Hevruta - Local Meeting

See the merits of the friends instead of their flaws

Introduction

Last week, we spoke about seeing the qualities and merits of the friends instead of their faults or flaws. This week, we will continue with this topic because it is very important. We need to understand that this is really the main work in the ten, and generally in the group.

What we call the evil inclination, the "Yetzer HaRa," is always showing its head. It tries to make us doubt that our friends are in the right direction, and even makes us doubt whether we ourselves are worthy of this direction.

Our work is to constantly raise the importance of the friends above what we initially feel. We have a certain feeling or perception that comes from our egoistic nature. Then, through the effort not to let this feeling overpower us, through the desire to rise above it, a new desire is created within us.

This new desire is what we call "raising MAN," the elevation of an inner prayer, a desire to change and to become like the Creator. This is what we call "Adam," man, from the words "Adameh la-Elyon," "I will be like the Upper One." It is the constant effort to rise and not remain at our existing level.

If we did not feel anything negative, if we did not experience the evil inclination and all these doubts that constantly arise within us, there would be no real learning. By now, we understand that the learning we are doing is more about discovering ourselves than simply what is written in the books.

The books help us reveal what is inside us, until we reach the state described as "one's soul will teach him." We begin to learn from within what our relationship is with the friends and with the Creator.

So this week, we will dive deeper into this topic and expand both our understanding and our practical learning of Kabbalah.

9. RABASH, Article No. 124, "To Serve Me"

“The whole world was created only to serve me.” According to the interpretation of Baal HaSulam, it means that all the faults that a person sees in others, he believes that they are his. Therefore, he has what to correct. It follows that the whole world serves him by providing him with his faults, and he does not need to look by himself. Instead, they are doing him a big favor by providing him with his flaws.

10. RABASH, Article No. 21 (1986), "Concerning Above Reason"

"Can be obtained by adhesion of friends—new qualities by which they will be qualified to achieve Dvekut with the Creator. And all this can be said while he sees the merits of the friends. At that time, it is relevant to say that he should learn from their actions. But when he sees that he is better qualified than they are, there is nothing he can receive from the friends.

This is why they said that when the evil inclination comes and shows him the lowliness of the friends, he should go above reason. But certainly, it would be better and more successful if he could see within reason that the friends are at a higher degree than his own. With that we can understand the prayer that Rabbi Elimelech had written for us, “Let our hearts see the virtues of our friends, and not their faults.”

Clip Rav (3 in playlist)

https://kabbalah.academy/en/videos/playlists/see-the-qualities-of-the-friends-and-not-their-faults/?order=3&back_url=/en/courses/lesson/822/

Transcript:

Question: What makes a person worthy? What determines that he is worthy?

Rav: Worthy of what?

Student: Worthy of seeing that the Creator operates in this way?

Rav: By searching. He makes an effort. It is as though he assembles the image of the Creator from all kinds of forms of his relationships with the friends. I seemingly build, build, build, build, build this mosaic, this puzzle, from all the friends, until I begin to relate to them in such a way that certainly I am not relating to their external form, nor to their inner qualities according to their character or all kinds of such things, but to their essence, to their innerness.

This is called wanting to adhere to the "innerness of the heart" of each and every friend. And to the extent that I want to enter into the heart of each and every friend, I begin to feel that through this I begin to feel the Creator. And this is how we come to the revelation of the Creator.

Try it and you will see that it is possible. It simply comes from the practical work that you are doing. To relate to the ten, through the ten to the sum total of the friends' desires, through this to their intentions, to their hearts, to what is in the heart of each and every friend.

For in the heart of each and every friend is his inner desire. There, on the other side, the Creator is present and places the desire of each and every friend before me, and from this side I relate to him, from my side. It follows that there, in the hearts of the friends, the Creator and I meet. This is called "inside the Partzuf."

Discussion/Workshop

What does that mean above reason?

