What
Is
“According
to
the
Sorrow,
So
Is
the
Reward”?
Article
No.
29,
1987
Our
sages
wrote
(Avot,
Chapter
5),
“Ben
Ha
Ha
says,
‘According
to
the
sorrow,
so
is
the
reward.’”
We
should
understand
this
condition.
What
can
we
understand
from
“The
work
is
according
to
the
reward”?
It
is
written
(in
the
song,
“All
who
Sanctify”),
“His
reward
is
plentiful,
according
to
his
work.”
Therefore,
we
should
understand
what
is
“According
to
the
sorrow,
so
is
the
reward.”
Instead,
it
should
have
said,
“According
to
his
work,
so
is
his
reward,”
so
what
is
“According
to
the
sorrow
is
the
reward”?
This
is
similar
to
what
we
find
in
The
Zohar
(Ki
Tetze,
Item
54):
“Likewise
will
be
the
redemption.
If
they
are
rewarded,
they
will
come
out
with
mercy,
as
it
is
written,
‘Before
her
pain
came,
she
gave
birth
to
a
male,’
and
they
came
out
with
mercy.
If
He
does
not
precede
mercy,
they
will
come
out
with
pain.
It
is
better
to
precede
sorrow
and
judgment
in
order
to
extend
mercy.
For
this
reason,
the
authors
of
the
Mishnah
established,
‘According
to
the
sorrow,
so
is
the
reward.’”
The
words
of
The
Zohar
require
clarification:
1)
Why
does
it
require
preceding
sorrow
and
judgment
in
order
to
extend
mercy,
as
it
is
written,
“It
is
better
to
precede
sorrow
and
judgment
in
order
to
extend
the
mercy”?
2)
They
said,
“According
to
the
sorrow,
so
is
the
reward,”
meaning
“according
to
the
sorrow,
so
is
the
reward.”
But
our
sages
said
(Avot,
Chapter
1),
“He
would
say,
‘Be
not
as
slaves
serving
the
great
one
in
order
to
receive
reward.’”
Thus,
why
is
it
permitted
to
work
for
a
reward,
since
they
said,
“According
to
the
sorrow,
so
is
the
reward”?
Are
we
not
forbidden
to
work
for
a
reward?
To
understand
this,
we
first
need
to
know
what
they
call
“sorrow,”
“labor,”
and
“judgment.”
Which
reward
are
they
referring
to
in
“According
to
the
sorrow,
so
is
the
reward”?
It
is
known
that
there
is
no
light
without
a
Kli
[vessel].
That
is,
we
cannot
fill
a
lack
where
there
is
none.
Rather,
where
there
is
a
lack,
it
can
be
said
that
it
requires
filling.
For
this
reason,
the
Creator
created
a
lack
called
“desire
and
yearning
for
pleasure.”
This
is
called
Malchut
de
Ein
Sof,
which
is
called
“creation.”
It
is
known
that
this
is
called
“creator
of
darkness,”
in
order
to
give
her
light
and
pleasure.
We
learned
that
it
is
called
Ein
Sof
because
this
discernment,
called
“will
to
receive”
in
order
to
satisfy
the
lack
in
the
yearning
for
pleasure,
did
not
put
a
stop.
That
is,
she
did
not
say,
“I
do
not
want
to
use
this
Kli.”
Instead,
she
received
the
delight
and
pleasure.
Afterward,
this
Kli,
which
took
the
abundance,
said,
“I
do
not
want
to
be
a
receiver.
Rather,
I
want
to
be
like
the
Creator,
meaning
a
giver,
too.”
But
how
can
this
be?
That
is,
if
we
are
speaking
of
spirituality,
and
she
is
craving
Dvekut
[adhesion]
with
the
Creator,
how
can
she
say,
“I
don’t
want
to
receive,”
which
contradicts
the
intention
of
the
Creator,
since
His
will
is
to
do
good
to
His
creations?
