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Atzilut and BYA
79. Atzilut and BYA
I heard on Tammuz 15, Pinhas 1, July 18, 1943
Atzilut is considered from the Chazeh and above, which is only vessels of bestowal. BYA means reception in order to bestow, the ascent of the lower Hey to the place of Bina.
Because man is immersed in the will to receive in order to receive, he cannot do a thing without having reception for oneself there. This is why our sages said, “From Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], we come to Lishma [for Her sake].” This means that we begin the engagement in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] in order to “Give us the wealth of this world,” and afterward, “Give us the wealth of the next world.”
When learning in this way, one should come to learn Lishma, for the sake of the Torah, meaning that the Torah will teach him the ways of the Creator. And then he should first make the sweetening of Malchut in Bina, which means that he elevates Malchut, called “will to receive,” to Bina, which is considered bestowal. That is, that all his work will be only in order to bestow.
And then it becomes dark for him. He feels that the world has grown dark on him since the body gives strength to work only in the form of reception, and not in the form of bestowal. In that state, he has but one choice: to pray to the Creator to open his eyes so he can work in the manner of bestowal.
This is the meaning of “Who stands for the question?” It refers to Bina, called Mi [water] and the question comes from the verse, “asking about the rains,” meaning prayer. Since they arrive to the state of “water of Bina,” there is room to pray for it.