"For I," says the Lord, "will be unto her a firewall and will be the glory in the midst of her."
May God bless Abraham, Sarah and Isaac and all the generations of the descendants of Jacob. Amen.
To love a woman is to fear her sadness, as you alone are responsible for her happiness, & will burn for her tears. http://t.co/xhv2x9B936
� OliverOyanadel (@OliverOyanadel) April 19, 2015
174. Rabbi Shimon opened and said: “He who rejoices on holidays and does not give a part to the Creator, the evil eye hates and slanders him, removes him from this world, and brings him many miseries.”
We have already said (item 68) that the impure forces (egoistic spiritual
forces within man that know of and hence desire the pleasures hidden in the Creator’s Light) consist of male and female parts. The male part brings less harm than the female. It leads man to transgressions such as lying in the name of the Creator, as though it inspires man to observe the Mitzvot, but not in complete purity (with the sole purpose of pleasing the Creator). Instead, it causes man to also add a touch of personal benefit and selfish enjoyment, as it is written: “Eat not the bread of an ill-willer, nor desire his treats; for as one reckons within himself, such is he: ‘Eat and drink,’ he shall say to you; but his heart is not with you” (Mishley, 23:6-7).
Since the male impure force has absolutely no intentions to bestow, the
commandment remains devoid of fear and love (without a heart). Yet, since the male impure force has already caught man in its net, it gains power to make a Zivug with its female half (the impure Nukva), which is a bitter and evil impure force that lies in the name of the Creator, and, upon seducing man, captures his entire soul.
Hence, The Zohar says that the evil eye hates and slanders man, and removes him from this world by provoking him to fail to observe the commandment of rejoicing on a holiday (the reception of Ohr Hochma, joy on a higher degree)—so that this joy would not be for the sake of the Creator. It is as though he eats alone and does not share his food with the needy, which leads to the male impure force making a Zivug with Nukva and capturing man’s soul.
356 THE ZOHAR
175. The Creator’s role is to cheer the poor, according to His ability. For the Creator appears on the holidays so as to look at His broken Kelim. He comes to them, and He sees that there is nothing to rejoice in, and He weeps for them, and ascends Above to destroy the world.
To understand this passage and the angels’ objections, one must first
understand the words of the sages (Midrash Raba, 86): “When creating the world, the Creator asked the angels: ‘Shall we create man in our image (Tzelem) and likeness?’ And the four angels (forces, properties) of creation gave their answers: Mercy said, LET US CREATE, for he creates Hassadim, mercy. Truth said, LET US NOT CREATE, for he is all falsehood. Justice said, LET US CREATE, for he dispenses justice. Peace said, LET US NOT CREATE, for he is all enmity.”
What did the Creator do? He took truth and concealed it in the ground, as
it is written: “cast down truth to the ground” (Daniel, 8:12). Our entire purpose in the study of the Torah and Mitzvot lies in that, thanks to them, as the Talmud says (Psachim, 50, 2): “From Lo Lishma (intentions for oneself) man comes to Lishma (intentions for the Creator’s sake).”
And since man is born with such insignificant desires and powers, he is
unable to immediately engage in the Creator’s Mitzvot for the sake of pleasing the Giver of these Mitzvot, for as it is said: “Man is born akin to a wild ass” (Iyov, 11:12). Due to his egoistic nature, he is unable to make any inner movement or action if it is not for his own benefit.
Therefore, the Creator allows man to begin observing the Mitzvot solely for his own sake, seeking personal benefit. Yet, in spite of this, his actions attract spiritual Light to him. And then, with the help of the received Light, he comes to observe the Mitzvot for the Creator’s sake, in order to please Him.
This is exactly what Truth presented when it objected to man’s creation
and said that he is all falsehood. After all, how can man be created to study the Torah and observe Mitzvot in a state of absolute falsehood, i.e., “for oneself?”
However, Mercy said, “Let us create,” for man performs merciful deeds.
Although the Mitzvot of mercy, which man observes (even if mechanically) initially “for his own sake,” are mere external actions without the intention of bestowal, with their help he gradually corrects his intentions until he becomes capable of observing all the Mitzvot “for the Creator’s sake.” Hence, there exists an absolute certainty and guarantee that through his efforts, man will achieve the goal—altruistic actions “for the Creator’s sake.” And that it is okay to create man.
Peace also asserted that man is all “enmity;” hence, he can observe the Mitzvot “for the Creator’s sake” only if it also brings him personal benefit. However, due to such mixed intentions and actions, man exists in constant conflict with the Creator, for it seems to him that he is great and righteous, and he utterly fails to see his shortcomings. In other words, he is completely unaware that all his work in the Torah and Mitzvot is exclusively for his own benefit.
And because he feels this way, he fills up with anger and resentment towards the Creator: why does the Creator not treat him as it befits one so perfectly righteous? It follows that he alternates between states of peace and conflict with the Creator. That is why Peace objected to the creation of man.
However, Justice said that man should be created, for he dispenses justice.
By observing the Mitzva (singular for Mitzvot) of giving charity to the poor, even
with the intention “for oneself,” he gradually acquires the property of “bestowal,” learns to act “for the Creator’s sake,” and merits eternal peace with Him.
