READING: between after midnight and sunrise of Friday.

Entering the King’s Hall

Entering the King’s Hall – Selected excerpts from the sources

1. RABASH, Article No. 23 (1991), “What Is the Meaning of the Purification of a Cow’s Ashes, in the Work?”

The main thing that one should strive for in life is to cling unto Him, since man should depict to himself that there is nothing more important in the world than to be in the King’s palace, through equivalence of form, as our sages said about “cling onto His attributes,” “As He is merciful, so you are merciful,” by this a person enters the King’s palace and is rewarded each time with speaking with the King.

2. Baal HaSulam, Letter No. 17

He who walks, who is worse than he who sits idly. It is he who deflects from the road, for the path of truth is a very thin line that one walks until one comes to the King’s palace.

One who begins to walk in the beginning of the line needs great care so as not to deviate to the right or to the left of the line even as much as a hairsbreadth, for if at first the deviation is as a hairsbreadth, even if one continues completely straight, it is certain that he will no longer come to the King’s palace, as he is not stepping on the true line

3. Baal HaSulam, “The Writings of the Last Generation”

All of the anticipated reward from the Creator, and the purpose of the entire creation, are Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, as in, “A tower filled abundantly, but no guests.” This is what they who cling to Him with love receive.

Naturally, first, one emerges from imprisonment, which is emerging from the skin of one’s body by bestowal upon others. Subsequently, one comes to the king’s palace, which is Dvekut with Him through the intention to bestow contentment upon one’s maker.

Therefore, the bulk of commandments are between man and man. One who gives preference to the commandments between man and God is as one who climbs to the second step before he has climbed to the first step. Clearly, he will break his legs.

4. RABASH, Article No. 6 (1990), “When Should One Use Pride in the Work?”

A person should pay attention to this and believe that the Creator is tending to him and guides him on the track that leads to the King’s palace. It follows that he should be happy that the Creator is watching over him and gives him the descents, as well. That is, a person should believe, as much as he can understand, that the Creator is giving him the ascents, since certainly, a person cannot say that he himself receives the ascents, but that the Creator wants to bring him closer; this is why He gives him the ascents.

Also, a person should believe that the Creator gives him the descents, as well, because He wants to bring him closer. Therefore, every single thing that he can do, he must do as though he is in a state of ascent. Therefore, when he overcomes a little during the descent, it is called an “awakening from below.” Each act that he does, he believes that it is the Creator’s will, and by this itself he is rewarded with greater nearing, meaning that the person himself begins to feel that the Creator has brought him closer.

5. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 42, “What Is the Acronym Elul in the Work?”
Those who wish to work in order to bestow are admitted into the King’s hall, and when one works in order to bestow, he does not mind what he feels during the work.

Rather, even in a state where he sees a shape of black, he is not impressed by it, but he only wants the Creator to give him strength to be able to overcome all the obstacles. It means that he does not ask the Creator to give him a shape of white, but to give him the strength to overcome all the concealments.

6. Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot”, Item 133

It is like a king who wished to select for himself the most loyal of his subjects in the country and bring them to work inside his palace. What did he do? He issued a decree that anyone who wished, young or old, would come to his palace to engage in the works inside his palace.

However, he appointed many of his servants to guard the palace gate and all the roads leading to it, and ordered them to cunningly deflect all those nearing his palace and divert them from the way that leads to the palace.

Naturally, all the people in the country began to run to the king’s palace. But the diligent guards cunningly rejected them. Many of them overpowered them and came near the palace gate, but the guards at the gate were the most diligent, and if someone approached the gate, they diverted him and turned him away with great craftiness until one despaired and returned as he had come.

And so they came and went, and regained strength, and came and went again, and so on and so forth for several days and years until they grew weary of trying. Only the mighty ones among them, whose patience endured, defeated the guards and opened the gate. And they were instantly awarded seeing the king’s face, who appointed each of them in his right place.

7. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 70, “With a Mighty Hand and with Fury Poured Out”

When one overcomes all the hardships and the disturbances, one is not easily repelled, but with a mighty hand. And if one overcomes even the mighty hand and does not want to move from the place of Kedusha [holiness] whatsoever, but wants to adhere specifically to Him in truth, and sees that he is repelled, then one says that fury is poured out on him. Otherwise, he would be allowed inside. But because fury is poured out on him by the Creator, he is not admitted into the King’s palace to adhere to Him.

It follows that before one wants to move from one’s place, and breaks in and wants to enter, it cannot be said that he feels that fury is poured out on him. Rather, after all the rejections that he is rejected, and he does not move from his place, meaning when the mighty hand and the fury poured out have already been revealed upon him, then “I will be King over you” comes true. This is so because only through bursting and great efforts does the kingdom of heaven become revealed to him, and he is rewarded with entering the King’s palace.

8. Baal Hasulam, Shamati, Article No. 233, “Pardon, Forgiveness, and Atonement”

When one knows that he is dirty, he has not the audacity and impudence to enter the King’s palace. Therefore, when one sees and remembers his bad deeds, which are against the King’s will, it is difficult for him to engage in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments], much less to ask of the King to adhere to Him and unite with Him.

