Should One Sin and Be Guilty

It is written in The Zohar, Vayikra (item 251): “We learned that it is written, ‘Should one sin and be guilty.’” Why does he first say, “Should one sin,” and finally, “and be guilty”? He replies that we learned that “should one sin” means that these are the transgressions with which the creatures have sinned, as it is written, “of all the sins of man.” “And be guilty” is as you say, “the guilt is returned to the Lord,” where “and be guilty” means “will be corrected.” That is, “should he sin” means if he corrects his works and returns what he has robbed. Rabbi Yosi said, “This means that the word, “returns,” means he returns by himself, since it is not written “will return,” which is imperative, but precisely, “returns,” meaning by himself.

We should understand why he says, “Should one sin.” Which transgressions are called “sin,” where it is written, “of all the sins of man”? We should understand this, since is there a transgression that is not considered a sin? He brings an evidence to this, as it is written, “from all of man’s sins.” Afterwards he interprets the verse “about theft,” which applies specifically between man and man.

But what about the Mitzvot [commandments] between man and the Creator? We shall explain this in the work. It is known that all the sins come because of the will to receive, which was imprinted in the creatures by the thought of creation “to do good to His creations.” After there was a prohibition on receiving in order to receive, which is the correction of the Tzimtzum [restriction] that was done in order to avoid the “bread of shame,” because of this correction, the worlds of Klipot [shells/peels] emerged by cascading.

Then, through the sin of Adam HaRishon with the tree of knowledge, two systems emerged, as in “God has made one opposite the other.” Thus, there is ABYA of Kedusha [holiness] and opposite it ABYA of Tuma’a [impurity].

From here stem all the sins—by wanting to receive only in order to receive. This means that man was created by nature with self-love, meaning that he cares only for his own benefit. Only by the Segula [remedy/virtue] of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] can he be corrected to work in order to bestow. Before he receives this correction, called “in order to bestow,” he wants to swallow everything into his own domain, meaning to take everything out from the Creator’s domain and being it into man’s domain.

Three discernments extend from this in our world: 1) forbidden things and permitted things. 2) We make two discernments in permitted things: mandatory or optional. 3) The intention, meaning we should aim with forbidden things, too, not to do them, so it is for the purpose of bestowing. With permitted things, whether mandatory or optional, the intention should be to bestow and not for self-benefit, but he keeps Torah and Mitzvot because of the commandments of the Creator, for he believes in the Creator, that He will enjoy his keeping everything that He has commanded us. This should be his sole intention with everything he does, in positive Mitzvot [commandments to do something], negative Mitzvot [commandments not to do something], and in optional matters. He tries to aim everything for the Creator while engaging in them.

It follows that if a person receives pleasure into his own authority, his sin is that he takes out from the Creator’s domain into his own domain, since everything should enter the Creator’s domain, and man is only the Creator’s servant and has no authority of his own. Rather, everything should be in his Master’s domain, and the servant has no authority of his own.

However, when he receives the pleasures that exist in the world into his own domain it seems as though there are two domains. This is regarded as extracting from the domain of the Creator, whose world is His, and letting into his own domain.

Concerning extracting from his friend’s domain into his own, we should discern two manners: 1) His friend does not see that he extracts from his friend and lets it into his own domain. This is called a “thief.” That is, if his friend does not see, he has the courage to let his friend’s possession into his own domain. But if he sees that his friend might see him taking things and letting them into his own domain then he will not steal.

2) Sometimes he takes his friend’s possession even if his friend resists. This is called “robbing.” He robs his friend even if his friend sees, but he is not fazed by his yelling that it’s a robbery and he does not allow it. He insists, meaning he does not have the power to overcome the passion that he has for his friend’s possession, and he is compelled to rob. The reason he is not impressed by the other looking at him taking is that his will to receive is already fully developed.

Baal HaSulam said that the difference between a thief and a robber is that the robber has a bigger will to receive than the thief. Therefore, when a thief knows that the owner will see him in the act, the shame gives him strength to overcome and relinquish the theft. But the will to receive of a robber is so strong that nothing can disrupt him from carrying out his scheme. His desire and passion are so great that he does not consider anything and carries out his plan.

Now we can explain what we asked above about wanting to imply that he says, “Should one sin,” meaning which of those sins that are called, “sin,” as it is written, “of all the sins of man.” We should interpret what he says, “of those sins that are called, ‘sin,’” and then he brings evidence from the verse, “of all the sins of man.” What does “of all” mean? We should interpret that he is implying to the root from which all the sins come, namely the will to receive, with which all the actions in the world begin, and with which all the works are concluded. That is, we were given this desire to correct so it works in order to bestow. When the general will to receive is corrected in order to bestow, it will be called the “end of correction.”

This means that all the corrections we must exert in Torah and Mitzvot are only to correct the will to receive so it works in order to bestow, and then we will be rewarded with Dvekut [adhesion], and we will be able to attain the purpose of creation—to do good to His creations.

