Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article 96, “What Is Waste of Barn and Winery, in the Work”: The basis upon which He built the order of the work was in the lowest manner, and all of it was above reason. Only one who is a real fool can be so low as to proceed without any basis on which to establish one’s faith, literally with no support.

Additionally, he accepts this work with great joy, as though he had had real knowledge and vision on which to establish the certainty of faith. And to that exact measure of above reason, to that very measure as though he had reason. Hence, if he persists in this path, he can never fall. Rather, he can always be in gladness, by believing that he is serving a great King.

We have to descend from the height of our ego, our confidence that we know and understand everything, that we have everything under control. It should be to such an extent that we come to the recognition of total hopelessness, absolute zero, 100% lowliness. To the extent that our previous knowledge was great, to that extent we are now going against our reason and are happy about it, feeling sure that it is the right thing.

We don’t want to count on anything that comes from our desire to receive. It is because everything that comes from it is undoubtedly a lie, no matter how true and real it may seem.

Of course it is possible to descend so low and ascend to faith only by the Light that Reforms, but we don’t have any power to do that since we have nothing but our ego. We can only check ourselves by the joy that we feel when we return to the same problems, the same mistakes, understanding better each time to what extent we have to be in a state of lowliness.

All this has to be in faith above reason: the extent to which I am able to I disregard my mind. I accept my mind, but only in order to work above it and advance accordingly. It is impossible to acquire the attributes of bestowal without passing the zero point of self-lowliness.

It is the same point that is called an embryo (Ibur), conception. This level constantly appears before us each time, with new conditions and new depth of desire (Aviut). We descend to “zero,” and we have to justify our past, which is called to bestow in order to bestow, and then justify the past for the others, called to receive in order to bestow. This means that first we correct the mistakes, and then we turn the mistakes into merits.

But when we change them to merits, we bring them to lowliness since it is only the Creator who does and determines everything. So the structure that we build is based on this point of lowliness, on the state of the embryo that grows and increasingly annuls itself.
[106427]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/1/13

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Ascending Thanks To Our Humility
The Joy Of Liberation
Integrating In The Work Up To The Point Of Self-Cancellation

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