HOD: TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN

Lesson on the topic of “Faith Above Reason”

Morning Lesson January 28, 2022, Transcription

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

Part 1:

Faith Above Reason – Selected Excerpts from the Sources. #47

1.Rav’s Introduction: Yes, we are continuing until the end of correction, it is all in the same topic. When we begin to take on the qualities of the Creator, the quality of bestowal, connection, love, and that quality begins to rule us and as much as we feel that it exists inside of us, to that extent we will feel the whole world in a different way. We will feel the plan of creation and how much everything clothes within us within this new desire of connection and love. In this way we will see what it is called an inverted world. This is how we will advance and therefore faith above reason. As much as we can elevate the importance of bestowal upon the importance of reception, the importance of connection, upon the importance of disconnection and distancing according to that we will advance.

Excerpt 47 (01:37) Twice

2. S. (05:41) What does it mean that the right and left embrace and that the right and left need to be eternal?

R. They connect all the ends together and by that we can feel eternity. We achieve eternity in the fact that there is no change in that state. When can there be a state without change? When we connect all the ends to their one upper source.

3. S. (06:23) Why is it built in such a way where on one side we cannot sense the opposite side?

R. It is done deliberately that there is a right and left and in general there are many changes within a person in order to give him that, to allow him to find the single source. It is the one unique and unified, that there is None Else Besides Him, because we, the created beings, are not connected to our root, to the Creator, who is the center and the source of the whole of reality. This source, we need to locate it, to build it and to arrange it within us. This is possible only from us receiving all kinds of impressions, intentions, forces and different states. And out of them we compose the concept one, the singular concept.

Then we stand on that and we do not change. This is how we build within us a vessel for the revelation of the Creator, the attainment of the Creator, and understanding of the Creator. This is how we can be adhered to Him. It all stems out of the fact that we are the created beings. That is, that we do not have that quality of the one unique and unified that exists in the root. He is the first and only point of the whole of creation and we need to reach Him. When we do reach Him, we reach Him the way that He appears to us too, what He allows us to attain. In that too, there are all kinds of limitations until we reach a state where we reach that place of disconnection of the Creator, where His glory stands for itself. We feel that gap between us and Him. This also does not separate between us, because this is what pertains to Him, Himself. These are already very high things and we do not need them for the time being.

4. S. (09:42) What is the knowledge of Kedusha?

R. This means to know what does Kodesh, holiness, sanctity, mean. Holiness is something that is disconnected from us, that it is outside of us, because in truth the quality of the Creator is not attainable within us at all. It cannot truly be attained within the will to receive. All in all, we reach Dvekut, adhesion. Meaning that this is due to congruence that it is “as if,” and this is why the created beings are called Adam, similar to the Creator. Even though we are opposite to Him, as much as possible we want to invert ourselves and to bring ourselves closer to Him, to resemble Him. It is not more than a monkey in relation to a person as the Kabbalists say. However, out of that, this work is also very great and specifically out of us investing a lot of forces, internal forces, to resemble the Creator with our mind and emotions, with actions, and any way possible we somehow begin to depict Him. That is we give the Creator the possibility to portray within us, to establish in us such a form, such an image called Adam, depicting the Creator within us.

S. Does this mean to let him purify it?

R. We have to nullify our ego in any way possible, with the intentions, our thoughts, and to give the Creator the ability to make out of us whatever He wants. It is truly to be the Nukvah, the female that is adaptable, matching Zeir Anpin (ZA) in everything.

5. S. (12:33) In many verses Rav writes that faith is bestowal, that is the right line and reason is reception and the left line and here comes the question. Is a spiritual degree not already within reason ? Both bestowal and reception are not within reason? I thought that prior to this, that is only in the upper degree and it is very confusing. Do I understand correctly?

R. You are saying something right to some extent but when we reach spiritual attainment then we begin to understand how it clothes within a person. It is not in our present emotion or intellect. Those emotions and intellect that we have within us, we need them only in order to annul ourselves and let the reason of the upper one come down into us and settle within us. This is how it works. We need to perform actions and as a result of these actions we will feel how it fills us, how it settles within us and then we will understand what is happening but not before that. The wisdom of Kabbalah is a practical wisdom. We have to do what is upon us, actions from below and nevertheless wait or expect that the Creator will perform his actions from above. That he brings us the power of bestowal and then we understand what it is but not beforehand. We cannot understand it.

