READING: BETWEEN AFTER MIDNINGHT AND DAWN THURSDAY

Rabash. The Agenda of the Assembly – 1. 17-2 (1984)

LESSON MATERIAL

The Agenda of the Assembly

Article No. 17, Part 2, 1984

In the beginning of the assembly, there should be an agenda. Everyone should speak of the importance of the society as much as he can, describing the profits that society will give him and the important things he hopes society will bring him, which he cannot obtain by himself, and how he appreciates the society accordingly.

It is as our sages wrote (Berachot 32), “Rabbi Shamlai said, ‘One should always praise the Creator, and then pray.’ Where did we get that? From Moses, as it is written, ‘And I besought the Lord at that time.’ It is also written, ‘O Lord God, Thou hast begun,’ and it is written, ‘Let me go over, I pray Thee, and see the good land.’”

And the reason we need to begin with praising the Creator is that it is natural that there are two conditions when one asks for something of another:

1. That he has what I ask of him, such as wealth, power, and repute as being wealthy and affluent.
2. That he will have a kind heart, meaning a desire to do good to others.

From such a person you can ask for a favor. This is why they said, “One should always praise the Creator, and then pray.” This means that after one believes in the greatness of the Creator, that He has all sorts of pleasures to give to the creatures and He wishes to do good, then it is pertinent to say that he is praying to the Creator, who will certainly help him since He wishes to do good. And then the Creator can give him what he wishes. Then, also, the prayer can be with confidence that the Creator will grant it.

Similarly, with love of friends, at the very beginning of the assembly, when gathering, we should praise the friends, the importance of each of the friends. To the extent that one assumes the greatness of the society, one can appreciate the society.

“And then pray” means that everyone should examine himself and see how much effort he is giving to the society. Then, when he sees that he is powerless to do anything for society, there is room for prayer to the Creator to help him and give him strength and desire to engage in love of others.

And afterwards, everyone should behave the same as in the last three of the “Eighteen Prayer.” In other words, after having pleaded before the Creator, The Zohar says that in the last three of the “Eighteen Prayer,” one should think as though the Creator has already granted his request and he has departed.

In love of friends we should behave the same: After examining ourselves and following the known advice of praying, we should think as though our prayer has been answered and rejoice with our friends, as though all the friends are one body. And as the body wishes for all its organs to enjoy, we, too, want all our friends to enjoy themselves now.

Hence, after all the calculations comes the time of joy and love of friends. At that time, everyone should feel happy, as though one had just sealed a very good deal that will earn him lots of money. And it is customary that at such a time he gives drinks to the friends.

Similarly, here each one needs his friends to drink and eat cakes, etc. Because now he is happy, he wishes his friends to feel good, too. Hence, the dispersion of the assembly should be in a state of joy and elation.

This follows the way of “a time of Torah” and “a time of prayer.” “A time of Torah” means wholeness, when there are no deficiencies. This is called “right,” as it is written, “at His right hand was a fiery law.”

But “a time of prayer” is called “left,” since a place of deficiency is a place that needs correction. This is called “the correction of the Kelim (vessels).” But in the state of Torah, called “right,” there is no room for correction, and this is why Torah is called a “gift.”

It is customary to give presents to a person you love. And it is also customary not to love one who is deficient. Hence, at a “time of Torah,” there is no room for thoughts of correction. Thus, when leaving the assembly, it should be as in the last three of the “Eighteen Prayer.” And for this reason, everyone will feel wholeness.

LESSON

Morning Lesson October 24, 2023

Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio

Part 1:

Rabash. Article No. 17, Part 2, 1984. The Agenda of the Assembly

1. Rav intro: (00:31) We can see this is one of the first articles that Rabash wrote for his students, for us so let’s see what he starts with. 

Reading Article (00:54) “In the beginning of the assembly,…”

2. S. (09:26) What does it mean that, the time of Torah, it is unacceptable to think of corrections if it sounds the opposite?

R. Torah is the only thing we can think of and that’s why we can only think of this upper light. If it influences us then part of it or all of it and by that we are corrected. That’s why we first think of the upper source, the source of light.

