Good Environment – 11.22.10
Posted on November 22nd, 2010
Question: Baal HaSulam writes that when a person acquires spiritual attainment, he “travels around an enormous world.” What does it mean to travel around the Creator’s world?
Answer: The world is Malchut of Infinity, while all other worlds are separate, particular states in it that reveal its specific qualities in relation to us in order to help us become fully part of it.
“Traveling around the Creator’s world” means attaining Malchut of the World of Infinity and revealing the entire might and wealth of the connections among its parts, which connect and supplement one another.
I don’t have anything else to say because words cannot describe what happens Above once good and evil, truth and falsehood unite. They unite and complement each other, and we reveal this inside us, in the common desire of all the souls, called Malchut of the World of Infinity.
This is called “traveling around the Creator’s world.” It’s when we can use all the forces and all the desires of Malchut of Infinity, attaining each of its details and all of them together.
The most important pleasure is “when doubts are resolved,” meaning when things that seem opposite and hateful to one another suddenly unite. That is when love flares up among them, forming a place to be filled by the Light.
That is how a person “travels” around the Creator’s world, checking all of the harmony in which Malchut of the World of Infinity resides.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/22/10, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”
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Question: How should we attune ourselves while we read the books that reveal the “physics” of the spiritual world: Beit Shaar HaKavanot (The Gates Of Intention) or TES (The Study of The Ten Sefirot)?
Answer: My primary task is to make myself similar to the Creator, to ascend to Him. Therefore, I need to repeat His actions and attitudes: If the Creator treats the group as “Good that does Good,” this means I should treat it with the same kind of goodness.
This is why I first need to take care of my attitude towards the friends, which is given to me as work so that we will become one whole in unity and love. If I achieve this state, I begin to treat them like the Creator does, and to this extent I begin to feel the Creator. After all, we become close with Him according to the law of equivalence of form, and we feel each other. In this manner, I reach adhesion with Him. This is the only thing we should think about.
And it’s enough to just look into a book and listen, as long as it is a genuine, true primary source. You might not even know the language, that’s irrelevant; you won’t understand anything anyway.
You only need to remember that now you are receiving the medicine that should heal you! It should reveal an additional sense in you, and then you will feel the spiritual world and understand without words since the sensation cannot be expressed in words. No words are necessary in order to feel. Words are needed only in order to tell someone else about it, but within the sensation itself, there are no words.
And one should wait for a spiritual sensation to open up within him without any words. This is what the real science of Kabbalah is: It helps you reach this perception!
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/10, Beit Shaar HaKavanot
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.
The Opposition to the Study of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
Hence, he brings good evidence from the words of the Gemarah [Babylonian Talmud]: “A disciple who [studies the Gemarah] has not seen a good sign [revelation of the Creator] in his study after five years will also not see it [in this life and therefore will live it in vain].”
Why did he not see a good sign [revelation of the Creator] in his study? Certainly, it is only due to [one reason] – the absence of the intention [of love and bestowal] of the heart [within his desires], and not because of any lack of aptitude, as the wisdom of Torah requires no aptitude [since it is not about learning, but rather about attracting the Light of correction].
Instead, as it is written in the above study: “[Those who desire to ascend, Isra-El = straight to the Creator] Regard, the whole wisdom and the whole Torah is easy [and does not depend on the intellect]: any one who fears Me [who has a desire to bestow and love as I do] and [to attain this level] observes the words of the Torah [so as to correct correct his egoistic intentions], the whole [higher] wisdom [the Light of Hochma] and the whole Torah are in his heart [fulfill his desires].”
– Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 23
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The Zohar, “Introduction of The Zohar,” Chapter “BeLaila De Kala (Night of the Bride),” Item 135: On the fifteenth of Nissan, David sent a proclamation through all of Israel to go to war. They were with Yoav on the seventh of Sivan, and went and destroyed the land of the children of Amon. They were detained there through Sivan, Tamuz, Av, and Elul, and what happened with Bat Sheba was on the twenty-fourth of Elul. And on Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement], the Creator forgave his iniquity.
