Transcription
So, in the beginning, God created what did He create? So there are several meanings. The continuation is "the heavens and the earth." And the earth was. The Zohar asks, why was it? It was good. And in His coming. What was it? So, the Holy Ari says, it's not about physical creation at all. It's about the Sefirot of Atzilut. Sefirot of Atzilut is a spiritual world altogether. It only has a physical meaning as well. So there were many, many worlds before there was even a physical world, or even before the world of Atzilut existed. So it's about a spiritual world altogether. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Heavens is Zeir Anpin. This is a concept in Kabbalah. And Malkhut is the earth. But this Malkhut was in a mess. There was a shattering of vessels [snorts of contempt] and all the desire was in a great mess. And now all of creation comes to fix it. But before that, if I tell you, look, Omeri, you are going to build a house, what do you build? Do you build walls? Do you build an idea? You have an idea, I want, let's say, to create love in the house, I want to create freedom, so I build large windows. That means the windows [snorts of contempt] large or small, or the closed or open space, or by the sea, or wherever I build, I am not building the building, I am building the idea, when the building comes to express it. So when we talk about creation, creation is a kind of idea, only we also put buildings, we also put stones, also creation, and we need to understand what the role of physical creation is, to express that same idea. But if we don't understand what the idea is, we won't understand physical creation either. Physical creation doesn't come for its own sake, for itself. Because there is a big question, how did creation begin? So what did the scientists say? So the scientists say, 13.8 billion years ago there was the Big Bang. But what is the Big Bang? They don't explain creation. They say the Big Bang was some kind of universe that was hot, dense, compressed, and then cosmic inflation began, that's what they call it, and then there was very rapid expansion, expansion and very rapid cooling, and there was very great movement of the universe, and the universe began to form. Cosmic inflation is just theories, but what do they come and say? They don't explain to me what the beginning was. They explain to me, I know this beginning. From here I begin to understand. The wisdom of Kabbalah comes and says, just a moment, before physical creation, there is an idea altogether, and even this idea has a prelude. We have a concept of "yesh mi-yesh" (something from something) and "yesh me-ayin" (something from nothing). "Yesh me-ayin" means there was no creation, and suddenly there was creation. What is "suddenly"? It's not related to our intellect. Our intellect works in sequence and is driven by cause and effect. So they come and explain to us, look, creation has a process, but what was at the beginning of the process? There is some initial something that starts the process. Our intellect is obligated that there is some beginning. So they say the Big Bang, but there was something. What was before the Big Bang? The Big Bang is not some single big boom that happened. It's not a bang. It's something, as I said, I said before, a compressed, dense, very hot universe, and the expansion began. They don't know exactly what started it. There are many theories. I read a lot about it at the time. But the wisdom of Kabbalah explains something else. Baal HaSulam, the Holy Ari, says that what was created is desire. Desire is what was created. But this desire comes because of a specific purpose, to receive the Divine goodness. This is from a spiritual perspective, from a technical perspective, there is also spiritual physics. How is the world built spiritually? So the world that was created is a spiritual world. Now, because we say that all that we truly want is something spiritual. It's not something physical. When you go to buy yogurt at the grocery store, you don't buy yogurt. You buy the idea that the yogurt will give to your soul. You don't just buy a car, you want to travel to Jerusalem or to some place with the car. You don't get married just because you need children. You are not just an animal, you want to create love. Therefore, we say that there is an idea that I cannot point to. When I give you a hug and I want to express love, I don't give you a hug for the hug, but to express something. So the physical world we see also comes to express something. Now we need to do the transformations. I see a spiritual world, a physical world. I ask myself, what is it for? What is it for? To express the idea. So it's worth asking myself, what idea was created? We say what was created is an idea of infinite goodness, infinite bestowal that the Creator, blessed be He, wants to bestow upon us. That's what was created. Now I need to reach this. And they tell you, look, if you want to reach this love, you need to fulfill it. Now, if He wants to give me, that I love Him, He wants to give me a bestowal, let Him give me infinite bestowal. What's the problem? He says, "I gave it to you, you chose to be a partner in it." And then there was a whole process of contraction and the world of circles and the world of Adam Kadmon and many worlds. And all these worlds are to guide man to reach this from his side. So far, what do you see that makes sense to you and what doesn't make sense to you? Where does it catch you? >> You are essentially saying that the creation of Genesis chapter 1, on the face of it, sounds like physical creation. God created the heavens and the earth, and the land, and the sea, and the trees, and the animals. You are saying that on the surface it's just, on a deeper level, the creation is not physical, it's spiritual. Something was created here >> Essentially, what He created is desire. Yes, what He created is desire so that it can receive the Divine bestowal. That's what He created. >> Why did He want to give Divine bestowal? >> Because He is good, and it is the way of the good to bestow. What was the cause that caused Him? If there was a cause that caused Him, then it wouldn't be the primary cause. If there was a cause that caused Him, it means He has a deficiency that He needs to fill. But if He is perfect in all perfections, then there is no such question in His essence, because for Him it doesn't work like for us, that He needs to fill a deficiency. We were created as a deficiency, desire is a deficiency. So we have this movement. We say that every result has a cause, but the cause does not have a cause. Only the result has a cause because it came out of the cause. But the cause doesn't need to be a cause, it's a primary cause. Therefore, the Creator has no cause before Him. So there is no such question. It's called "no question in His essence." A question is a deficiency. There is no deficiency in His essence. After all, this is how I define Him. I define Him as complete in all perfections. So how can I ask what caused Him? Nothing can have caused Him. So what happened? He chose. He chose. A choice doesn't need to have. I don't choose because I lack something. I choose because I have a goal. I have a goal ahead. Even if I don't lack it. We can see this in a person too. He says, I have a goal now to be like this and like that. I don't have to. I don't feel like I have to. I don't need it. But when I get there, I will see that this is what I want. This means the Creator is entirely complete bestowal. So He created desire so that it can receive His bestowal. But to receive His bestowal, it needs to be aware of itself first. So this is the process in creation, that the created being first becomes aware of itself, and then, after all sorts of processes and worlds and different types of people, and different people from the people we see today, all sorts of types of people, until this type of person we see today is established. This is called, as it is said, "from the Sefirot of Atzilut," and in various teachings, there are teachings like this. Hercules was born, and born from Mary, and the Holy Spirit. Most teachings, or in Krishna consciousness, Krishna descends to the world and teaches Arjuna the divine path. In all teachings, there is this idea that a person is born who comes to fulfill this divine will. And what is this divine will? That you be happy. You [snorts of contempt] say, wait, I am happy from the body. He says, wait, wait, your happiness needs to be very organized. If you are happy now from scratching a wound or taking some mushroom and then you are depressed about it, then you have done nothing. You can't jump out of the window and say, "I'm happy, I'm a bird, fly!" and crash. It needs to be something systemic, and you need to be taught how to do it. It's not that you are happy at that moment. So the Torah tells us, look, I will give you a way to do it. It happened on the way [snorts of contempt] so that man can feel himself strong enough. So there was contraction, he feels, creation feels itself strong, there were people, and the first man sinned, and since then there has been physical time. As we know it. Physical time is just a place for work. And the Creator watches over us by giving us concealments. How He conceals the Divine light to give us practice. He makes you hungry now, thirsty, wanting children, wanting to love, wanting to be