S. How to think correctly now in the lesson about the source of the upper light?

R. We have the upper light which is designed to fulfill us and correct us according to our willingness. 

S. We have to depict the greatness of the state or state or self or what?

R. We need to think that the upper source does want to bring us the light that reforms and it all depends on our willingness to accept it. To accept it isn’t only asking in words but it’s that we connect, come closer to one another, and together become closer to the Creator. Accordingly, we get the light that reforms and we feel more and more that we have qualities that suit the light suit the Creator. 

3. S. (12:03) Why should we imagine to ourselves that we’ve achieved the state that we haven’t yet?. 

R. Again, why?

S. Why do we need to describe to ourselves various states that we are not in yet?

R. We haven’t yet attained what we want. We want for the Creator to be revealed and to give us his qualities and that will we will be adhered to Him and we will arise to his degree and we will be together all of us as one body, because the light and the Kli or that the light is the Creator and we are the vessels will be together and will complete one another. This is still not happening; it’s not being realized yet and that’s why we ask. 

S. He’s asking why should we envision it happening when it still didn’t happen?

R. The person always does this, everything he wants to attain he already imagines that he comes closer and attains. On the one hand, he has a deficiency that is not being realized but on the other hand, he also has a sensation that what he has will be realized. From these two opposites the deficiency is born.

4. S. (14:22) What is the 18th prayer?

R. It is a long prayer that includes all of the states that we are experiencing. It’s called ’The prayer of 18’ because it includes in it eighteen clauses. But we don’t learn it or really we don’t really use it either. Whoever wants to then go into the prayer book and look at it there. If a person prays a complete prayer that is considered that he prays the prayer of eighteen. It’s a prayer that includes different clauses and different chapters and different requests.

5. S. (15:37) It says here that this is called the right line, what does it mean that there’s fire in his right hand?

R. Right hand is bestowing, and the left is receiving. Their actions that bestow and their actions that receive that’s why they are called that way.

S. I’d like to know why fiery? Why fire? Why is there fire on the right line?

R. This is the force of love, the force of attraction.

S. What is this force of fire of love?

R. In the meantime it just mentions that nothing more than that. 

6. S. (16:48) Faith in the greatness of the Creator is faith in our connection that through our connection we can connect to Him? If a friend already has a feeling that connecting to the Creator is only possible through the friends so he should only agree to be the glue?

R. Yes.

7. S. (17:21) We all have a mutual desire to reach bestowal and we know we have to ask for bestowal but what’s missing?

R. Making true desire, true yearning, true connection between them. That there will be one desire, with one direction, one yearning still lacking form gradually.

S. Is it possible by the power of our desire to raise such a prayer that we will reach the force of bestowal?

R. Of course this is the only way it comes. We ask, the Creator gives, we ask. the Creator gives. It always turns out this way.

S. If a friend advises us to do some actions or some exercises, should we agree?

R. Of course that is accurate, that’s what the sages said, the Kabbalist?

S. Still there are some conditions to hold on to, None Else Besides Him or it’s not?

R. Our intentions are very important. Kabbalists recommend how we need to act. 

S. What should be our intention when we want to ask for the force of bestowal?

R. That you will be entirely in that request, as much as possible as much as you can. So that all of you will connect together and that you will desire to be as one and it will come from one heart and that you will ask for one thing only. That your friend or about the Creator or whatever you ask.

S. In addition, yesterday I heard such a question that when the friend can’t come to the lesson he has a problem, some disease or something, you told them that we will learn how to do it, so is that what you meant?

R. Yes, I truly ask all the friends and then I pray this way for him, and we add from our forces from our prayers, from my request, his request to be adhered together with us and then we’ll succeed.

8. S. (20:11) The article begins with how we need to arrange our schedule of the day and so forth and we know that typically our meetings are for half an hour, and we need to the agenda of the assembly, the order to reach an upper state that is called day?

