TIFERET: TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN
Baal HaSulam. Exile and Redemption
Morning Lesson October 24, 2022 Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 2:
Baal HaSulam. Exile and Redemption (The Difference between a Secular Ideal and a Religious Ideal)
1. R. Probably an incomplete article but short, let us study what we have from it. After all, in each and every word that he writes we have a great property there.
Reading the harmony between religion and the law of development or blind faith.
2. S. (00:51) Nations are called those who do not believe in the upper providence, that there is an upper force that surrounds all of reality, the whole world, all the nations, our entire universe and this force is one force, singular, has a beginning, has a purpose, has a goal, and those who do not believe it will not attain it, will not feel it, and does not plan his life according to this force is called Goy or gentile, or nations, which means in Hebrew literally a nation so among those nations you will have no repose and there will be no resting place for your feet, in other words if you yearn for the purpose of creation, to understand it, to feel it, to discover it, you will not be able to find in those nations that did not yearn to reveal this upper force that surrounds all of nature, you will not find a resting place among them.
Continues “And is that which comes to your mind will not be…” (02:17)
3. R. (02:28) Yes you will not be able to be as the other nations who are not searching for the force that surrounds everything and brings everyone to a certain purpose, a certain single goal.
Continues Reading (02:49)
4. R. (04:38) Meaning that we have to think carefully about the universe, about the Earth, about all the nations that are present on this planet among us among all the nations, what is it all for, what is the benefit, what is the purpose of this development, we see before our eyes, it is revealed before our eyes.
Continues “we should clarify this matter…”
5. R. (05:55) Meaning those who walked from history, who came out of Babylon following the leadership of Abraham who wanted to take everyone out of there but those who accompanied him, they went together to the land of Canaan and eventually they received the instruction, the Torah that was entirely as Abraham said, love your neighbor or your friend as yourself, this is the rule that we have to learn in all its details how to keep it inside in each and everyone and inside of everyone together.
Continues “because they would not do so but wished to include..”
6. R. (07:19) This is what happened, meaning they started descending in the degree of Lishma and they said that it’s possible to reach a an even lower degree which is Lo Lishma not in order to bestow, as much as the Torah demands, just to be entirely above the egoistic power, among the will to receive of the still, vegetative and animate, and if you don’t need it, you can come down from it, then these descents started and these descents brought about the exile of Babylon and all the wars that brought the destruction to the first temple and then the second temple.
Continues “…But because the Torah prohibits this…”
7. R. (08:50) Meaning in order to live simpler but alive, they stopped placing bestowal and the value of bestowing and love of society above everything but rather they choose to be like everyone, like all the other people, which is much easier and this is according to the will to receive in each and every one and in that they mingled with everyone but that approach to life, so everything came down to the normal human level.
Continues “Because they did sell the powers of the nation disintegrated…”
8. R. (09:42) Which were spiritual.
Continues “some followed the selfish kings..”
9. R. (09:59) And that brought the shattering, the destruction, the ruin, slowly over many years but that is how the descent went.
Continues “In the second temple it was more noticeable…”
10. R. (10:37) That you could live in Lo Lishma as well.
Continues “As our sages said, wise men be careful with your words…”
11. R. (11:43) And in this way the second temple was ruined, the first temple was ruined 5-600 years prior to that, and caused the exile to Babylon, where the king, Nebuchadnezzar. And this is the second temple. The beginning of the current era, the count of the current era, about two thousand years ago.
12. S. (12:24) In general there can be a state where the whole nation is rewarded with Lishma, it sounds amazing.
R. You are correct it is something that is huge, is it is practically impossible, but the Creator does it and not us, we need to do it what is required of us to do the lower ones who are in this world, and he accordingly will do what he has to do and He will connect these two worlds, the world that is in Lo Lishma and the world that is in Lishma.
13. S. (13:15) Should we learn these things as history or should we accept it as a process in our inner correction?
R. We need to hear what he is writing, learn a little bit of history from it because this history continues in us as well, we are result of this history, all of humanity is a result of this history, like it or not, you see how for thousands of years we are inside this history, we have nowhere to run to, so let us learn the main principle processes and we will see where next we will develop to and see what we have to do. We cannot run away from it but instead if we know the process of development and how we need to get involved in it then certainly we stand to gain a lot.
