Bold and in quotes: Original text of Baal HaSulam
Regular: Commentaries of Rav Laitman
lowercase italics: emphasized words
Capitalized italics: transliteration from Hebrew
We are reading an article of Baal HaSulam, Exile and Redemption, from the book, Pri Haham (Fruit of the Wise), page 95, in Hebrew. You can find it on the site, Exile and Redemption.
"And among these nations shalt thou have no repose." (Deuteronomy 28, 65)
"And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all; in that you say we will be as the nations, as the families of the countries." (Ezekiel 20, 32)
This means that there is an apparent desire that comes from within a person who is called "Yisrael" to be similar to the nations of the world. It is our fundamental nature. Yisrael are those who desire the Creator. So out of this desire for the Creator, there is also a desire downwards, for our original nature, which is the will to receive. That is, if we are speaking about a person who internally wants the Creator, or in other words Yisrael, meaning “straight to God,” and the nations of the world are those discernments in us in the will to receive that draw us to do something to satisfy our will to receive, then, as we have already said, if we engage only in satisfying our will to receive, we don’t feel the fulfillment—we don’t feel anything more than ourselves. We don’t feel spirituality, eternity, perfection, because we are only in the Kli of the will to receive, but if we want the Creator, we can reach the attribute of bestowal, which is outside of ourselves, outside of our desires. Existence in the attribute of bestowal gives us the sensation of eternity and perfection.
In the meantime, this is where we are. The substance, our true substance, is the will to receive, a desire to enjoy, and although we have a desire for spirituality, that substance draws us back. The Creator says: “You will not succeed in leaving spirituality because I have arranged the systems, the system of the worlds and the system of reality, in such a way that those who receive an awakening from Me go through such states of pain, awakenings, and realizations of good or bad that they can no longer succeed in being the nations of the world,” meaning, to work only for their own egoistic will to receive.
Again, we are talking only about the spiritual state in every person, regardless of his nationality, or sex, or whatever. This is a person who has, besides his ego, the desire for spirituality as well, which is called "Yisrael," compared to his ego, which is called the nations of the world. The same things also apply externally to the nation of Israel in general and to the nations of the world. That is what Baal HaSulam explains to us.
The Lord will evidently show that Israel cannot exist in exile, and they will find no rest as the rest of the nations that mingled among the nations and found rest and assimilated in them, until there was no trace left of them.
We know what happened to the nations throughout history. There is almost no nation that remained as it was. The nations mingled, some of them disappeared, that is, corporeally speaking. The people of Israel, however, sought to assimilate among the nations here and there, could not do it. They have a kind of guidance from above that no other nation has. Having been dispersed among the nations, they still remained a separate people over thousands of years. It is a historical wonder that such a thing should happen. Despite exterior pressures to stop them from existing, to mingle with the nations, to adopt different ideas which may save from them death and terrible punishments—despite all that, Providence, which has created these very strong pressures on the one hand, has on the other hand provided the guidance to keep the nation, safekeeping it and taking it through these systems of hardships that happened in the past. This is just an example for what a person experiences internally.
This is on the outside; this is just history, but its exterior and interior are similar and we should study the process that every person goes through. It does not matter whether he is Jewish or not. Any person who wants spirituality has a part called "Yisrael" in him and of course, he also has his own nature called the nations of the world. These two parts collide in a person and a person feels that he is in exile. He feels the tension between these two parts, and he does not know how or where to relate himself. Once he is tossed into being an egoist like the nations of the world, and another time he is made to be like Israel, desiring the Creator. In an individual person, just like in the history of the nations, we have the same phenomena, the same processes, and we can learn one from the other. However, there is a difference, because what we say about the general historical process is referred to as the “inanimate,” meaning, that the people participate in this process as “still,” “inanimate” beings. But in relation to individuals, we learn about people who want to advance on their own. They have different possibilities of experiencing these discernments, this exile that they feel in double and single concealment, and through their own participation they try to make the exile shorter and learn more quickly what they need to learn and what is the purpose of this exile. Baal HaSulam provides an interpretation of the following:
Not so is the house of Israel. Still it will find no rest among the nations until the verse will be "And from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him for you will demand Him with all your heart and all your soul."(Deuteronomy 4, 29)
This means that the exile should continue and grow to such an extent of tension in a person who wants spirituality, where he sees that he cannot exit his ego, that he cries for help and realizes that only the Creator can help him and he cannot help himself. He realizes that he does not have a choice and that he has to reach his goal because he cares about it. This cry brings him the Light that reforms, which delivers him from the exile. In mankind as a whole, too, the people of Israel must come to a state of crying because of their inability to come out of the spiritual exile. I don’t mean exile among the nations; we don’t have this feeling. I mean from the spiritual exile, as a group, as a nation. This cry can and should help the individuals, the nation, and the group, and all of humanity that will follow it.
