto Him, the Creator does not create other tools instead, to be worthy and suitable for reception of the eternal spiritual abundance intended for him. Rather, the same lowly vessels that have thus far been used in a filthy and loathsome way are inverted to become vessels of reception of all the pleasantness and eternal gentleness.

3.37 Rabbi Nachman of Breslov,

Meshivat Nefesh

It is a great merit when one has evil inclination, for then he can serve the Creator precisely with the evil inclination, meaning overcome out of the warmth of the evil inclination, to extend from it into some work out His work. If one has no evil inclination, his work is completely worthless. For this reason, the Creator lets the evil inclination expand over the person in this way, and especially over one who truly craves to draw near Him, although through its expansion and provocation, it brings one to great iniquities and flaws. Nevertheless, it is all worthwhile for Him, for the good movement, for by the intensification of the evil inclination, a person overcomes it through some movement and runs away from it. This is more precious to Him than if one served Him for a thousand years without the evil inclination, for all the worlds were created only for man, whose entire merit and importance are because he has such an evil inclination, and he braces himself against it.

inapoi la EXTRASE DIN SURSE (link)

inapoi la EXTRASE DIN SURSE (link)

SCOPUL CREAŢIEI

2.01 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 22

“My beloved is like a gazelle”? Our sages said, “As the gazelle turns his face back when he flees, when the Creator leaves Israel, He turns back His face.” I interpreted for you that then the face returns to being in the Achoraim [back/posterior], meaning craving and longing to cling to Israel once more. This begets in Israel longing and craving to adhere to the Creator, too, and the measure of the longing and craving is actually the face itself, as it is written in “Bless My Soul,” by Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, “My face is to your prayer when you run to meet the Lord God.”

Therefore, the most powerful at this time is only to persist and increase the longing and the yearning, for by this appears the face.

2.02 Baal HaSulam,

“You Have Made Me in Behind and Before”

One who has not yet come to dedicate all his movements to the Creator alone, and the horse does not equalize its movements to the rider’s bridle and headstall, but appears to do the opposite… and crowns the handmaid on the mistress, this is discerned as “behind.” That is, you should not think that you are drawing away from Kedusha [holiness], for “that which comes into your mind shall not be at all.”

Thus says the Lord: “Surely with a mighty hand,” etc., “For the outcast shall not be cast out from Him,” and the whole wheel turns to come to the Kedusha, to its root. Therefore, although it seems that the horse leads the rider by its ignoble desire, the truth is not so. It is the rider who leads the horse to his destination. However, it is not apparent in the present, but in the future. Hence, in this way there is also contact, but it is back to back, meaning not according to the will of the one who dresses or the will of the dresser.

2.03 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 174, “Concealment”

Concerning the concealment, which is a correction, had it not been for that, man would have been unable to attain any completeness, since he would not be worthy of attaining the importance of the matter. However, when there is concealment, the thing becomes important to him. Even though one cannot appreciate the importance as it truly is, the concealment grants it merit. To the extent that one senses the concealment, a bedding of importance is formed within him.

It is like rungs. He climbs rung by rung until he comes to his designated place. This means that he achieves a certain measure of importance with which he can at least endure, though His true importance and sublimity are immeasurable, but nonetheless a measure that will suffice him to persist.

However, concealment in itself is not considered concealment. Concealment is measured by the demand. The greater the demand for something, the more the concealment is evident. And now we can understand the meaning of “The whole earth is full of His glory.” Although we believe it, the concealment still fills the whole earth.

It is written about the future: “For I … will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.” Fire means concealment. But still, glory is in the midst of her, meaning that then the glory will be revealed. This is because then the demand will be so great, even though there will be concealment then, too. And the difference is that at this time there is concealment, but no demand. Hence, this is considered “exile.” Then, however, although there will be concealment, there will also be demand, and this is what is important—only the demand.

2.04 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 18

First thing in the morning, when he rises from his sleep, he should sanctify the first moment with Dvekut with Him, pour out his heart to the Creator to keep him throughout the twenty-four hours of the day so that no idle thought will come into his mind, and he will not consider it impossible or above nature.

Indeed, it is the image of nature that makes an iron partition, and one should cancel nature’s partitions that he feels. Rather, first he must believe that nature’s partitions do not cut off from Him. Afterward, he should pray from the bottom of his heart, even for something that is above his natural desire.

Understand this always, even when forms that are not of Kedusha [holiness] traverse you, and they will instantly stop when you remember. See that you pour out your heart that henceforth the Creator will save you from cessations of Dvekut with Him. Gradually, your heart will grow accustomed to the Creator and will yearn to adhere to Him in truth, and the Lord’s desire will succeed by you.

2.05 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 107

After one is rewarded with the illumination of the face to such an extent that each sin he had committed, even the deliberate ones, is turned and becomes a Mitzva for him, one rejoices with all the torment and affliction he had ever suffered since the time he was placed in the two states of concealment of the face. This is because it is they that brought him all those sins, which have now become Mitzvot by the illumination of His face, Who performs wonders.

And any sorrow and trouble that drove him out of mind and he failed with mistakes, as in the first concealment, or failed with sins, as in the double concealment, has now become a cause and preparation for keeping a Mitzva and the reception of eternal and wondrous reward for it. Therefore, any sorrow has turned for him into a great joy and any evil to wonderful good.

 2.06 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 83, “Concerning the Right Vav and the Left Vav”

In any state one is in, he can be a servant of the Creator since he does not need anything, but does everything above reason. It turns out that one does not need any Mochin with which to be the servant of the Creator.

Now we can interpret what is written, “Set up a table before me, against my enemies.” A table means, as it is written, “and sent her out of his house, and she departed his house, and went” (Deuteronomy 24:1-2). A Shulchan [table] is like VeShlacha [and sent her], meaning exit from the work.

We should interpret that even during the exits from the work, meaning in a state of decline, one still has a place to work. This means that when one prevails above reason during the declines, and says that the descents, too, were given to him from above, by this the enemies are canceled. This is so because the enemies thought that through the declines the person will reach utter lowliness and escape the campaign, but in the end the opposite occurred—the enemies were canceled.

This is the meaning of what is written, “the table that is before the Lord,” that precisely in this manner does he receive the face of the Creator. This is the meaning of subduing all the judgments, even the harshest judgments, since he assumes the burden of the kingdom of heaven at all times. That is, he always finds a place for work, as it is written that Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai said, “There is no place to hide from You.”

2.07 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 133

It is like a king who wished to select for himself the most loyal of his subjects in the country and bring them to work inside his palace. What did he do? He issued a decree that anyone who wished, young or old, would come to his palace to engage in the works inside his palace.

However, he appointed many of his servants to guard the palace gate and all the roads leading to it, and ordered them to cunningly deflect all those nearing his palace and divert them from the way that leads to the palace.

Naturally, all the people in the country began to run to the king’s palace. But the diligent guards cunningly rejected them. Many of them overpowered them and came near the palace gate, but the guards at the gate were the most diligent, and if someone approached the gate, they diverted him and turned him away with great craftiness until one despaired and returned as he had come.

And so they came and went, and regained strength, and came and went again, and so on and so forth for several days and years until they grew weary of trying. Only the mighty ones among them, whose patience endured, defeated the guards and opened the gate. And they were instantly awarded seeing the king’s face, who appointed each of them in his right place.

Of course, from that moment on, they had no further dealings with those guards, who diverted and mislead them and made their lives bitter for several days and years, running back and forth around the gate. This is because they have been rewarded with working and serving before the glory of the king’s face inside his palace.

 2.08 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 181, “Honor”

Honor is something that stops the body, and to that extent it harms the soul. Hence, all the righ- teous who became famous and respected, it was a punishment. But the great righteous, when the Creator does not want them to lose by being famous as righteous, the Creator guards them from being honored, so as not to harm their souls.

Hence, to the extent that they are honored on one hand, on the other hand, they are faced with dissenters who degrade them with all kinds of degradations. To the extent that creates an equal weight to the honor given to a righteous, to that very extent the other side gives disgrace.

2.09 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 39

Now they have defamed me in the eyes of the generation and have failed me on the path of my exalted work to bring contentment to my Maker. Who can forgive them this? Heaven will testify to my labor in all my strength to extend His holiness to that generation.

And yet, the Sitra Achra [other side] always finds her people, doers of her missions, setting obsta- cles before me wherever I turn to benefit others. Thus far are my words. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them,” and the Creator does not deny my reward. Bit by bit, I am paving the way, at times less, at times more, but always with profit (reward), until I am rewarded with taking down all the enemies of the Creator with the help of His great and terrible name.

As for you, do not fear the fear of fools. Those who slander, my little finger is bigger than their waist. So the Creator desired, and so He made me, and who will tell Him what to do and what to work? The merit of my law is greater than the merit of their fathers. Similarly, the contemporaries of Prophet Amos defamed him and said that the Creator had no one on whom to instill His Shechina [Divinity] but that stutterer, as it is written in the Psikta [a Midrash].

However, it is written, “A truthful lip shall be established forever, and a lying tongue is only momentary,” for in the end, the truthful people are the winners. Amos remains alive and existing forever, and who has heard or knows what had happened to his adversaries?

So it is here. The sayers can harm only their own kind, so it follows that the storm swirls on the head of the wicked, the truth lives on and does not weaken by all the lies. Instead, it grows even stronger by them, like a sown field that is strengthened by the manure and dung that are thrown in. With the Creator’s will, the blessing of the field increases and multiplies by them.

I still do not feel the harm that will come to me through them concerning the dissemination of my teaching, so I do not know how to calculate a way to instill light and save it from their evil. And yet, it is certain that if I feel any harm, I will take my revenge against them, as is the law of Torah, and I will contend forcefully with them. I will do all that is within the power of my hand to do, as it is the Creator I fear, and there is no other force but Him.

2.10 Baal HaSulam,

“You Have Made Me in Behind and Before”

“You have made me in behind and before,” meaning the revelation and concealment of the face of the Creator. This is because indeed, “His kingdom rules over all,” and everything will return to its root because there is no place vacant of Him. But the difference is in the present or the future, because one who connects the two worlds discovers His clothing in the present, that everything that is done is a clothing for the revelation of the Shechina [Divinity].

This is deemed the present, meaning that now, too, he comes out in royal attire and evidently shows that the rider is not subordinate to the horse. But although it seemingly appears that the horse leads its rider, the truth is that the horse is provoked to any movement only by the sensation of the rider’s bridle and headstall. This is called “The construction of the stature of the Shechina,” and it is also called “face-to-face.”

2.11 Baal HaSulam,

“You Have Made Me in Behind and Before”

Those who do His will, meaning reveal by themselves the royal attire in the present, are connected face to face through the good will of the one who dresses and the good will of the dresser, for pre- cisely this is His wish.

This is the meaning of “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with gladness.” You will serve Him anyhow, but the difference is that this way is “in siege and in distress,” meaning unwillingly, and the other way is by reason of the abundance of all things, meaning willingly.

2.12 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 42, “What Is the Acronym Elul in the Work?”

It is impossible to obtain disclosure before one receives the discernment of Achoraim [posterior], discerned as concealment of the Face, and to say that it is as important to him as the disclosure of the Face. It means that one should be as glad as though he has already acquired the disclosure of the Face.

However, one cannot persist and appreciate the concealment like the disclosure, except when one works in bestowal. At that time, one can say, “I do not care what I feel during the work because what is important to me is that I want to bestow upon the Creator. If the Creator understands that He will have more contentment if I work in a form of Achoraim, I agree.”

However, if one still has sparks of reception, he comes to thoughts, and it is then hard for him to believe that the Creator leads the world in a manner of “good and doing good.” This is the meaning of the letter Yod in the name HaVaYaH, which is the first letter, called “a black dot that has no white in it,” meaning it is all darkness and concealment of the Face.

It means that when one comes to a state where one has no support, one’s state becomes black, which is the lowest quality in the upper world, and that becomes the Keter to the lower one, as the Kli of Keter is a vessel of bestowal.

The lowest quality in the upper one is Malchut, which has nothing of its own, meaning that she does not have anything. Only in this manner is it called Malchut. It means that if one takes upon himself the kingdom of heaven—which is in a state of not having anything—gladly, afterward, it becomes Keter, which is a vessel of bestowal and the purest Kli. In other words, the reception of Malchut in a state of darkness subsequently becomes a Kli of Keter, which is a vessel of bestowal.