S. So we have to internalize this in our inner connection?
R. Of course this is clear.
S. And do we have to recognize this process in our correction?
R. Yes absolutely, that is why he is explaining it. I’m willing to answer any question that you would like.
14. S. (15:05) He writes that there is one period that will bring back the suffering and troubles, what does that mean, that we have to bring trouble in our life, why?
R. We need to understand that if we do not keep the laws of development of nature, of the human species, the ones the Torah is speaking of, the nature or the Creator, Elokim in Gematria, equals nature, HaTeva, He will obligate us, not through the good path, but through another path until we will suffer so greatly until we will be obligated to keep the laws of nature, as we see happening.
S. So we don’t need to bring trouble back, it is there anyway.
R. We do not need to bring back troubles and what for? We need to develop, and reach the purpose of creation, where all of us are connected together and connected with all of nature, still vegetative, animate and speaking and the Creator in it, we need to reach that connection. And it is in us, it’s in us, we will find the solution in us. If we fail to do it, nature will obligate us.
S. Is there such a thing as advancing without trouble or is there no such way?
R. Of course there is, go ahead, it is all in your hands. That is why we got this method, the revelation of the method of how everything exists in nature and it is in order for us to be able to use it correctly to reach it quickly and relatively easily the purpose of creation, the connection of everyone.
S. I am asking because there is a mess in the world, complete chaos, and you are saying that if we work spiritually here we can get rid of all the trouble in the world?
R. Yes, the whole world is ultimately suffering because we, the Jews, the nation of Israel, are not doing our work correctly.
S. But there is a bit of people, how many of us are there in the world?
R. It doesn’t depend on quantity.
S. So, on what?
R. It depends on our desire, only.
S. What about all the rest that aren’t working spiritually?
R. They are not obligated, they cannot change their fate.
S. And we can change fate?
R. We can and we must change it.
S. You’re always saying first connect between you and then there will be peace in the world, so we have the problem that we are not connecting between us, that is what you are saying?
R. Yes, only in that.
S. Is this the direction we should think in? That’s what I have to think about? That in order not to have problems in the world, for that I have to connect, or should there be more quality in my thoughts?
R. You can also be more qualitative in your intentions but this is also good, if you think about the world in order to bring good to the world.
15. S. (19:13) Baal HaSulam in the writings of the last generation writes that about the different levels of society that won’t help development of society, so it is written here that the wealth and forces, that is called Lo Lishma, can you explain that? It’s not clear.
R. We need to triumph over all the evil forces only through connection and not through the power of firearms and wars as the other nations are doing. The fact that we somehow manage doesn’t mean that is going to stay this way.
We are not so smart, we are not that powerful, it is not really our place, our place is to be connected only to reach from one end to another, from one end where we were not connected at all, not as a nation or a group or anything and we’re not able to reach the other end so for the time being we are on the way, on the path but soon we will see how we are losing the nation of Israel, how are we losing our power because the power of connection disappeared from us. Whatever little was left of it even that will go and then nothing will help us we have to be connected and accordingly we will be able to Triumph but again, we are not going to kill anyone but to triumph, convince, triumph over an opinion that connection is the way to win over all our enemies, the enemies of connection and peace.
S. But we have to be poor and weak, why is that connected? Wealth and force…
R. We only need to care about the connection. From the connection we come to everything really, we have great success and other than connection we need only to worry about the basic necessities, food for the Nefesh, as we call it.
S. He gives like a sign here even for our work cause if I feel that I am more concerned about wanting things, to be rich, it’s a sign that I’m not on the right path?
R. That’s right, it depends on where your head is at and where your intentions are, you can be rich but not drawn to riches.
16. S. (22:37) I have learned the history of Israel and the architecture of ancient Israel and there is something interesting about how the first Kings in Israel lived like the rest of the nation. These ancient kings houses were like simple people and then they became bigger palaces and so on, and also Baal HaSulam writes about it, about the people that start accumulating wealth along with that we say that that is not what we work on, we have to work on connection so how did that wealth bother them to keep the connection?
R. Because they wanted to reach wealth, they wanted to be wealthy, great, powerful and that didn’t exist at all in the first Kings. It didn’t exist with Moses and also not with David, everyone was as the people. Later things started this was the period of the Tzadokim, he writes about it here, during the second temple, where are we?