First, we correct the Galgalta ve Eynaim – the Israel in a person. Then the AHP, AHP de Aliya, and then AHP in its place. Similarly, in the group, Galgalta ve Eynaim of the common Kelim are corrected first and then their raised AHP. They’re incorporated, followed by the real AHP. In the people in general, in the whole nation, that is how it will happen when the time comes. The whole and the particular are equal in that sense. You can learn from history, you can learn this by looking at every person and looking at every collection of people.
This can be examined by studying providence, and the verse, which states about us that "The Torah is true and all its words are true…
True means that it is correct, that it is valid and true, and the fact that it does not appear so to us does not mean that we are not influenced by these laws. This means that you are in reality, and reality operates on you from within and from the outside. You are given confusion in your sensations, and in your thoughts so that you may think that it is not true and incorrect and does not exist. This is in order to confuse you, so that from the confusion you will obtain the real truth that it does exist. That is how it operates.
The difference between what exists and what is desirable is actually our work, because what exists is within a system of absolute laws called “Truth;” the Torah is a general law of reality—bestowal. What is desirable for us is to be where our Kelim are present to the extent that they are corrected or not corrected.
…and woe to us as long as we doubt its truthfulness…
Why? Because this Torah, this reality, operates on us, and if we doubt it and if we do not want to follow it exactly, we suffer. All the pains come from the difference between the degree we are in, where we do not want to keep its truthfulness, and this real degree, the real forces that operate. It is not about us having to exist under the rules of Ein Sof of Gmar Tikkun, but every time to the extent that it appears to us as the true laws of reality, accordingly we should come to equivalence of form with these rules.
This means that on the ladder of degrees where we are, reality operates by weakening the Upper Lights to our degree and then we should equalize in form with it. This degree rises and a higher degree operates on us; if we do not equalize with it, we are in trouble. We feel pains and all kinds of problems and crises, until we rise to it. These problems, this bad sensation, is the same force that operates on us in the end to evolve.
…and say about all the rebuke in us that they are chance and blind fate, God forbid. This has but one cure – to bring the troubles back on our heads to such an extent that we will see that they are not coincidental but loyal providence, destined for us by the holy Torah.
What does it mean that we bring these troubles on ourselves? Can we do that? Who can do that? Because we have a defensive force, we want only to enjoy, that is our nature, so it is not about bringing back, but rather about learning, in all the situations we experience, to their fullest depth. What is the reason for all the problems? We will discover that the reason is in us, because we do not exist according to the general nature that we are in.
All in all, we do not have to do anything but study nature called “God,” and equalize ourselves with nature. That is it. It is clear to everyone that if we know the rules of nature and keep them in their true form, we will be happy. We see that the better we understand nature, the better we can use it, and the more we gain. Our only problem is to understand the general law of nature and constantly note which regularity which law operates on us in every situation, and change accordingly by equalizing ourselves with it. Thus, although nature will change and constantly compel us to grow, to improve and to change, we will constantly be able to reach equilibrium with nature, meaning a good situation, a good sensation, and prosperity, health, eternity—good in every single situation.
Question: If we are within nature, how can we examine the nature that operates on us? Since it operates on us, how can we exit it to see nature, ourselves, and how it operates on us?