 2.13 Baal HaSulam,

“You Have Made Me in Behind and Before”

There are three discernments required of a man in the desirable path: surrender, division, sweeten- ing, meaning “lights in deficient writing,”1 since the light of this world was created out of darkness, “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness,” and “What good is a candle during the day?” its light does not shine in the daytime. This is the meaning of the Klipa [shell/peel] that pre- cedes the fruit. For this reason, he who becomes a partner to the Creator in the work of creation brings out the light from the darkness, meaning considers how lowly and ignoble one is compared to the Kedusha [holiness] of above, and how filthy are his clothes. Through it, the light becomes surrounded.

2.14 Baal HaSulam,

Introduction to A Sage’s Fruit, Vol. 4, “Three Partners”

It is impossible to attribute the bad to the Creator since he is the absolute good. Hence, as long as one feels bad states, he must say that they come from elsewhere, from the environment. But in truth, when one is rewarded with seeing only good and that there is no bad in the world, and everything is turned to good, then he is shown the truth, that the Creator did everything because He is almighty, and He alone did, does, and will do all the deeds.

2.15 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 135, “Clean and Righteous Do Not Kill”

“The clean and righteous do not kill.” A righteous is one who justifies the Creator: Whatever he feels, whether good or bad, he takes above reason. This is considered “right.” Clean refers to the cleanness of the matter, the state as he sees it. This is so because “a judge has only what his eyes see.” And if one does not understand the matter, or cannot attain the matter, he should not blur the forms as they seem to his eyes. This is considered “left,” and he should nurture both.

2.16 Baal HaSulam,

Ohr HaBahir

Spiritual revelation, whether emerging from concealment or some addition, extends and comes primarily through the power of the vessels and their quality, and does not depend at all on the upper light. It is so because the rule is that there is no change in the lights themselves from the beginning of the line to the bottom of Assiya. As it is in the beginning of the line, so it does not grow coarser or change when it is at the bottom of Assiya. It is also known that the upper light does not stop bestowing upon the lower ones even for a minute. Therefore, the whole matter of concealment, revelation, and changes, and any change, depend only on the merit of the vessels.

2.17 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Items 99-103

“Indeed You are a God who hides,” that the Creator hides Himself in the Torah.

We asked above, “It makes sense that the Creator is hidden specifically in worldly matters and in the vanities of this world, which are outside the Torah, and not in the Torah itself, as only there is the place of the disclosure. And we asked further: This concealment that the Creator hides Himself, to be sought and found, as it is written in The Zohar, “Why do I need all this?”

From the above explained you can thoroughly understand that this concealment that the Creator hides Himself so as to be sought is the concealment of the face, which He conducts with His cre- ations in two manners: one concealment, and concealment within concealment.

The Zohar tells us that we should not even consider that the Creator wishes to remain in a guid- ance of concealed face from His creations. Rather, it is like a person who deliberately hides himself, so his friend will seek and find him.

Similarly, the Creator behaves in concealment of face with His creations only because He wants people to seek the disclosure of His face and find Him. In other words, there would be no way or inlet for people to attain the light of the King’s face had He not first behaved with them in conceal- ment of the face. Thus, the whole concealment is but a preparation for the disclosure of the face.

It is written that the Creator hides Himself in the Torah. Regarding the torments and pains one experiences during the concealment of the face, one who possesses transgressions and has done little in Torah and Mitzvot is unlike one who has engaged in Torah and good deeds extensively. The first is quite qualified to sentence his Maker to the side of merit, to think that the suffering came to him because of his sins and scarceness of Torah.

For the other, however, it is much harder to sentence his Maker to the side of merit since in his mind, he does not deserve such harsh punishments. Moreover, he sees that his friends, who are worse than him, do not suffer so, as it is written, “The wicked and the tranquil in the world gained riches,” and also, “in vain have I cleansed my heart.”

Thus, as long as one is not rewarded with a guidance of revelation of the face, the abundance of Torah and Mitzvot he has performed make his concealment of the face much heavier. This is the meaning of “The Creator hides Himself in the Torah.”

Indeed, all that heaviness he feels through the Torah is but proclamations by which the Torah itself calls him, awakening him to hurry up and give the required measure of labor to promptly endow him with the revelation of the face, as God wills it.

This is why it is written that all who learn Torah Lo Lishma, their Torah becomes for them a potion of death. Not only do they not emerge from concealment of the face to disclosure of the face, since they did not set their minds to labor and attain it, the Torah that they accumulate greatly increases their conceal- ment of the face. Finally, they fall into concealment within concealment, which is considered death, being completely detached from one’s root. Thus, their Torah becomes for them a potion of death.

This clarifies the two names applied to the Torah: “revealed” and “concealed.” We must under- stand why we need the concealed Torah, and why is not the whole Torah revealed?

Indeed, there is a profound intention here. The concealed Torah implies that the Creator hides in the Torah, hence the name, “the Torah of the hidden.” Conversely, it is called “revealed” because the Creator is revealed by the Torah.

Therefore, the Kabbalists said, and we also find it in the prayer book of the Vilna Gaon [GRA], that the order of attainment of the Torah begins with the concealed and ends with the revealed. This means that through the appropriate labor, where one first delves in the Torah of the hidden, he is thus granted the revealed Torah, which is the literal. Thus, one begins with the concealed, called Sod [secret], and when he is rewarded, he ends in the literal.

 2.18 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 100,“The Written Torah and the Oral Torah – 1”

The written Torah is considered “awakening from above,” and the oral Torah is an awakening from below. Together, they are called “Six years he shall serve, and in the seventh he shall go out free.”

This is so because the essence of the work is specifically where there is resistance. And it is called Alma [Aramaic: world] from the word He’elem [concealment]. Then, when there is concealment, there is resistance, and then there is room for work. This is the meaning of the words of our sages, “Six thousand years the world, and one ruined.” This means that the concealment will be ruined and there will be no more work. Rather, the Creator makes him wings, which are covers, so he would have work.

 2.19 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 8, “What Is the Difference between a Shade of Kedusha and a Shade of Sitra Achra?”

It is written (Song of Songs, 2), “Until the day breathes, and the shadows flee away.” We must understand what are shadows in the work and what are two shadows. The thing is that when one does not feel His guidance, that He leads the world in a manner of “The Good Who Does Good,” it is regarded as a shadow that hides the sun.

In other words, as the corporeal shadow that hides the sun does not change the sun in any way, and the sun shines in all its power, so one who does not feel the existence of His guidance does not induce any change above. Rather, there is no change above, as it is written, “I the Lord did not change.”

Instead, all the changes are in the receivers. We must observe two discernments in this shade, meaning in this concealment:

1. When one still has the ability to overcome the darkness and concealments that one feels, justify the Creator, and pray to the Creator that the Creator will open his eyes to see that all the concealments that he feels come from the Creator, meaning that the Creator does all this to him so he may find his prayer and yearn to adhere to Him.

This is so because only through the suffering that one receives from Him, wishing to break free from the trouble and flee from the torments, then he does everything he can. Hence, when receiving the concealments and afflictions, he is certain to take the known cure—to do much praying for the Creator to help him out of the state he is in. In that state, he still believes in His Providence.

2. When one comes to a state where he can no longer overcome and say that all the suffer- ing and pains he feels are because the Creator sent them to him so as to have a reason to ascend in degree, he comes to a state of heresy, since he cannot believe in His guidance. Naturally, at that time, he cannot pray.

It follows that there are two kinds of shadows, and this is the meaning of “and the shadows flee away,” meaning that the shadows will pass away from the world.

The shade of Klipa [shell] is called “Another god is sterile and does not bear fruit.” In Kedusha [holiness], however, it is called “Under its shadow I coveted to sit, and its fruit was sweet to my palate.” In other words, he says that all the concealments and afflictions he feels are because the Creator has sent him these states so he would have a place for work above reason.

When one has the strength to say this—that the Creator causes him all this—it is to one’s benefit. This means that through this he can come to work in order to bestow and not for his own sake. At that time, one realizes, meaning believes that the Creator enjoys specifically this work, which is built entirely on above reason.

It follows that at that time, one does not pray to the Creator that the shadows will flee from the world. Rather, he says, “I see that the Creator wants me to serve Him in this manner, entirely above reason.” Thus, in everything he does he says, “The Creator certainly enjoys this work, so why should I care if I am working in a state of concealment of the face?”

Because one wants to work in order to bestow, meaning that the Creator will enjoy, he feels no humiliation in this work, meaning a sensation that he is in a state of concealment of the face, that the Creator does not enjoy this work. Instead, one agrees to the leadership of the Creator, meaning however the Creator wants him to feel the existence of the Creator during the work, he agrees wholeheartedly. This is so because one does not consider what can please him, but what can please the Creator. Thus, this shade brings him life.

This is called “Under its shadow I coveted,” meaning one covets such a state where he can make some overcoming above reason. It follows that if one does not exert in a state of concealment, when there is still room to pray for the Creator to bring him closer, and he is negligent in this, for this reason, he is sent a second concealment in which one cannot even pray. This is because of the sin of not exert- ing with all one’s might to pray to the Creator. For this reason, one comes to a state of such lowliness. However, after one comes to that state, he is pitied from above and is given another awakening from above. The same order begins anew until finally he strengthens in prayer, the Creator hears his prayer, brings him near, and reforms him.

2.20 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 18, “My Soul Shall Weep In Secret – 1”

When concealment overpowers a person and he comes to a state where the work becomes tasteless, and he cannot picture or feel any love and fear, and he cannot do anything in Kedusha [holiness], his only counsel is to cry to the Creator to have mercy on him and remove the screen from his eyes and heart.

Crying is a very important matter. It is as our sages write: “All the gates were locked except for the gates of tears.” The world asks about this: If the gates of tears are not locked, what is the need for the gates at all? He said that it is like a person who asks his friend for some necessary object. This object touches his heart, and he asks and begs him in every manner of prayer and plea. Yet, his friend pays no attention to all this. And when he sees that there is no longer reason for prayers and pleas then he raises his voice in weeping.

It is said about this: “All the gates were locked except for the gates of tears.” That is, when were the gates of tears not locked? Precisely when all the gates were locked. It is then that there is room for the gates of tears, and then we see that they were not locked.

However, when the gates of prayer are open, the gates of tears and weeping are irrelevant. This is the meaning of the gates of tears being locked. Thus, when are the gates of tears not locked? Precisely when all the gates are locked, the gates of tears are open since one still has the choice of prayer and plea.

This is the meaning of “My soul shall weep in secret,” meaning when one comes to a state of concealment, then “My soul shall weep,” because one has no other option. This is the meaning of “All that your hand and strength can do, do.”

2.21 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Items 80-82

The reason for the concealment of the face from people has been explained: It is deliberately to give people room to labor and engage in His work in Torah and Mitzvot voluntarily, for then the contentment of the Creator from their work in His Torah and Mitzvot increases more than His contentment from the angels above, who have no choice and whose mission is compulsory. There are also other reasons, but this is not the place to elaborate on them.

Despite the above praise for concealment of face, it is still not considered wholeness, but only a “transition,” as this is the place from which the longed-for wholeness is attained. This means that any reward for a Mitzva that is prepared for a person is acquired only through one’s labor in Torah and good deeds during the concealment of the face, when he engages voluntarily. This is so because then one feels sorrow out of his strengthening in His faith in keeping His will. And one’s whole reward is measured only according to the pain he suffers from keeping the Torah and the Mitzva, as in the words of Ben He He, “The reward is according to the pain.”

Hence, every person must experience that transition period of concealment of the face. When he completes it, he is rewarded with open Providence, meaning the revelation of the face.

 2.22 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 191, “The Time of Descent”

It is hard to depict the time of descent, when all the works and the efforts made from the beginning of the work until the time of descent are lost. To one who has never tasted the taste of servitude of the Creator, it seems as though this is outside of him, meaning that this happens to those of high degrees. But ordinary people have no connection to serving the Creator, only to crave the corporeal will to receive, present in the flow of the world, washing the whole world with this desire.

However, we must understand why they have come to such a state. After all, with or without one’s consent, there is no change in the Creator of heaven and earth; He behaves in a manner of good and doing good. Thus, what is the outcome of this state?

We should say that it comes to announce His greatness. One does not need to act as though he does not want Her. Rather, one should behave in a manner of fearing the exaltedness, to know the merit and the distance between him and the Creator. It is difficult to understand this with a superficial mind, or have any possibility of connection between the Creator and creation.

During a descent he feels that it is impossible that he will have connection or belonging to the Creator by way of Dvekut [adhesion], since he feels that servitude is a foreign thing to the whole world. In truth, this is so. But “In the place where you find His greatness, there you find His humble- ness.” This means that it is a matter that is above nature, that the Creator gave this gift to creation, to allow them to be connected and adhered to Him.

