READING: BETWEEN AFTER MIDNINGHT AND DAWN WEDNESDAY

Lesson on the topic of “Conducting War Like King David”

Conducting War Like King David – Selected Excerpts from the sources

1. RABASH, Article No. 363, “Four Angels”

A person cannot say that he lacks innate skills or ability to overcome, or strength to overcome, so he can win the war against the enemies.

Rather, even if one has no strength at all, not to wage wars like David, or chase them like Asa, or sing like Jehoshaphat, but he rather sits in his home doing nothing, like Hezekiah, but he must ask the Creator and then the Creator helps him.

This means that all we need is a desire, but it must be a strong desire. A strong desire means that this desire leaves no room for other desires to enter the body, and one walks with this desire all the time, and then the Creator helps him.

2. RABASH, Article No. 45 (1990), “What Is, ‘The Concealed Things Belong to the Lord Our God,’ in the work?”

David is called Malchut, which is the kingdom of heaven. Malchut of Kedusha is the desire to bestow, and its opposite is the desire to receive for oneself, which is called Sitra Achra [other side]. This is the opposite of Kedusha and is the enemy of Kedusha, as it is written, “The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to put him to death.” That is, the will to receive wants to kill the desire to bestow.

David, who is the Merkava [chariot/structure] for Malchut of Kedusha, prayed that his enemy, the will to receive—who wants to kill the desire to bestow, which is Kedusha—that the Creator will hurry His salvation so that the will to receive, meaning the enemy, will not be able to govern him.

This is the meaning of “The God of my mercy will meet me,” meaning that the Creator will deal mercy with me first. In other words, the desire to bestow, called Hesed [mercy/grace], will govern the will to receive.

3. RABASH, Article No. 13 (1991), “What ‘You Have Given the Strong to the Hands of the Weak’ Means in the Work?”

David is considered Malchut, meaning the kingdom of heaven. That is, the creatures should take upon themselves the burden of the kingdom of heaven with the aim not to receive reward, but because “He is great and ruling,” and not for self-benefit.

But the whole world resists this and hates doing everything for the Creator and not for self-benefit. Therefore, Kedusha is entirely to bestow, meaning to benefit the Creator, as it is written, “You shall be holy for I the Lord am holy.” Thus, as the Creator only bestows upon the creatures, the creatures should bestow upon the Creator, for this is called “equivalence of form,” which is considered Dvekut with the Creator.

It turns out that all those who wish to work only for themselves and not for the Creator are called “the Creator’s enemies,” meaning the enemies of the kingdom of heaven. By this they are called “David’s enemies,” and this is the meaning of David’s words, “And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.”

4. RABASH, Article No. 20 (1988), “What Is the Reward in the Work of Bestowal?”

Is written (Psalms 121), “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help is from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.” We should understand David’s question, “From where shall my help come?” and afterward his finding that “My help is from the Lord.” But every believing Jew says that a person has no other place to receive help but the Creator, so what is the novelty?

We should interpret in the above that it comes to tell us that in order to receive delight and pleasure, we lack nothing but vessels of bestowal, for then we will have equivalence of form with the Creator, as in, “As He is merciful, so you are merciful.” Then we will be fit to receive the delight and pleasure.

5. Zohar for All, VaYetze [And Jacob Went Out], “The Two Rods”, Items 350

King David always attached himself to the Creator. He did not worry about anything else in the world except to cling unto Him with his soul and his will, as it is written, “My soul cleaves unto You.” And since he clung to the Creator, He supported him and He did not leave him, as it is written, “Your right hand holds me fast.” We learn from this that when a person comes to cling to the Creator, the Creator holds him fast and does not leave him.

6. Baal HaSulam, Letter No. 19

King David is the collective soul of the whole of Israel. Hence, he always longed, yearned, and craved true Dvekut [adhesion] with Him.

However, one must know in one’s heart that the Creator chases him just as much as he chases the Creator. One must never forget that, even during the greatest longing. When remembering that the Creator misses and chases him to cling to him as intensely as one wishes for it himself, he then always goes from strength to strength, with yearning and longing, in a never-ending Zivug [coupling], the complete perfection of the soul, until he is rewarded with repentance from love.

7. RABASH, Article No. 19 (1991), “What Is, ‘Rise Up, O Lord, and Let Your Enemies Be Scattered,’ in the Work?”

Is written (Psalms 34), “I sought the Lord and He answered me.” The RADAK interpreted “I sought,” since while in their hands, he sought the Creator in his heart and begged before Him in his heart to save him from them.

