Bold and in quotes: Original text of Baal HaSulam
Regular: Commentaries of Rav Laitman
lowercase italics: emphasized words
Capitalized italics: transliteration from Hebrew
Crown means Keter, and Keter means Emanator and root. Kedusha (lit. Sanctity) is connected to the root, meaning Kedusha is called being in equivalence of form with its root. It means that as our root, namely the Creator, wants only to bestow, as it is written, "His desire to do good to the creatures", so Kedusha is only to bestow upon the Creator.
Sitra Achra, however, is not so. She aims only to receive for herself. For this reason she is not adhesive with the root, being the Keter. Hence the Sitra Achra is referred to as having no crown. In other words, because she is separated from the Keter, she has no crown.
There are only two forces in nature. There is the Force of the Light, Force of Bestowal, the Emanator and that which was created, and another force called "the force of reception, desire or the will power to receive". These two forces are seemingly in contradiction with each other. However, from the perspective of the Emanator, He needs the emanated being with the will to receive, in order to receive the benefit from Him and feel it as good and benevolent.
Indeed, the Light acts in everything. It creates the will to receive – existence from absence – nurtures and cultivates it though the four phases of the Direct Light. It then brings it through all the worlds to its opposite state, against Him, called “this World.” Following that it arranges a special place for it, a place for free choice, where this will to receive can evolve and reach a certain state. Although it uses the prepared force of the will to receive and the force of the will to bestow, by using these two forces, in between them, it finds a place for itself, where it can express its selfness and thus build something called “the creature.” This is similar to the middle line, a combination between these two forces: the will to receive and the will to bestow.
This creature builds itself as the middle third of Tifferet, something that did not previously exist between the will to receive and will to bestow. It builds it from knowing, assuming, and realizing, that all the actions happen from the Light. The Light shakes and builds the vessels; the expansion of the Light and its contraction create the Kli (vessel), the deficiency that is ready for its task. The illumination of the Lights causes the making of the Masach (screen). But the creature can use the Light’s forces, the Forces of Bestowal, when it reaches this status it certainly doesn’t question that only one Force i.e. the Light, operates in reality and it uses that Force.
If the creature can be adhesive to the same direction, to the same action that the Light performs, then the Creator gives the creature strength and the ability to use its Kli in order to obtain the purpose of creation. When the creature does that, then of course in a case such as this, it’s clear that "There is none else besides Him.”
It’s only through the Force of the Light that one obtains the goal. However, it is only possible to obtain the goal, to understand it and see the place of the creature and the process it has to experience through contradiction and opposition between the forces. That is why the creature is in between two contradicting forces. Where one force stands seemingly against the posterior, the back side of the will to bestow called “left,” and the right force which is the Force of Bestowal.
The Zohar explains to us in the letters of Rav Amon Saba that only the letter Bet (B/Second/Two) is special as through it, it is possible to build, to create the world. Since in it there is blessing and unity with the Force of the Light and only in this unity is it possible to bring the world – meaning all the other desires which the Creator created – to the desired correction.
Therefore, it is also said here that in everything, there are forces in the left against the right, except one attribute, which doesn't exist in the left. The left is a projection of the right, like the shade of the real thing. The shade may have everything, all the details, except of one: it does not have the truth, the force, its own entity. It exists as shade, so that with respect to it, the creature measures, sees and discerns. There are things that the creature (because it is created as existence from absence, in opposite from the Light), is not able to feel. It cannot only feel the Light. To discern things it must feel the Light opposite darkness and in contradiction between them make its discernments.
This is why Sitra Achra (Other side, Evil inclination) has to be on the one hand, and on the other hand we should discover that it comes as an aid through its contradiction with sanctity (Kedusha), so that one will be able to hold on to sanctity. The difference between them is like shade compared to the real thing. It does not have Taga (Crown); it doesn't have Keter (Crown); it doesn't have Maatzil (Emanator). It does not have anything of itself. It exists only as a projection, as shade of sanctity.
Now we can understand what our sages said (Sanhedrin 29), “All who add, subtract, meaning if you add to the count, it subtracts.” It is written (Zohar, Pekudei item 249), “It is the same here,” relating to what is inside, it writes, “Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains.” Relating to what is outside, it writes, “eleven curtains,” adding letters, meaning adding the Ayin (the Hebrew letter that is added), and subtracting from the count. It subtracts one from the number twelve because of the addition of the Ayin to the twelve etc.
