Article No. 13, 1991<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is the order of the work: When a person wishes to do everything for sake of the Creator, that his actions will be in order to bestow and not to receive reward, it is against nature because man was created with a desire to receive for his own benefit. This is why we were given the work of exiting self-love and working only in order to bestow for the sake of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be able to perform this work of exiting the domination of self-love, we were given the Mitzva<\/em> [commandment\/good deed], \u201clove your neighbor as yourself,\u201d which, as Rabbi Akiva says, \u201cIs a great rule in the Torah.\u201d As it explains in the book The Giving of the Torah<\/em>, through it we will exit the domination of the will to receive for ourselves and will be able to work for the sake of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And concerning \u201clove your neighbor as yourself,\u201d we should make two interpretations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, there are two discernments in \u201clove your neighbor as yourself\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) We should say, as a cure. In other words, the reason why one must love his friend is only because through it, he will be able to come to love the Creator, too, as presented in the book The Giving of the Torah<\/em>. Hence, as with love of friends, when a person wishes to cling to friends, he chooses with whom to bond. In other words, when a person chooses for himself friends, he searches for those who will have good qualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, when one wishes to love the Creator, he should try to see the greatness and importance of the Creator. This evokes the love of the Creator in a person. If he cannot see the greatness and importance of the Creator because the evil in man slanders the Creator, one must pray for the Creator\u2019s help to have the strength to overcome and say above reason, \u201cI want to believe in the greatness and importance of the Creator so that I can love Him,\u201d as it is written, \u201cAnd you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.\u201d In other words, love of friends is a means by which to attain the goal, which is the love of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this we can interpret what our sages said, \u201cIt is good to have Torah with the right conduct, since toil in both mitigates iniquity.\u201d This means that toiling in the right conduct, which is the work between a man and his friend, is a cure by which one can come to love the Creator, who is called \u201cTorah.\u201d The essence of the Torah is that through the Torah, one connects to the giver of the Torah. Our sages said about this, \u201cThe Creator said, \u2018I have created the evil inclination; I have created the spice of Torah.\u2019\u201d That is, through the Torah, which is the spice, one is rewarded with Dvekut<\/em> [adhesion] with the Creator, and this is regarded as \u201creforming him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of, \u201cToil in both mitigates iniquity.\u201d In other words, through labor between a man and his friend and between man and the Creator, meaning by exerting in the Torah, it mitigates iniquity. That is, the iniquity of the tree of knowledge, from which the iniquities extend, is corrected by both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The writing says (Psalms 33, Rejoice … You Righteous<\/em>), \u201cBehold, the eye of the Lord is toward those who fear Him, toward those who await His mercy; to deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine.\u201d We must understand what is meant by \u201cThe eye of the Lord is [specifically] toward those who fear Him.\u201d After all, the eyes of the Creator roam everywhere. We must believe that the Creator watches over the whole world in private Providence, as The Good Who Does Good, and not necessarily those who fear Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret that we speak of the Creator only from the perspective of \u201cBy your actions, we know You.\u201d This means that it is specifically those who fear Him who feel that the eye of the Creator watches over the whole world. In other words, only those who fear the Creator attain that the Creator watches over the world in private Providence, as The Good Who Does Good. But as for the rest of the world, for them there is concealment of the face on Providence, since they cannot attain His Providence as being The Good Who Does Good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written in the \u201cIntroduction of The Book of Zohar\u201d (Item 138), \u201cAs long as the receivers have not been completed so they can receive His whole benevolence, which He had contemplated in our favor in the thought of creation, the guidance must be in the form of good and bad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, as long as our vessels of reception are littered with self-reception, it is impossible to see Providence as good and doing good. Rather, those who can see the eye of the Creator, that His guidance is good and doing good, are only those who \u201cAwait His mercy.