loved, happy, sad. All this is a type of concealment so that you can strive. It's like weights. The Creator, in our view, watches over us by concealing the light from us so that we can practice. When we bless, first over the water, we said, "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe," not King of Light, King of the Universe. What is "Universe" from the word "concealment"? Why is He King of the Universe? Because He guides us in concealments, how to train us. He puts the weights on us. So one of the things, for example, that needs to be learned, is to stop complaining all the time and crying. It's not good, it's good, it's not good. Practice. You came to practice. Your wife is yelling at you, practice loving her when she yells at you. Your child is bothering you, practice being a teacher. Even when things bother you, you feel sad, learn that happiness cannot come only from the body, because then it brings sadness. Understand that happiness must come from the soul. As the Zohar writes, he says, "Isaac is laughter." Joy. He says, "These are the generations of Isaac." He should have said, "Jacob." Esau said, "No, what are the generations of Isaac?" Abraham begot Isaac. Abraham is called a soul. He says, the soul must give birth to laughter. But if the body gives birth to laughter, only the body's entertainment, that later brings depression. So they guide us how to slowly build ourselves correctly. So physicality is also good, we need it. And all the science that deals with physical creation is only telling us how we built our house. But the idea of how to create love in the house, that's what the Torah teaches us. Because the Torah created a purpose. Heaven is the purpose, it's like the place you need to reach. Just like you say "hands," heaven is their purpose, I need to reach it. >> And earth is desire. So our desire is good for the heavens. If it's not good for the purpose, it's very clear. You need to reach there. But now your earth is messy. Your desire is messy. Why did You give it to me messy? So that you can fix it. Why did you scatter the puzzle for me? Father, so that you can learn to organize it, so that you know how to unite, you know how to love. When you connect the puzzle of your desires, that you want all sorts of things in life, you want to eat and sleep and be respected and respect creatures and do many, many things, but all this is just stimuli for your spiritual desires. Now organize them correctly. >> Essentially, the physical world is meant to cover the light, so that I search within physicality for the light within myself. >> Yes. But not within physicality. Physicality will be just a kind of stimulus. For example, the alarm clock rings for me at night, so it's not just to turn off the alarm or to shine a light on the alarm. It's to wake up spiritually and do the work. For example, if you are now feeling sad or unhappy, you say, wait, so this awakens me. Maybe I'm not connected enough to God, maybe I'm not a valuable person enough, maybe there's a lack of integrity in me, maybe I make decisions and don't stick to them, and then I don't know how to appreciate myself enough. This means that the physical movement should awaken me to something, but I am not looking for the light in physicality. I am not looking for it. Physicality is not meant to give me the light. >> It's not meant to hide the light so that I can find it. >> Yes. But not there, but in the soul. The action outside, the result [snorts of contempt] inside. You gave your wife, your partner, a hug, so that you would love her inside, not so that there would be an action outside. You bought, you ate food, so that you want to feel it. You watched a movie. It's not so that your eyes watch, not for the physical action, but so that something happens within you. So sometimes we look for external actions and external results, but only as a means, so that later we will have internal results. After all, your goal is to be happy. Happiness is outside, it's in the hand, it's in the leg, it's in the body, it's in the big house, it's in the money. No, it's only in what happens to you in your soul. And that's what was created. It is written in "Sha'arei Kedusha" (Gates of Holiness), chapter 1, it says, man is the soul, he is not the body. And if he is the soul, then that's what we are looking for. So why did He give me the body? So that I can train myself. Not to train through it so that I receive in the body. To train in its way. Baal HaSulam says in the introduction to "Panim Meirot u'Masbirot" (Shining Faces and Explanations), he says, look, the body has a special property in the physical world, it divides for us the times and the places. For example, when you are a child, you are not an adult. When you are a father, you are not a spouse, you are not a son. In every place, you act differently, a different type in the structure of the puzzle, to later bring it to a place where everything comes together. So physicality's role is to divide, to separate for your benefit, so that you can work on parts separately, because you cannot work on everything at once. So it just divides the work for you. This also happens in incarnations. An event happens, the event ends, the experience, which is your soul, remains, like transmigration of souls. You are an event, you are thrown into the grave, the event is over. Yesterday, yesterday you ate an apple, the eating of the apple is over. Transmigration of souls. What transmigrates? A soul is an embodiment of light in a vessel. That means your experience. The experience you had yesterday transmigrates to tomorrow. The experience of your entire life in this world transmigrates to the next world. That same experience is your soul. And that's what you are looking for, the experience. An organized experience, a complete soul that knows how to love God. >> Is it correct to say that the purpose is actually in the next world and not in this world? >> Obviously. Our Sages say, "Reward in this world is partial, it is not complete." There is no reward in this world. >> What? I don't want it in this world? No. What is "in this world"? I want my leg to be strong. I want my soul to be strong. >> But this must happen after we die, or is the next world part of this world? >> The next world is here, in the internality of man. When you say "here," and the word "here" in a physical sense doesn't touch the soul. The soul speaks in different values. These are different values. "Here" is in your desire. Desire is a place. So yes, it is in your desire, but it is not in the room, it is in your desire. You can sit in a room and your desire is now for Cyprus, or for home, or for football. Where is your desire? What are you thinking about? And therefore, the powers of the soul, we use externality to stimulate us. I study Torah so that it will stimulate me, for example, to speak with the Creator. To tell Him, "Look, Creator, I want to be close to You, so tell me how You created the world, what You did." Like you want to be close to your wife, you come home, you tell her what happened to you during the day. But if you come home and only talk about yourself, you don't know her. I want to know the Creator. I study Torah to know the Creator. But if I study Torah only about myself, I am not studying well. I need to put myself aside. Wait, ask the Creator, how did You create the world? What did You do? This is the wisdom of Kabbalah. What are the spiritual laws? And then you correct yourself accordingly. You say, "Ah, this is the Creator, this is perfection." So I need to connect to perfection. And the beauty is that the spiritual laws, how He created the world, that's how our soul is also built. So we need to align the soul according to the spiritual laws. So you see, we start from the fact that He built an idea, He didn't build a body. He built [snorts of contempt] an idea. But He will show you, "Look, this is the body you will use to reach the idea." That the idea is to bestow upon His creatures. >> Correct, that's the idea. >> That's the idea, to bestow upon His creatures. And you are a creature who needs to prepare yourself to receive this idea. Because "earth," the Zohar says, is desire. He created desire for you. He didn't create a body for you. It's just a suit. He created desire for you. Now you need to organize this desire. >> Wait, He built desire and put it into a body that already existed, or did He also create the body? >> No, the body [snorts of contempt] is just a type of consciousness. When you look at me on Zoom or on a podcast, you see me. Someone logically thinks that you are inside the computer. They will dismantle the computer, they will see you. No. It's just a type of consciousness. >> It's the same here. When you look in a mirror, you see a reflection. The reflection is not you. Physicality is just a reflection of spirituality. Our Sages say it's like a shadow. A fleeting shadow. You need to relate to it. Because when I see a person on a podcast, I'm talking to someone, let's say, through the computer, I tell you, Omeri, I love you very much. So that causes you excitement. This means that physicality is not from the words that come out of my mouth, but how you perceived them, how you interpreted them. You say, "Wow, there is love in the world. I am excited. Someone values me. I value him. We create something together between us." So we love. But if we don't use physicality, we miss this