Article No. 19, 1985<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome unto Pharaoh.\u201d This is perplexing. Should it not have said, \u201cGo unto Pharaoh\u201d? The Zohar<\/em> explains (Bo<\/em>, item 36), \u201cBut He allowed Moses into rooms within rooms, to one high sea monster. \u2026When the Creator saw that Moses was afraid \u2026 the Creator said, \u2018Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh King of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers.\u2019 The Creator had to wage war against him, and no other, as you say, \u2018I the Lord,\u2019 and they explained, \u2018I, and no emissary.\u2019\u201d It follows that \u201cCome\u201d means both of us together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To interpret this in the work of the Creator, we first have to know what is our demand for engaging in Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> [commandments]. That is, what are we asking in return for it. The reward should be clear\u2014to understand that it is worthwhile for us to relinquish bodily pleasures if we understand that this is what interferes with our achieving the goal, which is our reward\u2014to achieve the sublime goal through our engagement in Torah and Mitzvot<\/em>, meaning that the goal is a reward for relinquishing corporeal pleasures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, we should know that the main reward we want for keeping Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> is Dvekut<\/em> [adhesion] with the Creator, which is equivalence of form, as in \u201cand to cleave unto Him.\u201d It is as our sages said (Baba Batra, 16), \u201cThe Creator has created the evil inclination, He has created for it the Torah as a spice.\u201d This is the Kli<\/em> [vessel] in which we can receive the purpose of creation, called \u201cdoing good to His creations,\u201d which is called \u201cthe revelation of His Godliness to His creatures in this world,\u201d as it is written in the essay, Matan Torah<\/em> [\u201cThe Giving of the Torah\u201d].<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is known that the heart of the work is in making the Kli<\/em>. But the filling, which is the abundance poured into the Kli<\/em>, comes from the upper one, which is His desire to benefit His creations. Certainly, from His perspective, nothing prevents Him from giving to us, and all the deficiencies we feel are because we haven\u2019t the Kelim<\/em> [vessels] to receive the abundance, since our Kelim<\/em> come from the shattering. This is so because due to the breaking of the vessels that occurred in the world of Nekudim<\/em>, the Klipot<\/em> [shells\/peels] emerged, which receive in order to receive, for in spirituality, breaking is similar to breaking a vessel in corporeality. With a physical vessel, if it is broken and you pour into it some liquid, the liquid pours out. Likewise, in spirituality, if a thought of will to receive for oneself enters the Kli<\/em>, the abundance pours out to the external ones, meaning outside of Kedusha<\/em> [holiness].<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kedusha<\/em> means \u201cfor the Creator.\u201d Anything outside of \u201cfor the Creator\u201d is called Sitra<\/em> Achra<\/em> [other side], namely the other side of Kedusha<\/em>. This is why we say that Kedusha<\/em> means to bestow, and Tuma\u2019a<\/em> [impurity] means to receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, we, who were born after the breaking, desire only to receive. Therefore we cannot be given abundance, for it will all certainly go to the side of the Sitra<\/em> Achra<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the only reason why we are far from receiving the delight and pleasure that the Creator has prepared for us, for everything that He may give us will not stay with us, but will be lost, as our sages said, \u201cWho is a fool? He who loses what he is given.\u201d This means that the root of the reason we lose is that we are fools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But why must a fool lose it and a wise keep what he is given? We should interpret that a fool is one who remains with his nature, which is self-love, and does not work on tactics to be able to exit the will to receive. Although there are many ways and tactics to exit one\u2019s nature, he remains as naked as on the day he was born, without another clothing, a clothing known as \u201cthe will to bestow,\u201d for with a clothing of bestowal he can dress the delight and pleasure he should receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, sometimes a person begins the work of bestowal and explains to the body that this is the whole purpose of the work\u2014to receive vessels of bestowal. However, after all his arguments with the body, the body tells him, \u201cYou cannot change the nature that the Creator has created. And since creation is regarded as \u2018existence from absence,\u2019 it is only in the form of desire to receive, so how dare you say that you can change the nature that the Creator has created?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was said about this, \u201cCome unto Pharaoh,\u201d meaning we will go together. I will go with you so that I will change the nature, and all I want is that you will ask Me to help you change your nature and invert it from a desire to receive into a desire to bestow, as our sages said (Sukkah<\/em>, 52), \u201cMan\u2019s inclination overpowers him every day, and were it not for the Creator\u2019s help, he would not have overcome it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, we should understand why the Creator needs him to ask of Him. This is suitable for flesh and blood, who want the honor of being asked, so as to know that he has helped him. But how can such a thing be said about the Creator? However, the rule, \u201cthere is no light without a Kli<\/em>,\u201d means that it is impossible to give to someone a filling if he has no desire. As long as there is no desire for something, if you give him, he will have no taste in it. Therefore, he will not be able to appreciate it and will not keep it from being stolen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is, there are people who do understand the importance of the matter and will take it from him. This is why a person should ask for the Creator\u2019s help, so that if he is given some illumination from above he will know how to keep it from the external ones stealing it from him, for they do know the value of any illumination of Kedusha<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, when a person asks of the Creator to help him\u2014and a true request begins precisely when one sees that a person is unable to help himself\u2014then he knows for certain that there is no other choice but to ask the Creator to help him. Otherwise, he will remain separated from Kedusha<\/em> and will have no way out of the state of self-love. Therefore, when the Creator helps him, he already knows it is a valuable asset that must be guarded carefully so the external