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Young Group Assignment Sunday April 7th
We are often told that we ae not to study intellectually but through the heart. Easier said than done. I agree. Every time I feel myself falling into this “intellectual” trap (which is often) I switch my thoughts to the first article in Shamati: There Is None Else Besides Him.
I had read it many times, and I loved the sound of it, and what it was saying. But the article was one thing and I was another. I was not complaining about this. It felt comfortable.
It felt comfortable until I woke up in the middle of the night thinking: “If there is none else besides Him, then the Creator is EVERYTHING. This means that the Creator is not just IN everything, he IS everything. It opened up a whole new way of seeing things for me.”
I do not claim I can switch off the intellectual understanding at will, but I realize it can be done, and it feels super good. Axelle
You must understand these intimations: This issue of the Shofar is only the disclosure of the wisdom of the hidden in great masses; it is a necessary precondition that must be met prior to the complete redemption.
And the books that have already been revealed through me in this wisdom will testify to it, that matters of the greatest importance have been spread out like a gown for all to see. This is a true testimony that we are already at the threshold of redemption, and the voice of the great Shofar has already been heard, though in the distance, for it still sounds very softly.
Indeed, every greatness requires prior smallness, and there is no great voice if it is not preceded by a soft sound. And this is the way of the Shofar: Its voice grows progressively. And who better than I knows that I am not at all worthy of being even a messenger and a scribe for disclosing such secrets, much less to understand them down to their roots. So why has the Creator done so to me? It is only because the generation is worthy of it, as it is the last generation, which stands at the threshold of complete redemption. For this reason, it is worthy of beginning to hear the voice of the Shofar of the Messiah, which is the revealing of the secrets, as has been explained.
-Baal HaSulam Article “The Shofar of the Messiah”
Last sundays lesson was about the two pillars “group” and “books”, seeing as it’s the young group program, we focused mainly on the “group” pillar, so I wanted to take this quote to focus on the books. It is a very special time we live in, to be able to access all that wisdom very easily. We have ancient texts, made very easily accessible through translations into countless languages, commentary by Baal HaSulam, thousands of hours of lectures by our Rav. Just to think about that fills me with awe.
It gives me a sense of what a great privilege it is, to be able to study this wisdom so freely, and also hope, that correction is possible from our generation onward.
“Once the whole nation unanimously agreed and said, “We will do and we will hear,” each member of Israel became responsible that no member of the nation will lack anything. Only then did they become worthy of receiving the Torah, and not before.
With this collective responsibility, each member of the nation was liberated from worrying about the needs of his own body and could observe the Mitzva, “Love your friend as yourself” in the fullest measure and give all that he had to any needy person since he no longer cared for the existence of his own body, as he knew for certain that he was surrounded by six hundred thousand loyal lovers standing ready to provide for him, as explained in the article, “Matan Torah,” Item 16.”
This excerpt hits deep in my heart, it gives me the feeling of the biggest responsibility I have ever had to commit myself to, also radiates a powerful support throughout the work, even though it feels like a “mission impossible” :-).
Hence, when he climbs to the first floor, he has no desire to stay there. Instead, he wishes to quickly climb to the second, to the King Himself, for this is all he wants. However, he is told, “Without knowing the rules that abide on the first floor, you will certainly blemish the King’s honor. For this reason, you cannot hope to be able to climb to the second floor before you learn all that there is to learn on the first floor.”
Similarly, with love of friends, we heard that it was impossible to be rewarded with love of the Creator before one was rewarded with love of friends, as Rabbi Akiva said, “love thy friend as thyself is the great rule of the Torah.” Therefore, while engaging in love of friends, he is not considering love of friends as being valuable, but as redundant.
I chose this excerpt from Come unto Pharaoh 2. Because it shows how everything has a reason. Trying to skip the love of friends and go straight to the Creator would be a huge mistake, disaster, cause a catastrophic event just horrible. It’s like having a goal to be a surgeon but skipping med school and residency. What in the world would make me think I can just go straight to being a surgeon? (In this case straight to the Creator) like sending a child into a surgery room. I have no clue what I am doing! I have to appreciate even being being invited to attend such a gathering on the first floor, so when I make it to the surgery table (2nd floor) I would know how to handle the tools, (my new nature) and I won’t dishonor the King.
All creations, except for men, lack egoism; therefore, they have no tools for climbing. As a result, they remain in their preliminary states.
Precisely for that reason all creations, except for men are regarded as “still.” Even angels, which are forces operated by The Creator through which He governs creation, are not independent forces with their own desires, but are simply forces that carry out His Will. It is mankind’s egoistic desire that enables us to reach the degree of the creator by changing the form (intent) of the will to receive.
The soul is a part of The Creator within each of us. Once we are wrapped in the egoistic shell, we can no longer feel spirituality, much less The Creator, because our every sense is immersed and egoism, the opposite attribute of spirituality. Replacing egoism with altruism is like taking off our egoistic “coats” and beginning to feel the entire Creation until nothing separates us from The Creator.
Our purpose is to extinguish the egoistic obstacle that stands between our souls and the creator. Of all Holy Scriptures, the Kabbalah is the most efficient in entertaining that goal. It is the study with the most powerful spiritual light that shines during the study.
The Path of Kabbalah, Page 336
Gives me hope and comfort that I will be able to draw close to The Creator. Like going home. I have an intense longing, like an anxiety, to be with The Creator and this gives me peace in that area of my heart.
“Hence, it is good that there will be equality among the friends who unite, so one can be annulled before the other.”
I chose this verse because it elevates us all to who we really are; the”egoless” soul created by our creator, equally loved by our creator.
And for last week’s question which I failed to answer. I make myself Rav when I integrate and incorporate his teachings into my heart and into my life.
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