Lesson # 22: Advancing Through the Greatness of the Goal
Lesson # 22: Advancing Through the Greatness of the Goal
Selected Excerpts from the Sources
1. RABASH, Article 1 (1984),"Purpose of Society – 2"
Since man is created with a Kli called “self-love,” where one does not see that an act will yield self-benefit, one has no motivation to make even the slightest motion. And without annulling self-love, it is impossible to achieve Dvekut [adhesion)] with the Creator, meaning equivalence of form.
And since it is against our nature, we need a society that will form a great force so we can work together on annulling the will to receive, called “evil,” as it hinders the achievement of the goal for which man was created.
2. Rabash, Article 24. "The Main Thing We Need"
The main thing we need, and for which we have no fuel for the work, is that we are lacking importance of the goal. That is, we do not know how to appreciate our service so as to know to whom we are bestowing. Also, we are lacking the awareness of the greatness of the Creator, to know how happy we are that we have the privilege of serving the King, since we have nothing with which to be able to understand His greatness.
In the words of The Zohar, this is called “Shechina [Divinity] in the dust,” meaning that bestowal upon Him is as important to us as dust. Naturally, we have no fuel to work, since without pleasure, there is no energy to work.
3. Rabash, Article 4 (1984) "Each One Shall Help His Friend"
We must understand how one can help his friend. Is this matter specifically when there are rich and poor, wise and fools, weak and strong? But when all are rich, smart, or strong, etc., how can one help another?
We see that there is one thing that is common to all—the mood. It is said, “A concern in one’s heart, let him speak of it with others.” This is because with regard to feeling high-spirited, neither wealth nor erudition can be of assistance.
Rather, it is one person who can help another by seeing that one’s friend is low. It is written, “One does not deliver oneself from imprisonment.” Rather, it is one’s friend who can lift his spirit.
This means that one’s friend raises him from his state into a state of liveliness. Then, one begins to reacquire strength and confidence of life and wealth, and he begins as though his goal is now near him.
It turns out that each and every one must be attentive and think how he can help his friend raise his spirit, because in the matter of spirits, anyone can find a needy place in one’s friend that he can fill.
4. RABASH, Letter 24
You must always stand guard, all day and all night, when you feel a state of day or feel a state of night.
We say to the Creator, “Yours is the day, and Yours is also the night.” Thus, the night, too, the darkness of night, comes from the Creator to man’s favor, too, as it is written, “Day to day utters speech, and night to night expresses knowledge.”
It follows that you must awaken the heart of the friends until the flame rises by itself […]. By that, you will be rewarded with awakening the love of the Creator upon us.
5. RABASH, Article No. 30 (1988), “What to Look For in the Assembly of Friends“
Each one should try to bring into the society a spirit of life and hopefulness, and infuse energy into the society. Thus, each of the friends will be able to tell himself, “Now I am starting a clean slate in the work.” In other words, before he came to the society, he was disappointed with the progress in the work of the Creator, but now the society has filled him with life and hopefulness.
Thus, through society he obtained the confidence and strength to overcome because now he feels that he can achieve wholeness. And all his thoughts—that he was facing a high mountain that could not be conquered, and that these were truly formidable obstructions—now he feels that they are nothing. And he received it all from the power of the society because each and every one tried to instill a spirit of encouragement and the presence of a new atmosphere in the society.
6. RABASH, Article No. 17 (1986), "The Agenda of the Assembly-2"
The whole basis upon which we can receive delight and pleasure, and which is permitted for us to enjoy—and is even mandatory—is to enjoy an act of bestowal. Thus, there is one point we should work on—appreciation of spirituality. This is expressed in paying attention to whom I turn, with whom I speak, whose commandments I am keeping, and whose laws I am learning, meaning in seeking advice concerning how to appreciate the Giver of the Torah.
And before one obtains some illumination from above by himself, he should seek out like-minded people who are also seeking to enhance the importance of any contact with the Creator in whatever way. And when many people support it, everyone can receive assistance from his friend.
7. ״Yismach Mosheh״, Parashat VaYera, page 47 A
Every person has a choice and there is one who acquires his world and degree in one hour.
8. ״Be’er Mayim Chaim״, Parashat Re’eh, Chapter 12
The sages said,(Avoda Zara 17): There is one who acquires his world in one hour because his entire world in which he lived until then and in which he lived from here onward, he acquired at this time. It is so because his pleasure and desire for his Maker was created for this purpose, and His will is done in this hour thus one acquired his whole world at that moment (hour)..
Texts of the Clips
Clip No. 1: "Why Can't One Study Alone?" (from Fundamental Concepts – The Group) >>
Oren: This idea in Kabbalah about "studying in a group"—I’ve heard that throughout the generations, Kabbalists would study in groups and preferred it over studying alone.
Why is it impossible to study Kabbalah on one’s own? Why is a group necessary?
