Article 28, 1986<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is written in The Zohar<\/em>, Nasso<\/em> (item 105): \u201cRabbi Elazar started, \u2018Why have I come and there is no man?\u2019 How beloved are Israel by the Creator, for wherever they are, the Creator is among them. \u2018And let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them.\u2019 Every synagogue in the world is called a \u2018Temple.\u2019 \u2018And I will dwell among them,\u2019 since the Shechina<\/em> [Divinity] comes to the synagogue first. Happy is he who is among those first ones in the synagogue, since by them what is completed is completed, meaning the congregation, which is no less than ten. Also, the ten must be in the synagogue at once, and not come one at a time, since all ten are as organs of one body, in which the Shechina<\/em> resides, for the Creator has made man at once, and established all his organs together, as it is written, \u2018He has made you and established you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should discern in the above words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) Why does he say, \u201cWherever Israel are, the Creator is among them\u201d? This implies that there is no need for a special place. Afterwards he says, \u201cAnd let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them,\u201d meaning specifically in the synagogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) The words, \u201cAnd let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them,\u201d imply that first there must be some preparation, meaning \u201cmaking the Temple,\u201d and then \u201cI will dwell,\u201d and not just like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) What is the question that he asks, \u201cWhy have I come and there is no man?\u201d If you say that the Shechina<\/em> comes to the synagogue first, of course there is still no one there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4) It is difficult to understand what he says, \u201cThe ten must be in the synagogue at once, and not come one at a time.\u201d Can it be said that all those who come to the synagogue should wait outside until ten men have gathered, and then they will all enter at once? We have never seen such a thing. So what does it mean that they must not come one at a time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n To understand the above we will explain in the work how to begin the order of the work in a manner of bestowal, called \u201cnot in order to receive reward.\u201d First, we must remember two things, which are \u201cgiver\u201d and \u201creceiver.\u201d This extends from His desire to do good to His creations, which is why He has created creatures\u2014to receive the delight and pleasure that He wants to give them. This receiver, namely the Kli<\/em> [vessel] that the Creator created in which to receive the delight and pleasure, is called \u201cdesire to receive delight and pleasure.\u201d He can enjoy this to the extent of the craving for it. That is, the Kli<\/em> in which we receive pleasure is called \u201ccraving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We attribute these Kelim<\/em> [vessels] to the Creator. That is, the Kli<\/em> that initially received from the Creator is called Malchut<\/em>, or Behina<\/em> Dalet<\/em> [Fourth Phase (discernment)], which means that it is a craving to receive delight and pleasure. This is called a Kli<\/em> of Ohr<\/em> Yashar<\/em> [Direct Light]. This is the Kli<\/em> that was used prior to the Tzimtzum<\/em> [restriction], and it is called Malchut<\/em> de<\/em> Ein Sof<\/em> [infinity\/no end].<\/p>\n\n\n\n Afterwards there was a correction to prevent the bread of shame, since there is a rule in the nature that the Creator has created, that the branch wants to resemble its root. Why is there such a nature? We are forbidden to ask because with respect to the Creator, says the holy Zohar<\/em>, \u201cThere is no thought or perception in Him at all.\u201d This means that the lower ones cannot attain the thoughts of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything we say is only in the form of \u201cBy Your actions we know You,\u201d meaning we speak only through the actions that appear to our eyes, from what we see and can explain, but not before the act that appears before us. For this reason we begin to speak of the first connection between the Creator and the creatures, called \u201cHis desire to do good to His creations.