Reading: “In the Second Temple, it was even more noticeable, since the beginning of the separation was publicly displayed…
Rav continues the reading: “… there by unvirtuous disciples, headed by Tzadok and Bytos. Their mutiny against our sages revolved primarily around the obligation of Lishma [for Her sake]”. They wanted to cancel Lishma, they don’t need Lishma, it is enough for us to be in Lo Lishma meaning not in order to bestow. “as our sages said, “Wise men, be careful with your words.” Meaning, we should not do it, we need to cancel the obligation for Lishma that everyone needs to get there to the purpose of creation “because they did not want to retire from selfishness meaning from the ego, they created communities of this deplorable kind and became a great sect called “Tzdokim,” who were the rich and the officers, pursuing selfish desires, unlike the path of Torah.
They fought against the Prushim, and they are the ones who brought the Roman kingdom’s rule over Israel. They are the ones who would not make peace with the imperious, as our sages advised according to the Torah, until the house was ruined and the glory of Israel was exiled. Meaning, they caused the ruin of the temple. Meaning you see that constantly there’s a constant war in the people to be in Lishma or not to be in Lishma. That is what we need to understand.
17. S. (26:11) Is there a parallel between Arvut and Lishma, are they similar concepts or are they completely different?
R. No, Arvut is one of the components of reaching Lishma. I cannot reach Lishma if I don’t keep the laws of the Arvut.
18. S. (26:50) What are these officers? What is the meaning of this word officers and who are the officers today in the people and in the ten?
R. I don’t know, I don’t know, those questions move away from what we are dealing with.
19. S. (27:14) There is a paragraph here that had they heeded the advice of our sages they would have been able to save the temple. Does keeping the Torah something that obligates us to save the temple or can it be Lo Lishma and Lishma at the same time, according to the advice of our sages and Baal HaSulam?
R. We understand that everybody, everybody, all of humanity eventually, needs to incorporate together as one man with one heart, everybody and he writes that the Israeli nation is only as a passage from Lo Lishma to Lishma and afterwards all of humanity needs to reach that same state.
S. Meaning on the way to that state that we are talking about the people of Israel can exist some in Lishma, some in Lo Lishma until we reach the final goal?
R. Yes, of course just like now. There is a very small part of the nation of Israel that is in Lishma and the big part is in Lo Lishma, and there is another part that is not even aware, like animals like still, vegetative and animate degrees.
S. They will fall under the rule of the nations as he says here?
R. Yes.
20. S. (29:02) It is not clear if at that time despite their differences, Lo Lishma to Lishma, if they had connected it would have been the correct thing to do?
R. How could they have connected if they’re opposite to one another?
S. But This opposition always exists, there will always be opposition.
R. If I have a different goal in life than you, how can we connect?
S. So that is the question: can the connection happen if there is opposition?
R. So, there is no connection. You understand? There’s no connection because there is no mutual point.
S. So the only common point is Lishma?
R. Yes, of course.
S. How can there be connection among the nation of Israel today, who is thinking about Lishma?
R. Who thinks about connecting the nation of Israel today?
S. We are.
R. We don’t think about that.
S. What are we thinking about?
R. We know that without disseminating the wisdom of Kabbalah that everyone has to reach connection through Lishma, through in order to bestow, mutually, we cannot do anything
S. How can we move towards connection?
R. Lishma will come later so connection.
S. How do you combine those contradictions that exist in Israel today?
R. I don’t know I’m not a politician.who are opposing in their opinions as a point that I can hold to and also the one against me can hold onto the same point?
R. That if we will be able to find a common thread that we can hold in order to save ourselves from destruction so we’ll reach destruction.
21. S. (31:34) He writes until the house was ruined and the glory of Israel was exiled. What does it mean that the glory of Israel was exiled? It sounds like something good.
R. No,they completely went into exile and we annulled, canceled.
S. That’s the glory of Israel?
R. Yes.
Reading (32:04) “The difference between a secular idea and religious idea…”
22. R. (32:30) Either food sex family money honor knowlege that’s a secular ideal and the ideal, the religious ideal, as he writes, to raise the Creator and rise to Him, yes.
