Article No. 19, 1991<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jerusalem Talmud says, \u201cThe Tanna Rashbi says, \u2018If you see people whose hands have given up on the Torah, stand firm and reinforce yourself in it, and you will receive everyone\u2019s reward.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We should understand the meaning of people giving up on the Torah. Giving up has to do with a person who has made great efforts to obtain something but saw that all his efforts did not help him and he still did not obtain that thing. At that time, a person comes to despair. It follows that if a person sees that people have given up on finding the Torah, it must be that they have made efforts, so how can it be said, \u201cStand firm and reinforce yourself in it\u201d? After all, we see that the labor did not help them, so with what can we reinforce ourselves?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is known that in the work, we learn everything within one body. It follows that seeing people whose hands have given up on the Torah is in one person. Thus, what does it mean that he sees that they have given up on the Torah? We should understand why he says that their hands have given up on the Torah. It is known that \u201chands\u201d means that which we take with our hands. Thus, what does it mean that \u201ctheir hands have given up\u201d? It means that they saw that it is impossible to receive in their hands from the Torah what they want to receive. Thus, we should know what it is they wanted to receive from the Torah but have given up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is known that man was created with the evil inclination and the good inclination. The evil inclination was created as soon as one is born. A person does not need to work to acquire this desire, since the Creator created man with this nature, called \u201cdesire to receive delight and pleasure.\u201d Therefore, since it comes by nature, it is very strong and needs no assistance. Wherever one sees that he can enjoy something, he immediately does all that he can to obtain that pleasure. Accordingly, we should ask, \u201cIf it tries to bring one pleasures, why is it called \u201cevil inclination\u201d? After all, it is concerned with bringing pleasures, not bad things, to a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer is that since the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations, in order not to have the matter of shame, there was a correction that the abundance does not reach the vessels of reception. This is called \u201cthe correction of the Tzimtzum<\/em> [restriction].\u201d Only a very thin light shines into the vessels of reception. This is the meaning of what the ARI interprets, that Malchut<\/em> sustains the Klipot<\/em> [shells\/peels], as in \u201cHer legs go down to death,\u201d and the corporeal world is nourished by this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, the real delight and pleasure, of which He thought, does not shine into the vessels of reception. It therefore follows that the evil inclination, called \u201cwill to receive for one\u2019s own sake,\u201d cannot receive the real delight and pleasure. Hence, since the will to receive for oneself is the disruptor, it is called \u201cevil inclination,\u201d as it disrupts a person from receiving the abundance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, since man was created with a nature of wanting to receive for himself, how can he have the power to emerge from the control of the evil inclination? The answer of our sages to this is \u201cThus the Creator said to Israel: \u2018My sons, I have created the evil inclination, and I have created for it the spice of Torah. And if you engage in Torah, you will not be given into its hands\u2019\u201d (Kidushin<\/em> 30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that only through the Torah can we emerge from the control of the evil inclination. That is, when one learns Torah, he should always see whether he has taken from the Torah the subjugation of the evil inclination. Hence, if one learns Torah, he sees that he did not receive from the Torah the cure of the Torah, which subdues the evil inclination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that to the extent of the time and effort that one has given to learn Torah, and yet did not move at all from his evil, but sometimes sees the opposite, that he has retreated, and each day he thinks that he is a new creation, meaning that each day he thinks, \u201cPerhaps today I will be rewarded with the Torah giving me the cure to persuade the evil inclination,\u201d but since he sees that he is not succeeding, he falls into despair. Then he says that although our sages said, \u201cI have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice,\u201d this might be so for a person who was born with good qualities. Yet, he sees his own lowliness, that he cannot achieve this level. Thus, he must leave the campaign since it is not for him, and he is wasting his time working in vain. This brings him to a state called \u201cpondering the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of what is written, \u201cIf you see people whose hands have given up on the Torah,\u201d meaning that all those days when he engaged in Torah with the aim to obtain from the Torah the cure of annulling the bad, and since each day was a new creation for him, it follows that he has many creations within him. Now, their hands have given up on the Torah because he is in a state where he will never receive this cure from the Torah. Yet, in this way, he is under the control of the will to receive. Hence, what should he do now? Normally, when one gives up on something that he wants to obtain, he quits it and runs from it. Thus, he should escape the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rashbi says about this, \u201cStand firm and reinforce yourself in it, and you will receive everyone\u2019s reward.