What
Does
It
Mean
that
Our
Sages
Said,
“King
David
Did
Not
Have
a
Life,”
in
the
Work?
Article
No.
10,
1989/90
The
Zohar
says
(VaYishlach,
Items
52-54),
“Rabbi
Shimon
says,
‘We
learned
that
before
King
David
came
to
the
world,
he
did
not
have
a
life
at
all,
except
for
the
seventy
years
that
Adam
HaRishon
gave
him
of
his
own.’
Another
interpretation:
The
patriarchs
gave
him
of
their
lives,
each
and
every
one.
Abraham
gave
him
of
his
life,
and
so
did
Jacob
and
Joseph.
Isaac
did
not
leave
him
anything,
since
King
David
came
from
his
side.”
Interpretation:
“Because
King
David
is
the
Nukva
from
the
left
side,
when
it
is
darkness
and
not
light,
hence,
he
did
not
have
a
life,
since
there
is
life
only
from
the
right
side,
which
is
ZA,
called
‘The
Tree
of
Life.’
Isaac,
too,
was
from
the
left
side,
but
he
was
included
in
Abraham,
as
it
is
written,
‘Abraham
begot
Isaac,’
and
also
because
of
the
tying
[of
Isaac].
This
is
why
he
had
life.
And
this
was
only
to
himself,
but
he
could
not
give
life
to
David,
since
he
is
essentially
from
the
left
line.”
We
should
understand
what
is
“right,”
where
he
says
that
“there
is
life
only
from
the
right
side,”
and
what
is
left,
where
“it
is
darkness
and
not
light.”
We
should
also
understand
why
Isaac,
who
is
left,
had
life,
but
needed
Hitkalelut
[merging/mingling]
with
the
right,
which
is
Abraham,
whereas
David
had
no
life
at
all,
but
each
one
had
to
give
to
David
of
his
own
life.
To
understand
this
in
the
work,
we
must
remember
what
we
learned,
that
there
are
two
things
before
us:
1)
The
purpose
of
creation,
which
is
to
do
good
to
His
creations.
This
means
that
all
creations
must
achieve
the
goal
and
be
rewarded
with
the
delight
and
pleasure
that
there
is
in
the
purpose
of
the
Creator,
who
created
it.
2)
The
correction
of
creation,
which
is
that
there
will
not
be
the
bread
of
shame.
For
this
purpose,
a
correction
called
Ohr
Hozer
[Reflected
Light]
was
established,
which
means
that
the
lower
ones
return
bestowal
upon
the
Creator.
That
is,
they
do
not
want
to
receive
the
delight
and
pleasure
for
their
own
sake,
but
in
order
to
bestow.
Those
two
things
are
opposite
to
one
another
because
the
Creator
created
in
the
creatures
a
desire
to
receive
for
themselves,
meaning
that
the
creatures
will
enjoy,
as
this
was
His
entire
purpose,
as
we
learn.
The
correction
is
the
complete
opposite
from
the
quality
of
the
creatures,
who
were
created
with
a
desire
to
receive
for
themselves,
so
now
the
creatures
must
do
something
that
contradicts
nature,
namely
to
bestow.
In
other
words,
the
work
begins
with
the
lower
ones
having
to
perform
acts
of
bestowal
and
with
the
intention
to
bestow.
Afterward
begins
the
work
where
they
can
receive
delight
and
pleasure
with
the
intention
to
bestow.
In
order
to
have
room
for
work
and
to
choose,
so
they
can
aim
to
bestow,
a
Tzimtzum
[restriction]
and
concealment
were
made.
This
means
that
as
long
as
one
cannot
aim
to
bestow,
he
is
placed
under
the
concealment.
In
other
words,
besides
the
fact
that
he
is
unable
to
aim
in
order
to
bestow
and
wants
only
to
work
for
his
own
sake,
through
this
concealment,
another
thing
took
place,
and
this
is
the
hardest—that
man
has
to
do
hard
work
in
order
to
be
rewarded
with
faith
above
reason,
since
because
of
the
concealment,
he
cannot
see
within
reason
the
delight
and
pleasure
that
the
creatures
receive
from
the
Creator,
though
the
whole
purpose
of
creation
was
because
of
His
desire
to
do
good
to
His
creations.
Yet,
he
cannot
see
this
good
neither
with
regard
to
himself
nor
with
regard
to
other
people.
It
turns
out
that
in
addition
to
having
to
work
and
obtain
the
equivalence
of
form,
which
is
to
have
vessels
of
bestowal,
a
person
has
to
work
to
be
rewarded
with
faith
that
the
Creator
leads
His
world
in
the
form
of
good
and
doing
good.