In the work, we should interpret that David saw that when he was in their hands, under the rule of thoughts and desires of the will to receive, his heart sought the Creator. That is, although he saw that they controlled him, his heart demanded of the Creator to save him from them. In other words, even though on the outside they governed him, within the heart he protested their governance and begged the Creator to save him from them. In his heart, he demanded and begged the Creator to save him from them and did not give up because they controlled him on the outside. This is as our sages said (Berachot 10), “Even if a sharp sword is placed on his neck, he should not deny himself mercy.”

8. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Likutei Halachot

It is impossible to win any war or endure a test except through the holy faith, as was said there in the Tikkunim [corrections of The Zohar], and David, when he would walk to battle, he trusted only the Creator, as it is written, “Though an army may encamp against me,” etc., “though war may rise against me, In this I trust,” meaning that his confidence and hope was primarily in the Creator, and this is why he is strong and will certainly stand against all the armies and wars of the evil inclination and the Sitra Achra. He is certain to defeat them and break them since he has strong faith in the Creator, who is called “This,” as in, “in This” I trust (Psalms 27), specifically in “this,” meaning in the faith.

9. RABASH, Article No. 37 (1989), “What Is ‘A Road Whose Beginning Is Thorns and Its End Is a Plain’ in the Work?”

It is as our sages said with regard to King David about the verse, “And my heart is slain within me.” Our sages said that David killed the evil inclination by fasting. Naturally, even to the act—when a person still cannot aim in order to bestow—the body immediately resists and does not let him make a single move, since the body knows he wants to use those actions in order to kill it, as said about King David.

It follows that even when actions are without the aim, the body already shows great resistance. The only way is that in everything he wants to do, he must have the Creator’s help. That is, for every little thing a person wants to do on the path of individuals, he must ask the Creator to help him do them. Yet, we must know that the fact that the person must ask the Creator for every single thing he wants to do because it is difficult for him, this is a great correction by which one gains the need to always pray to the Creator.

10. RABASH, Letter No. 77

Our sages said, “Before I lose, I search” (Shabbat, 152), meaning before I lose the situation I am in, I start searching. It is as Baal HaSulam said about King David, who said, “I awaken the dawn.” Our sages said, “I awaken the dawn and the dawn does not awaken me.”

Therefore, the keeping is primarily during the ascent, and not during the descent. During the ascent we need to extend fear, lest we are pushed out, God forbid. But after all these, all we need is to cry out to the King and ask for His mercy on us once and for all.

11. Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, Haamek Davar about Devarim

Although he himself [David] prays in a ten, his prayer joins his whole nation in the field of battle … and by this it is certainly regarded as a prayer of many.

12. Rabbi Chaim David Azulai (the HIDA), Open the Eyes, for Rosh Hashanah

As the armies of the house of David, implying that they would go to war and be saved thanks to the Torah … So is man: Although he has a war with the evil inclination, if he engages in Torah, he will be saved, as it is written, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.”

13. RABASH, Article No. 30 (1991), “What Does It Mean that One Who Was On a Far Off Way Is Postponed to a Second Passover, in the Work?”

The judge in his heart is concerned with his own benefit; therefore, he always sides with man’s detriment. Then, a person has no other choice but to ask the Creator for mercy and to give him a real judge. The person sees that there is no real judge but the Creator.

In that regard, we should interpret what King David said (Psalms 82), “Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You will inherit all the nations,” meaning that the Creator will be the judge. At that time, a person receives the strength from the Creator, “for You will inherit all the nations,” for then one inherits all the nations in his heart.

14. Zohar for All, Lech Lecha [Go Forth], “For Who Is God, Save the Lord? And Who Is a Rock, Save Our God?”, Item 327

King David said, “For who is God, save the Lord? And who is a Rock, save our God?” “Who is God” means who is the ruler or the appointee who can do anything, besides the Creator? Rather, they do what they were commanded by the Creator because none of them is in his own authority and they cannot do anything. “And who is a rock” means who is strong and can make his own assertion and might, “Save our God”? Rather, they are all in the hands of the Creator and they cannot do anything except with His permission.

15. RABASH, Article No. 397, “Take from Among You a Contribution to the Lord”

If spirituality does not have the value it is supposed to have, we do not pay for it the required payment. And since one is demanded to work with devotion, if a person does not have the real value, to make it worthwhile to pay the price of devotion, this is considered that the Shechina is in the dust.

It is about this that we pray, “The Merciful one will raise for us the fallen Sukkah [hut] of David,” meaning that the Creator will give us the feeling of the exaltedness of the holy work. This is the meaning of “Take from among you a contribution to the Lord,” meaning that the vessels of reception of a person will give to the Creator, which is called annulment in devotion to the Creator.