How
could
Malchut
say,
“I
don’t
want
the
intention
of
the
Creator
to
be
carried
out”?
since
the
Creator’s
will
cannot
come
true
unless
the
lower
one
receives
what
He
wants
to
give.
If
the
lower
one
does
not
receive,
the
Creator’s
intention
will
never
come
true.
The
answer
is
that
Malchut
said,
“I
do
want
to
receive;
I
don’t
want
to
go
against
the
will
of
the
Creator,
who
wants
to
give,
as
it
is
written,
‘His
desire
to
do
good
to
His
creations.’
However,
I
don’t
want
to
receive
in
order
to
calm
my
yearning.
Although
I
feel
a
great
deficiency
and
I
want
to
satisfy
my
desire
with
upper
abundance,
yet,
I
do
not
want
to
receive
for
this
reason.
Instead,
with
this
intention
He
will
receive,
meaning
because
of
the
will
to
receive
in
me.
I
want
to
relinquish
this,
meaning
to
leave
a
vacant
space
without
abundance,
and
because
the
Emanator
wants
the
lower
one
to
receive
delight
and
pleasure,
for
this
reason
I
will
receive.
In
other
words,
I
will
receive
because
the
Creator
wants
to
give,
for
His
pleasure
is
that
He
gives.
For
this
reason
I
will
receive.”
This
is
called
“receiving
with
the
intention
to
bestow,”
since
by
this
I
am
bestowing
upon
the
Creator,
whose
will,
which
is
called
“His
desire
to
do
good,”
is
carried
out.
In
the
words
of
Kabbalah,
this
is
regarded
as
placing
a
Masach
[screen]
on
the
upper
abundance
and
not
receiving
it
until
she
calculates
this
abundance
to
see
what
percentage
she
can
receive
in
order
to
bestow.
This
she
receives.
If
she
receives
the
rest,
it
will
be
in
order
to
receive,
and
this
will
remain
vacant,
without
abundance.
According
to
the
rule,
“A
desire
in
the
upper
one
becomes
a
mandatory
law
in
the
lower
one,”
it
follows
that
Malchut
saying,
“I
don’t
want
to
receive
in
order
to
receive,”
which
is
called
Tzimtzum
[restriction],
caused
a
prohibition
on
receiving
in
order
to
receive
from
her
and
below.
If
we
do
want
to
receive,
we
become
separated
from
the
Creator,
since
He
is
the
bestower,
and
the
receiver
is
in
oppositeness
of
form,
and
“disparity
of
form
causes
separation
in
spirituality.”
From
here,
the
place
for
the
Klipot
[shells/peels]
was
made,
who
are
separated
from
“The
Life
of
Lives,”
and
are
called
“dead.”
Afterward,
two
systems
emerged
from
this:
Kedusha
[sanctity/holiness]
and
Klipa
[singular
of
Klipot].
It
is
written
about
it
(“Introduction
to
The
Book
of
Zohar,”
Item
10),
“And
in
order
to
mend
that
separation,
which
lays
on
the
Kli
of
the
souls,
He
created
all
the
worlds
and
separated
them
into
two
systems,
which
are
the
four
worlds
ABYA
of
Kedusha,
and
opposite
them
the
four
worlds
ABYA
of
Tuma’a.
He
imprinted
the
desire
to
bestow
in
the
system
of
ABYA
of
Kedusha,
removed
from
them
the
will
to
receive
for
themselves,
and
placed
it
in
the
system
of
the
worlds
ABYA
of
Tuma’a.
The
worlds
cascaded
onto
the
reality
of
this
corporeal
world,
to
a
place
where
there
is
a
body
and
a
soul
and
a
time
of
corruption
and
correction.
For
the
body,
which
is
the
will
to
receive
for
oneself,
extends
from
its
root
in
the
thought
of
creation
through
the
system
of
the
worlds
of
Tuma’a,
and
remains
enslaved
thirteen
years,
and
this
is
the
time
of
corruption.