Hence, when one becomes reconnected, he should always remember his time of descent so as to know, understand, appreciate, and value the time of Dvekut, so he will know that now he has salvation above the natural way.

 2.23 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 172, “The Matter of Preventions and Delays”

All the preventions and delays that appear before our eyes are but a form of nearing—the Creator wants to bring us closer, and all these preventions bring us only nearing, since without them we would have no possibility of approaching Him. This is so because, by nature, there is no greater dis- tance, as we are made of pure matter while the Creator is higher than high. Only when one begins to approach does he begin to feel the distance between us. And any prevention one overcomes brings the way closer for that person.

(This is so because one grows accustomed to moving on a line of growing farther. Hence, whenever one feels that he is distant, it does not induce any change in the process, since he knew in advance that he is moving on a line of growing farther, since this is the truth, that there are not enough words to describe the distance between us and the Creator. Hence, every time he feels that distance to a greater extent than he thought, it causes him no contention.)

2.24 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 8

There is a sublime purpose for all that happens in this world, and it is called “the drop of unifica- tion.” When those dwellers of clay houses go through all those terrors, through all that totality, in His pride, which is removed from them, a door opens in the walls of their hearts, which are tightly sealed by the nature of creation itself, and by this they become fit for instilling that drop of unifi- cation in their hearts. Then they are inverted like an imprinted substance, and they will evidently see that it is to the contrary—that it was precisely in those dreadful terrors that they perceive the totality, which is removed by foreign pride. There, and only there, is the Creator Himself adhered, and there He can instill them with the drop of unification.

2.25 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 19

When one prepares to return to his root, he does not induce the complete Zivug at one time, but creates stimuli, which is the degree of Nefesh, by way of cycles, chasing the Shechina with all his might, quivering and sweating, until he mounts this extremity all day and all night, incessantly.

It is as the books write concerning the cycles. While one’s soul is being completed in the degrees of Nefesh, he comes ever closer, and so his yearning and sorrow grow since the unsatisfied desire leaves behind it a great affliction according to the measure of the desire.

2.26 RABASH,

Article No. 251, “Concerning the Minyan [Ten in the synagogue]”

It is known that we should pray mainly about the exile of the Shechina [Divinity], called Malchut, which is the tenth Sefira in the ten Sefirot, and whose essence is faith in His guidance, that He leads the world in a manner of good and doing good.

It is impossible to see the goodness of the Creator before a person purifies his desire from receiv- ing for himself, since there is the Tzimtzum [restriction] on the will to receive, which is concealment on His guidance.

2.27 RABASH,

Article No. 224, “The Reason for the Faith”

The reason for the faith is that there is no greater pleasure than to be rewarded with the revelation of Godliness and the instilling of the Shechina [Divinity].

In order for one to receive all this for the purpose of bestowal, there is a correction of conceal- ment, where he engages in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] even though he feels no pleasure. This is called “not in order to receive reward.” When he has this Kli [vessel], his eyes soon open to welcome the face of the Creator.

When a desire awakens within him, that it is worthwhile to serve the Creator for the pleasure, he soon falls into concealment. This is regarded as death, meaning that previously, he was adhered to life, and he was rewarded with it only through the power of faith. Therefore, now that he is cor- rected and begins to work in faith once more, he receives back his breath of life. At that time, he says, “I thank You for returning my soul with compassion.”

This is precisely when he assumes once more the work in the manner of faith above reason. When he had the concealment, he says, “Great is Your faith.” The faith is so great that through it, he receives the soul once more.

2.28 RABASH,

Article No. 236, “The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory”

There are people who feel the light of the Creator also in combinations of letters of mundane things, and there are those who do not feel even in combinations of letters of Torah and prayer that it is the light of the Creator in the manner of “Who fills the whole of reality.”

However, since there was a Tzimtzum [restriction], which is concealment, they do not feel that everything is the expanding light of the Creator.

That is, the measure that the creatures can attain, meaning the light that spreads into the sensation of the created beings, and besides the Creator wanting the lower ones to attain, it is certainly called “there is no thought or perception of Him whatsoever.”

However, a person must believe in the Tzimtzum, meaning that it is only a concealment for man’s benefit, while in truth, “The whole earth is full of His glory,” and there is no reality in the world besides Godliness, and all the concealment is only in one’s sensations.

2.29 RABASH,

Article No. 3 (1985), “The Meaning of Truth and Faith”

We were given the path of faith, which is above reason, namely not to take our sensations and reason into account, but say, as it is written, “They have eyes and see not. They have ears and hear not.” Rather, we should believe that the Creator is certainly the Overseer, and He knows what is good for me and what is not good for me. Therefore, He wants me to feel my state as I do, and for myself, I do not care how I feel myself because I want to work in order to bestow.

Therefore, the main thing is that I need to work for the Creator. And although I feel that there is no wholeness in my work, still, in the Kelim of the upper one, meaning from the perspective of the upper one, I am utterly complete, as it is written, “The cast out will not be cast out from Him.” Hence, I am satisfied with my work—that I have the privilege of serving the King even at the lowest degree. That, too, I regard as a great privilege that the Creator has allowed me to come closer to Him at least to some degree.

2.30 RABASH,

Article No. 11 (1990), “What Placing the Hanukkah Candle on the Left Means in the Work”

“Concealment of the face.” In other words, the Creator hides Himself in the clothing of the friends, and in this way he does the Creator’s will.

If he thanks the Creator for helping him through the concealment—meaning that now he has the choice to say that he is working because of the friends and he has no contact with the Creator, or that he believes that the Creator hid Himself in the clothing of the friends, and by that he engages in Torah and Mitzvot, and if he chooses and says that only the Creator helped him to be able to do good deeds by clothing in a clothing of friends, and he thanks the Creator for this—it brings upon him a great ascent: to be rewarded with the revelation of the face of the Creator.

2.31 RABASH,

Article No. 18 (1990), “Why the Speech of Shabbat Must Not Be as the Speech of a Weekday, in the Work”

When the Creator generously bestows upon His creations, it is considered that His face is revealed to His creations, since then everyone knows and recognizes Him. Yet, when He behaves with His creations the opposite from the above mentioned, meaning when they suffer afflictions and tor- ments in His world, it is considered the Achoraim of the Creator, for His face, meaning His complete attribute of goodness, is entirely concealed from them.”

Therefore, in that state, if he can accept the Achoraim, which is called “exile,” and does not run, but rather, “And they cried out to the Lord” to deliver him from the exile, then he accepts the Achoraim and says that it comes from the Creator, hence he asks Him that as He made him feel the taste of exile, so He will help him emerge from exile.

2.32 RABASH,

Letter No. 76

It is known that “The whole earth is full of His glory.” This is what every person should believe, as it is written, “I fill the heaven and the earth.” However, the Creator has made a concealment so that we cannot see Him so as to have room for choice, and then there is room for faith—to believe that the Creator “fills all the worlds and encompasses all the worlds.” And after a person engages in Torah and Mitzvot and keeps the commandment of choice, the Creator reveals Himself to him, and then he sees that the Creator is the ruler of the world.

Thus, at that time a person makes the king who will rule over him. That is, a person feels that the Creator is the ruler of the world, and this is regarded as a person making the Creator king over him. As long as one has not come to such a feeling, the Creator’s kingship is concealed. This is why we say, “On that day, the Lord will be one and His name, ‘One.’” That is, the glory of His kingship will appear over us. This is the whole correction we must do in this world, and by that we extend abundance in the world, for all the bestowals from above are drawn by engaging in Torah and Mitzvot with the aim to extend His kingship on us.

2.33 RABASH,

Article No. 236, “The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory”

Before one is fit to attain the truth, he must believe that the truth is not as he knows or feels, but that it is as it is written, “They have eyes and they will not see; they have ears and they will not hear.” This is only because of the correction, in order for man to achieve his wholeness, for he feels only himself and not another reality.

Hence, if one returns his heart to trying to walk in faith above the intellect, by this he qualifies it and establishes it so as to achieve the revelation of the face, as is presented in The Zohar, that the Shechina [Divinity] said to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, “There is no place to hide from you,” mean- ing that in all the concealments that he felt, he believed that here was the light of the Creator. This qualified him until he achieved the revelation of the face of His light.

This is the meaning of the measure of the faith that pulls one out of every lowliness and conceal- ment if a person strengthens himself in this and asks the Creator to reveal Himself.

This is the meaning of what Baal HaSulam said, “Run my Beloved until she pleases,” meaning that before one is fit to reveal His light, we ask of Him, “Run my Beloved,” meaning that He will not reveal Himself to the created beings because the concealment is only the correction of creation.

Hence, one must brace oneself and pray for those two:

1. To be worthy of the revelation of the light of the Creator.
2. That the Creator will give him the power to grow stronger in faith above reason, for by this, he merges Kelim [vessels] that are fit for the revelation of the face, as in “The Lord will light up His face for you and will give you peace,” as it is written, “I will hear what God will speak, for He will speak peace unto His people and unto His followers and let them not turn back to folly.”

 2.34 RABASH,

Article No. 195, “The Association of the Quality of Judgment with Mercy”

Concerning the association of the quality of judgment with mercy, by which the lower one became worthy of Mochin, and concerning the AHP of the upper that fell into the lower one.

It is known that the main work is the choice, meaning “choose life,” so there will be Dvekut [adhesion], which is Lishma [for Her sake]. By this, one is rewarded with Dvekut with the Life of Lives. When there is open Providence, there is no room for choice. For this reason, the upper one raised the Malchut, which is the quality of judgment, to the Eynaim [eyes]. This created a conceal- ment, meaning that it seemed to the lower one that there was a drawback in the upper one, that there was no Gadlut [greatness/adulthood] in the upper one.

Subsequently, the qualities of the upper one are placed within the lower one, meaning they are deficient. It follows that these Kelim [vessels] have equivalence with the lower one, namely that as there is no vitality to the lower one, so there is no vitality in the upper qualities. In other words, he feels no taste in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] for they are lifeless.

At that time, there is room for choice, for the lower one to say that this whole concealment that he feels is because the upper one restricted himself for the sake of the lower one. This is called “When Israel are in exile, the Shechina [Divinity] is with them,” that whatever taste he feels, so he says. That is, it is not his fault that he does not feel the taste of vitality. Rather, in his view, there really is no vitality in spirituality.

If a person overcomes and says that the bitter taste he finds in these nourishments are only because he does not have the proper Kelim to receive the abundance because his Kelim are to receive and not to bestow, and he is sorry that the upper had to hide himself, for which the lower one can slander, this is regarded as MAN that the lower one raises.

By this, the upper raises his AHP. “Raising” means that the upper one can show the lower one the merit and the pleasure that exists in the Kelim of AHP that the upper one can reveal. Thus, from the perspective of the lower one, it follows that he raises the Galgalta Eynaim of the lower one, and by this itself, the lower one sees the merit of the upper one. It follows that the lower one ascends together with the AHP of the upper one.

Thus, when the lower one sees the greatness of the upper one, by this itself the lower one grows.

However, initially, the lower one is fit to receive only Katnut [smallness/infancy]. When Gadlut in the upper one appears to the lower one, a dispute between right and left emerges in the lower one, meaning between faith and knowledge.

However, the upper is also diminished later by the lower one. This is regarded as Masach de Hirik, meaning that for the lower one to be able to receive the degrees of the upper one, the lower one must receive knowledge only to the extent of the faith, and not more. This is regarded as the lower one restricting the left line of the upper one, meaning that the lower one is the cause.

At that time, the lower one can exist because he comprises knowledge and faith together. This is called “three lines,” and specifically in this manner, the lower one acquires wholeness.

2.35 RABASH,  Article No. 44,

“Ruin by Elders—Construction; Construction by Youths—Ruin”

“Ruin by elders—construction; construction by youths—ruin” (Megillah 31b).

Elders are those who are accustomed to the work of the Creator. Youths are those who are in the beginning of their work. “Ruin” means a descent or a fall, where previously they had some ascent in the work, which is regarded as building, meaning that they appreciated the ascent, but the ruin is when they felt some fall, which comes from the concealment of the Creator, that the Creator hides Himself from them. This is called “ruin.”

“Ruin by elders” means that they say that the Creator sent them the concealment. It follows that they are already building, since they believe that the Creator is tending to them, and from this they derive vitality.

Faith is apparent primarily during the descent, when it does not shine for a person. At that time, he faces a dilemma: Either he says, “I do not need any benefits. Rather, I want to bring contentment above and I do not care what I feel,” or it is otherwise.

2.36 RABASH,

Article No. 44 (1990), “What Is an Optional War, in the work – 2?”

