READING: BETWEEN AFTER MIDNINGHT AND DAWN FRIDAY

Rabash. What Does It Mean that Our Sages Said, “King David Did Not Have a Life,” in the Work?. 10 (1990)

LESSON MATERIAL

What Does It Mean that Our Sages Said, “King David Did Not Have a Life,” in the Work?

Article No. 10, 1989/90

The Zohar says (VaYishlach, Items 52-54), “Rabbi Shimon says, ‘We learned that before King David came to the world, he did not have a life at all, except for the seventy years that Adam HaRishon gave him of his own.’ Another interpretation: The patriarchs gave him of their lives, each and every one. Abraham gave him of his life, and so did Jacob and Joseph. Isaac did not leave him anything, since King David came from his side.”

Interpretation: “Because King David is the Nukva from the left side, when it is darkness and not light, hence, he did not have a life, since there is life only from the right side, which is ZA, called ‘The Tree of Life.’ Isaac, too, was from the left side, but he was included in Abraham, as it is written, ‘Abraham begot Isaac,’ and also because of the tying [of Isaac]. This is why he had life. And this was only to himself, but he could not give life to David, since he is essentially from the left line.”

We should understand what is “right,” where he says that “there is life only from the right side,” and what is left, where “it is darkness and not light.” We should also understand why Isaac, who is left, had life, but needed Hitkalelut [merging/mingling] with the right, which is Abraham, whereas David had no life at all, but each one had to give to David of his own life.

To understand this in the work, we must remember what we learned, that there are two things before us: 1) The purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creations. This means that all creations must achieve the goal and be rewarded with the delight and pleasure that there is in the purpose of the Creator, who created it. 2) The correction of creation, which is that there will not be the bread of shame. For this purpose, a correction called Ohr Hozer [Reflected Light] was established, which means that the lower ones return bestowal upon the Creator. That is, they do not want to receive the delight and pleasure for their own sake, but in order to bestow.

Those two things are opposite to one another because the Creator created in the creatures a desire to receive for themselves, meaning that the creatures will enjoy, as this was His entire purpose, as we learn. The correction is the complete opposite from the quality of the creatures, who were created with a desire to receive for themselves, so now the creatures must do something that contradicts nature, namely to bestow.

In other words, the work begins with the lower ones having to perform acts of bestowal and with the intention to bestow. Afterward begins the work where they can receive delight and pleasure with the intention to bestow.

In order to have room for work and to choose, so they can aim to bestow, a Tzimtzum [restriction] and concealment were made. This means that as long as one cannot aim to bestow, he is placed under the concealment. In other words, besides the fact that he is unable to aim in order to bestow and wants only to work for his own sake, through this concealment, another thing took place, and this is the hardest—that man has to do hard work in order to be rewarded with faith above reason, since because of the concealment, he cannot see within reason the delight and pleasure that the creatures receive from the Creator, though the whole purpose of creation was because of His desire to do good to His creations. Yet, he cannot see this good neither with regard to himself nor with regard to other people.

It turns out that in addition to having to work and obtain the equivalence of form, which is to have vessels of bestowal, a person has to work to be rewarded with faith that the Creator leads His world in the form of good and doing good. And who caused all this? It was all done by the Tzimtzum and concealment that were placed because of the correction of creation.

However, here, a serious question arises: We say that the concealment took place for the purpose of correcting creation, but as a result of this concealment, two discernments arise: 1) the matter of lack of faith, 2) the prohibition to use the will to receive for oneself, which are generally called “mind and heart.” The question is, Who comes first? That is, should one first be awarded faith, and then he can be rewarded with working for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake, or is it the other way around?

It stands to reason that first one must be awarded faith, and then it can be said that he annuls his self and does not work for his own benefit, but only for the benefit of the Creator. This matter, that a person should do everything only for the sake of the Creator, depends on the extent to which one believes in the greatness of the Creator. To that extent it can be said that he is working for Him. This means that it is impossible to make great efforts for something that is not important because it is natural that for something that is more important we make greater efforts.

This means that the labor that one can give depends on the importance of the object. Naturally, in order for one to relinquish the will to receive for himself and work only for the Creator, the more important the Creator is for a person, the easier it is to work for Him. It follows that in order for one to be able to relinquish self-pleasure and rise and work for the sake of the Creator, a person must be awarded faith in the Creator. Afterward, a person will be able to annul himself before the Creator and do everything for the sake of the Creator. This is what common sense dictates, that such should be the order of the work.

However, from is written in the Sulam [Ladder commentary on The Zohar] (“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Item 138), it seems the opposite: Before a person is rewarded with correcting his Kelim [vessels] to work in order to bestow, called “equivalence of form,” a person cannot have faith. He says there that since as long as one does not have vessels of bestowal, he cannot receive the delight and pleasure from the Creator and cannot believe that the Creator leads the world as The Good Who Does Good. It follows that he is slandering the Creator. Therefore, at that time he no longer believes that the Creator leads the world as The Good Who Does Good.