And
who
caused
all
this?
It
was
all
done
by
the
Tzimtzum
and
concealment
that
were
placed
because
of
the
correction
of
creation.
However,
here,
a
serious
question
arises:
We
say
that
the
concealment
took
place
for
the
purpose
of
correcting
creation,
but
as
a
result
of
this
concealment,
two
discernments
arise:
1)
the
matter
of
lack
of
faith,
2)
the
prohibition
to
use
the
will
to
receive
for
oneself,
which
are
generally
called
“mind
and
heart.”
The
question
is,
Who
comes
first?
That
is,
should
one
first
be
awarded
faith,
and
then
he
can
be
rewarded
with
working
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator
and
not
for
his
own
sake,
or
is
it
the
other
way
around?
It
stands
to
reason
that
first
one
must
be
awarded
faith,
and
then
it
can
be
said
that
he
annuls
his
self
and
does
not
work
for
his
own
benefit,
but
only
for
the
benefit
of
the
Creator.
This
matter,
that
a
person
should
do
everything
only
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,
depends
on
the
extent
to
which
one
believes
in
the
greatness
of
the
Creator.
To
that
extent
it
can
be
said
that
he
is
working
for
Him.
This
means
that
it
is
impossible
to
make
great
efforts
for
something
that
is
not
important
because
it
is
natural
that
for
something
that
is
more
important
we
make
greater
efforts.
This
means
that
the
labor
that
one
can
give
depends
on
the
importance
of
the
object.
Naturally,
in
order
for
one
to
relinquish
the
will
to
receive
for
himself
and
work
only
for
the
Creator,
the
more
important
the
Creator
is
for
a
person,
the
easier
it
is
to
work
for
Him.
It
follows
that
in
order
for
one
to
be
able
to
relinquish
self-pleasure
and
rise
and
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,
a
person
must
be
awarded
faith
in
the
Creator.
Afterward,
a
person
will
be
able
to
annul
himself
before
the
Creator
and
do
everything
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator.
This
is
what
common
sense
dictates,
that
such
should
be
the
order
of
the
work.
However,
from
is
written
in
the
Sulam
[Ladder
commentary
on
The
Zohar]
(“Introduction
of
The
Book
of
Zohar,”
Item
138),
it
seems
the
opposite:
Before
a
person
is
rewarded
with
correcting
his
Kelim
[vessels]
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
called
“equivalence
of
form,”
a
person
cannot
have
faith.
He
says
there
that
since
as
long
as
one
does
not
have
vessels
of
bestowal,
he
cannot
receive
the
delight
and
pleasure
from
the
Creator
and
cannot
believe
that
the
Creator
leads
the
world
as
The
Good
Who
Does
Good.
It
follows
that
he
is
slandering
the
Creator.
Therefore,
at
that
time
he
no
longer
believes
that
the
Creator
leads
the
world
as
The
Good
Who
Does
Good.
Worse
yet,
he
is
in
denial
of
His
Providence,
as
it
is
written,
“Prior
to
the
correction,
Malchut
is
called
‘the
tree
of
knowledge
of
good
and
evil,’
since
Malchut
is
His
guidance
in
this
world.
As
long
as
the
receivers
have
not
been
completed
so
they
can
receive
His
whole
benevolence,
which
He
had
contemplated
in
our
favor
in
the
thought
of
creation,
the
guidance
must
be
in
the
form
of
good
and
bad.
…“It
is
written,
‘The
Lord
has
made
everything
for
His
own
purpose,’
yet
we
say
the
complete
opposite.
For
this
reason,
we
taste
His
guidance
of
good
and
evil
as
guidance
of
reward
and
punishment,
for
they
are
interdependent,
since
because
we
are
using
the
vessels
of
reception,
we
necessarily
sense
that
the
operations
of
Providence
are
bad
for
us.
It
is
a
law
that
the
creature
cannot
receive
disclosed
evil
from
the
Creator,
for
it
is
a
flaw
in
the
glory
of
the
Creator
for
the
creature
to
perceive
Him
as
an
evildoer,
for
this
is
unbecoming
of
the
complete
Operator.
Hence,
when
one
feels
bad,
denial
of
the
Creator’s
guidance
lies
upon
him
and
the
superior
Operator
is
concealed
from
him
to
that
same
extent.
This
is
the
greatest
punishment
in
the
world.
“Thus,
the
sensation
of
good
and
evil
in
relation
to
His
guidance
brings
with
it
the
sensation
of
reward
and
punishment,
for
one
who
exerts
not
to
part
from
faith
in
the
Creator
is
rewarded
even
when
he
tastes
a
bad
taste
in
Providence.
