Remembering Rabash

Learning Community Lesson

Good Evening to our Learning Community. There is nothing greater than being here together. Once a year we have this milestone where we commemorate our great teacher the Rabash. In this lesson we want to leverage it to strengthen our connection with this representative of the Creator. We have an opportunity right now to connect with him and apply his method in a practical way. To this mission of coming out of ourselves and connecting to others.

Here are some of Rabash's most memorable quotes. He was very revolutionary in this thinking and made sure to prepare everything for our generation:

We have gathered here to lay the foundation for building a society for all those interested in following the path and method of Baal HaSulam - of blessed memory - which is the way to ascend the rungs of human development rather than remaining at the level of a beast. (Rabash, Article 1, Part I: "The Purpose of Society – A," 1984)

When a person begins to engage in introspection regarding the purpose of life - what it is and what it is for - this signifies that he is lifting his head above the stream of life in which all created beings are immersed. They have no time to reflect on their own nature; instead, they simply drift with the current. No one is able to see the end - that is, where the stream of life is heading. Only this individual, driven by a lack of fulfillment, lifts his head to gaze at the purpose of life.

He then sees and hears - as if a proclamation from above - that the world was created with the intent "to do good to His creations." Yet, to truly experience this goodness, he is told - through books and teachers - that there are specific conditions required to attain this ultimate good, known as "the purpose of creation." (Rabash, Article 7: "The Miracle of Hanukkah," 1987)

The aim of the following clip is active viewing; we will jot down points from Rav’s words about Rabash, and then share them in the workshop.

Clip: Rav talking about Rabash

We were privileged that he had an eldest son, Rabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag, who was truly devoted to his father. To the best of his ability, he transcribed - word for word - what he heard into the book Shamati [I Heard], which we have received. Without this book, we wouldn't know how to begin drawing closer to the Creator, how to start the process of revelation, or how to understand what is happening. For "understanding" here means beginning to feel the inner substance of the matter. Furthermore, his letters are more accessible than those of Baal HaSulam.

But the main thing is the articles. I truly didn't know how it would unfold or what would come of it when I asked him to write a few words on what to discuss with a group of friends - specifically, the group of young secular men I had brought from my lectures in Tel Aviv. He said, "Hold a friends' gathering with them." I didn't know what I would talk about; where was it written what to do in such gatherings? What exactly should I discuss? Should I tell them about the weekly Torah portion? What should I talk about? Should we sit and study Talmud Eser Sefirot?

That is when he understood the situation. I explained it to him - I remember it was on that same park bench that is still there today; I visit it sometimes. I remember him sitting down and asking, "Do you have something to write on?" There was nothing to write on - just a cigarette pack, as usual. I took out the aluminum foil for him, and he wrote the article "We Have Gathered Here," and that is what we discussed. It wasn't that I read what was written on the foil to them, or told them about it myself; rather, I brought them the article, and we read what he had written together several times and discussed it. That was the first meeting of the group.

The second time - a week later, though I had spoken to him before Thursday (we used to gather every Thursday, just like now, at this time of day) - I asked him, "What should I speak about this week?" He said, "Fine, I’ll write something." And he actually wrote it at home on a sheet of paper. Later, we bought him a mechanical typewriter; a couple of years after that, electric typewriters came onto the market. And so, he would write for hours on end every day.

It is no simple matter to try to descend from a lofty spiritual level to the task of writing. You have to write in a way that seems appropriate for your surroundings - after all, you are writing as a great Rabbi, so the language must reflect that. The phrasing and the entire writing process must align with the style that has existed for thousands of years in Torah literature. You need to bring spirituality down to a level where your ordinary, secular students - who came from central Tel Aviv, some of whom perhaps didn't even finish school; simple guys, yet well-intentioned - who can understand it. But at the same time, you have to write in such a way that it isn't immediately obvious, but rather becomes understood only after a person exerts real effort. Only someone capable of exerting that effort - driven by a "point in the heart" - will begin to see, through these articles, a path of ever-ascending spiritual elevation; otherwise, others won't see it.

Even someone with that "point in the heart" - if they don't put in the effort, they will only perceive the external aspects rather than the inner essence. All of this requires great thought during the writing process, as the author must skillfully interweave several seemingly contradictory elements.

That is why, when we would return from our daily walk - which lasted from nine until one - he would have a bite to eat and rest briefly, then rise to prepare for the evening lesson. The evening lesson would begin as early as five o'clock. We studied daily from three to six in the morning, and again from five to eight-thirty in the evening. I noticed that sometimes, after our walk, he wouldn't even go to sleep; he simply didn't have the time or the energy for it. That is the extent to which a man of eighty-five sacrificed himself to leave us such a vast treasure - one we can utilize today, continually drawing from it guiding principles and milestones for our own path. Furthermore, we must understand that the main thing he did - like all Kabbalists -was to perform corrections within the network of connections between souls. By correcting oneself through connecting to other souls, that network begins to function more effectively; this is what generally happens. What Baal HaSulam and later Rabash did was to bring this network closer to us, enabling us to connect to it more quickly and easily.

Therefore, our gathering in honor of Rabash’s Yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) is a gathering of unity, for only through unity will we discover our eternal, complete state. I sincerely hope we achieve this. A person must always live with the mindset that the very next moment is the one where I have completed my preparation and am beginning the spiritual ascent. Believe me, all the Kabbalists are with us right now - holding and embracing us - actively working to ensure that light truly enters the area where our hearts reside within this system, sanctifying us and enabling us to connect with them. L’chaim (To life). Michael Laitman

What we just heard - that really is life. In the next moment we want to begin our spiritual ascent and all the Kabbalists are with us right now, working to make sure the light truly enters the area where our hearts reside in this system.

Workshop Question

In what way is Rabash special to me? What specific aspects of his character or his work make him so significant to me?