\u201d This is because \u201cHis mercy\u201d means that they yearn to receive the quality of Hesed<\/em> [mercy] from the Creator\u2014the quality of bestowal\u2014which is called \u201cequivalence of form,\u201d known as \u201cDvekut<\/em> [adhesion] with the Creator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, when they are rewarded with the quality of bestowal, their vessels of reception are no longer littered. At that time, they are rewarded with \u201cThe eye of the Lord,\u201d to feel that His Providence is one good and doing good. But those who do not wish to obtain the quality of Hesed<\/em>, meaning vessels of bestowal, are under the influence of good and bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But to whom does the Creator give the Hesed<\/em>, called \u201cvessels of bestowal,\u201d which is the second nature? Not to everyone. There are many people who await His mercy\u2014for the Creator to give them the quality of Hesed<\/em>. However, the Creator does not give the Hesed<\/em>, called \u201cvessels of bestowal,\u201d to those people who think that the matter of Hesed<\/em> is only an addition, meaning those who consider themselves whole and need the Creator to give them the quality of Hesed<\/em> as a good supplement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is so because only those with Kelim<\/em> [vessels] for the filling are given from above. In other words, if there is no real deficiency, it is impossible to fill it. So precisely when is it possible to satiate a need? When a person does not ask for luxuries but for necessity. Then a person receives because luxuries are not considered a deficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it is written, \u201cThe eye of the Lord is toward those who fear Him, toward those who await His mercy,\u201d who are these above-mentioned people who await His mercy? That is, for what purpose are they yearning for the Creator to give them the quality of Hesed<\/em>? It is specifically such people who feel that they need the quality of Hesed<\/em>, \u201cto deliver their souls from death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, it is precisely in those people who wish to achieve Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator, to adhere to the Life of Lives. Otherwise, if they have no Dvekut<\/em>, they feel that they are tantamount to the dead, as our sages said, \u201cThe wicked, in their lives, are called \u2018dead.\u2019\u201d For this reason, they ask of the Creator to deliver them from death because disparity of form separates them from the Life of Lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator is considered life, as it is written, \u201cBut you who cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.\u201d It follows that the reason they are asking for the quality of Hesed<\/em> is because they do not wish to be as \u201cThe wicked, in their lives, are called \u2018dead,\u2019\u201d and it is to them that the Creator gives the quality of Hesed<\/em>, meaning vessels of bestowal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it is written, \u201cTo deliver their souls from death,\u201d meaning his request of the Creator to give him the quality of Hesed<\/em> is in order to \u201cDeliver their souls from death,\u201d this is called \u201ca deficiency,\u201d which is a Kli<\/em> [vessel] that can receive the filling. But those people who need the help of the Creator as a luxury have no real Kelim<\/em> [plural of Kli<\/em>], no real need for the Creator to give them the Kelim<\/em> \u201cto deliver their souls from death,\u201d but as a luxury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, they remain with the vessels of reception, caring only for their own benefit. They do not feel that they have soiled Kelim<\/em>, that it is impossible to insert Kedusha<\/em> [holiness] into these Kelim<\/em>, since Kedusha<\/em> and self-benefit are opposites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It therefore follows that only those who understand that if they cannot perform acts of bestowal they will become separate from the Life of Lives will ask the Creator to give them the power to bestow. This is a second nature, as Baal HaSulam said that as the Creator gave the first nature, the desire to receive, it is impossible to change the first nature into a second one. Rather, only the Creator can do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As in the exodus from Egypt, the Creator Himself delivered them from the dominion of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as our sages said in the Passover Haggadah [Passover narrative], \u201cThe Lord brought us forth from Egypt, not by an angel, not by a seraph, and not by a messenger, but the Creator Himself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, when does one receive the help that the Creator will deliver him from the rule of Egypt, which is the will to receive for himself? It is precisely when a person has a real need and not a luxury. Hence, if one wishes to achieve Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator, one receives help for the need. In other words, he should feel that he is lacking, meaning not lacking completeness, but lacking life, since the evil in him is so extensive. Hence, he is informed from above that he is a sinner, as it is written in The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> about what is said, \u201cOr make his sin known to him.\u201d It asks, \u201cWho made it known to him?\u201d And it replies, \u201cThe Creator made it known to him that he has sinned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that the Creator shows him the truth of how remote he is from the Creator and that he is in real need of a life of Kedusha<\/em>. Thus, then one asks of the Creator to help him and give him the desire to bestow because he is deficient of life. And then, since he already has a real need, the Creator gives him the desire to bestow, which is the second nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the above, we should interpret what is written (in \u201cAnd of the Miracles\u201d), \u201cAnd You, in Your great mercy, have placed the strong in the hands of the weak, the many in the hands of the few, and the impure in the hands of the pure.\u201d This comes to tell us that before a person comes to a state where he sees how weak he is, how the evil in him is in such profusion that he cannot overcome, and how impure he is, it is impossible to receive the filling from above. This is because he still does not have a complete Kli<\/em> that can receive the filling, which relates to the deficiency of the Kli<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why it is written, \u201cFor you were the fewest of all peoples.