MONDAY PRAYER: GEVURAH-TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN
READING: between after midnight and sunrise of Monday
Lesson on the topic of “Working in Ascents and Descents”
Morning Lesson March 4, 2023
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 2:
Working in Ascents and Descents – Selected Excerpts from the Sources. #7
1. R. Yes, our whole work is in ascents and descents, we already know that and we feel it, each one as much as he has ascents and descents. The truth is we have to be more sensitive to the more ascents and more descents that we go through, and accordingly we will be ready to discover all the discernments in the upper world and the Creator because all ascents and descents are basically our preparation to feel the Creator, to be with Him as much as possible in one connection, so please.
2. S. (01:14) I wrote the question to myself we just read in the Book of Zohar, we experienced very powerful convention. the question is: what does the Creator one from us by bringing us to the lesson now?
R. I don’t know where you’re going with your question when we are about to learn something else.
S. To better direct us towards the lesson, when it was the Book of Zohar it was a bit heavy and maybe, somehow we will be able to penetrate it better, more strongly?
R. We are now in the work of the ascents and descents, this is what we are trying to scrutinize what we are acquiring from ascents and descents as much as we are connected to and advance through both, that is all.
Reading Excerpt #7 (02:31 – 03:59)
3. R. Yes this means that we have to see in our descents, as well, how much we’re losing everything we used to have in the feeling, knowledge, connection, in the recognition of the Creator, the attainment of the Creator, with the attitude with the friends, how much everything that belongs to spirituality, that we suddenly lose everything and nothing is left. I find myself like in the woods, as if I’m in the middle of the ocean, not connected, not related to anything. So I have to understand it’s the Creator, before He elevates me to the next degree, He wants me he wants to bring out of me everything that used to be there so I can feel the next state in a clean way, as powerful as possible, personal, individual, that is why this is what He does. Therefore, there cannot be an ascent if there is no descent prior to that and the descent has to be such that I lose everything that I had thus far and I start this new ascent from the beginning.
4. S. (05:53) You say that descents are when we discover the shattered vessels then to correct them, we need to rise again, what should be done for them?
R. We should disconnect from the previous state and enter a new state altogether so that the past will not disturb the present attainment.
S. Is prayer enough for this or is the intention in unification?
R. Of course, a prayer is enough for that.
5. S. (06:40) When I build for myself a framework and a daily schedule of our studies, do I need to take into account that I will also have descents?
R. No, no, I don’t need to take the descents to the future only the ascents, and to what extent I can depict the whole state, complete state until the final correction, and what happens on the way, accept it as the means for even higher ascents, higher ascents. Meaning from the ascents I have decided to descend, I add more and more discernments in ascents and descents that come to me.
6. S. (07:51) It says here, “until one becomes a simple person, ‘Shimon from the market’”; when does this even happen and is it even speaking of us or it’s only speaking of others?
R. ‘Shimon from the market’ is about last or prior to the last ascents, the big one, there is the big descent which is the last one and the person feels he has no chance to rise. He doesn’t have even a chance to be connected to spirituality at all, to such an extent all the attainments, all the degrees have disappeared, all the discernments he has acquired previously, then he is called ‘Shimon from the market’.
S. So what, can we in our tens become like this state, become like ‘Shimon from the market’ or it’s not related to us, can we in our ten reach a state like ‘Shimon from the market’?
R. I hear an echo there, repeat please.
S. Is it even possible that this is related to us in the ten, ‘Shimon from the market’, or it’s far from us?
R. It’s far but still each one has it inside.
S. A person can lose everything, not wake up in the morning, not want to get up, doesn’t have feeling, doesn’t feel like doing anything, everything is face down, is this ‘Shimon from the market’?
R. No this is not yet ‘Shimon from the market’.
S. How will I know?
R. ‘Shimon from the market’ is when, let’s say a part of this concept is when a person sees he has nothing, he won’t have anything, he has no hope, he’s completely lost. And what is left for him is only to go to the market and to take part in some work in the market: to clean the streets of the market, to hand out watermelons, to sell them, to help the ones who buy them to carry them to their home, etc., works in the market.
S. He writes here that “it’s calling, an invitation for a very high attainment of Pnim”. How does a person know he’s in such a descent, ‘Shimon from the market’, he loses everything, and then he knows that the Creator is calling him to rise?
