SUNDAY: BINAH-TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN

READING: FROM MIDNIGHT TO DAWN SUNDAY

Baal HaSulam. One Commandment

Part 2:

Baal HaSulam. One Commandment

Reading Article, Twice (00:14 – 03:06)

1. S. (03:13) What Baal HaSulam describes as the first and only commitment he writes, it’s not already called Lishma? He writes “for the rest of his time he will work for the public to save the oppressed, every being to salvation”.

R. In order to reach Lishma.

S. What’s the gap between that and Lishma, where is this gap?

R. By doing it and wanting to attain Lishma.

S. If he performs all these things what more is he lacking for it to be called Lishma?

R. Nothing, perhaps.

S. He writes, “this is the mitzvah that guarantees the achievement of the aspiration to attain Lishma”.

R. Yes?

S. So it’s enough to be in the state for it to be called Lishma?

R. If you’re in it, you’re in Lishma.

2. S. (04:20) I would expect to say that the first and only commandment is love of friends.

R. The means, it’s a means, there’s no such thing as the love of friends being the end of the road, it’s an action by which we reach connection.

S. Why does he say that “the only Mitzvah Commandment to reach Lishma is to accept upon oneself not to work for oneself but merely to provide for one sustenance”?

R. Because practically in this way we reach Lishma, when I am working only for the sake of the other.

S. It’s as if the main thing here, what does it mean not to work for one’s needs, sustenance?

R. Anything that’s not necessary for him and he explains it later.

S. What does it mean, “the rest of the time he will work for the public to save the oppress, and every being in the world that needs salvation and benefit”?

R. Yes, he cares about everyone in the world so they would lack nothing of their necessities and he himself does not need them. 

S. And that is the only thing that you need to do in order to reach Lishma?

R. Yes.

S. We are every created being in the world that needs?

R. He tells you this law, in general.

S. I don’t understand.

R. What is considered ‘the corrected world Kli, that everyone cares about everyone else so that there is no one that’s left outside of the general concern of all the people in the world, right?

S. Yes?

R. What are you asking, here he explains this to us, there is nothing more than reaching a state where everyone cares about everyone else. 

3. S. (07:09) “He who performs one commandment to the whole world and himself as to the scale of merit”, what does that mean, “love your friend as yourself”?

R. Yes.

S. He means that commandment?

R. Yes, that you care for others as you care for yourself. 

4. S. (07:33) From what I understand from Bnei Baruch, our influence in the world centralizes on one specific thing, to bring the wisdom of correction and connection to every person of the world, in every language wherever he is. Except for focusing on that, that there is endless work, we don’t do any other action towards saving the oppressed, we’re not giving money or medicine because we don’t have all these things so are we precise about what he’s saying or what?

R. Yes, yes because this is what we’re able to do, if the Creator will suddenly drop some funds on us so we’ll learn how to share it with everyone, that is a very big trouble. 

5. S. (08:40) Baal HaSulam writes that he speaks about the necessity and that changes from person to person, how do we measure the necessity? 

R. According to the extent that a person understands and the more that we advance, this extent changes.

6. S. (09:17) When he speaks about necessities, he speaks about corporeality or towards Lo Lishma? 

R. Corporality and Lo Lishma are basically, we can say, the same. 

S. I’m asking because we can see our needs, our bodily corporeal needs, or toward our engagement in Torah and Mitzvot and the reward we want to get from it, should that also be restricted and limited?

R. No, no, no, that’s not the way we should say it, we don’t need to restrict ourselves in the essential things and what we need in order to exist, we need to have everything that we should have, it’s not that we limit ourselves.

S. What is the right approach toward necessities like what he’s writing about?

R. Regarding the necessity, we have to make sure everyone gets their necessities as they should, you don’t praise or condemn it.

S. How does that work with Lishma, how does that push us toward Lishma? 

R. If a person cares, first of all, cares about his necessities, he can exist in his basic levels which is the best, beastly life. Then he can rise to the human level that resembles the Creator. 

S. But here he says that “the thing that is leading us to Lishma”, that if you have this then that leads to Lishma.

R. If you care about your necessities, no more than that, this will already lead you to the next degree. 

7. S. (11:47) Love of the Creator and love of the friends, do the two become the same in an integrated system, are those conditions for an integrated system to work?

R. Ultimately yes but that’s in the end of the path that they connect to one.

8. S. (12:15) I’m asking myself if people that keep giving, like Albert Switzer, the doctor that did things in Africa, is he performing this commandment?

R. I don’t know, don’t confuse me with Africa now with the doctors there.

9. S. (12:47) Why, in the beginning of the path, there is a lot of confusion for the students between necessities and spirituality?