\u201d We should understand what Rashbi says and adds, \u201cYou will receive everyone\u2019s reward.\u201d Why is it not enough that he says that he should believe what he is saying, \u201cStand firm and reinforce yourself in it\u201d? In other words, we must believe in the sages that we must not give up, and believe that the Creator hears the prayer of every mouth. Why does he add and say, \u201cand you will receive everyone\u2019s reward\u201d? If he does not receive everyone\u2019s reward, should he not reinforce himself and not give up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret what he says, \u201cand you will receive everyone\u2019s reward,\u201d that this is the reason why he must not give up on receiving the cure from the Torah that brings to us the cancellation of the evil inclination. The thing is that we must believe that when one begins the work of bestowal, he sees each time that he is more immersed in self-love. Each day he adds in the work, which is regarded as a new creation, as our sages said, \u201cA gentile who became a proselyte is like a newborn child,\u201d which means in the work that each day when one takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven, he becomes \u201cIsrael,\u201d and this is called \u201cA gentile who became a proselyte is like a newborn child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that man consists of many creations. And the more creations there are, he sees that he has still not been rewarded with permanent faith and he is still far from the Creator due to disparity of form, which causes separation from the Creator. This is called that he sees that the creations have given up on the Torah, meaning that they have given up on receiving the medicine called \u201cannulment of the evil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question is, Why does the Creator not give them what He promised us, as He said, \u201cI have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice\u201d? Why does He not give the spice to those people who want to work in order to bestow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer is, as we explained in previous articles, that \u201cThere is no light without a Kli<\/em> [vessel], no filling without a lack.\u201d Since one is not shown more lack than he can receive, meaning to the extent of the good within him, meaning since he engages in overcoming the bad and does things in order to cancel the bad, therefore, he is shown a greater lack each time, according to the value of his work, and how far he is from the desire to bestow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that in truth, the Creator does hear a prayer, but the answering of the prayer is not the way the person thinks he needs it, meaning the filling, since what man really needs is the lack, meaning a real desire, to want to be rewarded in his life with only a desire to give contentment to the Creator. But in the beginning of his work, a person thinks that he needs a little bit desire to bestow, meaning that he still does not have a need to be able to bring contentment to the Creator. It is not a big desire because he is not as materialized with self-love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather, he thinks that whenever he wants to work in order to bestow, he will be able to do so. Thus, he still does not have a real need to feel how far he is from doing anything not for his own sake. This is why this is still not regarded as a real need for the Creator to satisfy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, the beginning of answering the prayer of a person who wants to walk on the path of bestowal is that the Creator shows him each time a greater lack, that he is removed from the work of bestowal. It follows that the fact that one sees that the Torah is not giving him the spice is for his sake, since by this he receives a Kli<\/em>, called \u201clack,\u201d for the Creator to later give him the filling for the lack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, to the extent that each time he receives a greater lack for the desire to bestow, he thereby receives more Kelim<\/em> [vessels] that can receive the filling of the lack. In other words, if he has a big desire to obtain the desire to bestow, it follows that the increase in desires is called \u201cincrease in the Kelim<\/em> for the reception of the filling,\u201d called \u201cdesire to bestow.