The Rabash Connection

Explanation of the Article, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah - 2

2010-01-06T15:16:00.001-05:00

Writings of The Rabash

PART TWO OF FOUR

The Line and the Zivug de Hakaa

Thus far, we have discussed three states:

The will to receive that was created in the world of Ein Sof, and which received all the Light.
In the world of Tzimtzum, it became apparent that the will to receive must be corrected for the purpose of decoration.
In the line, it is apparent that the Kli must be corrected due to the deficiency. Otherwise, the Light does not expand to it.

And now we shall speak of the line. We have already learned that the line has Above and below in importance, since Malchut of the line was forbidden to receive because she is regarded as receiving in order to receive. The rule is that in all the degrees, Malchut’s name was not changed, which is “receiving in order to receive.” And her Light is Ohr Hozer, meaning she wishes to bestow upon the Upper One.

And when the Light extends to Malchut, she made a Zivug de Hakaa, a Masach, which implies ending the Light and making calculations. For example, she assumed that she could receive only twenty percent of the Light in order to bestow. Hence, she decided to clothe only that much Light.

However, she felt that there was too much pleasure in the remaining eighty percent, and if she were to receive it, it would be in order to receive. Hence, she decided to not receive that part of the Light. So what is the difference between a Tzimtzum and a Masach (screen)?

A Tzimtzum occurs through choice, as we learned that Malchut had all the Light and she chose to not receive it.
A Masach is the domination of the Upper One on it. Thus, even if the lower one wished to receive, the Upper One would not let it.

The meaning of the term Zivug de Hakaa (coupling of striking) is as follows: In corporeality, it sometimes happens that when people disagree, they strike each other. In spirituality, when two things contradict each other, it is considered that they strike each other.

And what is the dispute? The Upper One, who wishes to benefit His creations, evokes in the lower ones a desire to receive all the Light. But the lower one wishes the contrary, to equalize its form, and hence does not wish to receive at all. This is the striking that unfolds between the Upper One and the lower one.

In the end, they equalize with one another and create a union and Zivug between them. In other words, the lower one receives the Light as the Upper One wishes, but only as much of it as it can receive in order to bestow, as the lower one wishes. Thus, there are two things here: 1) equivalence of form, and 2) reception of the Light.

However, the Zivug is possible only if a striking preceded it, since without the striking, and with the lower one’s desire to receive the Light, this would be oppositeness and separation from the Creator. This process of Zivug de Hakaa is called Rosh (head). A Rosh means root, a potential, which needs a process of realization. The Rosh exists because of the existence of the Sof, the prohibition on reception. Hence, Malchut is compelled to calculate, and this is called a Rosh, preceding the actual reception.

Accordingly, we can understand the Ari’s words in the beginning of Talmud Eser Sefirot(The Study of the Ten Sefirot): “Behold that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created, etc., and there was no such part as head, or end,” etc. This is so because in Ein Sof, there was still no prohibition on receiving; hence, it immediately received it. But now that there was an end, we should distinguish between the Rosh, which is the potential, and the Guf (body), which is the realization.

And afterwards it actually receives, meaning the twenty percent that it receives in order to bestow are called the Toch (interior) of the degree, and the place of the expansion of the Light is called from Peh (mouth) to Tabur (navel). And Malchut de (of) Toch stands at the Tabur, saying, “What I receive from here on, meaning the eighty percent, will be in order to receive. Hence, I do not want to receive, so I will not be separated.” Thus, the Light departs, and this discernment is called the Sof of the degree.

The Bitush between Internal and Surrounding in the Partzuf

Everything discussed here concerning the RTS(Rosh, Toch, Sof) concerns the first Partzuf, called Galgalta, which uses the Aviut of Behina Dalet. And we learned that Galgalta received the maximum it could receive in order to bestow. It could not receive more. Yet, we learned that in the Thought of Creation, the Kli received everything. This is so because the Kli of reception in order to receive was created by the Creator, while in the Kli that the lower one makes, called “in order to bestow,” there is a limit to the amount it can receive. It follows that there is no Kli that can receive the eighty percent of Light that remained outside the Partzuf.