\u201d Prior to this we cannot speak because we have no attainment in Him. Hence, we only see that in nature, the branch wants to resemble its root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To correct this, meaning that because the receiver wants equivalence of form with the root, and if it were to receive it would feel unpleasantness, the Tzimtzum<\/em> occurred, called \u201cnot wanting to receive in order to receive,\u201d but to receive only if he can receive it in order to bestow. This caused us not to be able to receive abundance with the Kli<\/em> called \u201cdesire to receive,\u201d but rather with a new Kli<\/em>, called \u201cOhr Hozer<\/em>\u201d [Reflected Light]. It means that the Ohr<\/em> Yashar<\/em> is regarded as the abundance that the Creator gives to the lower ones, and Ohr Hozer<\/em> is the opposite\u2014that which the lower ones wish to give the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, Ohr<\/em> Yashar<\/em> is called \u201cfrom above downward,\u201d meaning that the upper one, the Giver, namely the Creator, gives to the lower ones. Conversely, the Ohr Hozer<\/em> is called \u201cfrom below upward,\u201d meaning the lower one, who is the receiver, wants to bestow upon the Creator. We attribute this Kli<\/em>, called \u201cin order to bestow,\u201d to the lower one because the lower one did it in order to correct itself, since it wants to resemble its root. It is as we learn, that in the world of Ein Sof<\/em>, the Kli<\/em> of Malchut<\/em> received the light in the Kli<\/em> of Ohr<\/em> Yashar<\/em>, meaning in a Kli<\/em> that came from the upper one. But the Kli<\/em> of Ohr Hozer<\/em> is a Kli<\/em> that the lower one should make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the correction to receive only in Kelim<\/em> of Ohr Hozer<\/em> was made, all the worlds and many degrees extended from it. Because this Kli<\/em> extends from the lower one, it cannot be completed at once, but bit by bit, according to the strength of the lower ones. Therefore, since many Kelim<\/em> were made, the lights divide into many degrees. This was not so when what we attribute to the Creator, called \u201creceiving in order to receive,\u201d illuminated in the Kli<\/em>. The Creator created this Kli<\/em> at once, in full, so naturally, it was one simple light, without distinction of degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is as he writes in the book, Tree of Life<\/em> (presented in The Study of the Ten Sefirot<\/em>, p 1): \u201cKnow that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures created, the upper, simple light had filled the whole of reality. However, everything was one, simple light, completely equal, and it is called \u2018the light of Ein Sof<\/em>.\u2019\u201d The reason is that since we attribute this Kli<\/em> to the Creator, it is completed in whole, hence they received one light, without distinction of degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Kli<\/em> that we attribute to the lower one cannot be completed at once. Rather, all the work we must exert in is only one\u2014to make a Kli<\/em> called Ohr Hozer<\/em>. This means that the lower one wants to receive delight and pleasure from the Creator only because he wants to bestow upon the Creator, and this is called Ohr Hozer<\/em> [Reflected Light]. When the lower one realizes that he has no desire to receive for himself, but that he wants to delight the Creator, he calculates what he can give to the Creator that the Creator will enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At that time he sees that he can give only one thing that will delight the Creator. Since the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations, and the Creator wants to give delight and pleasure to the creatures, he says, \u201cI want to receive delight and pleasure because I want to please the Creator.\u201d And the more abundance he can receive\u2014meaning that he feels the greatest pleasure from the abundance that he receives\u2014the Creator will certainly enjoy this more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is similar to a person who invited over an important person. The man and his household toiled all day and all night so that the important guest would enjoy the food. When the guest ate the meal, which cost him great efforts, and in which he did everything to delight the guest, at the end of the meal he asked the guest, \u201cWhat do you say about our meal? Did you ever taste a meal like this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He replied to him: \u201cTo tell you the truth, I don\u2019t care what I eat. I never regarded the pleasure I can derive from food, so I wouldn\u2019t mind if you prepared a simpler meal, since I hear from you that you put great efforts into it.\u201d When the landlord hears this, what pleasure does he have from giving him a big meal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lesson is that if a person receives delight and pleasure from the Creator because he wants to delight the Creator by helping Him carry out the purpose of creation\u2014that the Creator wants to delight His creatures\u2014but he says that he derives no joy from the delight and pleasure he receives from the Creator, then what contentment is he bringing to the Creator by saying that he doesn\u2019t feel any taste in His delight and pleasure, and that to him it is all the same?