This is why he needs atonement, so he will not see his poor state, that he is in utter lowliness, and so he will not remember his state, so he will have room to receive joy by being able to engage in the Torah and the work. And then, when he has joy, he will have room to ask for bonding with the King,

9. RABASH, Article No. 10 (1988), “What Are the Four Qualities of Those Who Go to the Seminary, in the Work?”

According to what Baal HaSulam said, the time of answering the prayer, for man to receive permission to enter the King’s palace so that He will bring him closer to Him and he will be rewarded with Dvekut with the Creator, is specifically when a person sees that, he is lost and powerless to do anything. At that time a person gives a real prayer, since he sees that he is simply wicked. That is, he has no grip on Kedusha [holiness/sanctity].

For this reason, when a person comes into a descent, he should not be startled and escape the campaign. On the contrary, this is the time to make a heartfelt prayer.

10. RABASH, Article No. 23 (1990), “What Does It Mean that Moses Was Perplexed about the Birth of the Moon, in the Work?”

It is the nature of a man who is concerned before Him to see himself as full of deficiencies. This enables him to always pray for complementing his deficiencies. However, he cannot thank and praise the Creator because in his mind, he has nothing for which to thank and praise. On the other hand, if he overcomes and always thanks and praises the Creator each day for the great kindness toward him, he necessarily feels satisfaction in his state, and again he cannot pray and complain to the Creator about his deficiencies.” The Zohar says that “the merit of those righteous is that they are complete on both sides. Therefore, they were rewarded with entering the palace of Hod in the Garden of Eden.”

It therefore follows that a person should walk on both lines, although they contradict one another, for specifically by this are we rewarded with entering the King’s palace.

11. RABASH, Article No. 43 (1990), “What Is, ‘You Shall Not Plant for Yourself an Asherah by the Altar,’ in the Work?”

What happens from above? Since they want the person to advance and mount the trail that leads to the King’s palace, where everyone works only in order to bestow upon the Creator, and during the ascent, that person built the foundation of his Judaism on the basis of feeling a good taste in the work, which is a basis of Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], for this reason, the person is given some foreign thought. At that time, a person is tried, to see if specifically when the Creator gives him some flavor that the will to receive feels, he will be able to be a servant of the Creator. But above reason just like that, when he has no sensation at all, how can he do something? This is called “sending a person some trial,” so he will see that all his work is based on the will to receive, and then he will feel that he is deceiving himself in the work of the Creator. At that time, he has room to pray that the Creator will give him the strength to be able to work only in order to bestow, and not for his own sake.

12. RABASH, Article No. 16 (1989), “What Is the Prohibition to Bless on an Empty Table, in the Work?”

Accordingly, The Baal Shem Tov said that before the fact, a person should say, “If I am not for me, who is for me?” and after the fact, a person should say, “Everything is under Providence.” In other words, the Creator gave him a thought and desire to do something in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], and chose him not only from among all the nations to give him a thought and desire to serve Him, meaning to observe Torah and Mitzvot, but even within the people of Israel themselves, He chose him from the rest of the people to give him a place to serve Him.

Although it is a small service, meaning that He let him work outside His palace, which is called Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], and still did not permit him to enter the palace, meaning He still did not receive permission from the Creator, namely a desire and yearning to work in order to bestow, and everything he does is only for his own sake, regarded as “outside the King’s palace,” but he considers this, too, a great privilege that He has chosen him from the rest of the people. He feels happy about this, and this can satisfy a person and make him praise and thank the Creator for rewarding him with accepting him into the work.

13. RABASH, Letter No. 29

Also, during the preparation, prior to being awarded entrance to the Creator’s palace, one should grow accustomed to the powers of overcoming the desires for self-reception. The way is to begin with small things, which do not give him that much delight and pleasure and are easier to relinquish and say about them, “Were it not a Mitzva to engage in these matters, I wouldn’t do them.”

Afterwards he adds until he accustoms himself to relinquish even the most important things for him. Even with things that touch his soul he can say that were it not a Mitzva, he would not engage in them. All this is required for him to be strong and trained in war, and then he is awarded entrance to the Creator’s palace to be among God’s servants.

14. RABASH, Article No. 875, “Three Lines – 4”

We can learn the upper matters, called “the wisdom of Kabbalah,” only by way of Segula [remedy/power], since they can bring a person desire and yearning to adhere to the Creator because of the Kedusha [holiness] of the matters that speak of the holy names. Conversely, in the revealed Torah, he must believe that the whole Torah is the names of the Creator. It follows that these matters are more capable (as explained in the essay, “The Giving of the Torah”).

When a person learns the upper matters in order for it to bring him closer to Kedusha, it causes a nearing of the lights. This means that this learning will cause him to thereby be rewarded with aiming all his actions in order to bestow. This is called “work in the manner of preparation,” where he prepares himself to be worthy of entering the King’s palace and to adhere to Him.

15. RABASH, Letter No. 65

Before a person qualifies himself to be fit to receive wholeness, he cannot see the length of the way that he has already traversed on his way toward the goal of wholeness, for only at the end of his work he will be able to see, but not midway, since he will not be able to receive His abundance before he has complete Kelim that are ready for it. This is why we must brace ourselves and say that we are already near the king’s palace, for every penny joins into a great amount, and perhaps soon we will see that the gate is open before us and we will be rewarded with entering and delighting with the king.