If we are talking about the corporeal nature then we study it through mundane sciences, natural sciences. It is not a problem. I study nature with my five senses and discover what is good and what is bad. The better I know how to handle it, the better situation I am in, seemingly. The problem is that there is another hidden part of nature that I also have to balance myself with, and understand its regularity and live accordingly. If I do not do that, this hidden part degrades my revealed part to such an extent that instead of using the revealed part correctly and doing good things with the fruits of science, I behave badly. I do things to kill other people and corrupt the world. Thus, the hidden part of nature that we have to study and know how to use correctly determines our whole life.
We see that the more we advance, it becomes more apparent that we cannot have a better life; on the contrary. It is not because we know less about the world; we know more. But we don’t know how to handle it correctly, or how to use it correctly. The knowledge of how to use it correctly is in the other half of nature, in the hidden part, which is the most important part for us now. Now we are in a situation where seemingly we can do everything—we can ruin ourselves completely or, if we could use the treasures that humanity has, we could create Paradise; yet we can’t.
That is why we are in a crisis. We do not know how to use what we’ve achieved correctly through the revealed part. We cannot invent these formulae, and use them correctly by ourselves. We have tried to, but have not succeeded; none has yielded anything good. Instead we have to find them in the hidden part of nature. Then we will have a good life.
And we should clarify this matter by the law of development itself; that the nature of the faithful guidance that we have attained through the holy Torah, a development far more rapid than the other nations, has come to us, and because the members of the nation developed so. There was always the necessity to go forward and be extremely meticulous with all the mitzvot in the Torah.
It happens in the general and in the particular, throughout history and today as well. If a person is awakened from above and comes to a group, and to the right books, by these he accelerates his evolution. Instead of searching and trying to progress for decades, within just a few years he can discover, understand, and obtain the purpose of creation and avoid reincarnating again.
This is all obtained by using the sources of the Upper Light, the Upper Light that draws him to the goal, while engaging in the means for achieving it, meaning, working in circulation, in the group, studying, with the intention to advance. That is how it was with the people of Israel in the past when Abraham discovered this principle and began to organize and teach a group. This group, of course, developed very quickly with respect to perceiving nature and reality, and in knowing themselves and the Creator. That is how it was with respect to how the group grew and with respect to the evolution of the will to receive throughout history, until they received the Torah, when they had already started building the general common Kli.
Previously there was no need to build a common Kli since there were only 70 souls of the people of Israel that were under the domination of Egypt. When they came out of the domination of Egypt—of the will to receive—when they were able to make a Tzimtzum on the will to receive by choosing spiritual evolution instead, through the Torah they were able to build their general Kli. They were able to receive a Light inside the Kli, and exist in a spiritual dimension, in an understanding of the forces of nature. Of course, they knew how to use the hidden and revealed natures correctly, but the will to receive continued to grow in the meantime, until they could not sustain that state any longer. That is what Baal HaSulam writes.
Since they did not do it, but rather wished to include their narrow selfishness there, meaning Lo Lishma...
This means that they wanted the knowledge that they acquired through evolution in the Torah; they wanted to use it for material life as well. However, it is not meant for that, but only for spiritual progress. This is because a person should reach a state where he is in the world of Ein Sof, which does not mean that he can have whatever he wants in this world, but rather it is when the spiritual Kli is totally corrected and accordingly is in Dvekut, adhesion with the Light.
...and raise wealth and power above justice, as other nations, it evolved into the ruin of the first temple.
They wanted to use the knowledge that they had acquired in Kabbalah and in spirituality to benefit in their material life, which is a Klipa. If a person in this world, on the level in which he exists, is a little egoist, then alright, he is an egoist in this world. Klipa means that he has attained knowledge in spirituality, a perception, and he wants to use it in order to receive. That is why Yisrael broke—literally broke—and fell below all the nations of the world.
Because the Torah prohibits it, they denied the Torah and the prophecy and adopted the manners of their neighbors so that they would be able to enjoy life as much as selfishness demanded of them. And because they did that, the powers of the nation disintegrated: some followed the kings and the selfish officers, and some of them followed the prophets. And that separation continued until the ruin.
This means that part of the nation remained in spirituality and another part used spiritual attainment and everything it had for corporeal needs, a division which broke the Kli. We should remember that we are talking about the general Kli that received the Torah as it was built integrally of all the souls. Since a portion of the souls disassociated from the Kli, the whole Kli broke. It would not have mattered if they were a few or many, they caused the breaking of the general Kli.