And
if
he
does
not
exert,
he
will
get
a
punishment
because
he
has
parted
from
faith
in
Him.
It
follows
that
although
He
alone
does,
is
doing,
and
will
do
all
the
deeds,
it
still
remains
hidden
from
those
who
sense
good
and
evil,
since
at
the
time
of
evil,
the
Sitra
Achra
[other
side]
is
given
the
strength
to
conceal
His
guidance
and
faith.
Thus,
one
comes
to
the
great
punishment
of
separation
and
becomes
filled
with
heretical
thoughts.
And
upon
repentance,
one
receives
the
corresponding
reward
and
can
adhere
to
the
Creator
once
again.”
Thus,
we
see
that
it
is
impossible
to
have
faith
in
the
Creator
before
one
is
rewarded
with
vessels
of
bestowal,
for
only
then
does
one
have
complete
faith.
So,
the
question
is,
If
one
has
no
faith,
how
can
one
do
everything
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator
before
one
has
faith
in
the
Creator?
The
answer
is
that
man
has
partial
faith,
meaning
from
what
he
believes
from
the
general
public.
In
the
general
public
in
Israel,
there
is
faith
in
the
form
of
Surrounding
Light.
This
is
the
light
of
faith
that
illuminates
in
general
in
the
whole
of
Israel,
and
each
one
receives
from
this
faith.
This
is
called
“partial
faith,”
and
it
is
called
“still
of
Kedusha
[holiness].”
Everyone
begins
their
work
in
the
manner
of
the
“still.”
This
is
as
it
is
written
(“Introduction
to
The
Study
of
the
Ten
Sefirot,”
Item
14),
“I
once
interpreted
the
saying
of
our
sages,
‘He
whose
Torah
is
his
trade.’
The
measure
of
his
faith
is
apparent
in
his
practice
of
Torah
because
the
letters
of
the
word,
Emunato
[his
faith].
It
is
like
a
person
who
trusts
his
friend
and
lends
him
money.
He
may
trust
him
with
a
pound,
and
if
he
asks
for
two
pounds
he
will
refuse
to
lend
him.
But
he
may
trust
him
with
all
his
property
without
a
shadow
of
a
doubt.
This
last
faith
is
considered
‘whole
faith,’
and
the
previous
forms
are
considered
‘incomplete
faith,’
but
rather
as
‘partial
faith.’”
For
this
reason,
a
person
begins
his
work
with
faith
of
the
whole
of
Israel,
who
have
faith
that
is
as
Surrounding
Light.
From
this
faith,
each
one
receives
a
part
of
faith
that
is
sufficient
for
him
to
begin
his
work,
to
want
to
begin
the
work
of
the
individual,
meaning
that
a
person
will
be
rewarded
with
faith
in
the
form
of
Inner
Light,
which
is
called
“And
you
shall
love
the
Lord
your
God.”
“Your
God”
is
an
individual
discernment,
when
his
faith
is
not
built
on
the
general
public,
that
he
receives
from
this
only
the
part
called
“partial
faith.”
However,
he
is
rewarded
with
individual
faith,
and
this
is
called
“complete
faith,”
when
he
does
not
need
the
general
public.
To
be
rewarded
with
complete
faith,
a
person
must
first
work
in
the
form
of
equivalence
of
form,
which
is
that
all
his
work
will
be
in
order
to
bestow.
Only
once
he
has
been
rewarded
with
obtaining
vessels
of
bestowal,
he
can
be
rewarded
with
complete
faith,
for
then
he
can
keep
what
is
written,
“And
you
shall
love
the
Lord
your
God
with
all
your
heart.”
However,
when
a
person
begins
to
work
in
the
form
of
equivalence
of
form
in
order
to
be
rewarded
with
complete
faith,
the
work
goes
in
two
directions,
called
“mind”
and
“heart.”
That
is,
it
is
impossible
to
work
in
order
to
bestow
unless
we
want
to
bestow
upon
a
great
and
important
person.
Therefore,
a
person
must
work
part
of
his
time
in
the
“mind”
and
part
of
his
time
in
the
“heart.”
Here
is
where
the
real
work
begins,
when
he
wants
to
work
in
faith
in
the
individual
manner,
since
here
there
are
ups
and
downs,
since
the
basis
of
this
work
is
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,
which
is
opposite
from
human
nature,
who
was
created
with
a
desire
to
receive
for
his
own
sake.
Hence,
here
begins
the
real
war
against
the
inclination.
