Weekly Torah Portion – 11.16.11
Posted on November 16th, 2011
Baal HaSulam, “Mutual Guarantee” (abridged version): The merit of the forefathers is that from the height of their souls, they realized the principle of love for the neighbor without preliminary actions, which they were unable to realize. Thus, only the nation of Israel entered the mutual guarantee.
The Creator made one receiving desire, consisting of four “layers”—four levels of depth or Aviut. We start to discern the layers of egoism from light to heavy. The souls that have already completed the analysis and correction then help to perform the work on the following, coarser layers of desire of the common, single, broken soul.
First the souls belonging to the level of the forefathers are corrected. We also call them “the house of Abraham.” This is talking about thousands of people who attained the spiritual world under his leadership. Their Aviut was very small and therefore they did not need to attract the Light that reforms during the study. It was enough for them to unite with one another a little because there was no repulsion between them as they did not fall into egoism yet on all of its four levels.
The fall happened later, in the Egyptian exile, and only then did Israel start needing the Light that reforms, meaning the method received on Mount Sinai. After all, a person corrects only what surfaces in him. The Torah, the method of correction, is intended for work with the evil inclination. When it became revealed in Egypt, the force of the Light capable of correcting it became revealed.
However, on the level of the forefathers, there was no need for this yet. This is the most “transparent,” purest degree of level zero of Aviut, comparable to the state of conception. At this stage, the Torah and the Light that reforms are not necessary for correction since there is nothing to reform yet.
Next comes the level of the sons, with the Aviut of the first and in part, the second level. And then comes our turn, the second, third, and fourth levels of Aviut, belonging to the “period of the Messiah.” Every generation in this lineage corrects its own layer of the common desire, the common soul.
Thus, the forefathers did not need the study that evokes Light, being in states of “the desert.” It was enough for them to be in the situation that surfaced in Ancient Babylon. Each of them revealed his evil somewhat, which the Torah describes metaphorically by talking about how Abraham and Sarah came down to the Land of Canaan, how Isaac solved problems with Esau, and other issues.
Next, Jacob and his sons came down to Egypt and died there, in this great, receiving desire. Then the sons of Israel went through the burdening of the heart and wanted to work on unification together to rise above hatred. However, first they descended even lower in their Aviut, which is called “visiting the cities of Pitom and Ramses.” Stated differently, by attempting to unite with each other, they did not build wonderful unity, but instead created something petty, sordid, and dangerous.
That is how they reached the need to run away from egoism and then went through the “ten plagues,” meaning unsuccessful attempts to escape. Every time they asked Pharaoh to “let them go,” they were denied, until the sorrow became unbearable. Only then, in the state of pitch darkness, does a person run away from his egoism, ready to rise above it at any price, “Better death than this kind of life.” A person reaches the final decision, really wishing to unite with others, as one man with one heart in mutual guarantee, and then he receives the method of correction.
This method leads him along the stages of the spiritual path: Tme after time, he discovers destruction inside of him and corrects it with the help of the Light that reforms. As a result, he reveals and corrects his entire, enormous egoism.
This process does not occur in all of humanity, but in a small group of Abraham’s descendants. On the path, it goes through breakings, analogously to the spiritual world, and falls down. And only later, in our days, does the true work of correcting the common soul begin.
Thus, even though since the times of the sin of the soul of Adam HaRishon, the forefathers and sons completed their work and attained their end of correction on the level of the First Temple, nevertheless descents followed after that, corresponding to the spiritual breakages. Both Temples were destroyed, similar to the two Partzufim in the world of Nekudim.
Now, after millennia of intermixing, we are reaching the analysis and correction—the self-realization. Precisely now, after all of the necessary “introductions,” the real work begins. The preparation is finished, and all that’s left is to correct ourselves.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/15/11, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”
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We will have a hard time until we acquire one more force besides nature, meaning the Creator, who influences our receiving desire and drives it forward like a train moving down a set track. Without an additional force, this process is entirely predetermined. Everything in it is set, including the deadlines and the final point. Sometimes I even notice that life rolls along of its own accord and does not depend on me at all.
But the science of Kabbalah enables me to evoke a third force that helps me control my own development. The force of the Light still drives my express-train forward, and nothing can be done about it. But I can use an additional force to advance consciously and sensitively, understanding the process and knowing what kind of train this is, where and why it is rushing, what drives it, and so on. By figuring all of that out, I see what auxiliary force I need and what I can change with its help.
Thus, we don’t have any chances of changing anything until we understand what our nature, our egoism is and until we realize its evil, until we reach the force of nature that pushes us forward without asking our opinion or our agreement. First of all, we must learn the real state of affairs.
That is why Kabbalists call the science of Kabbalah the root of all sciences. It’s because it researches the essence of matter, as well as the forces that influence it, control it, and develop it. Besides, Kabbalah allows us to independently attract the third force, which will make our path easier.