S. If I can be more precise, do I understand correctly that faith is greater bestowal than this degree?

R. It is correct that you have a good perception of it.

6. S. (15:06) What does it mean that the quality of right is the providence of the individual?

R. There is the right and left and the general providence and private providence. All these states we have to go through them and we need to build in us the preparation to receive the qualities of the Creator from above. Everything that we will do, on the right and left, private providence that comes to each and every one of us and the general providence that is revealed to us, together to all of us. There are such forms of bestowal, of corrections that come to us from above from the surrounding light and when we are somehow adapted to them then we start shifting from general providence to private providence.

7. S. (16:21) Is it correct to say that when the mind receives the state of advancement it is called faith above reason, it is a result of Hassadim?

R. You can say that also but I cannot tell you precisely. Each one of you will receive it from above. You see how it comes to us. It comes to us inside in different excerpts that we have to read and through that each time our heart and intellect is shaped in different forms towards the upper providence until it settles within us. This is how it works.

8. S. (17:30) In the text it says that when there is a state of right, we shouldn’t think that there are no such qualities left in the world and when we are on the left, we should think there are no such qualities as right in the world. Why exactly is that and how to do that?

R. We cannot do this yet, not yet. Let’s read ahead. We have a few excerpts ahead of us that we should try to implement. It is not simple, we have to get examples from above. What is right, what is left, that the two of them exist above reason. The inclination of the person to be above himself.

9. S. (18:43) Usually we are used to hearing Rabash speaking about the practical work of the heart and here in the article, Baal HaSulam says, he causes it all together with the embrace of right and the embrace of left. What does he mean when he specifically calls it an embrace?

R. An embrace is the degree of interconnection like all the other things that we call different words. It is the degree of connection. An embrace means that it is done more in the form of the surrounding lights.

S. Can we actually know that specifically in faith above reason, because that we are paying attention, to that there is more of a use of the work of the heart than the mind because the heart needs to bring us to faith above reason?

R. I do not think that we can work in that without an intellect. Both the mind and the heart and the intellect, both of them need to be above reason.

S. But we actually see that if we let the heart lead us and not necessarily the mind then we can reach faith in the friends, in the Kabbalists, and love of friends?

R. For the time being let it be so. In truth both have to connect together giving as a single outcome.

10. S. (20:25) What is the thing that detains a person mostly from going above reason?

R. Lack of attention. The Creator every moment is talking to each and every one and everyone together with the whole ten together. Lack of attention to the fact that we are not trying to hear the Creator each and every moment. We try to connect between us and in our connection, we want to hear the Creator.

S. How to hear the Creator? What do we need to do to hear?

R. To hear means that you create your connection on the degree of Bina which is the faith above reason. There you want to hear the Creator.

11. S. (21:34) He writes here that the left is the providence of reward and punishment, reward I understand but what punishment ?

R. Why?

S. Why punishment, reward? I understand that, but why do we need punishment? Thanks to the left I can correct the right, reach the right.

R. Why don’t you think that punishment does a good correction to you?

S. I do not feel it as a punishment, I feel it as my true reward, my real work.

R. Do you feel that there is a reality of reward and punishment? Do you feel that there is such a thing, both reward and punishment.

S. I feel reward, I do not feel punishment.

R. Ok, so this all depends on how you establish yourself. Think about it, what could be punishment for you? Let’s say that you do not have the love of the Creator, you do not have enough love of a friends, you do not feel that you are connected with everyone, you do not feel that you are able to relinquish yourself more, and the fact that the Creator is not explaining to you, not giving you forces abilities, or desires or inclinations, this is called punishment or maybe not, so tried out.

12. S. (23:16) Several friends in the group are sick. Is this showing the signs of the providence of reward and punishment because we are not elevating the correct prayer?

R. It does not mean anything. We have to stop at making such calculations, and only to make a calculation regarding connection, that’s it, and not to make a calculation that we received this because of that and received that because of this. There is no such thing, we must not make such calculations.

13. S. (24:06) It is written that it means that all his work is measured by the extent that he works above reason. Is that the most important principle to measure the work, so it would be above reason?

R. Yes, this is actually everything coming out to spirituality. It is above reason.

Excerpt 48 (24:37)

14. R. (26:13) I cannot explain these things to you, maybe you should help yourself, and give us examples. If I want to perform strong action, I need to use a force that works against this action, and then by that I add the force that is in favor of the action. When we reach spiritual attainment with faith above reason, we need the reason, because as much as I work above reason, against the reason by that, I increase the faith, in faith itself there is no force, faith is bestowal. What is in it? it is something that is very weak, but if I take that faith and I amplify it through the reason, then I add bit of faith to the reason, and in such a way, I elevate it to the degree of Keter, this means that we must have forces that resist, we must have the bad force. This is why it says about the Creator, “I created the evil inclination and I created the spice of Torah,” but what is the Torah here?