R. Along with this person along with him falling, seeing he has nothing, but something is left from what he had, it is not a spiritual degree it’s the understanding that the whole path is with ascents and descents, the whole path is ascents and descents. And so he understands that all these things will also pass, it’s also in the hands of the Creator. He, the Creator’s above everyone, He’s the highest, so he counts on Him and completes completely, like ‘an ox to the load and a donkey to the load’. Even if no one helps him, even if the Creator does not help him, even if the friends leave, and he himself he doesn’t know where he is, as if he is thrown to some desert. Still he continues on his own in a way that he doesn’t want to see anything in front of him except for what he is doing right now, if he can do something he does it, that is how it is from one moment to the next one moment, one moment to the next. There is no wisdom or great plans here, this is called ‘Shimon from the market’.
S. Can I prevent such a state if I’m connected to the ten, can I prevent not being in such state of ‘Shimon from the market’, or is it a required state?
R. I think that feeling that is a must, but that’s how I think.
S. If there is a ten, there is mutual responsibility and one can help the other from not reaching that state and it’s a dangerous technical escape, people leave in that state, they don’t have strength to overcome, they don’t overcome and say, get we will get back to it. I personally see it’s a real problem, I can fall and leave the ten, it’s a great danger.
R. Of course you can fall off such a state and fly out.
S. Can the ten help me not being in that state?
R. Look I don’t think we have a way to escape it, I don’t think we have a way to change our destiny in any way, but what we have to do is to keep the advice we get.
S. Is ‘Shimon from the market’ fate?
R. ‘Shimon from the market’ is part of the fate of each and every one, he has to feel it and do it, yes?
S. Thank you very much.
R. What’s in it, all in all, you see that you are not the boss here.
S. I would like to ask you something: we learned at the time that Rabbi Shimon reached the degree, one twenty-five, when he fell to ‘Shimon from the market’, how did he then rise?
R. I don’t know where you learn these things.
S. ‘Shimon from the market’, that’s where it came from.
R. Degree one hundred twenty-six, I don’t understand what that is at all.
S. One twenty-five, he falls but how can he fall from that height and how does he rise back up?
R. That’s something we will learn in The Zohar, there he explains it very well.
7. S. (15:21) Yesterday we scrutinized this in the ten, it’s very relevant, every moment, every day, and I have this impression that all about our descents are for an ascent, just like the example with Shimon. He fell very deep but for very high ascents; and the second example with ARI, when he wanted to go with his students to Jerusalem but didn’t have a chance, was it also a descent for the purpose of ascents?
R. Of course, all that is in order to reach complete correction, only for that matter.
8. S. (16:18) How is that mutual understanding we attained in Convention, how can that help us rise from one degree to the next?
R. Yes we now feel that we are already after the Congress and we are expecting the next ascent, the next ascent comes to us in more or less a month which is Pesach. Pesach comes from the word, Pesah, skipped over, this jumping, jumping or skipping; and I really hope that during this holiday whether it’s in Israel or outside of Israel, we will again try to connect in all the ways to between us all over the world, among our friends. And the truth is the light of Pesach that shine on us during the Pesach, they can do wonders! They can really bring us in many ways out of our ego to connection between us and with the Creator. I really hope that soon it will happen, we will see according to the plans if our friends are preparing, you know them, and that we will get these plans and we will start learning them. Because in Pesach we have a lot of things to learn because it’s basically a symbol of our exit from our ego, called Egypt, and we are going to use it with all our forces until the end as much as we can.
And we’ll hope, let’s hope we’ll run away from the control of our ego in order to receive Lo Lishma, we’ll elevate ourselves above the ego to Lishma, we’ll start understanding what the Zohar writes for us and in general Baal HaSulam and Rabash in the real way. Also between us there’s going to be a stronger spiritual connection between the men the women, just everyone comes out of Egypt, both men and women, so we will try to do that, I am certain will succeed. Also about that, I want to awaken you a little bit to ask our friends that are in charge of the events of the holidays, turn to them, awaken them, shake them.
9. S. (20:52) ‘Shimon from the market’ in that descent, did he maintain his connection with the Creator, did he lose it?
R. Maintained only one thread, one thread, because he felt that he has no connection with the Creator, but in order to feel that you still have to be connected by one thread, that’s ‘Shimon from the market’, but he held on to it; and that’s for him was his entire life. Meaning this feeling that I’m disconnected but the feeling of this connection has to be, also in a feeling of minimal connection, that is what is left for him.
10. S. (21:55) After the convention I feel a lot of strength to continue and the question is how, what is the correct preparation for the time of Passover, how can we?
R. Honey, honey, hold on, hold on, I don’t know what the preparations for the Passover is, they have to bring the material and we will learn it together, you’re asking me a personal question, a personal question: what the preparation is? I don’t know anything seemingly, I don’t want to be connected to what is before me and to connect it to the past, what I have gone through. Why do I need to carry all these discernments, understanding my concepts, things that you are a year ago, today maybe I am in a different state; and also receive from the Creator something new.