Worse yet, he is in denial of His Providence, as it is written, “Prior to the correction, Malchut is called ‘the tree of knowledge of good and evil,’ since Malchut is His guidance in this world. As long as the receivers have not been completed so they can receive His whole benevolence, which He had contemplated in our favor in the thought of creation, the guidance must be in the form of good and bad.

…“It is written, ‘The Lord has made everything for His own purpose,’ yet we say the complete opposite. For this reason, we taste His guidance of good and evil as guidance of reward and punishment, for they are interdependent, since because we are using the vessels of reception, we necessarily sense that the operations of Providence are bad for us. It is a law that the creature cannot receive disclosed evil from the Creator, for it is a flaw in the glory of the Creator for the creature to perceive Him as an evildoer, for this is unbecoming of the complete Operator. Hence, when one feels bad, denial of the Creator’s guidance lies upon him and the superior Operator is concealed from him to that same extent. This is the greatest punishment in the world.

“Thus, the sensation of good and evil in relation to His guidance brings with it the sensation of reward and punishment, for one who exerts not to part from faith in the Creator is rewarded even when he tastes a bad taste in Providence. And if he does not exert, he will get a punishment because he has parted from faith in Him. It follows that although He alone does, is doing, and will do all the deeds, it still remains hidden from those who sense good and evil, since at the time of evil, the Sitra Achra [other side] is given the strength to conceal His guidance and faith. Thus, one comes to the great punishment of separation and becomes filled with heretical thoughts. And upon repentance, one receives the corresponding reward and can adhere to the Creator once again.”

Thus, we see that it is impossible to have faith in the Creator before one is rewarded with vessels of bestowal, for only then does one have complete faith. So, the question is, If one has no faith, how can one do everything for the sake of the Creator before one has faith in the Creator?

The answer is that man has partial faith, meaning from what he believes from the general public. In the general public in Israel, there is faith in the form of Surrounding Light. This is the light of faith that illuminates in general in the whole of Israel, and each one receives from this faith. This is called “partial faith,” and it is called “still of Kedusha [holiness].” Everyone begins their work in the manner of the “still.”

This is as it is written (“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 14), “I once interpreted the saying of our sages, ‘He whose Torah is his trade.’ The measure of his faith is apparent in his practice of Torah because the letters of the word, Emunato [his faith]. It is like a person who trusts his friend and lends him money. He may trust him with a pound, and if he asks for two pounds he will refuse to lend him. But he may trust him with all his property without a shadow of a doubt. This last faith is considered ‘whole faith,’ and the previous forms are considered ‘incomplete faith,’ but rather as ‘partial faith.’”

For this reason, a person begins his work with faith of the whole of Israel, who have faith that is as Surrounding Light. From this faith, each one receives a part of faith that is sufficient for him to begin his work, to want to begin the work of the individual, meaning that a person will be rewarded with faith in the form of Inner Light, which is called “And you shall love the Lord your God.” “Your God” is an individual discernment, when his faith is not built on the general public, that he receives from this only the part called “partial faith.” However, he is rewarded with individual faith, and this is called “complete faith,” when he does not need the general public.

To be rewarded with complete faith, a person must first work in the form of equivalence of form, which is that all his work will be in order to bestow. Only once he has been rewarded with obtaining vessels of bestowal, he can be rewarded with complete faith, for then he can keep what is written, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.”

However, when a person begins to work in the form of equivalence of form in order to be rewarded with complete faith, the work goes in two directions, called “mind” and “heart.” That is, it is impossible to work in order to bestow unless we want to bestow upon a great and important person. Therefore, a person must work part of his time in the “mind” and part of his time in the “heart.”

Here is where the real work begins, when he wants to work in faith in the individual manner, since here there are ups and downs, since the basis of this work is to work for the sake of the Creator, which is opposite from human nature, who was created with a desire to receive for his own sake. Hence, here begins the real war against the inclination. For this reason, there must be order in the work, or he will not be able to continue on this path, meaning achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator.

When a person sees that the work is hard because he must always go above reason, meaning that his reason always makes him think that it is not worthwhile to work unless it is for his own sake, and each time, his reason lets him see, “You see that you were born with a desire to receive for yourself, so how do you want to annul yourself and not think at all about your own benefit, but of the benefit of the Creator? What will you get out of working for the sake of the Creator?” Our reason can understand a person doing the holy work in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] in order to receive reward. This is the normal way, that we work for someone, and it does not matter who is the boss, but we always think about how much we are getting paid for the work, since the reward is what determines. This is the work of the general public.