After the Creator heard these opinions, He agreed with the angels of
Mercy and Justice, and cast down Truth to the “ground.” By this, He allowed man to begin observing the Mitzvot with the intention “for oneself,” despite its falsehood.
It follows that the Creator cast Truth down to the ground because He had
accepted the claims of Mercy and Justice, that thanks to the Mitzva of giving charity to the poor, man will ultimately come to Truth, i.e., work for the Creator’s sake, and Truth will rise from the ground.
The only creation created by the Creator is Malchut de Malchut, egoism,
and it can only be corrected by “instilling” the Creator’s properties of Bina or mercy into it. Yet, if these properties are opposite, how can such a thing be accomplished? After all, in the spiritual world, distance is proportionate to the difference in properties. So how can Malchut be united with Bina?
To this end, the Kli was broken: the spiritual, altruistic desire lost its screen and became egoistic. Yet, it retained sparks of the Light, and these sparks exist within egoistic desires. This is why egoistic desires have power over us.
These sparks of the Upper Light are the source of various pleasures and love, for Light is pleasure. And since these particles of Light are clothed in impure garments and exist under the rule of the impure forces, man starts perceiving these feelings of love and delight as being inherent in the impure forces, as though these egoistic garments contain pleasures, and such is their property. And he associates the properties of love and pleasure with the impure forces, failing to understand that the impure forces draw him solely with the spiritual spark that has fallen into them.
However, as the impure force is very appealing, it lures man into all kinds
of transgressions, such as theft, robbery, and murder. At the same time, it gives us the desire to observe the Torah and Mitzvot for our own sake. Even if we start observing them not “for the Creator’s sake,” but “for ourselves,” (for our own benefit, to fulfill our base aspirations, according to the desires of the broken, egoistic Kelim-vessels), we gradually come to the intention “for the Creator’s sake,” and merit the goal of creation—to receive all the pleasure that was prepared for us back in the Thought of Creation—“to delight man.” Thus, the impure forces destroy themselves, but that is exactly the purpose for which the Creator conceived and created them.
The Zohar says that the Creator appears on these holidays to look at all the broken Kelim. On holidays, when man observes the Mitzva of rejoicing because of the great Light that he receives from the Creator, the Creator appears to look at His broken vessels, by which man is given an opportunity to observe the Mitzvot not “for the Creator’s sake.” The Creator comes and looks at how well these broken vessels have fulfilled their mission to bring man to observance of the Mitzvot with the intention “for the Creator’s sake.”
However, the Creator comes to them and sees that there is nothing to rejoice in. He weeps over them, for He sees that nothing spiritual (altruistic) was created from the broken vessels, that man has yet to correct even a single broken vessel (egoistic desire). In other words, there’s not one vessel that was intentionally broken by the Creator that has brought man to the intention “for the Creator’s sake,” and he rejoices on holidays solely for his own pleasure. So the Creator weeps and regrets breaking the vessels, for He broke them and cast Truth to the ground only for man’s sake, to give him an opportunity to start working in falsehood (in the intention “for oneself”) and gradually come to Truth, to the intention “for the Creator’s sake.” Yet, when He sees that man has not changed at all in his aspirations for selfish pleasure, it is as though the vessels were broken in vain, and so He weeps for them.
And He rises Above, to destroy the world—meaning, He ascends so as to stop the Light’s descent and thereby destroy the world. The world and creatures can exist only if they receive the Creator’s Light (even if unconsciously). However, if man’s state and selfish actions cannot lead him to the intention “for the Creator’s sake,” the Light itself becomes detrimental to him, for in pursuit of this Light, man sinks ever deeper into egoistic desires (impure forces) and growing dependency on egoism. Therefore, it is more desirable and beneficial for man to stop feeling pleasure in his impure desires, so that it would not destroy him completely and prevent him from sinking into such powerful egoistic desires that, having become a slave to their pleasures, he would never be able escape them and attain the spiritual.
176. The members of the assembly then appear before the Creator and say: “Master of the world, You are called merciful and forgiving, send Your mercy upon Your sons.” He answers them: “Have I not done so, when I created the world based on mercy? As it is written, ‘The world is built by mercy’ and the world is established upon it. However, if they do not show mercy to the poor, the world will be destroyed.” The Heavenly angels then say to Him: “Master of the world, here is a man who had eaten and drunk to his heart’s content, and could have been merciful to the poor, but did not do anything.” The prosecutor appears, receives permission, and persecutes that man.
The exalted souls, called “the members (or the sons) of the assembly” begin praying for the lower ones, so the Creator would have mercy on His sons and not discontinue the flow of Light descending onto them. They do everything within their power to justify man’s state of being, and say that as long as he observes his Mitzvot in faith, he is called “the Creator’s son,” and hence deserves the Creator’s mercy, as a son deserves the mercy of his father.
The Creator replies to them that He created the world by the property of
mercy, and the world stands on this property alone. In other words, man will not be corrected by the Creator’s Light as long as he disdains the poor, for the world’s creation was the result of the Creator’s agreement with the angel of Mercy, which states that due to man’s merciful deeds, the world will be able to exist and will gradually come to the intention “for the Creator’s sake.” But now, since people are not showing mercy, there will be no correction.