All those thoughts that the will to receive brings him are sent to him from above because he wants to walk on the path of bestowal, and in the meantime he is idle in the work, because he prayed for the Creator to bring him closer to being in Dvekut with the Creator, which is equivalence of form, when it is apparent that the person is idle in the work, he is sent the foreign thoughts that a person cannot agree to be under such a control. This, in turn, gives a person a push that he must overcome the state he is in. It therefore follows that from this bad, when a person feels that he is in such a lowly state that he never imagined that he could be under such governance, for this reason, he should not be alarmed and escape the campaign. On the contrary, he should believe that the Creator is taking care of him now, and He is bringing him closer through a state of Achoraim [posterior].

This is as it is written in the book A Sage’s Fruit (Vol. 1, p 139), “About the verse, ‘My beloved is like a gazelle,’ our sages said, ‘As the gazelle looks back when he runs, when the Creator leaves Israel, He turns back His face.’ Then the face returns to being in the Achoraim, meaning craving and longing to cling to Israel once more. This begets in Israel longing and craving to cling to the Creator, too, and the measure of the longing and craving is actually the face itself.”

We should interpret that he means that when a person is in a state of lowliness, it is considered that the Creator has moved away from him, and he has no desire or yearning for the work, this is regarded as the Creator giving a person a shape of tastelessness about spirituality. Moreover, a person wants to escape and forget about the work altogether. This is regarded as the Creator showing him the Achoraim.

The Panim [face/anterior] of the Creator is His desire to do good to His creations, and the Achoraim is the complete opposite. Why does the Creator show a person the Achoraim? It is on purpose, for by this a person gets a thrust toward Dvekut with the Creator, for he cannot remain in a state of lowliness. It follows that here, within the Achoraim is the discernment of Panim.

2.37 RABASH,

Article No. 472, “The Concealed Things Belong to the Lord Our God”

“The concealed things belong to the Lord our God, and the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to do all the words of this Torah [law].”

By intimation, we should interpret that “revealed” means “practiced,” and “concealed” means “intention.” The intention—which is the reason that obligates a person to do the act—is concealed from people, for one does not know what is in one’s friend’s heart.

A person might even deceive himself with regard to the intention and think that the reason that obligates him to do the deed is the benefit of the Creator, when perhaps it is his own benefit that obligates him to do the deed. This is why “concealed” implies the intention.

We should make two discernments in regard to this:

1. ) the general public,
2. ) the individual.

The general public normally thinks mainly about the action and not about the intention, since it is impossible to force the public to aim the true aim during the act. But with regard to the individ- ual, we speak mainly about the intention. Hence, perhaps with respect to the general public, he is righteous, but with respect to the individual, he is wicked.

In that regard, it can be said, “Even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous, be wicked in your own eyes.” That is, he should aim that it will be only for the Creator, meaning not in order to receive reward, and he is still regarded as wicked.

And when one sees that in terms of the concealed, he is completely removed from the goal, he must not despair. Rather, he must believe that “The concealed things belong to the Lord our God.” This means that He will give the concealed part, and we will do the revealed part, namely the actions. According to the increase in actions, so grows the need to increase intentions, meaning for the concealed part. Since there is a rule that there is no light without a Kli [vessel], meaning a desire, through increasing the actions we increase the lack until it reaches a certain measure, and then

“The concealed things belong to the Lord our God,” meaning that then He gives the concealed.

 2.38 RABASH,

Article No. 777, “A Prayer for the Exile of the Shechina”

From the perspective of the worlds, there are two states: the state of the first nine, regarded as vessels of bestowal, and Malchut, which is regarded as a Kli [vessel] for reception, from whom the Klipot [shells/peels] nurse. In spirituality, one does not mix with the other.

For this reason, there is the discernment of time for man, where until age thirteen he is under the governance of the Klipot, and from age thirteen onward he begins to obtain the first nine. At that time, because he consists of Malchut of reception, he can correct her so it will be reception in order to bestow, and then the verse, “The darkness will shine as light” will come true. This means that Malchut is called “reception and knowing.” At that time, he inverts his Kelim. Conversely, if he consisted only of the first nine, he would not be able to correct anything.

This is why we need the work of the lower ones. This is the meaning of the Creator craving the prayer of the righteous, meaning those who pray and want to be righteous, meaning ask the Creator to help them invert the quality of Malchut to the quality of the upper nine.

2.39 Zohar for All, Nasso,

“The Holy Idra Rabah,” Item 299

Everything is Godliness, above time, place, and change. All those degrees and corrections we discern in Godliness are only various concealments and covers toward the lower ones, since the ten Sefirot are ten kinds of covers of His Atzmut [self]. Likewise, all the imaginary images of time and place and actions are but various covers of His Godliness that seem that way to the lower ones. As man is not affected or changes at all because of the covers that he covers in, and only his friends are affected by his disappearance or appearance, so His Godliness does not change and is not affected whatsoever by those degrees and corrections and names in time, place, and changes of actions that the lower ones discern in His covers. Rather, we must know that those covers also serve as disclosures.

Moreover, to the extent of the cover that there is in each name and correction, so is the extent of disclosure of the Creator that is in it. One who is rewarded with receiving the measure of the covers properly is then rewarded with the covers becoming for him measures of disclosure. One who learns must remember these things during the learning so he will not fail in his thought.

2.40 Zohar for All, “Introduction of The Book of Zohar,”

“On the Night of the Bride,” 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, for this is unbecoming of the complete Operator. Hence, when one feels bad, denial of the Creator’s guidance lies upon him and the superior Operator is concealed from him to that same extent. This is the greatest punishment in the world.

Thus, the sensation of good and evil in relation to His guidance brings with it the sensation of reward and punishment, for one who exerts to not part from faith in the Creator is rewarded even when he tastes a bad taste in Providence. And if he does not exert, he will have a punishment because he is separated from faith in the Creator.

2.41 Zohar for All,

“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” “Two Points,” Item 121

All the many contradictions to His uniqueness, which we taste in this world, separate us from the Creator. Yet, when exerting to keep Torah and Mitzvot with love, with our soul and might, as we are commanded—to bestow contentment upon our Maker—all those forces of separation do not affect us into subtracting any of the love of the Creator with all our souls and might. Rather, in that state, every contradiction we have overcome becomes a gate for attainment of His wisdom. This is so because there is a special quality in each contradiction—revealing a special degree in attaining Him. And those worthy ones who have been rewarded with it turn darkness into light and bitter into sweet, for all the powers of separation—from the darkness of the mind and the bitterness of the body—have become to them gates for obtainment of sublime degrees. Thus, the darkness becomes a great light and the bitter becomes sweet.

Hence, to the extent that they previously had all the conducts of His guidance toward the forces of separation, now they have all been inverted into forces of unification, and sentence the entire world to the side of merit.

2.42 Zohar for All,

Beresheet [Genesis], “Let Us Make Man,” Item 159

According to the extent of the Panim of the degree, so is the extent of its Achoraim. The instilling of the Achoraim is a calling and an invitation to instill the Panim. This is why by the measure of the concealment of the Achoraim that they attained, they knew the measure of disclosure that they were about to attain.

As Rabbi Shimon heard, he was calling him Shimon and not Rabbi Shimon. This means that the instilling of the Achoraim, which is a calling, was so strong that he lost all his degrees and became a simple person, Shimon from the market. By that, he recognized that it was a calling and an invitation for very high attainment of Panim.

 2.43 Zohar for All,

“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” “Two Points,” Item 121

Prior to being rewarded with inverting the desire to receive in us through Torah and Mitzvot, into reception in order to bestow, there are strong locks on those gates to the Creator, for then they have the opposite role: to drive us away from the Creator. This is why the forces of separation are called “locks,” since they block the gates of approaching and drive us away from the Creator.

But if we overcome them so they do not affect us, cooling His love from our hearts, the locks become doors, the darkness becomes light, and the bitter becomes sweet. Over all the locks, we receive a special degree in His Providence, and they become openings, degrees of attainment of the Creator.

2.44 Zohar for All,

VaYera [The Lord Appeared], “And the Lord Appeared unto Him”

And this applies in the upper worlds, as well, since no revelation is dispensed upon the worlds except through concealed discernments. And by the measure of concealment in a degree, so is the measure of revelations in it, which is given to the world. If there is no concealment in it, it cannot bestow a thing.

2.45 Zohar for All,

Beresheet-1 [Genesis] “Let Us Make Man”

“And God said, ‘Let us make man,’” there is a secret revealed only to those who fear Him. That elder of the elders started and said, “Shimon, Shimon, who is it who said, ‘Let us make man,’ and of whom is it written, ‘And God said’? Who is that name ‘God’ here?” As Rabbi Shimon heard that he was calling him Shimon and not Rabbi Shimon, he said to his friends, “This must be the Creator, of whom it is written, ‘And the ancient of days [Atik Yomin] is sitting.’ Therefore, now is the time to disclose that secret, for there is a secret here that was not permitted to be disclosed, and now it means that permission to disclose has been given.”

It is known that the secrets that were revealed to the sages of The Zohar were by attainment of the lights of the upper degrees by instilling. There are Panim and Achoraim [anterior and posterior respectively] in them, meaning concealment and disclosure. According to the extent of the Panim of the degree, so is the extent of its Achoraim. The instilling of the Achoraim is a calling and an invitation to instill the Panim. This is why by the measure of the concealment of the Achoraim that they attained, they knew the measure of disclosure that they were about to attain.

As Rabbi Shimon heard, he was calling him Shimon and not Rabbi Shimon. This means that the instilling of the Achoraim, which is a calling, was so strong that he lost all his degrees and became a simple person, Shimon from the market. By that, he recognized that it was a calling and an invitation for very high attainment of Panim.

This is why he promptly said to his friends, “This must be the Creator, of whom it is written, ‘And the ancient of days [Atik Yomin] is sitting,’” of whose degree there is no higher.

2.46 Ramchal,

Daat Tevunot

That deficiency was born only by the concealment of the face of the Master, who did not want to illuminate His face to His creations right away, so they would be complete from the beginning. On the contrary, He hid His face from them and left them lacking since the light of the King’s face is life indeed, and His concealment is the source of all that is bad.

However, since the intended purpose in this concealment is not to be concealed, but rather to later be revealed and remove all the bad that was born only out of that concealment, He therefore set a law and ordinance to reveal His good hidden face. This is done either by deeds that people do, which are the ordinances and teachings He has given us, His law is the law of truth, which one who does them lives by them in eternal life, since the reward of a commandment is commandment, it is the illumination of His face, which He hid from man in the beginning of his creation.

For this reason, he was created for labor since the inclination governs him and his wickedness is great in all kinds of faults, and his distance from the light of life. And doing the commandments shines on him the hidden light until, when he completes his due commandments, he himself is completed with them to the light, in the light of this life.

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PERIOADA DE PREGĂTIRE

1.01 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 204, “The Purpose of the Work – 2”

During the preparation period, all the work is in the nos, that is, in the “no,” as it is written, “and they shall be afflicted in a land that is not.” However, with matters of the tongue, which is considered “me,” one must first be awarded the discernment of love.

Yet, during the preparation, there is only work in the form of no’s, regarded as “You shall not have,” and by the profusion of no’s, we come to the point of God1 of Hesed [mercy]. But prior to that, there are many no’s, which is other gods, many no’s. This is so because from Lo Lishma [not for Her sake] we come to Lishma [for Her sake].

Since the Sitra Achra [other side] provides support, even afterwards, when we work and extend Kedusha [holiness], still, when she takes the support, we fall from the degree, and then she takes all the abundance that they extended. By this, the Sitra Achra has the power to control a person so he will be compelled to satisfy their wish. And he has no other choice but to raise himself to a higher degree.

Then the sequence begins anew, as before, with the forty-nine gates of Tuma’a [impurity]. This means that one walks in the degrees of Kedusha until the forty-nine gates. But there she has control to take all the vitality and abundance until a person falls each time into a higher gate of Tuma’a, since “God has made them one opposite the other.”

When one comes into the 49th gate, he can no longer raise himself until the Creator comes and redeems him. And then “He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God shall cast them out of his belly.” This means that now one takes all the abundance and vitality that the Klipa [shell] was taking from all of the forty-nine gates of Kedusha. This is the meaning of “the looting of the sea.”

Yet, it is impossible to be redeemed before we feel the exile. And when we walk on the forty-nine, we feel the exile, and the Creator redeems on the 50th gate. The only difference between Gola [exile] and Ge’ula [redemption] is in the Aleph, which is Alupho Shel Olam [Champion of the world]. Hence, if one does not properly attain the exile, too, he is deficient in the degree.