So what shall become of them? To correct that, a Bitush of Internal and External was created. These are the Ari’s words concerning this issue (Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 4, Chapter 1, Item 4): “When the Inner Lights connect to the Surrounding Lights,they connect inside the Peh. Hence, when they emerge together outside the Peh, tied together, they strike and beat on each other, and their beatings beget the Kelim.” Thus, it is through the beatings that the Kelim are made.

And we need to understand why 1) the Ohr Pnimi (Inner Light) and Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light) beat on each other, and 2) why this beating creates the Kelim.

Answer: We have already said that in spirituality, a beating occurs when two things are in opposition to one another. But we also need to understand why the beating occurs “when they emerge together outside the Peh.”

At the Rosh of the degree, 100 percent of the Light expands without a distinction of Internal and Surrounding. This is because His desire to benefit His creations is complete. But the lower one, who is limited, calculates and decides, for example, that it can only receive twenty percent in order to bestow. This occurs in the Rosh, in potential. “When they emerge together outside the Peh”: Emergence, in spirituality, is called “revelation,” when what was in potential is revealed in actuality. At that time, it receives a part and repels a part, to become Ohr Makif.

This Ohr Makif seemingly comes to the Masach and argues, “Your conduct, meaning the fact that you have erected the Masach, is not good, since how will the purpose of Creation of benefiting His creations be implemented? Who will receive the Light?”

On the other hand, the Ohr Pnimi agrees with the Masach, since the very expansion of the Light within is through the Masach and the Ohr Hozer (Reflected Light). This dispute is called Bitush of Ohr Makif and Ohr Pnimi, or Bitush of Ohr Makif in the Masach.

In truth, the Ohr Makif is on the right; hence, the Masach agrees with it. And since it agrees, it can no longer repel and raise Ohr Hozer, and hence can no longer receive in order to bestow. Thus, the Light departs and the Masach is purified, meaning stops receiving. This state is called Din (judgment) and Achoraim (posterior).

And since each Behina (discernment) consists of four Behinot, the Masach departs gradually, beginning with Behina Dalet in Behina Dalet, then from Behina Gimel in Behina Dalet, etc., until it rises to Peh de Rosh, the source from which the Masach de Guf arrived. In other words, it stops receiving altogether.

As it rises, it uses a smaller Aviut each time, and thus receives smaller Lights in order to bestow. For example, when it ascends to Behina Aleph, it can only receive the Light of Ruach. When it rises to Behinat Shoresh (root), it can only receive the Light of Nefesh in order to bestow. Finally, it cannot receive anything in order to bestow and thus stops receiving altogether.

Question: What is the benefit of the Ohr Makif, which wants to shine because of the purpose of Creation, and therefore wishes for the Masach to receive more? After all, things are unfolding in contrast to its will, meaning the Masach loses even what it had!

Answer: All the degrees that appeared during the departure are not residue of what it had in the beginning, since there is a rule: “There is no generation of Light that does not extend from Ein Sof.” This means that each discernment that appears is a new discernment. Thus, in the beginning, it could not receive anything more. But now that Behina Dalet has departed, it can receive more from Behina Gimel.

This is the meaning of the Kelim were made through the Bitush, that is, prior to the Bitush, it did not have any more Kelim for reception, since it received all it could with the aim to bestow. But after the Bitush, when the Masach of Behina Dalet was purified, there was room to receive on Behina Gimel, since it departed from Behina Dalet and had nothing. And when it departed Behina Gimel, it could receive on Behina Bet.

But this still leaves the question: What is the benefit, if it receives less each time?

Answer: There is no absence in spirituality. This means that anything that appears remains, except he does not see it, and cannot currently enjoy it, but only from the present. But when the work is done, all the Lights will appear at once. Thus, in the end, it is benefitting.

Baal HaSulam once said an allegory about it: Two people who were childhood friends separated as adults. One of them became a king, and the other, indigent. After many years, the poor one heard that his friend became a king and decided to go to his friend’s country and ask for help. He packed his few belongings and went.

