Article 17, 1987<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our sages said (Hagigah<\/em> 13), \u201cRav Ami said, \u2018Words of Torah are not to be given to idol worshippers, as it is written, \u2018He has not done so with any nation and did not did not make ordinances known to them.\u2019 In the Sanhedrin (59), Rabbi Yohanan said, \u2018An idol worshipper who engages in Torah must die, as it is written, \u2018Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance.\u2019 The inheritance is for us and not for them.\u2019\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Gemara asks, \u201cRabbi Meir would say, \u2018How so? After all, even an idol worshipper who engages in the Torah is as the high priest, as it is written, \u2018If a man does them, he shall live by them.\u2019 It did not say, \u2018priests,\u2019 \u2018Levites,\u2019 or \u2018Israelis,\u2019 but \u2018man.\u2019 This means that even an idol worshipper who engages in Torah is as the high priest.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should understand it in the work, according to the rule that in the work we learn the whole Torah in one person. The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> says that each person is a small world in and of itself. This means that he consists of all seventy nations of the world. Thus, what is \u201cIsrael\u201d and what are \u201cidol worshippers\u201d within the person himself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another question about the words of Rabbi Meir is that he brings evidence from the verse, \u201cIf a man does them, he shall live by them.\u201d After all, Rabbi Shimon says, \u201ca man refers to Israel,\u201d and he brings as evidence the verse, \u201cYou are called \u2018man,\u2019 and not the nations of the world.\u201d Thus, how does Rabbi Meir bring evidence from the word \u201cman\u201d as referring to idol worshippers? The Tosfot<\/em> wishes to explain in the Sanhedrin that there is a difference between \u201cman\u201d and \u201cthe man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n RASHI interprets that there should not be misunderstandings about Rabbi Shimon, who says, \u201cMan means Israel.\u201d It is simple, he does not differ from Rabbi Shimon\u2014that a man means specifically Israel. Also, we should understand the great disparity between Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Meir, where Rabbi Yohanan says, \u201cAn idol worshipper who engages in Torah must die,\u201d and to Rabbi Meir he seems not like an ordinary person from Israel, but as the high priest. Can it be that he will be greater than an ordinary person from Israel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> says (Aharei<\/em>, p 103, and in the Sulam<\/em> Commentary, Item 289), \u201cRabbi Elazar asked Rabbi Shimon, his father. It is written, \u2018He has not done so with any nation.\u2019 However, we should ask that since it is written, \u2018He declares His words unto Jacob,\u2019 why does it say, \u2018His statutes and His ordinances unto Israel\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a double meaning! And since the Torah is the hidden, high, and precious one, His very Name, the whole of Torah is therefore hidden and revealed, meaning that in it, there is hidden and literal in His Name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, Israel are in two degrees: concealed and revealed. We learned that three are the degrees that connect to one another: 1) the Creator, 2) the Torah, 3) Israel. This is why it is written, \u201cHe declares His words unto Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances unto Israel.\u201d They are two degrees\u2014one is revealed: the degree of Jacob, and one is concealed: the degree of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does the text imply by that? He replies, \u201cAnyone who is circumcised and inscribed in the holy name is given into the revealed things in the Torah.\u201d This is the meaning of what is written, \u201cHe declares His words unto Jacob.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, \u201cHis statutes and His ordinances unto Israel\u201d is at a higher degree. Hence, \u201cHis statutes and His ordinances unto Israel\u201d are the secrets of the Torah. The laws of the Torah and the secrets of the Torah need not be disclosed except to those at a properly higher degree. And as Israel is so, meaning that they disclose the Torah only to one who is at a high degree, it is all the more so for idol-worshipping nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Item 303, it is written, \u201cCome and see that the first thing in the Torah that is given to infants is the alphabet. This is something that the people in the world cannot come to wish and conceive in their understanding.\u201d To understand the above-said, we first need to know what Israel is, and what is an idol-worshipper in the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our sages said about the verse (Shabbat<\/em> 105b), \u201cThere shall not be a strange God within you, nor will you bow before a strange God.\u201d What is the strange God in man\u2019s body? It is the evil inclination. This means that an idol-worshipper is called \u201cthe evil inclination.\u201d It follows that when speaking of a single body, then idol-worshipping, which is called \u201ca foreign God\u201d or \u201ca strange God,\u201d is entirely within man. Accordingly, we should discern the idol-worshipping in the person himself, which is the evil inclination, and the discernment of Israel, which is the good inclination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, we should understand why this inclination, which tempts one to delight himself and enjoy life, is called \u201cevil.\u201d After all, it tells a person, \u201cIf you listen to me, you will enjoy life.