TIFERET: TIKKUN CHATZOT תקון חצות – LESSON WITH RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN
Baal HaSulam. Study of the Ten Sefirot. Vol. 1. Part 3. Inner Observation. Chapter 2, item 1
Morning Lesson July 10, 2022, Transcription
Transcription is made from simultaneous translation which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio
Part 3:
Baal HaSulam. “Study of the Ten Sefirot” (TES). Vol. 1. Part 3. Inner Observation. Chapter Two. #1 (“Regarding the ten Sefirot of reflected light,”)
Reading “the ten Sefirot of reflected light…”
1. R. (01:54) Like we already said many times that comes the direct light and it passes from Keter to the Malchut, the Malchut overcomes, makes a restriction over it not wanting to receive for itself, but makes a restriction and then thinks how much can it nonetheless, want or think to bestow to the Creator, have the intention in order to bestow and then it makes a striking on the light that rises from it and the light rises back to Keter called reflected light and that light clothes on the direct light and as a result of the clothing of these two lights, there is already some kind of connection between them and then there is a decision. It calculates, how much, I the Malchut, can receive in order to bestow. To that extent that it does it in the reflected light, it calculates how much, and then after that calculation there’s already the action of receiving in order to bestow.
2. S. (03:13) This connection of the reflected light with a direct light, this coupling this is adhesion?
R. At first there is only rejection, which is restriction and rejection. It is life with the host and the guest, afterwards after he rejects it, after that he starts thinking after he rejected it, how much can I nonetheless do for the sake of the host, and then calculates, after he calculates, then he starts activating his desire to receive for it to be already in the intention in order to bestow and then starts receiving in order to bestow the upper lights. Meaning there is an action here, that he feels what the host wants to give him, he stops himself from receiving pleasure, rejects it, he calculates how much can he nonetheless receive from the host but not because he wants to receive pleasure from it but because he wants to give pleasure to the host, he wants to be like the host, just like the host he wants to delight him, he wants to delights the host and then he starts working and receiving in order to bestow.
S. This connection of intention of I wish to bestow to him, he wants to bestow to me, and we make the calculation. Is there a different taste there, a taste of pleasure that is different?
R. Of course. There I taste how much can I give to the host, how can I delight him, what kind of pleasures do I get out of delighting the host, meaning it is not about how much light I receive but who am I receiving from and who am I giving to. Meaning that the greater the host is in the eyes of the receiver, the created being, the greater the pleasure he gets. It all multiplies meaning either you get a piece of, you get some something from the shop, or it is something that you get from your baby that comes up to you and gives it to you how much greater your pleasure is when you receive it from your baby, suppose it is that same piece of cake but it is multiplied by the relationship that you have with your baby, and therefore what we say is that, when we receive in order to bestow then our pleasure is 620 times greater than the initial desire itself than the initial pleasure itself because by rejection we come to sympathize, identify with the Creator.
S. Nevertheless we have this cake that the person is giving me and my love for him and I have the greatness, so the cake disappears in his greatness?
R. No there needs to be something, some crumb, something. But all of the rest this is already the greatness of the Creator in your eyes.
S. I want to understand the connection of this crumb with the greatness, only the greatness remains about the taste of this crumb?
R. The crumb too needs to exist otherwise there will be no connection between the Creator and the created being. They need to connect around something material, something physical in this world and to reach the highest degree and all throughout the ladder they feel themselves from the smallest degree to the highest one, that below is the nature of the created being, above that is the nature of the Creator and that is how they connect.
3. S. (08:29) In whom or in what does Malchut consult or does everything by itself, and how does it know how much to receive?
R. Only according to what it feels and receives from the Creator. In spiritual actions you have connection with a Creator, and you work with him, even though that next to you there is the group, and the teacher but still the main thing is your connection with the Creator.
4. S. (09:11) It says here that the screen detains the direct light which belongs to Malchut so it won’t expand in her, what sort of action do I need to do so the screen will not detain this direct light, he says here it does detain it.
R. The screen after the restriction you have a screen that rejects that which you want to receive from the host, your screen rejects the pleasure and says I do not want to receive that is the restriction and if I receive then it is only in order to bestow only if it’s for you, you remember the example, that is what happens here.