R. Yes

9. S. (20:50) What is so special about the state of praising the Lord before we pray?

R. But if we ask something from someone then we need to see if they are in a state that they are able to give. Also that he has what we are asking for. Also, that he has the spirit for what we’re asking for and what state should we have in order for him to understand that we are truly asking for it and lacking it. All of these conditions from the side of the giver and the side of the one that’s asking, they need to be connected between each other, while coming closer that’s what it’s thinking of.

S. Is the prayer worth something if we don’t praise the Creator first?

R. That wouldn’t exactly be a complete prayer. The conditions that they give us the conditions of prayer, you could say that they’re necessary because by that we’re arranging, we’re organizing our desire. It’s not the matter of the Creator of the Creator will change will reach out to us, that he will want to hear. It’s all actually speaking about us. As much as we open our hearts as much as we want in our hearts to come closer to the Creator so that he’ll be inspired by our request that’s in our hearts. These preparations are very important.

S. What state does it bring us to praise the Lord before we pray? 

R. This brings us to a state where we become closer to the Creator. That they’re in a form of the request of the will to receive that wants to receive for the Creator. This is as close as possible to receiving what the Creator wants to give.

10. S. (24:26) Rabash writes that the left line is the place of prayer and if criticism appears what should we correct so that the criticism will turn into a prayer?

R. We need to correct ourselves. That you ask, prayer is a request, if you don’t have a request you have nothing to reach out to with a request. What are you asking for? That’s why we have to check or choose the same request, the same questions from which we are getting a response from the Creator. Hopefully, we will do it. Mainly, is that we have common questions and answers and with them will reach out to the Creator. It’s like all of the group is one body.

11. S. (25:47) What is the feeling of joy that comes after a prayer? What is that feeling of joy and greatness?

R. After the prayer we usually feel joy because we have already prayed in front of the Creator. our problems, questions, or requests and by declaring certain we will receive this way we are joyful. We conclude our request, our prayer, and we believe in the Creator.

S. Can we say that in order to be happy about how this prayer appeared in us and how we can approach one another?

R. We feel each other, we connect with one another and that also we need to do before the prayer. That is why we are acting this way. Prayer is a powerful force; it’s actually the only Creator and all the rest are all kinds of words of praise and prayer is truly reaching out to the Creator what do you want to say to him what do you want from him.

12. S. (27:44) It says in the text and then each one needs to feel himself happy as if he just made a great business through which he’s going to make a lot of money. What is he speaking of?

R. He’s speaking about a person being happy and joyful for having the opportunity to turn to the Creator but other than that to turn not to himself alone as a representative of the entire group and he’s certain that he can receive a result from all the group to the Creator.

13. S. (28:42) We say that because of our nature we yearn for the Creator and in the Ten there’s a place we need to assemble in order to reach it.

R. It’s not that clear.

S. In one of our gatherings at the beginning of the day, how to understand when to increase the greatness of the Creator and when to increase the greatness of the friend?

R. When to raise the greatness of the friends and when the greatness of the Creator? We uplift the friend and that’s done before the prayer and in the prayer we up lift the Creator, praise.

14. S. (30:06) My question is we have to come to the importance of the group to raise a genuine prayer, what is the best and most effective way for us to raise the importance of the group?

R. We need most importantly to lift the Creator, which is the one single force that There is None Else Besides Him and we are turning to Him, and we are all dependent only on Him, that’s one thing. The other thing is if He’ll answer us, we’ll be able to correct ourselves and if he won’t answer us, then we won’t be able to do anything. We will remain on the lowest degree just as we are now. That’s how we need to turn to Him from our lowest degree to His highest degree.

15. S. (31:41) How to preserve the light, the power that we receive from the gathering of friends from one gathering to another? How do we maintain that power between the meetings?

R. Preferably with that same force, with that same feeling that we are in our morning prayer like now. We will remain all day but if that is impossible then we will also reach the same state tomorrow. It is preferable from day to day, from morning to morning, to raise ourselves from one degree to the next, to higher degrees and we’ll help all the others also, all of us together.