\u201d That is, he receives a big desire to bestow, according to his Kelim<\/em>. This means that according to the measure of the lack, to that extent he can receive the spice from the Torah. It follows that according to the increase in the Kelim<\/em>, to that extent he receives light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accordingly, we should interpret what we asked, What does Rashbi add to us when he says that he takes everyone\u2019s reward? We should interpret that when one sees that the creations have given up on the Torah, that they see that they are not receiving into their hands the spice that the Torah is meant to give them, namely the annulment of the evil inclination, but on the contrary, Rashbi says about this, \u201cKnow that all the rejections you feel, that each time, you are pushed farther away from nearing the Creator, from equivalence of form called \u2018Dvekut<\/em> [adhesion] with the Creator,\u2019 it is in order for you to acquire Kelim<\/em> in which to receive the spice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that now that you have many Kelim<\/em>, which come from many rejections, now all the Kelim<\/em> will receive reward, meaning the filling, and this is called that he will receive reward for everyone, for all the rejections, since these rejections are Kelim<\/em> in which to receive the filling called \u201creward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that by seeing that one is in thoughts and desires of the will to receive, which are called \u201cwicked,\u201d since they harm a person so he cannot achieve the delight and pleasure that is in the thought of creation, which is to do good to His creations, we must know that they are also called \u201cenemies of the Creator\u201d because they obstruct the Creator and He cannot carry out His plan to do good to His creations. Because of the will to receive for one\u2019s own sake, the Creator cannot bestow upon them because it will all go to the vessels of reception, which are the Sitra<\/em> Achra<\/em> [other side]. Thus, these wicked, the desires of reception that have accumulated within man, are considered \u201cthe enemies of the Creator and the enemies of man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now we can interpret what is written (Psalms 34), \u201cI sought the Lord and He answered me.\u201d The RADAK interpreted \u201cI sought,\u201d since while in their hands, he sought the Creator in his heart and begged before Him in his heart to save him from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the work, we should interpret that David saw that when he was in their hands, under the rule of thoughts and desires of the will to receive, his heart sought the Creator. That is, although he saw that they controlled him, his heart demanded of the Creator to save him from them. In other words, even though on the outside they governed him, within the heart he protested their governance and begged the Creator to save him from them. In his heart, he demanded and begged the Creator to save him from them and did not give up because they controlled him on the outside. This is as our sages said (Berachot<\/em> 10), \u201cEven if a sharp sword is placed on his neck, he should not deny himself mercy.\u201d Thus, the descents, too, cause the filling of the lack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the above, we should interpret what we asked, \u201cWhat is \u2018Rise up, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You\u2019?\u201d In the work, we should interpret who are the Creator\u2019s enemies in the work, who do not let one work for the sake of the Creator. These are the desires within us to work only for our own sake. These desires are called \u201cenemies of the Creator and enemies of man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being unable to work for the sake of the Creator is called \u201cenemies of the Creator.\u201d Yet, it is not that the Creator needs to be served. Rather, by working for Him, they receive Dvekut<\/em> with the Creator, called \u201cvessels of bestowal,\u201d and in these Kelim<\/em> the Creator can give them the delight and pleasure that was in the thought of creation. Since these desires of self-reception interrupt this, it follows that they are disrupting the desire to do good to His creations from being carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, they are also called \u201cman\u2019s enemies,\u201d since the desires to receive interrupt people from being able to receive the delight and pleasure that the Creator wants to give them. These desires for reception for themselves can receive only from the light called \u201cvery thin light,\u201d which shines into the Klipot<\/em> [shells\/peels]. This thin light can illuminate to the vessels of reception that belong to the Klipot<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But on the real light, there was a Tzimtzum<\/em> [restriction] so it will shine only in vessels of Kedusha<\/em> [holiness] called \u201cvessels of bestowal,\u201d meaning specifically on the desire to bestow contentment to one\u2019s Maker and not for one\u2019s own sake. This is why we ask, \u201cRise up, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered,\u201d since all the power in the will to receive is because the Shechina<\/em> [Divinity] is in the dust, the Shechina<\/em> is in exile. That is, since the Kedusha<\/em> is concealed and hidden, and we do not see its importance, the enemies of the Creator and the enemies of man raise their heads and want to rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this is not so if the Creator helps us during the concealment, when Malchut<\/em> is regarded as dust, when the creatures do not feel the existence of the Creator but the Klipot<\/em> stand before us and the Kedusha<\/em> is concealed and we do not see its importance. At that time, the enemies of the Creator and the enemies of Israel are the rulers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As is said in The Zohar<\/em> about Malchut<\/em>, she is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If he is rewarded, it is good, meaning that the bad is covered and not seen outside. Naturally, the evil does not rule because it is concealed. If he is not rewarded, it is bad, meaning