S. Then I can have the same screen not detain the direct light because as a result of my action?
R. No because then it will be in order to receive.
S. So what to do so it will not be in order to receive?
R. You hold onto the restriction saying I cannot receive in this way, but I am willing to do it only in order to bestow, in order to bestow meaning I make a No because then it will be in order to receive.
S…missing translation
R. No because then it will be in order to receive.
S. So what to do so not to receive?
R. You hold on to the Restriction saying I cannot receive in this way, but I can do it only in order to bestow in order to bestow meeting that I make a Zivug de Hakaa, I don’t receive for myself, and I calculate how much can I receive in order to bestow to you.
S. You can do this in the ten only, not alone?
R. You can’t learn how to do it unless it’s in the ten.
S. Meaning a minimum of two?
R. Minimum.
5. S. (10:54) So only when we see the host is great we can receive the light?
R. Yes.
S. How to build His image so it will be before us?
R. You have the group?
S. Yes.
R. In it you build the image of the Creator.
6. S. (11:20) The Sephirot that he is speaking about here are Sefirot of desires or Sefirot of intentions?
R. It depends on the kind of calculation that you make.
S. When we are speaking of Sefirot, Keter, Hochma, Bina, ZA, Malchut certainly when we read it now it sounded like as if he is only talking about intentions really not the desire it’s like the crumb that has to be there, but it is not so interesting is it correct to look at it this way?
R. No because without that you cannot go back to the host, if you do not enjoy what He gives you, you cannot delight him, meaning you need to get pleasure from what you receive and from whom you are receiving and from the one you are receiving it from, and that is a big difference. To get a piece of cake from some shop, did you get it from some shop, or did you get it from your baby, or from someone that you really appreciate, respect, it all depends, it’s all up to you someone that sees it from the outside he does not understand what goes on there.
S. When we talked about the Sefirot of reflected light they are made of desires or intentions?
R. Desires and intentions.
S. What does it mean that the Sefirot of reflected light is made of desires, what kind of desires are there?
R. Without a desire there is no rejection, without rejection there is no reflected light, without reflected light there is no one who could clothe the direct light, and there is no one to feel the host. If the guest sits next to the table and receives from the host everything that the host gives him, he gobbles it all up and he does not feel the host, for him the host is a kind of something that gives him fulfillment, but that is it. It does not take Him into account but on the condition that he makes the restriction then he starts building his relationship with the host and then to the measure he rejects and calculates that he wants to delight the host then there is a feeling that there is the guest and the host.
S. This calculation is in the intention not the desire, is it correct to say so?
R. He uses the desire according to the intention.
S. It is clear that the desire to be there so you can have some communication with the Creator and created being but afterwards all those structures we hear about the, the lights that enter the Sefirot, is all in the intention it sounds like.
R. Yes all in the intentions you are right.
Reading twice (14:56) “The light that would have been…”
7. S. (17:44) It is written that when you use the reflected light in place of Malchut the reflected light becomes a new vessel?
R. Malchut restricts itself, not wanting to receive Malchut is the desire to receive, there is the desire to receive, it restricts it, meaning it does not want to use the desire to receive and then the fulfillment that comes to it and wants to enter the desire to receive as it returns that Malchut does not receive it and give the back to the host that is called reflected light.
S. The clothing of direct light and reflected light, where does it happen in the Malchut?
R. In reflected light above the Malchut.
S. Who will feel it, the Malchut or felt in the reflected light?
R. Only the Malchut feels it. Only the Malchut. The entire process that happens from both down and from below up, it is all registered in a Malchut, the Malchut is a desire, it feels it this way and it responds correspondingly.
8. S. (19:21) The reflected light is nevertheless light, how can the light become a vessel, or is this an expression?
R. Because it comes from the desire to receive it is registered in the desire to receive and the desire to receive is in the light, that is why it is called reflected light and a vessel. It becomes a vessel or the direct light, it dresses in the direct light.
S. So it stops being a light?
R. No that’s called light, only reflected light, there are many types of light. Inner Light, surrounding light, exterior light NRNHY, there are many different types of lights and every light we do not actually talk about the light itself in and of itself, but if the phenomena within the desire to receive.
