FRIDAY: GEVURAH-TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN
READING: FROM MIDNIGHT TO DAWN FRIDAY
Rabash. Concerning the Slanderers. 18 (1985)
Morning Lesson August 16, 2023
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 1:
Rabash. Article No. 18, (1985). Concerning the Slanderers
Reading Article. (00:30) “It is written in The Zohar..”
1. S. (20:10) I’m trying to follow but it’s unclear. Rabash is like changing angles to find if this is good or not good, is it a condition or not?
R. It’s necessary in order to correct it.
S. So there is no such thing as cleanness, the more we search the more falsehood we find?
R. Well, but in between, nevertheless we are in states where we feel that there is cleanliness and there is no cleanliness, and there is and there isn’t, and this is how we advance from degree to degree.
S. So what does it mean when he says here at the end that “also a state of falsehood will be involved in his work called, Lo Lishma and everything is for the Creator?
R. Yes, that whatever he’s capable of will be for the Creator. Whatever he’s not capable of, he hopes that the Creator will correct it.
S. So what requires ‘death’ here?
R. It’s his scrutinies.
S. He scrutinizes that he must die?
R. Yes.
2. S. (21:42) It says here, to the extent that he cannot tolerate the lie, to this extent, he comes closer to the path of truth; it also says here that, “he makes it truth because it is the truth.” What is the falsehood, what is the truth?
R. This is with respect to the person, as much as it is revealed, in what state he is in. If he is in the state of truth, meaning according to what he discovers; then he is in the truth. This is according to how much he discovers and if he discovers that he also has within him the quality of falsehood that he does everything in order to rise above it.
S. Falsehood towards respect to what?
R. Falsehood with respect to the Creator, maybe you want to ask can he measure this falsehood, this lie towards the society, towards the ten?
3. S. (23:25) It turns out, if I’m not exaggerating, that we must reach a state of where it is impossible to tolerate the falsehood, where we discover the falsehood all the way and we see that there is a decree, a sentence of death. We turn to Him because only He can save us from it?
R. Yes.
4. S. (24:10) I wanted to ask: Rabash writes throughout the whole article that he doesn’t have any other advice but to go above reason, he keeps returning to that. But how can you go above reason if what enables a person to even start going above reason?
R. What enables the person? That he depicts himself this way, that he’s entirely in falsehood even though he can’t recognize it according to how he feels and he must rise above it. ‘Above reason’ means that we discover that we have to relate in such a way to our situation that seemingly as if we discover the truth.
S. Determining that this moment is falsehood, how can that be determined; but you determine now as falsehood in relation to what do you decide this, in relation to what, is this falsehood determined?
R. In relation to my state, I have nothing more.
S. Okay but my state in relation to what? To define something as falsehood needs to be defined in relation to something, so in relation to what do I define it as falsehood?
R. With respect to how I am, right now in my relation to the Creator.
S. If I don’t have a relation to the Creator is that called ‘falsehood’?
R. No, if you don’t have it at all then you have no way to determine it.
S. Okay, so that’s clear, that there needs to be some relation to the Creator?
R. That I must determine that the Creator is the truth and all of His deeds, all of His actions, all of His qualities are the truth and this is like a standard, an absolute standard, that I have before me and I am in falsehood.
S. Now, when you identify that you’re in a state of falsehood, what is this action that you rise above reason?
R. I search for what I can do in order to rise above the different states, above my state.
S. And the ability to determine truth, is that only above reason that can be determined or what, where is truth determined?
R. Above reason.
S. So it turns out that in reason you are always in a state of falsehood?
R. That’s right.
S. So again, my first question, how from this falsehood, how do you rise above reason, how do you begin to rise above reason?
R. Actually the question is a different one: How, without being in falsehood, can I rise above reason?
S. That’s clear, it sounds like you can’t rise above reason if there is no falsehood?
R. That’s right.
S. Okay, so still, it’s how can you enter the work of above reason?
R. From the falsehood, when I want to cancel this state and rise above it, and I demand from the Creator that He will help me to rise above it.
5. S. (29:04) What does it mean that I must determine that the Creator is truth and all of His actions are true?
R. We accept that, of course without checking, without any criticism, but rather we accept it as a given and we work according to that.
S. What do we accept as a given, what does it mean that the Creator is truth?
R. That the Creator is called the truth.
S. What does that mean?
R. The truth is that He is one hundred percent bestowal and He cannot cause anyone anything bad?
S. And why is that the truth?
R. We accept it this way?
S. Why is bestowal truth?
R. We accept it this way. This is how I accept it, and then when we go for it, we reach a state where we see, we feel, we prove to ourselves that indeed it is true.
