Baal HaSulam 

“The Freedom”

Brief Recap of Lesson #3

Slide #2

The Four Factors

• According to Baal HaSulam, reality is divided into four factors.
• These factors differ in how they influence a person.
• Each person is affected by their ‘source’ (‘the first matter’, foundation) and how it develops.
• A person cannot determine anything about their source or its development.
• The source is the the primary, unchangeable substance: the desire to receive.

Slide #3

Second Factor

• The way the source develops by itself — preserving the basic species through all changes.
• These two factors (source and its self-development) operate independently.
• They precede the person, define his existence, and from them he is created.

Slide #4

Third & Fourth Factors

• Third factor: Influence of the internal environment — factors that connect with the source and add new qualities.
• Fourth factor: Influence of external foreign elements — like neighbors and the surrounding society.

Slide #5

Free Choice

• According to Baal HaSulam, man does not have free choice.
• If he did, his situation would be even worse.
• In the article “The Freedom,” the point of free choice is clarified step by step.
• Understanding where free choice exists lets one manage physical and spiritual life properly.

Slide #6

The Next Step

• We will continue clarifying the four factors:
  • Two internal: the foundation and its development.
  • Two external: the environment and its development.
• Through this, the state itself will become clear.
• We will identify where the narrow crack is — the small action that lets us live freely.