Before the Exodus from Egypt a person passes through “49 gates of impurity.” That is, he no longer believes in anything; he doesn’t expect anything; he sees that he just about doesn’t have any connection with the upper force and that it is impossible to change anything in his life. Where is this upper force found, which is “There is none else beside Him”? Everything is under the control of Pharaoh and it is impossible to do anything against the ego that controls him.
A person doesn’t understand and doesn’t believe in the “good that does good.” Only a thin thread connecting him to spirituality remains; it is so fragile that he no longer believes that something will come from it. The despair is so great, and the thread that holds him is the patience that is beyond the intellect and logic.
This situation gradually accumulates, and if the person truly reaches the 49 gates of impurity, then the upper power acts against them, acquiring redemption for him.
Here it should be mentioned that “every action leaves an impression,” time after time, a bit further and further, and so we count the 400 years during the period a person accumulates clarifications, efforts, even weaknesses, and over comings, which he succeeds in doing by himself or with the help of the Creator.
Our entire struggle to leave Egypt is under the control of the Creator, There is none else beside Him and He is the good that does good. And the Klipa (the egoistic force) denies the higher providence of There is none else beside Him in every possible way.
The servitude, the exile (in Hebrew, Galut) differs from the redemption (Geula) basically because of the letter “Aleph,” which is the Lord of the World. One must concentrate on this point constantly and not on anything else. Specifically it is necessary to constantly sharpen our clarification, fight against our nature, against Pharaoh, because there is none else beside Him, the good and that does good.
We don’t ask for someone to change anything; we don’t appeal our fate. Instead we only turn to the Creator with our requests. This is what there is none else beside Him, means, because everything that happens we connect only to Him. Only He performing every action, preparing them so that from within the struggle against all the disturbances in which He has wrapped Himself, we discover Him and turn to Him.
Exile means that we are still not ready, but we very much yearn to discover the source of everything that is happening, as it is said, “I and not a messenger.” This is a very important moment. This is our only work, and it is up to us to be ready for it.
It is very important to remain at this point like a ship or an airplane that we must constantly navigate to remain on the right track despite the wind and various disturbances. This is possible only with a good crew.
Everything is constructed so that a person is not prepared to maintain his position by himself. Problems fall on him, and then pity is taken upon him and he is given another opportunity. But this chance is specifically to build the right team for himself so that together with them he will maintain his direction.
It must always be remembered that all of the disturbances come from the Creator and not from Pharaoh or his army and that there are no accidents and no messengers. Instead everything comes directly from the Creator. Our task is to discover the Creator instead of all the sources of power and other actions. Through this, our servitude, the blows, and all of the events of the story of the exodus from Egypt are revealed. All of this is a struggle to locate the Creator through all of the disturbances that are found between the Creator and us.
In the beginning there is no connection between the Creator and us because we are opposites. And the disturbances come precisely so that we will use them to build a connection with the Creator. So we see that Pharaoh brings us closer to the Creator; the evil inclination is help against us (Genesis 2:18) and we transform that into a connection with the Creator.
If we consistently work this way and try to build connection, then gradually we rise to a stronger and stronger connection, like the rungs of a ladder, and we fall into even greater disturbances, into a greater lack of connection. And again we try to build Pithom and Ramses and again fall, losing the connection, tearing, and becoming confused, denying any control by the Creator.
As a result of our efforts we pass through 49 gates of impurity. If we reach the 49th gate, it means that we have made a multitude of corrections on our connection with the Creator. But this is hidden from us. For a fraction of a moment we discover something and fall immediately. In this way we must discover all of the disturbances that are contrary to the fact that there is none else beside Him.
And the discovery is made according to the principle of “I and not a messenger” if we are ready to depict the upper force in spite of all the disturbances. The exile is given to us so that we can feel the Creator, locate Him within “out of nothing.” That is how we reach redemption.
So it is impossible to forget that all of the work towards redemption is to determine the fact that there is none else beside Him when faced with all of the disturbances that of course come from the Creator.
[R131431]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/01/14, Shamati #190
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Question: Why is the desire to receive considered one-tenth of the desire?