Then the Supernal angels said, “Master of the universe, here is a man who had eaten and drunk, and had his fill, and could have been merciful to the poor, but did not give them anything.” In this case, the angels begin to accuse man, instead of defending him, even the angels of Mercy and Justice. And all those who did not wish to create an egoistic man with desires “for oneself,” but agreed to it only because they assumed that by deeds of mercy and justice he would escape his egoism “for one’s own sake” and achieve the altruistic property “for the Creator’s sake.” Now, they, too, turn against man.
And if man is unable to acquire the intention “for the Creator’s sake,” the
angels repent and regret at having agreed to his creation, and they now accuse him before the Creator. And after it becomes clear that man will not achieve the altruistic property “for the Creator’s sake” by observing the Mitzvot, he is passed into the hands of the prosecutor.
177. There are none greater in our world than Avraham, who acted with mercy toward all creatures. It is written of the day that he prepared a feast: “The child grew and was weaned, and Avraham made a great feast on the day that Yitzchak was weaned.” So Avraham prepared a feast and invited all the leaders of that generation. It is well known that at every feast, the supreme prosecutor is about, watching. And if there are any poor people in the house, he leaves that house and does not return there. However, if the prosecutor enters a house and sees rejoicing without the poor—without having first shown mercy to the poor—he ascends Above and brings accusations against the host of that feast.
178. Because Avraham was the leader of his generation, the prosecutor
descended from Heavens and stood at the door of his house, disguised as a poor man. And nobody so much as looked at him. Avraham was attending to kings and ministers, and Sarah was feeding all of their children, for they did not believe that she had born a child, but rather claimed that Yitzchak was a foundling, whom they had bought at the marketplace. This is why they brought their children with them, and Sarah nursed them in front of all. And the prosecutor stands at the door. Sarah said: “The Creator has made laughter for me” (“For anyone who hears will laugh on account of me” (Beresheet, 21:6). The prosecutor ascended at once and stood before the Creator, and said to Him, “O Master of the world, You have said that You love Avraham, and here he had prepared a feast, but had not given anything to You nor to the poor, had not sacrificed even a single pigeon for Your sake. And Sarah says that You have laughed at her.”
Until the end of correction, it is impossible to fully rid oneself of the impure forces. Hence, however hard even the most exalted righteous may try to observe the Creator’s Mitzvot in purity of their altruistic intentions, without any touch of personal benefit, the impure forces can nonetheless accuse them and find faults in their observance of the Mitzvot.
Therefore, the Creator prepared another opportunity for the righteous to
silence the prosecutor—by bribing him with a certain portion of holiness and purity, thus silencing him. This way, the prosecutor is reluctant to accuse a righteous one and does not want him to disappear, for then the prosecutor, too, will be deprived of his part of holiness, the Light that he receives as the righteous one observes each Mitzvot.
Hence, the need for external hair in Tefillin (phylacteries), scapegoat rite, red heifer, and so forth. (The Zohar, Emor, p. 88). From this we see how extraordinary, multifaceted, and complex this world is created, how impossible it is to judge human deeds and the Upper Governance by external manifestations, as they are seen by us, and how “entangled” and inseparably intertwined all the connections between the pure and impure forces really are. Even when we look at our great leaders-Kabbalists, we see how much they’ve suffered, how they were forced to submit to the will of petty rulers or ignorant masses, and how persecuted they were—those who were closest to the Creator! Everyone feels these obstacles, even those who are just beginning on their spiritual journey. But here, in the example of Avraham, The Zohar does not speak about an ordinary prosecutor, for Avraham had surely given food to all the poor, as he had always done even before he invited his distinguished guests to his table. But this prosecutor demanded his share of holiness, of the Light. However, Avraham did not wish to give anything of holiness to impurity. Rather, he wanted to overcome its power and push it away from himself completely. This is why the prosecutor ascended Above and accused Avraham.
The Zohar tells us that the prosecutor was not really poor, but only disguised himself as such, and demanded to be treated at Avraham’s festive table. Avraham felt that this was an impure force that assumed the image of a poor man; hence, he refused to give it anything.
This is why it is written: “He did not sacrifice even a single pigeon,” for
in accordance to the sacrificial rites (rejection of egoistic parts, of man’s “I”), only two pigeons are offered, which symbolize the two combined points in Malchut: the property of Malchut that was corrected by the property of mercy, Bina. This common point contains both the properties of restriction and
mercy, but the property of restriction is concealed, whereas the property of mercy is revealed (item 122).
Without this combination of Malchut’s properties with those of Bina,
called the “mitigation” or “sweetening” of Malchut, the world (Malchut)
cannot exist, i.e., receive the Creator’s Light. Therefore, it is necessary to
offer precisely two baby pigeons. One of them was sent by Noah from his
Ark, never to return (Beresheet, 8), for one pigeon designates the property of restriction in Malchut that is unmitigated by Bina’s property of mercy. And since Noah could not correct anything in her, the pigeon never returned to him (The Zohar Shlach, p. 52).