\u201d In other words, \u201cThe Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you because you were more in number than any people, for you were the least of all peoples.\u201d Thus, when a person sees that he is worse than the whole world, specifically in the state of lowliness does the Creator choose you and deliver you from the domination of Egypt, as it is written, \u201cI am the Lord your God, who brought you forth from the land of Egypt, …to be your God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written (in the psalm, Hanukkah Song<\/em>), \u201cI will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.\u201d We must understand who are David\u2019s enemies, of which David said, \u201cAnd have not let my enemies rejoice over me.\u201d We should interpret that it is known that David is considered Malchut<\/em>, meaning the kingdom of heaven. That is, the creatures should take upon themselves the burden of the kingdom of heaven with the aim not to receive reward, but because \u201cHe is great and ruling,\u201d and not for self-benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the whole world resists this and hates doing everything for the Creator and not for self-benefit. Therefore, Kedusha<\/em> is entirely to bestow, meaning to benefit the Creator, as it is written, \u201cYou shall be holy for I the Lord am holy.\u201d Thus, as the Creator only bestows upon the creatures, the creatures should bestow upon the Creator, for this is called \u201cequivalence of form,\u201d which is considered Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It turns out that all those who wish to work only for themselves and not for the Creator are called \u201cthe Creator\u2019s enemies,\u201d meaning the enemies of the kingdom of heaven. By this they are called \u201cDavid\u2019s enemies,\u201d and this is the meaning of David\u2019s words, \u201cAnd have not let my enemies rejoice over me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally speaking, there are only two discernments to speak of: 1) the Creator, 2) the creatures. In other words, the Creator created the creatures to impart them with delight and pleasure, as it is written, \u201cHis desire to do good to His creations.\u201d Prior to the sin, Adam HaRishon<\/em> had wholeness of his Neshama<\/em>, for at that time, he had NRN<\/em> from BYA<\/em> and NRN<\/em> from Atzilut<\/em>. Only after the sin was there departure of his NRN<\/em> and he remained only with Nefesh<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then he had to repent, to raise all of his Kelim<\/em>, which fell to the Klipot<\/em>, and reunite them with the Kedusha<\/em>, meaning to adhere unto Him once more in order to bestow. This is called \u201crepentance\u201d [Hebrew\u2014\u201cto return\u201d], as it is written in The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, \u201cThe Hey<\/em> shall return to the Vav<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hey<\/em> means Malchut<\/em>, which receives in order to receive and all the souls extend from her. This is why Malchut<\/em> is called \u201cthe assembly of Israel,\u201d which contains all the souls. A correction was placed over this Malchut<\/em>, to correct her into working in order to bestow. This work was given to the creatures, where by engaging in Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> [commandments] in order to bestow, they cause each one to work in order to bestow at the root of his soul in Malchut<\/em> of Atzilut<\/em>. In so doing, they cause unification above, called \u201cthe unification of the Creator and His Shechina<\/em> [Divinity],\u201d meaning Malchut<\/em>, who is called Shechina<\/em>, with ZA<\/em>, who is called \u201cVav<\/em> of HaVaYaH<\/em>.\u201d This is the meaning of \u201crepentance\u201d when The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> says, \u201cThe Hey<\/em> shall return to the Vav<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, we should make three distinctions: \u201cone,\u201d \u201cunique,\u201d and \u201cunified.\u201d It is written in The Study of the Ten Sefirot<\/em> (Part 1, Item 1), \u201cOne indicates that He is in uniform equivalence. Unique indicates what extends from Him, that in Him, all those multiplicities are uniform, like His essence. And Unified indicates that although He affects the many actions, a single force operates all of them and they all return and unite in the form of unique.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The meaning of One is that He is in uniform equivalence, meaning that He created creation with a single desire\u2014to do good to His creations. Unique means that although we see that there are many actions, meaning good and bad, that is, He appears as doing good and bad, He is called \u201cUnique\u201d because His various actions all have a single result\u2014doing good. It follows that He is unique in every single action and does not change through all His various actions. Over each act, there rides a single form\u2014doing good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One must believe that. In other words, even though a person feels that this action comes from the Creator and it is not a favorable action, one should still believe that this action will enable him to attain the good. This is man\u2019s work, to believe that this is so, even though he does not understand it, and to give thanks to the Creator for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our sages said, \u201cOne should bless for the bad as one blesses for the good.