Article No. 7, 1990<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our sages said (Berachot<\/em> 32), \u201cOne should always establish the praise of the Creator, and then pray.\u201d They also said (Rosh<\/em> Hashanah<\/em> 35), \u201cRabbi Elazar said, \u2018One should always establish one\u2019s prayer, and then pray.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should understand why we must first establish the praise of the Creator. When a person is in a state of deficiency and wants to pray to the Creator to satiate his lack, then he needs His help. Thus, why should one first establish the praise of the Creator?<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a flesh and blood king, we can understand that first we must show our respect for the king so the king will see that we are among those who love him, and for this reason the king will grant our wish. But how can this be said with regard to the Creator? Does the Creator need a person to show Him that he is among those who love the Creator, and then He will help him, and otherwise He will not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, the Creator is merciful and gracious. Although one is unworthy, the Creator helps those who pray to Him, as Baal HaSulam explained what we say in the Eighteen Prayer, \u201cFor You hear the prayer of every mouth,\u201d meaning that it does not matter what mouth prays, but the prayer of any mouth, even if this mouth is unimportant, still, the Creator hears it. Thus, why must we first establish the praise of the Creator?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to interpret this, we should first present the words of The Zohar<\/em> (Chayei Sarah<\/em>, Item 224), \u201cCome and see, \u2018And it came to pass, before he concluded speaking, that, behold, Rebecca came out.\u2019 He asks, it should have said, \u2018Came,\u2019 as it is written, \u2018Rachel his daughter comes.\u2019 Why does it say, \u2018came out\u2019? He says that this indicates that the Creator took her out from among the town\u2019s people, who were all wicked, and Rebecca came out and parted from the rest of the people in the city because she was righteous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n RASHI interprets the verse (Genesis 24:39), \u201cSuppose the woman does not walk.\u201d He writes, \u201cIt says, \u2018to me\u2019 [in Hebrew, \u201csuppose\u201d and \u201cto me\u201d are spelled the same]. Eliezer had a daughter. He was looking for a reason that Abraham would turn to him to marry his daughter. Abraham said to him: \u2018My son is blessed and you are cursed, and the cursed does not cling to the blessed.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret the meaning of Isaac and Rebecca, as well as the meaning of the matter of the daughter of Eliezer in the work. The Zohar<\/em> writes (Chayei Sarah<\/em>, Item 94), \u201cHe said to him, \u2018My master shall say if he heard how the authors of the Mishnah said this portion, which they interpreted concerning the soul, that Abraham is the soul and Sarah is the body.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this manner, we should interpret the matter of Isaac and Rebecca, as it is written in The Zohar<\/em> (Chayei Sarah<\/em>, Item 249), \u201cRabbi Yehuda said, \u2018His mother Sarah,\u2019 since as the form of Isaac was as the form of Abraham, similarly, Rebecca\u2019s form was just as Sarah\u2019s. This is why it is written, \u2018His mother Sarah.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this we should also interpret that Isaac was the soul and Rebecca the body. In the order of man\u2019s work, when he wants to achieve Dvekut<\/em> [adhesion] with the Creator, he should always walk on two lines\u2014right and left. \u201cRight\u201d means wholeness, when a person feels satisfaction in the work and praises and thanks the Creator for rewarding him with being among the King\u2019s servants. He sees that he has achieved a degree in spirituality, which is not so among the rest of the workers of the Creator. Yet, he recognizes his lowliness and does not know why the Creator chose him over other people, who have not reached this degree. For this reason, he thanks and praises the King and can observe what is written, \u201cServe the Lord with gladness.\u201d At that time he has nothing for which to pray to the Creator to help him, since he feels no lack in his situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, later, when a person goes to work on the left line, when he criticizes the state he is in and sees that he is flawed in mind and in heart, and even worse, he sometimes sees that he is immersed in self-love more than usual, sometimes he comes to such lowliness that he does not want the Creator to help him out of his lowliness. On the contrary, he is angry that he is not receiving delight and pleasure from the corporeal life. It follows that sometimes the left does not let him even pray and ask of the Creator. Thus, how can he feel himself as a whole person and thank the Creator?