This is why it caused the ruin. If you separate people, some can live one way and others can live differently, there should be no problem. Yet, it happened that these new egoists forced the others to accept their opinion. Regardless of this, it is impossible to simply divide the people, and let some live in corporeality and others in spirituality, to let each one live as he pleases. Since there is a common Kli, those who hurt it affect the whole Kli. That is why the ruin and exile relates to everyone.
In the SecondTemple, it was even more conspicuous, because the beginning of the separation was publicly displayed by disciples who went astray, headed by Tzadok and Bytos. Their mutiny against our sages revolved primarily around the strictness about Lishma.
This is indeed the point of crisis. What does it mean, “Lishma?” I remember that when I started studying, it was such a wonder for me that I asked, “what is Lishma?”, and was told, “Well, you know, if you study Torah, of course you study Lishma, otherwise why you are studying? What do you get from opening a page of “Gemarah?” You don’t buy milk in the grocery store, it doesn’t make you any richer, it doesn’t give you anything. So, if you study, of course you study Lishma, don’t you?”
The meaning of Lishma is actually what determines what is true and what is false in the process of studying the Torah. Lishma means arriving through the study at a state where a person is above his nature, where one does not study in order to know the Torah or what is written in the books, and not in order to reach anything in this world, to be called a great Rabbi or a great sage, etc; and not in order to gain respect from people. But on the contrary, in order to find powers through the study that will help you to transcend your ego to complete bestowal—that is Lishma.
That was the only thing; the war was over. To this day this concept is deliberately made obscure and is the reason for all the troubles. This is because many engage in the Torah, but not in order to reach Lishma, although they are certain that they have already reached Lishma in their study.
As our sages said, "Wise men, be careful with your words." Because they did not want to retreat from selfishness, they created communities of this corrupt kind and became a great cult called Tzadokim, who were the rich, and were comprised of officers pursuing selfish desires, far from the path of Torah.
They began to take all the esteemed positions in the country because they were egoists and had ceased to be part of a spiritual evolution. They became more successful, and eventually came to hold all the key positions, where they subsequently generated political crises.
And they fought the Prushim and brought the rule of the Roman kingdom over Israel. They are the ones who would not make peace with the imperious ones as our sages advised by the Torah, until the house was ruined and the glory of Israel was exiled.
This means of course that there were no exterior forces involved; it is only the inner force that caused the breaking. The same happens in relation to every person and in history, as we have read in Baal HaSulam’s explanation.
Question: There is a law of equivalence of form. Someone was in a certain state called “Yisrael,” and has left it, so he is separated now, and he is not a part of it anymore. Why is this a flaw for everyone?
This is so because he was inside the Kli. He was inside the Kli and this Kli received something called “The Covenant with the Light.” It became like the Light, the same degree, and now if a part of it is separated, then the whole Kli cannot exist. There is no “some” in spirituality. A penny is like a dollar, there is no difference. Wholeness is wholeness, and incompleteness is incompleteness.
You cannot give an example of a part that was in Yisrael that has now become part of the nations of the world, and say that it harms only itself; there is no such thing. Such a thing does not exist in the world. It does not exist in the system, much less when it was the same Kli that had received the revelation of Godliness in the FirstTemple.
Question: Does this Kli exist today?
It was kept in the form of root and branch, not as a corrected Kli. It was only kept in root and branch. It is the same Kli that had once acquired the revelation of Godliness and fell from this degree to a corporeal degree, and went through the whole exile that exists today as well. Baal HaSulam determines at the end of “Introduction to the Zohar,” that first, the nation of
Israel must correct itself and those who join it, because it matches the spiritual roots. Then the people of Israel must distribute the Wisdom of Kabbalah to all the nations and be concerned with their correction. But, correction in the nations must be through Yisrael that has corrected itself and entered the nations, meaning first, the interior has to be corrected. By interior we mean Yisrael in corporeality and the souls of the nations of the world that join it. There is no other choice.
