SUNDAY: HOCHMA-TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN
READING: between after midnight and sunrise of Sunday.
Baal HaSulam. The Freedom
Morning Lesson June 23, 2023
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio.
Part 2:
Baal HaSulam The Freedom. (In Spiritual Life, Take after the Individual)
Reading from the heading. In Spiritual Life, Take After the Individual (00:12) – “It turns out that as far as spiritual life is concerned…”
1. S. (04:10) He writes that in spiritual matters he should follow the individual, and there is a severe prohibition to force their opinions on them. Two paragraphs ago, he says that in the commandments between a person and the Creator – there is coercion. Can you explain the difference between where there is coercion and where there is no coercion?
R. We see that as he explains to us here that special things are in nature in abundance, like aluminum, until we reveal them, and it is also among people. If we want to connect special people together to bring something out of them, then we need to work on them a lot to teach a lot, to learn a lot, to work on their connection. Therefore, we see that this is how humanity develops over millions of years, and that is not for no reason that these geological periods that unfolded for thousands upon thousands of years.
Until we reached the state where already a few thousands of years ago the human species really started developing. That just tells us how much these things work according to the law, and we cannot change that law, even now where we are. Even though it is written that Israel hastens the times, we still need to discuss how much of that is given to us in the framework of which it is possible to hasten the times.
S. Can you just place a correct definition of what are spiritual matters and what are commandments between the person and the Creator, it sounds like two and the same thing?
R. Man and the place is man and the Creator, and what else?
S. Spiritual matters on which he writes where there’s no coercion, but on the commandments between a person and a place he writes that there is coercion?
R. A person and a place, there is coercion, because a person needs to observe the laws of nature, and if you do not observe them then you suffer, and others suffer. In the matter of holding on to the laws of nature, we are all interconnected and mutually influential upon each other and that is where it comes from.
S. What are those spiritual matters that are different, where there is no coercion?
R. Coercion means that it all carries out according to the heart’s inclination, the heart’s inclination. Don’t look at the world like you know the world, it is all destroyed, corrupted and confused, etc.. But, if we take the world after the shattering with all the mixing and etc., and each one needs to develop in a way where he has, according to his heart’s inclination, and only in such a way if one directs himself, then he would reach his purpose, his role.
S. We have relationships between society, between friends, and education, and all kinds of situations where there’s a matter of coercion, and there’s a place where you should not interfere and not touch it. On one hand, between a person and a place you have to go according to the majority and coerce it, and the spiritual matters you should not touch, it’s hard to distinguish?
R. We have no way of coercing each other in spiritual matters, but each one goes according to his hearts’ inclination. However, in other things you belong to a system that is before you, the system of human society, and you can do whatever you want, whatever you think.
2. S. (09:50) If they’re individuals in the society and also in the ten that are concerned and they devote themselves and it shows, so the rest should subjugate to their opinion?
R. Baal HaSulam does not want to talk about that at all – that you have those that want to be managers of the society?
S. That they devote themselves, they dedicate themselves to dissemination.
R. What society are you talking about?
S. Here.
R. That is something else. About here, he is not speaking about. Here is a society that whoever is in this society, does not mean that you count according to the heads and the managers, but through this society that everybody incorporates in that he bestows to, that is connected to Him, that wants to reach the purpose of his life, to resemble the Creator to come close to the Creator, that is all. All the rest of the things do not relate to him.
S. To be clear, if there are a few individuals that are in the ten who I see that are devoting themselves, is it recommended that I subjugate myself before them and to get their opinion?
R Yes.
3. S. (11:14) How can the collective be sure that they understand correctly the opinion of the individual?
R. We are in a society where each one has his own opinion. And, according to what Baal HaSulam writes to us, each one needs to try to subjugate himself towards the society, towards the ten.
S. What is the opinion of the individual that he writes about?
R. That each one in the ten has an opinion.
S. It says the opinion of the individual after which everyone follows?
R. There’s no such thing.
S. According to what does the society do?
R. The society follows its spiritual idea which are the writings of Baal HaSulam and Rabash.
S. How do we understand correctly what is written?
R. We scrutinize it.
4. S. (12:20) So it turns out that the opinion of the individual sounds like the Creator – if you follow Kabbalah, Baal HaSulam and Rabash.