\u201d Thus, why is it called \u201cevil inclination\u201d or \u201ca strange God\u201d? Also, what is the connection between idolatry and the evil inclination, and why is it called \u201cGodliness\u201d and praised and bowed to as one serves idolatry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is known that there are two kings in the world: 1) The King of All Kings, 2) an old and foolish king, meaning the evil inclination. It is also called \u201ctwo authorities\u201d: 1) the authority of the Creator, 2) the authority of man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our sages said that when a person is born, he is born immediately with the evil inclination, as it is written, \u201cSin crouches at the door.\u201d In The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, it means that as soon as one comes out of the womb, the evil inclination comes to him. In the work, we should interpret that immediately, from the day one is born, he works and serves the evil inclination within him with his heart and soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it is known that the evil inclination is only the will to receive within us, as explained in the \u201cIntroduction of The Book of Zohar.\u201d And as soon as one is born, his only purpose is to serve the will to receive. This means that all his senses focus on how to serve the old and foolish king. Also, one bows before him, and bowing means that he subjugates his reason and his mind before him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that sometimes he hears that one should serve the King of All Kings, and at times, the mind and heart resolve that the reason we are born is not to serve the will to receive. And yet, he subjugates that view and says, \u201cAlthough my reason shows me that it is not worthwhile to toil and serve the will to receive my whole life, but that it is worthwhile to serve the Creator, I go above reason. In other words, the body tells me, \u2018Drop everything you have received from books and from authors\u2014that you must serve the Creator. Rather, as then, so now, do not defy the will to receive but serve it with your heart and soul.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that one bows before the will to receive because subjugating the reason is called \u201cbowing.\u201d And this is considered that a person is serving a strange God who is a stranger to Kedusha<\/em> [holiness]. He is also called \u201ca foreign God,\u201d for he is a foreigner to Kedusha<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At that time, the person who serves him is called a \u201cforeigner\u201d or an \u201cidol-worshipper,\u201d and this is the strange God in a man\u2019s body. In other words, the strange God is not something on the outside\u2014that he is serving something outside his own body. There is a thought that this is actually considered that he is committing idolatry. Rather, by serving and working for his body, which is called \u201cthe will to receive,\u201d inside man\u2019s body, it is regarded as committing idolatry, and that person is called a \u201cforeigner\u201d or an \u201cidol-worshipper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is so because he has no connection to Kedusha<\/em> [holiness\/sanctity], since Kadosh<\/em> [holy] means the Creator, as it is written, \u201cYou shall be holy, for I the Lord am holy.\u201d It means, \u201cYou shall abstain\u201d (as said in Article No. 16, Tav-Shin-Mem-Zayin<\/em>). Since the Creator is the giver, to have Dvekut<\/em> [adhesion] with Him, called \u201cequivalence of form,\u201d a person should be a giver, too, and this<\/em> is called Kedusha<\/em> [holiness].<\/p>\n\n\n\n It therefore follows that one who serves and works for the will to receive creates an object, meaning that it is his God. He wishes to serve only it with his heart and soul, and in everything he does, even an act of bestowal, he does not even consider the act of bestowal, except according to the benefit that his will to receive will derive from it. He does not divert his focus from it but clings to his faith that this is all that must be served.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though his mind resolves that it is not worthwhile to serve it, he still does not have the power to betray his God, whom he has been serving since the day he was born. This is why it is called \u201cfaith,\u201d since he is serving his will to receive above reason. And there is no reason in the world that can detach and separate him from the adhesion that he is attached to it from the day he was born. This is called \u201ca gentile\u201d or \u201ca foreigner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel means the opposite of a strange God, meaning Yashar El<\/em> [straight to God]. This means that his sole intention is for everything to be straight to the Creator. In other words, his only thought and desire is to come directly to Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator, and he does not want to listen to the voice of the will to receive. He says that the name that was given to the will to receive, \u201cevil inclination,\u201d suits it because it only inflicts harm upon him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, the more he tries to satisfy its wish so it will not obstruct him in his work to be a servant of the Creator, it is to the contrary. That is, he constantly makes sure that he gives it what it demands of him, and he gives to it because he thinks that by so doing, it will stop disturbing him. But then we see the exact opposite\u2014this receiver actually grows stronger by his satisfying its needs, meaning it becomes even more evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And now he sees how right our sages were when they said (Beresheet Rabbah<\/em> 25:8), \u201cDo not do good to a bad one,\u201d meaning do not do good to a bad person. It is the same for us, who learn everything in one person. The meaning will be that it is forbidden to do good to the will to receive, which is the evil inclination, since out of any good that a person does to it, it later has more strength to harm him. And this is called \u201creturning a favor with evil.