consciousness. But it's like a simulation consciousness. You enter a flight simulator, you practice flying. You get out of the plane, they tell you, "Look, it was just a fleeting shadow. What do I care? I know how to fly now." I enter a flight simulator, and physicality, you need to think that it's physicality. I need to think that when I'm talking to you on the computer, you're really talking to me. But it's just images. I don't care that it's just images. Even if I watch a movie, like The Lion King, you probably know it. So, if I'm happy about [snorts of contempt] this, that what's outside impresses me and teaches me, that's my role here. My role is not to say, the intellect, the thought doesn't tell me if it's true or not true. Thought is a tool, it's like a screwdriver, it's a tool. How correctly, how should I use thought to bring myself to feel more loving? If a small child brings me a drawing, I say to him, "What a drawing you have!" He doesn't know how to draw. I want him to think it's a good drawing so he can progress. Am I allowed, seemingly, to tell him not the whole truth? No. I say his thought should be one that advances him. We think that thought comes to show us what the truth is. I can never know what the truth is outside. It's how I perceive it to advance me. This world is just a simulation. But it's very hard to achieve this because we need to hold both things together. We also need to hold the layer that this world exists, because I need to feel that it's a simulation, but forget about it and feel that you are really sitting in front of me, that even if you were with a computer in front of me, I would feel that it's you, because I would be talking to you. But afterwards, when I go to the side, I say, "Wait, I am the internality. When I spoke through the computer, what happened inside me? When I put on tefillin, what happened inside me? What did I come to tie on my hand? This is the commandment. The commandment is to keep Shabbat and not to light a fire, or does it need to do something to my soul? If it doesn't do something to my soul, what did the Torah come for? To teach me how to receive pleasure from this world? There are better pleasures than the Torah. The Torah also doesn't come to teach us history. >> What do you need to do in your soul? >> To organize your soul to be a more loving person. But there is a path. First, you need to be a choosing person. To be a chooser, you need to control your desires. If you don't rule over the fish of the sea, "fish" is from the word "worry." You don't control all your worries, all your animals, which are desires. Even if they are stronger than you, you have enough intellect, enough challenges to control all desires. Otherwise, you cannot choose. To choose is not to be uncritical. "If I want it, I do it." This is Egypt. The moment you have the power to control desires, then you can choose values, and then you need to slowly identify with your values. Because why shouldn't I steal? If I steal, I will have more, I will have more from life, if they don't catch me, should I steal? No. Because it corrupts the soul. I am not an honest person. I am not close to God when I steal. What is God, blessed be He? That same perfection. It's not some great hero standing above and distributing rewards or punishments. That's for small children. The true Creator is He who has perfection, and I want this perfection to pass through me. So when I do an action, I talk to you, I ask myself, "Wait, am I representing the Creator's perfection, as much as I am capable, as much as I understand it?" I need to do it. And slowly I correct myself. I receive feedback from life. I learn in the Torah, it tells me, "Look, you need to respect the person in front of you, because he has a role in the human system, he has a soul." But he yelled at me, he stepped on my foot. True, he also has a side of a shell, but that's just the dirt on him. But he has a soul, and he is in the process of correction. Are you willing to look for a moment at his soul without ignoring the fact that he stepped on your foot, but also remembering that he is a soul? And you have a role as a person to stimulate him towards the soul. If you do this, and only this, remember, without ignoring, without letting him hurt you, but together we create a kind of stimulus for a soul life, then slowly you will live better among us. >> This is "Love your neighbor as yourself." >> Yes. >> To succeed in seeing the layer of the soul in the person in front of me. >> Correct. >> Because essentially, the soul is the part in you, the only part in you that is also in me, is the soul. >> Correct. It's the part that doesn't rise from above. That means it's the complete side in you. The soul, and the body is just a means to train the soul to reach this consciousness of perfection. And your role now, when you act, you need to act to reach this complete consciousness. How will you know what is complete? You ask, or we have moments when a person reaches some inspiration, some insight. He studies the weekly Torah portion, suddenly he gets a flash of brilliance. It stays with him. He continues to live it. He keeps it, says it in the treasury of his life. And he says, "Wait, now I am in the covenant of this value." Here, we learned the portion of Korach. We are now learning the portion of Chukat, the red heifer. Can Korach agree that Moses, our teacher, saw again, saw faith? Faith needs to be accepted above reason, and not just by intellect. Everyone is sanctified. He says, "As if there is no hierarchy in the spiritual world. Everyone is sanctified. Everyone is the same." He told him, "There is a hierarchy. Faith is above the intellect." You have a strong intellect, but there is faith above the intellect. He doesn't agree. But why doesn't he agree? Because he had a personal interest. Until now, he accepted Moses. He had a personal interest. They didn't put him in the position of a leader. With a personal interest, suddenly he thinks differently. So we also do this. This power is also within us. Suddenly, my wife is not okay. Suddenly, this friend is not okay. Wait, you came with him to build love. Why are you looking at what's wrong with him? Suddenly he's not okay. Okay, until now he was okay. So we need to learn. There is a lot of learning about the soul in the teachings of Baal HaSulam. So he says, "He created desire." Essentially, it is written that He created. In various teachings, each teaching speaks of a different type of creation. Baal HaSulam says, "He created desire." Desire to receive, says the Ramchal, the Holy Ari. So our role is to organize. Because "earth" is called desire. He created desire. And now man feels it. He says, "I want, wait, something else. Things come to me that I know are not good for me. I want things that I know I will regret later. I can't overcome them." But it's not terrible. We don't need to get upset with ourselves. We need to say, "I am progressing slowly towards the goal." >> So he, wait, so He created the desire, already unclear. If He created the earth, which was "darkness upon the face of the deep." Yes. >> This means that the moment desire was created, it was already unclear. So there are two stages. It is written like this. This is how Baal HaSulam begins "Ten Sefirot." He says, "Before the created beings were created and the emanations were emanated, there was Infinite Light filling all of reality, and there was no space, no air, no void. Everything was filled with Infinite Light." This is the first verse he brings. And he says, "Wait, what does it mean, 'before the created beings were created, the emanations were emanated'? What was the reality?" So he says, "There is potential reality [snorts of contempt] and actual reality." Everything was perfect, but the actual reality, when it was revealed to man, was revealed to him in a state of "adarmo-musia" (hiddenness). So there is a difference. There is a movement from above to below. Everything is perfect. From below, I need to reveal this perfection. So for me, as a human, I was given a mess, I was given a disassembled puzzle. But they told me, "Look, this is a disassembled puzzle. This is what our lives look like, a disassembled puzzle. But there is the complete picture that tells you, you need to be loving God, and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" The continuation of the verse is "I am the Lord." Because I am the Lord, love your neighbor as yourself. This is not just something social, it's something related to the Creator. They forget the continuation of the verse: "And love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." This is the complete verse. So when you love your neighbor, you need to say, "This represents Divine perfection." But my desire is in a mess, so I will organize it slowly. >> So, essentially, I know that I am supposed to love him, and you already love him, you are just not aware of it yet. >> But my desire is messy, so I don't feel it, and I don't know it, and I don't see it. >> Right? >> Just like you see that a child has potential. Your parents went to a parent-teacher conference, they told them, "Your son has great potential, but he is not utilizing his potential." We have the potential to be perfect, we just need to implement this potential. >> So, essentially, the world was created spiritually, yes? Desire was created, the desire to receive. The Creator wanted to spread