By
engaging
in
Mitzvot
from
thirteen
years
onward,
he
begins
to
purify
the
will
to
receive
for
himself,
imprinted
in
him,
and
slowly
turns
it
into
working
in
order
to
bestow.
By
this
he
extends
a
holy
soul
from
its
root
in
the
thought
of
creation.
It
passes
through
the
system
of
the
worlds
of
Kedusha
and
dresses
in
the
body.
This
is
the
time
of
correction.”
The
above
order,
where
he
says
that
for
thirteen
years
a
man
is
under
the
control
of
the
Klipot,
is
when
one
satisfies
all
his
needs
completely.
There
is
no
one
who
does
not
walk
on
this
path
of
the
time
of
corruption,
since
this
way
is
natural.
That
is,
everything
he
does,
does
not
blemish
the
will
to
receive
for
himself.
But
after
thirteen
years,
when
a
person
begins
to
work
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
with
the
aim
to
emerge
from
the
governance
of
Tuma’a,
and
wants
to
work
to
the
contrary,
meaning
that
by
the
force
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot
that
he
observes,
he
will
have
the
strength
to
revoke
the
will
to
receive,
which
extends
from
the
system
of
Tuma’a,
the
work
becomes
heavy,
since
it
is
against
nature.
[And
I,
Michael
Laitman,
heard
from
my
teacher,
the
RABASH,
that
Baal
HaSulam
mentioned
the
number
thirteen
in
order
to
obscure
the
matter.]
Man
is
born
inside
the
will
to
receive
for
himself.
Suddenly,
he
comes
to
the
body
and
says,
“Listen,
until
now
you
worked
in
thought,
speech,
and
action
for
your
own
sake.
From
now
on,
I
want
you
to
work
only
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,
meaning
that
everything
you
do
will
be
with
the
intention
to
bestow
contentment
upon
your
Maker.”
When
the
body
hears
these
words,
it
resists
with
all
its
might,
both
in
mind
and
in
heart.
According
to
one’s
prevailing,
to
that
extent
he
reveals
its
resistance
through
all
kinds
of
arguments,
such
as
the
arguments
of
the
spies,
who
spoke
about
the
land
of
Israel,
as
The
Zohar
interprets
(Shlach,
Item
59).
It
writes,
“And
they
went
up
the
Negev.”
It
means
that
people
ascend
in
her
in
Negev
[desert/dryness],
meaning
with
an
idle
heart,
as
though
one
is
working
for
nothing,
with
dryness,
and
thinks
that
there
is
no
reward
in
it.
He
sees
that
the
wealth
of
the
world
is
lost
for
her,
and
thinks
that
everything
is
lost.
It
is
also
written
there
(Item
63),
“‘And
they
returned
from
touring
the
land.’
That
is,
they
returned
to
the
bad
side
and
reverted
from
the
path
of
truth
saying,
‘What
will
we
get
out
of
it?
To
this
day,
we
have
not
seen
good
in
the
world.
We
have
toiled
in
Torah
but
the
house
is
empty.
We
sat
among
the
lowliest
in
the
nation,
and
who
will
be
rewarded
with
that
world?
Who
will
come
into
it?
It
would
have
been
better
had
we
not
toiled
so.
That
upper
world
is
good,
but
who
can
be
rewarded
with
it?’”
According
to
the
above,
we
see
that
the
complaint
of
the
spies
came
only
after
the
exertion,
when
they
already
began
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
as
it
is
written
in
The
Zohar,
that
they
said,
“To
this
day,
we
have
not
seen
good
in
the
world.
We
have
toiled
in
Torah.”
They
also
said,
“It
would
have
been
better
had
we
not
toiled
so.”
That
is,
they
had
made
great
efforts
to
come
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
which
is
called
“the
land
of
Israel,”
for
Eretz
[land]
is
called
Ratzon
[desire],
and
Ysrael
[Israel]
is
called
Yashar-El
[straight
to
the
Creator],
meaning
that
they
want
everything
to
be
straight
to
God,
directly
to
the
Creator,
and
not
to
the
Klipot,
whose
control
is
in
the
will
to
receive
for
oneself.