When they met, he told the king that he was destitute, and this touched the king’s heart. The king said to his friend: “I will give you a letter to my treasurer to allow you into the treasury for two hours. In those two hours, whatever you manage to collect is yours.” The poor man went to the treasurer, armed with his letter, and received the longed for permit. He walked into the treasury with the box he was used to using for his beggary, and within five minutes, he filled his box to the rim and merrily stepped out of the treasury.

But the treasurer took his box from him and spilled its entire contents. Then the treasurer told the sobbing indigent, “Take your box and fill it up again.” The poor man walked into the treasury once more and filled his box. But when he stepped outside, the treasurer spilled its contents as before.

This cycle repeated itself, until the two hours were through. The last time the beggar came out, he told the treasurer: “I beg you, leave me what I have collected. My time is through and I can no longer enter the treasury.” Then the treasurer told him: “The contents of this box is yours, and so is everything that I have spilled out of your box for the past two hours. I have been spilling your money every time because I wanted to benefit you, since each time, you were coming with your tiny box full and you had no room for anything more.”

Lesson: Each reception of Light in order to bestow remains. But if the Light remained, we would not want to receive anymore, since we would not be able to receive in order to bestow on more than we had received. Hence, each degree must depart, and each time we correct a Kli of will to receive with the aim to bestow, until all is corrected. Then, all the Lights will shine at once.

And now let us return the purification of the Masach. The first expansion that emerged from the Peh down is called Taamim (flavors), from the verse, “as the palate tastes its food.” After the Bitush of Ohr Makif, the Masach began to purify, and on its way, produced a new degree each time. These degrees are called Nekudot (points).

I have already explained the Ari’s words, that the Kelim were made through the Bitush, since now it has the ability to receive more Light. But Baal HaSulam interprets the making of the Kelim(plural for Kli) differently: While the Light was in the Kli, the Light and the Kli were mingled in each other. Through the Bitush, the Light departed, and then the Kli became apparent.

Interpretation: While the Light shines in the Kli the deficiency of the Kli is indistinguishable; hence, it does not merit the name Kli. This is because without the Kli, the Light cannot shine. Hence, they are of equal importance. But once the Light departs, the Kli is distinguished as a Kli, and the Light, as Light.

The Nekuda (point) of Tzimtzum is the reason why the degrees emerging during the purification are called Nekudot.

And what is the Nekuda of the Tzimtzum? TheHoly Zohar says that Malchut is called “a black point without any white in it.” This means that during the darkness, Malchut is called “a point.” And when there is Tzimtzum, and it is forbidden to receive in order to receive, it becomes dark. In other words, the point ofTzimtzum is present wherever it is impossible to receive in order to bestow and there is a desire to receive in order to receive.

To return to our subject, when the Masach was purified from Behina Dalet, Behina Dalet was forbidden to receive. This is the meaning of the point of Tzimtzum being over her. But Behina Gimel could still receive, and when the Masach was purified from Behina Gimel, too, this became the point of Tzimtzum.

We should also explain the difference between Rosh, Toch, and Sof: Rosh is considered “potential,” meaning there is no reception there. Two parts spread from the Rosh:

One part can receive the Light, and it is called ten Sefirot de Toch. The Light is the abundance that enters the Kelim, and it is called Ohr Pnimi, which is Ohr Hochma—the Light of His desire to benefit His creations.
The second part that spreads from the Rosh is the part of the desire to receive in order to receive, which it does not want to use. It says that it does not want to receive there, meaning it ends it. Hence, this part is called ten Sefirot de Sof.

Question: We learned that the word Sefirot comes from the word ‘sapphire,’ meaning it shines. But if Malchut de Guf, called Malchut de Tabur, does not want to receive and puts a Sof over the Light, why is this part called Sefirot?

Answer: They are called ten Sefirot because, in truth, the Light did shine for them. An explanation of that can be found in Part 4, Chapter 5, Item 1, where he explains the difference between Toch and Sof: “From Peh de AK emerged ten internal Sefirot and ten surrounding Sefirot. They extend from opposite the Panim through opposite the Tabur de AK. This is the essential Light, but it also shines through the sides and all around that Adam,” meaning not necessarily opposite the Panim,but also from the sides.