light and for the created being to receive the light. So He created within it a desire to receive the light. And then He brought the Torah so that we would understand how we receive this light. So He gives us... He told us, "Creation said, I want to receive the light. I want to be a partner because I am not aware of it. I am like an embryo receiving the light. But I want to be aware of it." >> How did she say that? >> She chose. It is written, "She chose with great devotion." This is somewhat similar to the Big Bang. Just as there was infinity, it is written that there was a central point, exactly in the middle, and the light surrounded it, the central point. And the Big Bang also speaks of something very dense. It's not the same thing. It's just a projection. >> [snorts of contempt] >> But just as there was a sudden expansion of light, there was a contraction. So it is written that creation said, "I want greater devotion." It is true that I receive everything perfectly, but I want to feel myself and from myself reach the reception of the complete light. So she chose with great devotion, that's what it's called. And then she contracted the desire to receive. The light withdrew, and then a whole world was created, called the world of circles. What are circles? Suddenly, a void desire. There is light outside the circles, and creation is a void desire. Now creation says, "Wait, I will draw the light." She draws the light, but she didn't build this desire of love. "Greater devotion" means, I want to receive only out of love. If there is no love, I don't want to receive. So He said to her, "Okay, then I..." So she says, "I am removing the light, because as long as I enjoy you, I cannot build love." So the light withdrew, and now He says to her, "Good, build love." She draws the light. The light reaches creation, and creation sees that it cannot receive the light. So He gives her a way. That way is called a line, and there He gave her the Torah. Now this is the compass of all creation. If you build vessels of bestowal, vessels of love, you will receive the light. If you don't build, you won't receive. If you receive not in vessels of bestowal, but in egoism, in private desire, in only valuing yourself, you have committed a transgression. This is called a transgressor. A transgressor is one who only acts in his egoism. >> This is the transgressor. You committed a transgression, you need to correct it, you need to pay. If you receive, it says there are three laws: the law of negation, the law of affirmation, and the law of motion. The law of negation is like in the circles, it says, "You cannot receive more in private desire. It is forbidden." And if you receive, then you commit a transgression, you will harm yourself. When you enjoy something unreal, not from values, you harm yourself. What does the law of affirmation say? "You are allowed, and you must enjoy, but in vessels of unity, of love." And you must build love, and you must also enjoy this love. To the extent that our Sages say, "If you had something holy and did not enjoy it, you are also committing a transgression." You must enjoy life, but from values, from real things. And the law of motion says, "How do I get from here to there?" I feel that I am an egoist. I feel like I want to eat ice cream now. He says, "I will give you a plan. I will send you the Torah and teach you how to go from negation to affirmation." The entire Torah is based on this law called "Zivug Da'aka" (union of desire). What is "Zivug Da'aka"? Zivug is building a vessel, building unity, as a result of your willingness to give up your ego. If you give up your ego, you say, "Wait, I am giving up my egoism. Now I am silent." If I am silent, I will search for this inner place of that love. As much as I can find it, then I will find it. There is a very beautiful topic in this week's Torah portion. This week's Torah portion says Moses should speak to the rock, and he strikes the rock. So it tells him, "You and Aaron have struck the rock, you will not enter the land." In Exodus, it tells him to strike. And he strikes and brings out water. And here it tells him to speak. He asks him, "What is this? You told me the Creator to strike, because water would come out." Yes, but there it was "tzur" (rock), here it is "sela" (rock). There is a difference. When you need to come out of the "tzur," "tzur" is from the word "Mitzrayim" (Egypt), the narrow place. It requires coercion, it requires force. But when you are looking for love, which is the "sela," that is the level of "Bina" (understanding), you need this inner quiet. It is called "a still, small voice." Stop, be silent, contemplate inward, into the soul, you will find love there. It's not by force, not by striking. In some deep inner quiet. From there, this place must be extracted. Therefore, one must see that when you want to overcome your egoism, it is permissible by coercion, it is permissible by force. But if you think you can buy love by force [snorts of contempt], you cannot enter the Holy Land. >> What do we not understand about love? >> We confuse love with lust, with love of the body. We think that if we get pleasure for the body, then it is love. If I desire something, if I love ice cream, I say, "I love ice cream." You don't love ice cream. You love yourself through ice cream. To love ice cream is to be connected to something shared with it. To love your wife is to build some kind of unity. I am a partner with her and enjoy the unity. Love is pleasure from unity. Not pleasure from yourself. Not that she gives you pleasure and you give her pleasure. That's commerce. That's not love. Love is when you build a shared entity, and it is with her that you want the partnership. Not with a woman together, it's not because she is more beautiful, or richer, or more successful, but because with her you build your shared puzzle. Therefore, there must be a covenant. It also says, "With you, and I, we are now building love." That's it. We are the couple, male and female, in thunder. If there is no commitment to unity, and it's only a commitment to yourself, then if I don't enjoy you, why do I need you? I'll take a more beautiful, younger, more successful woman. You cause me problems. She cooks well, but doesn't satisfy my father's needs. I'll take her. But that's not the goal. The goal is to build love with her. And often in relationships, we see that there is something that complements the two. There needs to be something complementary and something similar. The similar should be shared values, shared ideals. And complementary things. Sometimes they have natural traits. One is scattered, conceptual, one is organized, orderly, technical. Sometimes she doesn't understand the conceptual side of the person, and she wants order, and she becomes, seemingly, critical. But she can also be someone who brings a lot of organization to ideas, and the idea can free her a bit, give her a bit more freedom in life. We need to see that we can complement each other and build something shared. So the next creation is as a partnership between us and the Creator. The next is between us and the Creator. He bestows, I receive. So what was our shared form? It's called the form of bestowal. I will receive, but with the form of bestowal. I receive because you want to bestow upon me. Not the gift, I want. "He who hates gifts will live." Rather, I want the connection with you, the Creator. And if you decide not to give me the gift, I am happy even with that, because I want a connection with you. >> So, essentially, the gift is the opportunity to see you, to receive this opportunity. >> Yes. Yes, exactly. This means it's just a means, it's an opportunity. But if you only want the gift, then you don't care who gives you the gift. But your wife says, "I don't want anyone else to give me a better gift. I want my husband to give me the gift because I care about him." Correct. You need to give the gift, but we are not looking for the light. Most people are looking for the light. "Give me the light." They are not looking for the light. More than the calf wants to drink, the Creator wants to bestow. >> The light exists. It exists, and the Creator wants to give you more than you want to receive. A father wants to give his child more than the child wants. Just be capable of receiving it. Bring the talent to receive. Love me. I will give you everything. In love, it's like interconnected vessels, you will receive everything. But if you take it to your sister, it's like you're asking me to scratch your eye. You want me to give you the light so that you will distance yourself from me. You want the light for your egoism? And then it will distance us. So how will I give you the light? "I act against you," says the Creator. Therefore, there is no problem. You don't need to look for the light. You need to look for the form of the light. The form of the light is entirely bestowal. Do you know how to be a bestower? If you know how to be a bestower, there you will find love, because you need to bestow pleasure to the Creator. Who is the Creator? That supreme perfection. >> Can we say that the Creator is light? >> No, the Creator is beyond. We cannot say anything about the Creator. It is written that there are many names for His essence, according to our revelation. In Part 1, in the explanation of the 10 Sefirot, in verse 11, Baal HaSulam says, "Creator is called..."
