QUESTION:
COMPLIATION OF SEVERAL Q&A
I want to understand a little more about who the Rav is. Which “crowd” does the Rav belong to? Who is the Rav [or guiding figure] of the Rav? What “type” is the Rav? I am asking this because when I learn the Rav’s sefarim with others many times they will ask these kinds of questions.
I want to understand a little more about who the Rav is. Which “crowd” does the Rav belong to? Who is the Rav [or guiding figure] of the Rav? What “type” is the Rav? I am asking this because when I learn the Rav’s sefarim with others many times they will ask these kinds of questions.
ANSWER:
Unfortunately I cannot really answer your question. Rav Yitzchok Hutner said (in the biography called Sefer HaZikaron L’Pachad Yitzchok) that it is difficult for him to talk about himself. I suffer from the same thing. It is very difficult for me to write about myself, and in fact, even just writing that alone is difficult and uncomfortable for me. And the very question of “what kind of crowd do I belong to” is something that I am totally uncomfortable with. If you want to understand what “type” I am, you can discern this from my sefarim and especially from the q&a (printed in sefer Sha’al Libi) regarding the material written in my sefarim.
QUESTION How did the Rav reach so much clarity in avodas Hashem, the complexity of the soul, and the understanding of pnimiyus haTorah? How was the Rav so successful in avodas Hashem, which for most people is so difficult and filled with failure and lack of clarity (even to those who seek truth)? How did the Rav go through so many sefarim without becoming confused? How did the Rav grow so much and become so pure, whereas the rest of us are still groping in the dark and constantly falling into aveiros, bad middos, and major mistakes in how we think and act? Did the Rav ever go through a lot of darkness and confusion in life in order to get there….?
ANSWER You have asked a very difficult question! If only I would be zocheh to all that you have described. Out of hakaras hatov to you I will answer you a little, although it is against my nature [to talk about myself].
You ask if I have went through difficult experiences in my life, and the answer is: Yes.
You asked if I can go more into detail about it, and the answer is as follows. My main difficulty started from childhood, when I couldn’t stand sheker (falsity). Because of this, I suffered a lot in my soul [emotionally], and I also suffered from just being on this world, which is called the “world of falsity”, by having to be involved with people where I was exposed to so much falsity from others. And this was tremendous suffering for me!
In addition, in my teenage years when I became more mature, I suffered when I began to recognize and feel that there is an iron wall that separated between me and the internal light, the light of the neshamah, and the Infinite Light of Hashem.
Besides this, I suffered greatly from the “empty space” in the soul which makes a person feel hollow inside, as it says in the verse “And also the soul is not filled”. This is the greatest suffering that I recognize.
In addition to this, my heightened sensitivity also caused me to suffer a lot, because “Increase of knowledge is an increase of pain.”
After I got married, now more than 20 years ago, I suffered from a lot of humiliation [from others] as a result of giving shiurim and producing sefarim and trying to benefit the public [which caused others to react strongly to me and be opposed to me], and all that this entailed, which was a lot.
Besides for this, though, my main suffering is due to the contradicting aspects in my soul, which need to be balanced. And as a result of these imbalances, I also suffer from physical aches.
QUESTION 1) Who is the “Bilvavi” sefer especially catering to? 2) What type of audience did the Rav deliver the classes to upon which the sefer is based on? It is targeting kolel people or working people? 3) Also, what is unique about this sefer which isn’t included in sefer Mesillas Yesharim?
ANSWER 1) It is a sefer that is speaking to the simple, earnest part of every Jew’s soul. It is meant to fulfill the words of the prophet Chavakuk who said that the entire Torah can be summed up in one point: “A righteous person lives by his emunah (faith in G-d).” 2) It is meant for all of Klal Yisrael to learn and it is not targeting any specific group or community of Jews. 3) Sefer Mesillas Yesharim is based on ten steps of growth that are rooted in the Ten Expressions which Hashem created the world with, which span the entire gamut of the soul. The sefer Bilvavi, in contrast to this, is addressing the simple, earnest point of a Jew’s soul.
QUESTION The Rav’s sefarim are based on teachings primarily found in both Bresslev and Chabad, is this the intention of the Rav’s approach in the “Bilvavi” sefarim to integrate those two approaches together, and is such an approach found in any other sefarim?