In Item 2, he interprets the Ari’s words as follows: “In short, we will explain that from Tabur up it is called Panim. This is because the Light of Hochma, considered the essential Light,spreads there, and from Tabur down it is called Achor (posterior), since it is considered receiving in order to receive. Hence, the Light of Hochma does not spread there, but comes through the sides.”

Further down that page, it continues, “…because through the Ohr Hozer that Behina Dalet brings to the Partzuf, which is Ohr Hassadim.” This means that Malchut de Tabur does not want to receive there, since there it is a will to receive in order to receive. Instead, it wants equivalence of form, called Hassadim. “Thus, she receives illumination of Hochma, as well, though in the form of ‘female Light,’ meaning only receiving and not bestowing.” “Receiving and not bestowing” means that she does not want to bestow the Light upon herself, but, to the contrary, she says that she does not want to receive.

And through this Dvekut (adhesion), an illumination of the Light of Hochma shines upon her, and this is called “illumination of Hochma.” Accordingly, the difference between Toch and Sof is that the Ohr Hochma shines in the Toch and in the Sof as long as she does not want to receive, for the purpose of equivalence of form, the Light that shines is Ohr Hassadim in illumination of Hochma.

And we still need to explain why the names in Ohr Hassadim are “right” and “left,” and in the Ohr Hochma they are called “long” and “short.” When the Light shines, in Hassadim,it is called “right,” and in Hochma, “long.” And when it does not shine, in Hassadim,it is called “left,” and in Hochma, “short.” What do these names mean?

Answer: We learned that Ohr Hochma shines in the vessels of reception in order to bestow, of course. Hence, the measure of illumination depends on its measure of Aviut. This is called “Above” and “below,” and this is why the names in Ohr Hochma are “long” and “short.” But Ohr Hassadim is not extended through Aviut and is not dependent on it. Hence, the names in Ohr Hassadim relate to width: “right” and “left,” implying that they shine in the same level, and it does not matter to them if there is more Aviut or less Aviut.

Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag

End of Part Two of Four.

COURTESY: Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research
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Original Post Link - Explanation of the Article, Preface to the
Wisdom of Kabbalah

Explanation of the Article, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

2009-12-16T12:05:00.003-05:00

Writings of The Rabash

PART ONE OF FOUR

Four Phases of Direct Light

The learning begins with a discernment called “The connection between the Creator and the creatures,” since we do not speak of the Creator Himself and we cannot attain Him. Instead, “By Your actions we know You,” meaning the attainment is only in the operations extending from Him.

This connection is also called “the purpose of Creation.” Our sages perceived that His wish and goal were to benefit His creations. Hence, the order of evolution begins from this discernment until it reaches the souls, whose root is the soul of Adam ha Rishon, which extends from the internality of the worlds BYA.

Allegorically speaking, when the Creator wished to benefit His creatures, He wanted to give them 100 kilograms of pleasure. Hence, He had to create such creations that would want to receive it. We learned that the desire to receive delight and pleasure is the very essence of the creature and the reason why Creation is called “existence from absence.” And He created it so His Thought of delighting His creations would be realized.

And for the will to receive to be born, there had to be an order of four discernments, since one can enjoy something only according to one’s desire for it. This is why we call the Kli (vessel) by the name, “will to receive” or “craving.” Thus, according to the measure of the need is the measure of the craving to satisfy the need.

There are two conditions for the making of a craving:

One should know what to crave. One cannot crave something one has never seen or heard of.
One will not have the desired thing, since if he has already obtained his wish, he loses the craving.

To realize these two conditions, four phases/discernments emerged in the will to receive, which are actually five, along with their root. The fifth discernment is called a Kli, suitable for reception of delight and pleasure.

They follow this order:

1) Keter: His desire to benefit His creations.