However, when a person wants to work in order to bestow and by this to be granted with complete faith, here begin the ascents and descents, since it is impossible to work without reward. Rather, when can one work without reward? Only when he wants to bestow upon an important person. This, he regards as a reward. This is as our sages said about “the pleasure he receives from him,” meaning that a person enjoys the important person accepting his gift.

This means that it is within nature that the smaller one enjoys if he can serve the King. It follows that when he wants to work in order to bestow, a person must appreciate the Creator, so as to be able to bestow upon Him, and to have the strength to work for the sake of the Creator. Therefore, when he loses the importance of the Creator—which The Zohar calls “Shechina [Divinity] in the dust,” when he does not feel the importance of Kedusha but regards it as dust—then he is powerless to work in order to bestow. This is why the work is in both mind and heart.

However, during the work, when a person works in order to achieve the goal, which is to be rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator, the order is as it is in corporeality, when a person does not walk forward unless he uses both legs, right and left. This is as our sages said (Sotah 47), “The left should always push away, and the right should pull near.” “Right” means that which brings closer to the Creator, meaning when one feels close to the Creator. Even if he still does not have this feeling, he should go above reason, as though he feels completely whole, as is said (Article No. 9, Tav-Shin-Nun), “And he is happy with his lot and is called ‘blessed.’”

At that time, “The blessed clings to the Blessed,” and from this he receives vitality, since he is close to the Creator. This is called “adhering to the tree of life,” when he uses the vessels of bestowal, on which there is no Tzimtzum or judgment. Hence, from the right side, called “wholeness,” a person extends life from the Life of Lives.

Conversely, the “left” is something that requires correction. When a person criticizes his work, he (sees) his faults. Since he has nothing in which he has wholeness, he sees that he is rejected from Kedusha. Naturally, he sees that he is cursed, and “the cursed does not cling to the Blessed.” It follows that then he is separated from the Creator, and naturally, he has no life. It follows that in the left, when a person makes his calculation within reason, he sees that he is bare and destitute. Hence, when a person walks on the left line, he has no life.

According to the above, we can interpret what we asked about the words of The Zohar, that King David had no life before he came to the world. The reason is that since King David is Malchut, on whom there was a Tzimtzum, and David is regarded as “the whole of Malchut,” which requires correction, that the whole of the will to receive that there is in the vessels of reception should be corrected, for this reason, he needed to be included with Kelim [vessels] in which there are vessels of bestowal. By this, the general Malchut will also be corrected.

This is called “the end of correction,” meaning that the Messiah King is called “the end of correction.” This means that the general Malchut will be corrected to work in order to bestow. This is why The Zohar said that only Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, who are not from the quality of judgment, gave of their qualities to David so he would have life. That is, by them he would have vessels of bestowal, which belong to the “right,” which is Hesed [mercy], the opposite of the quality of judgment, which are vessels of reception. This is why he did not receive from Isaac, who is the left, the quality of judgment, which are vessels of reception.

This is the meaning of “there is no life on the left,” since when a person walks in the manner of the “left,” meaning sees what he is lacking, and a deficiency is called “the quality of judgment,” hence, on the left there is no life. Rather, it is on the right, when he engages in the form of “For he desires mercy” and is not lacking anything; this is when a person feels alive. But when a person is in a state where he is bare and destitute, it is considered that he has no life. When a person feels his faults and the future does not shine for him—that he will ever be able to satisfy his wants—then the person says, “I would rather die than live.”

By this we should interpret what is written, “King David had no life.” It means that the whole matter of the creation of the world was for the creatures to receive the delight and pleasure. Therefore, the order of the work is that first, a person must believe in the purpose of creation, that it is the Creator’s will for the creatures to receive delight and pleasure. If he believes this, he should think, “What is the reason that I do not have the delight and pleasure that the Creator wants me to take?”

It follows that if he believes that he should receive, to that extent he feels the absence. When he feels the absence, he goes to search for the reason why he cannot correct his lack. At that time, we must believe in the words of our sages, who said that what we lack is Dvekut, which is equivalence of form, as it is written, “As He is merciful, so you are merciful.”

It follows that to the extent that he believes that the Creator bestows abundance to the whole world, to that extent he should also bestow upon the Creator. Then, when one believes that the Creator gives to the entire world, from this a person should derive the importance and greatness of the Creator, like an important person in corporeality, where we see that it is a great privilege to serve important people, and from this service itself, a person derives delight and pleasure and he does not need any other reward. It follows that to the extent of the faith in the “mind,” to that extent he can also work with faith.

However, since man is born as a will to receive for himself, in this manner there is no life. It follows that the quality of King David, which is the point in the heart, has no life. In other words, the light of life cannot shine there.