16. S. (32:59) He calls the article the ‘ Agenda of the Assembly’ and then the first thing he does he explains to us what praising means, what praising the Creator means, he says it’s like going to a friend who has all that you need and then that he has a good heart. Sounds to me he’s explaining to us the attitude we should have when we go into the Ten,

R. Yes, also to the ten and to the prayer and in general to the actions. We need first of all to understand that the Creator is the only upper one and all of our prayers need to be to Him.

17. S. (34:18) It says that we have to arrange praise for the Creator and make sure he has the conditions to give you what he needs and has a kind heart. We have to scrutinize that every time or how do you scrutinize that?

R. This needs to be constantly in our hearts. This kind of approach, this kind of attitude towards the Creator. Clear?

18. S. ( 34:55) It seems as if there’s importance for a person to act as if his prayer has been received and if he’s connected to the friends. The question is why is it important to act this way, to play this game?

R. It’s not a game, we just need to arrange ourselves that way towards asking the Creator. It’s just like you, arranging your musical instrument so that it will express the sounds you want correctly.

S. Why is it important to see the praise as if it’s received? How do we know it’s been received? Why should I feel this way?

R. Because it is you praying, it all depends on your request and to what extent one brings it out of himself and how it reaches the one you’re sending the correct quest to the Creator, so you need to know about this.

S. I pray but together with that I don’t think that the prayer has been received. He says to relate to this just as if it has been received, It’s clear that the prayer has been received, just act this way. How do I know if it has been received? .

R. When you talk to someone do you hear what you’re talking about? Do you see their response or not?

S. Yes

R. What are you asking?

S. I pray, I want something I need to act as if I want this thing? That is what I need to do? That is what he says.

R. You also need to know if your words have reached his ears, otherwise you can just be in the air.

19. S. (37:14) It is written that the prayer can be with confidence and that the Creator will grant this prayer. How can someone come to this confidence within our prayer and is this confidence essential for the Creator to hear our prayer?

R. Yes, it is. It is confidence, it is necessary there cannot be faith without this confidence.

20. S. (38:07) I wanted to scrutinize. In general we have a very good desire to pray for others and to ask but it seems that we are losing the power of the prayer because we are not preparing enough or correctly. We’re not checking how much we are in a state of prayer and one intention. In other words, to aim ourselves constantly towards the object of our request to scrutinize the common deficiency?

R. Okay you need to do all of this before you pray, clear?

S. Prepare seriously?

R. Yes.

21. S. (39:06) Yesterday I spoke to the friend and I asked why we weren’t asking and they said the Creators arranging it?

R. Maybe it’s the Russian translation but all of this depends only on you.

S. But I wanted to ask is, I have a feeling that without the prayer nothing can happen. It’s as if the Creator has given us the control. If you ask the Earth will rotate, if you don’t you’re trapped inside one long day. I want to understand is the Creator waiting for us?

R. Our result for the response of the Creator is necessary and that is what is activating everything.

22. S. (40:19) Is the time of Torah that it speaks of here in the article, is that a time of gathering of friends and if so how do we need to reach it correctly? What preparation do we need for the gathering of friends? The friend is saying in our gathering of our building the prayer only at the end of the gathering and we build it. That’s what she’s saying she builds it from the left line, so how does this affect the gathering of friends?

R. The Creator knows how to arrange all of our prayers from everyone into one prayer from many requests into one request that is something he’s doing. There are people who want to speak beautifully and those who can’t even articulate what’s on their heart but the Creator hears the heart of everyone. He knows how to hear everyone. He hears your feelings. Okay 

23. S. (41:56) We forget to praise the Creator with every action. Why does this happen?

R. You won’t forget ,so we’ll learn to hold Him in our hearts and in our minds because that’s the only address to which we need to aim ourselves.

24. S. (42:34) [no translation]

R. Even that word is enough, wholeness. 

25. S. (43:04) I don’t really understand the order here he writes here before the beginning of everything when you get together you need to speak of the importance of the society, that each one of the friends to the extent, that he sees the greatness of the environment, to that extent he needs to pray. Meaning to self-criticize to see how much strength he gives the friends, the society. Is this the work that a Ten does? Do we do this together or separately?