The question is how can it be that he who adds, subtracts? If it’s addition, how can there be subtraction in addition? How can there be less now then before? But this is what he is trying to say. This happens if additional attributes are made to the Sitra Achra which it does not have when it's connected to the Creator. Additionally this Force is a real Force. It has independence. All of our strengths, i.e., of our nature, of our body, have something in and of themselves. When these strengths come, one has to execute them to relate to them seriously.
Anyone who adds foundation and individuality to these forces actually subtracts. He subtracts the correct foundation from the process that he has to experience since reallySitra Achra doesn’t have anything besides what it needed from it, i.e., to measure and examine through it and to hold on to sanctity.
All of the forces in man and in the environment, around a person and in the whole reality in general come in order to mislead a person from the direct path toward the Creator. Specifically, if a person tries through all these forces to find the force of the Creator, then he reaches the goal. Because all of these forces come and negatively direct him toward the Creator. That’s their destination.
However adding independence to these forces, as if they exist, is called “bowing before other gods, before many forces,” so to speak, that are around. Each force has its own will, its own source, and a person thinks that here too, “I exist, I understand, I want and I do.” If that individual still hasn’t reached “There is none else beside Him,” this is called “bowing before the many forces of nature.” It’s called “public authority.” It’s considered adding something that doesn’t exist in them, because they are not gods. In this situation he subtracts.
It is known that calculation is implemented only in Malchut, who calculates the height of the degree (through the Ohr Hozer in her). Also, it is known that Malchut is called “the will to receive for self.”
When it annuls its will to receive before the root, not wanting to receive, but only to give to the root, like the root, which is a will to bestow, then Malchut, which is called Ani (lit. I), becomes Ein (lit. naught). Only then does it extend the Light of Keter to build her Partzuf and becomes twelve Partzufim of Kedusha.
Only on the condition that a person joins the forces that operate on him, the Keter, the Creator, the champion of the world, the Aleph (one, first letter in Hebrew alphabet), through that he comes to a situation where he succeeds and correctly uses the natural forces – his own and those of his surrounding. Then he sees that this whole Sitra Achra is created especially for him to use from Above.
This is especially so because it has no crown, because the Keter is not added to these forces. Man uses all of his own egoistic forces and all the influences of society on him. He doesn’t run away from all these situations, but aims himself within these situations correctly toward Keter, which is only in the Force of Bestowal, in the One Force, in the One Source. By that one comes to build the twelve Partzufim of sanctity.
The twelve Partzufim of sanctity are made up of the twelve Partzufim of Atzilut and afterwards in the thirteen corrections of Dikna (Beard), Atik and Nukvah, Arich Anpin and Nukvah, Abba ve Ima and Nukvah, AbbaTvuna and Nukvah, the big ZON, the little ZON (it depends on how they are counted.) But these are six Partzufim with their Nukvaot – all-in-all, twelve Partzufim.
However, when it wants to receive for itself, it becomes the evil Ayin (lit. Eye). In other words, where there was a combination of Ein, meaning annulment before the root, which is Keter, it has become Ayin (meaning seeing and knowing within reason).
This is called adding.
This means that if a person wants to add his vessels of reception to what happens in him and before him (in his five senses) then he then falls to seeing only a picture of this world only. Of course, at that moment his perspective of reality is incorrect. Only if he can elevate what he sees in these five senses above his reason, above the discernment of everything, according to his egoistic desire, and by adding it to a higher degree, to the AHP of the Upper One, he then finds himself in blessing and sanctity.
It stems from the fact that our real Kli is the middle third of Tifferet. It is neither good nor bad, neither sanctity nor Klipa (shell). It is in one’s free choice. He may add himself to the Upper degree, to the Upper Partzuf, to the AHP of the Upper One, and say “Every situation is in me right now, I want to be in the AHP de Elyon with it, even though it is against my understanding and my sensations.”
He then attaches himself to the ceiling, to the higher degree, and thus progresses even though it’s called “progressing with faith above reason”. But doing it he acquires the real intelligence and knowledge. He doesn’t lose his mind or become insane by doing that. No, he just takes the knowledge of the Upper One, which is a greater knowledge and becomes wiser.
Whereas if he goes with his own mind, meaning, this middle third of Tifferet as attached to the lower degree (where the bottom third of Tifferet from below is the vessels of reception), then by that he cancels his Dvekut (adhesion) with the Crown, Keter, and continues alone with his own corporeal mind. Even though it may seem to him that by that he is of a very sound mind and may succeed, and makes a very clear and healthy calculation in this world, but in this way is stopped.
