TUESDAY PRAYER: YESOD-TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN
READING: BETWEEN AFTER MIDNIGHT AND DAWN TUESDAY
Zohar for All. Introduction of The Book of Zohar. The Donkey Driver, item 115
Morning Lesson January 15, 2023 Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 1:
Zohar for All. “Introduction of The Book of Zohar”. The Donkey Driver. #115
1. Rav’s Introduction: (00:38) Yes, this is the most I would say that most central essay in the introduction of the book of Zohar because it points to the forces of nature that can help the person to rise from feeling this world to feeling the Creator so let’s continue with this anticipation.
Reading 115 (01:19) “Rabbi Shimon feared and cried..”
2. R. (06:05) Let’s continue because I do not see any questions and I do not think there should be any questions so we should continue there are two embraces one from the mother and one through the prophet Elisha.
Reading 116 (06:34) “Elisha carved in words on Habakkuk..”
Reading 117 (11:37) “Elisha carved all those letters in Habakkuk’s spirit..”
3. S. (17:58) [rough translation from Russian] Do we need to know the difference between the upper Hassadim and the lower Hassadim? Why can a Klipa cling to the lower Hassadim, how is this possible? This is Hesed.
R. What does “know” mean?
S. Is it important for us to feel the difference between…
R. Initially you said to know and now you are saying to feel which is a big difference.
S. How can the Klipa stick to Hassadim?
R. If there are less than the power of the Klipa the shell can draw from their power.
4. S. (19:05) What is an embrace?
R. An embrace we are learning that there are three forms of connection, they are the embrace. the kiss. and then the coupling between two Partzufim. The embrace is the most superficial the most external connection then it comes to the kissing and then finally for the coupling, the Zivug it depends on the level of coarseness that the Partzufim can connect in.
5. S. (19:59) It seems that he is describing the whole process from the first restriction to the second restriction until the completion is this correct?
R. Yes, it happens during the elevation even above the second restriction. We are going to continue in a minute.
6. S. (20:39) What is the connection of the three letters, why three letters?
R. Two letters is not a word. three letters is a word and means a complete embrace that has three lines in it.
7. S. (21:15) Is the matter of rejection and birth, what is the connection between them? There is a connection here, right?
R. Yes, of course arising from degree to degree has several names to it. Both the birth and also falling and the birth and connection and embrace, they are all names that seem to us like they are far away from each other but in spirituality they describe the same corrections that happened on at a degree.
S. What does the rejection depend on on the desire of the lower one or are there are two things here?
R. Rejection is when we raise part of the soul when we raise from the shell, this is called rejection.
8. S. (22:36) The numbers 216 and 72 have deeper meanings for us to understand, what is the meaning of these numbers? Why these numbers?
R. In Hebrew there are no numbers, there is no such thing as 1,2,3. It was taken from the outside of the language, the language itself is only using the alphabet until, I am not sure until, l when but until recently. Only recently did they start using numbers taken from foreign languages like regular numbers and all the numbers are written in the Hebrew alphabet including the numbers.
Reading 118.(24:28) He said, “Lord, I have heard the report of You and I am afraid..”
Reading 119. (32:09) “Rabbi Shimon wept and said, ‘I, too, was afraid…’”
9. R. (36:44) Thus far this is an article called ‘The Donkey Driver.’
10. S. (37:10) He is writing in 118, while you are rising you constantly have to live with a deficiency of the descent, if I understand correctly.
R. Otherwise how do we rise?
S. On the deficiency of the ascent but when he rises what happens with the deficiency should he keep it?
R. He has to hold on otherwise he stops rising.
S. And what’s his reason?
R. So he has no more deficiency to ascend and nothing more to correct and then he is in a state where he doesn’t know what to do, it is like a state of ascent is the worst because he has no deficiency; he already realized it in the ascent.
