15. What Is Other Gods in the Work?
I heard on Av 24, August 3, 1945
It is written, “You shall make no other gods over Me.” The Zohar interprets that there should be stones to weigh with. It asks about it, How is the work weighed with stones, by which one knows one’s state in the ways of the Creator? It replies that it is known that when one begins to work more than one is used to, the body begins to kick and object to this work with all its might, since regarding bestowal, it is a load and a burden for the body. It cannot tolerate this work, and the resistance of the body appears in a person in the form of foreign thoughts. It comes and asks the questions of “who” and “what.” Through these questions, a person says that all these questions are certainly sent to him by the Sitra Achra [other side] to obstruct him in the work.
It says that if, at that time, one says that they come from the Sitra Achra, one breaches what is written, “You shall make no other gods over Me.” The reason is that one should believe that it comes to him from the Shechina [Divinity], since “There is none else besides Him.” However, the Shechina shows one his true state, how he is walking in the ways of the Creator.
This means that by sending him these questions, called “foreign thoughts,” meaning that through these foreign thoughts she sees how he answers the questions regarded as “foreign thoughts.” And all this, one should know one’s true state in the work so as to know what to do.
It is like an allegory about a friend who wanted to know how much his friend loved him. Certainly, when face to face, his friend hides himself because of shame. Therefore, he sends a person to speak badly about his friend. Then he sees his friend’s reaction while he is away from his friend, and then one can know the true measure of his friend’s love.
The lesson is that when the Shechina shows her face to a person, meaning when the Creator gives one vitality and joy, in that state, one is ashamed to say what he thinks about the work of bestowal without receiving anything for himself. However, when not facing her, meaning when the vitality and gladness cool down, which is considered not facing her, then one can see his true state regarding the aim to bestow.
If one believes that it is written that there is none else besides Him, and that the Creator sends all the foreign thoughts, meaning that He is the operator, he certainly knows what to do and how to answer all the questions. This seems as though she sends him messengers to see how he slanders it, his kingdom of heaven, and this is how we can interpret the above matter.
One can understand this, that everything comes from the Creator, for it is known that the beatings that the body beats a person with its foreign thoughts, since they do not come to a person when he does not engage in the work, but these beatings that come to a person in a complete sensation, to the point that these thoughts smash his mind, they come specifically after preceding Torah and work more than the usual. This is called stones to weigh with.
It means that these stones fall in one’s mind when one wants to understand these questions. Afterward, one comes to weigh the purpose of one’s work, if it is truly worthwhile to work in order to bestow, to work with all his might and soul, and that all his aspirations will be only to hope that what there is to acquire in this world is only in the purpose of his work to bring contentment to his Maker, and not in any corporeal matter.
At that time begins a bitter argument, since one sees that there are arguments both ways. The writings warn about this, “You shall make no other gods over Me.” Do not say that another god gave you the stones with which to weigh your work, but “over Me.”
Instead, one should know that this is considered “over Me.” This is so that one will see the true form of the basis and the foundation upon which the structure of the work is built.
The heaviness in the work is primarily because they are two texts that deny one another. On one hand, one should try that all his work will be to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, that all his desire will be only to bestow contentment upon his Maker, and not at all for himself.
On the other hand, we see that this is not the primary goal, since the purpose of creation was not for the creatures to bestow upon the Creator, since He has no need for the creatures to give Him something. On the contrary, the purpose of creation was due to His desire to do good to His creations, meaning for the creatures to receive delight and pleasure from Him.
These two matters contradict one another from one end to the other, for on one hand, one should bestow, and on the other hand, one should receive. In other words, there is the matter of correction of creation, being to achieve Dvekut, discerned as equivalence of form, being that all his actions will be only to bestow. Afterward, it is possible to achieve the purpose of creation—to receive delight and pleasure from the Creator.
Hence, when one has accustomed oneself to walk in ways of bestowal, one has no vessels of reception anyhow. When one walks in ways of reception, he has no vessels of bestowal.
Thus, through the “stones to weigh with” one acquires both, since after the negotiation he had during the work, when he overcomes and takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven in the form of bestowal in mind and heart, it causes that when he comes to draw the upper abundance, since he already has a solid basis that everything should be in the form of bestowal, hence, even when one receives some illumination, he receives it in order to bestow. This is because the whole basis of his work is built solely on bestowal. This is considered that he “receives in order to bestow.”