<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, we must know that the work is mainly during the ascent, for only during an ascent can we speak of man\u2019s work in two lines\u2014right and left. Conversely, during a descent, a person is considered dead. Can we say that we are speaking to the dead, or that we want something from the dead, that he will do something?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, when a person is in a state of work, it can be said that a person should work in two ways: 1) right, 2) left. \u201cRight\u201d means primarily that the wholeness in him is built on above reason, while the left in him is built on the reason and intellect. That is, at that time he sentences himself as he sees, as our sages said, \u201cA judge has only what his eyes see\u201d (Baba Batra<\/em> 131).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It turns out that when he engages in the left and sees the truth, how lowly and immersed in self-love he is, how can he then say that he is in a state of wholeness and be grateful to the Creator for giving him such a great gift that he is in Kedusha<\/em> [holiness]? This is the complete opposite of the truth he sees, and how can one be happy when he sees the truth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer is in two ways: 1) It is written in the essay from Tav-Shin-Gimel<\/em> (Shamati<\/em>, Article No. 40, 1943) concerning faith in his teacher, that Baal HaSulam said that a person should go with faith in the sages, as they have arranged for us. These are his words, slightly changed: The student must believe as his teacher tells him, to walk on the path of \u201cright\u201d and wholeness. The student should depict to himself that he has already been rewarded with complete faith in the Creator, and already feels in his organs that the Creator leads the whole world as The Good Who Does Good. This means that the whole world receives from Him only good, and although when he looks at himself, he sees that he is bare and destitute, and when he looks at the world, he also sees that the world suffers torments\u2014each suffering according to his own degree\u2014he should say about this what is written, \u201cThey have eyes and see not.\u201d That is, as long as a person is in a state of \u201cthey,\u201d that \u201cthey\u201d have two authorities, \u201cthey\u201d cannot see the truth. For this reason, a person must believe above reason that he is in wholeness, and so is the whole world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that in this way he can and should thank the Creator for giving us abundance. This is called the \u201cright line,\u201d which is the complete opposite of the left line. That is, in the left line, we walk within reason, as was said, that \u201cA judge has only what his eyes see.\u201d In other words, it is specifically with the intellect and not above the intellect. But when shifting to work with the \u201cright,\u201d the left is the cause that the right is built on the basis of above reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is as our sages said, \u201cThe left pushes away and the right pulls near.\u201d In other words, the state of \u201cleft\u201d shows a person how he is rejected and separated from the work of the Creator. \u201cThe right pulls near\u201d means that it shows him that he is close to the work of the Creator. This means that when he engages in the left, the left should bring him to see a state of rejection, that he is rejected and separated from the work. When he engages in the right, he should come to a state where he sees that he is close to the Creator. He should thank the Creator for the \u201cright,\u201d and pray to the Creator for the \u201cleft,\u201d for only on two legs can a person walk in corporeality. This extends from spirituality, which shows that a person should walk on two lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concerning the wholeness, there is another manner. If a person comes to a state where he sees that he is bare and destitute, since he is behind both in mind and in heart, meaning sees that he is immersed in self-love and that he has not a single organ that has any desire to work for the sake of the Creator, now he sees that he has come to his true state called \u201crecognition of evil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He says that the fact that now he sees the recognition of evil is a gift from above that he was shown the truth. Otherwise, he would deceive himself and think that he need not change his way, since he is certainly walking on the path of truth. Thus, he could remain with his evil forever. But now, a revelation from above came to him, to see the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is as it is written in The Zohar<\/em> about the verse, \u201cOr make his sin known to him.