The Torah is the force that helps us to rise above the evil force that is revealed in each of us, each and every time. Then we elevate above ourselves higher and higher above the evil to resemble bestowal, to resemble the good, even though the force of bestowal is very small, but because we elevate upon of the height of the evil, then it becomes high and strong and great. This is why we need to respect the disturbances, and more and more to realize, to understand this engine, how it works that we must have the bad things. It is like I said more than once that the symbol of medicine is the serpent, from the poison of the serpent we get the medication. This means that every medication is poison, but not every poison is a medication. What is this about? That every medication is poison in its foundation, which we process, and this is how we make medication out of it, but not every poison, every venom, is medication until we process it correctly, we cannot use it as a medication.

This is why we said there is no evil in the world, no bad, but only what is revealed for the meantime, because we are not able to rise above it, and give it a form of bestowal to all of this bad, but once we are able to give it the form of bestowal, to bring upon it upper light and we will arrange it correctly, then immediately the darkness becomes light, the bitter becomes sweet, and the poisonous venom becomes medication. This is what we are doing together, in practice we are learning in these excerpts on the topic of faith above reason, how do we take the reason, the will to receive, and we build upon it the will to bestow from it, and it depends on the degree of coarseness that is revealed in the will to receive, root, Shoresh, Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Dalet, one, two, three, four, and accordingly, we attain the force of bestowal, NRNHY and all the degrees that are according to those five degrees, they are divided further into an additional five, and an additional five, and so on.

15. S. (31:01) Can we examine practical exercises about this question? In which the mutual work in the ten brings clashes, rejections, between the friends, and this is what I see within reason, as if the Creator is showing me the friends as small, and here there is room for work. I enter criticism, but I can also uplift their friends to a higher degree, and say that it comes from the Creator, and I need that for the sake of correction. Is this a good example that the faith above reason is raising the friends and the group above reason?

R. Yes, you can see that, you can continue with that, and you will see.

16. S. (32:01) Can you explain to us better how the quality of the left line can strengthen faith above reason?

R. As much as the will to receive is revealed as hindering to the same extent, because it is revealed through the upper light that influences us, then inside that will to receive is revealed there is already a certain portion of the upper light that comes from the Bestower, and then we by that can begin to feel that with this will to receive, we nevertheless have to approach bestowal. How do we build upon it the quality of bestowal, and therefore, it is written that “a thousand of times should the righteous falls and rises,” this is how we advance, this is how we learn how to turn darkness into light, bitter into sweet, falsehood into truth, all of these forces. All in all, we turn it to one higher force.

17. S. (33:47) It is so important to work on the left line and Rabash writes about it and talks about it, and you have told us that his students when you were given them Shamati, he’d said, they don’t have the left line, do not give it to them, so if he taught it so much, did they not understand? What was the reason that he said that they did not have the left line?

R. First of all, he did not intend those students that Rabash had, but rather the students that were studying with Baal HaSulam, the previous generation, they were Hassadim. Hassadim means a different approach, everything with mercy, with love and connection without the left line, so they do not grow through the degrees, but rather everything is done today like yesterday, and tomorrow like today, in the form of Hesed. Hesed It is a like Bina there are not degrees in it, all the degrees of Bina are through the fact that you put into it, or under it Malchut, coarseness, resistance and this is what he wanted to say that they do not have a left line, so they cannot grow, and that is why they should not read these articles, because it would just, they would be confused.

S. So, it comes down to if we are told how to use the left line, then we listen to what the Kabbalists say, we listen to what you say, to what Rabash say, then we learn how to use the left line correctly?

R. We need to listen only to Baal HaSulam and Rabash, that’s it. This is what I teach you, and you should not listen to me or anyone except for them, those two teachers are real sources. They spoke the truth, in a way that, as much as possible, it is revealed and corrected for us not to spoil us, therefore, I just teach you how to be connected to their text, and not to any other source. Even if it says that this is a student of Baal HaSulam or student of Rabash or that, you do not even think about opening up any other books or sources that are not originally written by Rabash or Baal HaSulam, it should be clear. I am certain that soon all kinds of other manuscripts will be revealed in the world, all others that will write there that he was a student of Rabash, maybe as student of the Baal HaSulam, do not look at anything but only those two, only those two.

18. S. (38:14) We are reading here, it is saying that as we go through these stages and everything is changing it changes our heart, and reason. At what point does our reason and the higher reason blend into one?