S. And doesn’t a deficiency from a new coarseness come?
R. We have to make efforts, we have to do something for a new deficiency to come, a new deficiency is to go further which he didn’t have. He so called spent it or wasted it, exhausted it in the current ascent.
S. And new efforts is the work between us?
R. If it is moving to our state then yes, the work between us; yes that’s the work between us.
11. S. (38:50) I also would like to ask about item 118. What is the meaning of the words where he said death will be swallowed up forever and there would be no force that can keep him in purity and refrain from any grip and then all the fear will come from the power of love whose records will remain in BON even after it becomes SAG?
R. There is a matter of keeping oneself in bestowal out of fear and it depends on different kinds of fear as we learned. There is the fear from punishment in this world, fear of punishment in the next world, fear of whether I can bestow to the Creator, do good to Him or not and so on. All kinds of fear that one feels when he begins the ascent in order to bestow.
12. S. (40:15) Should we fear the final correction because we lose the ability to adhere to the Creator in the work?
R. Yes, that too.
13. S. (40:42) What does it mean to mountains?
R. GAR; that we do not use the GAR.
14. S. (41:17) Concerning what is written, the place from which we actually receive nourishment is hidden from us and where we are now is that place where we get no nourishment. So if we discover that place from which we receive the nourishment then we can receive the nourishment where we are now. Can we put it this way?
R. We are going to continue to study The Zohar and find how to better express that. I cannot answer you because I am not thinking in the same direction as you.
15. S. (42:14) Is the fact that he reawakened Habakkuk again is this, the revival, a yearning, or the intention to reach the end of correction?
R. Yes, that is correct.
16. S. (43:00) Why does The Zohar often write that he will be rewarded with high degrees after their demise? What does it mean after their demise?
R. After the degree is canceled.
S. It sounds like they will lose their body too?
R. I’m not sure what you are talking about and it is better if you do not say anything because you are saying nonsense. The body, this, that, it is far from what you think.
17. S. (43:48) Why are those Rabbis that are righteous? When they die they are afraid if they are in bestowal? If they are in bestowal they shouldn’t be afraid for themselves?
R. What Rabbis?
S. Those that the Kabbalists are talking about in this article.
R. Because they still haven’t reached the complete degrees of correction that they need to reach so they have a fear that they haven’t yet fulfilled their obligations. But it is not because they are concerned about themselves or about their lives. These degrees are already all in order to bestow. However there are many degrees in order to bestow.
18. S. (45:00) What is the difference between life before death and life after revival?
R. In our words using our lexicon it is difficult to describe and talk about. Life after death meaning that after the will to receive is canceled it disappears but it cannot actually disappear or be canceled. It rather stops its role because it receives a correction.
S. Is it the same as it being within reason and above reason?
R. So you see you are asking such things that within the framework that you give me I cannot explain these things; it is much higher.
S. I understand they’re giving codes here but what do these codes refer to?
R. Try to speak with effort as I am trying to do all the time.
S. I understand that he’s giving us codes here but what do these codes symbolize? What is he trying to say?
R. It is not codes, he explains to you about states and if you are not in those states you cannot understand. These are not codes.
S. How do we come to understand it?
R. By rising in spiritual states. It is like a child that grows and then he understands more and more.
19. S. (47:01) When we are reading The Zohar the feeling of time disappears, you are diving into this enchanted fairytale, you do not want to come out of. Is this a normal feeling?
R. Yes, everything is normal as long as you advance day after day without letting go and without doing any stops.
20. S. (47:35) It seems like the final paragraphs are creating a strong emotional reaction. Is this as it should be? And this dynamic that connects us to the next article; to our next stage?
R. Not necessarily. It’s an article in and of itself.
21. S. (48:02) In item number 118, there is a special description of connection to the past. What is the correct connection to the past?
