Preparation to the Lesson
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Shamati #5 “What Beginning in Lo Lishma Means in the Work”
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Gatehouse of Intentions”
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Selected Highlights
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Preparation to the Lesson
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Shamati #5 “Lishma Is an Awakening from Above and Why Do We Need an Awakening from Below”
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Exile and Redemption”
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Selected Highlights
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The holiday of Sukkot symbolizes joy. This is a wonderful, pleasant, easy, and simple holiday that people love very much. Although it requires advanced preparation, it is nevertheless imbued with a joyful atmosphere. Why?
First of all, after self-examination, after receiving the Torah on Shavuot, on the 9th of the month of Av, we saw ourselves as shattered (this is also symbolized by shattering of the tablets). Then we came to the recognition of evil, and on the Jewish New Year (Rosh HaShanah) we decided that we must correct ourselves.
Then came the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). In the language of Kabbalah, this is described as the embrace of the right and left lines, the manifestation of the qualities of judgment (Dinim) and mercy (Hassadim), sweetening.
Then finally, the holiday of Sukkot comes, special corrections, when I can already take my desires and raise them to bestowal. The symbol of this process is the Sukkah (a hut). Everything is extremely simple: I use the simplest, “cast-off” desires represented by the branches and leaves of the hut.
There is nothing in them, but it is from them that I build myself a temporary home, a canopy that gives at least some shade over my head. It is made of things that have no value and can be found everywhere.
Once I have built this state, this temporary shelter, I can rejoice inside of it. Thus, it symbolizes the spiritual vessel (Kli) into which I receive the light. The canopy is a symbol of the screen (Masach). I do not want to receive the light directly, the shadow should significantly prevail over it so that it barely makes its way through the roof.
I am happy that I have formed a screen above me that allows me to hide the upper abundance and to remain in the shadows. I myself (although, of course, with the help of the reforming light) can hide from pleasures in a spiritual vessel.
Then the process continues. I correct myself again and again in my growing vessels (desires), I am with them in a “hut,” i.e., I can open and use them with the help of the cover.
Then I come to the holiday of Simchat Torah (The joy of the Torah). Torah is the reforming light that I received on Shavuot. I used this force to correct the vessels and now I am exiting the hut. In other words, I have an unlimited screen and I no longer have to take care of the cover.
The exit from the hut symbolizes the fact that from now on I am free to wander all over reality, all over the world. It is no longer necessary to build a screen over my head because now it is within me. I am in a self-corrected vessel.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/18/13, “Sukkot”
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Preparation to the Lesson
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Writings of Rabash “I Am the First and I Am the Last”
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Gatehouse of Intentions”
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Exile and Redemption”
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Selected Highlights
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The last day of Sukkot is dedicated to the guest of honor David, the correction of the Sefira Malchut. It is clear that all corrections are concentrated in and end in Malchut.
Malchut is the quintessence and the result of all corrections. Therefore King David, Malchut, signifies the end of the corrections of our soul when we all gather together under the roof of the Sukkah, under one screen, and receive the upper light from above, which is revealed in the corrected Kli.
Thus we reach the state when the entire upper light enters our Kli. Then comes the feast of the Joy of the Torah (Simchat Torah), when we receive the upper light no longer inside the Sukkah, not under the roof, but rather outside of it, and the upper light fills all of reality.
David symbolizes the general Kli, which is all created beings. On one hand it is a state of complete separation from the Creator, from the upper light. But on the other hand, in this state there is a complete work that brings us to adhesion with the upper force.
Therefore King David is woven from opposite forces, from contradictory qualities. If we talk about his spiritual work, his entire life was like this because he fought all the time. But at the same time he was the ruler, the King of Israel.
King David receives from the qualities of bestowal, from Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. From the qualities of reception, from Isaac, that is, from overcoming, he takes Kelim in order to use them just to the extent that the qualities of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph can be imprinted in them. This combination of forces takes place in David, and therefore he is called the King of Israel.
After all, Malchut accumulates and collects all the forces within itself and combines them in the correct form.
Therefore David had such a difficult life, as described in the Torah. He was constantly involved in various wars and problems and was forced to hide from enemies and haters. His life was not easy, but he corrected all of Malchut through this. The Messiah is called the son of David because he comes out of this quality.
As long as the people of Israel do not have a king, this means that they cannot build Malchut; that is, they cannot become similar to the Creator in the full measure. After all the King of Israel is that quality of similarity to the Creator that created beings form within themselves, within their connection.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/16/22, “Ushpizin David—Sefira Malchut“
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The Torah doesn’t really distinguish Aaron. He constantly accompanies Moses as if hiding in his shadow. Moses acts as a link between the Creator and the people, and Aaron stands beside him as his assistant, his brother.
From this story, the role of Aaron is not very clear. But just because it is not clear, it is apparently more hidden, which means that it is closer to a person, to you and me, and related to our work.
Aaron prepares the vessels, the connection of the people with the Creator. Moses comes from above, and Aaron comes from below, from the people, all the qualities of a person, the whole group, and the ten relative to the Creator. And that is why the role of Aaron does not stand out so much because a person has to add his work to it. Moses acts as the representative of the Creator before the people, and Aaron acts as the representative of the people before the Creator.
If I am in the power of the Creator (and there is none else besides Him), then I must always be satisfied, in any state. And if I am dissatisfied with something, it means that I am separated from the Creator. Therefore, I need to get back to the connection with Him, and a sign that I have this connection will be my joy from any state whatever it may be.
The quality of Aaron is the most important quality in a person. The qualities of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses are just preparation from above. And the quality of Aaron is our work from below, which we realize when we reach faith above reason, which is, mercy (Hesed), which is above all, bestowal, which is above any desire to enjoy.