Only in the name of the one who created the creation is there "something from nothing," meaning there was no lack in His essence. He made a movement of "something from nothing" that we don't understand. The map of His omnipotence, as stated in the introduction to the Zohar, is that He created the creation from "something from nothing." This map allows us to begin thinking logically. First, we must accept that there is a Creator who governs the creation from "something from nothing."
What is "something from nothing"? It is the will [snorts of disdain]. This means an idea is conceived, and the will must serve this idea. What is the idea? To bestow kindness upon the created. This is what was created. It's like me telling you, "Look, you have an idea to build a house, you have an idea not to have children." Why? To be a relaxed educator. What? Can't the Creator educate them alone? He wants you to be an educator.
>> But if everything He created is will, then animals also have will.
>> Right? But they don't have a will that can choose. They have an automatic will. They are not a soul, which is a part of God from above.
>> Automatic will is essentially Egypt.
>> Automatic will is Egypt. It's just the will to receive for oneself.
I once heard something beautiful: the word "choose" (לבחור - livchor) is derived from the word "choice" (בחירה - bechira).
>> It's a gematria of 210.
>> Right.
>> The number of years they were slaves in Egypt. In essence, slavery in Egypt is the illusion of choice. Slavery is essentially thinking you have a choice. In Egypt, they had a choice between, I don't know, between figs and lemons. Like today, we'd say we choose between, I think I have, I think I have a choice because I can choose between a Toyota and a Skoda, so I have a choice. Or, let's say on Netflix, when I open Netflix, I'm like, I can choose a movie. But then, it's like, I'm just the illusion of choice, because in reality, I'm not choosing. I'm just reacting to the matrix.
>> Right.
>> Which is Egypt, right?
>> Yes, it's Egypt. We confuse "selection" with "choice." There is selection, there is choice, and there is compulsion. These are different concepts. Selection is when I have several things and I select what is most suitable for what I feel like right now. I can select now. I can choose one answer from many. The royal intellect can choose. It's a mental movement.
We once did a workshop on choice. We had a person stand on a table, blindfolded. "Who volunteers?" We told him, "Choose to jump." "You choose to jump?" "Yes." "You feel the choice?" "Yes." He jumped from the table to the floor. We gave him a hand and said, "Come, do it again." We quietly placed another table next to his, without him hearing. We told him, "Choose to jump." "You choose?" "Yes." "Are you sure you chose?" "Yes." "Jump." He couldn't jump. This means he couldn't decide on the choice, but he chose. Choice is an internal mental movement of a person. It's not about deciding the situation.
People say, "But He did everything. The Creator does everything." True, but you can choose. To choose is a mental thing, some internal agreement to connect with the thing. That is choice. It's not selection of what's more suitable for me. It's an internal agreement that you are connected to that thing. This is the level of the chosen one. Choice doesn't stem from whether it's beneficial for me or not. It's only an internal agreement to connect to the thing. Escape is in Egypt. Compulsion is not given to us. I can decide to jump, and someone catches me, and I don't jump, but I chose to jump. Choice is some internal mental movement. It's like love or internal generosity. It's a mental movement. Choice is only given to those who have a soul, a part of God from above. Not everyone can choose.
Now, we don't exactly know how to explain it because it's a mental movement. So, whatever we say, you need to feel that place to choose. I need to completely set aside my desires.
>> Without setting aside my desires, if I have desires, then I'm escaping, just like in Egypt. Exactly. You said that very well. In Egypt, I'm just selecting what's more suitable for me, what I feel like more. Which movie on Netflix will I choose? But choice is a moment. Wait, don't interrupt me. I want to see if it's connected to my soul. Is it connected to the place that perfectly suits the personality that is a part of God from above? A person for whom this is essentially love, like, essentially.
>> It will lead to love.
>> Essentially, love is the choice. It's like, I'm not waiting for it to awaken something in me, or I'm not waiting for it to give me something, or what I expected it might bring. Rather, I try to pause for a moment, clear everything, all the selections, and choose it. And the moment I choose it, it's essentially loving it. Yes, you are connected to it, and it leads to love. Yes, there will be love there. If there is no choice, there can be no love. Because most people's love is selection. It suits me, it's beautiful in my eyes, it's good.
>> It's selection. Exactly. Beautiful.
>> I didn't think of that, but it's very beautiful. Yes, I will use it from you, but I will say it's from you. [Laughter]
And where, essentially, what is the meaning of the chuppah, for example, in this matter? The whole point of the chuppah and the kiddushin is only to connect the souls and to receive some decision. "Here, we are connected." The chuppah is like the heavens covering both of them together and making them one unit. The kiddushin is to connect the couple, like the heavens. Like heavens, they are under the same purpose. In Hasidism too, the bride circles the groom seven times, like on Simchat Torah, she circles the groom seven times. She breaks all the barriers that existed. So they descended as two souls, and she builds around him, which is like the middle line that brings down the light from above, and she gives him the environment to express that divine light that he is bringing down. We need to have intentions during the chuppah to connect. Essentially, we take the two souls and truly need to be connected to this. Now, now, now, this is a decision. You really need to choose the thing. After that, the work begins: to fulfill this choice, to connect all the pieces of the puzzle. Because when you get married, you decide. It's a conscious decision. You decide to love her. The stronger the experience on the wedding day, the more it will affect the soul going forward. But the work is not finished. That's why they also break the glass afterwards. When they pass, you say, "Remember that Jerusalem, meaning completeness, is not yet built. You are only on the way. Now, continue to work." Marriage is also work. It's like we were created; it's work. We chose, we received the Torah; it's work. You need to take upon yourself the yoke of the kingdom of marriage. What is the kingdom of marriage? That you need to reach love, and sometimes it doesn't align with your desire.
>> It must be the opposite.
>> No.
>> It's often the opposite, yes? Because our usual nature is an egoistic nature.
>> If it's not the opposite, then essentially you are not choosing it. If you don't overcome sometimes, for example, you love to hug her, but because of your egoism. But afterwards, you can hug her not because of your egoism, but because of the "togetherness" you want to feel. To feel the "togetherness," like two rivers connecting and creating one unit, not just thinking about how much I enjoy it. Feeling this "togetherness" is a completely different feeling. There are those who read the Zohar before uniting, they do things, they have intentions, they do joint contemplation before coming to union, and then everything looks different. This is love. It's a very great gift that the Creator gave. It's like Shabbat. So, if we return to the beginning, you see how beautiful it is that the Creator created the idea of love between us and Him. He says, "Look, I created the idea of love. Now I'm giving you the will, all mixed up. Come, build the love. Because if you don't come to love, and only I love you, there won't really be love. It needs to be from both sides. I already love you. Come, you come to love." And we start playing games with Him. Yes, we'll come, we won't come, we don't have time for you. I'm going to watch a movie. I'm not coming to the study hall. I'm waiting for you.