R. Specifically thanks to the past we rise to the present.
22. S. (48:20) What does it mean to light up the candles of the temple? What kind of correction is it?
R. We are going to learn this but not now. To light candles in the temple that is already achieving such vessels, that great vessels and also even lighting candles there, the person comes in and lights candles. That means drawing light from such degrees. It is good that you are asking about it on the one hand but on the other hand how can you? We should already be feeling how much we are not even touching this rank of degrees.
23. S. (49:36) What does it mean that BON becomes the quality of SAG and there is no fear there?
R. I am telling you: that if you don’t try to improve your communication and also not going to talk I will not strain my throat as well.
S. What does it mean that BON becomes the quality of SAG and there is no fear at all there?
R. Because the correct correction of BON is when it is rising to SAG. The correct connection of MA is when it rises to AB.
S. And then there is no fear there; there is no room for fear?
R. No.
24. S. (50:50) It is written that at the moment of death we have to elevate a prayer for mercy and then fear for the past for Atik. Can a student fear that he works in a way that the person can raise a prayer from mercy, from the past? What does he pray for in Atik? The fear for Atik, what is it?
R. It is not going to help you understand what it means, the prayer of Atik. Simply when you pray, your feelings rise to the appropriate degree: that’s what you should know.
S. What is this point that remains in the person when he defines and determines everything? What is the prayer for the continuation of the wave for what?
R. A point in him appears from the next degree.
25. S. (52:25) In the article, ‘The Donkey Driver,’ they are talking a lot about Rav Hamnuna Saba. Who is Rav Hamnuna Saba?
R. It is an upper degree of the Partzuf.
26. S. (52:52) From this article it sounds like everything happens in the upper worlds between the righteous people there and it feels that this world does not exist or it is completely worthless. What is our connection to them?
R. There is no connection because we are all still not in order to bestow but only in order to receive.
S. What is the value of this world where we live?
R. Its only value is to rise to the degrees where we are in order to bestow. Where we want to connect, when we want to help each other, so that we somewhat transcend our ego and then we will have some value.
S. Through reading The Zohar can there be any connection between us and those souls?
R. Those who want and pray during the reading of The Zohar; it helps them.
27. S. (54:10) Everyone prays, so what is special about our prayer today that did not happen before? That it is different from the prayers of Kabbalists in previous generations?
R. There is a difference between one day and another, as it is written, ‘there is no day similar to another’ and so forth.
S. Difference is it also better or is it only different?
R. It means some addition in order to be different everyday.
S. Is it always based on them or is it also disconnected; something entirely new?
R. It is both.
28. S. (55:05) The more we draw the light of Hassidim in our desire, through what desire to change or what to each other?
R. In a good attitude to each other.
29. S. (55:28) Are the righteous in the article real people? Are the righteous souls, are they real people or are they just states?
R. They are not people but instead spiritual degrees.
30. S. (55:55) I am returning to the topic of fear. When he mentions the fear that we will go through about our death, at that moment should we shift the fear from ourselves to the Creator and focus only on feeling the Creator and think about Him?
R. We are going to talk about it. This is not right now; this is not yet pertinent.
31. S. (56:30) Can we say that this article, ‘The Donkey Driver,’ that Rabash analyzed or brought to us with his Social Writings, the writings about the society?
R. In the social articles there are different articles or pieces that are compatible with this article, yes.
32. S. (57:32) We are talking about the coming unity day and we are talking about connection and unity. What does it really mean that we are going through this article of ‘The Donkey Driver,’ that we are flowing through it and as if my heart is embraced and connecting the two embraces to build the Partzuf; our Kli. What does it mean for our work now to really work with these two embraces?
R. There is, in general, the embrace of the right and the embrace of the left, face-to-face and so on. There are many different kinds of symbols. What we need is an open heart, an honest heart to try to connect all our deficiencies and present them to the Creator because He does not need anything besides our deficiency to connect, to embrace and to achieve the coupling. That is what the Creator wants and we have to present to Him as if on our hands, our entire Kli connecting as much as we can and present this common deficiency to the Creator, we want Him to take it and fill it and rejoice in us. This is what we want.