To study the quality of Aaron means to accept him as a guest in our Sukkah. We want his quality to build our soul, the right connection between us. To clothe the quality of Hesed on all your inner qualities, which are called “the people of Israel,” means to do the work of Aaron, to adopt his quality on yourself, on all your desire to enjoy.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/20, “Sukkot”
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The fourth day of Sukkot is dedicated to the guest of honor (Ushpizin) Moses, the revelation of correction in the Sefira Netzach. There is no greater and closer person to us than Moses who brought the method of revealing the Creator and connection between the Creator and the created beings closer to us. That is why Moses is so dear and so important to us.
Moses is called the faithful shepherd. This is not just the force of faith or the force of overcoming but the force of care for the created beings on the part of the Creator that helps bring them to the final correction. Therefore, the entire Torah, which is intended to bring created beings into contact with the Creator, is called the Torah of Moses. This is his main concern, main work, and main purpose.
When we speak about Moses, we do not mean the physical person, but a symbol, a special quality, and the most important thing for us in accordance with the Creator’s program of governing the world. Therefore, it is so important for us to understand this quality and come closer to it.
Moses is like a shepherd accompanying the flock, a guide helping his people move correctly and confidently toward the goal. The common force that takes care of us, protects, guards, and consistently leads us to the goal with love and attention is the force of Moses, which is warm, loving, and caring.
All these forces that envelop us and pull us toward the purpose of creation are called the Torah. This is the upper light that comes to us, clothes in us, and fills each and every one of us together, like a shepherd who gathers his flock and leads it home.
The shepherd has a special mission to take the flock out of the house, bring it to a relatively dangerous place, and return it home in the evening. Due to the work of the shepherd, the herds are nurtured, grow, and multiply. The “faithful shepherd” is a leader of faith because every time his wards move away from home and then return home, thanks to these exits and returns, they gain more and more spiritual strength, more strength of faith that Moses cultivates in them.
Therefore, we need to see ourselves as such a congregation, ready to follow the force of Moses, which takes care of us. As a result of this, we are straightening up day by day and are getting filled with the force of faith above reason. This is the main thing we need, and we can acquire this faith mainly thanks to Moses.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/13/22, “Ushpizin Moses – Sefira Netzach“
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Preparation to the Lesson
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Lesson on the Topic “On the Verge of Lishma“
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Preparation to the Lesson
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Lesson on the Topic “On the Verge of Lishma“
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Selected Highlights
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Joseph is called the righteous, and the righteous is the foundation of the world. It is Joseph who leads a person inside his egoism and establishes his connection with Pharaoh. Then, with the help of Joseph, a person connects with higher qualities such as Moses.
Through Joseph we begin to get acquainted with the upper system, and thanks to him we can connect and try to find spiritual qualities in order to come closer to the upper force and attain the Creator. Every spiritual quality is attained through Joseph, through the Sefira Yesod, and through our connection.
Joseph is righteous, the foundation of the world, because only through connection, through Yesod, do we attain all other upper spiritual qualities. In our work Joseph is the most necessary and closest feeling to us, a connection in a group. Through the point of connection, we begin to recognize the quality of Joseph.
The Torah tells how the brothers sell Joseph into slavery. They do not understand this quality yet because they are higher than him and are not yet familiar with the quality of Joseph. They consider Joseph a younger brother and do not agree that he should stand out.
The main thing about Joseph is that he brings us to connection. Joseph does not have his own individual quality; he combines all other qualities in his yearning for connection, and through it, to the Creator. Joseph is a common quality in which all the other brothers are included, and they are clarified due to the growing will to receive, that is, Pharaoh.
Therefore, from the quality of Joseph, from Yesod, comes sustenance, the force of life, and the force of attainment. The revelation of the Pharaoh also happens through Joseph. At the beginning of the Egyptian slavery, the Pharaoh was kind and it did not feel like slavery at all. On the contrary we developed, and all this with the help of Joseph. Joseph is the beginning of the attainment of good and evil in our whole life, and therefore he is closest to us.
The quality of Joseph is implemented through our connection. He is called “everything” because all the qualities are combined within him and through them connect us with the Creator. Attaining Joseph is attaining unity, the essence of our connection. This is the first step that takes us out of this world and leads to the attainment of the Creator, the upper, spiritual world.
Joseph is like a tree that brings us all the fruits of life. This is a connection with the upper root, from which all good flows into the world. We eat from it; thanks to it we live, breed, and multiply. This is the place of our connection with each other and with the Creator; that is, it is the place of exiting the feeling of this corporeal world and entering the spiritual world. All this is performed through the quality of Joseph, the degree that is closest to us.
It is known that in order to advance at least one step forward, we need to connect into tens. Joseph is called everything because he combines all our qualities together. Each of the ten people has their own qualities that differ from others, but once we rise above ourselves, we can be together. If we rise above our egoistic differences, each of us above his egoism, then we become similar and equal and can connect and complement each other.
We attain this to the extent that we attain the Sefira Yesod, which is called everything. When we rise above our egoism and come to faith above reason, to connection in the ten, we create a new spiritual quality common to all called the Creator. He is born out of the connection between us and says: “You have made Me!”
It turns out that through our connection we have created the Creator; this is how He is revealed with regard to us. The first acquaintance with the Creator, with the upper force, with the upper world, occurs through the quality of Yesod.
Honored guests, Ushpizin, who come to the Sukkah, organize the right environment for us. Joseph is the last in this chain as if instead of Malchut.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/8/20, “Sukkot“
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