\u201d In other words, a person must believe that it is for his own good, or the Creator would not let him feel those states, since His desire is to do good to the creatures, for this was the thought of creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnified\u201d means that a person has already been rewarded with seeing how all the many singular ones have adopted the shape of the Unique, meaning he was rewarded with seeing how for each bad, he already received the good that belongs to it. One is rewarded with being unified only after he has corrected his Kelim<\/em> to work in order to bestow. At that time, a person is rewarded with the purpose of creation, which is all good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of what is written in the psalm, The Opening of the House for David<\/em>. The \u201copening of the house\u201d refers to the Temple. In the work, a man\u2019s heart should be a Temple for the Creator, as it is written, \u201cAnd let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.\u201d One should be rewarded with the presence of the Shechina<\/em>, as our sages said, \u201cThe Merciful one needs the heart,\u201d meaning that all the Creator needs is man\u2019s heart, so as to give him what He wishes to give him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when a person is rewarded with being Unified, he sees that he has been rewarded with the construction of the Temple. David said about that, \u201cI will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.\u201d This means that all the enemies\u2014which are desires for self-reception\u2014who were obstructing the Kedusha<\/em>, the Creator saved him from all the enemies and he was rewarded with admittance into Kedusha<\/em>. This is the meaning of the words, \u201cO Lord, You have brought up my soul from the nether-world; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We say (in \u201cHelp of Our Fathers\u201d), \u201cYou are the first; You are the last; and besides You, we have no King who redeems and delivers.\u201d We also say, \u201cYou are before the world was created; You are after the world was created; You are in this world; and You are for the next world.\u201d We understand it literally as relating to the greatness of the Creator. However, what does this come to tell us in the work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is known that the order of the work is that one must correct his vessels of reception so as to have the strength to do everything in order to bestow. And one should exert and do all that he can. At that time, he comes to a resolution that without the help of the Creator, there is no way that he will exit the control of the will to receive for himself. This is called \u201credemption,\u201d when he emerges from the exile in Egypt, that is, the control of the will to receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone understands that redemption is a matter for the Creator, since a person sees that it is utterly impossible to emerge from exile by himself. And yet, we should ask, \u201cHow does one know that emerging from the exile of the will to receive depends solely on the Creator and is beyond man\u2019s capabilities?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer is that in his view, he has already done what he could do but did not move an inch from his will to receive. On the contrary, he sees that since he started the work, in order to reach the degree where all his actions will be for the Creator, now he sees completely differently\u2014that he is regressing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, he sees that now he is more immersed in self-love than ever. For this reason, when a person is rewarded with redemption, with emerging from this exile, he says that only the Creator can deliver the people of Israel from Egypt, meaning that redemption belongs to the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, entering the exile, meaning surrendering to the dominion of the will to receive, this certainly belongs to man. In other words, it is man\u2019s fault that he cannot overcome the will to receive for himself. Thus, a person goes into exile by himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To that, the writings tell us that this is not as we understand it. And although one should say, \u201cIf I am not for me, who is for me?\u201d meaning that everything depends on man\u2019s decision, one should still believe that everything is under Providence, meaning that everything depends on the Creator. It is said about that, \u201cYou are before the world was created.\u201d It is known that Olam<\/em> [world] comes from the word He\u2019elem<\/em> [disappearance] and concealment. And we should know that concerning the exile, there are two discernments to make: 1) when a person does not feel that there are disappearance and concealment, and 2) when a person feels that he is in a state of disappearance and concealment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of the words, \u201cYou are before the world was created.\u201d In other words, the fact that a person does not feel that he is in a state of concealment is the Creator\u2019s doing. This is for man\u2019s benefit, since before a person can correct the evil in him, there is a correction of not seeing the bad. Thus, the Creator created the situation that precedes man\u2019s entrance into the disappearance and concealment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of \u201cYou are before the world was created,\u201d meaning before the concealment was created. Afterward, a person comes to a state of disappearance and concealment. One comes into that state precisely according to his effort in Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> to achieve a degree where all his actions are in order to bestow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of the words, \u201cYou are after the world was created.\u201d Thus, the fact that one came into disappearance and concealment was from You. This is the meaning of \u201cYou are after the world was created.\u201d And after he is already in exile, then comes redemption, and this is, \u201cYou are the first, and You are the last.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article No. 13, 1991 Here is the order of the work: When a person wishes to do everything for sake […]<\/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-11097","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n