For
this
reason,
there
must
be
order
in
the
work,
or
he
will
not
be
able
to
continue
on
this
path,
meaning
achieve
Dvekut
[adhesion]
with
the
Creator.
When
a
person
sees
that
the
work
is
hard
because
he
must
always
go
above
reason,
meaning
that
his
reason
always
makes
him
think
that
it
is
not
worthwhile
to
work
unless
it
is
for
his
own
sake,
and
each
time,
his
reason
lets
him
see,
“You
see
that
you
were
born
with
a
desire
to
receive
for
yourself,
so
how
do
you
want
to
annul
yourself
and
not
think
at
all
about
your
own
benefit,
but
of
the
benefit
of
the
Creator?
What
will
you
get
out
of
working
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator?”
Our
reason
can
understand
a
person
doing
the
holy
work
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments/good
deeds]
in
order
to
receive
reward.
This
is
the
normal
way,
that
we
work
for
someone,
and
it
does
not
matter
who
is
the
boss,
but
we
always
think
about
how
much
we
are
getting
paid
for
the
work,
since
the
reward
is
what
determines.
This
is
the
work
of
the
general
public.
However,
when
a
person
wants
to
work
in
order
to
bestow
and
by
this
to
be
granted
with
complete
faith,
here
begin
the
ascents
and
descents,
since
it
is
impossible
to
work
without
reward.
Rather,
when
can
one
work
without
reward?
Only
when
he
wants
to
bestow
upon
an
important
person.
This,
he
regards
as
a
reward.
This
is
as
our
sages
said
about
“the
pleasure
he
receives
from
him,”
meaning
that
a
person
enjoys
the
important
person
accepting
his
gift.
This
means
that
it
is
within
nature
that
the
smaller
one
enjoys
if
he
can
serve
the
King.
It
follows
that
when
he
wants
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
a
person
must
appreciate
the
Creator,
so
as
to
be
able
to
bestow
upon
Him,
and
to
have
the
strength
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator.
Therefore,
when
he
loses
the
importance
of
the
Creator—which
The
Zohar
calls
“Shechina
[Divinity]
in
the
dust,”
when
he
does
not
feel
the
importance
of
Kedusha
but
regards
it
as
dust—then
he
is
powerless
to
work
in
order
to
bestow.
This
is
why
the
work
is
in
both
mind
and
heart.
However,
during
the
work,
when
a
person
works
in
order
to
achieve
the
goal,
which
is
to
be
rewarded
with
Dvekut
with
the
Creator,
the
order
is
as
it
is
in
corporeality,
when
a
person
does
not
walk
forward
unless
he
uses
both
legs,
right
and
left.
This
is
as
our
sages
said
(Sotah
47),
“The
left
should
always
push
away,
and
the
right
should
pull
near.”
“Right”
means
that
which
brings
closer
to
the
Creator,
meaning
when
one
feels
close
to
the
Creator.
Even
if
he
still
does
not
have
this
feeling,
he
should
go
above
reason,
as
though
he
feels
completely
whole,
as
is
said
(Article
No.
9,
Tav-Shin-Nun),
“And
he
is
happy
with
his
lot
and
is
called
‘blessed.’”
At
that
time,
“The
blessed
clings
to
the
Blessed,”
and
from
this
he
receives
vitality,
since
he
is
close
to
the
Creator.
This
is
called
“adhering
to
the
tree
of
life,”
when
he
uses
the
vessels
of
bestowal,
on
which
there
is
no
Tzimtzum
or
judgment.
Hence,
from
the
right
side,
called
“wholeness,”
a
person
extends
life
from
the
Life
of
Lives.
Conversely,
the
“left”
is
something
that
requires
correction.
When
a
person
criticizes
his
work,
he
(sees)
his
faults.
Since
he
has
nothing
in
which
he
has
wholeness,
he
sees
that
he
is
rejected
from
Kedusha.
Naturally,
he
sees
that
he
is
cursed,
and
“the
cursed
does
not
cling
to
the
Blessed.”
It
follows
that
then
he
is
separated
from
the
Creator,
and
naturally,
he
has
no
life.
It
follows
that
in
the
left,
when
a
person
makes
his
calculation
within
reason,
he
sees
that
he
is
bare
and
destitute.
Hence,
when
a
person
walks
on
the
left
line,
he
has
no
life.
According
to
the
above,
we
can
interpret
what
we
asked
about
the
words
of
The
Zohar,
that
King
David
had
no
life
before
he
came
to
the
world.
