Don’t Deceive Yourself

The Torah, “Leviticus” (Kedoshim), 19:13: Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor, nor rob him; the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

A person should not play sophisticated tricks on other people under any circumstances. He has to be honest and truthful as much as possible since otherwise the attribute of love and bestowal doesn’t work.

When we ascend above our corporeal state in the group, we understand that there is nothing we can do since we were created this way and all the problems are above our corporeal creature, in the unity among us in mutual love and bestowal. We reach a state in which there can be no lies. Otherwise a person deceives himself because he doesn’t establish a connection with the other parts of his soul.

It is because together we make up one unique soul, which is one for everyone and all are incorporated in this general soul. Then it is your incorporation, your soul, from your perspective. So, who can you deceive if it is actually you? Who can you lie to, and who can you cheat, or steal from, detract in your giving, or leave what you can do today for tomorrow? This means that it isn’t bestowal anymore. Therefore it says: “… nor rob him (thy neighbor),” since he is actually a part of you.

The Creator performs the whole correction in us. Part of the correction is fulfilled by our evident efforts and part of it stems from efforts that are not evident.

You suddenly discover that you don’t work in order to bestow but in order to receive, by feeling that all this is yours. This means that you justify your being a thief since you are also allowed to do what others are allowed to do.

There was a popular movie in Russia in the past called Be Careful of the Car in which the leading character used to steal cars only from thieves. He used to sell the stolen cars and give the money to orphanages. This is being your own judge. This is where the problem is, when a person believes that he is doing the right thing and that he doesn’t steal.

This means that he should be made aware of what is going on and it can only be done after he steals. There is nothing else we can do and therefore we go through many different phases.

It says that there is no righteous in the land that does good and hasn’t sinned. It is impossible to skip these phases.

“The wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning,” means that when you have to give you have to do so immediately. If you stall, you turn into one who receives instead of one who bestows, even if you don’t profit from it at all. Thus, whole worlds are revealed in a person with regard to his connection with other people and to the same extent with the Creator.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/26/14