that the good is concealed and the bad is revealed outward. At that time, the bad rules because the bad is revealed and the good is concealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, a person sees that sometimes he understands that man\u2019s purpose is to work for the sake of the Creator. He has no doubt about it and thinks that it is natural, that it cannot be otherwise. Afterward, after this state when he understands that what matters is only to do the holy work and not to follow the majority, and moreover, sometimes when he looks at the general public, he cannot understand how intelligent people can be so immersed in superficial things and not engage in the holy work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Afterward, the person himself falls into all kinds of foolish penchants that he previously ridiculed and could not comprehend. Now, he is in there himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should understand how such a thing can happen. The answer is that later, when one has come to a state of \u201cnot rewarded,\u201d the good disappears from him and the bad becomes revealed in him. Hence, he is taken after what is revealed outside, which is the bad. He has no choice; he does only that which is revealed outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of the words \u201cMalchut<\/em> is called \u2018the tree of good and evil.\u2019\u201d However, the whole matter of choice is about what is revealed, namely the choice to be \u201crewarded\u201d or \u201cnot rewarded.\u201d It follows that man must do only one thing\u2014to pray to the Creator that the bad will be covered and the good will be revealed. Then, he will consider working for the sake of the Creator as labor, since he will not be able to understand otherwise than to work for the sake of the Creator. At that time, he will have no effort annulling himself before the Creator, since he will think that this is natural. Hence, everything he previously thought was impossible, now he sees that it is natural and he wants to annul before the Creator like a candle before a torch. And all this is because the bad is concealed and the good is revealed outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of the words \u201cRise up, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered.\u201d We pray that the Creator will \u201crise up,\u201d the way we pray and say, \u201cThe Merciful One will raise for us the fallen Sukkah<\/em> [hut] of David,\u201d where the \u201cSukkah<\/em> of David\u201d is Malchut<\/em>, which is the Shechina<\/em> in the dust. We ask the Creator to raise her from her falling and that she will rise, meaning stand upright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Naturally, each one will cancel his self and will want to work only for the sake of the Creator and not for himself. Through \u201cRise up, O Lord,\u201d the \u201cLet Your enemies be scattered\u201d will happen. In other words, the desires in the creatures, which are the enemies of the Creator and the enemies of man, will be scattered, \u201cand let those who hate You flee before You.\u201d That is, when there is \u201cRise up, O Lord,\u201d when the Kedusha<\/em> is in the state of Panim<\/em> [anterior\/face], then \u201cand let those who hate You flee before You\u201d will come true, meaning that all the enemies and haters will flee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concerning \u201cRise up, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered,\u201d we should know that scattering the enemies is not the end of the work, although it is the heart of it, as it is written, \u201cAnd you shall uproot the evil from the midst of you.\u201d However, this is only the correction of creation, and not the purpose of creation. The purpose of creation is for the lower ones to receive delight and pleasure, which is called \u201cTorah,\u201d as in \u201cthe names of the Creator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that the first discernment is \u201cfaith,\u201d the kingdom of heaven, and then comes the Torah. This is the meaning of the verse \u201cFor the Torah shall come forth out of Zion.\u201d Man must be rewarded with the quality of the Torah, which is the names of the Creator, namely the delight and pleasure that was in the thought of creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, we must not forget that man should primarily exert to walk on the \u201cright,\u201d called \u201cwholeness,\u201d and believe in the sages, who said that one should be happy that the Creator has awarded him the ability to observe Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> [commandments\/good deeds] even if Lo Lishma<\/em> [not for Her sake]. That is, when a person sees that everything he does is only for his own sake, and that he cannot do anything for the sake of the Creator, this is also a great thing. One should be happy about this and thank the Creator for it. It is as Baal HaSulam said, that the Lo<\/em> Lishma<\/em> that one does is more important to the Creator than the importance a person ascribes to the Lishma<\/em> [for Her sake]. Clearly, the Lishma<\/em> is more important, but the Lo Lishma<\/em> is also important to the Creator. Hence, one should be happy even with the Lo Lishma<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article No. 19, 1991 The Jerusalem Talmud says, \u201cThe Tanna Rashbi says, \u2018If you see people whose hands have given […]<\/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-11103","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n