Developmental Dialectic And The Problem Of Responsibility

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Peace”: And you find that all the seeds from which the good states grow are only the corrupted deeds themselves, meaning that all the exposed evils that come from under the hands of the wicked in the generation join and accumulate to a great sum, until they weigh so heavily that the public can no longer bear them. Then, they rise up and ruin it and create a more desirable state.

All evil must be exposed because the good will sprout out of it. It is impossible to achieve the good unless it is preceded by the revelation of evil.

There is nothing new in it. Abraham spoke about this issue. It is well known both in Kabbalah and outside of Kabbalah. History, nature, and the dialectic process serve as proof to it. Each state lasts until its shortcomings “ripen” to the degree that they become obvious. Namely these shortcomings destroy the current state and shape a subsequent one. This is a scientific and historic fact.

The same laws apply to humans. It is not an accident that children do not obey their parents; it is natural.

Question: If the evil is unavoidable, why do we call the Creator “Good that does Good?”

Answer: It is so because it characterizes a developmental tendency oriented to the goal, rather than the path per se. Can one develop if he feels great? The state of complete comfort doesn’t allow further advancement. What would push us forward if everything were fine?

The problem is that we take good things that happen to us for granted. We don’t value the positive events in our lives, nor do we consider them important. And vice versa, we treat hardships as an unfair burden.

In other words, we evaluate good and bad things on different scales. The final outcome of the deeds we accomplished during our lifespan turns out to be opposite to what we considered them to be. We simply cannot avoid the “pricks” of life. If someone says bad things about us, we boil for many months until we find a way to repay the debt. Everything that we bear in mind and heart against those who insulted us seems normal and natural to us: “He deserves it!”

Question: Still, shouldn’t there be a balance between troubles and joys? Instead, we are told that we are beholden to the Creator from the very beginning. As it is written, “‘All is in deposit, and a fortress spreads over all of life. The store is open and the shopkeeper sells by deferred payment; the book is open and the hand writes. And all who wish to borrow may come and borrow…’” (Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”). What exactly does He lend me?

Answer: The thing is that you can take goods from the shop now and pay for them later. Today, grocery stores use the system where their owners keep track of what their regular customers bought on credit, and at the end of month the latter have to pay their bills. On our way to the goal, we also are allowed to borrow. Moreover, we’ll pay our debts not at intermediate stages, but the very end of our path, when the goal is achieved.

At this time, we only beg the Host to grant us powers, desiring to obtain certain virtues: “Where is Your generosity? Where is Your empathy?” Take everything you want from the shelves; everything is at our disposal. You will pay your debts at the very end of the path when your job is complete.

In fact, there is nothing to return since we will change so much that our indebtedness will disappear.

So, don’t think that the Creator needs our payment. No, He needs only our attitude. He wants us to agree with His calculations and nothing more than that. Our “healthy” egoism prompts us that there is a trick on the Creator’s behalf, but it is not true. With our mere consent to receive the power for correction, we will immediately receive it and will pay off our bills.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/15/13, “The Peace” 

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