S. Can I ask another question: what does it mean, let’s say the Messiah and to be in it when we are in our ten, to be in the whole Messiah, what sort of work are we doing when we’re really in the whole of Messiah?
R. Messiah is the force that pulls, that is pulling us out of in order to receive and into in order to bestow, in the general sense. And then there’s all kinds of states where we refer to the force of the Messiah: it is the Creator, There Is None Else Besides Him, and so in all kinds of states He wraps us, envelops us, protects us, helps us and if He does such actions these actions are referred to as Messiah. Ultimately there is None Else Besides Him, so you can call the Creator, a Messiah or other particular forces of Him, like Rabbi Hamnuna Saba and so forth.
S. How do we activate this force of the Messiah; this pulling force?
R. That is mostly through the connection between us and that we correct the nature of the connection between us. We want our correction to raise us to a degree of bestowal, of mutual connection, of being willing to help all my friends and not think of myself but only about everyone else. So the force that dresses in me and helps me make this action is called Messiah.
33. S. (01:02:15) In item 115 it says, he made them all live with them, however, we need the clothing of Hassadim because there is no existence to Hochma without Hassadim. This is why a person needs the witness of Ima, the screen that draws Hochma in order to clothe Hassidim. So a friend is asking: how does the screen draw Hassadim? Does the light of Hassadim require a screen in order to receive it?
R. It is not exactly what you’re saying. You kind of twisted the sentence around but yes also in order to receive the light of Hassadim you need the Masach, yes.
34. S. (01:03:08) Tell me please, when I listen to The Zohar, all kinds of states come, thoughts, memories of previous days. Should I focus on this or more on The Zohar itself?
R. You can also go back to previous thoughts; whatever is more comfortable to achieve the heart’s understanding of what is written, what is important is that the heart will be in concern.
35. S. (01:04:06) When we raise MAN, do we ask for the intent to connect us with all the friends and the Kli?
R. We ask for that, then we hope the Creator will do that but if we don’t ask He won’t do it. That is clear.
36. S. (01:05:03) Is it deficiency or the quality of the deficiency or its measure? Do they point to a person’s degree?
R. Yes, because that is basically how we determine our goal, that is what we ask for. So our deficiency determines where we are, where we want to rise and what way to connect with others, what is the magnitude and speed of connection, all kinds of things. It is all determined by the deficiency.
S. So when this deficiency raises us and we said before when the deficiency ends we have risen to some degree. Does that mean we have reason to some degree or we have lost everything when the deficiency ends?
R. If the deficiency ends we have nothing to do.
S. So we have fallen from all the degrees?
R. Without a deficiency, a person dies.
S. So as long as I feel a deficiency I am in a certain degree?
R. Yes.
37. S. (01:06:26) When we enter a friend’s deficiency and raise MAN for the friends. So the light of Hassadim is drawn on this, how do we feel it? Does it feel like some sort of purity? This is our feeling so we know that the light of Hassadim came?
R. We are not playing with feelings, I am sorry.
38. S. (01:07:03) In these states described in item 119, are they states that stem from the connection between us, they’re created from the lower ones or are they states described in relation to the creation of the world from above downward?
R. They certainly were shaped from above downwards but now in the article it is talking about from below upwards.
39. S. (01:07:45) What is the state that Reshimot, [records] stay so he can make a correction but not forget because he’s already corrected? What remains there?
R. What does it mean left; left where?
S. He wrote that the Reshimot, [records] should remain in him even though he has already corrected them he should still remember them so he has fear over them. What is that state, what remains?
R. To continue the level of fear even though he rose above it.
S. What remains of this state and how is it different before the correction?
R. I can’t express that.
S. When we correct the state of separation?
R. No, because it’s already working with a calculation of in order to bestow. You understand it’s not like a kid whose parents want to awaken the level of fear in him; these are degrees in order to bestow that are higher and higher.