>> [Sounds of rustling]
>> Yes, come to my tent. He says, "I opened my tunic for her, she withdraws, she doesn't come, she has excuses." And then he goes.
>> Because the will is confused.
>> Yes.
>> What is it confused about? It wants itself, it wants its egoism. Now, the wonder is that it knows it's not beneficial for it, and yet it continues with it. So, where does most of the world go? I'll achieve more physicality. I'll learn more physics about creation itself. Like, the Torah comes to tell me only what happened in creation, what the technical thing that happened was. But it can't be that the Creator is coming to tell us physics. For that, you'll learn science better.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says in Parshat Behaalotecha, in letter Nun-chet, in the Ladder, he says there: "Whoever studies the Torah as stories or as historical accounts, his spirit has puffed up, and it would have been better for him not to have been created." If you want to learn the words of the world, as he calls it, you want to learn the words of the world, there are books among the nations of the world better than the Torah to learn them from. The Torah did not come to teach history; it came to teach how to reach love. Now, it's not just "do this and you will love." It has many parts, and all these parts of all the 613 commandments come to teach a person. But it's not just 613 commandments; it's also many human behaviors. So now, when you think about creation, you read "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," you say, "Wow, wait, so what, what did He do here?" There are many questions now. When you investigate, the question is, where does the investigation lead? What happened? How do I use this to reach love? Exactly like in marriage. What happened between us now? How do I use this to reach love, or just what happened to arrange the events? This is a different way of life. The consciousness, the mental guidance, is to another level of life. You can be on several levels. When I go for a run, I give a lesson. I am on the level of the lesson and also running. You can be on several levels at once.
>> Yes, when you run, you give a lesson.
>> Always.
>> Wow, you run a lot.
>> Three times a week.
>> Wow.
>> I run to...
>> What? What lessons?
>> Usually, Rabbi Ashlag's lessons. He was the son of Baal HaSulam.
>> He was my teacher. He passed away in '92. His lessons, I listen to.
>> So, to this day, you listen to his lessons?
>> I just listen to his voice. That alone moves me.
>> It's some kind of connection. I don't even know how to explain it to myself yet. But to hear his voice, and it almost doesn't matter what he says. Every time, I hear new things. The same verse, I can hear it 20 times, and I hear more things he said there. Such depth, but it also moves me very much to be in his presence a little longer.
>> Were you in his presence a lot?
>> No, I was for two and a half years, almost three. That's all. But it will be on me. It's very, very strongly embedded there.
>> This is essentially the Torah he brought, this Torah of creation.
>> This is the Torah he brought. This is the Torah. He gave a lot of soul work. There are articles by Rabbi Ashlag. He didn't write books, Rabbi Ashlag. But every week there were meetings of friends, there were groups of friends who met. He would write an article every week, an article for him on the weekly portion, on something from the Zohar. And the friends would read this article during the week. And from these articles, they collected them. There were a few articles from '90 to '91. In Rosh Hashanah '92, he passed away. They called it Rosh Chodesh, a little after Rosh Hashanah, in Tishrei. And all of these were collected into articles, and it's worthwhile to read them. He really speaks about the soul, and the language is very simple, very simple. It's not a complex Kabbalistic language, but he kind of walks you through your soul, as if he knows what's happening to you, what you're going through, what thoughts arise in you, what dilemmas you have on the path of God. Wonderful books, truly.
>> And he essentially absorbed his Torah from his father.
>> From Baal HaSulam. Okay, Baal HaSulam.
>> Yes. Besides that, he also teaches the Study of the Ten Sefirot in a very intellectual, logical, precise way. A very difficult study, but he also has articles that speak a lot about the soul. Yes. It's the same thing.
>> No.
>> It's the same thing. But it's like the difference between mathematics and psychology. When you study the Study of the Ten Sefirot, you learn like the physics, the mathematics of life. And psychology is how it passes to the soul. Baal HaSulam took and combined these things. So, when we study the Study of the Ten Sefirot, we also talk about the soul. The Study of [snorts of disdain] Ten Sefirot is essentially related to the correction of character traits.
>> No.
>> No. The Study of the Ten Sefirot is how the world was created. He says, "In the beginning, there was the world of Ein Sof."
>> Bring it a little closer to you.
>> Yes.
>> In the beginning, there was the world of Ein Sof. Then there was contraction. There was the world of the circles. This is how he describes all the worlds. How were all the worlds created? There are 16 parts, and each part takes excerpts from the Holy Ari and shows the process of creation from Ein Sof to this world. And within this, there are many unions, personifications. It rises, it falls, it pairs with this. And all of these, all these unions, show the path of progress of creation. How is creation built? How does a person progress? To which world does he belong? Where is he? For example, in unions, you don't immediately reach complete love. There is a union, for example, how do you start a relationship? There is a union called "back to back." What is "back to back"? Even if one side gives nothing, and the other side receives nothing, there is still a bond of commitment. This is how a relationship begins. First of all, with full commitment. Then he shows there are several unions until complete love is reached. So, it shows how all these actions work in a person's soul as well. But at first, you only learn the order of how the world is built, and the soul is built like the world, not like the physical world, but like the spiritual world. And then you know how to work with the soul, and it's very, for me at least, very pleasant, it gives a lot of confidence on the path. When you know how the upper worlds work, you have much more confidence. You don't invent spirituality, like, "I think this way," or "I think that way." Rather, you check if, let's say, I have a spiritual idea, does it work this way in the upper worlds? Is there such a law in the upper worlds, in the process of creation? If not, you need to check yourself again. I can say, "I think this way," I need to check it, but not to say a spiritual idea without knowing that it is supported by the place of the laws. There are laws in spirituality. It's not "I think this way" or "I think that way." There are laws. Whoever doesn't know the laws invents all sorts of things. Many things can be true, but there are also untrue things that suddenly confuse the whole system.
Tell me, what is the Messiah? Baal HaSulam says the Messiah is the greatness of attainment. It's a mental concept. It's not someone who will come on a white donkey. It's a concept that a person reaches, such that the attainment, attainment is from the word "greatness," that the attainment reaches the person's identity, the person's heart, that he has a complete identity of love for God, that he sees the global human unity in connection with God, blessed be He. In the beginning, he sees what needs to be done for the Messiah. [Snorts of disdain] There are stages, and then he teaches us this work. Everyone wants the Messiah. The Messiah is not a solution for many people. If the Messiah comes, there will be a lot of... If he comes now, there will be many wars, many people will die, a lot of chaos will happen here. Why? Because you need to do very, very difficult field work. He will come and cut things very quickly. "You don't belong to this family. Come over there. You are no longer needed." If you don't do this...
>> Like, he will arrange things as they are supposed to be.
>> Right. And it's very difficult. Look at you, a boss comes to work now. Suddenly, there was [snorts of disdain] reorganization. This one objects, that one objects. But he is the boss.
>> He will do it with judgments, but...
>> In the beginning, it's with harsh judgments. Yes. Therefore, when they say "Messiah," to prepare for the Messiah, people want the Messiah to solve their material problems. The Messiah comes to give us work. If you really want to work, you want that coach who gives you the final push for the work of God, then you need the Messiah. The Messiah is not a simple thing that everyone says, "Everyone wants the Messiah." But like all other things where people seek the light, they see the Messiah as someone who will give more light, or pleasures in life. That is not the Messiah. The Messiah, in the beginning, gives work. After the work, whoever does it will reach great pleasures.