Rav: It’s impossible to study alone. We might be able to learn what’s written in the books, or listen to wise people, but to actually grasp the wisdom of Kabbalah—to attain perception and sensation of the Upper World—this can only happen on the condition and to the extent that we connect with each other.
Oren: If I were to ask you: could I take you as my private Kabbalah teacher, since you understand Kabbalah, you're wise in Kabbalah—“teach me, and I will sincerely try to listen and implement everything you say”—would you teach me? Would you be able to help me?
Rav: I wouldn’t be able to.
I would first explain to you that you must have a group.
Oren: Help me understand the point: why, if I were to take you as a private teacher, would I not succeed in learning Kabbalah?
Rav: I would not succeed in teaching you, because all the learning depends on the fact that you must have friends—to connect with them emotionally, with mutual bestowal, mutual connection.
And in this way, when people bond with one another, they begin to feel the inner concept of “group,” of “connection,” of “unity,” of “mutual guarantee” (Arvut).
These are concepts that are very deep in the wisdom of Kabbalah—you cannot explain them in a single conversation.
Only gradually, as people connect among themselves, do they begin to feel how deep and truly special these concepts are.
And if the students do not reach these states and do not feel them, if each one does not devote himself to the group, then they have no vessel, no means to reveal the Upper World or the Creator.
Clip No. 2
Rav: The first principle in the wisdom of Kabbalah is that all of creation is one system.
It is divided into four parts according to the letters of the Tetragrammaton (Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey): still, vegetative, animate, and speaking—both physical and spiritual—but overall, it is one single system.
In order for us to recognize this system, to truly be at its highest level, the level of "speaking," we must undergo a process from shattering to correction, and within that correction, we must experience all the stages of the shattering and, correspondingly, all the stages of the correction.
Then, the entire creation and all the corrections will be completed in one great, beautiful system that includes everything within it, called "Adam" (Man).
But in order to recognize this system and reach the level of Adam—that is, to become similar to the Creator (since the word Adam comes from Domeh, "similar")—we must, through our own efforts, feel every single state along the way.
That is why special souls are given the opportunity by the Creator to connect in groups of ten, because ten is a complete spiritual Partzuf (structure)—ten, not nine; ten, not eleven—and within this small group of ten, like in a mini-world, they can examine, learn, feel, and prepare themselves to become Adam.
Because ultimately, everything focuses on the work of connection.
This is spoken about at many levels and in many languages: "Love your neighbor as yourself," "Do not do unto others what you hate for yourself," and so on.
This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah reveals.
(Excerpt from: Unity Evening – "The Purpose of the Society," Evening Lesson, July 14, 2019 – Rav Dr. Michael Laitman)
Clip No. 3
Rav: The first question a person who has a point in the heart asks—when he cannot progress because he lacks the strength to move forward—is:
How can I value spirituality?
The question "How to value spirituality?" leads him to another question: "How to value the Giver of the Torah?"
A person does not have the strength to appreciate the Giver (the Creator), and therefore he needs a friend.
If he sits and speaks with a friend about how to value the Creator, and they clarify between them that this is their common problem—then there is already some work between them.
In one person alone, it doesn’t count; at least two are needed. Then there is already an Itaruta De-Letata (an awakening from below), meaning the raising of MAN (a request for spiritual correction).
And upon this raising of MAN, a response comes—an awakening from above.
The awakening from above is felt when they start sensing a slight contact with the Creator.
From there, progress begins.
There is a sequence of actions we must go through.
As it is written: "In the multitude of people is the King's glory."
The stronger and larger the group, the greater the support—both in Itaruta De-Letata (awakening from below) and in receiving and absorbing Itaruta De-Leila (awakening from above).
That is why we must work on all these aspects.
In other words, if a person has even a small desire for spirituality, it is enough for him to start searching, to begin clarifying what spirituality truly is.
"Spirituality" means feeling the Creator, valuing the Creator.
Without this, he cannot advance.
But even that is not enough, because he cannot advance alone, and it may take him a long time to realize this.
Only after he becomes desperate does he reach the understanding that he needs friends—a group.
Then he joins a group.
And if he annuls himself before them, if he values them, they can together start developing a prayer—to ask the Creator for His greatness.
And then they begin to receive a sensation of the greatness of the Creator, called Itaruta De-Leila (awakening from above).
The size and strength of the group determine how much this impression is absorbed within them.
Clip No. 4
Rav: First and foremost, you must elevate the importance of the goal.
There is nothing in the world—and truly there isn’t, even if you think about it with your corporeal mind—there is nothing more important than attaining the spiritual world and connecting with the Creator.
Because through this, you lift yourself above all of creation, and there is no higher, greater, more honored, or more precious state than this.
To the extent that the group awakens the importance of the spiritual goal, each and every friend can draw fuel from the group, from the ten, and advance.