1.02 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 19

“Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” This means that during the preparation, beauty and grace appear as the essence of perfection for which one yearns and longs. However, at the time of correction, when the earth is “full of the knowledge of the Lord,” “I shall see an opposite world,” as only fear and longing are the desired perfection. Then one feels that during the time of preparation they were lying to themselves.

1.03 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 17

The purpose of the soul when it comes in the body is to be rewarded with returning to its root and with Dvekut [adhesion] with Him while clothed in the body, as it is written, “To love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, and to adhere to Him.” You see that the matter ends with “to adhere to Him,” meaning as it was prior to clothing in the body.

However, great preparation is required, which is to walk in all His ways. Yet, who knows the ways of the Creator? Indeed, this is the meaning of “Torah that has 613 ways.” He who walks on them will finally be purified until his body no longer forms an iron partition between him and his Maker, as it is written, “And I will take away the stony heart from your flesh.” Then he shall adhere to his Maker just as he was before the clothing of the soul in the body.

It turns out that there are three discernments: 1) Israel is one who exerts to return to his root; 2) The Creator, namely the root he longs for; 3) The 613 ways of the Torah by which one purifies one’s soul and body. This is the spice, as it is written, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created for it the Torah as a spice.”

However, these three are actually one and the same. In the end, any servant of the Creator attains them as one, unique, and unified discernment, and they only appear to be divided into three because of one’s incompleteness in the work of the Creator.

1.04 RABASH,  Article No. 28 (1991),

“What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”

We must observe the Torah and Mitzvot so it will bring us purity, where purity means purification of the Kelim from the will to receive for oneself, which is called “dirt,” since it is in disparity of form from the Creator, who is all to bestow. For this reason, before we clean the Kelim, it is impossible to place within them anything good, for anything we might place in a dirty Kli [vessel] will be spoiled. Hence, we must receive good advice, things that will purify our Kelim [vessels], which is called “making kosher [fit to be eaten according to Jewish laws]” and “preparation” so we can receive the delight and pleasure. Because of this, we were given 613 Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], which The Zohar calls “613 counsels”.

1.05 RABASH,

Article No. 2 (1987), “The Importance of Recognition of Evil”

The work that is the preparation to enter true spirituality. That is, when he takes upon himself to believe in the importance of the Creator above reason, he must take upon himself that he wants to go specifically with faith above reason. Even though he was given the reason to see the greatness of the Creator within reason, he prefers faith above reason due to “because of the honor of the Creator, conceal the matter.”

This is regarded as wanting to go above reason. Precisely then he becomes a Kli [vessel] that is fit to receive spirituality, since he has no concern at all for himself, but all his intentions are only to bestow upon the Creator. For this reason there is no longer fear that should he be given some illumination it will go into the vessels of reception, since he is always trying to exit self-love.

Baal HaSulam said that as the will to receive wants only to receive and not bestow, even where it is told to work above reason it is only regarded as bestowing and not receiving because a person suffers where he has to go above reason. The evidence of this is that since the body is always con- cerned with receiving delight and pleasure in everything it does, and since if a person must work above reason, the body is dissatisfied with it, therefore, when a person is taught to go above reason he begins the work of bestowal. It therefore follows that when one prefers to go by way of above reason it is safeguarding that he will walk on the right path, which is the route for achieving Dvekut with the Creator.

 1.06 RABASH,

Article No. 875, “Three Lines – 4”

Even during the preparation, there is a place where he can receive illumination from above. Although this illumination cannot be permanent in him, even some connection with spirituality is a great profit because one cannot evaluate even the slightest contact with spirituality.

This right line is called “truth” because wholeness is built on the basis of truth. That is, he does not say that he has great possessions in Torah and Mitzvot, meaning feeling, attainment, and under- standing. Rather, he says that whatever he has, whatever he is given from above, even if he feels that he is in a worse state than what he received by education, he still regards it above reason as having great importance to him that he has been rewarded with having some contact with spirituality.

1.07 RABASH, Article No. 5 (1987),

“What Is the Advantage in the Work More than in the Reward?”

It is written in The Zohar, “For the whole of the Torah is the names of the Creator.” Also, a complete man is one who has been rewarded with “The Torah and the Creator and Israel are one.” Therefore, indeed, greeting the Shechina is very important because the purpose is for man to achieve this degree.

But to come to greet the Shechina requires prior preparation, for one to be fit for it. In the words of our sages, this is called “As He is merciful, so you are merciful.” This is the interpretation of the verse, “and to cleave unto Him, cleave unto His attributes.” It means, as explained in the book Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah], that only by a person working in love of others can he achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator. There are many names to this: “Instilling of the Shechina,” “attainment the Torah,” “greeting the Shechina,” etc.

The main preparation, which is called “labor,” is that one must prepare oneself to annul one’s authority, meaning one’s self. We can call this hospitality [greeting guests], meaning that he can- cels the view of landlords and craves the view of Torah, which is called “annulling of authority.” Naturally, he becomes the guest of the Creator, who is the Host of the entire world.

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PERCEPŢIA REALITĂŢII

14.01 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Items 39-40

The whole of the Creator’s desired goal for the creation He had created is to bestow upon His creatures, so they would know His truthfulness and greatness, and receive all the delight and pleasure He had prepared for them, in the measure described in the verse: “Ephraim my darling son, is he a child of joy?” Thus, you clearly find that this purpose does not apply to the still and the great spheres, such as the earth, the moon, or the sun, however luminous they may be, and not to the vegetative or the animate, for they lack the sensation of others, even from among their own species. Therefore, how can the sensation of the Godly and His bestowal apply to them?

Humankind alone, having been prepared with the sensation of others of the same species, who are similar to them, after working in Torah and Mitzvot, when they invert their will to receive to a desire to bestow and achieve equivalence of form with their Maker, they receive all the degrees that have been prepared for them in the upper worlds, called NRNHY. By this they become qualified to receive the purpose of the thought of creation. After all, the purpose of the creation of all the worlds was for man alone.

And I know that it is completely unacceptable in the eyes of some philosophers. They cannot agree that man, who they regard as low and worthless, is the center of the magnificent creation. But they are like a worm that was born inside a radish. It lives there and thinks that the world of the Creator is as bitter, dark, and small as the radish in which it was born. But as soon as it breaks the peel of the radish and peeps out, it says in bewilderment: “I thought the whole world was like the radish I was born in, and now I see a grand, beautiful, and wondrous world before me!”

So, too, are those who are immersed in the Klipa [sing. of Klipot] of the will to receive they were born with, and did not try to take the unique spice, which are the practical Torah and Mitzvot, which can break this hard Klipa and turn it into a desire to bestow contentment upon the Maker. It is certain that they must determine according to their worthlessness and emptiness, as they truly are. They cannot comprehend that this magnificent reality had been created only for them. Indeed, had they delved in Torah and Mitzvot to bestow contentment upon their Maker, with all the required purity, and would try to break the Klipa of the will to receive in which they were born, and would assume the desire to bestow, their eyes would promptly open to see and attain for themselves all the degrees of wisdom, intelligence, and clear mind that have been prepared for them in the spiritual worlds. Then they would say for themselves what our sages said, “What does a good guest say? ‘Everything the host has done, he has done only for me.’”

14.02 Baal HaSulam,

The Study of the Ten Sefurot, “Inner Observation,” Part One, Chapter Ten, Item 36

We have no attainment and perception whatsoever in any substance, as our five senses are com- pletely unfit for it. The sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, offer the scrutinizing mind merely abstract forms of “incidents” of the essence, formulating through the cooperation with our senses.

 14.03 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 1

It is written in The Zohar, Vayikra, Portion Tazria, “Come and see: All that exists in the world exists for man, and everything exists for him, as it is written, ‘Then the Lord God formed man,’ with a full name, as we have established, that he is the whole of everything and contains everything, and all that is above and below, etc., is included in that image.”

Thus, it explains that all the worlds, upper and lower, are included in man. And also, the whole of reality within those worlds is only for man.

14.04 Baal HaSulam,

“Foreword to The Book of Zohar,” Item 34

Our sense of sight, for example: We see a wide world before us, wondrously filled. But in fact, we see all that only in our own interior. In other words, there is a sort of a photographic machine in our hindbrain, which portrays everything that appears to us and nothing outside of us.

He has made for us there, in our brain, a kind of polished mirror that inverts everything seen there, so we will see it outside our brain, in front of our faces. Yet, what we see outside of us is not a real thing. Nevertheless, we should be so grateful to His Providence for having created that polished mirror in our brains, enabling us to see and perceive everything outside of us, for by this He has given us the power to perceive everything with clear knowledge and attainment, and measure everything from within and from without.

Without it, we would lose most of our perception. The same is true with the Godly will, con- cerning Godly perceptions. Even though all these changes unfold in the interior of the receiving souls, they nevertheless see it all in the Giver Himself since only in this manner are they awarded all the perceptions and all the pleasantness in the thought of creation.

You can also deduce this from the above parable. Even though we see everything as being in front of us, every reasonable person knows for certain that all that we see is only in our own brains.

So are the souls: Although they see all the images in the Giver, they have no doubt that all those are only in their own interior and not at all in the Giver.

14.05 Baal HaSulam,

“Foreword to The Book of Zohar,” Item 12

The essence of the person in itself, without the matter. This is because our five senses and our imagination offer us only manifestations of the actions of the essence, but none of the essence itself. For example, the sense of sight offers us only shadows of the visible essence as they are formed opposite the light. Similarly, the sense of hearing is but a force of striking of some essence in the air.

The air that is rejected by it strikes the drum in our ear, and we hear that there is some essence in our proximity. The sense of smell is but air that emerges from the essence and strikes our nerves of scent, and we smell. Also, taste is but a result of the contact of some essence with our nerves of taste.

Thus, all that these four senses offer us are manifestations of the operations that stem from some essence and nothing of the essence itself.

Even the sense of touch, the strongest of the senses, separating hot from cold and solid from soft, all these are but manifestations of operations in the essence; they are but incidents of the essence. This is so because the hot can be chilled, the cold can be heated, the solid can be turned to liquid through chemical operations, and the liquid into air, meaning only gas where any discernment in our five senses has been expired. Yet, the essence still exists in it, since you can turn the air into liquid once again, and the liquid into solid.

Evidently, the five senses do not reveal to us any essence whatsoever, but only incidents and manifestations of operations from the essence. It is known that anything that we cannot grasp in our senses, we also cannot imagine. And what we cannot imagine will never appear in our thoughts and we have no way to perceive it.

14.06 Baal HaSulam,

“The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

As there is no perception of the Creator whatsoever, so is it impossible to attain the essence of any of His creatures, even the tangible objects that we feel with our hands.

Thus, all we know about our friends and relatives in the world of action before us are nothing more than “acquaintance with actions.” These are prompted and born by the association of their encounter with our senses, which render us complete satisfaction although we have no perception whatsoever in the essence of the subject.

Furthermore, you have no perception or attainment whatsoever even in your own essence. Everything you know about your own essence is nothing more than a series of actions extending from your essence.

14.07 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 66, “Concerning the Giving of the Torah – 1”

We cannot attain any reality as it is in itself. Rather, we attain everything only according to our sen- sations. And reality, as it is in itself, is of no interest to us at all. Hence, we do not attain the Torah as it is in itself; we attain only our sensations. Thus, all of our impressions follow only our sensations.

14.08 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 3, “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”

“There is no change in the light.” Rather, all the changes are in the Kelim, meaning in our senses. We measure everything according to our imagination. From this it follows that if many people examine one spiritual thing, each will attain according to his imagination and senses, thereby seeing a different form.

In addition, the form itself will change in a person according to his ups and downs, as we have said above that the light is simple light and all the changes are only in the receivers.

 14.09 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 3, “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”

For themselves, all the worlds are regarded as simple unity, and there is no change in Godliness. This is the meaning of “I the Lord did not change.” There are no Sefirot or Behinot [discernments] in Godliness. Even the most subtle appellations do not refer to the light itself, as this is a discernment of Atzmuto where there is no attainment. Rather, all the Sefirot and the discernments speak only of what a person attains in them.

14.10 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 3, “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”

The proliferation of names is only with respect to the receivers. Hence, the first name that appeared, that is, the root for the creatures, is called Ein Sof. This name remains unchanged, and all the restrictions and the manifold changes unfold only with regard to the receivers, but He always shines in the first name called “His desire to do good to His creations,” endlessly.

 14.11 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 3, “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”

We can only speak from where our senses are impressed by the expanding light, which is “His desire to do good to His creations,” which comes into the hands of the receivers in actual fact.