2) Hochma: His desire to benefit His creations created a deficiency—existence from absence—and along with it, created the Light. Thus, the abundance and the desire to receive the abundance came together. This is so because the desire still did not know what to want; hence, it was born along with its filling. But if it has its filling, it loses the desire for filling, as the second condition requires. This discernment is called Behina Aleph (first discernment) de Aviut (of the desire).

3) Bina: Since the Light comes from the Giver, the force of bestowal is included in it. Hence, at its end, Hochma wishes to equalize its form, meaning to not be a receiver, but a giver. There is a rule in spirituality: “Any generation of a form is considered a new discernment.” Hence, this discernment is given its own name— Bina, and this is Behina Bet (second discernment) de Aviut. We also learned that the Light that spreads while the lower one wishes to equalize its form is Ohr Hassadim (Light of Mercy), and this is the Light that shines in Bina.

Question: If Bina craves to bestow, why is it considered Aviut Bet (second degree of Aviut)? On the contrary, it seems like it should have been purer than Behina Aleph de Aviut (first degree of Aviut).

Answer: I explain it with an allegory: A person gives his friend a present and the friend receives it. Afterwards, he reconsiders and decides that it is not in his interest to receive, and returns the gift. In the beginning, he was under the influence and domination of the giver; hence, he received. But once he received, he felt that he was the receiver, and that sensation caused him to return the gift.

Lesson: in Behina Aleph, he received due to the domination of the giver, but he still did not feel like a receiver. And when he saw and felt that he was the receiver, he stopped receiving, and this is Behina Bet. In other words, in that state, he felt that he was the receiver, and hence wanted to bestow upon the giver. This is why Behina Bet is called Bina, for it Hitbonena (examined/observed) herself being a receiver and hence wanted to bestow. This is also why we learn that the beginning of the learning is from Bina down.

4) ZA: At its end, Bina received a kind of drive that stems from the purpose of Creation, which she must receive because the purpose of Creation was not for the creatures to engage in bestowal. On the other hand, she also wanted equivalence of form, bestowal. Therefore, she compromised: she would receive Hassadim (mercy) and illumination of the Ohr Hochma (Light of Wisdom).

This is called Behina Gimel de Aviut, since she already extends Hochma, but there are still Hassadim in her. This is the reason for the name Zeir Anpin (small face). Hochma is called Panim (face), as in, “A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,” but it receives this Ohr Hochma in a Zeir, meaning very small extent. But this discernment is still not considered a Kli (vessel), since if it can bestow and receive only an illumination of the Ohr Hochma, it is a sign that its craving to receive is incomplete, since it still has the strength to engage in bestowal, too.

5) Malchut: At its end, Behina Gimel is prompted from Above to receive abundantly because of His desire to benefit His creations. After all, the purpose of Creation was not for the lower ones to receive in Zeir Anpin. Hence, this awakening causes Malchut to have a desire and craving to receive the Ohr Hochma as it shone in Behina Aleph, when she had all the Ohr Hochma.

But the difference between Behina Aleph and Behina Dalet is that in Behina Aleph, it could not be said that she was enjoying the Ohr Hochma, since she still did not possess the craving and deficiency, since the Kli and the abundance came together. But Behina Dalet craves the Ohr Hochma when she does not have it; hence, when she receives, she feels the delight and pleasure that come with fulfilling her wish.

Only this Behina is called a Kli, since it wishes only to receive. All the Behinot (plural for Behina) prior to it are considered “Light without a Kli.” And when this Behina Dalet receives the Light, it is a state called “the world of Ein Sof,” and also “filling the whole of reality.”

Question: If we are dealing with spirituality, where there is no time and no place, what does “filling the whole of reality” mean?

Answer: Let us return to our allegory from the beginning of this explanation, the allegory that He wanted to give His creatures 100 kg of pleasure and therefore had to create 100 kg of deficiency and desire to receive in the creatures, corresponding to the pleasure. When the 100 kg of desire receive the 100 kg of filling, this is called “filling the whole of reality,” meaning no deficiency is left unfulfilled.