\u201d They are like two drops in a pond; that is, to the extent that he serves it, just so is its power to harm him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, one should always remember what is the evil that the receiver causes him. This is why one must always remember the purpose of creation\u2014to do good to His creations\u2014and believe that the Creator can impart endless delight and pleasure. It is written about it (Malachi 3:10), \u201c\u2018And test Me now in this,\u2019 says the Lord of hosts, \u2018if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reason why a person does not feel the delight and pleasure that the Creator wishes to give is because of the disparity of form between the Creator, who is the giver, and the receiver. This causes shame upon reception of the delight and pleasure. To avoid the bread of shame, there was a correction called Tzimtzum<\/em> [restriction]\u2014to not receive unless it is in order to bestow contentment upon one\u2019s Maker. This is called \u201cequivalence of form,\u201d as our sages said, \u201cAs He is merciful, so you are merciful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that as the Creator is the giver and there is no reception in Him whatsoever\u2014since from whom would He receive?\u2014man, too, should strive to reach that degree of not wanting to work for himself, but to keep all his thoughts and desires on pleasing his Maker. And then he receives suitable Kelim<\/em> [vessels] for reception of the upper abundance, which is the general name for the delight and pleasure that the Creator wished to give to the creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, the abundance divides into five discernments, called NRNHY<\/em>. Sometimes they are called NRN<\/em>. Also, the upper abundance can simply be called Neshama<\/em> [soul], and the receiver of the Neshama<\/em> is called Guf<\/em> [body], but those are not fixed names, but depend on the context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, who is the obstructor to receiving the above-mentioned delight and pleasure? It is only the will to receive. It obstructs and does not let us out of its authority, called \u201creception in order to receive.\u201d It is on this discernment that the Tzimtzum<\/em> took place\u2014to correct the vessels of reception so they will be in order to bestow, at which time he will be similar to the giver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there is equivalence of form here, called Dvekut<\/em> [adhesion]. At that time, through Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator, a person is considered alive, since he is attached to the Life of Lives. And through the receiver in him, he is separated from the Life of Lives. This is why our sages said, \u201cThe wicked\u2014in their lives, are called \u2018dead.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, it is clear who is obstructing us from being given life: it is only the receiver in us, and we should determine that through the above-mentioned calculation. It turns out that it is the cause of all the troubles and afflictions we suffer. Clearly, the moniker, \u201cevil inclination,\u201d suits it, since it causes all our troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us imagine a sick person who wants to live. There is only one cure that can save his life, by which he will be rewarded with life; otherwise, he will have to die. And there is one person who is stopping him from having this medicine. Clearly, this person is called \u201can evil man.\u201d It is the same for us. When one learns that only through the desire to bestow is it possible to be rewarded with spiritual life, that there is where the real delight and pleasure are found, and that this will to receive detains us from receiving, how will we look at it? Of course we should see it as the angel of death. Meaning, it is causing us not to be granted life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a person comes to realize this\u2014that our receiver is the evil in us\u2014and wishes to be \u201cIsrael,\u201d meaning he does not want to commit idolatry, which is the evil inclination in man\u2019s body, and wishes to repent for having committed idolatry all that time, and wishes to be a servant of the Creator, in that state, when he wishes to exit the domination of the evil inclination, what should he do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n To that, there is the answer that our sages said (Kidushin<\/em> 30b), \u201cSo says the Creator to Israel, \u2018My sons, I have created the evil inclination, and I have created for it the spice of Torah. If you engage in Torah, you will not be given into its hand, as it is written, \u2018If you do well.\u2019 And if you do not engage in Torah, you will be given into its hand, as it is written, \u2018Sin crouches at the door.\u2019\u2019\u201d In other words, only engagement in Torah has the power to come out of the domination of the evil inclination and enter Kedusha<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It therefore follows that one who engages in Torah\u2014when speaking of the work\u2014the purpose of the study must be clear to a person, meaning the reason that causes him to engage in Torah. This is so because there are two opposites in the Torah, as our sages said (Yoma<\/em> 72b), \u201cRabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi said, \u2018Why is it written, \u2018And this is the law that Moses put\u2019? If he is rewarded, it becomes a potion of life to him. If he is not rewarded, it becomes a potion of death to him.