Work For The Sake Of The Creator With Joy!

Question by a Student: Why should work for the sake of the Creator be in joy?

Answer by Dr. Michael Laitman: "Joy" is a sign that you are working in order to bestow, and not out of force, out of lack of choice, out of fear of blows. Is a mother happy from giving something to the baby, and he receives it from her and enjoys it? Look how she tells everyone about the way he ate and accepted from her.

How is it possible that giving which comes from love will not arouse joy? Joy is a sign, a result of good deeds. On the other hand, a person who is under the control of his will to receive, under the ego, is usually in stress, in anger, in anxiety toward the Creator.

Therefore the degree of kindness, the degree of faith, the degree of one's annulment before the Upper Force in order for it to influence him and correct him in order to bestow-all of these should give birth to happiness. It is impossible to turn to the Creator when it is not out of joy. Crying is not heard above. When the Zohar writes "Gate of Tears," it means that one wishes to be similar to the Creator ("tears," dmaot, from the word le'idamot, "to resemble"). This refers to a person's deficit to be similar to the Creator, and not to crying. A person is happy that he has attained such a deficit.

If you turn to the Creator in tears, you in fact accuse Him of arranging this occurrence for you, this whole status. It is as if you are unhappy with this entire path, and you implement it out of lack of choice, without the ability to justify Him.

Therefore if one is not happy with every state that he comes across-the best as well as the worst, it means that he is still in the will to receive in order to receive, and that he has nothing to turn to the Creator with. Only after he raises himself to a state of happiness-and then it does not matter to him what will happen to him because he is asking for the force of bestowal ─ he receives this force.

There are delicate things here which we are still unable to digest. If I am happy and satisfied, how will I be able to turn to the Creator? The answer is that if one wants to bestow, his happiness stems from that he has accomplished asking for the force of bestowal, and it does not at all matter to him what will happen in his vessels. He has no need for anything for himself.

But again, such a request comes only from joy. You cannot come to the landlord of reality and weep. This is a sign that you are not satisfied with Him, that you are kicking everything He does and feeling bad in His world. Otherwise, why are you asking anything from Him? You must ask for one thing only - to be similar to Him, to be even more bestowing toward Him. But this is a plea that stems from joy, because you already resemble two lovers who understand the connection between you, are in friendship, and learn how you can further connect and fulfill one another.

Gate Of Tears

Question by a Student: If I am already in happiness, why should I ask Him for bestowal?

Answer by Dr. Michael Laitman: I am happy that I have reached this request, the "Gate of Tears." "Gate of Tears" is a state filled with joy. I have reached a state where I am bursting with happiness, with the greatness of the condition in which I finally find myself before the Creator, with my plea being accepted, that the Light comes to me and reforms, and with the ability to perform an action in order to bestow. This is called "Gate of Tears."

Efforts Are Most Important

Question by a Student: Does the reading of the Zohar operate on a person, even if one does not feel that it does?

Answer by Dr. Michael Laitman: A person who will sit for ten lessons in a row and study the Zohar will certainly feel that this book is very much working and operating on him. One who studies the Zohar goes through great and different changes: first of all in concentration toward life ─ what kind of things he pays attention to and to which he does not; second, he becomes more introverted, in his inner feeling; third, his attitude toward others changes ─ he gives it more space.

A person who studies the Zohar begins to suddenly think about the actions about which he reads in the "Zohar," and begins to view them as actions more inner than our world etc. It is clear that a person who studies the Zohar changes ─ the "Zohar" very much changes him, calms him, makes him more introverted, more serious, more purposeful. The "Zohar's" influence is very strong in this regard. And it does not at all depend on one's level of understanding, but rather on his exertion, on the degree that he makes efforts to grasp what goes on here, what is being discussed etc.