ones do not take it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, the ARI says (The Study of the Ten Sefirot<\/em>, Part 7, p 495), \u201cThis is the meaning of the pursuit of the evil inclination and Sitra<\/em> Achra<\/em> to make the righteous sin and to cling to Kedusha<\/em>. It is because they have no vitality other than through them. When the good and Kedusha<\/em> increase, their lives proliferate. Hence, from now on do not wonder why the evil inclination chases man so as to make him sin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, to keep from losing what he is given, one must first make great efforts, for something that comes to a person through labor causes him to keep the thing and not lose it. But during the exertion, when a person sees that the work is still far from finished, he sometimes escapes the campaign and falls into despair. At that time he needs great strengthening, to believe that the Creator will help him, and the fact that help has not arrived is because he has not given the required quantity and quality of labor for preparing the deficiency in order to receive the filing, as it is said (\u201cIntroduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,\u201d item 18), \u201cAnd if one practices Torah and fails to remove the evil inclination from himself, it is either that he has been negligent in giving the necessary labor and exertion in the practice of Torah, as it is written, \u2018I have not labored but found, do not believe,\u2019 or perhaps one did put in the necessary amount of labor, but has been negligent in the quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, we should pay attention to \u201cCome unto Pharaoh\u201d and believe through the worst possible states, and not escape the campaign, but rather always trust that the Creator can help a person and give him, whether one needs a little help or a lot of help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In truth, one who understands that he needs the Creator to give him a lot of help, because he is worse than the rest of the people, is more suitable for his prayer to be answered, as it is written, \u201cThe Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, one should not say that he is unfit for the Creator to bring him closer, but that the reason is that he is idle in his work. Instead, one should always overcome and not let thoughts of despair enter his mind, as our sages said (Berachot, 10), \u201cEven if a sharp sword is placed on his neck he should not deny himself of mercy,\u201d as it was said (Job, 13), \u201cThough He slay me, I will hope for Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret the \u201csharp sword placed on his neck\u201d to mean that even though one\u2019s evil, called \u201cself-love,\u201d is placed on his neck and wants to separate him from Kedusha<\/em> by showing him that it is impossible to exit this authority, he should say that the picture he sees is the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, \u201cHe should not deny himself of mercy,\u201d for at that time he must believe that the Creator can give him the mercy, meaning the quality of bestowal. That is, by himself, it is true that one cannot exit the authority of self-reception. But from the perspective of the Creator, when the Creator helps him, of course He can bring him out. This is the meaning of what is written, \u201cI am the Lord your God, who took you out from the land of Egypt to be your God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is what we say in the Shema<\/em> reading\u2014which is assuming of the burden of the kingdom of heaven\u2014that we must know that the Creator is the one who brings one out of the authority of reception, called \u201cseparation,\u201d and admits one into Kedusha<\/em>. At that time, \u201cto be your God\u201d is kept true, for then one is regarded as \u201cpeople of Israel,\u201d and not as \u201cpeople of the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our sages said about it (Pesachim, 118): \u201cRabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi said, \u2018When the Creator said to Adam HaRishon<\/em>, \u2018Thorns and thistles it shall grow for you,\u2019 his eyes teared. He said to Him, \u2018Master of the world, will I and my donkey eat from the same trough?\u2019 Because He had told him, \u2018By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread,\u2019 his mind was promptly eased.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, we should understand Adam HaRishon\u2019s<\/em> argument, who inquired about the Creator\u2019s action, why he deserved to eat from the same trough as the donkey. This is a just complaint. The evidence of this is that the Creator advised him to eat bread. Were this not a just complaint, the Creator would not have accepted his argument. This argument, saying, \u201cWill I and my donkey eat from the same trough,\u201d is difficult to understand. What is his advantage? After all, our sages said (Sanhedrin, 38), \u201cOur sages said, \u2018The man was born on the eve of Shabbat [Sabbath] so that should he become arrogant, he will be told, \u2018the mosquito came before you in the work of creation.\u2019\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accordingly, if a mosquito came before him, then what is the complaint about eating from the same trough as the donkey? However, we should interpret that after the sin he fell into self-love. It follows that he has become similar to a donkey, who understands nothing but self-love. This is the meaning of \u201cHis eyes teared and he said, \u2018Will I and my donkey eat from the same trough,\u201d meaning from the same discernment of self-love?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why he was given the advice, \u201cBy the sweat of your brow you will eat bread.\u201d Bread is regarded as man\u2019s food. That is, through labor in \u201cBy the sweat of your brow you will eat bread,\u201d which is man\u2019s food, he emerges from being \u201cthe people of the earth,\u201d and is then called \u201cthe people of Israel,\u201d which is Yashar-El<\/em> [straight to the Creator].<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Egypt\u2014which was the people of Israel in exile, for Egypt is called \u201ca nation that is akin to a donkey\u201d\u2014means that the aim is only for self-love. For this reason, at that time the salvation to Israel was that the Creator took them out of Egypt. This is the meaning of needing to intend upon the acceptance of the burden of the kingdom of heaven, \u201cI am the Lord your God, who took you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God,\u201d for precisely by the force of God can we come out of Egypt and be rewarded with \u201cto be your God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article No. 19, 1985 \u201cCome unto Pharaoh.\u201d This is perplexing. Should it not have said, \u201cGo unto Pharaoh\u201d? The Zohar explains (Bo, […]<\/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-9456","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n