362 THE ZOHAR
The prosecutor’s claims and complaints concerning Avraham’s feast on the day when Yitzchak was weaned stem from his demand to receive his share, the corrections of the part of Malchut that cannot be corrected until Gmar Tikkun (the end of correction). And this is the property of the restriction within Malchut, with which the world cannot exist; hence, it must be concealed. This property is the pigeon that did not return to Noah.
Man was not entrusted with the task of correcting his Creator-given
primordial egoism, for it is impossible to alter what the Creator had made.
However, man can hide his Malchut, his egoism (refrain from using it), and instead act by receiving his desires from Bina. This is why a combination of the properties of Malchut (egoism) and Bina (altruism) was formed in man—to let him make the effort and conceal the properties of Malchut, and act only according to the properties of Bina.
When one is able to completely reject the use of his egoism and is guided
only by the properties of Bina, he will achieve a state called “the end of his correction.” Correction is made during the 6,000 years, i.e., along the degrees of the 6,000 consecutive actions.
Then, man’s Mashiach (Messiah/savior), the Upper Light, comes to him
and transforms all of man’s egoism (the primordial nature that he was rejecting during the 6,000 years) into altruism. Then, one’s egoistic properties serve for the reception of the Light of pleasure for the Creator’s sake, and he no longer needs to refrain from using them.
The property of Malchut, with which man cannot work for the Creator’s
sake until his final correction, is referred to as “restriction.” Using the properties of Malchut herself remains forbidden until she is completely corrected through gradual purification by the properties of Bina during the 6,000 years. Alternatively, Malchut is called “strictness” or “judgment,” for this restriction is also the source of all punishments and prohibitions.
Avraham could not correct this property of restriction in Malchut, i.e.,
receive the Light and fill Malchut entirely. Hence, he received nothing in this part, and that is exactly the way he treated the prosecutor, who ascended at once and began to accuse Avraham before the Creator, claiming that Avraham failed to correct anything in Malchut’s property of restriction with his feast. This property of restriction is called “poor,” for it does not receive Light; hence, it constitutes the essence of Malchut, her egoism.
Since the Creator mitigated the restrictive property of Malchut with the
property of mercy, and mixed Malchut with Bina for the sole purpose of giving the world an opportunity to exist, the Light that is received thanks to the property of mercy is defined as the part of Light belonging to all the world’s inhabitants. This part helps Malchut become corrected. Since the Creator created Malchut in order to personally fill her with Light, she is regarded as His personal part. As a result of a miracle of nursing the babies that were brought to Sarah, Avraham received all the Light that exists in the property of mercy, and began to doubt his ability to correct the poor part of Malchut. This part receives nothing (for it cannot be used during the 6,000 years) and constitutes the Creator’s personal part.
Therefore, the prosecutor ascended, accusing Avraham of not giving to the poor, i.e., not giving to the part of the Creator, Malchut de Malchut herself, which no man can correct by himself, as even Noah was unable to do so. And he gave nothing to You nor to the poor, and sacrificed not even a single pigeon for Your sake. And Sarah says that You have laughed at her. Sarah is the part of Bina that shines in Malchut. With the words: “Any who hears will laugh on account of me” (Beresheet, 21:6), Sarah-Bina gave Malchut such powerful Ohr Hassadim that Malchut stopped feeling her egoistic desires, felt the perfection of altruism, and temporarily acquired the properties of Bina, while under the influence of Ohr Hassadim. However, there emerges fear that due to such a sense of perfection and absence of suffering from unfulfilled desires, the absence of the feeling of deficiency, Malchut would remain uncorrected. Such a state is similar to the following description of Adam’s state in the Torah (Beresheet, 3:22): “Lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever.” In other words, he must not stop feeling his own nature nor forget the fact that he is obliged to correct his defect in the “Tree of Knowledge.” And that is why Adam was cast down into a place that is suitable for correction, the lowest possible egoistic place, called our world.
179. The Creator said to him: “Who in the world is like Avraham?” And the prosecutor did not leave from there until he had consumed the entire fare. So the Creator decreed that Yitzchak is to be sacrificed. And He said that Sarah shall die from grief for her son. The cause of this grief is that he did not give anything to the poor. Yitzchak’s sacrifice was aimed at the correction of Malchut, to compensate for what Avraham could not correct at his great feast in honor of Yitzchak’s weaning. Sarah’s death was the result of the great Light that she passed to Malchut, saying: “The Creator has made laughter for me,” alluding to the Light that obstructs the correction of Malchut.
Therefore, the Light that descends to Malchut and gives her the sensation of perfection prevents her from correcting herself. Hence, the Creator stopped it.
This is the significance of Sarah’s death, for Sarah constitutes the Light of Bina that enters Malchut. Thus, all that the Torah speaks of is but the essence of the process of Malchut’s correction, until her correction is completed.
180. Rabbi Shimon opened and said: “It is written that Hizkiyahu (Hezekiah) turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Creator.” Let us see how great and potent the power of the Torah is, and how high it rises above all. He who engages in the Torah has no fear of those Above or below, nor of any hardships or illnesses of this world, for he is connected to the Tree of Life and learns from it each day.
181. For the Torah teaches man how to walk a path of truth; it teaches him how to return to his Master and cancel what is predestined for him. And even if man is shown that what is predestined for him cannot be cancelled, it is nonetheless completely cancelled and annulled, then disappears at once and does not prevail over him in this world. Hence, man should study the Torah day and night, and never abandon it, as it is written: “Contemplate Him day and night.” Whomever abandons the Torah, it is as though he abandons the Tree of Life.