6. S. (30:33) Can you say, in other words, that there is falsehood that the Creator shows me and that I need to make my own light to see the truth?
R. It’s not a lie, I simply don’t have proof; this is why from Lo Lishma I come to Lishma.
7. S. (31:26) He writes here that “he should know that this state, due to his lack of cleanliness, his soul is eternal and a person must be cautious of falsehood so that he won’t get this dirtiness of the soul.” So the question is: What is that same dirt that clings to the soul which is the eternal soul?
R. This is the falsehood, all the qualities that are in order to receive.
S. If the soul is eternal, can it cling to it constantly or in order to scrutinize?
R. Yes, that’s right, in order to draw the person to scrutiny.
S. And then his soul is cleansed?
R. Yes, of course, it doesn’t belong to it, it’s only for the purpose of the scrutiny of the soul.
8. S. (32:39) What’s the difference between the actions and the intentions that a person is not able to do in falsehood?
R. He doesn’t succeed in doing that, then he doesn’t succeed. It doesn’t mean anything; he just doesn’t succeed, he doesn’t recognize where he is.
S. So what is falsehood?
R. Falsehood is when he recognizes it and he says that it is false.
S. There is falsehood and then there is falsehood that a person tells himself, that is not the same thing, how to identify the lies that I tell myself?
R. Well, you just live with it.
S. How do I identify this, it can be more and more and more?
R. Well, bit by bit it will become revealed.
9. S. (33:45) What is this dirt?
R. The dirt is what doesn’t let you see the truth in its true manner.
10. S. (34:10) How to identify this dirt?
R. Well this is not simple, it becomes revealed through all kinds of states and in between the states; however, mostly it’s through the work between us, that’s how it is.
S. And how to not hide this dirt and how to not sweep it under the rug?
R. Well, a person cannot do it by himself, here it is already group work.
S. And what is the work here?
R. That if he works on it together with the friends, then he sees that he’s hiding the dirt or maybe it’s the opposite, he is closing it and taking it out of all kinds of states.
S. And what cleans his dirt?
R. When a person sees the dirt in its true form; this cleans the dirt.
S. Where does he get it from?
R. From the friends, through the friends.
S. How does he get this correct view?
R. He recognizes his falsehood in relation to the others.
S. What is his falsehood in comparison to the other?
R. Because he sees, relative to the others, that he is in falsehood.
11. S. (36:22) How do you not fall into what you see? He writes here that “you constantly answer these questions and that you’re bribed”, and how do you not fall into that?
R. You’re always in a bribe and sometimes you recognize and can get out of it.
S. It needs to be done permanently?
R. Well, it’s with the help of the environment and through your own effort.
S. So the work is always to discover this dirt, to discover that you’re also lying to yourself and there’s always reach a prayer?
R. Yes, you always start in a state where a person wants to discover that he is dirty.
12. S. (37:25) How can we be cautious in keeping this cleanness, what does it mean?
R. That we clean ourselves and each time we try to be more and more clean in directing ourselves toward connection and unity, and more and more above reason, and then bit by bit, we come to a state where like with a knife we are truly going forward and cleaning the area, the surface.
13. S. (38:20) What efforts in the work can raise the ten to the degree of faith above reason?
R. Only connection between us, nothing else, nothing else.
14. S. (38:46) How can a person convince himself, negotiate with himself, to be able to truly see his evil inclination and eventually reach that same cleanliness only for the sake of the Creator?
R. He should talk to himself and see, see how much he is willing to do it or not willing to do it.
15. S. (39:27) Should my demand for the truth be for the sake of my friends?
R. Through the Creator and to the benefit of the friends, yes.
16. S. (40:14) What exactly is this slander and what does the slander want to reach?
R. All kinds of forces that seemingly want to deflect us from the path, this is ultimately in order to direct us into a more direct, precise path, more direct towards the goal. Later on we discover that but in the meantime we fight with them, seemingly.
17. S. (41:29) What do we need to answer the slanderers when they appear?
R. That we want to clean our path from them, either they will also bring us to the goal, because their role is also to help us even though it’s a long way; it’s indirect but they also operate according to the same goal.
18. S. (42:20) It’s written here that “while a person asks all of these questions he is bribed towards his will to receive because he sees what can come out for his own self benefit and he’s no longer able to see the truth”. Can you explain this and if so, how can a person recognize his true state?
R. The person should look at the purpose of creation and it doesn’t matter how much he feels that it is to his benefit or not to his benefit, but rather the truth is what pulls him.