A Congregation Is No Less than Ten

Article No.28, 1985-86

It is written in The Zohar, Naso (p 31, and Item 105 in the Sulam Commentary), “Rabbi Elazar started, ‘Why when I came, was there no man?’ How loved are Israel by the Creator, wherever they are, the Creator is among them.

“‘And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.’ This is so because every synagogue in the world is called “a sanctuary.” ‘That I may dwell among them’ because Divinity is the first to come into the synagogue. Happy is a man who is among the first ten to come to the synagogue because in them, what is completed is completed, meaning the congregation, which is no less than ten. And there must be ten in the synagogue at the same time, and not some now and some later, since all ten are as organs of a single body, in which Divinity dwells. This is so because man was made by the Creator in one time, and built all his organs together, as it is written, ‘He has made you and established you.’”

We should make distinctions in the above words:

What does it mean that wherever Israel are, the Creator is among them? This implies that no special place is required. And then he says, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,” meaning specifically in the synagogue.
The words, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” means that first there must be some preparation, meaning “Make Me a sanctuary,” and then, “That I may dwell,” and not just like that.
What is the question that he asks, “Why when I came, was there no man?” If you say that Divinity is the first to come to the synagogue, of course there is still no man.
It is hard to understand what he says, that there must be ten inside the synagogue at the same time and not come some now some later. Can it be said that those who come to the synagogue should stay outside until there are ten men and then they will all come in at once? Can this be said? We have never seen such a thing. So what is the meaning of not coming some now some later?

To understand the above words, we will explain it in the work, how to begin on the path of bestowal, which is called, “Not in order to receive reward.” First, we must remember two things: giver and receiver. This is an offshoot of His desire to do good to His creations. This is why He created creatures, so they would receive the delight and pleasure that He wished to give to them. And that receiver, meaning the Kli [vessel] that the Creator created, the Kli in which to receive delight and pleasure, is called “a desire to receive delight and pleasure.” And one can enjoy something to the extent that one desires it. This means that the Kli in which the pleasure is received is called “craving.”

We ascribe these Kelim [plural of Kli] to the Creator. This means that the first vessel of reception is from the Creator, and it is called Malchut, or Behina Dalet [fourth discernment], which means it is a desire to receive delight and pleasure. This is called Kli de Ohr Yashar [a vessel of Direct Light]. That is the Kli that was used prior to the Tzimtzum [restriction], and it is called Malchut de Ein Sof [Malchut of Infinity].

Afterwards, there was a correction to prevent the “bread of shame,” since there is a rule in the nature that the Creator made, that the branch wishes to resemble its root. We have no permission to ask, “Why is there such a nature?” because with regards to the Creator, The Zohar says, “There is neither thought, nor perception in Him whatsoever.” This means that the lower ones cannot attain the thoughts of the Creator.

Everything we say is only in the form of, “By Your actions, we know You.” In other words, we speak only out of the actions that appear before us, that is, we can discern reasons and explanations through what we see, but not before the deed appears to us. This is the reason why we begin to speak from the first connection that the Creator has with the creatures, which is called “His desire to do good to His creations.” Before that, there is nothing to speak of since we have no attainment in Him. Thus, we only see that there is a nature where the branch wishes to resemble its root.

To correct that—that if the receiver where to receive, he would feel unpleasantness because he wishes to equalize in form with the root—a Tzimtzum [restriction] was made, called “not wanting to receive in order to receive.” Instead, he will receive only if he can receive it in order to bestow. As a result, we are unable to receive abundance with the Kli called “will to receive,” but only with a new Kli, called Ohr Hozer [Reflected Light]. Ohr Yashar [Direct Light] is the abundance that the Creator gives to the lower ones, and Ohr Hozer is the opposite—what the lower ones wish to give to the Creator.

This is why Ohr Yashar is called “from above downwards,” meaning that the upper one, the giver, meaning the Creator, gives to the lower ones. Ohr Hozer is called “from below upwards,” meaning that the lower one, the receiver, wishes to give to the Creator.

We ascribe the Kli called “in order to bestow,” to the lower one because the lower one made it in order to correct itself, since it wishes to resemble its root. It is as we learn, that in the world of Ein Sof, the Kli of Malchut received the light in a Kli of Ohr Yashar, meaning in the Kli that came from the upper one. But the Klide Ohr Hozer is a Kli that the lower one must make.

After this correction was done—receiving only in Kelim of Ohr Hozer—all the worlds and the many degrees extended from it. This was because the Kli that extends from the lower one cannot be completed all at once, but bit-by-bit, according to the strength of the lower ones. Thus, since the Kelim were multiplied, the lights, too, divided into many degrees. This was not so while the Kli was shining in the Kli that we relate to the Creator, called “receiving in order to receive.” The Creator created that Kli once and in wholeness, and it was therefore one, simple light, without distinction of degrees.