And now we will explain the meaning of the name Malchut de Ein Sof: This Malchut, which craves to receive abundance to fill her deficiency, is called “receiving in order to receive.” This means that she receives in order to satisfy her lack. At a later stage, she put an end and Tzimtzum (restriction) on using this Kli. But in the initial stage, which we are dealing with, she still did not make that Sof (end) and Sium (conclusion); hence, this state is still called Ein Sof (no end)

We learned that, at its end, after receiving the abundance, a desire to bestow awakened in Hochma, fitting the Emanator’s wish to bestow. Also, once Malchut received the Light, it evoked within her a desire to bestow, since this Light possesses the power of bestowal. Bina wished to bestow, but failed because in Bina’s way, the purpose of Creation is missing. Even her subsequent reception of illumination in ZA was not enough, since the Creator’s desire to benefit His creations was for abundance, not for ZA. Hence, how could Malchut achieve equivalence of form and obtain the purpose of Creation,too?

It is said about that that she invented something new: Malchut was to receive everything, but unlike Ein Sof, where it was all in order to receive, she would do it in order to bestow. Thus, on the one hand she would be realizing the purpose of Creation of benefiting His creations, since she would be receiving, and on the other hand her aim would be to bestow, which is equivalence of form.

Tzimtzum Aleph

Malchut’s decision that she did not want to receive in order to receive is considered that she repelled the Light. This state is called Tzimtzum (restriction). There is a rule in spirituality that any appearance of a new form is considered a new discernment. Therefore, we should discern two states:

When Behina Dalet received all the Light with a Kli called “craving.” This is called “filling the whole of reality.” It is also called “the world of Ein Sof.”
After she wanted equivalence of form, this state is considered a different world, called “the world of Tzimtzum,” from which the Light departed.

Hence, as we discerned that Hochma received and Bina reflected the Light, Malchut remained as she was, in the state of the world of Ein Sof, receiving all the Light. And now we discern a new Malchut, which reflects the Light.

We should know that in the first state, called Ein Sof, it was “He is One and His Name One,” meaning the Light and the Kli were one discernment. Only after the Tzimtzum was there a distinction of the four phases, or the ten Sefirot, since the Light departed from them.

Question: With this Tzimtzum, the Light departed from all ten Sefirot. This is perplexing, since the Tzimtzum was on reception in order to receive, which is Behina Dalet, and not on the other Behinot!

Answer: The first three Behinot are not considered Kelim, they only prompt an order of development, at the end of which the Kli, called receiving in order to receive, is born and becomes separated from the Giver. But the first three Behinot are still not separated from the Giver.

After Malchut was born, she obtained her causes. Hence, it cannot be said that after the Tzimtzum, the Light remained in the Upper Nine, since they are not Kelim. The only Kli is Malchut, and if she does not want to receive, all the Light departs and she does not receive a thing.

The Ari also says, “The Tzimtzum was equal,” without distinction of degrees.

Question: If this is so, why did we say that the four Behinot became distinct after the Tzimtzum?

Answer: The distinction was made with respect to cause and consequence, but there was no distinction of Above and below.

Question: What do Above and below mean in spirituality?

Answer: Importance—whereas cause and consequence do not imply importance. For example, the Vilna Gaon was a consequence of his father, but who was more important, the cause or the consequence?

We need to understand why there was no distinction of Above and below. Malchut received the Light that “fills the whole of reality,” and this is not considered a deficiency or inferiority in importance. Hence, she could have remained in that state, had she not chosen to make the Tzimtzum.

This is what the Ari wishes to imply when he says that the Tzimtzum was equal, that Malchut was not of inferior importance, but that the Tzimtzum was made through her own choice. But afterwards, when Malchut does not receive due to the prohibition, she becomes inferior in importance. Then, what is farther from Malchut becomes of Higher importance, and what is nearer to Malchut becomes of lower importance.

The Ten Sefirot de Igulim (circles) and the Line of Ein Sof that Fills Them

After the Tzimtzum, the Kelim were left empty, and within them Reshimot (recollections/memories) of the Light that they’d had. They are called “the ten Sefirot de Igulim in the world of Tzimtzum.” They are called Igulim to imply that the issue of Above and below does not apply to them, as it is in a corporeal circle.