\u2019 For this reason, when a person engages in Torah, he should see that the Torah does not bring him into death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it is difficult to understand how there can be such a distance between being rewarded and not being rewarded, to the point that they say that if he is not rewarded by engagement in Torah, it becomes a potion of death to him. Would it not be enough that he were not rewarded? Why is he even worse than one who did not engage in Torah at all? That is, one who did not engage in Torah does not have the potion of death, and one who engaged in Torah obtained death in return for his work. Can such a thing be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This question is presented in the \u201cIntroduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot\u201d (p 20, Item 39): \u201cHowever, their words require explanation to understand how and through what does the Holy Torah become a potion of death for him. Not only are his work and exertion in vain, and he receives no benefit from his labor and strain, but the Torah and the work themselves become a potion of death for him. This is indeed perplexing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the \u201cIntroduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot\u201d (Item 101), \u201cSince the Creator hides Himself in the Torah, since the matter of the torments and pains that one experiences during the concealment of the face are not similar between one who possesses few sins and has done little Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> and one who has engaged in Torah and good deeds extensively. The first is quite qualified to judge his Maker favorably, to think that the suffering came to him because of his sins and scarceness of Torah. For the other, however, it is much harder to judge his Maker favorably.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is similar with us. When he places the goal before his eyes, meaning that the upper one wishes to delight His creatures, but to avoid the shame, we must have vessels of bestowal. And since we are born with the will to receive, which is considered a strange God, whom we serve even above reason and it enslaves us and we cannot come out of its power, we believe in our sages who said, \u201cThe Creator said, \u2018I have created the evil inclination; I have created the spice of Torah.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the reason that makes one engage in Torah, and then the Torah brings him life. In other words, through the Torah he comes out of the domination of the evil inclination and becomes a servant of the Creator, meaning that his intention is only to bring contentment to his Maker. And he will be rewarded with Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator, meaning that at that time, he will adhere to the Life of Lives. Indeed, only in that state, when a person studies with this goal, is the Torah regarded for him as a potion of life, since through the Torah he will be rewarded with life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yet, if he does not engage in Torah for this purpose, through the Torah that he is studying, the will to receive will grow stronger and acquire more strength to keep him under its control. This is because the receiver lets him understand that he is not like other people because, thank God, he is a man who has acquired good deeds and Torah, and certainly, the Creator should not treat him as He treats ordinary people. Rather, the Creator should recognize him for who he is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if he works in concealment, he is certain to have complaints against the Creator, since if he suffers from something, he tells the Creator, \u201cIs this the reward for the Torah?\u201d Thus, he always has grievances against the Creator, which is called \u201cdoubting the Shechina<\/em> [Divinity],\u201d referring to the Creator. By that, they are separated from the Life of Lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that where they should have longed to be annulled before the Creator and to have all that they do be only to serve the Creator, those who work for the receiver wish for the Creator to serve them: All that their receiver needs, the Creator should satisfy. It follows that they are working opposite from those who want to be rewarded with life by their engagement in Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, we can understand what we asked about why Rabbi Ami says, \u201cTorah is not to be given to idolaters.\u201d If this is in the work, meaning in the person himself, and he is in a state of idolater, the reason that it is forbidden to learn is that it is pointless. This is so because in the work we learn that we should study Torah in order to come out of the domination of the evil inclination. But if he does not want to break free from the enslavement of the evil inclination, why does he need the Torah? It follows that if he were to be given Torah, it would be pointless. It is a waste of effort for the one who will teach him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Rabbi Yohanan adds to Rabbi Ami and says, \u201cNot only is it pointless, but if an idol-worshipper engages in Torah, it will harm him.\u201d He is risking his soul because for idol -worshippers, meaning those who study Torah without the goal of exiting the domination of the evil inclination, but wish to stay under it and serve it willingly, this is called \u201cidolatry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written about it, \u201cA strange God in man\u2019s body.\u201d Thus, he is taking for himself the potion of death. This is why Rabbi Yohanan said, \u201cAn idol-worshipper who engages in Torah must die.\u201d It means that he is risking his soul because the Torah will be a potion of death for him. However, what Rabbi Meir would say is, \u201cWhere is it from that an idol-worshipper who engages in Torah must die? Rather, he is like the high priest, as it was said, \u2018If a man does them, he shall live by them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we asked about it, A) Why is he saying that he is like the high priest? Isn\u2019t an ordinary priest a high degree? This is so far from the words of Rabbi Yohanan, who thinks that he must die. So what is the reason for this exaggeration that he is as the high priest? B) The interpreters ask, the evidence that Rabbi Meir brings, where it says, \u201cThe man,\u201d Rabbi Shimon says that \u201cthe man\u201d actually means Israel and not idolaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret what Rabbi Meir says, \u201cAn idol worshipper who engages in Torah,\u201d as referring to what we explained above. Rabbi Meir\u2019s intention is that a person has come to realize that he is an idol-worshipper, that he sees that from the day he was born until now he has been serving idols, a foreign