Similarly, when we examine a table, our sense of touch feels it as something hard, and its length and width, all according to our senses. However, that does not necessitate that the table will appear so to one who has other senses. For example, in the eyes of an angel, when it examines the table, it will see it according to its senses. For this reason, we cannot determine any form with regard to an angel since we do not know its senses.

Thus, since we have no attainment in the Creator, we cannot say which form the worlds have from His perspective. We only attain the worlds according to our senses and sensations.

14.12 Baal HaSulam,

“Foreword to The Book of Zohar,” Items 32-33

There is no change at all in the world Atzilut itself, whether the lower ones receive its great abun- dance lushly or receive nothing at all. The above-mentioned greatness lies solely on the lower ones. Thus, why did the authors of The Zohar have to describe all those changes in the world of Atzilut itself? They should have spoken explicitly only with respect to the receivers in BYA, and not speak so elaborately of Atzilut, forcing us to provide answers.

Indeed, there is a very trenchant secret here: This is the meaning of “and by the hand of the prophets have I used similitudes” (Hosea 12). The truth is that there is a Godly will here, that these similitudes, which operate only in the souls of the receivers, will appear to the souls as He Himself participates in them to greatly increase the attainment of the souls.

It is like a father who constrains himself to show his little darling child a face of sadness and a face of contentment, although there is neither sadness nor contentment in him. He only does this to impress his darling child and expand his understanding so as to play with him.

Only when he grows will he learn and know that all that his father did was no more real than mere playing with him. So is the matter before us: All these images and changes begin and end only with the impression of the souls. Yet, by the will of God, they appear as though they are in Him Himself. He does that to enhance and expand the attainment of the souls to the utmost, in accordance with the thought of creation, to delight His creatures.

14.13 Baal HaSulam,

“600,000 Souls”

It is said that there are 600,000 souls, and each soul divides into several sparks. We must understand how it is possible for the spiritual to divide, since initially, only one soul was created, the soul of Adam HaRishon.

In my opinion, there is indeed only one soul in the world, as it is written (Genesis 2:7), “and breathed into his nostrils the soul [also “breath” in Hebrew] of life.” That same soul exists in all the children of Israel, complete in each and every one, as in Adam HaRishon, since the spiritual is indivisible and cannot be cut—which is rather a trait of corporeal things.

Rather, saying that there are 600,000 souls and sparks of souls appears as though it is divided by the force of the body of each person. In other words, first, the body divides and completely denies him of the radiance of the soul, and by the force of the Torah and the Mitzva [commandment], the body is cleansed, and to the extent of its cleansing, the common soul shines on him.

For this reason, two discernments were made in the corporeal body: In the first discernment, one feels one’s soul as a unique organ and does not understand that this is the whole of Israel. This is truly a flaw; hence, it causes along with the above-mentioned.

In the second discernment, the true light of the soul of Israel does not shine on him in all its power of illumination, but only partially, by the measure he has purified himself by returning to the collective.

The sign for the body’s complete correction is when one feels that one’s soul exists in the whole of Israel, in each and every one of them, for which he does not feel himself as an individual, for one depends on the other. At that time, he is complete, flawless, and the soul truly shines on him in its fullest power, as it appeared in Adam HaRishon, as in “He who breathed, breathed from within Him.” This is the meaning of the three times of a person:

1. A spark of a soul, the act by way of sparkling, as in prohibiting and permitting.
2. A particular soul, one part out of 600,000. It is permanently completed, but its flaw is with it. This means that his body cannot receive the whole of the soul, and feels himself as being distinct, which causes him a lot of pains of love.

Subsequently, he approaches wholeness, the common soul, since the body has been cleansed and is entirely dedicated to the Creator and does not pose any measures or screens and is completely included in the whole of Israel.

14.14 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 36, “What Are the Three Bodies in Man?”

One must think only of the inner body, for it is a clothing for the soul of Kedusha. That is, one should think thoughts that are after one’s skin. This means that after the body’s skin is called “outside one’s body,” meaning outside one’s own benefit, but only thoughts of benefiting others. This is called “outside one’s skin.”

This is so because after one’s skin, there is no grip for the Klipot [pl. of Klipa], for the Klipot grip only that which is within one’s skin, meaning that which belongs to one’s body, and not outside one’s body, called “outside one’s skin.” This means that they possess anything that is clothed in the body, and they cannot hold anything that is not clothed in the body.

When one persists with thoughts that are after one’s skin, he will be rewarded with what is writ- ten, “And after my skin they broke this, and from my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19, 26). “This” is the Shechina [Divinity], and she stands after one’s skin. “Broke” means that it has been corrected to be a pillar “after my skin.” At that time, one is awarded “and from my flesh shall I see God.”

It means that Kedusha comes and clothes the interior of the body specifically when one agrees to work outside one’s skin, meaning without any clothing. The wicked, however, who want to work precisely when there is clothing in the body, called within the skin, they will die without wisdom. This is because then they have no clothing and they are not awarded anything. However, it is spe- cifically the righteous who are rewarded with clothing in the body.

14.15 Baal HaSulam,

“The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

Each lower world is an imprint of the world above it. Hence, all the forms in the higher world are meticulously copied, in both quantity and quality, to the lower world.

Thus, there is not an element of reality or an occurrence of reality in a lower world that you will not find its likeness in the world above it, as identical as two drops in a pond. And they are called “root and branch.” That means that the item in the lower world is deemed a branch of its pattern found in the higher world, which is the root of the lower element, as this is where that item in the lower world has been imprinted and made to be.

That was the intention of our sages when they said, “You have not a blade of grass below that has not a fortune and a guard above that strike it and tell it, ‘Grow’!” (Omissions of The Zohar, p 251a [source in Hebrew], Beresheet Rabbah, Chapter 10). It follows that the root, called “fortune,” compels it to grow and assume its attribute in quantity and quality, as with the seal and its imprint. This is the law of root and branch that applies to every detail and occurrence in reality, in every single world, in relation to the world above it.

14.16 Baal HaSulam,

The Study of the Ten Sefirot, “Inner Light,” Part One, Item 1

It is difficult for novice, for they perceive matters by means of corporeal boundaries of time, space, change and exchange. However, the authors only used those as signs to point to their Upper Roots.

14.17 Baal HaSulam,

Ohr HaBahir

Spiritual revelation, whether emerging from concealment or some addition, extends and comes primarily through the power of the vessels and their quality, and does not depend at all on the upper light. It is so because the rule is that there is no change in the lights themselves from the beginning of the line to the bottom of Assiya. As it is in the beginning of the line, so it does not grow coarser or change when it is at the bottom of Assiya. It is also known that the upper light does not stop bestowing upon the lower ones even for a minute. Therefore, the whole matter of concealment, revelation, and changes, and any change, depend only on the merit of the vessels.

14.18 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 14

“Come to Pharaoh.” It is the Shechina [Divinity] in disclosure, from the words, “and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose,” as it is written in The Zohar. The thing is that to the extent that the children of Israel thought that Egypt were enslaving them and impeding them from serv- ing the Creator, they truly were in the exile in Egypt. Hence, the Redeemer’s only work was to reveal to them that there is no other force involved here, that “I and not a messenger,” for there is no other force but Him. This was indeed the light of redemption, as explained in the Passover Haggadah [story].

This is what the Creator gave to Moses in the verse, “Come to Pharaoh,” meaning unite the truth, for the whole approaching the king of Egypt is only to Pharaoh, to disclose the Shechina. This is why He said, “For I have hardened his heart,” etc., “that I may place these signs of Mine within him.”

In spirituality, there are no letters, as I have already elaborated on before. All the multiplication in spirituality relies on the letters derived from the materiality of this world, as in, “And creator of darkness.” There are no additions or initiations here, but the creation of darkness, the Merkava [chariot/structure] that is suited to disclose that the light is good. It follows that the Creator Himself hardened his heart. Why? Because it is letters that I need.

This is the meaning of “that I may place these signs of Mine within him, and that you may tell … that you may know that I am the Lord.” Explanation: Once you receive the letters, meaning when you understand that I gave and toiled for you, as in, do not move from “behind” Me, for you will thoroughly keep the Achoraim [posterior/back] for Me, for My name, then the abundance will do her thing and fill the letters. The qualities will become Sefirot, since before the filling they are called “qualities,” and upon their fulfillment for the best, they are called Sefirot, sapphire, illuminating the world from one end to the other.

This is the meaning of “that you may tell.” I need all this for the end of the matter, meaning “And you shall know that I am the Lord” “and not a messenger.” This is the meaning of the fiftieth gate, which cannot appear unless the forty-nine faces of pure and impure appear in one opposite the other, in which the righteous falls [forty-nine in Gematria] before the wicked.

14.19 Baal HaSulam,

“The Writings of the Last Generation”

There is nothing more natural than coming into contact with one’s Maker, for He has made nature. In fact, every creature has contact with his Maker, as it is written, “The whole earth is full of His glory,” except we do not know or feel it.

Actually, one who is awarded contact with Him attains only the awareness. It is as though one has a treasure in his pocket, and he does not know it. Along comes another and lets him know what is in his pocket. Now he really has become rich.

Yet, there is nothing new here, no cause for excitement. In fact, nothing has been added in the actual reality.

 14.20 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 55

“This world,” “the next [world]”—in the words of our sages. It is as presented in The Zohar in the title, Sefer HaBahir [The Book of the Bright One]: “Rabbi Rechimai was asked, ‘What is ‘the next world,’ and what is ‘in the future’?’ He replied to them, ‘In the next world and came.’” In other words, the abundance is still to come.

You can evidently see the difference between this world and the next world. This one is what we attain in the present or attained in the past. The next world, however, is what we have not attained, but which should come to us in the future, after some time. However, both speak of what one attains and receives in this world.

14.21 Baal HaSulam,

“From My Flesh I Shall See God”

Spirituality does not depend on time or place, and there is no death there.

14.22 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Book of Zohar, Item 13

By the very thought to create the souls, His thought completed everything, for He does not need an act, as do we. Instantaneously, all the souls and worlds that were destined to be created emerged filled with all the delight and pleasure and the gentleness that He had planned for them, in the final perfection that the souls were destined to receive at the end of correction, after the will to receive in the souls has been fully corrected and has turned into pure bestowal, in complete equivalence of form with the Emanator.

This is so because in His eternalness, past, present, and future are as one. The future is as the present, and there is no such thing as time in Him (The Zohar, Mishpatim, Item 51, New Zohar, Beresheet, Item 243). Hence, there was never an issue of a corrupted will to receive in its separated state in Ein Sof.

On the contrary, that equivalence of form, destined to be revealed at the end of correction, appeared instantly in His eternalness.

14.23 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 32

The Creator is truly in the heart of each one from Israel. But this is on His part, so what does man need? Only to know it—the knowing changes, and the knowing finishes.

 14.24 Baal HaSulam,

“Foreword to The Book of Zohar,” Item 35

When the light of Malchut descends and expands over the people. At that time, it appears to them, to each and every one, according to their own appearance, vision, and imagination, meaning only in the receivers and not at all in the Sefira Malchut herself.

14.25 Baal HaSulam,

The Study of the Ten Sefirot, “Inner Observation,” Part One, Chapter 9, Item 33

Know that spiritual movement is not like tangible motion from one location to another; it refers to a renewed Tzura.

We denominate every innovation of form by the title “movement.”

 14.26 Baal HaSulam,

“The Peace”

There are no new souls the way bodies are renewed, but only a certain amount of souls that incar- nate on the wheel of transformation of the form, for each time they clothe a new body and a new generation.

14.27 Baal HaSulam,

“The Peace”

With regard to the souls, all generations since the beginning of creation to the end of correction are as one generation that has extended its life over several thousand years until it developed and became corrected as it should be. And the fact that in the meantime, each has changed his body several thousand times is completely irrelevant because the essence of the body’s self, called “the soul,” did not suffer at all by these changes.

14.28 Baal HaSulam,

The Study of the Ten Sefirot, “Inner Observation,” Part One, Chapter One, Item 8

This entire reality, Elyonim and Tachtonim as one in the final state of the end of correction, was emanated and created by a single thought. That single thought performs all the operations, is the essence of all the operations, the purpose and the essence of the labor. It is by itself the entire per- fection and the sought-after reward.

14.29 Baal HaSulam,

Letter No. 19

The Creator does nothing new at the end of correction, as the fools think. Rather, “And you shall eat old store long kept,” meaning until he says, “I want.”

14.30 Baal HaSulam,

“You Have Made Me in Behind and Before”

“You have made me in behind and before,” meaning the revelation and concealment of the face of the Creator. This is because indeed, “His kingdom rules over all,” and everything will return to its root because there is no place vacant of Him. But the difference is in the present or the future, because one who connects the two worlds discovers His clothing in the present, that everything that is done is a clothing for the revelation of the Shechina [Divinity].