>> What work? But...
>> To give up the ego. He will tell you, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, as a burnt offering." If he tells you, "Look, listen, now you need to take your wife, she belongs to Him. Give her up." What? What? What do you mean? What do I feel? What do I love? You can do with my son, this son of yours, you will never see him again. He belongs to Him. These are difficult examples. He will also say good things. He will tell you, "Look, your role in life is this. Now dedicate yourself to this." At least you will have, if you believe in him, some meaning in life. That you say, "Now I will give myself to this." The Messiah told me, "I have overcome my doubts," because we are all searching. What is the real meaning? We try this, we try that. This feels better. Here you influence more, here less. So you are looking for the place. Suddenly the Messiah will come and tell you, "This is your role." You will have much more ambition to fulfill this purpose. Rabbi Lubavitch was a kind of Messiah. Chabad says yes, but this is what he used to do. No, he would tell people, "This is your role, this is your role." There are rabbis who say this today too. Yes. Some say, "I don't believe he is the Messiah, but I also cannot completely rely on my opinion, because my opinion is not yet complete." And there are people who say yes. I think no, but we will wait. We will all progress. And I think there needs to be, in the Jewish people, some kind of investigation. Just like there is science and scientists, there needs to be an investigation into the Torah of truth, into the Torah of Kabbalah.
>> And not just to learn what needs to be done externally, but there needs to be an investigation into the Torah of Kabbalah and the Torah of the soul. Together, open yeshivas that study the Torah of Kabbalah and investigate how the spiritual world is built, and want to start living spiritual lives. We are spiritual beings who need to use physicality. Not physical beings who use spirituality for physicality. The opposite. We are spiritual beings who need to use physicality to increase our spirituality. And then, if we start investigating spirituality together and try things, try actions, we can reach more true spirituality.
>> But do you think there will be a moment that arrives, that we will all understand that it has arrived?
>> Yes.
>> Is there such a moment? Yes, there is such a moment. It won't happen all at once, as it is written. It will happen. In the beginning, there will be hesitations, but there will be such a moment when it will be clear: "That's it, this is the Messiah."
>> But in the beginning, not everyone will recognize him, I assume. Who are the first ones who will recognize him?
>> Those who are close to the wisdom of truth.
>> Like, let's say, about 20 people in the country?
>> Something like that.
>> They will start to feel him, to understand that he is...
>> A small group first, and then it will start to spread and spread. But look, there have been many who thought in their time that the Messiah had arrived. Shabbetai Tzvi, the great Kabbalist, said he was the Messiah, and he became very famous. And then suddenly, the Muslims in Turkey... it completely disappeared. We don't know exactly what happened, but many of the great rabbis followed him, convinced he was the Messiah. And this is a false Messiah. Rabbi Akiva said Bar Kokhba was the Messiah, then he said Bar Koziba. But there needs to be preparation for the Messiah. I believe Baal HaSulam had the potential of the Messiah. I believe Rabbi [snorts of disdain] Ashlag had the potential of the Messiah, but if...
>> We weren't ready yet.
>> What? We weren't ready. We also need to be ready for it.
>> Yes.
>> It's not that the Creator doesn't want it. He doesn't want someone to come and disgust us. We need to be ready for it.
>> You're saying, essentially, if, I don't know, if the Holy Ari came, let's say, 100 years later, there's a chance that then he would truly be revealed as the Messiah.
>> If we were ready. There is a story about the Holy Ari. [Snorts of disdain] They were in Safed, it was Friday evening. There is such a custom that they go out to the field to receive Shabbat. He told them, "Do you want to go up to Jerusalem now?" "We want to ask the wife for a moment and come back." He told them, "You missed it. Now we could have brought the Messiah." They said, "We won't go." He said, "No, there needs to be your true desire. You need to immerse yourselves. You think, maybe yes, maybe no. How much am I willing to pay for this?" You missed it.
>> There is this story about the village of... that there was a drought for years, no rain fell. And the people came to the wise man of the village and said to him, "Pray. There has been no rain for years. There is no food in the refrigerator. The children are not eating." He told them, "No problem, but you come with me. Everyone prays together. We'll meet in the field in an hour." Everyone returned to their homes with excitement. The wise man, finally, we managed to convince him to pray. He's going to pray. It's going to rain. The news started to spread in the village. All the cousins, friends, everyone got excited and understood that something was starting to happen here. And then, after everyone returned, and he saw them returning. He was already in the field, sitting there, waiting for them. He saw everyone returning, the whole village, like people brought friends, and cousins, and uncles, and everyone, and he grasped the excitement, and he looked at them and said to them, "I, I understand this. It's amazing that you came and you're excited, and you brought everyone, and the friends came, and the families, and the uncles, and everyone came. It's amazing. But where are your umbrellas?" [Snorts of disdain] [Laughter] They didn't believe in it.
>> What? You don't have faith? Okay, so you have faith, but you don't have trust. You don't really have trust that He who sends the rain will send the rain if you pray. So He won't send it. You missed it. Yes, yes. You need to come with an open heart. You need to believe that it's possible. Because if the Creator created the creation and said, "You can achieve it," He doesn't give a task that cannot be fulfilled. You need to believe that it's possible. Because it's not within our knowledge; it's above our knowledge, it's from the divine power. It's like with the spies. If you think only, "Do I have the strength to conquer the land?" then I truly have no strength. But if you are on a divine mission, trust the Creator. Don't trust your strength. The moment you trust a power above you, then you have the strength to accomplish things. If you only trust your strength, it's limited strength.
What is the reason that Moses ultimately did not enter the land? It sounds too abstract to me that it was only because of that moment with the rock.
>> The whole issue is that the people were not yet ready for complete love. Because Moses + + love + 13 = Messiah. Again,
>> Moses + love = Messiah.
>> Moses + 13.
>> Yes, that equals Messiah.
>> Yes.
>> Yes. What is Messiah? Love is 13, and Moses is 345. 345 + 13 = 358. That is Messiah. [Clears throat] We need to see that the true Messiah is Moses entering the land. This is written in the Holy Ari, written in David. But he says it's Moses. Moses entering the land is the completion of the correction. They were not yet ready for the completion of the correction. He says, "If you struck the rock," meaning you did not reveal the love to bring it out of Egypt, you should have struck it. But the love, you still haven't internalized it. The people could have been in inner peace, believing, bringing the umbrellas. If he doesn't bring the umbrellas, he doesn't completely believe in it. They haven't reached love yet. So, yes, enter the land. There is still work to be done. When the work is finished, you can enter. Because when he tells him, "Strike the rock," the rock is the level of understanding. "Strike the rock," then the Messiah [snorts of disdain] cannot yet arrive, because he represents the people, the faith of the people. He sees the faith. So the faith has not yet reached such maturity that one can truly speak to the rock and believe that from the rock will come water.
>> You're saying, essentially, no entry into the land for Moses without love, right?
>> Right?
>> No entry for him. It's like an area he cannot enter.
>> Right?
>> And the land is essentially will, you said.