Yet,
the
spies
said,
“That
world
is
good,
but
who
can
be
rewarded
with
it?”
We
see
that
the
bad
in
a
person
interferes
with
entering
the
path
of
truth,
which
is
to
work
only
in
order
to
bestow.
It
does
not
appear
at
once,
but
rather
everything
goes
by
way
of
“one
opposite
the
other”:
To
the
extent
of
overcoming
in
order
to
bestow,
the
“in
order
to
receive”
increases.
For
this
reason,
a
person
thinks
that
he
is
regressing
and
not
progressing.
But
in
truth,
he
is
progressing,
and
he
can
see
this
by
the
fact
that
the
more
he
exerts
to
work
in
bestowal,
the
more
attraction
he
receives
toward
the
will
to
receive.
That
is,
before
he
exerted
to
walk
on
the
path
of
bestowal,
he
did
not
have
such
an
attraction
for
self-love.
But
once
he
has
commenced
in
the
work
of
bestowal,
he
sees
that
where
the
desire
to
bestow
should
have
been
stronger
in
him
and
the
will
to
receive
weaker,
he
is
asking,
“What
have
I
gained
from
my
work
for
“in
order
to
bestow”?
The
will
to
receive
has
strengthened,
meaning
ascended
in
degree
and
became
more
important,
while
the
desire
to
bestow
grew
weaker.
In
other
words,
it
is
at
a
lower
degree
in
him
after
he
has
begun
this
work
of
acquiring
vessels
of
bestowal.
It
follows
that
only
when
he
begins
to
work
in
bestowal
comes
the
argument
of
the
spies.
Before
he
began
to
work
in
bestowal
and
his
work
was
like
the
general
public,
he
knew
that
he
was
learning
Torah
and
engaging
in
Mitzvot,
and
he
had
no
sorrow
while
engaging
in
his
work
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
But
once
he
has
begun
the
work
of
bestowal,
he
feels
sorrow
and
suffering
even
during
the
work.
Indeed,
concerning
the
argument
of
the
spies
that
comes
into
his
mind
at
that
time,
he
sees
that
they
are
right
in
everything
they
say.
This
causes
him
to
doubt
the
beginning.
That
is,
he
is
angry
with
the
one
who
admitted
him
into
this
work
of
bestowal.
He
lived
in
a
world
that
was
all
good
and
felt
that
he
was
“happy
in
this
world
and
happy
in
the
next
world.”
But
now
he
is
hearing
the
argument
of
the
spies
coming
from
his
body:
“We
labored
in
vain,
and
who
will
be
rewarded
with
the
upper
world?”
It
follows
that
he
feels
destitute
because
now
he
sees
the
truth—that
the
evil
controls
him
and
he
has
no
permission
to
disobey
it
and
go
against
the
will
and
view
of
the
will
to
receive
for
himself.
He
actually
feels
that
he
is
completely
separated
from
Kedusha
and
is
in
the
group
of
the
dead,
as
in,
“The
wicked,
in
their
lives,
are
called
‘dead,’”
since
they
are
separated
from
The
Life
of
Lives.
Now
he
can
actually
feel
this.
Conversely,
before
he
began
the
work
of
bestowal,
he
would
tell
himself
that
he
belongs
to
the
group
of
servants
of
the
Creator,
and
all
the
energy
he
put
into
the
work
brought
him
pain
and
sorrow
when
he
saw
that
there
are
people
who
are
not
walking
on
the
path
of
the
Creator.
But
concerning
himself,
he
was
more
or
less
certain
that
he
was
already
considered
a
“servant
of
the
Creator.”
But
now
he
sees
what
has
happened
to
him
because
of
the
advice
to
walk
in
the
above-mentioned
way:
only
sorrow
and
pain
for
not
having
this
world.