R. Together.

S. How do we do this together? Do we get together and we start speaking of the greatness of the friends?

R. Yes.

S. Then we criticize ourselves, to the extent that we give forces and strength. Do we talk about it explicitly and then we see that there’s no room for strength to do something for the group and there’s room for prayer?

R. Yes.

S. Then they build a prayer? Is this done during the meeting or before?

R. The beginning of the meeting.

S. In a different article he writes ‘There is the matter. you need to bring up ideas of how to add a connection and make decisions.’ Where does this get? Where does this fit in what order? In the article The gathering of the Assembly, the order of the assembly where each friend recommends what we can add to the connection, and then there is the third phase, they can make decisions unanimously.

R. That has nothing to do with the prayer. That’s the gathering of friends.

S. What are we talking about now, not my gathering of friends?

R. Now we are talking about the gathering of friends.

S. What’s the connection between this order and that order?

R. Where we connect, when we gather, there’s a prayer and the scrutinies of the prayer and the results of the prayer. When we connect, we speak about how we can connect and why and so on. Everything that’s clarified when we are connected in one gathering.

S. Yes and there’s also the place where the decision for connection is what belongs to the prayer?

R. No no, that’s not a prayer. A prayer is when we have what to pray for. It is clear and that has to do with everyone or most of the friends then you pray. Everything else is scrutiny before the prayer.

S.. To be honest I am confused. He writes in the same article about the agenda of the assembly and here writes this order and then he writes that order? I don’t get it.

R. All the all will be clarified slowly even though you’re the confusion for a while this confusion also works to clarify things.

26. S. (46:51) What is a gathering of friends?

R. A gathering of friends is a gathering of friends who wish to reach a state of friends and wish to pray as one man with one heart.

S. We are now in the lesson and then when we are the lesson at the end of the lesson we write a prayer. What is the difference between writing a prayer after the lesson or writing a prayer during the gathering of friends?

R. I don’t know, check that too. That is also a question?

S, We do these prayers at the end of the lesson, we all raise the same thing that came out of him. Do we need to criticize this prayer? Did it come out of connection or not or did it come but it automatically comes out of connection because it is after a lesson?

R. It’s not automatic. It does not come out automatically, but you feel the connection between you, and it gives birth to that question?

S. Always go back to this point, did we connect and work from that if not then work on the connection.

R. Let’s say.

27. S. (48:09) You said that there’s no faith without confidence, it’s so strong and so valuable. Where is this limit between the confidence and the knowledge that when I want the answer of the Creator I will not depict it in my reason?

R. When you are seemingly inside the Creator, and you receive an answer in Him.

28. S. (48:53) [No translation]

R. It depends on you.

S. From the preparation?

R. Yes, in the preparation and it’s not by some order.

S. If I feel that I have to have the prayer, but I feel that I do not have the confidence and I know that the previous prayer that there, the prayer the Creator heard me, is that normal this way?

R. Yes.

29. S. (49:50) I would like to scrutinize the scrutiny before a prayer, what do we want to ask because we have been through material that we first need to scrutinize them to ask but here we had a few discussions about it and there are friends who are saying of course we always have one deficit, one friends expresses this way and the other this way and that way. Then each one needs to ask to ask for this and our friends who say no if we will imagine what exactly we are asking for then the prayer will be more beneficial. What is better to do to scrutinize a nice maybe some image like we are asking for a friend who is maybe unwell or are we asking for connection or we asking for the quality of bestowal, Scrutinize what and then later on to pray?

R. We pray for what is important for all the friends. What is there to ask?

S. There does not need to be this image of what we are praying to each one prayer throughout according to what is important?

R. That is also important .

30. S. (51:33) In the prayers that we build at the end of the lesson throughout the day, do there have to be words of praise, if so, in what proportion?

R. We must always include praise because it is gratitude for what we received from the Creator. We were in contact with Him and He provided answers to all of our requests and for that we thank Him.