R. Yes.
S. And, after the collective there is also the Creator. There is None Else Besides Him.
R. Yes.
Reading Heading (12:49) Criticism Brings Success; Lack of Criticism Causes Decadence.
5. S. (17:28) Seemingly what he is saying is opposite of what we understand that the foundation of physical success is the unity of society and success of knowledge and concepts is the separation disagreement between them. Can you explain why is it like that and what does it mean?
R. As much as there is this opposition of opinion there is more chance for scrutiny.
S. Then what?
R. Take for example scientists, the more they have disagreements, they are in these scrutinies between them, who is right, who is not, etc.. If that is a scientific dilemma, then it turns out that it acts for the benefit of science.
S. Here he is talking about Kabbalists?
R. Not just Kabbalists, but also scientists, in science, in every true human progress, there are disagreements and dilemmas, it’s good.
S. What do we have to protect here? When humanity reaches its peak you have to preserve criticism of scientists, wise people, and scholarly people?
R. That it will not stop.
S. How can we understand that there can be criticism when there’s unity?
R. Precisely since there is unity, so that the unity will not control the lack of criticism.
S. Why is there such danger that unity will take over criticism?
R. Because human nature is that if we are in unity, then everything is in unity, and that is not good.
S. What should be in unity, and what should not be in unity, what should we preserve as separated?
R. Only what there is for the need of development. Everything that is related to development needs to be under scrutiny and under criticism and we always need to hold on to that.
S. In what should there be unity?
R. In everything else.
S. What does it mean using the Wisdom of Kabbalah? What should be in unity and what should be in disagreement?
R. According to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, in all things spiritual there needs to be criticism of position, disagreements, scrutinies and it needs to be felt in each and every person. Only in such a way can we progress. What you have over the generations, the Shammai, the Hillel there is plenty of that and no one says that he is right and he is right but it is always a disagreement.
S. What is the unity if there is disagreement?
R. Scrutinize the goal, we scrutinize the goal and the disagreements remain, so what?
S. And unity which parts?
R. We also have unity in that and we are drawn to the same goal which is common to all of us but the parts to it and approach to it in the way of scrutinizing it is different than even the opposite.
S. How in such a state when you have a disagreement of opinion how do you maintain unity?
R. We have no choice but only in such a way can we exist and progress. Even a person himself if he is one way in one state and another way in another state, and states where he doesn’t know how to decide or what to do, he is also incorporated in that same disagreement.
6. S. (22:34) How should we work in the group because here it says that in spiritual work the criticism is beneficial and in corporeality the opposite is important in unity. It seems like in corporeality criticism is more successful and here we drive for connection, we don’t criticize the work of others, what is correct here?
R. We will look into that soon.
7. S. (23:19) He says in the end of the chapter that we are cautioned to preserve it very carefully in the manner of every form within us which will call the individual, that is a particular force of a single person, generally named the will to receive. The question is why is the collective able to discern if it’s individual or decide about them?
R. The person needs to decide that, not the light, not the majority, it depends what things, what spiritual matters.
8. S. (24:36) It is saying in the article that the collective must annul and follow the individual, how can the collective decide, how can the collective know when to decide according to if the individual is making the right decision and accept it or not?
R. It cannot.
9. S. (25:25) I want to feel myself as a lower one and you as the upper one and the Creator of the upper upper one, do you agree?
R. I want to be the upper-upper. If you agree, I agree.
S. Why the difference between the worlds the enslavement of the Malchuiot?
R. What is the enslavement of the Malchuiot?
S. The difference between this world and the spiritual world boils down to the enslavement of the Malchuiot?
R. Yes.
10. S. (26:09) How not to give into multiplicity of opinion, how to come up with one opinion, how not to surrender to, we have many opinions and we cannot make a decision. How to overcome the multiple opinions and come up with one opinion?
R. To check those things according to the text, we have no choice.
S. Each one understands the writings differently and in the lesson we have, saying Rav says and everyone understands Rav differently?
R. We have many Ravs, that is the matter of the exile of the period, it will soon get clarified.
S. Is there a compass, a general law that you can give to the Ten according to which it can aim itself?
R. Only connection nothing other than that. Not intellect, not emotion, nothing, only connection should direct us. That is all.