\u201d It interprets that the Creator notified him that he sinned, meaning he was informed from above that he sinned. In other words, recognition of evil is a revelation from above. For this reason, he rejoices at the fact that the Creator tends to him and guides him, and shows him his true state. This gives him wholeness from being rewarded with the revelation of the truth at the hands of the Creator. This discernment, that he receives wholeness, means that he says that the Creator is bringing him closer and shows him the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that now he is not in a state where he says that the Creator has rejected him from Kedusha<\/em> because he feels the bad. On the contrary, this makes him feel that the Creator is pulling him closer. This is called \u201cthe right pulls near.\u201d Naturally, in that state, when he sees that he is all bad, he can overcome and seek advice how to emerge from this bad. Hence, he thanks and praises the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that now he is regarded as blessed, in that he sees that he has received awareness from above about the recognition of evil. When he thanks the Creator, he is certainly called \u201cblessed,\u201d since he received a blessing from the Creator, and then he can come to Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator since \u201cthe blessed clings to the blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is as Baal HaSulam interpreted what our sages said, \u201cThe world was created either for the complete wicked or for the complete righteous\u201d (Berachot<\/em> 61). He asked, \u201cWe can understand that it is for the complete righteous, but can it be said, \u2018for the complete wicked\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He explained that when a person knows about himself that he is wicked, he will certainly do all that he can to repent. We should interpret his words, \u201cFor the complete righteous,\u201d who then enjoy the world in that they are rewarded with the delight and pleasure that the Creator wanted to give at the time of the creation of the world, since they already have Kelim<\/em> [vessels] to receive the light of the Creator in order to bestow, for in these Kelim<\/em>, the purpose of creation is revealed, which is called \u201cHis desire to do good to His creations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, when he has already been rewarded with the recognition of evil, it is Kelim<\/em>, for he has an inner drive to do what he can to emerge from the state of wicked. But when he does not feel the bad, he has no one to awaken him to emerge from that bad state, since he does not feel so bad that he must do all that he can in order to emerge from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that the fact that he has come to a state where he sees that he is all bad, already has a great merit to it. The evidence is that he can already say that the world was created for him, as was said, \u201cThe world was created either for the complete wicked.\u201d But before he discovered the bad state, he had no right to exist in the world, as was said, \u201cThe world was created either for the complete wicked or for the complete righteous.\u201d It follows that prior to the recognition of evil, he has no right to exist in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It therefore follows that if he has achieved the recognition of evil, it is regarded that he already has a grip in the world. In that respect, it is considered that he has wholeness and he can already praise and thank the Creator for this, and he already has connection with the Creator and it can already be said that he is called \u201cblessed,\u201d and \u201cthe blessed clings to the blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At that time, he can be, and this is the time when he can ascend in degree, meaning that at the time of gladness, he can receive all the prayers he has given over his deficiencies. It is as our sages said, \u201cThe Shechina<\/em> [Divinity] is present only out of joy,\u201d as it is written, \u201cAnd he will be as a musician playing, and the spirit of the Lord shall be upon him.\u201d It follows that the primary time when one is rewarded with instilling the Shechina<\/em> is specifically the time of wholeness, for specifically at the time of wholeness is the time when he can receive his soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the above, we can interpret what our sages said, \u201cEliezer had a daughter. He wanted her to be a wife for Isaac.\u201d Literally, this is difficult to understand. After all, Eliezer\u2019s daughter was the daughter of a sage, as our sages said (Yoma<\/em> 28b), \u201cAnd Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that was his. Rabbi Eliezer said that the governor of the teaching of his master is of the household of Eliezer.\u201d They also said there, \u201cEliezer, Abraham\u2019s servant, was old and sat in a seminary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abraham did not agree to this match and replied, \u201cThe cursed does not cling to the blessed.