We can see these things in history, Rabbi Akiva, Onkelos. There were many proselytes who joined. What about Abraham? Didn’t he add everyone who went by, anyone who went by his tent? Were there nations at that time? With respect to spirituality, there is no such thing. Those who are here and continue with it are called Yisrael, because the system operates according to incarnations. If you were there once, then you are already integrated into it. Those souls that Abraham attracted—those Bedouins in Babylon that he drew, those souls that received the revelation and worked with Lights, which continued and continued and continued over the generations—it is these same souls that reincarnate. The outer clothing is just an outer clothing as a replica of that soul, as a projection of that soul. Those who were the disciples of Abraham continue today apparently within that the same group.
Question: The question is this: since the general Kli is with respect to spirituality, what could the Tzdokim do? Could they force them to do spiritual work? What options did they have?
To repent, somehow.
Question: But if they had no desire?
Who has a desire? There is a point in the heart, and there are doubts. What do you do with a friend if he falls and does not want to hear about anything, does not come to classes, and kicks everything? That is what happened to them; that is the same fall, nothing else. What? Weren’t they spiritual? They were spiritual. Weren’t they in attainment the day before? Indeed they were in great attainments of the FirstTemple, Mochin de Haya, and they fell.
If they fall today, would you erase everything, just like that? Would you just kick them out? How could that be? Can you bring back a person who has fallen? He’s got insight, he’s got all the preparations, all the discernments, all the previous degrees. Just a little more will to receive has been added which he cannot correct now. Of course, they tried to do it, just like you try to do it with a friend who suddenly falls from the group. Some heaviness has come onto him, some heaviness in the heart. For us it is a regular thing, what we see there, we experience it too; it’s the same process—it has to happen.
The greater a person is than his friend, the greater his desires are. So, they fell under this greater desire and had to surmount it if they could. If they couldn’t, they couldn’t. Besides, there is a historical process which we do not know about and of which they did not know; we will talk about it. On the one hand, it has to happen and on the other hand “if I am not for me, who is for me?” It is not a simple picture. There are laws, rules in reality, that are generated from within a person and there are general rules. According to the general rules it has to happen, but the inner rules of a person say that he has to overcome it and not allow it to happen. Of course, there was a war between them. It is written in history.
Question: In that respect, a situation in a group with a friend is easier because a friend who falls and does not accept the way leaves. Here they didn't accept the principle of Lishma yet seemingly stayed, so what could you do with them?
They do not stay. No, they do not stay in the Kli. You cannot stay in the Kli if you fall. If you fall with your ego, you are not in the Kli any more; you create a flaw in the Kli, and you make everyone fall and lose their spiritual degree. Although, they are no longer in the Kli with them, they are in a corporeal system and they are together in one country, one state. And the state either exists according to spiritual laws in relationships among people as we learn with Baal HaSulam in “The Last Generation,” or they exist like the Romans, where there are those who knew how to read and write, and there are those who were slaves, not to mention the kind of rules they had, and the relationship between people. Killing people was nothing!
They, on the other hand had rules that every child from the age of three studied the alphabet; they were all knowledgeable and connected with love for one another. Until Rabbi Akiva, the rule of “Love thy friend as thyself” was observed, until the end of the SecondTemple. Can you compare the relationships among people in the nation to which the prophets refer, and the Roman rules which those who fell desired to bring.
They were the only people who did not have slaves; there were no masters, or anyone greater than another who had the power to do whatever he wanted to with the others. Everyone was equal. There was no such situation in any other nation. Every nation has different social classes. There is some kind of aristocracy, where there is the nobility, and there are slaves. The Indians for example say that they are spiritual; however, look at their Caste system, their ranks and degrees, and the way that people disregard one another.
I have been to Spain and have examined the ancient civilization there. Even today, you can see it in people’s nature. There are people who were nobility once and were forbidden to do anything or to touch anything. Some died of hunger, but they were not allowed to work. There was never such a situation in Israel; everyone was equal. We cannot even imagine what equality means. But it’s still true today. Everyone disregards others, people do not care about each other, no one accepts another as superior, it is still in the nature of the people, in the character of the people, until today.