Of course, we are not dealing with dates here, but with spiritual degrees. The annual cycle is divided into 12 months, in accordance with the four stages of HaVaYaH multiplied by the three lines. The four seasons, the order of months, and holidays are determined by the mutual inclusion of the Lights of Hochma (Wisdom) and Hassadim (Mercy).
The Jewish calendar is based on the cycles of both the sun and the moon. The sun calendar is the part that pertains to Zeir Anpin, and the lunar months are the part that pertains to Malchut.
These are descriptions of spiritual corrections, depending on the kind of forces and influences are at play. Either Malchut influences Zeir Anpin, or Zeir Anpin influences Malchut. As a result of the correct connection that they build between them, they ascend and attach to Bina, to their supernal mother, who corrects them.
Accordingly, all dates in the lunar cycle have their own spiritual meanings. Every month begins with a new moon and ends before the next new moon. This concerns the thirty Sefirot of HaBaD–HaGaT–NHY, each including the three lines. The states of this system may be subdivided and systematized by its particular Sefirot down to “hours,” “minutes,” and “seconds.”
This would clarify what specific corrections Bat Sheba had undergone with David and Uriah, and why they had fallen on those “dates.”
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/10, “Hakdama, BeLaila De Kala (The Night of the Bride)”
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The Book of Zohar tells us about the correction of Malchut. Malchut is the collective Kli, the will to receive pleasure (the desire) made by the Creator. On the other hand, He created it through a series of special actions in order to give this desire a special form which will later allow it to prepare itself to receive the entire Light of Infinity.
This is why we talk solely about the correction of Malchut or desire. The process is divided into several stages: conception (Ibur), nurturing (Yenika), and adulthood (Mochin). All these states become corrected by way of unification of Malchut and Bina. Their correct combination is regarded as “Malchut of David.” The correct approach lies in our correction of Malchut only in the degree that we are able to include it into Bina.
In the article “The Night of the Bride,” The Zohar colorfully describes how King David fell in love with Bat Sheva. She was once the wife of Uriah, David’s commander, and David intentionally sent him to die in the battlefield so that he could marry Bat Sheva, not even waiting for the news of her husband.
This story narrated by the prophet Samuel seems surprisingly appalling, although today such behavior is quite common. How could that happen?
Obviously, the story is allegorical. “David” is Malchut that is able to be corrected, but in the male aspect, by means of a screen and the Reflected Light, that is, intention. “Bat Sheva” is the part of the collective Malchut that at the moment is fit for correction. If she is corrected by means of the Light of Hassidim (Mercy), it may belong to David.
The sequence of actions is as follows: First, the Light of AB-SAG exposes a given part of Malchut, and then the Light of Hassidim fills it. The preliminary stages where Malchut is analyzed and filled with the Light of Hassidim is the work of Uriah. His name (אוריה) expands into: אורי"ה, which signifies the Light of the first half of HaVaYaH that has no relation to the second half, to the receiving Kelim of David.
Only after this can Malchut be corrected to receiving in order to bestow, and at that point it becomes “David’s work.”
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/10, “Hakdama, BeLaila De Kala (The Night of the Bride)”
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The wisdom of Kabbalah is given to us to correct our state. Having descended from the World of Infinity (Ein Sof) into the corporeal world, we can ascend back up into the World of Infinity by using the method of Kabbalah. When can we do so? As soon as we use it as it was intended.
In Infinity, we all are linked together, as one man with one heart. We are bonded in the hearts, regardless of the bodies. The “hearts” should be viewed as desires, intentions, and even thoughts. After all, thought is designated to amplify and sort desire; it is intended as a tool for working on desire.
Hence, it is not said: “As one man with one heart and one mind” but rather, just “one heart” for it is enough. We have to link our desires to become as one. What kind of desires? The desires aimed at the purpose of creation. They are the ones we must link together. They expand from Infinity so that we may unify and correct them.
Our entire problem has been caused by the breaking of the Kelim (vessels) and separation, the distancing of these desires or sparks from each other. Thereby, correction is their moving closer to each other and achieving total adhesion. It is implemented by way of our efforts when we desire to unite while reading the authentic primary sources, the works written by Kabbalists who were in attainment of oneness and correction.