As it is written, “his source is dried out and he receives no blessing.” Instead of acquiring higher Kelim, he becomes attached to his own corporeal mind. This is the whole issue of choice. What a person wants to become attached to, what kind of calculation he wants to make, either calculate that “There is none else beside Him” and be attached to bestowal or think that he does everything according to his own stomach.
However, when it wants to receive for itself, it becomes the evil Ayin (lit. Eye). In other words, where there was a combination of Ein, meaning annulment before the root, which is Keter, it has become Ayin (meaning seeing and knowing within reason).
This is called adding. It means that one wants to add knowing and work within reason to believing. In other words, it says that it is more worthwhile to work within reason, and then the will to receive does not object to the work.
This causes a deficit since they were separated from the Keter, called will to bestow. This is the root of no longer having the matter of equivalence of form with the root, called Keter. For this reason, Sitra Achra is called “Malchut without a Crown.” It means that Malchut of the Sitra Achra does not have Dvekut (lit. adhesion) with the Keter, and for this reason they have only eleven Partzufim, without Partzuf Keter.
This is why we have the eleven signs of the incense, hell, the hair of the Teffilin, all kinds of signs that through them strength is given to the Sitra Achra, so that it exists and by that a person can discern good from bad, dark from light, and thus progress.
This is the meaning of what our sages wrote, “ninety nine die of evil eye,” [Meaning, we say “a thousand go into a room and one comes out to teach.” Who succeeds and who doesn’t succeed on the way to the Creator? Those who attach themselves to Keter. That’s the whole difference between them.] meaning because they have no discernment of a Keter. It means that the Malchut in them, being the will to receive, does not want to annul before the root, called "Keter." This means that they do not want to make of the Ani (lit. I), called "will to receive," a discernment of an Ein (lit nought), which is the annulment of the will to receive.
Instead, they want to add, meaning where there should be an Ein with Aleph (the first letter in the word Ein), they insert the evil Ayin (lit. Eye, and the first letter in the word). Thus, they fall from their degree due to a lack of Dvekut with the root.
This is the meaning of what our sages said, “Anyone who is proud, the Creator says, ‘He and I can not dwell in the same compartment…’”
By ‘pride’ it is not meant that he has pride, i.e., that he thinks that he is stronger than the Creator. Of course, that’s not what is being discussed. What is being discussed are the people who are working, who have the ability to sentence themselves to the side of merit and elevate themselves. Pride means judging the place of choice incorrectly.
Instead of attaching himself to the Upper One (to the Upper Degree) and annulling before the Upper guidance to ”None else beside Him,” he should try to see all the forces that operate on him as one Force (which creates his whole world). Instead of trying to do that and then be annulled before this Upper Force – to go with it and discover the real picture of reality – he is attached to different forces. He is attached to alien forces, to his own forces (as if he has strength, separate intellect) and the environment with these forces that seemingly come from themselves, having no Keter. This is called “being in the Sitra Achra,” detaching himself from the Keter, from the one root.
This is the meaning of what our sages said, “Anyone who is proud, the Creator says, ‘He and I can not dwell in the same compartment,’” as he makes two authorities. However, when one is a state of Ein, and one annuls oneself before the root, meaning that one’s sole intention is only to bestow like the root, you find only one authority here, the authority of the Creator. Then, all that one receives in the world is only to bestow upon the Creator.
This is the meaning of what he had said, “The whole world was created for me, and I, to serve my Maker.”
What does it mean that the whole world was created for me? All the forces that a person feels as the world, i.e., as scattered forces operating on him from the outside, as well as me as a small world, operating through all kinds of forces that seem strange to him, constantly awaken in him and seem like his own. All of that was created for me. This means that if I unite these forces, to the extent that I can unite them to the single root, then I find the Keter for it. In that situation I am attached to sanctity. “The whole world was created for me and I to serve my Maker” – to reach through these forces, through uniting them to Keter, to the root.
For this reason I must receive all the degrees in the world so that I can give everything to the Creator, which is called, to serve my Maker.
Question: Is every new situation AHP de Elyon (Upper One/Superior)?
No. A new state is not AHP de Elyon. A new state is one in which the person does not discern anything. The person doesn’t know where he is, if he’s in a new state. It’s (the result of) Reshimot (reminiscences) which are as of yet amorphous, so that man doesn’t know what to do with them. As the Reshimot appear in their raw state, man thinks he is within some state with forces of breakage.