This is deemed the present, meaning that now, too, he comes out in royal attire and evidently shows that the rider is not subordinate to the horse. But although it seemingly appears that the horse leads its rider, the truth is that the horse is provoked to any movement only by the sensation of the rider’s bridle and headstall. This is called “The construction of the stature of the Shechina,” and it is also called “face-to-face.”

14.31 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 17, “What Does It Mean that the Sitra Achra Is Called ‘Malchut without a Crown’?”

Our sages said, “Anyone who is proud, the Creator says, ‘He and I cannot dwell in the same abode,’” as he makes two authorities. However, when one is in a state of Ein, and annuls himself before the Root, meaning that one’s sole intention is only to bestow, like the Root, you find that there is only one authority here—the authority of the Creator. Then, all that one receives in the world is only in order to bestow upon the Creator.

This is the meaning of what he had said, “The whole world was created only for me, and I, to serve my Maker.” For this reason, I must receive all the degrees in the world so that I can give everything to the Creator, which is called “to serve my Maker.”

14.32 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Items 68-69

All the inclinations, tendencies, and properties instilled in man, with which to serve one’s friends, all these tendencies and natural properties are required for the work of the Creator.

To begin with, they were created and imprinted in man only because of their final role—the ultimate purpose of man, as it is written, “No outcast shall be cast out from Him.” One needs them all so as to complement oneself in the ways of reception of the abundance and to complete the will of the Creator.

This is the meaning of “Everyone who is called by My name, I have created him for My glory” (Isaiah 43:7), and also “All that the Lord has worked was for His sake” (Proverbs 16:4). However, in the meantime, man has been given a whole world to develop and complete all these natural inclinations and qualities in him by engaging in them with people, thus yielding them suitable for their purpose.

It is as our sages said, “One must say, ‘The world was created for me,’” for all the people in the world are required for a person, as they develop and qualify the attributes and inclinations of every individual to become a fit tool for His work.

Thus, we must understand the essence of the love of the Creator from the properties of love by which one person relates to another. The love of the Creator is necessarily given through these qualities, since they were only imprinted in man for His sake to begin with.

14.33 Baal HaSulam,

“You Have Made Me in Behind and Before”

One who has not yet come to dedicate all his movements to the Creator alone, and the horse does not equalize its movements to the rider’s bridle and headstall, but appears to do the opposite…and crowns the handmaid on the mistress, this is discerned as “behind.” That is, you should not think that you are drawing away from Kedusha [holiness], for “that which comes into your mind shall not be at all.”

Thus says the Lord: “Surely with a mighty hand,” etc., “For the outcast shall not be cast out from Him,” and the whole wheel turns to come to the Kedusha, to its root. Therefore, although it seems that the horse leads the rider by its ignoble desire, the truth is not so. It is the rider who leads the horse to his destination. However, it is not apparent in the present, but in the future. Hence, in this way there is also contact, but it is back to back, meaning not according to the will of the one who dresses or the will of the dresser.

14.34 Baal HaSulam,

“The Freedom”

The whole of reality seen in the nature of this world is only because they are extended and taken from laws and conducts of upper, spiritual worlds.

14.35 Baal HaSulam,

“The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

The lower is studied from the higher. Thus, one must first attain the upper roots the way they are in spirituality, above any imagination and with pure attainment. And once he has thoroughly attained the upper roots with his own mind, he may examine the tangible branches in this world and know how each branch relates to its root in the upper world, in all its orders, in quantity and quality.

14.36 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 156

There is a strict condition during the engagement in this wisdom not to materialize the matters with imaginary and corporeal issues. This is because thus they breach, “You shall not make unto you a statue or any image.”

In that event, one is rather harmed instead of receiving benefit.

14.37 Baal HaSulam,

The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part Two, Chapter One, Item 5

The entire reality and all the creations that are destined to come into the Olamot, already exist in Ein Sof. Moreover, they exist there in their full glory and perfection, as it is destined to appear in the Olamot.

Thus you evidently see, that all the desires that are destined to appear, already appeared and were revealed in Ein Sof. They appear there in their perfect, complete state, and it is the completeness and the fulfillment, namely the Ohr Elyon, that fathered and created these desires.

14.38 Baal HaSulam,

“Foreword to The Book of Zohar,” Item 12

The thought has no perception whatsoever in the essence. Moreover, we do not even know our own essence. I feel and know that I take up space in the world, that I am solid, warm, and that I think, and other such manifestations of the operations of my essence. But if you ask me what is my own essence, from which all these manifestations stem, I do not know what to reply to you.

You therefore see that Providence has prevented us from attaining any essence. We attain only manifestations and images of operations that stem from the essences.

14.39 Baal HaSulam,

The Study of the Ten Sefirot, “Inner Light,” Part One, Ch. One, It.1

Bear in mind, that the entire wisdom of Kabbalah is founded on spiritual matters that do not take up time or space.

14.40 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Book of Zohar, Item 17

Our body, with all its trifle incidents and possessions, is not at all our real body. Our real, eternal, and complete body already exists in Ein Sof.

14.41 Baal HaSulam,

“Introduction to The Book of Zohar, Item 17

This body does not blemish us in any way since it is destined to expire and die, and is only here for the time necessary for its cancellation and acquisition of our eternal form.

14.42 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 4, “What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels when Annulling before the Creator in the Work?”

The essence of one’s work is only to come to feel the existence of the Creator, meaning to feel the existence of the Creator, that “the whole earth is full of His glory,” and this will be one’s entire work. That is, all the energy one puts into the work will be only to achieve this, and nothing else.

One should not be misled into having to acquire anything. Rather, there is only one thing a person needs: faith in the Creator. He should not think of anything, meaning that the only reward that he wants for his work should be to be rewarded with faith in the Creator.

14.43 Baal HaSulam,

“Peace in the World”

Everything in reality, good or bad, and even the most harmful in the world, has a right to exist and must not be destroyed and eradicated from the world. We must only mend and reform it because any observation of the work of creation is enough to teach us about the greatness and perfection of its Operator and Creator. Therefore, we must understand and be very careful when casting a flaw on any item of creation, saying it is redundant and superfluous, as that would be slander about its Operator.

14.44 Baal HaSulam,

“Peace in the World”

Because the Creator meticulously watches over all the elements in His creation, not letting any- one destroy a single thing in His domain, but only reform it and make it useful and good, all the reformers of the above-mentioned kind will vanish from the earth, and bad qualities will not vanish. They exist and count the degrees of development that they must still traverse until they complete their ripening.

At that time, the bad attributes themselves will turn to good and useful ones, as the Creator had initially planned for them.

14.45 Baal HaSulam,

“The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

Kabbalists have found that the form of the four worlds named Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya, beginning with the first, highest world, called Atzilut, down to this corporeal, tangible world, called Assiya, is exactly the same in every item and event. This means that everything that eventuates and occurs in the first world is found unchanged in the next world, below it, too. It is likewise in all the worlds that follow it, down to this tangible world.

There is no difference between them, but only a difference of degree perceived in the substance of the elements of reality in each and every world.

14.46 Baal HaSulam,

The Study of the Ten Sefirot, “Inner Observation,” Part One, Chapter Nine, Item 34

The spiritual definition of time, you must understand that time is essentially defined by us only as a sensation of movements. Our imagination pictures and devises a certain number of consecutive movements, which it discriminates one by one, and translates them like a certain amount of “time.”

Thus, if one had been in a state of complete rest with one’s environment, he would not even be aware of the concept of time.

 14.47 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 75, “There Is a Discernment of the Next World, and There Is a Discernment of This World”

There is a discernment of “the next world,” and there is a discernment of “this world.” The next world is called “faith,” and this world is called “attainment.”

It is written about the next world, “They shall be satiated and delighted,” meaning that there is no end to the satiation. This is so because everything that is received by faith has no limits. Conversely, what is received through attainment already has limits since anything that comes in the Kelim [ves- sels] of the lower one, the lower one limits it. Hence, there is a limit to the discernment of this world.

14.48 Baal HaSulam,

Shamati, Article No. 67, “Depart from Evil”

Who thinks that he is deceiving his friend is really deceiving the Creator, since besides man’s body there is only the Creator. This is because it is the essence of creation that man is called “creature” only with respect to himself. The Creator wants man to feel that he is a separate reality from Him; but other than this, it is all “The whole earth is full of His glory.”

Hence, when lying to one’s friend, one is lying to the Creator; and when saddening one’s friend, one is saddening the Creator.

 14.49 RABASH,

Article No. 19 (1990), “Why Is the Torah Called ‘Middle Line’ in the Work? – 2”

The Ari writes (Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 13, Item 152), “There is the matter of Se’arot [hairs], which cover the light, so they do not enjoy the light as long as they are unworthy, since they might blemish.” The thing is that we must believe that the Creator gave us a desire and yearning to do good deeds. And as long as one is unworthy, he must not feel that the Creator compels him to do good deeds. This is why the Creator hides Himself in dresses, and this dressing is called Lo Lishma [not for Her sake]. In other words, sometimes the Creator hides Himself in a clothing of friends.

14.50 RABASH,

Article No. 11 (1990), “What Placing the Hanukkah Candle on the Left Means in the Work”

“Concealment of the face.” In other words, the Creator hides Himself in the clothing of the friends, and in this way he does the Creator’s will.

If he thanks the Creator for helping him through the concealment—meaning that now he has the choice to say that he is working because of the friends and he has no contact with the Creator, or that he believes that the Creator hid Himself in the clothing of the friends, and by that he engages in Torah and Mitzvot, and if he chooses and says that only the Creator helped him to be able to do good deeds by clothing in a clothing of friends, and he thanks the Creator for this—it brings upon him a great ascent: to be rewarded with the revelation of the face of the Creator. In other words, the Creator gives him a thought and desire to do the Creator’s will, since now he has some illumination from above by sentencing above reason. This is why the Creator helped him, so that through the Achoraim [posterior], he will later be rewarded with the Panim [anterior/face] of the Creator. This means that he has been rewarded with being collected knowingly.

14.51 RABASH,

Article No. 217, “Run My Beloved”

The Creator has prepared for us a whole world, as our sages said, “One must say, ‘The world was created for me’” (Sanhedrin 37a), meaning that he should pray for the entire world. Therefore, when he comes to pray and has contact with the Creator, although he himself is not sick at the moment, he can pray for his contemporaries, meaning to extend mercies so that no one in his generation will lack abundance.

It is a great rule that the person himself is called “a creature,” meaning only he alone. Other than him it is already considered the holy Shechina. It follows that when he prays for his contemporaries, it is considered that he is praying for the holy Shechina, who is in exile and needs all the salvations. This is the meaning of eternity, and precisely in this manner, the light of mercy can be revealed.

14.52 RABASH,

Article No. 280, “This World and the Next World – 1”

This world is regarded as the state in which one is while he begins to enter the path of Torah, and this is the situation he is in now, in his beginning. This is why it is called “this world,” and it is only a corridor.

Afterward, when he comes to the life of Torah itself, it is called “the next world,” which is regarded as the next state, after he successfully went through the path of Torah, called “a corridor”.

14.53 RABASH,

Article No. 236, “The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory”

There is no reality in the world besides Godliness, and all the concealment is only in one’s sensa- tions.

14.54 RABASH,

Article No. 21, “Concerning Above Reason”

The whole matter of evil that is in man is not in finding the evil, since everyone has this evil, called “will to receive in order to receive,” which is self-love. Instead, the difference is entirely in the disclo- sure of the evil. In other words, not every person sees and feels that self-love is bad and harmful, since a person doesn’t see that engagement in satisfying his will to receive, called “self-love,” will harm him. Yet, when he begins to do the holy work on the path of truth, meaning when he wishes to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, so all his actions will be for the Creator, by that he receives a little more light that shines for him each time, and then he begins to feel self-love as a bad thing.

It is a gradual process. Each time he sees that this is what obstructs him from achieving Dvekut with the Creator, he sees more clearly each time how it—the will to receive—is his real enemy, just as King Solomon referred to the evil inclination as “an enemy.”

14.55 RABASH,

Article No. 17, Part 1 (1984) “Concerning the Importance of Friends”

If one has love of friends, the rule in love is that you want to see the friends’ merits and not their faults. Hence, if one sees some fault in one’s friend, it is not a sign that his friend is at fault, but that the seer is at fault, meaning that because his love of friends is flawed, he sees faults in his friend.

Therefore, now he should not see to his friend’s correction. Rather, he himself needs correction. It follows from the above-said that he should not see to the correction of his friend’s faults, which he sees in his friend, but he himself needs to correct the flaw he has created in the love of friends. And when he corrects himself, he will see only his friend’s merits and not his faults.