For this reason, “the association of the quality of mercy with judgment” took place, as it is written that Malchut, which is the quality of judgment, will receive life from the quality of the “right,” which is bestowal, when it is associated with the quality of King David. Hence, the quality of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, who are the quality of Hesed and mercy, was placed in the quality of King David, and not from Isaac, who is the quality of the “left,” which is vessels of reception.

LESSON

Morning Lesson January 31, 2024

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

Part 1:

Rabash. Article No. 10, 1990. What Does It Mean that Our Sages Said, “King David Did Not Have a Life,” in the Work?

https://kabbalahmedia.info/sources/txEbWFaA

1. S. (37:58) We always say that spiritual life begins from that in which the point in the heart awakens which is called here King David. On the other hand our King David it says he has no life, he’s the left line, so what should be there first in the work in the point in the heart so that there’s the opportunity to work with it?

R. The general adhesion, Dvekut, as much as a person can, by that he awakens surrounding light upon himself and then he can later begin to scrutinize left right.

S. What is general Dvekut with us or the holy still with us?

R. That we, if we lose some direction, we know that there are a few things, a few foundations that guard us or that we guard them and it’s important to, and it’s impossible to detach from them which is that there is an upper force which is good that does good and there is None Else Besides Him, even to a smallest extent but this is what holds us. 

2. S. (39:52) In this article there’s a lot about work, and he finds work as hard work where we need to be awarded with faith, that that’s the whole work, to always seek. It’s unclear what is work where we need to be rewarded with faith, meaning from one place he takes it from the sages but it’s unclear where we get faith from and why the result of the work he always says that we need to be rewarded. Rewarded sounds like you’re going to work, and you don’t know if you’re going to get what you want, so what is the work in faith?

R. We wish or we try to take actions that we have received from our sages who told us that if you do so and so you will be awarded with faith. Faith is the general force that comes to us from above and aids us in being in adhesion with the Creator in a general way, and then as we continue with the power of faith we can then even rise to very high degrees all the way to complete faith.

S. He wrote here somewhere, I lost it, but he writes this work in two kinds, in mind and heart, and on mind he explains about the heart. What are these two ways of acquiring faith in mind and in heart? Mind you can more or less understand that you have to study, gather knowledge, and then the mind will understand that this is how it is.

R. I’ll put it differently. In order to hold on to adhesion we need two data points, mind and heart, knowing and feeling, and when these two points are in our hands that means we attain Dvekut.

S. About the last questions, I want to take this article into our lives and say how in my connection with the friends, in connection with the efforts that we try to connect and go through together, this strong connection between us, how does that help me attain faith? Because there too is also work, you’re connecting with friends, you exert, you do actions, there’s all this order of times that you keep to, you build this special connection in the Ten. How is the difference between this work, which is a certain kind of effort that a person does and the effort of work, of true work, which is to work in strengthening for yourself faith, how do these two things connect?

R. So far I have only heard one thing. You want to add, go ahead.

3. S. (44:06) He says here about the work of the mind, what we need to organize the importance of the Creator, whether the Creator’s important then you will be able to work in order to serve Him without wanting reward, that your reward is to serve Him.

R. Okay, that is a reward.

S. We’re speaking about the importance of the friends that they will be important in our eyes so that’s a field of work. during the day when we want to come closer to the Creator we need to organize the importance of the friends so they will be important.

R. Yes

S. What is our work with the friends that helps us acquire faith to want to bestow upon the Creator, that that will be our reward? Can you touch on that a little?

R. That we increase the importance of the friends between us and to that extent that it’s important to us we can make actions through which we get closer to the friends more and more and from grasping the friends in our emotions we thus raise ourselves.

S. What’s that point where he says that it’s good that the importance of the friends will be within reason and the importance of the greatness of the Creator above reason?

R. You see the friends in your eyes as if you’re seeing them. You wish to see them truly great as if it is through your eyes. Now, the Creator you can’t see through your eyes, and you also want to discover Him not through your eyes but in a different kind of attainment, a higher one and so you relate to Him in that way.

S. Let’s say during the congress, during the lessons there’s a certain force where we have together that gives us the ability to exert and to this inner effort that pushes everyone forward. Let’s say during the day it’s a bit harder, a friend is a bit busier with something. How can we organize the work so that it won’t disturb? Let’s say at the congress or in the morning lesson we have these forces to make this connection between us and with the Creator, that’s a feeling, and there’s this sorrow that during the day there are these spaces created where you cannot hold on to it, neither to the friends, neither to the Creator, what’s the field of work here? Because here too he says that you need to hold on to the field of the work, the order of the work.

R. Yes, but there’s no order here because you’re creating these gaps as you say. You detach from lack of grip on the Creator, you disconnect, and then you feel that you must have connection and that’s how you pray.