Reading (32:46) “This is because the secular idea is the equalization of…”
23. S. (36:59) When he says religion here he means the wisdom of Kabbalah? There was no religion back there.
R. Faith and all kinds of forces of nature but always man had that even when living in the forest and all kinds of conditions of thousands of years ago. Obviously we are not as speaking about religions as they are doing in our times.
S. In our time religions relate to Lishma, Lo Lishma, or something in the middle?
R. Religion has nothing to do with Lishma and Lo Lishma. The religion is a system of faiths and whatever is written there, no more than that. It has nothing to do with the wisdom of Kabbalah Lishma or Lo Lishma.
24. S. (38:20) It’s really not clear. On the other hand he says it’s a great thing to reach Lishma as he writes here. On the other hand he says the natural law of development. So what’s the difference? What’s the natural law of development?
R. Natural law of development means that we are developing through the law of nature that is pushing us to development in our will to receive and that’s how we are discovering the world as more and more wide deep complex.
S. But it says, it shows that the Torah the natural law of development even with blind faith they go hand in hand in beautiful unity. Can you explain this? It’s not clear.
R. So what;s the problem?
S. It’s not clear. On the other hand he says reach Lishma, on the other hand he says there’s the natural law of development. So what overcomes what?
R. So there’s the natural law of development that whether you want it or not you are in it and it comes from the Creator in a unified way to everyone and then there’s a law that you can take it in your hands and develop in a different way and that’s called reaching Lishma.
S. Meaning we have to rise about the law of nature?
R. Above the law of nature, of course.
S. Okay thank you.
25. S. (40:03) He explains that there are two trends two directions, one who looks to glorify himself in the eyes of the public and ones who wish to be glorified in the eyes of the Creator. It’s so at odds, how can they connect to one another, meaning to convey one to another?
R. They can’t that is why everyone hates Kabbalists and the wisdom of Kabbalah and they reject it for a long time from generations already, because the wisdom of Kabbalah erases all the regular values that the people have.
S. You explained that we need to pass the message of connection. How glory in the eyes of the Creator can we somehow, a tiny step, can we introduce that into the message of connection, how?
R. That if we want to save ourselves we must be connected. That’s what we have to pass on.
26. S. (41:26) What do we need to do for the Creator to help us to bring connection through the leadership player?
R. We can’t organize the world from above, we need to organize it from below by spreading the knowledge of the wisdom of Kabbalah, the method the connection the forces of nature that we’re just spreading it out among the nations, first the nation of Israel and then the rest of the nations, and then in such a way we can reach a state that the world will start understanding where it’s revolving to and what can be the force that saves it. And now we are going into a state that we really have a problem to exist in the world when we see where it’is falling into and we won’t have any other choice but to explain to everyone that only through connecting above the forces of hatred only then we can save ourselves and the world.
S. We want to be heard so it depends on the greatest of the world, the world’s greatest that they will hear us, it will come from above somehow.
R. We can’t do anything that goes against the system of nature. If we can awaken the Creator,it will happen if we can’t it won’t and to awaken the Creator we can only do that through our connection and prayer. We have no other forces or means and we really don’t need them.
Reading (44:05) “Congruity and Unity between Torah and Blind Fate, and the Development of Human Calculation – Hence, I hereby propose to the house of Israel to save our troubles enough…”
27. R. (45:16) Meaning reaching Lishma and being connected in such a way that’s an obligation and there’s no concession on that.
Reading (45:25) “If we do not establish ourselves accordingly, then there are classes among us, and we will undoubtedly be pushed,…”
28. R. (48:18) Meaning that there is no choice after all these to turn arounds through history that could happen we will still reach a decision that we must overcome above human nature and reach Lishma and only that is before us.
29. S. (48:52) What’s the difference between the corporeal ideal and spiritual ideal?
R. A corporal ideal is to be rich. I want to be the king of the world.
S. What’s the problem, why cannot we combine this corporal ideal with the spiritual ideal?
R. If I have one desire so beside it there can’t be another desire. The desire can only be one and big only. That’s why either a religious ideal that I want to reach closeness and adhesion with the Creator or a corporal ideal, the secular ideal, that I want to acquire everything in the world.