“Contemplate Him day and night”—“Him” implies the Creator! In another place in The Zohar, it is said that Hizkiyahu’s prayer was accepted by the Creator, for nothing (no egoistic desires) separated him from the wall (the Shechina, the sensation of the Creator, akin to the Wailing Wall).
This was the advice that he received from the Torah, when, through his
efforts in the Torah, he realized how to achieve complete return to the Creator, whereby nothing would separate him from the Creator (from the wall, the Shechina, the sensation of the Creator). As a result, the decree of his death (the Light’s exit from the Partzuf) was revoked. So great is the power of the Torah.
182. Come and see—such is the advice given to man. When he goes to bed at night, he must accept the Creator’s governance from Above, and wholeheartedly entrust his soul with Him. Thus, man is immediately spared all the illnesses, slander, and evil eyes, and they will no longer have power over him.
Here we come to a precise understanding of certain definitions from the
Torah, which are quite different from the notions that we are accustomed to. Daylight signifies the sensation of unity with the Creator. It is called “Light,” for this is how man defines his good feelings. Therefore, daylight is when man feels closeness of the Creator and the greatness of spirituality.
Darkness coincides with nighttime in our world. Accordingly, with regard
to man’s spiritual states, darkness designates the absence of the sensation of the Creator, of the Upper Light, due to the actions of the impure, egoistic forces that separate man from the Creator. At night in our world, we sleep. The spiritual Partzuf is filled with the minimal amount of Light in an unconscious state called “sleep.” The amount of Light within the Partzuf is so little that it is defined as one sixtieth—6 (Sefirot of ZA) x 10 (in each part)—of death or complete absence of spiritual Light, for the impure forces rule here.
Due to these two forces that govern and control us, we cannot completely
and permanently merge with the Creator. As the result of our sensation of the state of night, the impure forces that rule at night impede us in our efforts, for their power over us keeps returning, thus creating gaps in our unity with the Creator and in our work for His sake.
To correct this, Rabbi Shimon gives us his advice: every “night” (a feeling
of separation from the spiritual), when man goes to “sleep” (sinks deeper into the sensations of this world), he must wholeheartedly accept the Creator’s governance, entrust himself completely under His rule. For if the night (the sensation of night) is corrected as in the act of creation, when day follows night, as it is said, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day,” both night and day become as a single whole.
And the night, called “the rule of Malchut,” shall not mix with any impure
force, and shall not attack man because of the disappearance of the sensation of the Creator on account of egoistic desires and obstacles of “reason.” For first, man has realized the necessity of the night for the attainment of the next day (greater sensation of the Creator, a bigger altruistic desire), and perceives these two states as a single whole and as an advancement, despite the fact that in his sensations, a night designates remoteness from spirituality.
In the language of spiritual work, this means that if man feels remoteness
from the Creator, and is therefore without joy, despite all the possible pleasures, for him this state is called “night.” It is precisely in such a state of complete absence of sensation and lack of faith in the Creator that man can, through his own effort, without feeling any taste in the Torah, yield before the Creator’s rule. That is, he closes his eyes (as one who goes to sleep) and says: “I bring myself under the Creator’s rule and submit to His will.” This state is called “descent for the sake of a subsequent ascent,” and serves as a springboard, by which man attains an even brighter “day.”
However, to this end man must completely accept the Supernal Kingdom’s rule, so that nothing will separate him from the Creator. In other words, he must submit to the Supernal Rule unconditionally, whether it brings life or death, so that no force in the world will be able to stop him from uniting with the Supernal Ruler, as it is written, “Love your Creator with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” (Devarim, 6:5).
If man accepts everything that the Creator sends him with all his heart, he is certain that nothing will separate him from the Creator. This determines the fulfillment of the condition of entrusting one’s soul with the Creator. For he gives himself into the Creator’s hands in advance, by deciding to fulfill all His desires (commandments) to the fullest, right up to self-sacrifice.
Hence, as man sleeps, when his soul (the sensation of the Creator), the
Light that previously filled him, leaves his body (desires), he does not feel the taste of the sixtieth part of death, for the impure (egoistic) forces have no power over him. In other words, they do not separate him from the Creator. Rather, he merely fails to feel the Creator temporarily.
Thus, the impure forces cannot interrupt his spiritual work even in the state called “night,” for his evening and morning are already as one day—the Creator’s Light. The night becomes a part of the day, for it is precisely because of the night that he recognizes his future merit of receiving an even greater Light. This is because his night stems not from the rule of the impure forces. Instead, he understands that the Creator intentionally sends him such states. Thus, even in such sensations as darkness and lack of feeling, absence of aspiration and taste for the spiritual, he sees an opportunity to merge with the Creator. And this means that nothing stands between him and the wall.