God, meaning the evil inclination, which is inside a man\u2019s body. He sees how he is enslaved and is under its control and has no strength to defy its word. And although he often understands with his mind and reason that it is not worthwhile to serve it, but to the contrary, the evil inclination should serve the Kedusha<\/em> [holiness], he still subdues his reason and serves it as if he realized that it was worthwhile to serve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a person comes to realize it, when he sees that there is no power in the world that can help him, and he sees that he is lost and will be cut off from life forever, to deliver himself from death\u2014being \u201cThe wicked in their lives they are called \u2018dead\u2019\u201d\u2014in that state he comes to believe the words of our sages. They said, \u201cThis is what the Creator said to Israel: \u2018My sons, I have created the evil inclination; and I have created for it the spice of Torah. If you engage in Torah, you will not be given into its hand.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is about this<\/em> kind of idol-worshipper that Rabbi Meir said that he was like the high priest. And he brings as evidence that it is written, \u201cIf a man does them, he shall live by them.\u201d He interprets that if one engages in Torah in order to \u201clive by them,\u201d if the reason for his engagement in Torah is that he wishes to be rewarded with life and not to be wicked\u2014an idolater, which is a foreign God in a man\u2019s body\u2014but his sole aim is to be rewarded with life, this verse, \u201cIf a man does them, he shall live by them,\u201d is about him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is so because if he engages in Torah, he will be as the high priest. And not just a priest, but he will be a priest, meaning obtain the quality of Hesed<\/em> [mercy], which is called \u201ca priest,\u201d meaning he will be rewarded with vessels of bestowal, and he will also be rewarded with Gadlut<\/em> [greatness\/adulthood]. This is why he says that he is like the high priest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accordingly, we should ask why Rabbi Meir says, \u201cEven an idolater.\u201d As we explained, it is to the contrary, since such an idol worshipper is worthy of being as the high priest. We can explain and say that the word \u201ceven\u201d means that even if a person comes to such lowliness that he sees that he is truly an idolater, that he sees that thus far he gained nothing in his life, but only served his evil inclination. In other words, all his thoughts and desires have been only in favor of the receiver. He hasn\u2019t even touched the path of truth, meaning had the ability to believe in the Creator above reason, but only according to what the reason of the receiver allowed him to see\u2014that specifically by working for it, it will give it energy to engage in Torah and Mitzvot<\/em>. To such a person, Rabbi Meir comes and says, \u201cDo not regret this lowliness. Instead, you should believe that even when you have come to such a low, the Creator can still help you out of the exile of being under its control all this time.\u201d So the reason is to the contrary: The meaning of what he says is, \u201cEven if the world agrees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, in truth, only now is there a need for the Torah. Only now you have the real Kelim<\/em> [vessels], a real need for the Creator to help you, since you have come to the point of truth, as our sages said, \u201cMan\u2019s inclination overcomes him every day. Were it not for the Creator, he would not prevail over it.\u201d Now he sees the truth, that he really needs the help of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now we can understand the above-mentioned words of The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, where he says that on the face of it, we should make three discernments in the work: 1) idol-worshippers, 2) Jacob, 3) Israel. The difference between them is that idol-worshippers are forbidden to study even the literal Torah. And we learn this from what is written, \u201cHe has not done so with any nation.\u201d In general, it is permitted to teach him the literal, specifically in the revealed matters. It concludes that from the verse, \u201cHe declares His words unto Jacob,\u201d which is an inferior degree. When he is at a superior degree, it is permitted to teach him the secrets of Torah. It concludes this from the verse, \u201cHis statutes and His ordinances unto Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written in The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, Yitro<\/em> (Item 265): \u201c\u2018Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob,\u2019 to that place which befits their degree. \u2018And tell the children of Israel,\u2019 since Jacob and Israel are two degrees. Jacob is the degree of VAK<\/em>, and Israel is the degree of GAR<\/em>. However, Israel is called \u2018the wholeness of everything,\u2019 which means showing Hochma<\/em> [wisdom] and speaking in the spirit of Hochma<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it is written in The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, Yitro<\/em> (Item 260): \u201c\u2018Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob\u2019 is to the females, \u2018And tell the children of Israel\u2019 is to the males.\u201d Also in The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, Yitro<\/em> (Item 261): \u201c\u2018Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob\u2019 meaning with a saying, from the side of Din<\/em> [judgment]. \u2018And tell the children of Israel\u2019 is as they said, \u2018And he shall tell them his covenant.\u2019 Telling is Rachamim<\/em> [mercy] for the children of Israel, meaning the males, who come from the side of Rachamim<\/em>. This is why it states \u2018telling\u2019 about them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should understand the distinctions in the words of The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, which says in the portion Aharei<\/em>, that Jacob and Israel are two degrees: 1) Jacob is below, with whom one studies the literal; 2) Israel is the degree above, with whom one studies the secrets of Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written in The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, Yitro<\/em> (Item 260): \u201cJacob is females; Israel is males.