S. I will use the example of the Ari who was a great merchant and there were people who owned land in Jerusalem but I can be rich in this world and also have a spiritual ideal and the right intention. Where’s the problem here?
R. Sometimes happens but not that the Ari’s goal was to be great and being rich. Afterwards he settled and never left the place, he had something to live off and he lived a regular life like everyone that’s it. There were a lot of rich people at the times of the second temple and it’s written about that in the Talmud and more places that they really had great wealth and they were also sages but not that that was their purpose, that’s how life played out along with it they were poor people too.
S. What’s the message of Baal HaSulam to our time from this article?
R. Look you can’t say that this is the complete sealed article but the message here he wanted to explain to us that throughout history this is how we were divided, into people who are drawn to spirituality or corporeality and eventually align even though we all come from the material from the will to receive, gradually life teaches us that we need to reach a spiritual development. I think that in our times now we don’t feel it yet but we’re really going through a revolution and everyone is revolving around from the food, sex, family money, honor, knowledge, to a new direction to a spiritual direction. Obviously not everybody but gradually in layers of the world population.
S. Are you talking about Bnei Barch, a revolution here?
R. No, all together the whole world, the world that gradually this is how it’s happening on the general desire that the world is in.
30. S. (53:03) He writes that we are the children of the idea hence we cannot reach a state we’ll have corporeal existence without realizing the Lishma, it means that the entire nation has to reach Lishma?
R. The whole world, the plan of creation, the purpose of creation, that the whole world we have to reach Lishma, that’s it, in order to bestow just like the Creator and everybody will know me from big to small and my home will be the house of prayers for all nations, that’s what written.
31. S. (53:55) You said that we can separate people into two, those who are drawn to spirituality and those who are drawn to corporal desires, but there are also some states that a person is drawn to spirituality leave for corporal desires. What I mean is that when I scrutinize a desire which brought me to the path was that power, desire for power, because I felt that with corporeal powers it was impossible for me to have absolute power so I needed that upper force an external force to be able to use that my will would be above everyone’s will and this brought me to Kabbalah when I was fifteen. So how can we define this?
R. That’s how it is for each and everyone there are such periods or certain forces and each one is drawn in such a way according to the ways conducted from above. Why is it this way to you or your friend your neighbor, it’s not, you’ll know that later on, but you need to take what the Creator gave you and realize it as quick as you can and all the way.
S. Yes but my point was that even though it seems that the corporeal desires serve to a spiritual desire even though it doesn’t know. So there’s a trick that I want?
R. Yes, of course it’s not clear a person has to uplift above his will to receive and manage it each time from a higher and higher degree.
32. S. (56:19) It says in the article that the time before the second temple were times people honored this religious goal and then decided to gather in these sects. The ego supports?
R. Actually yes.
S. Now it turns out that humanity is also has a correct desire to be in this sect. When a person receives from nature from the Creator a great desire for corporeality and according to this article we say that these desires are incorrect, there are correct desires but these are incorrect. But as long as the Creator who gives those desires a person will continue to choose the sweeter egoistic goal. Either the Creator will stop giving us the desires for sex money honor or is that stuff always going to remain?
R. These desires will remain and we will always need to decide where our heart is turning to.
S. Let’s say there’s going to be a third world war. No one will want wealth and luxuries nothing else, that everyone will support a spiritual goal?
R. Let hope it’s not going to be through a third world war.
33. S. (58:03) A huge impression from the latest lessons and also now. Baal HaSulam places everything on the precipice, either here or there, the feeling is like a funnel, everything boils down to one point, the principle and work of Rabash. We know in the ten that despite the efforts and exertion of friends to arrange this work and to have also continuation is very difficult for us not only because we are in the general material of of the study of the time, maybe because of the acceleration of time, sensitivity, subtlety between us in Bnei Baruch it would be preferable to have some convention to concentrate the work of everyone and the principles.
R. We constantly want to do this and we can do this and let’s hope we’ll succeed but if you have some some idea so please pass it on to boardworldkli@gmail.com .
34. S. (01:00:05) What is Lo Lishma and the people of Israel have to reach Lishma?
R. No, I can’t start this now it’s a lot of words and we don’t have time. Lo Lishma you read about it, all the best to everyone and until the noon lesson.