That
is,
in
this
world,
he
sees
that
he
is
not
fine
with
the
Creator,
meaning
he
feels
that
he
would
like
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator
and
does
not
find
satisfaction
in
his
own
benefit.
Although
he
cannot
exit
self-gratification,
he
also
cannot
find
satisfaction
in
it.
Now,
in
the
next
world,
how
can
he
hope
and
tell
himself
that
he
will
be
rewarded
in
the
next
world,
so
now
he
sees
the
truth—that
he
has
no
intention
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,
to
be
able
to
say,
“I
deserve
reward
for
working
for
the
Creator.”
Accordingly,
we
see
that
precisely
when
a
person
begins
to
walk
on
the
path
of
bestowal,
he
comes
to
a
state
of
pain
and
sorrow,
and
feels
the
labor
that
exists
in
serving
the
Creator.
That
is,
the
labor
begins
to
work
when
one
wants
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator.
Only
then
do
the
arguments
of
the
spies
come
to
him.
It
is
very
difficult
to
overcome
them,
and
many
people
escape
the
campaign
and
surrender
to
the
argument
of
the
spies.
But
those
who
do
not
want
to
move,
but
rather
say,
“We
have
nowhere
to
go,”
suffer
from
not
being
able
to
always
overcome
them.
They
are
in
a
state
of
ascending
and
descending,
and
every
time
they
overcome,
they
see
that
they
are
farther
from
the
goal
that
they
want
to
be
rewarded
with
Dvekut
with
the
Creator,
which
is
equivalence
of
form.
The
measure
of
sorrow
that
they
must
tolerate
is
because
in
truth,
a
person
cannot
emerge
from
the
control
of
self-reception
by
himself,
as
it
is
the
nature
in
which
the
Creator
created
man,
which
only
the
Creator
Himself
can
change.
In
other
words,
as
He
has
given
the
created
beings
the
desire
to
receive,
He
can
later
give
them
the
desire
to
bestow.
However,
according
to
the
rule,
“There
is
no
light
without
a
Kli,
no
filling
without
a
lack,”
first
one
needs
to
obtain
a
deficiency.
That
is,
he
must
feel
that
he
is
deficient
of
this
Kli
called
“desire
to
bestow.”
And
concerning
feeling,
it
is
impossible
to
feel
any
lack
if
one
does
not
know
what
he
is
losing
by
not
having
the
Kli,
called
“desire
to
bestow.”
For
this
reason,
man
must
introspect
on
what
causes
him
not
to
have
the
desire
to
bestow.
To
the
extent
of
the
loss,
he
feels
sorrow
and
suffering.
When
he
has
the
real
lack,
meaning
when
he
can
pray
to
the
Creator
from
the
bottom
of
the
heart
for
not
having
the
strength
to
be
able
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,
then,
when
he
has
the
Kli,
meaning
the
real
lack,
this
is
the
time
when
his
prayer
is
answered
and
he
receives
assistance
from
above.
It
is
as
our
sages
said,
“He
who
comes
to
purify
is
aided.”
By
this
we
will
understand
what
we
asked,
“What
is
the
meaning
of
‘According
to
the
sorrow,
so
is
the
reward’?”
It
means
that
according
to
his
lack,
meaning
to
the
extent
that
he
feels
sorrow
at
not
being
able
to
emerge
from
the
control
of
the
bad,
and
bad
means
that
he
feels
that
it
is
something
bad,
meaning
he
sees
what
bad
that
the
vessels
of
reception
cause
him,
then
he
feels
actual
sorrow.
This
gives
him
the
need
that
the
Creator
will
help
him,
and
he
receives
the
reward,
meaning
the
reward
for
the
sorrow
he
had
had.
This
is
the
meaning
of
the
words,
“According
to
the
sorrow,”
to
the
full
extent
of
the
sorrow,
meaning
the
understanding
of
the
lack,
is
the
reward.
Then
comes
the
time
when
the
reward
comes,
for
“there
is
no
light
without
a
Kli.”