That is why I don’t want to use anything I had, as if I don’t have, you know it’s written in many places that the great ones, the great Kabbalists used to pray to completely forget, to forget everything they knew, as much as they knew, we would never be able to fill ourselves with that until the end of our life. They used to pray for that, we want to be completely empty, why, in order to receive this whole Torah anew, that is why I don’t want this. Now that I am before Pesach and I start now to learn matters of Pesach: how I’m in Egypt, what Egypt means, the conditions to come out of Egypt, where to come out and how to come out, through what forces etc., all these things, I want to make them alive in me anew, as if nothing was there, to write all these things on the clean piece of paper. And this is why I don’t even open what I opened in the past, I have so many writings about Pesach, I don’t want it, always new, so we’ll learn.
11. S. (24:57) We have updates from the organizers in PT6 about Passover, about the Convention, our friend is ready.
R. Yes, I’m ready.
12. S. (25:08) Hello Rav, hello friends, Rav, we just went to update that in terms of the study material for Passover, we’re ready with a study material plan for a month and we can start at any point you say. We haven’t started studying yet about Passover because your last guidance was to first finish The Introduction to the Book of Zohar, that we have the article we are reading now and then one more after it. If you should ay we can start from tomorrow, we can start immediately.
R. I think we should start with the Pesach already.
S. Great, we’re ready!
R. Okay so with the Creator’s help, from until tomorrow.
13. S. (26:03) Just to add, we are being prepared to host friends from the World Kli, friends that want to come to the center, there’ll be more info. later on, and also all the friends. And the Israeli Kli, they plan on having a week filled with events: morning lesson, afternoon lesson and meals, social activities. We’re treating it like an event that we’re really connecting, uniting around the idea of Passover, right now, it’s all being built but we’ll give details later on. From our mutual study, we will all have and it will be clearer to us how to work correctly.
R. I agree with whatever you want and wherever you invite me, I will try as much as I can to be in everything, but we need to start hearing a response from the World Kli: who will come, where from, how; and accordingly, we will see what we’re doing, how we’re hosting them, how what we can do. But the study materials have to be above that.
S. So maybe Rav, all the friends from Israel, from the world, you can reach out to us at any point, you can send any question, anything, everything’s open and nothing is closer. We actually want to hear you, so boardworldkli@gmail.com, you can send anything in any language, you can reach out to us directly or through your language, anything. So Pesach is our next degree, our next event, so send everything and we’ll answer everyone and take every comment into account.
R. No one will come out of Egypt alone, only when everyone holds on to everyone, everyone is holding, man, women, children, then you can escape Egypt, so we’ll make this effort in the upcoming holiday.
14. S. (28:48) I apologize, my question is not yet about Passover, the Creator will raise me to the next degree, what is my work here?
R. To be ready for that, to want it, to ask of Him and not alone but with the friends.
15. S. (29:30) About ‘Shimon from the market’, the article says that “he was destined for higher attainment”, and in the discussion you say that there was one thing that he held on to, even though everything was taken away he was left with one thing. What was this one thing that he held onto that shifted him to a high attainment? I was scrutinizing it, is it faith, was it prayer, what was this one thing?
R. Shimon lost the connection with the Creator and this is why all that was left for him was the market; that he felt the connection with it, and here work has to be done. How from the market he can rise back, a little bit, towards the Creator and hold Him, not a simple work, difficult work. But along with that he knows that if he performs this work, this will be the last of his works after that the final correction will be revealed.
16. S. (31:40) How does a ten need to prepare for a state of ‘Shimon from the market’ so that it will be to treat the situation as an opportunity to rise above this feeling that was given by the Creator?
R. The ten should be connected with one goal, with one desire meaning with one heart, that specifically they want to attain the connection between them and with the Creator. If they will have such a desire and if they’ll even exist in our world like all the rest, like robots, and with that they’ll exist like all the rest so then they’ll succeed, I’m certain, that we can already attain such a state, okay.
17. S. (33:02) People, the women are giving a really strong impression, they have such greatness of the Creator, such immense greatness; for example, I check myself and I see I don’t have such greatness as they do, how can they do this? I think we, I, also have it I also have it but a woman who’s been studying with me for twenty years, she’s like a nuclear power source for the greatest of the Creator, how should we use this gift that has been given to us by the Creator?
R. You need to try to absorb inside this desire for correction, the desires for connection from everyone around you that is yearning for that, envy everyone, envy, envy. Not in bad envy, in good envy; you’ll have more desire, more desire will be received from you by others and this is called ‘one should help his friend’, one helps the other.
16. S. (34:29) I have a question about ‘Shimon from the market’: is the Creator examining me in what I’ve studied when I’m in the state of smallness to know where I am?