R. We have no connection yet with the upper reason, therefore, your question is not in place whatsoever.

19. S. (39:14) What are we lacking in order to demand the vessels of bestowal correctly?

R. What is lacking only to demand, we are missing the request, where do we get this deficiency? Only from the connection between us that’s where we can find this deficiency, whereas much as we connect and learn from each other by this we will have the inclination to rise in degrees of bestowal and Holiness more and then we will request more. The fact that you are crying from morning to night does not do anything, you need to want bestowal, you need to want connection and this can be revealed only when you connect with the friends. Without connection with the friends you are not able to come to the right envy.

20. S. (40:33) It says he goes in faith above reason, meaning in the right, which is called faith, this is called the middle line that decides between the two lines and leans to the right. It is not clear how working on the right becomes on its own the middle line?

R. But who performs this action, the person performs it so as much as he has the left in him and as much as he works on the right, the middle line also grows in him because the basis is the left.

S. So the middle line is the result, there is no work in the middle line?

R. No, the work in the middle line is different, we will talk about it later in the GAR and ZAT, the upper three and lower seven but the middle line is just the result of the two lines.

21. S. (41:46) Should we try to work on the right and the left shows itself or should we also mix in the left line?

R. We also need the left line, of course.

22. S. (42:10) It is said that the middle line is considered as the opposite, the posterior of the degree and later on we attain the anterior, how to understand this?

R. When we work to the left and then the middle line, it comes out that the middle line includes both the left and the right and then also in this, there is the Panim and Achoraim, interior and posterior and this is how we progress. We have yet to get there, we are not yet implementing this, you wanted to know theoretically something and I do not want that. I completely do not think that we need to do this as if we were philosophers so let’s try to erect from within us qualities that we are learning about and then it will be the true wisdom of Kabbalah.

Excerpt 49 (43:36) twice

23. (46:19) Rav reads: According to the importance he acquires during the work of wholeness, he will later have room to feel the deficiency in regard to his work which is not truly pure, his work. It is not in a nice and the correct way, that is at that time he can imagine to himself how much he is losing by his negligence in the work. That he can make a comparison between the importance of the Creator and his own lowliness and this brings him energy to work with, meaning we always go out after the correct calculations, we are not satisfied with ourselves and we see to the extent we did not succeed, we did not act, we did not put forth efforts and that really why would we deserve anything but with that we agree that we do not deserve. However that the person also has to correct himself otherwise he will remain in the darkness and will not see true light that shines on the suitable vessels, which are called vessels of bestowal and the correction of the vessels is called Nukvah, a deficiency when he works correcting his deficiencies. This is regarded as his mother gives the redness, this is the Nukvah, female that gives the red, that desire to receive that needs to be corrected.

That is that at that time he sees the red light which is the barriers which are on his way and prevent him from reaching the goal and it is his negligence. He does not know what is going on, he’s not satisfied, truly and this is the time of the prayer since man sees the measure of the work he has in the matter of mind and heart and how he has not progressed in the work of bestowal. He also sees how his body is a weak body and he does not have great powers in order to overcome his nature, so he sees that if the Creator does not help him, he is lost. Just as it is written if the Lord is not building the house they will build, labor in vain and from those two, to the extent he invested, as much as he felt what perfection should be as much as he recognizes now that he does not have any connection to this wholeness from those two. Meaning from wholeness and deficiency which are the matter of the mother and father, it turns out that the Creator is the one who helps him. Because the Creator built for the person this mother and father, meaning on one hand, some understanding in wholeness on the other hand, some attainment in the extent to which he does not belong to that wholeness. So, it turns out that the Creator helps him by giving him a soul which is the spirit of life and then the newborn is born, is it clear?

24. S. (50:38) Who is hearing this lesson because there is no understanding, every lesson when I come out, I come out completely empty, maybe I understood something, after the lesson I have nothing?

R. Very nice, it is a sign that you are absorbing it, you are receiving it but later after the lesson when you go out and you feel that what you had during the lesson here and there, some understandings, feelings, it all disappeared. Now you need to work on yourself to attain those things on your own, that’s it

S. This means within reason?

R. This is not important with what you have, with your mind and heart make an exertion with both in order to understand where I am and where I should be, where I need to come to and how to get there and invest.

25. S. (51:55) It seems like faith above reason is an effort that each makes towards the ten. How do we reach an act of faith above reason with the whole ten?

R. For that you need to think. You have heard enough materials to know how to work in the ten. Do at least what you remember and you will see the extent in which this works, and without that you will not be able to implement what we are reading in these articles. We are learning everything only practically, to the point.