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It therefore follows that if one can try to constantly increase what he is receiving from the Creator and appreciate the King\u2019s gift, there is a reason for it: He can say to the Creator, \u201cI am receiving great pleasure from You because I know that only with this I can delight You, and this is why I want to receive plentiful pleasures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, we must remember that after the sin of the tree of knowledge that Adam HaRishon<\/em> sinned, man became as dust, receiving in order to receive. This extends from the worlds ABYA<\/em> de<\/em> Tuma\u2019a<\/em> [impurity], as it is written in the \u201cIntroduction to the Book of Zohar\u201d (item 25), \u201cIt is incumbent upon man to receive strength from above by the merit of Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> [commandments], so he can bestow, and this is called \u2018Israel,\u2019 meaning Yashar-El<\/em> [straight to the Creator]. This means that all his thoughts and desires are only to bring contentment to the Creator. But if he still does not have this desire, it is considered that the person is in exile among the nations of the world, who enslave him to work only for self-love, which is \u2018receiving in order to receive.\u2019 This pertains to the Klipot<\/em> [shells\/peels], and not to Kedusha<\/em> [holiness\/sanctity], as it is written, \u2018You will be holy for I am holy.\u2019 This means that as the Creator is only about bestowal, your intention will also be only to bestow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the opposite of that, meaning when his intention is not to bestow, it is regarded as the opposite of Israel. Rather, it is called \u201cstraight to the nations of the world,\u201d since they are opposite in form from the Creator, whose desire is only to bestow. But if in this place there is Yashar-El<\/em>\u2014where he is in equivalence of form with the Creator\u2014meaning that there is no other authority there, in that place comes the instilling of the Shechina<\/em>, as it is written, \u201cWherever I mention My name, I will come to you and bless you.\u201d This means that the Creator says, \u201cIf I can say that only My name is in this place, and the creature\u2019s authority is not upon it, since the lower one wants only to bestow upon the Creator, then \u201cI will come to you and bless you,\u201d meaning that on this place I instill My Shechina<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this we will understand what we asked about the holy Zohar\u2019s<\/em> saying that wherever they are, the Creator is among them, which implies that there is no need for a special place. Afterwards it says as it is written, \u201cAnd let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them,\u201d meaning precisely in a Temple, and not just anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret his saying \u201cwherever they are\u201d to mean wherever \u201cthey,\u201d meaning Yashar-El<\/em>, are present, where the meaning of Yashar-El<\/em> is straight to the Creator, who are in equivalence of form with the Creator. That is, as the Creator gives mercy, they, too, want only to bestow upon the Creator. And since there is equivalence of form, to that extent the Tzimtzum<\/em> is removed. Hence in this place there is the Shechina<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is called, \u201cAnd let them make Me a Temple,\u201d as it is written, \u201cYou will be holy for I the Lord am holy.\u201d It follows that \u201cIsrael\u201d and \u201cLet them make Me a Temple\u201d are one thing. That is, saying, \u201cAnd let them make Me a Temple\u201d is preparation and great work to make the place, which is the desire, as Baal HaSulam said, that in spirituality, \u201cplace\u201d means desire, meaning a desire of Kedusha<\/em>, which is in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. This is called \u201cIsrael,\u201d Yashar-El<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now we will explain the second question, what is the question that he asks, \u201cWhy have I come and there is no man?\u201d Certainly, if he says that the Shechina<\/em> comes to the synagogue first, of course there is still no one there, so why does he say, \u201cWhy have I come and there is no man\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, first we need to understand what \u201cman\u201d means. We should interpret \u201cman\u201d to mean as it is written, \u201cHappy is the man who did not walk in the counsel of the wicked.\u201d That is, there is \u201cman\u201d and there is \u201cbeast.\u201d \u201cBeast\u201d means one who is immersed in self-love and does what beasts do. It follows that the meaning of \u201cWhy have I come\u201d means that I have come before you. However, that, too, needs explanation: How can we say that the Creator came to the synagogue first, if \u201cThe whole earth is full of His glory?\u201d Thus, what does it mean that the Creator comes to the synagogue before the people who are praying?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret that it is as Baal HaSulam interpreted the verse, \u201cBefore they call, I will answer.\u201d It means that when a person goes to pray, it happens because I have given him a thought and desire to come to the synagogue to be a man. In the end, I find him in the synagogue praying for self-love, like a beast. It follows that when he says, \u201cWhy have I come,\u201d it means \u201cWhy have I given him a desire to go to the synagogue, so he will pray for matters of Kedusha<\/em>, which is a Temple, and to be Israel, and in the end \u201cthere is no man.