And since Malchut is the operator, since she is the actual Kli, Malchut de Igulim returned and extended the Light to receive it in order to bestow. And here we learn a new rule: “A desire in the Upper One becomes a binding law in the lower one.” Hence, now she is forbidden to receive.

I once offered an allegory about that: The eve of a new month is a time for saying the small Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) prayer and for awakening to repent. Sometimes, a person debates whether or not to fast on that day. It is not mandatory to fast and there is no prohibition on the food, as well. Hence, the choice is in one’s own hands.

If, in the end, a person decides to fast, and later regrets and wishes to eat, the rule is that the food is now forbidden, so “he shall not break his word” concerning the oath. Thus, we see that initially, there was no prohibition on the food, but after he had chosen to avoid eating, the food became forbidden.

Lesson: In the beginning, Malchut did not want to receive through her own choice. But now that she extends the Light again, it is prohibited to receive the Light. And if there is prohibition, there is Above and below in importance. Hence, this extension is called “a line that extends from Ein Sof from Above downwards.”

We also learned that even though the Igulim extended the Light, they received it only from the line. We must understand why this is so: Any new form in spirituality is a new discernment. Hence, there are two kinds of Kelim (plural for Kli):

Kelim in which there is no prohibition on reception.
Kelim that extend now, with the extension of the Light, and whose Malchut is called Malchut de Yosher (directness), on which there is a prohibition to receive, due to the rule: A desire in the Upper One becomes a binding law in the lower one.

We also learn that the Igulim should receive Light from what they had drawn anew. This Light is called “a line.” It contains Above and below in importance, and there is no other Light. This is the meaning of the Igulim having no Light but from the line.

Yet, there is a great difference between Malchut de Igulim and Malchut of the line. Malchut de Igulim had the Light in the form of “filling the whole of reality,” while Malchut de Yosher never had any Light, nor will it ever have Light in its Kli, called “receiving in order to receive.”

Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag

End of Part One of Four.

COURTESY: Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute

Original Post Link - Explanation of the Article, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (The Rabash)

2009-12-14T15:33:00.008-05:00

The Golden Lineage

In many ways, the Rabash was the last of a “golden lineage,” the final link in the chain of the greatest Kabbalists. This line started with Abraham the Patriarch and ended with Rabash’s father, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, followed by Rabash himself. His role in this line is perhaps the most significant for us, as he connects us to all those great Kabbalists. With his works, he adapted the method of Kabbalah to our generation.

Although he was at the apex of the spiritual ladder, the Rabash was very well connected to ordinary folk who simply wanted to know if there was something higher than this world could offer. Because of his high spiritual degree, the Rabash understood why those of us living at the close of the 20th century needed to discover life’s secret. He was able to adapt the wisdom of Kabbalah in a comfortable, straightforward, appropriate language for our generation. In doing so, he introduced us to a wondrous, eternal world, and paved the surest way for us to get there.

Leaving Home

When Baruch Ashlag was 13 years old, his father decided it was time to leave Poland and move to Israel. Baal HaSulam hoped to find more Kabbalists in Israel who would join him in disseminating Kabbalah. Therefore, in 1921, the Ashlag family left Warsaw and settled in Jerusalem.

In Israel (Palestine at the time), the Rabash was ordained as a rabbi by Rabbi Avraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, and Rabbi Chaim Sonnenfeld, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and the spiritual and political leader of Israel’s orthodox community. Rabash was only seventeen years old when he was ordained.

His Father’s Student

Rabash felt the desire to discover life’s secret early in his life and pursued it determinedly. His only wish was to become a student of his father—the greatest Kabbalist of the generation. He wanted to continue in his father’s footsteps and delve in the study of Kabbalah. He knew that nothing but Kabbalah would satisfy the desire that burned in his heart.