ANSWER The approach [of the “Bilvavi” sefarim] is to synthesize every way of avodas Hashem together. It is based on the illumination found in the End of Days in which everything is coming together, which mimics the concept of Dan, who is found at the “end” of the camp and whose role is to “gather together all of the camps”. Even more so, the intention [of the approach in the Bilvavi sefarim] is to reveal the intrinsic, unchanging essence (etzem), which is the power of the tribe of Yehudah, and to integrate together Dan (gathering together all the ways of serving Hashem) and Yehudah (revealing the unchanging reality of Hashem), because that was the idea of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), which was made through Yehudah and Dan.
QUESTION How is the Rav able to take the “middle path” between all of the many different approaches in avodas Hashem and integrate them all together? How are we able to do this? How is the Rav able to combine together the Litvish and Chassidic approaches together (and also different Chassidic approaches together), if each path is based on a certain approach that totally does not agree with the other approach? How can a person fuse together different approaches in his avodas Hashem when each approach was diametrically opposed to the other? How can a person “take from everyone”, isn’t this a problem of being mehapech tzinoros, mixing different channels of Heaven that oppose and contradict each other? For example, if the Gra would be around today, would he approve of a Litvish kolel avreich applying a concept of the Baal Shem Tov or Baal HaTanya in his avodas Hashem…?
ANSWER I already asked my Rebbi, the Rosh Yeshiva Rav Gershon Edelstein, earlier than 15 years ago about this, especially after I received sharp critique from others because I was mostly using a lot of Chassidic approaches in the shiurim I gave. He answered me that I had already received this way of avodah from the approach of Rav Dessler, who taught in the yeshivah I learned in. You can see very well in sefer Michtav M’Eliyahu of Rav Dessler that he often combines together the approaches of mussar and Chassidus. Rav Edelstein told me to take the same approach and to continue teaching in that way. If we analyze this from a deeper perspective, it is really because the End of Days enables a spiritual light where everything becomes integrated together, which enables an approach that encompasses together every approach in avodas Hashem. It is the secret of unifying all of the Torah together, and also the secret of unifying all of Klal Yisrael.
QUESTION Why isn’t this going against each person’s mesorah in avodas Hashem that each person has based on his yeshiva or community that he’s part of?
ANSWER You find, for example, that today a person can be “generally Chassidic” without identifying himself with a particular Chassidus, and there can be many different external reasons for this, but the deeper reason is because the light of the End of Days is shining, in which everything can be integrated together. That is why Rav Dessler taught mussar and chassidus together in the yeshiva of Ponovezh which he taught in. Additionally, it was from the approach of Rav Hutner [taught to me by Rav Yonasan David shlit”a] that I first received the ability of deep Torah thought, and it was Rav Hutner who said about himself “To the chassidim, I am too Chassidish, and to the Litvish, I am too Chassidish….”
QUESTION What is the source for the Rav’s entire approach in avodas Hashem? Which sefarim is the Rav mainly coming from? Of the 4 elements (earth, water, wind, fire), what is the Rav’s primary element? (Based on my understanding of the 4 elements which I’ve learned from the Rav, it seems to me that the Rav’s approach contains a lot of fire (constant spiritual growth that demands a person to go higher and higher towards Hashem), a lot of wind (fusion of different views together), and a lot of earth (organization and structure, step after step), and I’m not sure which of these elements is the root of the Rav’s path in avodas Hashem. (It doesn’t seem to me that “water” can be the primary element of the Rav’s path). Also, someone pointed out to me that he doesn’t understand how the Rav is able to combine so many different approaches of all of the sefarim hakedoshim and synthesize them together. If each sefer is coming from a different kav of avodah (spiritual sphere that creates a certain corresponding form of serving Hashem) which is in contradiction with a different kav of avodah, how is the Rav able to fuse all of these approaches together? How can a Litvish approach be fused with the Chassidic approach, and how can one Chassidic approach work together with a different Chassidic approach that contradicts it? How is the Rav’s approach not in contradiction with our mesorah (tradition) and how is it all aligned with our mesorah? I think that if more people would know the root of the Rav’s path in avodas Hashem and the main “element” which the Rav’s path corresponds to, they would be able to gain a lot more from the Rav’s approach.
ANSWER The main “elements” [in the “Bilvavi” approach] are as follows: The element of earth is the basis (kli) of the approach, and the spiritual illumination (ohr) of it manifests as “fire-of-wind.”