The
reason
is
that
since
King
David
is
Malchut,
on
whom
there
was
a
Tzimtzum,
and
David
is
regarded
as
“the
whole
of
Malchut,”
which
requires
correction,
that
the
whole
of
the
will
to
receive
that
there
is
in
the
vessels
of
reception
should
be
corrected,
for
this
reason,
he
needed
to
be
included
with
Kelim
[vessels]
in
which
there
are
vessels
of
bestowal.
By
this,
the
general
Malchut
will
also
be
corrected.
This
is
called
“the
end
of
correction,”
meaning
that
the
Messiah
King
is
called
“the
end
of
correction.”
This
means
that
the
general
Malchut
will
be
corrected
to
work
in
order
to
bestow.
This
is
why
The
Zohar
said
that
only
Abraham,
Jacob,
and
Joseph,
who
are
not
from
the
quality
of
judgment,
gave
of
their
qualities
to
David
so
he
would
have
life.
That
is,
by
them
he
would
have
vessels
of
bestowal,
which
belong
to
the
“right,”
which
is
Hesed
[mercy],
the
opposite
of
the
quality
of
judgment,
which
are
vessels
of
reception.
This
is
why
he
did
not
receive
from
Isaac,
who
is
the
left,
the
quality
of
judgment,
which
are
vessels
of
reception.
This
is
the
meaning
of
“there
is
no
life
on
the
left,”
since
when
a
person
walks
in
the
manner
of
the
“left,”
meaning
sees
what
he
is
lacking,
and
a
deficiency
is
called
“the
quality
of
judgment,”
hence,
on
the
left
there
is
no
life.
Rather,
it
is
on
the
right,
when
he
engages
in
the
form
of
“For
he
desires
mercy”
and
is
not
lacking
anything;
this
is
when
a
person
feels
alive.
But
when
a
person
is
in
a
state
where
he
is
bare
and
destitute,
it
is
considered
that
he
has
no
life.
When
a
person
feels
his
faults
and
the
future
does
not
shine
for
him—that
he
will
ever
be
able
to
satisfy
his
wants—then
the
person
says,
“I
would
rather
die
than
live.”
By
this
we
should
interpret
what
is
written,
“King
David
had
no
life.”
It
means
that
the
whole
matter
of
the
creation
of
the
world
was
for
the
creatures
to
receive
the
delight
and
pleasure.
Therefore,
the
order
of
the
work
is
that
first,
a
person
must
believe
in
the
purpose
of
creation,
that
it
is
the
Creator’s
will
for
the
creatures
to
receive
delight
and
pleasure.
If
he
believes
this,
he
should
think,
“What
is
the
reason
that
I
do
not
have
the
delight
and
pleasure
that
the
Creator
wants
me
to
take?”
It
follows
that
if
he
believes
that
he
should
receive,
to
that
extent
he
feels
the
absence.
When
he
feels
the
absence,
he
goes
to
search
for
the
reason
why
he
cannot
correct
his
lack.
At
that
time,
we
must
believe
in
the
words
of
our
sages,
who
said
that
what
we
lack
is
Dvekut,
which
is
equivalence
of
form,
as
it
is
written,
“As
He
is
merciful,
so
you
are
merciful.”
It
follows
that
to
the
extent
that
he
believes
that
the
Creator
bestows
abundance
to
the
whole
world,
to
that
extent
he
should
also
bestow
upon
the
Creator.
Then,
when
one
believes
that
the
Creator
gives
to
the
entire
world,
from
this
a
person
should
derive
the
importance
and
greatness
of
the
Creator,
like
an
important
person
in
corporeality,
where
we
see
that
it
is
a
great
privilege
to
serve
important
people,
and
from
this
service
itself,
a
person
derives
delight
and
pleasure
and
he
does
not
need
any
other
reward.
It
follows
that
to
the
extent
of
the
faith
in
the
“mind,”
to
that
extent
he
can
also
work
with
faith.
However,
since
man
is
born
as
a
will
to
receive
for
himself,
in
this
manner
there
is
no
life.
It
follows
that
the
quality
of
King
David,
which
is
the
point
in
the
heart,
has
no
life.
In
other
words,
the
light
of
life
cannot
shine
there.
For
this
reason,
“the
association
of
the
quality
of
mercy
with
judgment”
took
place,
as
it
is
written
that
Malchut,
which
is
the
quality
of
judgment,
will
receive
life
from
the
quality
of
the
“right,”
which
is
bestowal,
when
it
is
associated
with
the
quality
of
King
David.
Hence,
the
quality
of
Abraham,
Jacob,
and
Joseph,
who
are
the
quality
of
Hesed
and
mercy,
was
placed
in
the
quality
of
King
David,
and
not
from
Isaac,
who
is
the
quality
of
the
“left,”
which
is
vessels
of
reception.