31. S. (52:25) It says that in the article to the extent that he values the good, to that extent that he can express it to them. I wanted to share yesterday that we had a zoom a gathering of the Israeli Kli to strengthen our spirit and support and friends to share their greatness and pass on the greatness of the Creator. One of our friends who is a soldier, his mother was there and our friends and from the south that were saved from these horrors were reading Shamati while the terrorists entered their homes and how they felt confident when they were thinking of the friends. I want to think of our friend who is reminding women to go into the woman’s prayer and another friend who wrote tunes to your lyrics and all day his heart is just filled with confidence thanks to our great society even though it was not recorded even though it was not recorded it was registered within our hearts.

R. Thank you but next time please keep those things short if you are about to bring them to the lesson. Right now it’s lesson time.

32. S. (53:57) It is written in the last three prayers as if the Creator is already given what he asks for. Under what condition do you not need to leave after you receive from the Creator what you asked for?

R. There’s no such thing. You constantly go request and with a dialogue with Creator the last request is already while the person retreats from the Creator.

33. S. (54:50) I’m preparing in the Ten. I’ll raise the prayer I receive the answer but I’m not able to pass on this answer of the friends of the prayer to the friends. How do I pass it on to friends?

R. Leave it the way you received it, and they will receive it by themselves through their own deficiency and will understand it because it is a question of external expression I understand you. 

34. S. (55:31) When I reach a prayer it is like I’m saying to the Creator I did everything in my ability now come and see and fill this prayer. By doing so am I actually demanding from Him to advance me towards the next degree? Is that my prayer?

R. Yes even though it is a demand He hears demands. He loves the demands.

35. S. (56:12) At the end of the prayer it says that he leaves the prayer but how can you leave the prayer if he has to pray all day? How does that fit in altogether?

R. The 18th is a standard prayer but there are other prayers that a person can say from within himself he can say it from Psalms, other places but the 18th prayer is a prayer that was used to turn to the Creator in the morning, noon, and evening. It’s not a regular prayer that you build yourself, it was a prayer that was constructed a thousand years ago.

S. In the regular prayer, there is no need to let go whenever you want?

R. Whenever you want.

36. S. (57:33) What is the correct form in which we praise the friends? Sometimes in the gathering of friends we say that the friends are great and sometimes we say that we praise the friends for the service that they give to the Kli? What is your recommendation? How should we praise the friends?

R. From the bottom of the heart, the main thing is from the bottom of the heart from the whole heart.

37. S. (58:31) About working with a prayer throughout the day. I try every 30 minutes to go over the prayer the friends did, to go over their deficiency and connect them together in my heart and turn to the Creator. The question is do I also need to criticize to see if they receive what they got?

R. How can you tell?

S. That is a question, how do I need to know?

R. How will you know?

S. I don’t know, how can I?

R. Let it go, it’s none of your business. This is between the Creator and them and in what way will they receive an answer that also has nothing to do with you.

S. You said that I also need to know if the Creator heard so that too I don’t really know.

R. That is none of your business, how the Creator hears it rather you only need to know that everything that comes with the friends gets to the Creator.

38. S. (59:58) This article talks about praising the Creator before every prayer. How can we praise the Creator correctly?

R. We need to learn the prayers and take it from there, how the great ones used to turn to the Creator with words and sentences versus they used to speak to Him. That is how we need to learn or we simply take those verses and we also go over them and according to what we receive from the Creator, we begin to learn what is the content of the verses, what used to ask and what the greater gave us and in this way, gradually, we enter into this mutual relationship with Him.

39. S. (01:01:21) What deficiency do we need to have and how to strengthen it so that we will be in the prayer and gratitude all the time as a group?

R. That we already learned from our own deeds.

40. S. (01:02:05) Many times when we build the prayer, the relationship with friends is to leave like an open space where the individual prayer can be connected, that it will not be complete, that it will always be open, is that the correct attitude? Towards the building of the mutual prayer in the Ten, in these empty spaces or should each one try to scrutinize all the way and to bring in the perfection in their own space?

R. I think that the most correct is if you pray throughout the entire day with hope. With the hope that your prayers will combine and then it is certain that they will reach the Creator. Each one who feels in our heart a certain inclination toward the Creator should also be certain together with their inclination that there are many such inclinations from the friends and they are all aimed at the Creator. Good luck to you and all the best.