There is no greater or smaller: everyone is equal. This may be seen today in relations/connections between people. We use connections today too, but it is because we are corrupt, but that is it. We do not even understand how great a difference it was in those days between the nation and the Romans or any other nation. There, the differences between rich and poor or between someone from the aristocracy or a merchant were very great There were slaves, and all kinds of degrees of belonging to slavery, and to higher and lower ranks. These things did not exist here; they just didn’t exist!
No one felt that they were lower than others, and we are talking about 3000 years ago; do you understand? There was no concept of slavery—a Hebrew slave, is a term which you have to understand; we have to learn what it means. “Love thy friend as thyself” is a concept which pertains to the slave as well. Of course, there was a war between them—between barbarism and the last generation.
What does it mean, (just imagine what it means) to be in a country where everything, every small detail of education, culture, study, government, and army—everything is activated according to the law of bestowal, where everyone gives to another. Then turn this scenario around so that everyone goes against one another, devouring one another. Do you understand this kind of difference? They wanted the latter instead of the former, when the mentality is such: I use everyone, I want to steal, and I want to cheat everyone. Just look at the tragedy and the fall!
Question: I must confirm something in relation to the Prushim. In the time when they were leading the people, how did they resolve the paradox that on the one hand they cannot let the people disintegrate?
Have a look at the history. You're a historian and a sociologist, go study. I don't know.
Question: Baal HaSulam writes about the orthodox people, that they are part of the nation, and are doing harm. Perhaps they are not a part of the nation and perhaps they are, and they are causing harm?
I do not think so, I do not quite agree with you. You do not really understand Baal HaSulam; do not be so certain. It is not “what Baal HaSulam writes,” it is, “What I see from Baal HaSulam," that’s what you should say. Do not blame Baal HaSulam and do not ascribe anything to him. That is what you understand – I do not agree. Every part of the nation including the orthodox and the secular, has its own role, and in everything there is good and bad. You have to know how to perceive these things correctly. Don't just jump at everything; that's not wise to do.
Question: I would like to ask from the perspective of the Kli, how can a Kli that is in spirituality and has … such great pleasures, choose corporeal pleasures as a result of additional Aviut? How can an additional Aviut…
Corporeal means "in order to receive."
Question: Why does the addition of the Aviut make the Kli forget that in spirituality there are greater pleasures?
I cannot explain it any differently to you than in relation to yourself. Sometimes you are in a situation where you are willing to give everything away just to reach spirituality, bestowal, love, and detachment from the will to receive; that I do not care what happens with this world or with me. Another time, in the next moment, you suddenly feel—oops! Where am I? And you see yourself in a completely different place. That is the meaning of adding one milligram of will to receive that previously was not there.
That milligram causes an imbalance in one way or another, from one end to the other. It does not matter how much, it does not matter if it is ten kilos or a hundred kilos. There is either balance or nothing. That is it. Do you understand? If you fall, you just fall and that is it. It is just one milligram. It is not that you can just fall a little and come back, no. When you fall, it is a total fall all the way, because of that milligram. Let’s put it this way. [Rav drawing]
When you rise to a certain level, and a milligram is added to you, if you rise from say, being minus five, and you receive some addition, then what is added to you is a minus one, so it is minus six, so you fall. So, you are not in attainment here, you are in concealment—a greater concealment than before. You fell; here you were plus five and you fell into minus six, so there’s a gap. It cannot be any other way; you do not drop a little from here [Rav drawing] to there and back—there is no such thing. You’re just thrown off from one end to the other, you see it in yourself. Everyone who’s here experiences it, and that is it.
I do not know history that well, and I did not delve into it; I never studied it in school. I do not know about you, but according to what I understand in spirituality, that is the way it was.
Question: If the process of the breaking of the vessels was necessary, why is there criticism, and why is he blaming the Tzdokim?
You are saying this: Everything that happened, happened from above. Anyone can say this in relation to any moment in life. The only problem is this. Either I say that everything that happens is from above and I just sit like that and stay immobile, or I say everything that happened, happened from above so that I will react to it correctly and will use the insight of why it came from above correctly. The Creator changes things and I, in this changing environment, in what changes in me and what changes around me here, should find my way to the goal. There is a difference.
