READING: BETWEEN AFTER MIDNINGHT AND DAWN SUNDAY

Baal HaSulam. A Handmaid Who Is Heir to Her Mistress

LESSON MATERIAL

A Handmaid Who Is Heir to Her Mistress

This requires a thorough explanation. To make it clear to all, I will choose to interpret the matter by what is revealed to us for this reason and extends to us here in the conduct of this world.

Internality and Externality

The thing is that the upper roots extend their power by cascading until their branches appear in this world, as it is written in the explanation of branch and root. As a whole, the worlds are regarded as internality and externality, like a heavy load that none can lift or move from place to place. Hence, the advice is to divide the load into small parts and subsequently transfer them one at a time.

It is similar in our matter: Since the purpose of creation is invaluable, for a tiny spark such as man’s soul can rise in its attainment higher than the ministering angels, as our sages said about the verse, “Now it will be said to Jacob and to Israel: ‘What has God wrought!’” They interpreted that the high angels will ask Israel, “What has God wrought?”

The Evolution of Israel (Internality)—One at a Time

This abundance will come to us only by developing one at a time. As in the above allegory, even the heaviest load can be lifted if we split it into pieces and raise them one at a time. Not only the general purpose comes to us in this manner, but even the physical purpose, which is but a preparation for the general purpose, comes to us through gradual and slow development.

Hence, the worlds have been divided into internality and externality, where each world contains illuminations suitable to operate in a slow development, and they are called “the internality of the world.”

Evolution of the Nations of the World (Externality)—at Once

Opposite them are illuminations that can act only at once; hence, when they appear here in their worldly branches and are given control, not only do they not correct, they even ruin.

Our sages call it “unripe,” as it is written concerning the Tree of Knowledge and Adam HaRishon, that they ate unripe fruit. This means that it is truly a dainty delight, immeasurably pleasant, and is destined to delight man, but in the future, not at present, as it is still growing and developing. This is why they compared it to an unripe fruit, since the fig, too, which is the sweetest, most pleasant fruit, when eaten prematurely, will upset one’s stomach and he will die.

Indeed, we should ask, “Who is the one who brings such an act into the world?” After all, it is known that there is no action in our world that comes without a strike in the upper root. Know that this is what we call “the control of the externality,” as in the verse, “God has made one opposite the other.” It contains a force that pushes and rushes toward the revelation of the internal guidance, as our sages said, “I place upon them a king such as Haman, and against their will they will repent.”

The Internality Are the People of Israel

Once we have clarified the upper roots, we will clarify the branches in this world. Know that a branch that extends from the internality are the people of Israel, who have been chosen as the operators of the correction and the general purpose. They contain the preparation required for growing and developing until they come to move the nations to achieve the general goal.

The Externality Are the Nations of the World

The branch that extends from the externality is the rest of the nations. They have not been imparted the qualities that make them worthy of receiving the conducts of development of the purpose one at a time. Rather, they are fit to receive the correction at once and to the fullest, according to their upper root. Hence, when they receive dominion from their root, they destroy the virtues in the children of Israel and cause suffering in the world.

A Slave and a Handmaid

The upper roots, called “Externality,” as we have explained above, are generally called a “handmaid” and a “slave.” This aims to show that they do not intend to harm at all, as it may seem in superficial observation. Instead, they serve the internality like a slave and a handmaid serve their master.

The Externality Rule When Israel Do Not Demand Depth in Their Work

The above-mentioned control of the externality is called “the exile of Israel among the nations of the world.” Through it, they inflict many forms of suffering, degradation, and ruin upon the Israeli nation. However, to be brief, we will explain only what is revealed through a general observation, which is the general purpose. This concerns the idol-worship and superstition, as it is written, “They mingled with the nations and learned from their actions.” This is the most terrible and dangerous poison, which destroys the souls of Israel, as it brings their vanities closer to the human reason. In other words, they do not require great depth to understand them, and thus plant the foundations of their work in the hearts of the children of Israel. Although an Israeli man is quite unfit to accept their vanities, in the end they do induce idolatry and filth, down to blatant heresy, until he says, “all faces are equal.”