S. He speaks here that King David is on the left side as Isaac and that he needs help from the right of Hassidim and Rachamim, mercies, how when we feel during the day, not just during the lesson but how during the day can we draw to ourselves so that we can always renew that connection at every moment because I’m always on the phone or WhatsApp?

R. What does that have to do with it?

S. It has to do with it because in the lesson we want to do this at other times during the day. With us in the Ten we have pairs for instance that we divide into pairs, we make all kinds of efforts to hold on to the connection. There used to be no phones, or all these things so how do you do that?

R. Alright, if you ask me personally I try to be connected to the whole group because that too has a certain form and certainly that form changes to, in accordance with each and every one, which you can later discern what makes the group go up or down. 

4. S. (49:50) Why I was in this scrutiny for a long time, and I wanted to ask, Rabash here writes about the general faith of Israel that comes from surrounding light and also individual faith that comes from the inner light. The difference between these two kinds of faith is where in the individual faith there is mind or are there other differences, additional ones?

R. Yes, there are many small personal illuminations of sorts but to start organizing them now I don’t feel is what we need right now. It’s better, it’s very good to grasp and work with the general lights and the topic and then each one can begin to see himself and try to see what side, what direction he belongs to. 

5. S. (51:30) It says here that the work begins from the lower one starting the work with the intention in order to bestow, and then the work begins where they can receive pleasure with the intention to bestow. What is that process?

R. It’s a process where a person further and further devotes his desires to making them vessels for the reception of the upper light in order to bestow.

S. Who does he give the desires to? You said that he passes on the desires that the person passes them on. Who does he give them to?

R. The Creator.

S. How can I give my desires to the Creator?

R. This is by getting in contact with the Creator and wanting to devote himself to Him.

S. We have work in the Ten, how can we through our connection in the Ten give our desires to the Creator?

R. If your intentions are in order to bestow and not otherwise for the Creator then you can raise them to Him so that they are making that kind of action.

6. S. (53:33) How can I cover the quality of faith with Hassidim in order to become more distanced from Dinim judgments?

R. Always try to be in bestowal to the friends. That’s the solution.

7. S. (54:10) To keep our connection during the day like the friend asked, use telephone and all of the stuff, is our connection basically when we have a meeting and we kind of agree upon something, what we are praying for each other, that will be the connection during the day because that’s what we have to work with?

R. That? That’s also a connection, yes. It’s kind of a lower or small platform but it’s still connection.

8. S. (55:27) Firstly there is right, this new intuition, something and then it enters an action on the left, the ability to examine and scrutinize. Why don’t I have a connection to the intuition here? Is that the state?

R. I don’t understand you? Say it again. Why do you use the word intuition? Where did you get it from?

S. Okay, I won’t use the word intuition. You understand that there’s something different, undivided on the right and then you examine it next to the left line. Why can you not really materialize that, that faith comes first and then criticism comes later?

R. Yes, but it’s just thoughts, it’s not working in the lines.

S. How can we take that theory and implement it? Because I’ve really had situations where I felt that, a field, the world of Ein Sof and all that. How afterwards can you hold on to that? Why doesn’t it stay in us for a long period of time?

R. Probably you’re not making an effort to be in the group, check.

9. S. (57:07) We read that since a person is not close to the Creator, he needs to act as if he does have that feeling. How can I imagine if that I’m close to the Creator if I don’t know what that is?

R. Open up your senses and try to somehow get closer to the Creator according to as much as you know and then see what happens, see what’s changing in you. 

10. S. (57:50) When I think or feel I came to faith above reason then you reach this misunderstanding with others who want to reach faith through knowledge, through reason. You understand them because you were in their state, but they are not in your state, so the question is how should you behave in order to benefit them and also to benefit the Creator who gave me that faith?

R. You have to be in adhesion with the friends that’s first, and to make room for the ascent that you want to ascend right now and also to see how the friends ascend with you and to turn to the friends with this opportunity you have, in your degree, your mind and heart, and the possibility you have to join, well, not your heart but let’s say to join the surrounding light to the inner light. We’ll try in short. Try to work in this direction and then you’ll see, and you can ask further.

11. S. (01:00:08) This article is very connected to our work, and it is felt that it dresses on our state that came after the congress. The question is in individual work, do we individual, like we direct ourselves through the Ten and then we progress through the degrees of expansion of light until we reach the degree of the bestowers. Then there is a difficulty here, how in that same moment can I give that to the Ten and what forces can I get from the Ten, because holding myself in the light and feeling the attitude of the Creator toward me is very hard and I feel that there needs to be this additional support, how can I be in that state?

R. This is where the group is a necessity, that is for sure.

12. S. (01:01:15) The work in complete faith, is that a gift from the Creator or is that the attainment of the created being in its work?