It is as it is written in The Tree of Life (presented also in The Study of the Ten Sefirot, p 1), “Know, that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures created, Upper Simple Light had filled the whole of reality. ...And everything was One, Simple Light, balanced evenly and equally, and it was called ‘the Light of Ein Sof (Infinity).’” The reason is that the Kli that we ascribe to the Creator is complete and perfect. This is why they received a single light, without distinction of degrees.

But the Kli that we ascribe to the lower one cannot be completed all at once. Rather, the work that we must exert is only one—to make the Kli called Ohr Hozer. This means that the lower one wants to receive delight and pleasure from the Creator only because he wishes to bestow upon the Creator, and this is called Ohr Hozer. And when the lower one comes to realize that he has no desire to receive for himself, but that he wants to delight the Creator, he contemplates what he can give to the Creator that the Creator will enjoy.

And then he sees that there is only one thing that he can give, which the Creator will enjoy: The purpose of creation is to benefit His creations, that is, the Creator wishes to impart delight and pleasure upon the creatures, he therefore says, “I want to receive delight and pleasure because I want to delight the Creator.” Thus, the more abundance he can receive, meaning the more pleasure he will feel from the abundance that he receives, will increase the delight of the Creator.

It is similar to a person who invited an important person to his home, and he and his household toiled all day and all night for the important guest to enjoy the food. The guest ate at that meal—which cost him great efforts, and he did it all so the guest would enjoy it—and afterwards he asked the guest, “What did you think of our meal? Have you ever tasted such a meal?”

And he replied, “To tell you the truth, it makes little difference to me what I eat. I never gave much thought to the pleasure I can receive from food, so it would make no difference to me if you were to prepare a simpler meal, since I hear that you put great efforts into it.” Clearly, when the host hears it, what pleasure has he got from making him this great feast?

The moral is that if a person receives delight and pleasure from the Creator because he wants to delight the Creator by helping him carry out the purpose of creation—the Creator’s desire to do good to His creations—but says that he has no pleasure in the delight and pleasure he receives from the Creator, what contentment is he bringing to the Creator by saying that he doesn’t discern anything in His delight and pleasure and that it’s all the same to him?

It follows that if a person can try to constantly increase what he receives from the Creator and appreciate the King’s gift, by that, he has a reason to say to the Creator, “I am receiving great pleasure from You because I know that this is the only way I can please You. This is why I wish to enhance the reception of pleasures.”

However, we should remember that after the sin of the tree of knowledge that Adam ha Rishon sinned, man has become what is discerned as “dust,” meaning receiving in order to receive. This extends from the impure worlds ABYA, as it is written in the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” (Item 25), “Through Torah and Mitzvot, a man must receive strength from above to have to the desire to bestow. This is called Ysrael [Israel], meaning Yashar El [straight to the Creator], meaning that all his thoughts and desires are only to bring contentment to the Creator. But if he still does not have this desire, he is regarded as exiled among the nations of the world, who enslave him in working only for self-love, which is called ‘receiving in order to receive.’ This belongs to the Klipot [shells], and not to Kedusha [holiness], as it is written, ‘You shall be holy for I am holy,’ which means that as the Creator is all about bestowal, you, too, will aim only to bestow.”

But the opposite of that, when his intention is not to bestow, this is called the opposite of Israel. It is called “straight to the nations of the world,” since they are opposite from the Creator, whose desire is only to bestow. But if there is Yashar El in that place, and he is in equivalence of form with the Creator, meaning there is no other authority in that place, then comes Divinity, as it is written, “In every place where I cause My name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you.” This means that the Creator says, “If I can say that there is only My name in this place, and there is no authority of the creature in it, since the lower one wishes only to bestow upon the Creator, then, ‘I will come to you and bless you,’ meaning that in this place, I instill My Divinity.”

Now we can understand what we asked about what The Zohar says, that wherever they are, the Creator is with them, which means that no special place is required. And afterwards it says, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,” which means it is specifically in a sanctuary and not elsewhere.

We should interpret that when it says, “Wherever they are,” it means “Wherever they,” Israel, “are.” Israel means Yashar El [straight to the Creator], meaning that they are in equivalence of form with the Creator. That is, as the Creator bestows Hesed [grace/mercy], they, too, wish only to bestow upon the Creator. And since there is equivalence of form, to that extent the Tzimtzum is lifted, hence Divinity is in that place.

This is called, “And ... make Me a sanctuary, as it is written, “You will be holy for I the Lord am holy.” It turns out that Israel and “And let them make Me a sanctuary” are one and the same. In other words, when it says, “And let them make Me a sanctuary” is a preparation and great exertion to make the place, which is the desire, as Baal HaSulam said, that in spirituality, a “place” is a desire, meaning desire that is holy, that is in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. This is called “Israel,” meaning Yashar El.