By means of the science of Kabbalah, I establish a connection with that force. After all, it is not present in me initially. This is not the Light under whose influence the desire evolves towards the goal. This is another force, “the Light that reforms,” which is something completely different. It comes only when I evoke it. Otherwise I am still driven by the opposition between the Light and the vessel.
“The Light that reforms” is a special, additional force that first and foremost, provides the human level for me. It does not do anything on its own. I control it and activate it to the extent I have figured out the process and learned the mechanism. And even if I don’t know exactly how it is activated, I still want it in spite of my desire, in spite of the standard development, in spite of the train that moves along without my participation.
Precisely the science of Kabbalah gives me a connection with this third, alternative force, with the Light that reforms. And then I really am able to move forward as a person who is similar to the Creator, controlling the process and looking at it from above. From a bird’s eye view, I look at the matter of my desire, at the force that pushes it down the pathways, at the program that is guaranteed to bring it to the final point in due time by combining the forces of the Light and the vessel. Similar to the Creator, I look down from above upon the two forces through which He controls creation.
But at the same time, I desire for the third, additional force to rule inside of me, the middle line, the screen. This is the human being whom I build inside of myself. And I want to advance only with its help. It contains my decisions, my actions, and their results. Everything is present there, in the middle line. We move in two lines like animals that are drawn to goodness and run away from evil; but the third force is the true mind by virtue of which I first make a restriction on everything and check or analyze the situation. I realize evil and good, and then I reach a decision. Next, I already “press on the pedals,” knowing how much and in what way I will advance in this third line.
I set the necessary restrictions myself, and they all come down to activating the general program of the joint evolution in my own way. I halt it, I control it, and precisely this control over the evolution makes me human. But first I have to understand what it turns me into.
That means that the giving of the Torah, meaning the method of correction, is intended to enable us to ascend above the natural process of development and rise to the human level. Today this is happening to all of humanity, which is discovering that it is completely subdued by the program of governance. Everything we have ever done in the world was actually not done by us. The systems we formed are essentially fruits of our egoistic nature. It was nature pushing us forward, forcing us to build our society and all of its subservient mechanisms in a very certain way.
And now we are discovering that this process is not enough for us. A situation has come about where it is necessary for us to rise above this process, to understand that until now, it was realized by nature, but now we must learn to control it ourselves. The egoistic methods no longer work because the time has come for us to learn the program and upgrade it ourselves.
Each of us received a personal awakening, but humanity will receive an awakening on a global scale. We were driven by qualitative blows and disappointments on the level of the inner search, while humanity will receive the necessary reasons on the material level, from problems with security, food, ecological catastrophes, the climate, and so on. And all of this is intended to bring people to the search for the alternative force that will enable humanity to control itself. The crisis is growing worse, the disasters are gaining might, and there is nowhere for us to run until we find this force.
This will be the general ascent. Therefore, all people will need the science of Kabbalah. After all, they won’t find the third force anywhere in the world. It is not present in their sciences or methods.
In the meantime, we have to help them. Even if they can’t find the solution yet, we must nevertheless go towards them.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/7/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”
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Question: How was Abraham able to unite a nation back in his time if there was no Torah that united them yet?
Answer: The Torah is not a book or words, but the Light that reforms, the force that becomes revealed on the condition that we perform special actions. But all physical objects and words are just symbols.
The science of Kabbalah is called the true Torah, its inner part. But a Kabbalah book by itself is still not Kabbalah. A person can use it to gain the notion called the wisdom of Kabbalah. Everything depends on one’s approach: If he wants to use this wisdom for his own sake, then for him this is abstract information. But if he wants to use it to attain love for the neighbor, it is called Torah.
And this does not even depend on the book so much. Other books, such as the Talmud, Torah, and Psalms also contain the Light that reforms. But the Light contained in Kabbalistic books is closer to us, stands out more, and is much easier to extract. That is why we should use precisely these books.
By virtue of these books, even modern people like us who are small and confused, having no understanding, can imagine that we are coming closer to another state, to a different, new world. The author intentionally placed Light that is close to us into the book.
In contrast, the Light contained in other books, such as the Torah and Talmud, is contained deep inside. But in Kabbalistic books, it shines as if from the very surface since it is closest to you.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/11, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”
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Baal HaSulam, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”: “…a great rule in the Torah” … the verse of “Love thy friend as thyself.” It is difficult to understand how such a statement can contain the sum-total of all the Torah? At most it can be the rule (the collective) of the part of the Torah and texts that relate to the relationships between man and man. But how can you include the greater part of the Torah, which concerns work between man and God in the verse, “Love thy friend as thyself”?
We do not know how to use this principle. Everyone is sure that they love their neighbors. As for specialists in the humanities—philosophers, political scientists, social scientists, and psychologists—they also reason about love for the neighbor as if it were easy to implement.
In general, the notion of “love” only confuses people. They cannot separate it from the natural, instinctive, hormonal attraction that is inherent to the animate and even vegetative kingdoms. In man, who has an evil inclination, this attraction acquires even greater scope, yet it still bears no relation to real love.