R. The work in faith is the work in the heart of the created being where the Creator participates and elevates the created being to the degree of faith.

13. S. (01:02:02) Is the feeling of separation a punishment from the Creator or is it a help that pushes us to increase our faith?

R. It is help from the Creator pushing us to amplify faith, yes.

14. S. (01:02:40) How much does the mind help us in the construction of faith?

R. I cannot say to what extent, partially it helps. This I do not say, I do not know, can’t explain for now.

15. S. (01:03:13) How can we divide something that as much as you believe in it doesn’t divide it. You either believe in it or you don’t believe in it so how is it possible to divide that?

R. We will achieve faith and then we will see how to break it down, how to slice it.

16. S. (01:03:43) Is faith built on that in which we seek the help of the Creator in the work among the friends?

R. Yes.

17. S. (01:04:00) It is written, it is a law that the creation cannot receive bad or evil from the revelation. It is clear that all of the evil is from myself in all of my areas in life, there’s no one else I can relate to, so how does that law work?

R. The Creator has many possibilities, this is the answer.

18. S. (01:04:33) It is written that in the whole of Israel there is the attribute of faith. What is this faith in the Klal Israel?

R. That is a kind of general faith, which is sort of the state that is worthy of renewal.

S. How does a person progress in faith in complete faith?

R. That already acquires greater than difficult work and long. He starts to talk about this here a little bit but not yet in practice.

19. S. (01:05:19) What does it mean that King David had no life in the work?

R. David is Malchut and Malchut does not have illumination, it has no life.

20. S. (01:05:32) Is it enough for us to always think about the friend or should we think about the benefit of the Creator, or do I have to think about the two of them in parallel, what is the order of the work?

R. The order of the work is first the intention is to bestow to the Creator and vessels need to be prepared to bestow to the friends and through them to the Creator.

21. S. (01:06:14) I wanted to scrutinize something. It says that Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph give life to David and Isaac does not. So it’s clear that Isaac does not because he is left. It’s also clear that Abraham does because he’s a right, he’s in wholeness in the right. What does it mean that Jacob and Joseph also give life because they are also incorporated in the left?

R. We will learn that, we have yet to learn that. The question is on point, but we will get to it.

22. S. (01:06:52) It is written that a person needs to consider the Creator as a great King and to be small towards Him in order to receive forces from Him. That is the will to receive, meaning to make the will to receive willingly serve the great one, right?

R. Well, correct, yes, let’s say.

S. Does that change in some stages? Can I work toward the Creator not from the vessels of the reception? 

R. How will you work for Him? In vessels of bestowal you cannot work. What will you do with vessels of bestowal?

S. Throughout the whole path we do not work in the vessels of bestowal.

R. We are working with vessels of reception by which we awaken vessels of bestowal in order to correct them, the vessels of reception, and to the extent that we have the right combination between vessels of reception and vessels of bestowal we attribute it to the Creator.

S. I did not understand, I will think.

R. Okay.

23. S. (01:08:18) What does it mean to organize the day in relation to mind and heart, how do I work with that?

R. Each one according to what he understands.

S. You said earlier that each one has little illuminations that I need to grab onto it and see what direction I am going, is that connected to that?

R. No.

S. What does it mean to organize my direction?

R. That depends on each one. If you’re talking about the ordinary mechanical clock or electronic clock it doesn’t matter, that is one thing. If you are talking about your inner clock, this is a matter of feeling with what do you choose to be in contact, and also it depends on the person perhaps in order for a person to be awake, to be alert, he has to always flip his state, to change his state upside down.

S. Is the correct work as you said earlier to be constantly in bestowal upon the friends? Is that what balances us?

R. This has to be the main direction, the general direction that does not change. From the love of the created beings to the love of the Creator.

24. S. (01:10:16) Continuing the scrutiny during the day, we in the morning lesson, two and a half to three hours in a kind of a, we do not have any external disturbances and we can work among each other and then there are all the rest of the days where we are in different states, also with families who aren’t on the path could be, and at work There’s this feeling of much greater feeling of inner effort than here in the lesson; here I feel warmth and a certain inner connection. The question is how can we, what is the additional value of the effort that we are in during the day that we can hold on to the intention? I’ll give an example, let’s say here for example I’m reading the text here with a yearning. During the day if I try to read I can read, technically, let’s say for three minutes I will read and I feel great resistance because you are in different environments. What is that additional value of work here compared to the additional value that we do in these efforts during the day?

R. Well, if you are reading in a hostile atmosphere to your spirit then certainly as much as you nevertheless strengthen and go forward, you get more, meaning the result is more and stronger.