After the breaking, the souls are each in their own internal force and in the external forces. They are broken, not connected together. Not all the souls are connected as one body and not all the external forces that operate on us, called “the world,” are connected to one world, one source, one Keter. It turns out that the picture that appears is not AHP de Elyon. There appears a picture where the world and the person are the way that person feels himself right now. A person wants, thinks and exists. There’s a world around him which exists, gives and receives from him etc. He feels this kind of reality, himself and his environment.
The environment is the group, humanity and the entire universe. Everything that one can only picture is divided into “me” and the external, “besides me.” It’s not AHP de Elyon. It becomes AHP de Elyon the minute one begins to identify the AHP de Elyon in it. That is to say, that there is the Upper One like Keter – one Force, one desire, one intention – which influences and organizes the individual and the world, so that he will find the right connection to that same Upper One, which organizes him and the world.
It is then considered that he is in the AHP of the Upper One. We always speak from the perspective of the attaining and the feeling. Anything outside of the one who feels is just Upper Light. It is Atzmuto (Essence/His Essence). If it is determined that this is AHP de Elyon, then it’s AHP de Elyon.
Question: What does it take to annul these forces?
Man cannot receive these forces unless it’s from within the group, the environment. When he begins to feel past the environment, how the environment implies that there is one Force, he demands to discover it during the study. Then the Upper Light brings him to that sensation, Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light).
Question (cont’d): Where does he find the power to annul himself?
If what is being discussed is coming any closer to the goal, to sanctity, then the strength to annul himself and any other strength can be received from Above as a result, as a reaction to our MAN, to the desire within us.
One’s desire to be corrected, to come closer to the goal cannot come from me. It can come from the right combination between me and the environment. He needs to identify this one Force in the environment, the one Force, within which he tries to be in his environment, and in his group. It is the collection of forces into one Force which gives an example, a picture, as if all the forces of nature are brought together to become as one. They seemingly connect in order to reach the Source. Meaning, out of this picture one begins to have a deficiency. The lack of being in that state is called raising MAN.
If this lack is really in the person (where that person was impressed by the society), then during study this lack uprights as MAN, as a request, and shines on that individual. Then, as a reply, with Light from that corrected state, this brings him strength, and he already works with this strength, the force of the Light. Therefore, one must identify a more corrected state in the group, in the unity of the soul to some extent. There he finds both the Gadlut (adultness) of unity and the importance of the goal. All of these forces help people during study to ask for a higher state.
If one doesn’t work with the group prior to the study, then he can’t think correctly during the study. Even if it seems to him that he is asking and wanting, it’s an egoistic complaint. The spiritual desire, spiritual deficiency is egoistic, but it is seemingly spiritual as it can only come from the impressions one receives from the group, from the society. Because that is the only situation in this world that can bring a person deficiency for unity, unite all the forces, everything that appears to him, into one root.
This is why in Arvut (Mutual Responsibility/Guarantee) in Matan Torah and in all the other articles Baal HaSulam explains to us how important this work is. The Creator doesn’t need it but the individual does in order to have any kind of correct deficiency. If one still didn’t give enough efforts in the group, to want to see them or to see them as united together, then that person hasn’t been impressed by them.
The group is a collection of souls, which thus builds the general Kli. He wants to be in them in the same way as a cell is in a single body. If he doesn’t have the right deficiency during the study, he is not raising MAN and receiving Ohr Makif which reforms. He also isn’t progressing towards spirituality.
Question: In our world there are examples of people annulling their reason before the knowledge of the Upper One. Why is it difficult to do that in spirituality?
Man can’t cancel his own knowledge before the Upper One, because he doesn’t know the Upper One. What kind of example can you give in this world? Who annuls himself before the Upper One? If the Upper One is a minister, the prime minister, the king and he tells me: “Michel, do this and that?” And I say “Very well” and do what I was told even though inside I think differently. Therefore I cancel myself. Who in our world knows the Creator and can cancel himself before the opinion of the Creator?
Again, if I turn to society and begin trying to discover these sparks within this society (it doesn’t matter which society, which level they are in), but if there is some ability for me to see that the Creator made a collection of these sparks and wants them to progress toward Him. These sparks are His forces. Even though these sparks are still egoistic desires, they really do want proximity, unity, adhesion with the Creator. If a person tries to see these things in society and attach himself to that direction, to that goal, to that predilection, this is called “discovering the Force of the Creator.”
Where else can he discover the Creator? The Light appears within the Kli. Picture the vessel of bestowal. The vessel of bestowal has all its parts in contact between themselves in order to benefit each other, give each other pleasure and progress in order to help reveal the Creator, to give each other contentment, to reveal the Upper Force in them.