\u201d It says (Item 261), \u201cJacob is from the side of Din<\/em>. This is why it writes, \u2018saying,\u2019 and Israel is Rachamim<\/em>, for telling is Rachamim<\/em>.\u201d It says (Item 265), \u201cJacob is considered VAK<\/em>, and Israel is considered GAR<\/em>. This is why it is written, \u2018And tell the children of Israel,\u2019 meaning to show Hochma<\/em> and to speak in the spirit of Hochma<\/em>, since telling implies Hochma<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, we will explain what The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> interprets about the discernment of Jacob. It says, 1) VAK<\/em>, 2) females, 3) Din<\/em>, 4) a revealed degree, the lower degree, the literal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The order of the work that a person should begin in order to achieve the goal is to know his state in the work of the Creator and what is the goal that he must reach. In other words, what is the wholeness that a person must achieve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first state is for a person to know that he is an idol-worshipper, called \u201cidolater.\u201d This is the evil inclination that exists in man\u2019s body. It is called \u201ca strange God\u201d or \u201ca foreign God.\u201d This is to clarify his state, where he truly is\u2014that he is truly in a state of idol-worshipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, one should make great efforts to see the truth because it is impossible to reach the truth unless through Torah and work, as our sages said, \u201cFrom Lo Lishma<\/em> [not for Her sake], one comes to Lishma<\/em> [for Her sake].\u201d In a state of Lo Lishma<\/em>, when a person exerts in Torah and work, it is human nature to look at people in his surroundings. And he sees that there are no other people like him, dedicating so many hours to the work of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that state, he feels superior to others, which causes him to forget the goal, meaning that the main thing is to achieve Lishma<\/em>. This is because people on the outside caused him to feel wholeness, and that wholeness is why he cannot feel that he is devoid of the main goal\u2014reaching Lishma<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is especially so if he is respected for being a servant of the Creator. Indeed, all the people who honor him instill their views so that he will believe what they think about him, that he is a highly virtuous man without any faults. Thus, how is it possible that a person will say about himself that he is in a state of idol-worshipping, that he is still uncircumcised? It follows that his Dvekut<\/em> to the masses, meaning their Dvekut<\/em> to his Torah and work brought him wholeness. In the work, this is called \u201ca grip to the external ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what is he losing by their having a grip? The answer is that the grip is the reason why he cannot see his real state, that he is still in a state of idol-worshipping, and should seek advice to exit the domination of the evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second state of a person is when he circumcises himself. \u201cCircumcision\u201d means that he cuts off the foreskin. The foreskin is the three impure Klipot<\/em> [shells\/peels], called \u201cStormy Wind,\u201d \u201cGreat Cloud,\u201d and \u201cBlazing Fire,\u201d and the will to receive comes from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it is not within one\u2019s power to cut off this foreskin. Baal HaSulam said about this that the Creator should help in order for a person to be able to cut off the foreskin. It is written about it, \u201cAnd made a covenant with him.\u201d The meaning of \u201cWith him\u201d is that the Creator helped him. However, the person must begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, if we say that he cannot circumcise himself by himself, then why should a person start, if we say that he cannot finish? It seems as though his work is in vain. However, it is known that there is no light without a Kli<\/em> [vessel], and a Kli<\/em> is called \u201ca deficiency,\u201d since where there is no deficiency, there is no filling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, a person having to start refers to the deficiency. It does not mean that a person should start with the filling. Rather, when we say, \u201cstart,\u201d it is about giving the need and the lack. Afterward, the Creator comes and gives the filling for the lack. This is called \u201cAnd made a covenant with him,\u201d that the Creator helps him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is also regarded as the right line, which is the meaning of \u201cFather gives the white,\u201d as explained in The Study of the Ten Sefirot<\/em>. This means that when the upper light shines\u2014meaning Ohr<\/em> Hochma<\/em> [light of Hochma<\/em>], called Aba<\/em> [father]\u2014it is possible to see the truth, that the foreskin\u2014will to receive\u2014is a bad thing. Only then does one realize that he should throw away the self-love. This is the help that a person receives from the Creator: he comes to the recognition of evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, before a person comes to the resolution that it is not worthwhile to use the receiver, one cannot use the vessels of bestowal, since one contradicts the other. For this reason, a person must circumcise himself, and then he can take upon himself the desire to bestow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that removing the foreskin, called \u201ccircumcision,\u201d comes by help from above. In other words, it is precisely when the upper light shines that one sees his baseness, that he cannot receive anything because of the disparity of form. In the worlds, this is called \u201cFather gives the white.