I can say “Thank God,” and never do anything, remain still, and immobile, but I will not advance. If a person is born to advance and to reach the goal, he mustn’t say that. On the one hand one should say “thank God,” then ask what am I thanking God for? Saying “Thank God” should mean that I remember that it comes from above so that I will react to it, so that I will learn from it how to advance. For me, “thank God” is because I remember, “thank God” for remembering that I can now work. It’s a huge difference. It is either inanimate or it is moving.
We must not agree with anything that happens, you must not agree with it—no; it is just laziness in us. You do not justify what is happening because your body, and your heart feels that it is bad. You just prefer not to correct yourself, you prefer not to see why it is bad. You feel that it is bad, you curse the Creator; you do not justify Him, and you do not bless Him, you curse Him. A bad sensation in the heart is already a corruption; it does not matter what you say in your mouth.
Here, everyone is crying out. It is the Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, so, everyone cries, so what? It is all from the lip and out. We have to reach a state in our heart, where we will complement whatever happens from above with our Kelim from below accordingly. Then, I will bless anything that comes to me even if I feel bad. I will bless it because it will bring me the opportunity to advance. You do not simply just agree, the whole world can justify itself like that.
The Difference between a Secular Ideal and a Religious Ideal...are there any more questions?
Question: This effort to try and justify the Creator, what is that?
Trying to justify the Creator is trying to obtain the attribute of bestowal. Justifying means trying to be in the attribute of bestowal like Him—that is the meaning of justification. When can I justify Him? When I too am in the same situation, when my Kelim are corrected with the same attribute, when the rules in me, are Him. When we are in equivalence of form and have the same perceptions, goals, and attributes. That is called “justifying;” it cannot be any other way.
We are talking about attributes; it is impossible that I will be in one attribute, and you in another, and that is how I will justify you. There is no such thing. If I justify you, I would be like you, there is no other way.
Question: Baal HaSulam writes in the beginning of the article: “The Torah is truth and every word is truth and as long as we doubt its truthfulness…” this doubting…
Until you come to a situation where you do not doubt it and you are certain of it, you will still have trouble. That is what he is trying to say.
Question: In relation to this doubt, on the one hand there is doubt that is troublesome, and also if you do not doubt, what I am saying, is “that is enough for me.” Then it is not, and we are not in doubt, we are not suffering…
Only in Gmar Tikkun everything that is in the Creator is an attribute of bestowal, which you accept in your own Kelim, You imitate and you are in it. Then, you are in Dvekut with Him, you are in Ein Sof, eternity, perfection and that is it. Any less than that is always, “Oh boy!”
Question: If almost 3000 years ago almost the whole nation lived in bestowal, how come nobody knows about it today?
I will look at you, and sometimes you cry, sometimes you laugh, and when you cry, I will try it on you. I will tell you: “But you were laughing yesterday, you were in such a great mood yesterday, you were so high spirited! Today, you are cursing everything. You cannot and you do not want anything, and you find it hard to move. What are you going to tell me when I remind you of yesterday? The sensation rules, and you cannot help it; the sensation governs your reality, meaning the amount of lights that are in the Kelim. You cannot help it if you fall; that is it. You can read about your previous situations—for you it is darkness. In one moment you feel “Ah!” You see in between the words and then you fall again and you do not see a single word. It is written about Baal Shem Tov that he could not remember the letters; that is how big his fall was. He could not read, being such a wise person, he could not read words, and that is how blocked he was when he fell. It is not just an allegory, it is true. So, look at yourselves, you can take these letters as parallel in relation to your work now. Somehow, imagine what happens on even higher levels, even more extreme states of ups and downs. Like Rabbi Shimon before Gmar Tikkun, he felt himself like “Shimon from the market.” It is not that you feel yourself a little less than the sage you were; you feel yourself like the lowest ignorant person.
Well, I guess tomorrow we will go over this subheading.
We should understand that we are a result of the process that this group has undergone, we who belong to this group and those who join us. We are part of that group, and we will have to reestablish it. Within everyone, there are Tzdokim, Prushim, and we must once more reestablish the Kli.