The path [which the “Bilvavi” approach] stresses is “kelalut hakol”, inclusivity of everything [or comprehensiveness]. In order to counter the ruination caused by the “Erev Rav”, the evil spiritual forces which cause mixture and confusion in everything, we need an approach that unifies together everything. Each person, according to his own ability, is able to unify and bring everything together. But, if a person acts above his level and beyond his capabilities when he tries to do this, he becomes mixed up and confused.
QUESTION The Rav recently clarified that his approach in avodas Hashem is based on the element of “earth” which is expressed in “fire-of-wind”. Does this mean that the Rav’s approach is only for those who have a strong element of earth or those who have a strong amount of wind-of-fire?
ANSWER Those who are mainly living their lives shelo lishmah (not for the sake of Heaven) are more interested in pleasure, and they will not connect that much to the [Bilvavi] approach.
QUESTION How can it be that the Rav’s approach is based on the element of “earth” but it’s actually expressed in a way that’s “fire-of-wind”? Did the Rav mean that his approach is earth-of-fire-of-wind?
ANSWER [The revelations that come from the spiritual dimension called] Atik corresponds to the element of “earth” [in the esoteric]. When Atik [esoteric “earth] descends into the lower realms, it is called Keser, which corresponds to the esoteric element of “wind”. Getting more specific [Keser is comprised of two levels – the higher level Keser is called Atik and the lower level Keser is called Arikh], the world of Arikh corresponds to the “right”, symbolizing kindness, the element of water, whereas the world of Atik corresponds to the “left”, symbolizing restraint, the element of fire.
QUESTION The Rav has explained that his approach mainly uses the elements of earth, fire and wind. What is the main element in the Rav’s approach? Is it earth or is it fire-of-wind? Is the element of “earth” the main part of the Rav’s approach, since it is the basis of the Rav’s approach, or is the main part of the Rav’s approach the “fire-of-wind”, which is the outcome of the basis for the Rav’s approach?
ANSWER Same answer as above. The basis of the approach is to apply the power of organization and structure [the element of earth]. In more inner terms, the basis of the approach is coming from the essence of havayah [the inner point of reality]. From the viewpoint of the essence of havayah, the basis that is organization and structure completely fills everything. From the viewpoint of the lower basis, the movement of fire-of-wind is expressed in a way of organization and structure.
QUESTION I connect very much with the Rav. I very much want to learn all the Rav’s Torah words, but it is difficult for me, because I haven’t yet become clear about my soul. How can I know if I have the same shoresh haneshamah (soul root) as the Rav’s?
ANSWER You have parts of a similar “soul root” [to mine], but we do not share the same exact soul root. You should take [from the shiurim and sefarim] any parts [of my soul] that are compatible with yours.
QUESTION How can a person know if his rebbi is the right one for his shoresh haneshamah (personal soul root)? How can a person figure out the shoresh neshamah of his rebbi?
ANSWER A person can know the shoresh neshamah of his rebbi by learning the Divrei Torah of his rebbi - but only if he already has daas, if he can think logically and sensibly).
QUESTION I have a general question about the entire deep, inner and truthful approach of the Rav, and I hear this question from other people as well, who sometimes struggle with the Rav says and they have a hard time accepting what the Rav is saying. Could it be that the Rav’s approach only works for people in Eretz Yisrael, and not for Americans? Because after all, the Rav did grow up in Eretz Yisrael, where people there are generally made of ‘tougher skin’, and where the “Torah of truth” is more found, so perhaps we can assume that the Israeli audience can more easily handle the truthful approach of the Rav, whereas Americans have a harder time with the truthful approach of the Rav. Also, the Rav is speaking from a very truthful place in the soul, and the Rav often demands a lot of intense deep spiritual growth from people. Maybe Americans just can’t handle this? Because we in America grow up surrounded with tumah and mixed with the goyim, and we’re much more affected by secular culture than our Israeli counterparts. And in America, the more popular approach that works for people here is to focus on the positive, to feel good about ourselves, to constantly get chizuk. Though many people feel that the Rav is speaking the truth, a lot of people in America find the Rav to be too much for them, and they have a hard time accepting what the Rav says. So, basically my question is: When the Rav speaks, is the Rav mainly addressing an Israeli audience, who can better handle what the Rav is saying, as opposed to Americans, who can’t really handle as much what the Rav says? And in particular, is the Rav’s approach mainly for those who are bnei aliyah, who are far and few between? Of course, any person on any level can gain from the Rav’s psychological insights about the human soul, but I’m asking about the very truthful and inner approach of avodas Hashem which the Rav talks about. Can this approach also apply for those in America…? Yasher Koach to the Rav for all of the holiness and purity which the Rav bestows us with.
ANSWER Even in Eretz Yisrael, most people are not searching for this [truthful] approach. There is never any one way of avodas Hashem that works for everyone, and this way [the “Bilvavi” derashos and sefarim] is only one of the ways of avodas Hashem. Each person needs to find the way that is suitable for him.
Often, people who live in chutz l’aretz are not looking for a “way” of avodas Hashem, and they are instead looking for a ‘compromise’ – they are looking for a way to have the best of both This World and the Next World at once. But there is no such way.
The way of avodas Hashem which we [I] emphasize is not in order to “demand more growth” from people. It is just to clarify and become precise about what we face, and that, in and of itself, can demand something from us….
QUESTION Sometimes people can’t handle emes (truth) and when they are told something that is emes, they say, “I don’t want to hear mussar right now, I need chizuk. Don’t tell me things that depress me. Tell me something that makes me feel good about myself.” The Rav’s approach is very truthful and it seems that not everyone can handle what the Rav says. Is this because a lot of people aren’t really meant to be so truthful? Or is it because many people are on a low madreigah and they don’t want to grow, or is it because some people by their very nature can’t handle being so truthful and they need a different approach?
ANSWER Everyone needs emes (truth), but every person needs to work with the truth that he can handle on his current madreigah (level). If we tell a person something that’s emes but it’s above his level right now, it’s actually not the emes for him. This is because emes includes the beginning, middle, and end (rosh, toch, sof) of a matter [the emes includes the entire picture], and if a person can’t handle something that’s emes, it means that the particular emes for him which he can’t handle is in the category of something that has no “end” to it, making it Ein Sof (endless) for him - which he is not able to comprehend right now.
That is one reason why people can’t always handle the truth, besides for 2 other reasons that are more deeply rooted, which may be the cause also: (1) There are different shorshei neshamos (soul roots), with some people being rooted in the kav yemin which makes them lean towards chessed], others rooted in the kav s’mol [which makes them learn towards gevurah and din, strength and judgment], and others rooted in the kav emtza [“middle line”, which naturally can fuse both aspects together]. (2) There is also a general difficulty that people have, when it comes to dealing with the truth.
QUESTION I have been listening to the Rav and learning the sefarim for over 6 years and I understand very well what the Rav says. (I don’t think I’ve reached my Yechidah yet.) I’ve reached the conclusion that although the Rav’s Divrei Torah goes incredibly deep and while it’s clear that the Rav is trying to help Klal Yisrael, I still think that the Rav’s teachings are only applicable to the Rav’s level, and that anyone who tries to “imitate” the Rav is being like Haran who imitated Avraham by jumping into the fire. The Rav’s Torah has an ongoing theme of a lot of harsh, judging “Gevuros” and “Tzimtzum” - to close yourself off in an inner world and live in one’s own private inner silence. For most people to do this, this is like asking them to die – it’s not an elixir of life that make them more alive, it is basically a poison that would kill them off. From what I understand, the Rav’s Divrei Torah focuses on all the darkness and concealment of G-dliness that there is on our world, how the generation is so far from feeling Hashem and how bad the world has become. With all due respect to the honor of the Rav, this doesn’t sound anything like what Mashiach ben Dovid will reveal, the light that will come to the world, the G-dliness that will be revealed in the world. Will Mashiach ben Dovid ask everyone to close themselves off in an inner silence and be cut off from the world? That sounds more like the avodah of Mashiach ben Yosef (based on what I understand from the sefarim about the roles of the two different Mashiachs), and yes, Mashiach ben Yosef is first needed in order for Mashiach ben Dovid to do his avodah, but the goal and purpose is the avodah of Mashiach ben Dovid, who will revive the world and bring light into the world. but the Rav’s Divrei Torah makes us focus on darkness and on how G-dliness is so concealed from the world. It’s all about he’elam (concealment, darkness) and not giluy (revelation, light). It doesn’t make us want to jump up and dance and sing and be happy on this world. Someone who is really kadosh (holy) is someone who knows how to come down to the level of everyone on this world and help them in the place where they are, to show chessed and rachamim on them and shine light on them. We can see that very well in the teachings of Rav Kook, who teaches how to take the quiet d’veykus of the inner and concealed dimension and to make it become revealed to all, to light up life on this world, to live in what that reality truly is, and not to just live in our hopes and fantasies for a better world. I very much respect the Rav and I hope I’ve been understood. Have a gmar chasimah tova.
ANSWER:
Thank you. May you rise and succeed! Everything you are saying here is true and correct after the Erev Rav will be cut off, and not before that. Before the Erev Rav is destroyed, we are currently in the peak of the 50th gate of tumah which is in control, something which wasn’t around 1 or 2 generations ago. And that results in a major difference, which necessitates a change of direction [on our avodah in this generation].
QUESTION How did the Rav reach so much clarity in avodas Hashem, the complexity of the soul, and the understanding of pnimiyus haTorah? How was the Rav so successful in avodas Hashem, which for most people is so difficult and filled with failure and lack of clarity (even to those who seek truth)? How did the Rav go through so many sefarim without becoming confused? How did the Rav grow so much and become so pure, whereas the rest of us are still groping in the dark and constantly falling into aveiros, bad middos, and major mistakes in how we think and act? Did the Rav ever go through a lot of darkness and confusion in life in order to get there….?
ANSWER You have asked a very difficult question! If only I would be zocheh to all that you have described. Out of hakaras hatov to you I will answer you a little, although it is against my nature [to talk about myself].
You ask if I have went through difficult experiences in my life, and the answer is: Yes.
You asked if I can go more into detail about it, and the answer is as follows. My main difficulty started from childhood, when I couldn’t stand sheker (falsity). Because of this, I suffered a lot in my soul [emotionally], and I also suffered from just being on this world, which is called the “world of falsity”, by having to be involved with people where I was exposed to so much falsity from others. And this was tremendous suffering for me!
In addition, in my teenage years when I became more mature, I suffered when I began to recognize and feel that there is an iron wall that separated between me and the internal light, the light of the neshamah, and the Infinite Light of Hashem.
Besides this, I suffered greatly from the “empty space” in the soul which makes a person feel hollow inside, as it says in the verse “And also the soul is not filled”. This is the greatest suffering that I recognize.
In addition to this, my heightened sensitivity also caused me to suffer a lot, because “Increase of knowledge is an increase of pain.”
After I got married, now more than 20 years ago, I suffered from a lot of humiliation [from others] as a result of giving shiurim and producing sefarim and trying to benefit the public [which caused others to react strongly to me and be opposed to me], and all that this entailed, which was a lot.
Besides for this, though, my main suffering is due to the contradicting aspects in my soul, which need to be balanced. And as a result of these imbalances, I also suffer from physical aches.
QUESTION 1) Who is the “Bilvavi” sefer especially catering to? 2) What type of audience did the Rav deliver the classes to upon which the sefer is based on? It is targeting kolel people or working people? 3) Also, what is unique about this sefer which isn’t included in sefer Mesillas Yesharim?
ANSWER 1) It is a sefer that is speaking to the simple, earnest part of every Jew’s soul. It is meant to fulfill the words of the prophet Chavakuk who said that the entire Torah can be summed up in one point: “A righteous person lives by his emunah (faith in G-d).” 2) It is meant for all of Klal Yisrael to learn and it is not targeting any specific group or community of Jews. 3) Sefer Mesillas Yesharim is based on ten steps of growth that are rooted in the Ten Expressions which Hashem created the world with, which span the entire gamut of the soul. The sefer Bilvavi, in contrast to this, is addressing the simple, earnest point of a Jew’s soul.
QUESTION The Rav’s sefarim are based on teachings primarily found in both Bresslev and Chabad, is this the intention of the Rav’s approach in the “Bilvavi” sefarim to integrate those two approaches together, and is such an approach found in any other sefarim?
ANSWER The approach [of the “Bilvavi” sefarim] is to synthesize every way of avodas Hashem together. It is based on the illumination found in the End of Days in which everything is coming together, which mimics the concept of Dan, who is found at the “end” of the camp and whose role is to “gather together all of the camps”. Even more so, the intention [of the approach in the Bilvavi sefarim] is to reveal the intrinsic, unchanging essence (etzem), which is the power of the tribe of Yehudah, and to integrate together Dan (gathering together all the ways of serving Hashem) and Yehudah (revealing the unchanging reality of Hashem), because that was the idea of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), which was made through Yehudah and Dan.