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And after he comes to the recognition of evil comes a second correction: he begins to work in order to bestow. But this, too, requires help from above. This is called \u201cHis mother gives the red.\u201d In The Study of the Ten Sefirot<\/em>, he interprets that this relates to the desire to bestow. It follows that both the power to annul the will to receive and the power that can perform acts of bestowal are given by the upper one. In other words, the help comes from above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This brings up the question, \u201cWhat does the lower one give?\u201d Since it is said that the lower one must start. With what does he start, so that afterwards the Creator will give him the necessary assistance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As it was said, all that the lower one can give to the Creator is the lack, for the Creator to have a place to fill. In other words, one who wishes to be a servant of the Creator and not an idol-worshipper must come to feel his lowliness. To the extent that he feels this, a pain gradually forms within him for being so immersed in self-love, actually like a beast, and that he has no connection with the discernment of a human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, sometimes a person comes to a state where he can see his lowliness and not care that he is immersed in self-love, and he does not really feel that he is in such lowliness, to the point of needing the Creator to deliver him from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that state, a person should tell himself, \u201cI am not inspired that I am like a beast, doing only beastly things, and my only concern in that state is that I ask of the Creator to let me feel more delight in corporeal pleasures, and I feel no desires otherwise.\u201d In that state, a person should tell himself that now he is in a state of unconsciousness. And if he cannot pray for the Creator to help him, there is only one solution: to bond with people whom he believes do feel the flaw, that they are in lowliness and who ask the Creator to deliver them from trouble to relief and from darkness to light, although they have not been delivered yet\u2014by the Creator bringing them closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Afterward, he should say, \u201cOf course they still have not completed their Kli<\/em> of deficiency, called \u2018the need to be delivered from this exile.\u2019 However, they have probably traversed the majority of the way to feeling the real need.\u201d Thus, through them, he can receive their sensation, too, meaning that he will feel pain at being in lowliness, too. However, it is impossible to receive the influence of the society if he is not attached to the society, meaning if he does not appreciate them.<\/em> To the extent that he does, he can receive from them the influence without any work, simply by adhering to the society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that in the second state, when he is circumcised and has gone through the two discernments\u20141) removal of the evil, which is the annulment of the vessels of reception, 2) obtaining the vessels of bestowal\u2014it is considered that now he receives the degree of VAK<\/em>. This is considered half a degree, since a complete degree means that he can use the vessels of reception in order to bestow, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And since he only obtained the vessels of bestowal, to be in order to bestow, after he was circumcised, it is merely regarded as the degree of VAK<\/em>. This is called \u201cthe degree of Jacob.\u201d It is also called \u201cfemale,\u201d as in, \u201cHis strength is as weak as a female,\u201d which means that he cannot overcome and aim them in order to bestow, but only with the vessels of bestowal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this degree, too, is called Din<\/em>. It means that there is still Midat haDin<\/em> [quality of judgment] over the vessels of reception, that it is forbidden to use them because he cannot aim in order to bestow. It is also called \u201ca revealed degree,\u201d to know that there is another degree, which is hidden from him. It is also called \u201ca low degree,\u201d to know that there is a high degree. We need to know this so as to know that there is more work to be done, meaning to still reach a higher degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This degree is also called \u201cthe literal,\u201d since now that he has circumcised himself, he has become \u201ca simple Jew.\u201d That is, before he was circumcised he was an idol-worshipper. Now he is simply discerned as \u201cJewish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, now he is called \u201cJacob,\u201d as it is written, \u201cThus shall you say to the house of Jacob,\u201d meaning \u201csaying,\u201d which is a soft speech, since the degree of Jacob is regarded as working only with vessels of bestowal, which are pure Kelim<\/em>. This is why there is \u201csaying\u201d there, which is soft speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not so with the discernment of \u201cIsrael.\u201d The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> interprets Israel as being 1) the degree of GAR<\/em>, wholeness of everything, 2) males, 3) Rachamim<\/em>, 4) a high and hidden degree, the secrets of the Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shall explain them one at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) The degree of GAR<\/em>. Since each degree comprises ten Sefirot<\/em>, which divide into Rosh<\/em> and Guf<\/em> [head and body, respectively], the Rosh<\/em> is called GAR<\/em>, meaning Keter<\/em>–Hochma<\/em>–Bina<\/em>, and the Guf<\/em> is called ZAT<\/em>. They are two halves of the degree. This is why VAK<\/em> is considered the low degree and GAR<\/em> is considered the high degree. It is known that when speaking of the degree of VAK<\/em>, it is called \u201chalf a degree.