R. Because one doesn’t really know what spirituality means, see now he’s asking about something, someone that works in Africa, is that spiritual or not?

S. What’s the advice?

R. What do you mean ‘what’s the advice’?

S. How can you speed up getting your mind around this correctly, to separate between necessities and spiritual advancement. how not to get confused?

R. We need to work in an essential way on the existence of a person and no more than that, all of the rest should be invested in a person’s spiritual advancement, “if there’s no flour, there’s no Torah”.

S. What should a person pay attention to, on keeping his necessities exactly, keeping only to keep his necessities?

R. Yes, that’s a must.

S. He needs to constantly check himself that he’s on his necessities or check?

R. No, not necessities more or less, normal.

S. Because if he’s paying attention to it, so he’s constantly dealing with it, is he in this necessities only to keep his basic needs or should he not work for his own benefit but for the others which is outward, it’s two different tendencies what should he work on?

R. The attention should be first on making sure he has what he needs in order to exist, that’s one thing; are you listening or are you reading?

S. Listening.

R. Is it clear what I told you?

S. Kind of?

R. What do you mean kind of?

S. Because it turns out that a person is constantly busy with himself, “am I in necessities, am I not, am I keeping what I need”?

R. He should examine it, do it, and then he will be free to do the other things; if I have strength left in me and have time left during the day then I can invest it for others.

10. S. (15:23) He writes that the work of the Creator and keeping the commandments are only for Lishma?

R. Yes.

S. And what every Commandment you could do it for Lishma or Lo Lishma, it depends on according to what the reward will be?

R. Yes.

S. I wanted to ask about the love of friends, what is the love of friends Lishma and what is the love of friends in Lo Lishma in our work in the ten, practically?

R. In practice, in our work, ‘love of friends’maybe be that I care for, to have a strong society that is connected and exist correctly and in a good way to maintain itself ,to protect itself. And the connection between them, for it to really be Lishma, that’s for the sake of the connection to the Creator, to aid the Creator ,to bring the world to correction.

S. That means, that because like you said in the beginning, also in the corporeal group they have a goal, they want the group to be successful, connected and the addition of Lishma and that everything that we do the Creator will be there. The goal to reach the revelation of the Creator is in the ten, is that a goal of Lishma or also Lo Lishma?

R. No, it’s Lishma because only in Lishma it exists. 

11. S. (17:16) Could you elaborate on the spiritual root of the need to supply a person’s basic necessities and not to fall on society?

R. It’s a must for each and everyone because otherwise he’s using society for his own needs that is why this is certainly wrong in the first degree.

S. And if I invest myself in dissemination?

R. These are different kinds of calculations, you may do that only under the condition that you don’t drop yourself on others.

S. Where’s the limit because my necessities is?

R. No, no, no, don’t pose here, you have to make sure you are not in need of anything and then you can invest yourself in, how to say it, connection and help to others.

S. And if I’m not successful in getting my necessity straight and have to stop studying until I get my necessity straight?

R. Yes, even if you stop your study and stop everything, organize your necessities, and then return to work in the Ten.

S. Is there a value in working in the Ten if my necessities are not straight now?

R. That’s really wrong because ultimately what can happen is that you put your necessities in the hands of others.

12. S. (19:25) What public is he talking about here?

R. What do you mean what public, any public?

S. Everyone?

R. Yes.

S. And what things should he mean you should be concerned of?

R. Necessities for a person?

S. For what, food?

R. Food, food, sex, family, money, honor, knowledge, all the thing that one must have, you have to organize them in a normal way like anyone else in society, and then he’ll be free to serve others.

S. All people that have factories that help other people, so are they working correctly?

R. No, I don’t about that, I don’t want to talk about these people but it seems to me that everything is only to make some profit.

S. What should we actually do?

R. We need to care about the connection between us and in this connection to resemble the Creator so that He will shine within the connection we have His qualities, the love of others and then we’ll be able to understand what we’re still lacking in order to completely resemble Him. But our whole work our whole tendency is in order to resemble the Creator. 

13. S. (21:29) If a friend feels that the light that we’re drawing opens the heart for the collective, and he wants to participate in all kinds of actions of charity and give out food to people in need; and the ten needs to help him advance in those discernments, specifically on this topic.Could you give us advice to direct this friend in a delicate way to the right direction so he’ll understand what’s the right thing to do.

R. I didn’t understand, did you understand what he’s asking?

S. He is telling us about a friend that from his studies he feels his heart is open and so he’s doing charity actions and giving out food to people in need, so he’s asking how the ten can delicately direct him towards the right spiritual discernment? 

R. Oh, that’s a whole teaching, I don’t know how to explain this in one sentence, we’ve had many such situations and it’s difficult sometimes to explain to a person that what the Torah requires is, first of all, to correct himself. Then out of his correction he’ll understand what approach to take in order to help for others will truly be help. 