S. They said that we are in this enemy-like atmosphere, that is how I feel, I feel that enemy atmosphere to the Rav. 

R. So, so what?

S. The question I want to ask is, there are states where you are as if wanting to escape to the morning lesson, to the connection with the friends and all these things and in that escape, you don’t really live that moment. I’m thinking maybe I’m not living this moment, probably. That I’m missing out on something if I’m thinking of going to that next moment with the friends, next meeting with the friends. How can I not lose that moment? How can I really realize that work in a correct way?

R. You have to learn that through yourself. You have to learn this on your own.

S. By dealing with it, making the effort?

R. Yes, once in a while approach the friends, tell them, ask for responses, it depends maybe, it depends on who are the friends and what is the topic but if the topic is the general adhesion then see the differences.

S. There is the term that we say, ‘like the donkey to the load and an ox to the burden’. When you do an action, even though you feel that now I’m doing this for the friends, I read something, I do something and many times you told us that the deed leaves an impression. What does that mean that the deed leaves an impression?

R. You bestow upon others through your actions.

S. That even inside if I don’t have any feeling for it? 

R. Even if you have no feeling for it whatsoever but by this you nevertheless you’re influenced. I saw on the screen [……], well leave it, leave it, where he is lecturing there or making a speech or arguing with someone there in the parliament. I listened to it for a few minutes, and I was impressed, and it had an impact.

S. You’re saying actually that whichever action I do, if I can’t do it with my intention, so to do it forcefully so it affects, even though I don’t feel, not to disregard even the small action?

R. Yes, the small actions are actually the most impactful. The big actions, it’s like you want to now earn to make a million, it is pretty high. You can say no, I now will engage in this for a year until I….We need to go according to time, space, and motion as much as you can.

S. Why don’t we value those little actions? A lot of times I say I can’t do a big action, so I don’t do anything. Why don’t we value the small ones?

R. Because it is undesirable. We want to swallow the big things and we don’t understand that our entire life is built where we stumble upon the small things.

S. Can you give an example for a small action?

R. Small one? I woke up, I washed myself, I drank a cup of coffee, had a sandwich, I’ll show you about myself. I went to study and after this study, again I do some work, small actions. See your day in as much as you arrange it so that in every stage along the way you are in some connection to the intention in order to bestow, to the friends, to the whole of the world, to all of Israel, to everything.

25. S. (01:17:01) It is written that Adam HaRishon gave King David seventy years of his life. Here in our world that is an average time of seventy years,, let’s say, that we are alive so each one of us is closer to King David, that general Malchut wrapping in all of us right now or is only the point of the heart that awakens, and the rest is seventy nations?

R. Well, well?

S. It seems that only those who have a point in the heart so it’s as if King David contacts him and then we go to the Ten and get all of the other qualities and pull the world to Gmar Tikkun.

R. Yes this needs to be scrutinized.

26. S. (01:18:00) I heard you answer a friend that during the day you try to be connected to the group as a whole, all day. What does that mean?

R. No, not the complete group. I connect to the PT 36, yes.

S. I heard you say you answered about the times we don’t connect actively in some talk but the action in the thought.

R. Yes.

S. How should an action take place in a thought? Whether it’s connecting to PT 36 or 27 or something broader?

R. I cannot say. That is already a result of many states of many thoughts. You are here. You participate in everything so why should I have to explain this to you? If you activate your sense of hearing and you do not need anything more than that.

27. S. (01:19:36) There’s a question up in the air from the beginning of the lesson, what a friend started. I just hear this throughout the lesson.

R. […] Well let’s hear.

S. There is personal work of a person between him and the Creator.

R. Yes.

S. There’s also work, it’s also private but between the person to the Ten a person to the group.

R. Yes.

S. I hear from the beginning of the lesson, the question is how to make order between those things.

R. Well?

S. The answer I hear is to make an intention to bestow to the Creator, first of all.

R. Yes.

S. Then to prepare vessels to bestow to the friends and through them to the Creator. 

R. Yes.

S. So according to what I understand there is a formula. Now I wake up, then I think of the Creator, then only the Ten, then it’s like we’re always in a dialogue with the Creator and with the Ten. Isn’t not like a formula that that’s the only way that it can be?

R. No, but it is written. Also Baal HaSulam sometimes writes about half a sentence and also Rabash wrote about the order of the agenda, the agenda according to Baal HaSulam, yes.

S. Yes, it’s written but I think the question is that we’re asking you how to do it, how to implement it, and the answer at least that I’m hearing, maybe I’m mistaken, is with both of them together and the order will happen.

R. I did not understand.

S. How to put order in these things, in working between man and the Creator and between man and the Ten?

R. A person to the Ten it is clear that now he needs to read, and think, and connect to the Ten and to try and do this work in action, mind and heart, and with the Creator it is also the same thing.