\u201d This is a sign that the GAR<\/em> is absent. For this reason, when saying, \u201cthe degree of GAR<\/em>,\u201d it means that there is a complete degree here, since the rule is that when two degrees are together, the higher one is mentioned and includes the lower one. This is why The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> calls the perfection of everything, \u201cIsrael.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) The degree of males. Each degree contains two kinds of Kelim<\/em>: Zach<\/em> [pure\/fine]\u2014which are vessels of bestowal, and Av<\/em> [thick], which are vessels of reception. It is possible to use them only if the intention to bestow is placed on them. And since in order to bestow is against nature, it requires great effort with much strength against nature. And when one can overcome only the fine Kelim<\/em>, this is called \u201ca female,\u201d implying that his power is as weak as a female\u2019s. But when he can overcome the vessels of reception, too, he is called \u201ca man,\u201d \u201cmale,\u201d \u201cstrong.\u201d And since Israel is considered GAR<\/em>, the perfection of everything, using the vessels of reception, too, Israel is considered \u201cmales.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) The degree of Rachamim<\/em>. Since there was a Tzimtzum<\/em> [restriction] and Din<\/em> [judgment] over the vessels of reception, and it is forbidden to use them unless one can do it in order to bestow, when one cannot aim to bestow with vessels of reception, there is Din<\/em> over them and it is forbidden to use them. This is why a female is called Din<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But a male means that one can overcome in order to bestow in vessels of reception, too, and the Din<\/em> is removed from them. He is using the vessels in order to bestow, and this is called Rachamim<\/em> [mercy]. It is considered that the previous Din<\/em> has been mitigated by the quality of Rachamim<\/em>, that now he is receiving on the degree of in order to bestow. This is why a male is called Rachamim<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that males are called Rachamim<\/em> and not Din<\/em>, as written in The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> (Item 261): \u201cThus shall you say to the house of Jacob,\u201d meaning \u201csaying\u201d is from the side of Din<\/em>, and \u201cTell the children of Israel\u201d means that \u201ctelling\u201d is from the side of Rachamim<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RASHI interprets the verse, \u201cThus shall you say to the house of Jacob\u201d: \u201cThe name Mekhilta<\/em> [an interpretation on the book Exodus<\/em>] are the women, tell them with soft speech, and \u2018Tell the children of Israel,\u2019 the males, the words are as hard as tendons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret the words, \u201cTo the women with soft speech.\u201d It was mentioned above that females are those who do not have much strength to overcome, but only over the fine Kelim<\/em>. This is called \u201csoft,\u201d meaning it is soft and not so difficult to overcome the vessels of bestowal [\u201cdifficult\u201d is the same word as \u201chard\u201d in Hebrew].<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the vessels of reception are very hard to overcome. Hence, the males\u2014those who are in a state of males, who have the power to overcome\u2014were given work in things that are as hard as tendons, referring to the vessels of reception. But why does The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> write that males are Rachamim<\/em>? Rather, it says, \u201cAs hard as tendons,\u201d and hard means Din<\/em>, not Rachamim<\/em>. Hence, on the one hand, it says that males means as hard as tendons, and on the other hand it says that they are Rachamim<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret that males have the power to overcome the vessels of reception, too, which are hard to overcome. And when overcoming the vessels of reception, called Midat haDin<\/em> [quality of judgment] that is on them, there is Rachamim<\/em> on that place, and not Din<\/em>. But with females, who have no power to overcome the vessels of reception, there is Midat haDin<\/em> on them and they are forbidden to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4) A high and hidden degree, considered \u201cthe secrets of the Torah.\u201d \u201cHidden\u201d means that even if a person has already circumcised himself and has been rewarded with the literal, meaning with being a simple Jew, that is, he has come to a state where he is not committing idolatry but serves the Creator, the light of Hochma<\/em>\u2014revealed over the vessels of reception\u2014is still hidden from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But one who has been rewarded with the highest discernment, who is a male and has the power to overcome the vessels of reception, too, the light of Hochma<\/em>, called \u201cthe secrets of Torah,\u201d appears on those Kelim<\/em>. This is why The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> says (Item 265), \u201cAnd tell the children of Israel,\u201d meaning to show Hochma<\/em> and to speak in the spirit of Hochma<\/em>, since \u201ctelling\u201d implies Hochma<\/em>, as it is written, \u201cAnd he shall tell them his covenant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that saying that it is forbidden to teach Torah to idol worshippers should be interpreted in the work as, \u201cIt is impossible to teach idol-worshippers Torah.\u201d As Baal HaSulam said, when speaking in matters of the work, where it writes, \u201cforbidden,\u201d it means \u201ccannot.\u201d But after he is circumcised, there are two degrees\u2014upper and lower\u2014meaning literal and hidden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article 17, 1987 Our sages said (Hagigah 13), \u201cRav Ami said, \u2018Words of Torah are not to be given to idol […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6243,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-10471","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n