Now we will explain the second question of why he asks, “Why when I came, was there no man?” because if he says that Divinity is the first to come to the synagogue, of course there is still no one. Thus, why does he say, “Why ... was there no man?”

However, first we must understand what is “man.” We should interpret that “man” means, as it is written, “Happy is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked.” This means that there is a discernment of “man” and a discernment of “beast.” A beast is one who is immersed in self-love and acts as a beast. Thus, the meaning of “Why when I came” is that I came before you. However, this, too, requires explanation, meaning how can it be said that the Creator was the earliest at the synagogue? After all, “The whole earth is full of His glory,” so what does it mean that the Creator came to the synagogue before the people who are praying.

We should interpret that it is as Baal HaSulam said about the verse, “Before they call, I will answer.” This means that when a person goes to pray, it comes from a thought and a desire to go and pray that I gave him. Accordingly, the meaning of “I was the earliest at the synagogue” is, “I made them come to the synagogue so as to be a man, and in the end, I find him in the synagogue praying for self-love, like a beast.”

It follows that the reason he says, “Why when I came” is “Why have I given him a desire to go to the synagogue to pray for matters of Kedusha [holiness],” which is considered a sanctuary, “and to be Israel, and in the end ‘There was no man,’ since I see that they are all praying for the needs of a beast.”

Now we will explain what we asked about what he says, that there must be ten in the synagogue at the same time and not some now some later. We asked, “Do they have to stay outside until there are ten men and then they will all come in together? Have we have ever seen such a thing?” And he brings evidence from the Creator that the Creator made man at once. But we should also understand the evidence itself.

Indeed, to interpret that, we must first understand why it is necessary to have ten people at the synagogue or else it means that Divinity cannot be there. The reason he gives is that a congregation is no less than ten. Also, we should understand why ten and not more or not less? Meaning, if there are nine people, it is not considered a congregation, and if there are eleven, it does not add anything to me. It is as we say about testimony, “Two is like one hundred, and one hundred is like two” (Shavuot p 42). Thus, it is precisely ten, as our sages said (Sanhedrin 39), “In every ten there is Divinity.”

It is known that Malchut is called “tenth.” It is also known that the Kli that receives is also called “the Sefira of Malchut,” which is the tenth Sefira that receives the upper abundance. Also, she is called “will to receive,” and all the creatures extend only from her. This is the reason why a congregation is no less than ten, since all the corporeal branches extend from the upper roots. Accordingly, following the rule that there is no light that does not contain ten Sefirot, in corporeality, a congregation—which is recognized as an important thing—cannot be considered as such if there aren’t ten people there, similar to the upper degrees.

Now we can understand the issue of ten, when the Creator asks, “Why when I came, was there no man?” This refers to a man, not to a beast. It is referring to the discernment of the kingdom of heaven, which is the tenth Sefira, meaning we must pray for the exile of Divinity, which The Zohar calls, “Divinity in the dust.” Thus, if the Creator comes and does not find there ten attendees, it means, “I came first and gave you a desire and awakening to come to the synagogue and pray in litany for the exile of Divinity, which is called ‘ten,’ the tenth Sefira, and did not find anyone to pray for the tenth. Instead, I find that they are all praying for things that have to do with beasts and not with people.”

Similarly, we should interpret what he says, that they must all be present at once and not come some now some later. We should explain that the reception of the kingdom of heaven must be at once, and not that he will say, “Today I want to take a little of the burden of the kingdom of heaven on myself,” meaning only while I am at the synagogue, “And afterwards, when I go home, I want to indulge in self-love.”

This means that he says that he agrees to work in order to bestow some of his time, and not give all his time only for the glory of heaven. Instead, when a person takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven, he should ask of the Creator for it to be for all eternity, and not only while he is at the synagogue. We can interpret that their meaning in having to have ten present at the synagogue at once, and not come some now some later, is that he should not say, “Now I’m assuming a little bit of the kingdom of heaven, and later some more.” Instead, the acceptance of the burden of the kingdom of heaven must at once, meaning all at once, over his whole life, and not some now and some later.

Therefore, if the reception of the burden of the kingdom of heaven is on a complete thing, then although he later descends from his degree, because the reception was in full, called “ten at once,”—and “once” means “over his whole life”—each penny is accumulated into a great account. Finally, he is rewarded with faith, which is the permanent kingdom of heaven.

But if the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven is only partial, meaning that he accepts the kingdom of heaven only for a time and not permanently, this is not regarded for him as wholeness. Thus, how can it accumulate into a great account, so he will be rewarded with permanent faith? Therefore, when a person takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven, he should see that it is a complete thing. When he says that they must be at the synagogue at once, it means once and for all, meaning that he wants his kingdom of heaven to be for all eternity.