The Upper Force is what clothes in them. There is nothing outside of that. This mutual bestowal among them is the Creator. There is no Creator outside of that. The Inner Light is discovered clothed within the Surrounding Light, within the Returning Light, within the Light of Hassadim (Mercy). If a person discovers it this way (and only within this society), then he can say that he has the Upper One, (this principle of unity of the sparks), and he connects to them. This is called “canceling himself with respect to the Upper One, to the Creator.”
Where is the Creator? We build this attribute that is called “Creator.” It’s called “receiving Him, feeling Him or identifying Him.” In a person’s quality – which is the will of bestowal – if he builds this will of bestowal from these scattered egoistic sparks, this Kli, this unity of sparks, then the quality between them, the unity, the Arvut, the love, “Love thy friend as thyself,” is exactly the quality of the Creator. There is nothing else. There never will be.
This is what appears between the broken Kelim that want to unite, on top of their breaking. It is called “the Creator.” Later on, by discovering this attribute within this attribute, they also discover Keter. Keter is His desire to do good to His creations. The Thought of Creation is Above us, it is what created us, existence from absence as the breaking point. It appears deeper within the attainment of bestowal, the Thought. But it’s still within the Kli. Nothing is attained outside of the Kli.
Question (cont’d): The question is why is it so difficult to discover the right picture of the Upper One?
The great difficulty is only that it’s against our nature. The only difficulty is to open our eyes, transcend a little above our ordinary thoughts and relate to the society that was given to us as an instrument, a tool, in which, if arranged correctly, one discovers Ein Sof (Infinity), the Creator, perfection. Man discovers his own spiritual world, his own eternal dimension. It depends on him alone, only on concentrating the effort in that direction. If he does that, that’s all he needs. But in regards to that Baal HaSulam says that “A thousand go into the room and one comes out to teach.” Why? Because that one person is the one who really tries to see the world, the environment and himself this way.
This whole situation was designed for man by the Upper Force, so let’s take it this way. It should be accepted it this way and not as constantly being in concealment, in this blurriness, where it’s as if the world, the neighbors, the enemies and me are here in this whole array like in a theater. Man should see it as a theater and that there’s someone behind the scenes who arranges everything. He has to identify Him and not relate to these marionettes as something real. The concealment is necessary. Without it we won’t be us. We would be the same Upper Force.
To build ourselves, we have to discover Keter through the concealment. Those who are successful are those who always try to see the real picture. As Baal HaSulam says in “There is none else beside Him,” attention to that is the only thing that can help a person. That’s the key. Then one relates differently to his friends, to the study, to society. But someone can’t approach the study if he didn’t previously explain to himself why he is studying. How will he know why it’s worthwhile to study?
It can only be known why studying is worthwhile after trying to build the Kli of Arvut, (vessel of the bond) to receive the Light of Torah. The Light comes and reforms a person, when he tries, even though he fails but knows what he needs. But if a person didn’t try to build the lack, then what kind of Light can appear? What Upper Light (which is in complete rest) can influence him if he has no deficiency for it? Its influence on the person is drawn with that person’s lack. But that is if he wants what it can give him – the form of bestowal.
That’s why, the study of those who do not equip themselves beforehand with the desire to be in that state of unity with others, to attain the Arvut is worthless. It’s like performing physical Mitzvot (Precepts/Commandments). It’s the same with the study. One can study whatever sources, Baal HaSulam, with all the philosophizing, but if he didn’t have the prior, correct deficiency, then what will this study give him?
That’s what Baal HaSulam says about those who are proficient in their writings of the Ari. But they said “God forbid what’s to attain? The Ari also didn’t know. Eliyahu taught him and that’s it. Then we will do the same, we’ll read, we’ll discuss what’s written until Eliyahu comes.” This means that they don’t even want to attain the strength that would correct them through this study. Because to begin with, they don’t build the society accordingly. It’s a problem. The most important thing is to build the conditions.
Kabbalah books have been sold throughout the time of exile, from Rabbi Moshe de Elion onward and for the last few hundred years. Today any secular person, any person from any nation can walk into a store and no one will ask questions. Anyone can open the books, so what? Even those who do open and want to learn, it all depends on the preparation. That’s what it says in the Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot, item 17.
Therefore, the student pledges before the study to obtain faith, meaning the Force of bestowal. That’s the foundation: “A righteous lives by his faith.” From that he begins to enter the spiritual track. But if he doesn’t do it, why study? The student must pledge before the study. Why? Otherwise it’s not considered studying Torah. He is studying knowledge and he remains even more egoistic in that, by understanding and philosophizing, etc.