From An Egoistic Connection To A Connection Of Bestowal

Baal HaSulam, Shamati #19: He said that we must know that there is a matter of importance in the labor, when there is a contact between the individual and the Creator.

It means that one feels that he needs the Creator, since, in the state of labor, one sees that there is no one in the world who can save him from the state he is in but the Creator alone.

This feeling is thanks to the Light. A person feels that the main goal in life in this world is to attain contact with the Creator. Then an additional illumination helps him understand that only the Creator can help him. Then an additional illumination reveals to him that he depends on the environment and that it is the essential condition by which he can call the Creator to help him. Thus, he gradually advances thanks to a certain illumination on a new level that influences him and leads him.

We exit the state of exile and in it we also go through several phases. First a person doesn’t feel any connection with the upper force at all. He has no contact with Him, not even in the form of ordinary religion.

Then people begin to believe in religions and different faiths, miracles and mysticism. A person must go through all those phases. Each time there is a special illumination from Above that grants us with a certain connection with the upper force. This goes on until humanity reaches a stage where it loses any faith in the upper force and believes only in science and in actual facts.

Then we begin to look for a connection with the upper force as rational people and study the Creator as a force. This force governs us and we agree to act mutually in response to it. We only have to clarify the relationship that can connect us.

Eventually a person reached the wisdom of Kabbalah and begins to work. This raises him to a totally different level of connection with the upper force. It isn’t thanks to his faith or different rituals anymore, but thanks to the change of his internal desire.

Then he is in adhesion with the Creator, meaning that one’s entire thought is of the Creator, meaning that He will help him. Otherwise one sees that he is lost.

This is the same attitude when people were very religious and believed in the Creator ages ago. A person also felt that he was totally dependent on the Creator, on God’s will. If the Creator was merciful, a person would live, but if the Creator didn’t help him, his life would be over.

Now we have to reach the same attitude, that if the Creator helps us we will live and if the Creator doesn’t help us, it means death. We only give a different meaning to the concepts of life and death: life means adhesion with the Creator, mutual bestowal, while death means remaining in self-love.

We see how all of humanity goes through these phases, from the egoistic approach, from greedy dependence on the upper force, to an altruistic dependence of love of others, of yearning to resemble the Creator.

The Creator says about that, “My sons defeated Me.” That is, I gave you the will to receive, and you ask of Me to give you a will to bestow instead.

A person worries about being independent because otherwise he cannot bring the Creator contentment. Who else can bring the Creator contentment? Only a person who can remain independent and separate from the Creator by his ego. He keeps his desire to enjoy and only restricts it and doesn’t allow it to adhere to the Creator egoistically.

He adheres to the Creator with the desire to bestow that he develops above the restriction. Thus he remains independent and the same time reaches adhesion.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/11/14, Shamati #19