\u201d This was not so about the match with Rebecca, who was the daughter of Betuel and the sister of wicked Lavan. Our sages said that Betuel sought to feed Eliezer the potion of death so they would be left with the wealth. In other words, he was not merely wicked; he was also a murderer. Yet, Gabriel came and replaced the bowl and gave it to Betuel, and he died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca, too, came from an environment of wicked, yet, this match is a good match, as it is written, \u201cAnd Rebecca came out.\u201d In other words, the Creator brought her out from among all the town\u2019s people, who were wicked. \u201cRebecca came out\u201d because she was righteous. In the literal, if a person is offered two matches, where one is a daughter of a sage, and the other comes from the house of wicked people and a city of wicked people, of course he would choose the daughter of the sage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in the work, we should interpret that the state of Eliezer is a state of \u201cleft,\u201d for he was yelling all the time, \u201cEli<\/em> [My God], Ezer<\/em> [help!], since I am under the governance of the evil.\u201d It follows that this woman, the daughter of the left, who prayed to be given the quality of Isaac, who is called Neshama<\/em> [soul] as a \u201cwife,\u201d which is the body, in order to receive the soul, Abraham did not agree because when a person is in the left and cries out, \u201cLord, help me emerge from the evil,\u201d that body is in a state of \u201ccursed.\u201d He told him that Isaac, meaning the soul, was \u201cblessed,\u201d and \u201cthe cursed does not cling to the blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written in The Zohar<\/em> (Toldot<\/em>, Item 49), Therefore, although Eliezer was a sage, he felt that he lacked the quality of truth. He was always in the state of \u201cthe left,\u201d and always had grievances, why the Creator would not hear him and give him a soul, since \u201cthe light in it reforms him.\u201d Although the left \u201cspeaks to the point,\u201d since everything is built on reason, as was said, that \u201cthe judge has only what his eyes see,\u201d but in truth, he is cursed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why Abraham told him, \u201cThe cursed,\u201d meaning the body in a state of \u201ccursed,\u201d cannot receive the instilling of the Shechina<\/em>, regarded as one\u2019s personal soul. This is so because the Shechina<\/em> is called Malchut<\/em>, which is the collection of the souls. For this reason, Malchut<\/em> is called \u201cthe assembly of Israel.\u201d Hence, in this state, the body is unfit to receive the quality of Isaac, who is called a \u201csoul,\u201d as was said that the body is called \u201cwife,\u201d and the soul is called \u201chusband.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Rebecca, means in the work that the body sees everything that the left shows it, its true state, that all its organs are wicked, that it understands only that which concerns self-love, but with regard to the benefit of the Creator, it cannot do a thing, just as the \u201cleft\u201d shows it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of \u201call the town\u2019s people were wicked,\u201d since the body is called \u201ccity,\u201d as it is written (Ecclesiastes 9:14), \u201cA small city with few people in it. A great king came to it and found in it a poor wise man, who saved the city with his wisdom.\u201d Rebecca, who was a single righteous woman, came out from among all the town\u2019s people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why does it say \u201ccame out\u201d? He says that \u201cIt indicates that the Creator took her out from among all the town\u2019s people.\u201d This means that this body felt itself as whole, meaning as righteous, because the Creator notified it the truth. From this, it is glad, and this in itself is regarded as wholeness, that the Creator notified it, or, for the second above-mentioned reason, that he believes above reason that he has wholeness because he believes in faith in his teacher that we must go above reason and say, \u201cThey have eyes and see not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a state of wholeness, we can be rewarded with the state of Isaac, who is called a \u201csoul.\u201d This means that the two opposites are in one body but in two times. We are told that the most important is to walk on the right line, once he has a little bit of the left line. This is the meaning of \u201cOne should always establish the praise of the Creator,\u201d which is called \u201cright,\u201d \u201cand then pray,\u201d regarded as \u201cleft,\u201d and then he returns to the right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article No. 7, 1990 Our sages said (Berachot 32), \u201cOne should always establish the praise of the Creator, and then pray.\u201d […]<\/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-11002","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n