Indeed, once Rabash proved his intentions were sincere, Baal HaSulam accepted him in his group of students. To attend his father’s lessons, Rabash had to march several kilometers nightly, from the old city of Jerusalem to his father’s home in the neighborhood of Givat Shaul. On his way, he had to sneak past road agents and through barriers of the British military forces, which were part of the British Mandate (1922-1948) to govern the land of Israel.

Despite the harsh conditions in Jerusalem of the early 1930s, Baruch Ashlag had a strong desire to cling to his father’s way, and never missed a lesson or an event that his father attended. He stayed glued to his father’s side, accompanying him on all his trips, doing his errands and serving him in every possible way.

In time, Baruch became Baal HaSulam’s closest student and began to study separately with him. His father taught him The Study of the Ten Sefirot and The Book of Zohar. Rabbi Ashlag also answered his son’s questions and prepared him for the role that Rabash was about to undertake—disseminating the wisdom of Kabbalah to the masses in the clearest and most suitable language for our time.

I Heard

Rabash, the dedicated student, wrote down everything he’d heard from his father in a notebook he titled, Shamati (I Heard). He gathered thousands of notes documenting Baal HaSulam’s explanations of a person’s spiritual work. At his deathbed, the Rabash bequeathed the notebook to his personal assistant and student, Rav Michael Laitman, who later published it as a book, carrying the same title.

The Rabash was his father’s student and personal assistant for more than thirty years. During that entire period, he absorbed his father’s teachings and his spirit of love for the nation and the world at large. He imbibed the recognition that we will be awarded complete redemption only by spreading the wisdom of Kabbalah throughout the nation and the world over. Years later, Rabash’s students asserted that this spirit had been his “hallmark” through his entire life, the essential message he had bequeathed to his students.

Connected to the World, Yet Isolated from It

Like his father before him, the Rabash did not want to be celebrated or extolled as a Kabbalist. He refused to accept official duties that were offered to him. Instead of being revered and a leader of many, Rabash dedicated his entire time and efforts to internal work and to preparing Kabbalah students. They would disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah and continue on Baal HaSulam’s path with sincerity.

Internally, the Rabash was connected to the entire world. Externally, however, he was a secluded man. His widow, Feiga Ashlag, testifies that “Even our neighbors didn’t know that he was teaching the wisdom of the hidden.”

But despite his modesty, those who really searched found their way to the Rabash. His student and assistant, Rav Michael Laitman, says that among those who approached him were renowned rabbis who would discreetly come to Rabash’s house to study the wisdom of the hidden.

In his work with new students, Rabash developed his unique contemporary method. He wrote weekly articles in which he described in simple words each phase of a person’s internal work along the path to spirituality. Thus, he entrusted us with a true treasure, a complete, tested method that can bring every person to perceive the spiritual world.

These weekly articles were collected and compiled into a series of books called Shlavey HaSulam (Rungs of the Ladder). The Rabash left behind him many study groups in Israel and elsewhere in the world. These groups continue to study his books and those of Baal HaSulam. The Rabash succeeded where others did not by presenting us with the best way to discover the deepest aspect of reality: the Higher World.

Bnei Baruch

After the demise of the Rabash in 1991, his student and personal assistant, Rav Michael Laitman established a group of Kabbalists that he named after his teacher—“Bnei Baruch,” or “Sons of Baruch.” The group’s goal is to continue on the Rabash’s way and disseminate his method in the masses.

Bnei Baruch has now become an international movement with hundreds of thousands of students in Israel and the world over. These students study Kabbalah from authentic sources and spread the wisdom to all who wish to learn, free of charge.

Rabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag was unique. He was a hidden Kabbalist whose vocation was to educate a new generation of Kabbalists by nurturing a new spiritual method that was appropriate for contemporary students. He was convinced that if he could adapt the method of Kabbalah to our time, it would be his greatest contribution to humanity.

Rabbi Ashlag wanted to promote a brighter future for everyone in the world, and he succeeded. All we need to do is to use this failsafe method he developed. When we do, we will be rewarded with the revelation of the complete, true, and eternal reality, discovered by every Kabbalist throughout the generations.

Original Post Link - Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (The Rabash)

COURTESY: Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute