THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK - Baal HaSulam

[James and Terry Hamilton]

THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK

It is known that the servitude is essentially to bestow contentment upon the Maker. Yet, one must know the meaning of bestowing, as this is commonly used, and it is known that habit wears off the taste. Therefore, we must thoroughly clarify the meaning of the word to bestow.

The thing is that the will to receive too is incorporated in the will to bestow of the lower one (but the will to receive can be used with corrections), or else there is no connection between the giver and the receiver. This is because it is impossible that one will give and the other will give nothing in return, and that there will be a state of partnership.

Only when they both show love to one another is there a connection and friendship between them. But if one shows love and the other shows no response, such a love is unreal and has no right to exist. Our sages stated about the verse, “and say unto Zion: ‘Thou art My people’” (Isaiah 51), do not say Ami (My people), but Imi (with Me), [1] “to be My partner” (Zohar Beresheet p.5), meaning that the creatures are in partnership with the Creator.

It follows that when the lower one wants to bestow upon the Creator, then the lower one too should receive from the Creator. This is called partnership, when the lower one gives, and the Upper One gives too.

However, the will to receive should crave to cleave unto Him and receive His abundance, and sustenance, and goodness; and that was the purpose of creation, to do good to His creatures.

However, because of the breaking that occurred in the world of Nekudim, the will to receive fell into the domination of the Klipot (Shells), by which two discernments were made in the Kli (Vessel). The first is that it developed a relation to the separated pleasures, and the work of exiting the authority of the Klipot is called “the work of purification.” The second discernment that occurred due to the breaking is the detachment from spiritual pleasures.

In other words, one becomes distant from spirituality, and has no desire for spirituality. The correction for that is called Kedusha (Sanctity), where the order of the work is to crave His greatness. In that state the Creator shines for one in these vessels. However, we must know that to the extent that one has Kelim (plural for Kli) of purity, called “hate evil,” to that extent one can work in Kedusha, as it is written, “ye that love the Lord, hate evil.”

It follows that there are two discernments, the first is purity, and the second is Kedusha. Kedusha is called the Kli, being the preparation to receive His goodness, by way of, to do good to His creatures. However, this Kli is attributed to the lower one, meaning that it is for us to repair. In other words, it is for us to crave the good, and this means engaging extensively in His greatness and one’s own lowness.

Yet, the abundance that should appear in the Kli of Kedusha is in the hands of the Creator; He is the One who imparts the lower one with bounty. At that time the lower one cannot help in that in any way, and this is called, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God.”

The Thought of Creation, called “to do good to His creatures,” begins from Ein Sof (No End). For this reason we pray to Ein Sof, meaning to the connection that exists between the Creator and the creatures. This is the meaning of what is written in the writings of the Ari, that we must pray to Ein Sof.

It is so because Atzmuto (His Self) has no connection with the creatures, as the beginning of the connection starts in Ein Sof, where His Name is, which is the root of creation. This is the meaning of what is written in the Yerushalmi, [2] that one who prays will pray in the Name, meaning where there is His Name, and His Name and Ein Sof are called in the words of the legend, “A tower filled with goodly matters.” This is why we pray to the Name, to receive the benefit that has been prepared for us in advance.

This is why Keter is called “His desire to do good to His creatures,” and the benefit itself is called Hochma (Wisdom), which is the essence of the abundance. This is why Keter is called Ein Sof and “Emanator.” However, Hochma is not called “emanated” yet, since there is still no Kli in Hochma, and it is considered a Light without a Kli.

Hence, Hochma, too, is discerned as the Emanator because there is no attainment in the Light without a Kli, and the whole difference between Keter and Hochma is that there, the root of the emanated is more disclosed.

By Rabbi Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag, "Baal HaSulam"
from the book "Shamati" ("I Heard")