14. S. (23:50) Do we, as a Ten, have the ability to help friends with their necessities, not to give them money, but how can we help a friend?

R. Well, suppose with a place to work or something that will help him to rise.

S. You can’t force a person to take a job, right?

R. Look, I’m not going into all these things but you need to help as much as you can, to support the friends that need; that they have to have it, that they need to be part of the ordinary life. 

S. How by this, we don’t steal the friends work?

R. We have to be cautious, I’ve had such examples in life that friends, suddenly, we’re able to run away from the right influence of the society and sit on the head of the society.

S. What are we doing in such a situation, the friend needs necessities, I’m trying to help on one hand but then he falls on society so it’s something very delicate here, that you can’t fall on it?

R. That is correct, that’s why we need to try to find the place to work for him, a place to live, but actually what we have to supply is the means for that, and not the thing itself. 

15. S. (25:52) It’s written that “the rest of the time he has to work for the public, to save the oppressed” and so on?

R. Yes.

S. And you said if we get a certain fund, that it’s big trouble, what did you mean?

R. That are we ready, will we be able to use such a fund in the right way?

S. What does it depend on?

R. It depends on the extent of our correction.

S. What do we need to do to in order to be worthy of such a great thing?

R. First of all to correct ourselves which we have not yet practically done between us and then we’ll see.

S. Do you think we’re close to something like that?

R. No, I hope the Creator won’t let us fall into such things and it will guard us not to take care of them.

16. S. (27:04) How can we bring correction to the world when many people around the world are struggling for their basic needs?

R. The Creator gives the world from the first thing to the last essential thing in a perfect way, the fact that we don’t know how to divide it between us in the right way, and this is why some of us have all the money in the world and some are starving. That’s the way we divided the unjust way we divided things, that’s why everything depends on people, on humans.

17. S. (28:02) What can we do if the necessity that isn’t set up straight is expressed in complex family issues?

R. Well here you have many problems, what are we going to do? 

Reading – Serving People According to the Commandment of the Creator (28:26 – 31:06) “There are two advantages…” – Twice.

18. S. (31:12) It’s written that “the first advantage is that each one will understand that he is working because this work is approved and agreeable to all the people in the world”.

R. Yes.

S. That’s not clear.

R. That ultimately this work will be agreeable to all the people according to the plan of creation.

S. That’s in the end, that’s not to begin with?

R. No, how can it be in the beginning, we have to do corrections in order to reach that.

19. S. (32:02) What’s the difference between a person determining None Else besides Him to a person performing an action on behalf of the commandment of the Creator?

R. Between it being the Commandment of the Creator and?

S. That a person determined None Else besides Him.

R. What do you mean that he decided?

S. That a person did a certain action, he was in a certain state, now the state was supposedly after and he determined that it was None Else besides Him, the Creator determined everything. How do I determine that the action I’m doing is because of the Commandment the Creator and not only afterwards it says the Creator did everything.

R. I don’t know, you’ll have to scrutinize this on your own.

Reading The Part of the Torah Concerning Relations between Man and Man (33:05 – 33:37) “There are two parts to the Torah…”

Reading Speech, Thought, and Action (33:47 – 36:42) “Work of any kind should include…”

20. S. (36:59) He really complicated me, this whole morning, I’m contemplating.

R. Ask your friends to help you.

S. He says that “the deeds won’t bring you closer to the Creator and in working in Lishma each one has to think that he does everything only to give contentment to his maker”; what are we talking about just to think and not do deeds, what does he mean?

R. What should we answer him, come on, he should ask and you should answer.

S. [reading from text]. What you used to say that “everything is clarified in thought” so we’re going back to it, so it cancels everything we just read that you said, “help the friends with work”and all of that?

R. You are addressing your friends and the friend should answer, you should scrutinize this, this article between yourselves.

S. Does somebody have a solution here to answer me, come on guys, wake up.

R. Let’s have a workshop.

S. If you read the rest of the article you’ll see the thought means intention on the deed and only when you do the deed with the intention, that will bring you closer to the Creator.

S. Okay, so let’s also have a workshop in our Tens, if you can ask the question in one sentence, can you ask it in one sentence?

S. It is difficult to say in one sentence because what was said is that we need to help a friend also at work, also here, also there, and here he says that “everything is clarified and thought”, so what is the right thing, how to do it? 

S. What is our work in speech, thought and action, how can we organize it correctly this work? How much should we be in thought, how much should be action, what’s that main thing, what’s less important, what is our work in speech, thought and action? 

Active Workshop: What is our work in “speech, thought and action”? How can we organize it correctly?