The Reason for the Concealment of Kabbalah

Now you can understand the matter of the concealment of the wisdom of the hidden from the eyes of the external ones, as well as what the sages said, “A gentile must not be taught Torah.” There seems to be a contradiction between this and the Tanna [great sage in the early CE years] Devei Eliyahu, who said, “Even a gentile, even a slave, and even a handmaid who sit and learn Torah, the Shechina [Divinity] is with them.” Thus, why did the sages prohibit teaching the Torah to gentiles?

Teaching the Torah to Gentiles

Indeed, the Tanna Devei Eliyahu relates to a converted gentile, or at least to one who retired from idol-worship, from superstition. Our sages, conversely, referred to one who did not retire from idol-worship and wanted to know Israel’s law and wisdom in order to strengthen and fortify their idolatry. You might say, “Why should we care if this gentile has become more pious in his idol-worship because of our Torah? If it does not help, what harm will it do?”

Rashbi’s Weeping

Indeed, this is what Rashbi cried about before he explained an important secret in the wisdom of the hidden, as it is written, “Rabbi Shimon wept, ‘Woe if I tell, and woe if I do not tell. If I tell, the sinners will know how to serve their idols; and if I do not tell, the friends will lose that matter.’”

He was afraid that this secret would come by the hands of idol-worshippers, and they would perform their idolatry with the force of this holy mind. This is what prolongs our exile and brings upon us all the afflictions and the ruins, as we now see before us, since the sages of the nations studied all the books of the children of Israel and turned them into delicacies to strengthen their faith, meaning their wisdom, called “theology.”

Two Harms from Revealing Israel’s Wisdom to the Nations of the World

They have done two harms:

1. Besides clothing in our cloak, saying that all of that wisdom is by attainment of their own holy spirit, these mimics gained their reputation at our expense. By this, they strengthen their false teaching and obtain the strength to deny our holy Torah.
2. An even greater harm came upon us: One who observes their theology discovers in it concepts and wisdom concerning the work of God that seem truer and more genuine than our wisdom. This is so for two reasons: The first is that they are a large society, and among them are great and proficient philologists who know their work: to make matters acceptable to uneducated people. Philology comes from external teachings, and certainly a society of eight billion people can produce many more and much greater philologists than our society of fifteen million can. Hence, one who observes their books falls into doubting that they might be right, or even worse, of course. The second, and the most important reason is that the sages of Israel conceal the wisdom of religion from the masses behind closed doors. However they can, the sages of each generation offer simple explanations to the masses and reject them with all kinds of tricks from the desire to even approach and touch the wisdom of the hidden.

Woe if I Tell

They do this for fear that the matters will fall into the hands of idol-worshippers, as Rashbi wrote, “If I tell, the sinners will know how to serve their masters.” After all, we suffer plenty even for the tiny things they stole from our vessels, which have seeped to them past all the vigil guarding.

The Reason for the Concealment of Kabbalah

This clarifies what would happen to us if our sages revealed the wisdom of the hidden to all. And since we conceal, as long as our ordinary person is unfit to be given the secrets of Torah, he has no knowledge whatsoever in the wisdom of religion. Hence, such a person is obviously inspired and elated when he finds the trifling wisdom and explanations in their theology, whose essence is but a collection of stolen concepts from our hidden, with added literary dainties. Once one sees this, he says and denies our practical law and ends in complete heresy.

A Handmaid Who Is Heir to Her Mistress

This is called “a handmaid who is heir to her mistress,” since the very power of the mistress—the control of the internality—is by the force of our wisdom and knowledge, as it is written, “we are distinguished, I and Your people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” Now, the handmaid has stepped forth and prides herself in public that she is the heir of this wisdom. Know that this power of theirs is the chain by which they tie the legs of the children of Israel in the exile under their dominion.

Chains of Exile

Thus, the essence of the chains of exile and its power come from the wisdom of Torah and its secrets, which they have managed to steal and place in their vessels passed all the watchful guarding we have put up. With it, they mislead the masses, saying they have inherited the work of the Creator, and cast doubt and heresy, too, in the souls of Israel.