S. There’s no specific order?

R. I do not know what you are asking. What? To prepare the vessels that I can go to the kitchen and see how my wife does the dishes. What? What to do? I do not understand. When we connect, we do the dishes, when we connect we are doing the dishes, we are always in a preparation.

S. Now, I have a free minute, I’m not at work, I’m not anywhere. I have a minute. I think of the friends, I think of the Creator, or whatever I feel the right thing to do is?

R. You need to constantly feel whether you are in the direction through the group to the Creator and constantly ask yourself whether this direction is precise, and whether you are aimed exactly to the Creator or something that’s kind of like next to Him somewhat. How do you depict the group and the Creator so that they will be kind of like one upon the other and that is it. Actually, that’s the work.

28. S. (01:24:02) Why shouldn’t a person check which thoughts bring him more light and forces or less?

R. How will he check the light and the forces?

S. Most of the day we don’t have any forces, we can’t enter the work so I have to check which thought can I invest in now that it will shine on me, that it will help me rise? Let’s say thinking of the friends is a difficult thought, it does not shine. I can’t start by thinking of friends and bestowal in the group. He also says that a person needs to start in the mind and to think how the Creator bestows. He starts from a distance, he can’t, what is the connection?

R. There is this and there’s that. There are times for this and times for that.

S. If we want more time in the work throughout the day how do we organize ourselves to have more time in the work? Something has to give us forces.

R. You won’t get the forces, you need to aim your heart to the Creator.

S. To the Creator, so in what stage does a person bring the Ten or the group in there? It’s not from the beginning?

R. There within you are already with the Ten.

S. If I want to actually bestow in practice to the Creator so I then start like a jump. You gave an example once like a cat that waits for the moment he can make that jump to bestow. So first of all I need, well, maybe you say it, what do I need to do first?

R. You need to check, like I said, like a cat, you need to check your forces, your intentions, whether you’re capable of such a leap. Just like a cat who is constantly before his leaps he checks himself.

S. Thoughts of the Creator? You give an example that you have to think how the Creator constantly bestows.

R. Yes.

S. When he says thought it’s not that I thought about it once and let go. It’s something that…

R. You catch it and live with it.

S. How do you develop a thought that you are constantly living with it?

R. You don’t let it run away; you constantly engage in it until it becomes permanent in your mind. Where in your head you have like a channel between you and the Creator and in the heart and in the head, and you are constantly protecting it, watching over it.

S. Then when I start getting forces I start understanding what it means to bestow to the Creator for myself?

R. Let’s say yes..

29. S. (01:27:33) What is right to ask during the concealment in order to advance to bestowal and faith?

R. The concealment in general that I want from the concealment to move to revelation.

30. S. (01:28:04) Why is it so important for us to ask for the correction of our common screen. because that is the only thing that shattered, why is this so important?

R. Because the screen defines the degree of the reflected light of a person that wants to bestow in return to the Creator.

S. Is the frequency of love the only frequency that will determine the faith of humanity?

R. Yes. 

31. S. (01:28:50) I understood that the practical from this article is the greatness of the Creator, also from faith above reason and also from equivalence of form. That’s what we can give one another in the Ten and a lot of time I’m trying to understand how to do it. How to give greatness to the Creator.

R. By you doing something in the “I” between the friends they feel they are bestowed upon. They feel how impressed you are by the greatest of the Creator.

S. When we translate greatness of the Creator into the Ten, so it’s importance of our connection.

R. Yes.

S. When you do something, so what do we do, we adhere to our framework, we show how the morning lesson is important, right, these things?

R. Well, well?

S. So if I look in open eyes it’s something that is constant. I do not see that this is something that gets more intense. Before a congress we make more effort but even when I want to give it to the friend, and also what I see in the Ten, there’s like a certain routine it reaches and that’s how it stays. How do you break, how do you add to that?

R. We add through the shattering. In everything that was yesterday and as much as I had in my eyes the greatness of the group ,the greatness of the Creator, today I do not receive. I want something new, whole, high, eternal and then I try to work on that from that intention.

S. Is there something that we have to learn how to do? I see the friends, they go out of their way, we do exercises all day, one friend sings a song then someone reads something, makes a clip.

R. Those are external actions, well?.

S. What are non-external actions?

R. To the extent in which within they are making an effort in order to connect. In order to not let the distance in their eyes for thoughts, desires.

S. When people were asking, throughout the day when we are not in the lesson you said like a channel has to remain open, that I’m always in contact there in the back of the head, I constantly need to. 

R. Yes.

S. Sometimes it feels like we are on autopilot, and from the lesson until the zoom or the noon lesson and in between, we are like on autopilot in the back of our head. 

R. Yes.

S. How do I need or where do we learn to give greatness of the Creator to one another? 

R. As one man in one heart, that is what we need to be, through this connection you just described.