183. And in the morning, when he rises from his bed, he must bless the
Creator, enter His house, and bow before Him in fear and trepidation, and only then should he pray. He should take advice of his holy Patriarchs, as it is written, “By Your great mercy shall I come into Your house, to bow in fear of Your holy greatness.” Thanks to Your great kindness, I can now bless You for being merciful to
me, for ending my spiritual descent, and for letting me come into Your house once more, for allowing me to feel You. However, I am happy not because my suffering gave way to pleasure, but because now I can thank You. I come to Your house so as to kneel in awe before Your holy greatness, which I now attain more than ever before.
The prayer in our heart is the correction within Malchut (the Shechina, the sensation of the Creator, or the common soul of Israel), and the fulfillment of this common soul with the Upper Light (the sensation of the Creator), in accordance with all of its corrected desires. Hence, all our pleas are expressed in plural form, for we pray not for our own soul, but for the common soul of Israel. Naturally, all that is present in the Shechina is subsequently present in every soul of Israel, and vice versa, all that the common soul of Israel lacks is also absent in each soul.
Therefore, before we start praying, we need to understand (feel) what is
lacking in Malchut (the Shechina), to know what we need to correct in her and how we can fulfill her. Our heart, the center of our desires, is a part of this Malchut (the Shechina). All the generations of Israel are included in the common soul—the Shechina. However, we need not correct what has already been corrected by previous generations, but only what is left after those generations of souls.
Our Patriarchs, the spiritual Partzufim called “Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov,” also known as the Sefirot Hesed, Gevura, and Tifferet of Partzuf ZA de Atzilut, include the entire community of Israel, all the properties that subsequently manifest in the corrected Malchut, who, in her corrected state, is called “Israel.” The Patriarchs designate the three spiritual roots of the 600,000 souls of Israel in all the generations. In other words, these are the three sources of desires born within man’s part of Malchut for the purpose of his correction.
All the good deeds, the reception and bestowal of Light carried out by
the “community of Israel” (by Kabbalists) in all the generations, first trigger reception of the Upper Light by our holy Patriarchs (Sefirot de ZA), for all the Upper Light descends through them from Above downwards. From them, this Upper Light descends onto the “community of Israel,” the righteous of that generation who exist with their properties in the worlds of BYA, and evoke the descent of this Light with their prayers.
Such is the order of spiritual degrees: each branch can receive only through its root (the preceding, Higher Degree), but never independently. The main Light remains in the root, and only an insignificant part of it descends to the branch that evokes it. Therefore, all the corrections completed in the community of Israel (the Shechina, the common soul) are stored and preserved in the souls of our holy Patriarchs. (The Light received in the corrected Kelim remains forever within them.
Our description of the Light’s exit and descent should be understood as a
metaphor, for the Partzuf receives new empty desires that require correction, and the sensation of emptiness from the received empty desires is perceived as the Light’s departure. Nevertheless, upon correcting these newly received desires, in them the Partzuf will receive an even greater Light than before).
Therefore, the essence of our prayer lies in supplementing the Shechina with whatever it needs to achieve complete correction, after all the previous corrections that were performed in it by the past generations of Kabbalists. Hence, he who spiritually ascends must first make all the corrections that have already been performed in the Shechina, and only then will he be able to recognize what is left for him to correct.
This is why it is written that one cannot enter the Beit Knesset (synagogue, but in Hebrew it means “the house of assembly” or “the house of prayer,” from the word Kones—“to assemble”) before he assembles his prayer and asks the holy Patriarchs for guidance, for he needs to know what has already been corrected and what still needs to be corrected. This is possible only after he receives everything that the Patriarchs have corrected through the Shechina. Only then will he come to know what is left for him to correct in the Shechina.
The Patriarchs have corrected the prayer in the Shechina. Prayer and the
Shechina are one and the same, for prayer is a request, a raising of MAN, a Kli, the corrected Malchut or the desire for the Creator’s sake. The correction performed by Avraham is called Shacharit (the morning prayer), by Yitzchak—Mincha (the afternoon prayer), And by Yaakov—Arvit (the evening prayer). Therefore, one must first repeat in his prayer everything that was already corrected by them, and then he will discover how to construct his personal plea, and what other imperfections are left that only he can, and consequently, must correct.
184. Man cannot enter the Beit Knesset (synagogue, house of prayer) unless he first receives permission from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, for they have corrected the prayer to the Creator. It is therefore written, “And in Your great mercy shall I enter into Your house” (Tehilim, 5:8). The aforesaid refers to Avraham, for his property is mercy, the Sefira Hesed. “I will bow before Your holy chamber” refers to Yitzchak, for thanks to him Malchut is called Heichal—chamber, the Sefira Gevura. “In fear and trepidation” refers to Yaakov, for his property is the Sefira Tifferet, called “fear.” And man must first enter into these properties, and only then enter the Beit Knesset to raise his prayers. Such a state is described by the verse, “Here is My slave, Israel, by whom I am adorned.”
Here The Zohar analyzes the first three main corrections, made by the
Patriarchs in the Shechina. Avraham corrected the property called Bait (house, permanent dwelling), which allows man to merge with it and to always exist in the Creator’s properties and sensations, just as he can always dwell in his house.
Yitzchak complemented the correction and corrected Malchut in the
property called the “holy temple,” so that the King Himself would always dwell in it, as a king always dwells in his chambers. Yaakov added to the correction by the property of fear, which corresponds to a gate in front of a house, and designates the condition that (if met) allows man to enter Malchut, Avraham’s house, and into Yitzchak’s holy temple that are both within her.