It follows that at the end of correction, when everything is corrected and there is nothing more to correct, everything should enter Kedusha. That is, even sins must enter Kedusha, or a part of the will to receive will be missing, left outside without correction. We said that the intimation that the verse, “of all the sins of man,” means everything that extends from this root. That is, we have to know that all sins extend from the rudimentary will to receive, as we know that this is the root of all the creatures. Therefore, if even one sin remains, since it extends from the root, which is the will to receive, it, too, must be corrected into working in order to bestow, or this deficiency will be apparent in the root, meaning in TzimtzumAleph [first restriction], which was done on the rudimentary will to receive so we will receive everything that exists in the thought of creation to do good to His creations in the Kelim [vessels] that have been corrected into working in order to bestow.

We can understand this through a depiction. Let us assume that His desire to do good to His creations is for one hundred kilograms of pleasure. Naturally, He had to prepare a Kli [vessel] with one hundred kilograms of deficiency. Otherwise, there is no place to put the one hundred kilograms of pleasure because there can be filling only in a place of lack. It follows that if we fill the Kelim [vessels], meaning deficiencies, and Kelim are left outside—meaning some of the Kelim that belong to the one hundred kilograms of deficiency are unclean and unfit to be filled with the abundance that belongs to them—the abundance that He wished to give, the one hundred kilograms of abundance, His desire is not fulfilled because some of the Kelim belong to the part of the abundance that still did not receive what belongs to them.

It follows that all the Kelim that emerged at the time of creation must enter Kedusha [holiness]. By this we will understand what the holy Zohar says, “The angel of death is destined to be a holy angel.” This is as said above, that since all the bad comes from the will to receive that the Creator created and then restricted, which is called “correction,” all of the one hundred kilograms of will to receive that He has created must be received through the correction called “receiving in order to bestow.” These discernments that we cannot correct before the end of correction are called Klipot [shells/peels] and Tuma’a [impurity], and Sitra Achra [other side], but at the end of correction all the Kelim must enter Kedusha for the abovementioned reason. Otherwise, there will be a lack in the abundance, since all the Kelim must receive the abundance that belongs to their share.

Now we can understand what is written, “of all the sins of man.” It pertains to the root of the sins, called “will to receive.” This is why it is written, “Should one sin and be guilty.” The meaning of the verse, “of all the sins of man,” is not sins between man and man specifically, as it is interpreted afterwards about the verse, “and be guilty.” It is as you say, “the guilt is returned to the Lord,” where “and be guilty” means that he will correct his works and will return the theft he has robbed, which implies specifically between man and man.

However, we should interpret that the root of all the sins is the will to receive in order to receive, which is what a person receives from the Creator, meaning from His domain, and lets everything into his own domain, which is called “theft.” That is, he extracts from the domain of the Creator although the Torah screams and says it is forbidden to receive into one’s own domain or it is considered having two domains—the Creator’s domain, and he takes the pleasures from the Creator’s domain into his own. It follows that he is not regarded as a thief but as a robber, for although the Creator sees him taking, his will to receive is so strong that he cannot resist it, which is why he is considered a robber and not a thief.

And what is his correction? He returns the theft that he has robbed, meaning repents and corrects so that all his works enter Kedusha. That is, he extends a desire that all his works will be in order to bestow. This is why he interprets “Should one sin and be guilty,” that “and be guilty” means correction.

Rabbi Yosi adds and says, “This means that what is written, ‘and returns,’ means returning by himself, since ‘and returns’ is not written as imperative, but rather ‘returns’ is precisely by himself. That is, there is ‘repentance from fear,’ when sins become for him as mistakes, and this is regarded as such although he returns the theft. However, this is still not regarded as voluntarily. Rather, since he still has fear, he returns the theft. But this is not regarded as “by himself,” meaning of his own volition, so we can say that he is happy with returning the theft. Rather, it is as though he has no choice.

Repentance from fear still does not correct the sin, since with repentance from fear, since become only as mistakes. Hence, there are Kelim that are still outside of Kedusha, meaning that the upper abundance cannot dress in them. Therefore, His desire, which was to do good to His creations, to bestow upon the lower ones, still has nowhere to clothe. It is as though there is a deficiency in the purpose.

Therefore, we were given a correction called “repentance from love.” At that time sins become for him as merits.” The Kelim that were as “sins,” which are desires to receive that belong to the upper abundance from the perspective of the purpose of creation, are unfit to receive the abundance. But when merits are made from these Kelim, they are fit for clothing the upper abundance, and then the completion of the goal, which is to benefit His creations, can come true to the extent of the abundance that He wanted to give them. Now all the Kelim that belong to the general will to receive that divided into several parts (for it is easier to correct smaller parts) have entered.

This is as the allegory that Baal HaSulam said concerning the correction of the tree of knowledge (Panim Masbirot p 56), about a king who wanted to send gold coins overseas to his son, but all his countryfolk were thieves, so he changed the gold coins into pennies and penny by penny join into a great amount, and by this everything will be corrected.