A question I received: How does a person feel the transition from the state of the Second restriction (Tzimtzum Bet) to the First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph)?
My answer: We tend to think that the Second Restriction with its work in the three lines [1] is more complicated. However, in the state of the Second Restriction, it’s crystal clear to what extent one can or cannot use a desire, and how much one needs to annul himself.
In contrast, the First Restriction seems deceivingly simplistic. It seemingly involves only the desire, the Light [2], and a screen, that is, me and the Creator [3], where I am a guest and He is the host. But this holds only if one comes from above downward [4] and has the strength. It’s similar to a situation when you have plenty of money (strength), come to a restaurant, and order without checking the price. This is called the First Restriction.
However, we are not in such a corrected state yet. Our desires are not corrected to the extent where everything is laid open in front of us. Being under the conditions set forth by the Second Restriction, we weigh constantly how much to take, what to take, and why. It’s similar to a situation when you come to a supermarket with 20 dollars in your pocket and you have to get groceries to feed the family. So you go around checking the prices and evaluating what you need most.
This is how we act while, on our path of correction from below upward. We don’t have the strength, and we welcome any opportunity to move toward bestowal. In this way, we gradually expand the forces of bestowal.