Upon including within him all three corrections of the Patriarchs in full
perfection, he attains what has already been corrected in the holy Shechina, and then proceeds to correct what has not been corrected.
Avraham is the source of the property of mercy in the souls of Israel.
Therefore, he corrected the holy Shechina in such a way that it could receive Ohr Hassadim, the Light of Mercy. And the Shechina received this Light in its entirety for all the souls of Israel. Had it remained this way, all the souls of Israel would have been in complete and eternal unity with the Creator, and the Shechina would have been filled with Light (pleasure). Thus, no man would ever wish to part with the Shechina (the sensation of the Creator) even for a single moment.
Yet, Avraham’s entire correction consisted in the creation of a perfect,
bestowing Kli, which consisted only of Ohr Hassadim. There was no way of corrupting its properties or introducing imperfection within it, for, just like Avraham’s property of mercy (Hesed), this Kli (desire) consisted only of the will to bestow upon, and please the Creator, as it is written: “Mine is yours and yours is yours designates the property of mercy” (Avot, 85). By imparting creation with his property, Avraham completely separated the impure forces (thoughts and desires) from the Shechina, and made it completely holy and pure.
However, the Thought of Creation does not end here, for it lies in fulfilling the souls with delight. And the extent of pleasure depends on the aspiration to enjoy, on the degree of hunger. Only the extent of preliminary hunger, the will to receive pleasure, determines the extent of the subsequent reception of pleasure.
The Shechina (Malchut de Atzilut, the sum of the souls) received its correction from Avraham—the Supernal force of Hassadim, the Sefira Hesed of ZA de Atzilut—and acquired the property of mercy from it. This property is completely free from any selfish will to receive, that is, its desire to receive something from the Creator has completely disappeared, and only the will to bestow upon Him remains. This desire is called “bestowal for the sake of bestowal.” However, this brought no correction to the souls (parts of the Shechina), for their role is to receive the pleasure prepared for them by the Creator. To that end, they must first have the “will to receive.” After all, pleasure is felt only when preceded by an aspiration or desire for it, and is determined by the extent of this desire. It is hence written that Avraham fathered Yitzchak: Yitzchak found the Shechina in absolute spiritual perfection, in the property of pure selfless bestowal, filled with Ohr Hassadim because of all the corrections made by Avraham.
However, in accordance with his properties, Yitzchak (the left spiritual force) felt imperfection in this state of the Shechina—that it was not yet corrected to “receive” all that was conceived in the Thought of Creation.
Therefore, he corrected it by turning it into a Kli (vessel) of reception,
by supplementing it with the will “to receive,” so that it could receive all the perfection prepared for it. Yitzchak evoked in the Shechina the will to receive pleasure from the Creator, albeit in the form of “reception for the Creator’s sake”—with the intention of receiving pleasure in order to delight Him.
The reception for the Creator’s sake means that although man fervently
wishes to receive pleasure, he receives not because he wishes to enjoy, but only because the bestowing Creator wishes for him to receive it. And had the Creator not wished it so, man would have no desire to receive from Him.
Reception for the Creator’s sake is equivalent to selfless bestowal. Thus, the egoistic, impure force, cannot cling to such a desire.
Hence, Yitzchak corrected the Shechina and brought it to complete perfection, for now it can receive all that the Creator conceived to bestow upon it, as this is the purpose of His creation.
Thus, after being corrected by Yitzchak, the state of Malchut-Shechina is
called Heichal (the Creator’s chambers), for now He can fill it with Himself, His Light, which means that He dwells in its halls.
Yet, Avraham’s correction, called “house,” did not yet allow the Shechina to be filled and worthy of the Creator’s presence. Hence, Yitzchak is considered to have corrected all the Gevurot (willpower and resistance to egoism in the souls of Israel). This means that he mitigated all the laws and restrictions in the Creator’s governance. This is because all restrictions and punishments come into this world for the sole purpose of correcting the souls’ will to receive, to make them suitable for reception of the infinite goodness contained in the Thought of Creation. And since Yitzchak corrected the Shechina to complete perfection, all its restrictions and forces have been corrected, and all of its properties have attained the desired goal.
However, his correction, too, did not retain this form in the Shechina, and became corrupted, for the world was still unprepared for the end of correction. Hence, Yitzchak fathered a sinner, Esav, who, being unable to resist the temptation to receive for himself, corrupted Yitzchak’s correction in the Shechina. Unlike Yitzchak, he could not resist the selfish reception. This means that even when it became clear to him that the bestowing Creator did not wish for him to receive, he wanted to receive nonetheless, for such was his desire of self-gratification. Therefore, the impure force (Klipot-shells, the husk, or rind surrounding the pure forces) clung to the Shechina. Thus, the legs (Sefirot NHYM) of Partzuf Malchut de Atzilut descended to the place of the Klipot below Parsa, where egoistic desires dominate the desires of NHYM.
Yet, the Rosh and the Upper Part of the Guf down to the Tabur of Partzuf
Malchut remained above the rule of the impure forces. Hence, his head (Rosh) understands how he should act (hence, Yitzchak’s head is buried together with the bodies of Avraham and Yaakov in the Machpela cave), but the body (Guf) still wants to receive pleasure for its own sake.