With this intention, we should turn to The Book of Zohar.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/10, “Hakdama, BeLaila De Kala (The Night of the Bride)”
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At the Convention we acquired a new sensation, and we now have to develop it. We feel that there is a wall before us and we have to break it with the help of the Upper Light, the Creator. He is precisely what we lack. Let Him say, “Let us go to the Pharaoh.”
To do this it is necessary to understand, and most importantly to agree that we are breaking the wall in order to give pleasure to Him instead of ourselves. We forget about the two most important aspects of the path:
1. The only way to advance forward is by means of His force.
2. We are advancing towards bestowal to the Creator.
All of this eludes me. For now I am thinking about myself instead of bestowal to the Creator. I try to break through the Machsom with my own forces rather than His. This way, the goal and the means are still locked inside my egoism.
Nevertheless, this is a good state because we start to understand the fundamental principles of spiritual advancement. A boundary emerged before us and we have to do something about it. It does not exist by itself, but constitutes a psychological barrier inside us. If we aim ourselves correctly, it will disappear.
The thought about the Creator’s benefit is opposite to my nature, and the friends also don’t have it. It lies precisely inside our unity. That is why we have to work on three aspects:
1. I am united with the group.
2. Together with the friends I have to define the right aspiration, which will enable us to break through the Machsom: By uniting, we elicit the force of the Creator.
3. All of this is in order to give Him pleasure or in other words, to attain unity with Him.
The common, unceasing care and worry must awaken everyone. This is the mutual guarantee; the group is not the faces of the friends, but the spiritual community which permeates every person with thoughts about the goal. We suddenly start to think about this and to desire it. When every person tries to build his desire into a line, then it expands across the whole world in circles, unbounded by any boundaries or distances.
Mutual guarantee means that I am responsible for the entire system in which the Creator has placed me. If I don’t hold on to the right thought, then at that moment everyone is thrown out of the right thought. By disconnecting, I stop providing for the common organism. Can the liver or kidneys go on vacation?
That is why I ask the world group to always think about the goal of creation, about bestowal to the Creator. Then I won’t lose the connection no matter where I am.
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From the lesson on 11/20/10
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Question: What is meant by “prohibitory commandments” and “positive commandments” which are described in The Zohar, and what is the difference in their correction?
Answer: “Prohibitory commandments” means “do not do,” meaning that you need to refrain from using your specific desire to receive pleasure. We are talking about an egoistic desire which a person strives to use in order to receive the pleasure that stands opposite to this desire. And if there is no pleasure against the desire, I do not feel this desire although it exists in me.
However, we are talking about the desires that awaken in us, against which there are Lights that bring pleasures. We need to somehow refrain from using these desires, separate or “freeze” them. This is called “prohibitory commandments.”
I need to activate many forces for this. But what forces? Not using a desire does not mean that I hold myself back. In the material world I wish to use a desire, but I slap my own hands so that I don’t touch it. However, I cannot do this in the spiritual world. In order not to use my desire, I need to place a higher value and significance against it.
After all, in the spiritual world, a transgression is determined based upon whether I wish to use the desire or not. I need to reach a state where I have a desire, and according to the desire I would like to use it. However, according to the significance and to the system of values, I don’t want it since I don’t bring pleasure to the Creator through it; on the contrary, I become more distant from Him.
It turns out that I have a desire, and against it the correction. I need to work on this correction instead of just holding myself back and not using a desire, like in this world. I need to work on the desire itself so that there will be a screen over it, meaning the significance of the fact that I do not work with it on the level of the desire.
Therefore, our whole work on the desires consists of the system of values: how important the Creator and the goal are in my eyes, how important it is to be similar to Him in qualities. Then I can refrain from using the desires, and this is “prohibitory commandments.”
This is great work on each desire: to develop significance against it in order not to use it. Then the importance of the Creator in my eyes exceeds the use of the desire and withstands it. This is called “prohibitory commandments.”
Then there is a more advanced stage when I can use the desires in order to bring pleasure to the Creator. I take these desires and reveal them. I already have several screens on them as well as a restriction not to work with them. I have a screen of bestowal for the sake of bestowal and a screen of receiving for the sake of bestowal.
Then I work with these desires in order to bring pleasure to the Creator. This is called “positive commandments.”
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/10, The Zohar
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