Words of Rav from Lesson of the 2002-08-15

Only by the power of Bina can we hold on to the upper one, to spirituality, above reason (Daat/Knowledge). What is above reason, within reason, or below reason? We have our will to receive. I receive within the will to receive and judge according to what I receive, and accordingly, as it is written, "A judge has only what his eyes see." Thus, I am essentially acting according to my nature, according to my intellect, according to my reason.

This is called acting according to knowledge (Daat/Reason). Daat is the light of Hochma, or intellect, let us say, in our case. It is not exactly light here, but also a certain illumination of Hochma that expands in the vessels of reception. And because the light of Hochma expands in the vessels of reception, I receive knowledge about my state. Then, from this light of Hochma and the vessels of reception, I receive the pleasure itself, and also the recognition of the pleasure. This is called "in mind and heart."

Simply receiving in mind and heart is called knowledge, Daat, a person's reason. Why do we say "according to his reason"? Because Daat is the highest degree among all the degrees of reception. It is a person's awareness, the human within the person. Here I work according to my vessels of reception. What I actually receive in my hand, that is what I have. I feel it, I see it, I understand it. I hold on to it firmly.

This is the nature of this stony heart, the nature of our matter, the will to receive. I can be connected with the Creator, be on a degree above my "I," only if I receive the vessels of Bina. For example, as we learn about the worlds of BYA, these are parts of Galgalta Eynaim that, through the sin, fell into the AHP. Thus, within these parts, literally within these broken parts of Galgalta Eynaim that fell into the AHP, the light can expand, but not in the AHP in which they are located.

It is as though you have some dough, and inside the dough there are little chocolate crumbs. Let us say that these chocolate crumbs are the parts of Galgalta Eynaim inside the dough itself, which is called AHP. The light can expand only within those crumbs of Galgalta Eynaim. And if they are arranged correctly, then altogether, through the connection between them, the system of the worlds of BYA is built from them.

In other words, the worlds of BYA are Galgalta Eynaim that are actually situated within the AHP, within a mass of AHP. But these Galgalta Eynaim are connected with one another, and they are not connected to that mass of AHP. They only have protection against the AHP, so that it will not interfere with them. Adam HaRishon, by his nature, is this AHP. Not from the initial state of the created being, but according to his nature, he is this AHP.

If he does not receive Galgalta Eynaim within himself, he will have no connection whatsoever with the Creator, with the light. The Creator is felt, the light expands, only in Galgalta Eynaim. It cannot do so in the vessels of reception.

A person who works not in his AHP, in that mass of dough, but in the Galgalta Eynaim that are included in him as a result of the sin of Adam HaRishon, is called one who works above his reason, above his knowledge, above his desire. This is because his reason, the whole of his desire, is the dough, not those chocolate crumbs within it. This is called working in faith above reason.

Why "in faith"? Because these are parts of Bina, Galgalta Eynaim, vessels of bestowal.

"Above reason" means that he subdues the AHP, tramples it, makes a restriction over it, and transfers himself, as it were, his feeling, his heart, into those Galgalta Eynaim. He is in them, he lives in them. This is called working in faith above reason.

What can assist in such things? What supports this? What helps a person with it? Love and fear. These are the things that help him hold on to these vessels of bestowal and not be drawn after the vessels of reception.

"One must be very stubborn in the work of the Creator, no matter what one goes through. Remember this well, for you will need it very much when you begin even a little in the work of the Creator. For one needs very, very great persistence, to be strong and courageous, to hold on, to stand one's ground, even if one is brought down each time, and not allow oneself to fall completely, God forbid.

For all these falls, descents, confusions, and the like must necessarily be experienced before entering the gates of holiness, and even the true righteous went through all of this.

And know that a person must cross a very, very narrow bridge, and the general rule and the main thing is not to be afraid at all."

(Likutei Moharan, Second Edition, Section 48)

Discussion/Workshop

How to be stubborn in the work of the Creator and how can we help each other in this

Song

https://kabbalah.academy/en/music/gesher-tsar-meod-midbar-long/