Now
we
can
understand
what
we
asked
according
to
what
our
sages
said,
“Be
not
as
slaves
serving
the
great
one
in
order
to
receive
reward.”
In
other
words,
it
is
forbidden
to
work
in
order
to
receive
reward
because
receiving
the
reward
separates
us
from
the
Creator,
who
is
the
giver,
while
man
wants
to
receive.
The
answer
is
that
the
reward
he
is
asking
for
his
labor
is
to
be
able
to
overcome
the
vessels
of
reception
and
be
able
to
work
in
order
to
bestow.
Such
a
reward
will
bring
him
Dvekut
with
The
Life
of
Lives.
That
is,
the
reward
he
expects
is
to
be
given
the
strength
to
work
without
reward
that
comes
to
the
vessels
of
reception,
by
which
he
becomes
separated.
Rather,
the
reward
comes
to
the
vessels
of
bestowal,
by
which
he
becomes
close
to
the
Creator.
By
this
we
will
also
understand
what
we
asked
about
what
we
sing
in
the
songs
of
Shabbat
[Sabbath],
“His
reward
is
plentiful,
according
to
his
work.”
We
should
understand
the
following:
1)
Is
it
permitted
to
work
for
a
reward?
If
so
why
does
he
say,
“His
reward
is
plentiful”?
2)
“His
reward
is
plentiful,
according
to
his
work.”
What
is
the
novelty?
In
everything,
if
he
works
more
he
receives
more
reward.
So,
what
is
“his
reward
is
plentiful”?
I
would
understand
it
if
he
said,
“His
reward
is
plentiful
although
he
did
not
make
such
great
efforts,
yet
he
received
a
great
reward.”
According
to
the
above,
we
should
interpret
that
“work”
does
not
pertain
to
corporeal
work,
where
one
is
rewarded
according
to
the
output
that
a
person
produces.
The
output
is
positive,
relating
to
what
the
worker
did,
and
to
the
extent
of
the
output
so
is
his
reward.
But
here,
“according
to
his
work”
means
according
to
his
labor
and
exertion
without
seeing
anything
positive
in
the
work.
On
the
contrary,
each
time,
he
sees
more
negativity
in
his
work.
That
is,
each
time
he
sees
that
he
does
not
want
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator.
Thus,
how
can
he
ask
for
a
reward,
so
as
to
say,
“His
reward
is
plentiful,
according
to
his
work,”
although
he
sees
no
progress?
On
the
contrary,
he
is
regressing
every
time,
yet
he
does
not
escape
the
campaign
or
grow
idle
in
the
work.
Instead,
he
works
as
though
he
is
advancing.
It
follows
that
“according
to
his
work”
means
to
the
extent
that
he
overcomes
each
time,
and
according
to
the
sorrow
and
exertion
that
he
puts
into
this
work,
it
causes
him
to
be
able
to
obtain
a
real
Kli
and
need
for
the
Creator’s
help.
It
follows
that
unlike
corporeality,
where
we
are
rewarded
according
to
the
output,
meaning
that
one
looks
at
the
work
he
did.
Here,
it
is
the
opposite.
Also,
why
is
it
permitted
to
receive
reward
here?
It
is
because
the
reward
he
is
asking
is
not
a
reward
that
will
separate
him
from
adhering
to
Him.
Rather,
he
hopes
that
all
of
the
reward
he
hopes
to
be
given
is
the
ability
to
bestow
upon
the
Creator,
and
through
this
reward
he
will
adhere
to
Him.
This
is
the
meaning
of
what
is
written,
“It
is
good
to
precede
sorrow
and
judgment
in
order
to
extend
mercy.”
We
asked,
why
the
need
for
sorrow
and
judgment
if
we
want
mercy?
The
reason
is
that
the
sorrow
is
the
Kli
and
the
need,
for
there
is
no
light
without
a
Kli.
And
what
is
the
“light”?
It
is
mercy,
as
our
sages
said,
“As
He
is
merciful,
so
you
are
merciful.”
This
is
what
he
should
be
given.