>> Right. You cannot, without faith ripening into love, without Moses, essentially, this faith descending completely into the heart. The heart is like entering the land. The desert is like only the thought side, because thought can also be very cold, like a desert. There isn't yet the... the... the "stickiness." So, in the beginning, we start with thought. Leaving Egypt is not thinking selfishly, but thinking more faithfully. But entering the land is already entering the realm of love.
>> And love, if Moses enters, it's called Messiah. And therefore, Moses has not yet entered. Moses is called gematria Adam in three lines. Shin is three lines, three columns. And what about Moses? It's gematria Adam. So, a person who is still in three lines, there is still right, left, and middle. It's still on the path of work. When one line arrives, which is in complete correction, it's called complete love, when Moses enters the land. There are many secrets in the Holy Ari about this, but the idea is that human beings [clears throat], each one of us is Moses. Each one of us asks, "When will I reach complete love?" When you agree to enter your deep inner point and not live it like you live your egoism, your form. Because the form, how it manifests in us: we yell at each other, we get angry, we despair, we don't believe enough. The moment we can, in this inner peace, recognize and connect, choose the complete inner love fully, that's when we speak to the rock, and then water comes out from the Torah, that love, that inner vitality of that love. But we also need to believe that slowly, we acquire it. Slowly, we progress more and more. This is where the wisdom of the hidden, the wisdom of Kabbalah, appears. There is more discourse there, more internality, less body. It's more about speaking to the rock than just, "What do I need to do?" Stop asking what needs to be done. Ask, "How do I need to relate internally to this?" Because this is what was created. This internal relationship was created. Today, more and more, we need to talk about my mental relationship to things, not just my action. Because when I see a person walking without a kippah, with tzitzit, without a kippah, people are looking for God today. It wasn't like that before. They are looking for the right religion to reach God. They already feel there is something in the air, with a lot of confusion, but there is already something in the air that they are looking for more. What about October 7th? Suddenly, people want to return to repentance, they keep Shabbat, they put on tefillin, they do all sorts of things, they don't exactly know what, but something is happening in the world that affects the world, each one in his place. I see there is a good trend in the world, moving towards something else.
>> What do you think is the next step for this?
>> A little more order. A little more order. People should arise and say, "Wait, we don't want to be a little confused. We need order. I would really like them to study the wisdom of Kabbalah in an organized way. Let them establish yeshivas for the wisdom of Kabbalah. Let you people, who are known to the public as people whom people listen to, come and study the wisdom of Kabbalah. You have many spiritual ideas, some of them good, some of them a bit scattered, not precise. The moment you study the wisdom of Kabbalah, your intellect will align more. You will be able to influence more. You are also, how to say it, perhaps in a word, without offending, you are also acting. You are acting for God. You have a role of dissemination. Disseminate in an organized way. Study the wisdom of Kabbalah. Come to study in an organized way. It is indeed more difficult, but when you study it, something in the intellect changes.
>> What? Like, you're saying, come one evening a week?
>> Come, at first, one evening a week. Gather 10 friends. 10 a week. Study the wisdom of Kabbalah. See how much it influences. From there, you will start to learn. You will want more, naturally. Then study twice a week, and you will see that the ideas suddenly receive order. It's not just saying "love." Suddenly, you understand what love is. Suddenly, you understand what a vessel of returning light is. What is a vessel of light? What is this returning light? Suddenly, you understand that it is the vessel of love. Wait, so how is it built? So there is a way to build it. So why are we inventing all sorts of things? "Do this," "Tell him," "Do it for a moment." There is a way to do it. We go to the desert. What do we want to achieve in the desert? What do we want to achieve in silence? And maybe we'll do, maybe we'll just do silence? Maybe we'll do a vow of silence. What will we do? We need to learn. If you know the order, it will be easier to create order for the people who are listening. [Sighs]
>> With God's help.
>> So, the ball is in your court.
>> But is this really a study that starts like this, in structure? Is there a first lesson, a second lesson?
>> Yes.
>> It's according to order. What was the beginning? What was in Ein Sof? Then, what was the first movement?
>> After that movement, what reality occurred? And that reality, what second movement was generated? It's literally drawing the process of creation, and at each stage, we stop and ask, "What is the movement to the next stage? What is the movement to the next stage?" And these are spiritual movements. And in each movement, we see implications for the soul and see how the soul works in that place. A very beautiful study. [Laughter]
>> Okay, I think we have it.
>> Yes, you'll go for it. I think so. We'll try, God willing.
>> Without fail.
>> Yes, I think we need to. I think at least we need to try it to bring order. Because there is such a thirst now. If they receive order for this,
>> Yes.
>> Then they will see that there is a place for it. We need to create such structures, we need to create such a society that works in this way.
>> This is your dream.
>> Yes. Yes. That we will have a society where, truly, [snorts of disdain] where love is not some slogan. I want to love the other, because love today seems more like physical lust.
>> Yes.
>> And truly, I see there are good souls who are truly searching, who truly want. They are not faking it, they want it, but it gets messed up. And they touch and don't touch, and touch. But there is order. The Holy Ari, Baal HaSulam, Rabbi Ashlag, they gave us an order. There is something structured. Come and learn it, and even more so, develop it. It's not finished yet. There aren't all the models. We are building models for soul work, but you need to develop them. See, people come and say, "Don't expect anything." Wait, what does "don't expect anything" mean? It's permissible to expect. We need to learn how to manage expectations. What is a vessel? How do you undress something? How do you dress it again? For all of this, there is an order. So what do people say? "Don't expect, you won't be disappointed." Mantras like that. Is this true? Is it not true? How do we know? How do we know? We look at what the spiritual law says. Where does it appear in the Study of the Ten Sefirot? Where does it appear in the structure of creation? Here it is. Good. Not good here. So, do you want us to take a risk? High-level talk.
>> Yes. I, I really, when you say high-level talk, it awakens me again. I have a philosophical mind, and I really think about high thoughts, and I also study high things, and I know.
>> You also write.
>> Yes, there are books I've written.
>> No, but today, like, you catch yourself sitting, writing, developing ideas.
>> I work in an organized way. I have times when I sit and write too. Yes. So I say that I know that I, alone, or people who think in high ideas, are not people who perhaps need to come to the general public. There are people who can bring it down to simpler things, more practical things for the general public. But I see that there are ideas in the wisdom of Kabbalah that are true, structured ideas. I have experienced them, I know that they can be lived, and we need to unite, we need to work together, and then we can bring them down to the public, not just oppose those, oppose the religious world, oppose the army, oppose those who study Torah. We need to look a little deeper, see what everyone is looking for, see what they are doing. There is an order that we are currently looking for the identity of Judaism. It is found only in the inner dimension. It is not found in an external place. We need to study it together gently, not by fighting with each other, gently try to listen to each other, not just to accept everything, but truly to learn, to listen, and to build it according to the Torah of Kabbalah. We have a Torah. Just searching in psychologies is a waste of time. We have a Torah, and it has proven itself. Amazing. Okay, thank you very much. So, I just want to summarize in one sentence: what was created is an idea.
>> And physicality is just a means to implement this idea.
>> For the realization of the idea.
>> Yes.
>> Yes.
>> And this is how it should be treated. We say thank you very much for your time.
>> Great love. To be continued. Hmm.