Hevruta - Following Lesson 31 - Music and Joy in Spiritual Work
Opening Music
- https://soundcloud.com/kabbalah-laam-music/bnei-heihala_giora_feidman
Good evening, everyone.
On Sunday we had a wonderful lesson on music and Kabbalah. One of the main ideas we learned was the importance of joy in our spiritual work. We need to rise above our desire to receive, which is always complaining, always demanding, and is never truly satisfied.
This is one of the reasons why the Kabbalists composed these melodies. Their purpose is not simply to create beautiful music, but to help connect us with that higher point in our soul, where we can feel the joy of the connection between us and with the Creator.
Of course, we can't spend the whole meeting singing together, although we do have special formats for that, called Gatherings of Friends, and we'll learn much more about them later in the course.
For tonight, we'll continue by reading an article by Rabash that speaks about what we can do for one another. One of the greatest things we can do is to lift each other's spirit, to increase the importance of our connection, and to appreciate the opportunity we have to walk this path together.
After that, we'll read another article from Shamati, and then we'll open the floor for questions and a discussion so that we can explore these ideas together.
Let's begin.
Each One Shall Help His Friend
Article No. 4, 1984
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.
26. One’s Future Depends and Is Tied to Gratitude for the Past
I heard in 1943
It is written, “The Lord is high and the low will see,” that only the low can see the exaltedness. The letters Yakar [precious] are the letters of Yakir [will know]. This means that one knows the exaltedness of a thing to the extent that it is precious to one.
One is impressed according to the importance of the thing. The impression brings one to a sensation in the heart, and according to the measure of one’s recognition of the importance, to that extent, joy is born in him.
Thus, if one knows his lowliness, that he is not more privileged than his contemporaries, meaning he sees that there are many people in the world who were not given the strength to do the holy work even in the simplest way, even without the intention and in Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], even in Lo Lishma of Lo Lishma, and even in preparation for the preparation of the clothing of Kedusha [holiness], while he was imparted the desire and thought to at least occasionally do holy work, even in the simplest possible way, if one can appreciate the importance of this, according to the importance one attributes to the holy work, to that extent he should give praise and thanks for it.
This is so because it is true that we cannot appreciate the importance of being able to sometimes observe the Mitzvot [commandments] of the Creator, even without any intention. In that state, one comes to feel elation and joy in the heart.
The praise and the gratitude one gives for it expand the feelings, and one is elated by every single point in the holy work, he knows Whose servant he is, and thus soars ever higher. This is the meaning of what is written, “I thank You for the grace that You have made with me,” meaning for the past, and by this one can confidently say, and he does say, “and that You are destined to do with me.”
This is also the meaning of this music:
leagid baboker hasdecha
https://soundcloud.com/kabbalah-laam-music/lehagid-baboker-1
Where one should rejoice of the new state (called boker - morning)
Q&A
Closing Music (Ine Ma Tov)
- https://on.soundcloud.com/NkhSIbZi2htLUP7wAD