Lesson 2: You Have Made Me

Lesson article: Rabash. Article No. 25, 1985. In Every Thing We Must Discern between Light and Kli > >

Additional source excerpts as preparation for Lesson 2

1. RABASH, Letter No. 76

“If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to do them.” The holy Zohar asks, “Since he already said, ‘walk’ and ‘keep,’ why also ‘do’?” It replies, “One who does the Mitzvot [commandments] of the Torah and walks in His ways, it is as though he has made Him above. The Creator said, ‘as though he had made Me.’ This is the meaning of ‘to do them,’ as though you have made Me”

2. RABASH, Assorted notes No. 588, "Malchut of the Upper One Becomes Keter to the Lower One"

The Zohar interprets in BeHukotai, “‘And do them,’ do not pronounce it Otam [them] but rather Attem [you],” as though you have made them. He interprets in the Sulam [Ladder commentary on The Zohar] that by the lower ones needing the Creator to fill them, the lower one attains the Giver by receiving abundance from the upper one. But if the receiver does not receive anything from the Giver, how does he know that there is a Giver? This is called “By Your actions, we know You.”

3. RABASH, Article No. 30 (1990), "What It Means that 'Law and Ordinance' Is the Name of the Creator in the Work?"

It is written, “One who performs the Mitzvot of the Torah and walks in His ways, it is as though he made Him above. The Creator said, ‘as if he made Me.’ And they determined it. Hence, ‘And do them,’ as a law and ordinance, which are ZA and Malchut.” This means that by performing the Mitzvot of the Torah and walking in His ways, a person causes at the root of his soul that Malchut above will work in order to bestow, like ZA. This is called “unification.” It follows that the meaning of “and do them,” is the intention to make this unification of ZA and Malchut, called “law” and “ordinance.” And that, too, is called “the unification of the Creator and His Shechina.” This is the work that the created beings should do.

It follows that the meaning is that since they are two names, the creatures must make the unification, so it becomes one. When all creations achieve their wholeness, meaning when all are corrected at the root of their souls, the verse “On that day will be the Lord is one and His name, One,” will come true. This is the work of which it is written, “And do them.”

4. RABASH, Letter No. 76

The study of Torah and observing the Mitzvot is primarily in order to draw the disclosure of the light of His face downward. This is regarded as “the light in it reforms him,” which appears through the choice, and when engaging Lishma. At that time what Rabbi Meir said comes true—“The secrets of Torah are revealed to he who learns Torah Lishma.” This is regarded as His kingship appearing below, and this the meaning of “do them,” as though you are making Me.

5. RABASH, Article No. 47 (1991), 'What Does It Mean that the Right and the Left Are in Contrast, in the Work?'

It is written, “and do them,” since we begin with action and end with action, but there is a discernment in between, meaning before he is rewarded with vessels of bestowal or after he is rewarded with vessels of bestowal. This means that through the actions, he is rewarded with Kelim, and then, through the actions, he is rewarded with the light. This is called “so you may be wise in all that you do,” meaning that afterward he is rewarded with “Learn and know Me.”

6. RABASH, Assorted notes No. 940, "The Point in the Heart"

When the Temple was ruined, it is written, “And let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell within them.” This pertains to the point in the heart, which should be a Temple where the light of the Creator dwells, as it is written, “And I will dwell within them.” Hence, one should try to build his structure of Kedusha [holiness], and the structure should be qualified, so that the upper abundance will enter it, called “abundance bestowed from the Giver to the receiver.” However, according to the rule, there must be equivalence of form between the Giver and the receiver so the receiver, too, must have the aim to bestow like the Giver.

This is called “action,” as it is written, “Let them make Me a Temple,” where the acting applies to the Kli [vessel] and not the light, since the light pertains to the Creator and only the action pertains to the created beings.

7. RABASH, Assorted notes No. 557, "Concerning Ohr Hozer [reflected light]"

The upper lights are already prepared for a person, as in “More than the calf wants to suckle, the cow wants to nurse,” and all we need is a Kli [vessel]. After the Tzimtzum [restriction], this Kli is called Masach and Ohr Hozer, and this is what connects the upper with the lower. That is, through it, the lower one connects to the upper one.

When this connector does not exist, the lower one cannot see the upper one, and the upper one is regarded as nonexistent from the perspective of the lower one. Hence, to the extent that one begins to work for the sake of the Creator, to that extent he acquires connection with the upper light. And by the measure of his connection, so is the measure of his attainment.

8. RABASH, Article No. 26 (1986), "A Near Way and a Far Way"

Baal HaSulam says, that the place where the Creator is revealed is called Shechina, and the Creator is called Shochen. However, when is He called Shochen? When there is someone who attains the Shochen. At that time he says that Shochen and Shechina are not two things, but one. That is, the Shochen is called “light without a Kli [vessel],” and the Shechina is the place where the Creator is revealed. It follows that all that there is in the place where the Creator is revealed is the Creator, and nothing else. However, there is light and Kli, meaning there is a Kli that attains the light.

It therefore follows that the place where the Creator has chosen to set His name is as we learn, that we need to correct our vessels of reception to be in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. This is the meaning of equivalence of form. Then, in that place, the name of the Creator appears.

9. RABASH, Letter No. 76

It is known that “The whole earth is full of His glory.” This is what every person should believe, as it is written, “I fill the heaven and the earth.” However, the Creator has made a concealment so that we cannot see Him so as to have room for choice, and then there is room for faith—to believe that the Creator “fills all the worlds and encompasses all the worlds.” And after a person engages in Torah and Mitzvot and keeps the commandment of choice, the Creator reveals Himself to him, and then he sees that the Creator is the ruler of the world.

Thus, at that time a person makes the king who will rule over him. That is, a person feels that the Creator is the ruler of the world, and this is regarded as a person making the Creator king over him. As long as one has not come to such a feeling, the Creator’s kingship is concealed. This is why we say, “On that day, the Lord will be one and His name, ‘One.’” That is, the glory of His kingship will appear over us.

10. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 57, "Will Bring Him as a Burnt Offering to His Will"

We must evoke a desire from above to impart below.

It is not enough that we have a desire, but there has to be a good will on the part of the Giver, too. Even though above there is a general desire to do good to His creations, He still waits for our desire to awaken His desire.

In other words, if we are unable to evoke His desire, it is a sign that the desire on the part of the receiver is still incomplete.