26. S. (52:36) If going on the right line needs to go in wholeness and joy, we do not have joy in the work in the ten. How to add joy in our work?

R. The fact that you do not have joy in the ten, it’s such a time period, which you should put in effort and it will pass fast. Because you are not putting into consideration what your work is, you do not appreciate your work and therefore are not considered serving the Creator, the working on the path. Because one who serves the Creator has joy from serving Him. You’re not trying to aim from your work contentment to the Creator and therefore you are not receiving support from Him.

27. S. (53:42) If it seems to me that my ten are all Hassidim without the left line, how can I bring into them a little left line so that we can advance?

R. I do not have anything to recommend, just to go together with everyone.

28. S. (54:00) What does it mean to be on the middle line, how to get there?

R. The middle line is a very high degree, it is already the attainment to the connection with the Creator. As to enter into the right and left and connect them together and by that we reach the middle line.

29. S. (54:25) If the friends are corrected then the criticism in relation to the importance of the goal should be personal. How should this criticism be, should it be silent or should I demonstrate it?

R. These are things that we learn in the group how we need to behave. Talk to the friends and then you will understand what you need to do and if you do not understand then go to the sources. If you do not understand the sources then go to wherever who takes care of things. In your case it is probably an administrator or other people that should show you where in the sources and how you can scrutinize it. Start relating to all our work in a matter of fact way, where you are learning how to implement what we learn. And not that we receive here in our morning lesson some little councils or advice, little tips and that is enough for us. That’s not enough.

30. S. (55:58) It is written at the end of the paragraph, the newborn is born, what is this newborn in the spirituality?

R. Our soul.

31. S. (56:24) Is it correct to understand that the more we progress, we get to know more that we are further away from bestowal and then we have a greater craving for a prayer and accordingly out of that we get a spirit of life?

R. Yes, as much as we progress to bestowal, it seems that we are even more distant from bestowal.

32. S. (57:10) What it says about the state where he feels that his body is weak, does it mean that his request and his prayer is also weak?

R. Yes and also no. Because if he already sees that he is weak it is a sign that he has a vessel and, in that vessel, he discovers the power of the vessel and he defines there, that besides there, that the vessel is weak. It is similar to, let’s say you come to an expert and he starts to tell you, there is this and there is that and this is your problem, and it can be solved this way and that way and he himself is uncertain, perplexed. Meaning to the extent to which we advance we have more problems, more questions even though we are receiving answers. But with that we are coming with our deficiencies that are greater.

33. S. (58:31) He writes in the beginning according to the importance he acquires during the work of wholeness he later has a room to feel that deficiency. Why would he feel deficiency if he’s working in wholeness?

R. Because the even greater vessel is revealed to him, even a newer vessel, even more complex and higher, respectable. It could be greater in volume and in quality and this is how they are revealed.

S. This means that in any case when the person is working in wholeness he is always accompanied with deficiency?

R. Correct.

34. S. (59:39) We read that because his foundation is above reason he always suckles from his root. The question is what is this root of faith above reason?

R. In Bina.

35. S. (59:59) In the state of right means private providence, what does that mean?

R. We are not quite in that yet. The private for general providence right and left, it’s enough for us above and below that’s more important for us now.

36. S. (01:00:23) Most of the disturbances, come as blows to the will to receive and then there is a desire, an egoistic one to rise above them. How can we work with the opposite kind of disturbances when the will to receive gets pleasure and the person cannot get out of it?

R. Only by the group. A prisoner cannot save himself from imprisonment and if I am truly incorporated in their desires in order to exit them and rise above them, I must have the force of the group.

37. S. (01:01:06) Spiritually, how does suffering cause correction?

R. It helps us, it helps us. Either giving us the feeling that we’re going in the right way, only, or it gives us also the feeling that we need to rise above it, suffering causes corrections, yes. You could say that there’s no correction that could be without suffering, but it’s not that we will see in the suffering the correction.

38. S. (01:01:59) What is the sign for correct advancement of the ten on two lines?

R. What is the sign in the advancement of the ten in two lines? We haven’t really entered into that yet we haven’t talked about it but I’m happy that you’re asking me today especially about the things that are seemingly standing before us, we will learn that. Right and left you can say that it is perfection and lack of perfection. But it’s much more than that.

39. S. (01:02:50) Do we reach the middle line when in the ten we were all able to overcome the transgressions or is that my individual work towards the ten?

R. It’s my individual work towards the ten, yes.