Everything Is Only From Him

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot”: There is a great need to explain once and for all why the coming of the Messiah depends on the study of Kabbalah in the masses, which is so prevalent in The Zohar and in all the books of Kabbalah. The populace has already discussed it pointlessly and it has become unbearable.

Even all those who do study the Torah, every grace that they do, they do for themselves. In that time, the spirit leaves and does not return to the world. This is the spirit of the Messiah.

The problem is that people separate everything that happens from the upper root and do not want to see that the upper force acts in everything. “There is no place free from the Creator,” there is no action that would be performed without His participation. This happens at every moment of our life. A person should realize that all his desires, thoughts, and actions, even the worst ones, are dictated by the Creator, and he should determine his attitude toward His actions. Then, he will come to adhesion with the upper force, in his current state.

A person justifies the Creator, realizing that He is acting to correct his attitude to what is happening. The Creator leads him through all sorts of states that are not justified from the point of view of an animalistic, rational logic. But trying to attribute everything to the Creator “besides whom there is nothing,” a person changes his attitude to what is happening. The main thing for him is to attribute everything to the Creator in order to please Him. He does not take into account his unpleasant feelings, fears, hurt, pride, etc.

First, he decides that everything comes from the Creator, but he cannot justify Him for his pain. Then he agrees with the unpleasant state, realizing that it is necessary. That is, he already justifies the Creator who corrects him in this way, but he still feels bad. And in the end, he rises above his bitter feeling due to the importance of the goal, which covers the material pain felt in the desire to enjoy. In this way he achieves devotion to the Creator.

All the previous stages are called “a slave,” a “handmaid helping the mistress,” his corrected desire, Malchut.¹

In the state of Lo Lishma, I attribute all actions to the Creator, I try to cling to Him with all my thoughts and desires, connecting everything that happens in the world to Him. After all, “There is no one else besides Him.” But at the same time, I still add my feelings to it, feeling pleasant and unpleasant events, wanting some of them and not wanting others. That is, in everything that happens, my personal interest is present consciously or unconsciously.

I find myself thinking that I would like a different outcome of events and regret what happened. Sadness and regret testify to the fact that I am not pleased with the governance of the Creator. There is no doubt that only He governs me, but I still do not agree with Him, I am not devoted to Him. If I do not remain completely joyful in any state, bad and good, it means that I am not in adhesion with the Creator.

This state is called Lo Lishma because I would like to slightly turn each state to a more pleasant direction for my feelings and understanding. This indicates lack of adhesion.²

It is necessary to decide in practice whether all the states I feel come from the Creator or not. Different stages are possible here: greater concealment or greater revelation. This decision is made in the mind. And besides, it is necessary to define in feeling: is what is happening pleasant or unpleasant to me? Do I agree with it more or less? Am I joyful or not?

I must agree in my mind, heart, feelings, and with my reason that everything comes from the Creator and everything is beautiful; that is, the Creator is good and does good and there is none else besides Him. Good that does good, according to my feelings, and there is none else besides Him, according to my reasonable conclusion, my action. That is all we need to do.

If we have not yet achieved this, we must attract as much reforming light as possible through the ten and address the Creator with a prayer. And the main thing is to increase the importance of the Creator, His singularity in everything: He is the first and He is the last; everything is only from Him.³
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/1/19,  Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Item 31″