Hevruta - Following Lesson 27 - Foundation of Kabbalistic Group

Kabbalists have always studied in groups. This is a very long tradition, not something new.

And, as with everything in Kabbalah, we need to learn the inner meaning of the concepts we use. Just as we had to clarify the definitions of "Light", "vessel", and many other unique concepts in Kabbalah, we also need to clarify the concept of "the group".

A Kabbalistic group is not simply a group of people who gather together to do something. Of course, it includes being together, but we need to understand its spiritual purpose.

What is the spiritual benefit of gathering together?

What do we gain from it?

And how can we measure our progress in using this special tool called the Kabbalistic environment, or the Kabbalistic group?

We already touched on this topic when we studied the article "The Freedom". There, we learned that in order to create real change and influence our future self, meaning who we want to become, we need to build the right environment.

The Kabbalists explain that this environment is based on three main elements:

The books that the Kabbalists left for us.
The Rav, meaning a Kabbalist who has attained spirituality and can explain what is written in the books.
The friends.

This concept of "friends" is also something we need to clarify and explore. In Kabbalah, familiar words often receive a deeper and more precise meaning.

So today, we will continue reading the article and try to clarify these concepts further. We will also discuss what the group is, what the friends are, and how the Kabbalistic environment helps a person advance spiritually.

Rabash Article 1

We have gathered here to establish a society for all who wish to follow the path and method of Baal HaSulam, the way by which to climb the degrees of man and not remain as a beast.

To understand man’s merit, we shall now bring a verse from our sages.
Rabbi Elazar said, “The Creator said, ‘The whole world was created only for that.’ This means that the whole world was created for the fear of God.”

Yet, we need to understand what the fear of God is, being the reason for which the world was created.

From all the words of our sages, we learn that the reason for creation was to benefit His creations.

This means that the Creator wished to delight the creatures so they would feel happy in the world. And here our sages said about the verse, “For this is the whole man,” that the reason for creation was the fear of God.

But according to what is explained in the essay, Matan Torah [“The Giving of the Torah”], the reason why the creatures are not receiving delight and pleasure, even though it was the reason for creation, is the disparity of form between the Creator and the creatures. The Creator is the giver and the creatures are the receivers. But there is a rule that the branches are similar to the root from which the branches were born.

And since there is no reception in our root, since the Creator is in no way deficient and needs nothing to satisfy His want, man feels unpleasantness when he needs to be a receiver. This is why every person is ashamed to eat the bread of shame.
To correct that, the world had to be created. Olam [world] means He’elem [concealment], so that delight and pleasure must be concealed.

Why is it so? The answer is, for fear. In other words, it is so that man would fear using his vessels of reception, called “self-love.” This means that one should prevent oneself from receiving pleasures because one craves them, and should have the strength to prevail over the craving, the object of one’s desire.

Instead, one should receive pleasures that bring contentment to the Creator. This means that the creature will want to bestow upon the Creator and will have fear of the Creator, of receiving for oneself, since reception of pleasure—when one receives for one’s own benefit—removes him from cleaving to the Creator.

Therefore, when a person performs one of the Mitzvot of the Creator, [correction of the desire in order to bestow] one should aim that this Mitzva will bring him pure thoughts that he will bestow upon the Creator by keeping the Creator’s Mitzvot. It is as our sages said, “Rabbi Hanania Ben Akashia says, ‘The Creator wanted to cleanse Israel; hence, He gave them plentiful Torah and Mitzvot.’”

And this is why we gather here—to establish a society where each of us follows the spirit of bestowing upon the Creator. And to achieve bestowal upon the Creator, we must begin with bestowal upon man, which is called “love of others.”
And love of others can only be through revoking of one’s self.

Thus, on the one hand, each person should feel lowly, and on the other hand, be proud that the Creator has given us the chance to be in a society where each of us has but a single goal: for The Shechina [Divinity] to be among us.

And although we have not yet achieved this goal, we have the desire to achieve it. And this, too, should be appreciated by us, for even though we are at the beginning of the way, we do hope to achieve the exalted goal.

Discussion:

Which terms or concepts do you find confusing or need explanation?

1. The Degree of Man

The first concept that appears is "the degree of man".

In Kabbalah, the word "man" comes from the Hebrew word "Adam". The word Adam is connected to the phrase "Edameh leElyon", which means "I will be like the Upper One".

This means that the true degree of man is not simply a human being in the physical sense. It refers to a person who wants to become similar to the Creator.

This is what we want to reach: that our main desire will be to resemble the Creator, to acquire His quality of bestowal and giving.

So when Kabbalah speaks about "man", it is speaking about a spiritual degree. It is the degree of one who wants to rise above the desire to receive for oneself and become similar to the Creator.

2. The Degree of Beast

The article also speaks about the degree of "beast".

This does not refer to animals in our world. In Kabbalah, "beast" is also a spiritual concept.

The difference between "beast" and "man" can be understood in a simple way.