9. S. (20:29) Question about the reflected light, this reflected light later becomes the Rosh, there are vessels Keter, Hochma, Bina those are also vessels meaning a big part of the process.
R. Look we are not talking about this a lot now so calm down. What does it mean that the reflected light becomes the Rosh, there are many different phenomena not only that.
S. So this reflected light, is it a vessel, becomes part of the Malchut?
R. This reflected light rises from the Malchut towards the emanator toward the Keter and has both the Malchut and from the Keter, it’s already something that connects them.
S. Meaning something new that never existed before?
R. Right.
10. S. (21:34) The connection between reflected light and Malchut how does it happen?
R. The Malchut makes a restriction, not wanting to receive it doesn’t want to receive but to bestow to the host or the emanator and in that the reflected light ascends from Malchut to Keter.
S. But the process that is happening afterwards in this vessel of reflected light, who is managing it, is it the Malchut, does it feel this vessel?
R. Of course the Malchut.
11. S. (22:23) How in the Malchut, the desire appears to restrict itself?
R. The desire for restriction appears in the Malchut as a result of the feeling it has, it’s the receiver and the opposite of the Keter, which is bestower.
12. S. (22:53) Where is the intention to receive born, why did this process of reflected light start?
R. The intention to receive exists in the Malchut itself because that is her desire to receive and the intention in order to bestow, that’s later, it was born in the Malchut that wants to be like the Keter, like the host.
S. So to what point can you say, down to here is the will to receive and from here is the will to receive with the intention to receive?
R. This was back in the four phases of direct light when it reached phase four then phase four starting feeling it was receiving and that by it, it was the opposite of Keter and therefore it restricted itself and stopped, stopped receiving.
S. So in phase four the feeling was born that it’s also born also in order to receive?
R. Right.
13. S. (24:08) S. How does Sefirot serve only as a desire to bestow, and they don’t receive?
R. That is how it is, the ten Sefirot of reflected light they all want to bestow to the Keter, from the Malchut to the Keter, the ten Sefirot of direct light, it is the influence of the Keter over the Malchut. Just like with the host and a guest in Baal HaSulam’s story.
Reading #3 “Explanation of the Ten Sephirot . . . “ (25:08 – 26:17)
Reading Chapter 3, “Explains to Ten Sephirot of equal level . . . “ Item 1 (26:30 – 29:10) Twice
14. S. (29:17) What is ten Sefirot “with twice-thickness”, I don’t understand.
R. You have direct light and reflected light, and in every Sefira you have its particular Sefirot, that is it.
S. He describes the ten Sefirot sideways, maybe it’s the wrong translation?
R. Yes, that’s how it is translated. It’s completely unclear or you want me to what? Let’s see.
15. S. (30:06) What is the purpose of “[Hebrew: garments” and “hall]”?
R. You are asking about things that we will learn about soon, but these are advanced matters. We have Shoresh, Neshama, Guf which are the inner Kelim, Keter, Hochma and Bina, that’s how they are called, and [Hebrew: garments” and “hall] these are the external Kelim of Zeir Anpin and Malchut, that in the worlds of ABYA they have no real Kelim because there you have the second restriction and therefore you don’t work with the real desire to receive but only with the so-called AHP out of ascent, the ascent of the desire to receive to the desire to bestow. It’s a kind of correction, there is such a restriction, a limitation; and the Shoresh, Neshama, Guf, these are the inner Kelim because they have small desires, Shoresh, Alef and Bet, and the external Kelim which are the Aviut of Gimel and Dalet, three and four, which are big vessels. We can’t receive the light in them in order to bestow the lights of Haya and Yechida, and therefore these vessels are outside of the inner vessels, and they’re considered exterior vessels. It’s like the clothing and the [Hebrew] structure, the building were divided as such that we have our body [Hebrew] and our clothes [Hebrew], and we the [Hebrew] house, the palace that we live in. And at the end of Gmar Tikkun, the end of Correction, all these discernments come together: Shoresh, Neshama, Guf, [Hebrew’ root, soul, body, garment, hall] they will all come together and there will be no difference between them. And this is something that we’ll learn about in the next part of TES.