Lesson 11

Topic: The Main Thing Is the Intention

Selected Excerpts from the Sources

1. From: RABASH, Article No. 3 (1990), "What It Means that the World Was Created for the Torah"

"In spirituality, equivalence is called Dvekut, although in the act he is receiving. This is called “receiving in order to bestow.”

However, how can one achieve equivalence of form? Since the Creator created this will to receive, how is it possible to revoke the nature that the Creator created? There was a correction on this that while it is impossible to revoke the nature of the will to receive, an intention to bestow is added on top of it. It follows that the will to receive, meaning that a person sees something from which he can enjoy, remains. In other words, a person still enjoys in the end, but with a different intention. This is called “receiving in order to bestow.”"

2. From: RABASH, Article No. 22 (1987), What Is the Gift that a Person Asks of the Creator

"The lower one can add to the Kli of the Creator, as it is written, “Which God has created to do.” This means that God has created the Kli called “desire to receive pleasure,” and man must add to it a correction called “the intention to bestow,” as was said above, that Malchut de Ein Sof decorated herself at the point of the desire. This means that her decoration was in that she placed on the will to receive the aim to bestow."

3. From: RABASH, Article No. 31 (1988), "What Is the Work of Man, in the Work, which Is Attributed to the Creator"

"If a person’s intention is only to bring contentment to the Creator and not for his own benefit, he does not mind the amount of pleasure. He only looks at the amount of passion with which he wants to delight the Creator, since through the yearning to delight the Creator, he causes equivalence of form at the root of his soul. This, in turn, causes more abundance to be drawn, since the upper one wants to give more than the lower one wants to receive, and only vessels of bestowal are missing. It follows that by overcoming in bestowal, great abundance is extended. For this reason, we need not ask to have great lights, only try to have big vessels, which are vessels of bestowal."

4. From: RABASH, Article No. 12 (1985), "Jacob Dwelled in the Land Where His Father Had Lived"

"With love of the Creator, we say that a person should work only for the Creator, meaning without any reward. This means that he is ready for complete devotion without any reward, without any return being born out of his devotion. Rather, this is the core—his purpose, that he wants to annul his self before the Creator, meaning (cancel) his will to receive, which is the existence of the creature. This is what he wants to annul before the Creator. It follows that this is his goal."

5. From: RABASH, Article No. 5 (1988), What Is, “When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is With Them,” in the Work

"Where he wants to walk on the path of truth, it makes sense that the evil inclination should yield and weaken. Yet, now it is the complete opposite: Everything in Kedusha that he wants to do in order to bestow, the evil inclination overpowers him and it is difficult for him to overcome. He asks, “Where is the justice?” From all the work of having to constantly overcome, he falls into a descent.

At that time he comes to the argument of the spies and says, “I’m fed up with this work,” and he escapes the campaign. He argues that where he should have progressed, he is regressing. Therefore, he “ponders the beginning” and kicks this path of having to work on the intentions and the actions are not enough, but the intention is what counts, as it is written, “Better a little bit with intention than a lot without an intention.” He says that this work is not for him."

6. From: RABASH, Article No. 577, "Concerning the Goal"

"The purpose of man’s work is to achieve the intention to bestow, for there is nothing to correct in the external action, since the Kli [vessel] that was created by the Creator will not undergo any change. Rather, all the changes should be in the intention, meaning that since the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations, He created a Kli for this purpose, called “desire and yearning to receive pleasure.”

However, in order not to have the bread of shame, but only through equivalence of form, a correction was made called Tzimtzum [restriction], so as not to receive unless it is in order to bestow. In other words, in the same Kli he had before, namely the will to receive, but with a different aim, meaning not to receive because he wants to satisfy his deficiency, but because of the Mitzvot [commandments] of the Creator, since He wants to do good to His creations."

7. From: RABASH, Article No. 577, "Concerning the Goal"

"All the work is only on the aim to come to a person yearning to bestow. This is called “inner work,” which is something concealed, not apparent on the outside. It is man’s intention in the act that he performs.

However, in order to achieve the intention called “inner work,” we first need external work, which is actions, something visible, meaning that his work is apparent. Conversely, the intention is internal and concealed."

8. From: RABASH, Article No. 6 (1986), "Confidence"

"Those who want to enter the path of truth, to achieve Dvekut, must accustom themselves to make every thought, word, and action have the aim to bring contentment to the Creator through the Mitzvot that they do and the Torah in which they engage. They must not consider what they can receive from the Creator for wanting to please Him. That is, they must not think, “What will the Creator give me?” meaning that they can extract from the Creator’s authority into their own. This would cause them to create two authorities: an authority of the Creator and an authority of the creatures, which is the opposite of Dvekut."