\u201d Instead, I see that everyone is praying for beastly needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now we will explain what we asked about his saying that there must be ten in the synagogue at once, and not come one at a time. We asked, \u201cShould they all wait outside until ten men have gathered, and then they will all enter together? Have we ever seen such a thing?\u201d He brings evidence from the Creator, \u201cFor man, the Creator has made him at once.\u201d But we should also understand the evidence itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To interpret this we must first understand why we need specifically ten men present in the synagogue, or the Shechina<\/em> will not be able to be there. He gives a reason, that \u201ca congregation is no less than ten.\u201d We should also understand this\u2014why specifically ten and not more or less. That is, if there are nine men there, it is not regarded as a congregation, and if there are eleven, it does not add anything, as it is said about testimony: \u201ctwo as one hundred and one hundred as two\u201d (Shavuot<\/em>, p 42). Rather, it is specifically ten, as our sages said (Sanhedrin<\/em>, 39), \u201cIn every ten there is Shechina<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is known that Malchut<\/em> is called \u201ctenth.\u201d It is also known that the receiving Kli<\/em> is also called \u201cthe Sefira<\/em> Malchut<\/em>,\u201d who is the tenth Sefira<\/em>, receiving the upper abundance. She is called \u201cwill to receive,\u201d and all the creatures extend only from her. For this reason, a congregation is no less than ten, since all the corporeal branches extend from the upper roots. Therefore, according to the rule, \u201cThere is no light that does not have ten Sefirot<\/em>,\u201d in corporeality, something is not considered a congregation that can be regarded as important unless there are ten men there, such as the upper degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now we can understand the meaning of ten, when the Creator asks, \u201cWhy have I come and there is no man?\u201d It pertains to \u201cman\u201d and not to \u201cbeast,\u201d referring to the kingdom of heaven, which is the tenth Sefira<\/em>, meaning we must pray for the exile of the Shechina<\/em>, which the holy Zohar<\/em> calls, \u201cShechina<\/em> in the dust.\u201d Thus, the meaning will be that if the Creator does not find ten there, it means that \u201cI have come first and have given you a desire and awakening to come to the synagogue, to ask for prayer for the exile of the Shechina<\/em>, who is called \u2018ten,\u2019 which is the tenth Sefira<\/em>, and I did not find anyone to pray for the tenth. Instead, I find everyone praying for things that pertain to beasts and not to people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, we should interpret what he says, \u201cThey must all be at once, and not one at a time.\u201d We should interpret that we need the reception of the kingdom of heaven to be at once, and not to say, \u201cToday I want to take upon myself a little bit of the burden of the kingdom of heaven, meaning only when I am at the synagogue. Afterwards, when I go home, I want to enjoy self-love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is, he says that he agrees to work in order to bestow some of the time, but not to give all his time only for the glory of heaven. Rather, when one takes upon oneself the burden of the kingdom of heaven he must ask the Creator to make it forever, and not only when he is at the synagogue. We can interpret that having to have ten present at the synagogue at once and not come one at a time means that he should not say, \u201cNow I am assuming a little bit of the kingdom of heaven, and later some more.\u201d Rather, each acceptance of the burden of the kingdom of heaven should be at once, meaning at once over his entire life, and not today some and tomorrow some more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, if assuming the burden of the kingdom of heaven is over a complete thing, then although he later descends from his degree, since his acceptance was complete, called \u201cten at once,\u201d where \u201cat once\u201d means over his entire life, many pennies join into a great amount, until he is rewarded with faith, which is the permanent kingdom of heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was not so while assuming the kingdom of heaven was only partial, meaning that he received the kingdom of heaven only for the time being and not permanently. It follows that this is incomplete, so how can he join them into the great amount until he is rewarded with permanent faith? Therefore, when one takes upon oneself the burden of the kingdom of heaven, he should see that it is a complete thing. This is why he says that they should be in the synagogue at once, meaning once and for all. That is, he wants the reception of the kingdom of heaven to be forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article 28, 1986 It is written in The Zohar, Nasso (item 105): \u201cRabbi Elazar started, \u2018Why have I come and there is no […]<\/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-9880","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n