“Loving the neighbor” means fulfilling his desire while not receiving any direct or indirect benefit from that. It is aimed entirely at the well-being of the neighbor, while I am like an external part of the universe, a “tube” coming out of a power station that generates all the pleasures. This tube is not part of the action in any way. It does not need anything for itself. It is just a conductor.
But how can I become such a selfless conductor if I am entirely imbued by feelings, if I want to enjoy myself? After all, unlike a tube, I have my own life.
Moreover, I am told that this rule is “the general principle of the Torah.” That is, there is nothing but this principle in the Torah. Yet the Torah describes the most diverse areas of life. Could it really be that they are all connected to the neighbor?
If so, then how can I bring all of the facets of my reality, including my relationship with the Creator, into my relationships with other people? Won’t I be narrowing things down too much? How can the entire world with all of its diversity be squeezed into several psychological models?
Question: So how is it possible to love the neighbor in the modern, global world?
Answer: In reality, there is no means in our world that could allow us to correct our egoism. Only the Light that reforms is capable of that.
After all, only the Light and the vessel exist in reality. The force of bestowal (“existence from existence”) created a point of reception (“existence from absence”), and there is nothing else besides them.
Next, the force of bestowal influences the force of reception, leading it to altruistic actions until these two forces become equal to one another: the force of bestowal gives, while the force of reception receives in order to give. In the end, they end up in unity and adhesion.
But that is not enough because the state of Malchut of infinity was created by the upper one. It was simply “lowered down” to creation. The desire that was created by the Light received the “full package” from it, including the altruistic intention, and it lives to its content in union like a “dummy.” Having emerged from absence, it cannot make any independent action and it looks into the mouth of the giver: “Do you want altruism? Go ahead. Do you want egoism? Go ahead. You can have anything you wish.” That is how the matter of creation is built.
But in that case, it cannot be called a full-fledged creation. After all, the Light performed all the actions to it. So who is unified with the Creator in the end? For now—no one. An independent being did not emerge yet. So how can it be formed?
For that the receiving desire has to be brought to total opposition to the Creator in every regard, and then it has to be given the opportunities and the means to attain itself separate from bestowal and to acquire the forces for correction. A very great preparation is necessary to make creation, and it begins precisely here, from our world. This is why the spiritual worlds descended and why the material development unfolded until the earthly evolution brought us to modernity. And now, we are starting to gradually gain awareness of ourselves and our state.
This is the source of self-awareness, whose criterion is the Light, the Creator, the human society that is already demonstrating its global, integral facets. This causes you to experience discomfort: “Something here isn’t right. Something doesn’t make sense.” That is how the realization of evil emerges, opening up the path to correction before us.
We won’t understand what is happening and what we are facing right away. Humanity is only stepping onto this path. However, this also does not involve anything more than a combination of two forces: reception and bestowal. Within their mixture we must always look for the operating mechanisms. Like inter-atomic actions, they will show us what kind of unity is possible at this stage and which qualities are inherent to it.
You are learning to connect two forces and you must always reach the right formula of their balance. If you attain balance, it means you are on the right path and you are forming yourself in the right line. In reality, all of the scientific formulas describe equivalence of form. That is what we study and attain in nature: similarity and balance of all of its parts.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/11, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”
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All the picturesque descriptions that are given to us in the Torah tell us about an increasingly stronger connection between human beings. In the spiritual world one doesn’t enter corporeal Egypt, cross the physical Red Sea and the Sinai desert, or reach the corporeal land of Israel. In the spiritual world all of this symbolizes the different degrees of the connection between the souls, between human beings, who connect internally, in their desires.
It is a connection that the Torah tells us about. It doesn’t speak of geography or the history of some group that wandered in the land of Canaan or Egypt. It tells only about the connection in which we discover these degrees. “Go from your land” means to exit your egoistic desires, that is, the life in Babylon. You need to leave this desire and arrive at a bigger one, in which you connect to your group more strongly. This desire is already called the “land of Canaan” (“land” means “desire”).
Later we enter the left line, our desires increase, the evil inclination is revealed more, and this is called the “descent into Egypt.” And when we later ascend from this state of “Egypt” by connecting together, it is said that we are in “the Sinai desert.”
After connecting above all the problems that become revealed in us, we rise to a level called the “land of Israel.” All of these are degrees of connection and not geographical places.
The names are taken from our world, but they are used to name the spiritual degrees. We can take a bus and travel from Babylon to the land of Canaan and then to Egypt and back, but it wouldn’t be a spiritual trip. It would just be a corporeal trip.
It all depends upon how we, sitting in one place, climb the degrees and discover the spiritual worlds within us. It is revealed only according to the strength of the connection between us. As we unite, we discover the spiritual degrees according to the strength of our unity.
We correct all of our “613 desires” only through connection. If a person doesn’t connect with others, he doesn’t fulfill any “commandment,” doesn’t make any correction of the desire to receive. All of the desires are disconnected from each other as a result of the shattering, and they can be corrected only by connecting one to the other.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/14/2011, Writings of Rabash
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