14.56 RABASH,

Article No. 645, “By Your Actions, We Know You”

It is written in The Zohar, “There is no place vacant of Him.” Yet, we do not feel it for our lack of tools of sensation.

We can see that with a radio receiver, which receives all the signals in the world, the receiver does not create the sounds. Rather, the sound exists in the world, but before we had the receiving device, we did not detect the sounds although they did exist in reality.

Likewise, we can understand that “There is no place vacant of Him,” but we need a receiving device. That receiving device is called Dvekut [adhesion] and “equivalence of form,” which is a desire to bestow. When we have this machine, we will immediately feel that there is no place vacant of Him, but rather “The whole earth is full of His glory.”

 14.57 RABASH,

Article No. 124, “To Serve Me”

“The whole world was created only to serve me.” According to the interpretation of Baal HaSulam, it means that all the faults that a person sees in others, he believes that they are his. Therefore, he has what to correct. It follows that the whole world serves him by providing him with his faults, and he does not need to look by himself. Instead, they are doing him a big favor by providing him with his flaws.

14.58 RABASH,

Letter No. 19

And if you wish to say, “What are the Sefirot and degrees themselves?” We say that this is unattain- able because our attainment is only with respect to His desire to do good to His creations. Therefore, one should attain only that which is related to man’s attainment, meaning a person’s impression from the upper light that appears through the Sefira to the creatures, but not the Sefira itself.

The multiplication of Sefirot is only according to the attainment of the lower ones, depending on their attainment, and each one has a special skill according to one’s labor. Besides that, everything is equal because there are no changes in spirituality. This is why we say about the Sefirot themselves that they are regarded as “there is no thought or perception in Him at all.”

 14.59 RABASH,

Article No. 236, “The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory”

The expansion of the upper light is clothed in the whole of reality and is called “the sustainer of reality.” It appears in all the dresses that exist in the world, meaning in every corporeal thing before us. Everything is the light of the Creator, whether in dresses of Torah, meaning the letters of the Torah, or in the letters of the prayer, or in mundane things. The only difference is in the receiver, namely those who feel.

There are people who feel that the light of the Creator is dressed only in Torah and prayer. There are people who feel the light of the Creator also in combinations of letters of mundane things, and there are those who do not feel even in combinations of letters of Torah and prayer that it is the light of the Creator in the manner of “Who fills the whole of reality.”

14.60 RABASH,

Article No. 19 (1990), “Why Is the Torah Called ‘Middle Line’ in the Work? – 2”

One must believe that “There is none else besides Him,” meaning that it is the Creator who com- pels him to do the good deeds. But since he is still unworthy of knowing that it is the Creator who commits him, the Creator dresses Himself in dresses of flesh and blood, through which the Creator performs these actions. Thus, the Creator acts in the form of Achoraim [posterior].

In other words, the person sees people’s faces but he should believe that behind the faces stands the Creator and performs these actions. That is, behind the man stands the Creator and compels him to do the deeds that the Creator wants. It follows that the Creator does everything, but the person regards what he sees and not what he should believe.

14.61 Zohar for All, VaYetze [And Jacob Went Out],

“Upper Righteous and Lower Righteous,” Item 139

The Zohar speaks nothing of corporeal incidents, but of the upper worlds, where there is no sequence of times as it is in corporeality. Spiritual time is elucidated by change of forms and degrees that are above time and place.

14.62 Zohar for All,

“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” “On the Night of the Bride,” 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, for this is unbecoming of the complete Operator. Hence, when one feels bad, denial of the Creator’s guidance lies upon him and the superior Operator is concealed from him to that same extent. This is the greatest punishment in the world.

Thus, the sensation of good and evil in relation to His guidance brings with it the sensation of reward and punishment, for one who exerts to not part from faith in the Creator is rewarded even when he tastes a bad taste in Providence. And if he does not exert, he will have a punishment because he is separated from faith in the Creator.

14.63 Zohar for All, Lech Lecha [Go Forth],

“For Who Is God, Save the Lord? And Who Is a Rock, Save Our God?”, Item 330

How great are the deeds of the Creator? The art and painting of a man are like the artisanship and the depiction of the world. In other words, man comprises the entire deed of the world, and he is called “a small world.”

14.64 Zohar for All, Toldot [Generations],

“These Are the Generations of Isaac,” Item 3

Anyone who engages in Torah sustains the world and sustains each and every operation in the world in its proper way. Also, there is not an organ in a man’s body that does not have a corresponding creation in the world.

This is so because as man’s body divides into organs and they all stand degree over degree, established one atop the other and are all one body, similarly, the world, meaning all creations in the world are many organs standing one atop the other, and they are all one body. And when they are all corrected they will actually be one body. And everything, man and the world will be like the Torah because the whole of Torah is organs and joints standing one atop the other. And when the world is corrected they will become one body.

14.65 Zohar for All,

Pekudei [Accounts], “These Are the Accounts of the Tabernacle,” It.17

“Which is being shown to you.” “You” is the mirror that does not shine, Malchut, which showed him within her all those forms. And Moses saw each of them in its corrected form, as one who sees within a crystal lamp, within a mirror that shows all the forms. And when Moses looked into them, he found them perplexing, since there, in Malchut, everything stood in its spiritual form, but each form equalized its form to the imaginary form in this world, in the Tabernacle.

It follows that two forms were apparent in everything: the spiritual one and the imaginary one. This is why Moses was bewildered; he did not know which of them to grasp. The Creator told him, “You with your signs, and I with Mine,” that Moses would perceive the imaginary signs in everything, and the Creator perceives the spiritual signs of everything, and then the spiritual form is placed over the imaginary form. Then Moses was reconciled in all the work of the Tabernacle.

14.66 Zohar for All, Nasso,

“The Holy Idra Rabah,” Item 297

The sum of all things, Atik of Atikin [pl. of Atik] and ZA, are all one, from the perspective of their Atzmut [self], and everything is above time from the perspective of their Atzmut. Was, is, and will be are the same in them, everything is, everything was, and everything will be. In Godliness, there is no matter of before or after. Also, there is no change of operation there from the perspective of their Atzmut, such as from mercy to judgment, since He will not change in the future, He did not change in the past, and He is not changing in the present. Rather, He is corrected in these cor- rections for the lower ones, and the form that contains all the forms, ZA, is completed. This is the form of Adam [man], who comprises male and female, the form that includes all the names, for ZA is called HaVaYaH, a name that contains all the names, the form in which all the forms are seen. It is not an actual form, but rather seemingly this form.

14.67 Zohar for All, Nasso,

“The Holy Idra Rabah,” Item 299

Everything is Godliness, above time, place, and change. All those degrees and corrections we discern in Godliness are only various concealments and covers toward the lower ones, since the ten Sefirot are ten kinds of covers of His Atzmut [self]. Likewise, all the imaginary images of time and place and actions are but various covers of His Godliness that seem that way to the lower ones. As man is not affected or changes at all because of the covers that he covers in, and only his friends are affected by his disappearance or appearance, so His Godliness does not change and is not affected whatsoever by those degrees and corrections and names in time, place, and changes of actions that the lower ones discern in His covers. Rather, we must know that those covers also serve as disclosures.

Moreover, to the extent of the cover that there is in each name and correction, so is the extent of disclosure of the Creator that is in it. One who is rewarded with receiving the measure of the covers properly is then rewarded with the covers becoming for him measures of disclosure. One who learns must remember these things during the learning so he will not fail in his thought.

14.68 Zohar for All,

Mishpatim [Ordinances], “The Grandfather,” Item 165

It is written, “And God saw all that He has done, and behold, it was very good.” “Good” is the good angel. “Very” is the angel of death. The Creator provides His corrections to all until even the angel of death returns to being very good.

14.69 Ramchal,

“The Rules of the Book, The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts”

The whole world, in all its degrees, is a “great man,” and man is a “small world,” and there is in one only what is in the other.

14.70 Rabbi Abraham Yehoshua of Apt,

Ohev Ysrael, Beresheet

A person sees all of the afflictions but his own. The advice for this is to look at the one who is in front of him. If he sees that another person did something wrong, he should think, “Why did the Creator make me see this thing if not because this affliction touches the walls of my own house, and because of the incitement of the inclination, my eyes could not see?”

 14.71 Ecclesiastes 1:9

That which was is that which will be, and that which was done is that which will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

14.72 Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk,

The Dawn Star

Death is nothing, like a person moving from one flat to another. However, the smart one chooses a nicer flat than the first.

14.73 Rabbi Tzadok HaCohen of Lublin,

Kometz HaMincha

It is written in The Zohar that the next world is not renewed at that time, but has already been but was concealed. Interpretation: This world is called “the world of falsehood,” and the next world is called “the world of truth.” A lie is something that stops, that has no persistence; it is all the mat- ters of this world, which have existence in the imagination but are not true and are destined to be revoked. Conversely, the next world, he wants to say, “is the abstraction of every thing from the imag- ination to the truth of that matter,” that is, the force of that force that exists forever, and is eternal.

14.74 Rabbi Tzadok HaCohen of Lublin,

The Thoughts of the Diligent

“When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were as though dreaming.” According to the truth that will be revealed then, all the matters that are regarded as true in this world, will also be only imagination, as this whole world is called “the world of falsehood.” Although the truth in it is not real and it is impossible to attain the real truth in it. But one who reaches a degree where he tastes from the fruits of his actions in the next world in this world, meaning see his world in his life, it means that he will attain the world of truth in the physical life of this world.

14.75 Ramchal,

Adir BaMarom, p 459

In truth, one who achieves real knowledge can see three things: the true, hidden guidance, the outer appearance of the guidance, which is not true, from where this appearance stems, and how it connects to the real guidance.

14.76 Pirkei Avot, 4:16

Rabbi Yaakov says, “This world is like a corridor to the next world. Prepare yourself in the corridor so you will enter the living room.”

14.77 Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk

We make nothing new; our work is only to illuminate what is hidden within man.

14.78 Raaiah Kook,

Lights of Repentance

In the heart of existence of the real life lies repentance, since it preceded the world, and before sin came, its repentance had already been prepared. Hence, there is nothing as certain in the world as repentance, and in the end, everything will return to correction.

14.79 Degel Machaneh Ephraim,

BeShalach [When Jacob Sent]

One who truly wants to serve the Creator must include himself with all creations, connect himself with all the souls, include himself with them, and they with him. That is, you should leave for your- self only what is needed for connecting the Shechina [Divinity]. For this reason, one must include himself with all the people and with all creations, and raise everything to their root, to the correction of the Shechina.

14.80 Rabbi Nachman of Breslov,

Likutey Moharan, First Edition, Mark 5

Every person should say, “The whole world was created only for me” (Sanhedrin 37). It follows that if the whole world has been created for me, I have to look and delve into the correction of the world at all times, satisfy the needs of the world, and pray for them.

14.81 Degel Machaneh Ephraim,

BeShalach [When Jacob Sent]

One who wants to serve the Creator in truth must have two discernments:

1. The uniqueness of the deed, meaning as though he is alone in the world, and the Creator is revealed to him without clothing. It is as it is written, “No man is to come up with you.” When he wants to serve the Creator, he will be alone and no one will come up with him.
2. There is another discernment: A servant of the Creator must include himself with all cre- ations, connect himself with all the souls, include himself with them, and they with him. That is, you should leave for yourself only what is needed for connecting the Shechina [Divinity], so to speak. This requires closeness and many people, as it is written (Sanhedrin 70a), “Closeness of righteous is good for them and good for the world,” for the more people serve the Creator, the more the light of the Shechina appears to them. For this reason, one must include himself with all the people and with all creations, and raise everything to its root for the correction of the Shechina, so to speak.

14.82 Raaiah Kook,

Orot HaKodesh

Past, present, and future are not divided by the truth of what there is. That which was is that which will be, and that which was done is that which will be done, and what was already done and what will be done in the future is ongoing and done in the present, always and promptly.

14.83 Raaiah Kook,

Letters

Any content of time, even of the concept of past and future in general, is only one of the ways of human understanding. With regard to the upper one, it is irrelevant. Hence, from the perspective of the upper, absolute reality, there is no such reality as a potential that has no actual, since over time, anything that is in potential also becomes actual, and the extension of time is irrelevant with regard to the upper one. Therefore, we can say, “That which will be done is already present.” One who brings his desire and depth of his life to the height of the uppermost Godly adhesion, which stands at the top of the world, above the procession of times, to the extent of one’s elevation, the differences between potential and actual—and therefore between future and present—become fainter until they form no partition at all.

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