An animal walks on four legs. Its head and body are on the same level. This represents a state where the mind, the thoughts, and the calculations are on the same level as the body, meaning on the same level as the desire to receive.

In other words, there is no calculation above the egoistic desire.

But in the degree of man, the head is above the body. This means that the person’s thoughts, calculations, and intentions are above the desire to receive.

So "beast" means living according to the natural egoistic desire, while "man" means trying to build an intention above that desire.

This is why Kabbalah uses the terms "man" and "beast". They do not speak about physical human beings or physical animals, but about inner spiritual states.

3. The Fear of the Creator

Another concept that needs clarification is "fear".

We often hear the expression "fear of God" or "fear of the Creator". But in Kabbalah, this does not mean that we are afraid of the Creator, as if something bad might happen to us.

This is not ordinary fear.

In this world, our fear is usually connected to reception. We are afraid that we will not receive something. We are afraid that something will be missing. We are afraid that we will lose something, lack something, or not get what we want.

But the fear of the Creator is different.

The fear of the Creator means that a person begins to worry: "Am I giving? Am I bestowing? Am I acting with the right intention?"

Instead of being concerned only with "Maybe I will not receive", the person begins to be concerned with "Maybe I am not giving".

This is called fear of the Creator.

It is not fear of punishment. It is the fear of not being able to bestow, not being able to love, not being able to come closer to the quality of the Creator.

4. Difference of Form Between the Creator and the Creature

The article also explains the difference of form between the Creator and the creature.

The Creator is the quality of bestowal. He gives.

The creature, by nature, is the desire to receive.

This creates a difference of form between the Creator and the creature. The Creator gives, and the creature receives.

This difference of form creates shame. We studied this when we spoke about the structure of the worlds.

The creature feels that it is opposite from the Creator. It receives, while the Creator bestows. This feeling of oppositeness is called shame.

And from this shame begins the whole process of correction.

5. The Meaning of "World" and Concealment

We also learned that the word "world" in Hebrew is "Olam". It is connected to the word "He’elem", which means concealment.

This means that the Creator is concealed from us.

We do not clearly see the force of bestowal. We do not naturally feel what it means to live in the intention to bestow. We do not immediately see how we can acquire this quality.

But this concealment was created on purpose.

Why?

So that we can acquire the quality of bestowal freely.

If the Creator were revealed to us completely, we would have no real choice. We would be forced by what we see and feel.

But because He is concealed, we have room for free choice. We can choose to build an environment, study, work with the friends, and gradually acquire the desire to become similar to Him.

6. The Meaning of Mitzvot

The article then speaks about the concept of "mitzvot".

Usually, the word mitzvot is translated as "commandments". But in Kabbalah, we need to understand this more deeply.

A mitzvah is not just an external commandment or an external action.

It is connected to the laws of the Creator.

And what is the law of the Creator?

The law of the Creator is the law of bestowal.

So to perform a mitzvah means to come closer to this law. It means to correct our intention so that it will be more in the direction of bestowal.

The external action is not the main point. The main point is the inner intention.

A mitzvah means that a person is able, in some measure, to follow the intention of bestowal.

7. Torah : The Light That Reforms

In order to purify the desire to receive and reach the desire to bestow, Kabbalah speaks about "Torah and mitzvot".

The Torah is not only a book. In its inner meaning, the Torah is the Light that reforms.

This means that through the correct study, with the correct intention, a person attracts a force that changes him.

This force does not simply give a person more knowledge. It corrects the heart. It changes the intention.

And mitzvot are the corrected actions of bestowal that become possible as a result of this inner correction.

These actions are mostly actions of the heart.

They are changes in intention.

When our intention changes from receiving for ourselves to bestowing, we begin to resemble the Creator.

8. Where Do We Practice This Correction?

Where can we practice changing our intention?

The main place is in the group.

The group gives us a practical place to work. It gives us a place where we can examine our intention toward others.

This is called the work in love of others.

When I interact with other people, especially with the friends in the group, I can begin to see my real intention.

Am I thinking about them?

Do I want to help them advance?

Do I want them to feel the text more deeply?

Do I want them to come closer to the Creator?

Or am I only thinking about myself, about my own advancement, my own understanding, my own feeling?

This is where the work begins.

9. The Practical Work in the Workshop

Concretely, we gather together and read the article.

But while we are reading, we are not only trying to understand the words intellectually.

We are also trying to check our intention.

For example:

Am I reading in order to help my friends feel the text?

Am I listening in order to support the connection between us?

Am I trying to help the group come closer to the Creator?

Or am I only concerned with my own progress?

These are only simple examples, but they show the beginning of the inner work.

The main point is not only what we do externally. The main point is the intention behind the action.

10. Question for Discussion

Now we can ask ourselves:

What from the article still needs clarification?

Which concept is not yet clear?

What do we need to discuss together in order to better understand the work in the group, the role of the friends, and the correction of our intention?