R. The Creator is examining you according to the extent that you are able to join others and be a vessel of Adam HaRishon, the Creator will fill the vessel.
17. S. (35:31) The state from ‘Shimon from the market’, has something egoistic in it because I remember maybe ten years ago, I just started to studying Kabbalah and it seemed to me that Kabbalah was this kind of revelation and in just a moment we’ll reach the final Correction. And now there’s a state that forgetting everything and going back to the previous state, there’s something egoistic about that state of ‘Shimon from the market’, what’s happening with the group, what about the 10? It’s like going back?
R. You will succeed in everything, do not worry, you will succeed in everything, simple, according to plan, we’ll advance, everything will come in its time.
18. S. (36:47) Is that feeling of emptiness also including the descent?
R. Yes, the second question?
S. How can I know that a certain state of emptiness is descent as a preparation for the next ascent, or maybe I receive this condition because I’ve been negligent in my study?
R. That’s very hard to know, nor do I think you can really know, we need to simply continue, any state we need to awaken, to awaken, to resuscitate and to continue.
19. S. (38:04) In my ten we started to have scrutinizes according to what you are recommending but there’s a feeling that we cannot change our relationship towards each other, we don’t have the strength for that, how to focus on the goal in a way that it corrects that desire in the heart so that the love will burn more than all our petty scrutinies so we can rise up?
R. I don’t know how to say how to do this, just every single day to be in contact between you, that’s one thing; second, you are showing each one all the time an example how each one is yearning for connection and how you aspire to reveal the Creator in that connection. Revelation of the Creator is the goal and the goal needs to be clear: I just don’t want to be connected to the friends, I want revelation of the Creator and for that I come closer to the friends.
S. Can we say that in our restriction we fall in a measured way?
R. No, no, I don’t want to get into these things, no, I also recommend you not to engage in this scrutiny.
20. S. (39:58) How should we organize in the inside, correctly, in order to receive the Creator’s call from a default into a descent?
R. To be closer to one another, we don’t need any more than that, just to be closer to one another.
20. S. (40:27) You say that in this state of descent, even if the friends let go of him, they leave and he feels as if he is in the desert, he has a thread that will also help him, what is this thread?
R. This thread that the Creator gives a person and by that He saves a person and doesn’t let him fall completely.
S. Even if he is alone without the friends?
R. Even if he’s alone without the friends, the Creator wants to teach him.
21. S. (41:26) We have the question about the threat, how does it look in the ten, this thread the Creator sends?
R. It’s having some kind of connection to the heart of the friend.
S. So how can we help a friend that lost everything, doesn’t remember anything of her emotions?
R. Slowly, slowly bring her into connection between us and she will come back to life.
22. S. (42:33) How do you, in the ten or how do you acquire like Shimon bar Yochai, let’s say when he drops to the market, how did he acquire the thread to keep this minimum contact, what do we need to prepare to be able to acquire this minimum thread in a descend like that?
R. We need to perhaps start from afar, this single thread that we are connecting together is somehow, maybe possible, but this thread through which we are connected through the Creator, here through our mutual study there are a few as such articles, songs, that can awaken our hearts, so try to awaken ourselves. But it’s good, it’s good that you are in a state that you see to the extent that you need this, it shows you chose a good state, that you are in a descent and it’s coming closer to an ascent, good.
S. So did He prepare that beforehand that he knew that he would have a thread, that he would be helped, did he create the conditions for that, that he could make the descent?
R. The Creator doesn’t have time, He doesn’t need to prepare it from now and onwards, for Him all the parts: the past, the present, the future are together so it is not like He’s working according to some clock like a human being, we will soon feel this.
23. S. (45:15) Does getting closer mean shortening the time between connection and disconnection?
R. Yes, of course, of course the times they get shorter, that’s considered to be ‘sanctifying the times’.
24. S. (45:49) To what extent should we care about our rises?
R. We need to care for ascents and descents only for the friends, that by that we want to help them.
S. Can you explain the difference between constantly giving obstacles and sometimes giving obstacles?
R. No that’s a long study, that’s not for now.
25. S. (47:06) What does it mean to be ‘Shimon from the market’, what is the market?
R. “Market” means our life, our entire life is called market, work, family, kids, everything we have that we want something to buy, something to sell, that’s called ‘the market’.
26. S. (47:58) In the previous Congress we’ve prepared to build one house and to feel the ten in one heart, can there be a state of a fall and recognition of the fall before the ascent so we can feel it in all the ten as ‘Shimon from the market; or is it a personal state?
R. You can, you can, don’t worry we are advancing as we should, you will see how our next meeting will be, how you’ll feel after it.