And since Yaakov saw the damage caused by Esav, he corrected the Shechina by adding his property of fear to it, as it is written: “His hand had hold on Esav’s heel” (The Torah, Beresheet, 25:26). Because Yaakov realized what imperfection Esav had caused in Shechina (in the created souls), he corrected himself in fear to such an extent that he raised the holy Shechina as a crown-adornment. By this he also retained the corrections made by Avraham and Yitzchak.
However, Yaakov’s correction was not final, for this fear is more similar to the fear of transgression than the selfless fear that comes from within. For this fear of his is born in him from Esav’s hip, even though he had not transgressed by receiving, as did Esav. But the end of correction will bring a different state: Esav’s hip will be annulled, as it is written: “Death will forever vanish from the world,” and fear will remain only because the Creator is almighty and great. Yaakov attained this genuine fear by himself. However, the entire “community of Israel,” all the souls that form the Shechina, still need to correct themselves in all the generations, from the first to the last, to the end of correction. (Only Moshe attained the property of true fear—one out of greatness and love—only he, and no one else. Hence, as the Talmud says, description of fear out of love for the Creator doesn’t even exist.)
The Zohar cites the words of the Psalm (5:8): “By Your great mercy I shall
come into Your house,” since Avraham corrected the Shechina up to the property of a “house” that is filled with goodness, i.e., with Ohr Hassadim. The words, “So as to bow before Your holy chamber,” refer to Yitzchak, who corrected the Shechina from a “house” to a “chamber” that befits the Creator. The words, “in fear” refer to Yaakov, who corrected the Shechina with his property of fear, whereupon he made it a Kli (vessel) of reception that includes all the corrections made by Avraham and Yitzchak.
Yet, how did he find out what else needed correction in the Shechina? Only by correcting and including himself in these three corrections performed by the holy Patriarchs before him. This means that, just as they did, Yaakov can act according to the conditions of these corrections. In other words, Yaakov merged with their properties, thereby ascending to their level.
Thus, man must first attain these properties and correct them within him. Only after he assumes the properties of these three corrections into himself can he start correcting them from where our Patriarch Yaakov left off, i.e., elevating fear to the extent of the Creator’s greatness and omnipotence, and drawing the Upper Light with his prayer, with his awe of the Creator’s greatness. And the Upper Light will bring with it the fulfillment of the Shechina and the end of its correction. Hence, man’s prayer must include two objectives: to obtain fear of the Creator’s true greatness, and with this attainment, to achieve the final correction of his egoism.
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Judah! Reuben. Gad, Asher. Naphtali Manasseh! Simeon, Levi: Issachar; Zebulun. Joseph Benjamin.
The meaning of the names from the twelve tribes of Israel spells out this sentence:
Praise! Luck, Happy, A Son Is Born--He Has Seen My Trouble. Fight The Cause To Forget! Listen, He Who Is Bound: A Man Is Hired--Accept The Gift. He Has Taken Away--May He Bring Another Son Who Will Be Fortunate.
Not one word of accusation against David Koresh was true... Not one word of accusation.
He had only one wife, and only slept with her, and only one member of his bible retreat owned a gun business: it was a legitimate gun business. The four agents that died at Waco 93 were all slated to be Al Gore's body guards, and three of them had already served as Bill Clinton's body guards during his campaign. They were assassinated by the ATF and the Branch Davidians were framed for it. George Bush senior was the head of the CIA during the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martain Luthar King. And it has already been deduced these assassinations were done by the CIA. Bush had done all this to insure the election of his son, George W. Bush. Now, do you see? This is the meaning of the burning 'Bush'.
Micah 4
The Mountain of the Lord
In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.
Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.
All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God for ever and ever.
The Lord’s Plan
“In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will gather the lame;
I will assemble the exiles
and those I have brought to grief.
I will make the lame my remnant,
those driven away a strong nation.
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion
from that day and forever.
As for you, watchtower of the flock,
stronghold[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored to you;
kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”
Why do you now cry aloud—
have you no king[b]?
Has your ruler[c] perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?
Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem you
out of the hand of your enemies.
But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat over Zion!”
But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
“Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,
for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
and you will break to pieces many nations.”
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
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The Fruit of the Knowledge of Good & Evil
Oliver Oyanadel On Lead Guitar:
2 Ezra: A Prophecy Of The End Of Days
The Book Of The Living © 2006 by Oliver Oyanadel
The Book of the Living by Oliver Oyanadel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Through the course of some unfortunate family drama, a 17 year old, whose only crime was getting high with his friends, makes one naturally immature choice in response to his parents's ultimatum, and now he finds himself in a vigilante religious cult who lure and murder evil doers.
In the course of editing one revision, a word processor made the mistake of changing every "were" into "was", and although I have tried to make the necessary corrections, there seems to be still too many miss used ones for my taste. Luckily, the story is told through the eyes of the main character, so one can simply chalk it up to the character's manner of speech. ~Oliver. (They can't all be gems).
Today's Torah Lesson and Bible Study
Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take blame for her pain, if so she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. (Jer. 51:6-10) Also je5145, is2701.
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