QUESTION How is the Rav able to take the “middle path” between all of the many different approaches in avodas Hashem and integrate them all together? How are we able to do this? How is the Rav able to combine together the Litvish and Chassidic approaches together (and also different Chassidic approaches together), if each path is based on a certain approach that totally does not agree with the other approach? How can a person fuse together different approaches in his avodas Hashem when each approach was diametrically opposed to the other? How can a person “take from everyone”, isn’t this a problem of being mehapech tzinoros, mixing different channels of Heaven that oppose and contradict each other? For example, if the Gra would be around today, would he approve of a Litvish kolel avreich applying a concept of the Baal Shem Tov or Baal HaTanya in his avodas Hashem…?
ANSWER I already asked my Rebbi, the Rosh Yeshiva Rav Gershon Edelstein, earlier than 15 years ago about this, especially after I received sharp critique from others because I was mostly using a lot of Chassidic approaches in the shiurim I gave. He answered me that I had already received this way of avodah from the approach of Rav Dessler, who taught in the yeshivah I learned in. You can see very well in sefer Michtav M’Eliyahu of Rav Dessler that he often combines together the approaches of mussar and Chassidus. Rav Edelstein told me to take the same approach and to continue teaching in that way. If we analyze this from a deeper perspective, it is really because the End of Days enables a spiritual light where everything becomes integrated together, which enables an approach that encompasses together every approach in avodas Hashem. It is the secret of unifying all of the Torah together, and also the secret of unifying all of Klal Yisrael.
QUESTION Why isn’t this going against each person’s mesorah in avodas Hashem that each person has based on his yeshiva or community that he’s part of?
ANSWER You find, for example, that today a person can be “generally Chassidic” without identifying himself with a particular Chassidus, and there can be many different external reasons for this, but the deeper reason is because the light of the End of Days is shining, in which everything can be integrated together. That is why Rav Dessler taught mussar and chassidus together in the yeshiva of Ponovezh which he taught in. Additionally, it was from the approach of Rav Hutner [taught to me by Rav Yonasan David shlit”a] that I first received the ability of deep Torah thought, and it was Rav Hutner who said about himself “To the chassidim, I am too Chassidish, and to the Litvish, I am too Chassidish….”
QUESTION What is the source for the Rav’s entire approach in avodas Hashem? Which sefarim is the Rav mainly coming from? Of the 4 elements (earth, water, wind, fire), what is the Rav’s primary element? (Based on my understanding of the 4 elements which I’ve learned from the Rav, it seems to me that the Rav’s approach contains a lot of fire (constant spiritual growth that demands a person to go higher and higher towards Hashem), a lot of wind (fusion of different views together), and a lot of earth (organization and structure, step after step), and I’m not sure which of these elements is the root of the Rav’s path in avodas Hashem. (It doesn’t seem to me that “water” can be the primary element of the Rav’s path). Also, someone pointed out to me that he doesn’t understand how the Rav is able to combine so many different approaches of all of the sefarim hakedoshim and synthesize them together. If each sefer is coming from a different kav of avodah (spiritual sphere that creates a certain corresponding form of serving Hashem) which is in contradiction with a different kav of avodah, how is the Rav able to fuse all of these approaches together? How can a Litvish approach be fused with the Chassidic approach, and how can one Chassidic approach work together with a different Chassidic approach that contradicts it? How is the Rav’s approach not in contradiction with our mesorah (tradition) and how is it all aligned with our mesorah? I think that if more people would know the root of the Rav’s path in avodas Hashem and the main “element” which the Rav’s path corresponds to, they would be able to gain a lot more from the Rav’s approach.
ANSWER The main “elements” [in the “Bilvavi” approach] are as follows: The element of earth is the basis (kli) of the approach, and the spiritual illumination (ohr) of it manifests as “fire-of-wind.”
The path [which the “Bilvavi” approach] stresses is “kelalut hakol”, inclusivity of everything [or comprehensiveness]. In order to counter the ruination caused by the “Erev Rav”, the evil spiritual forces which cause mixture and confusion in everything, we need an approach that unifies together everything. Each person, according to his own ability, is able to unify and bring everything together. But, if a person acts above his level and beyond his capabilities when he tries to do this, he becomes mixed up and confused.
QUESTION The Rav recently clarified that his approach in avodas Hashem is based on the element of “earth” which is expressed in “fire-of-wind”. Does this mean that the Rav’s approach is only for those who have a strong element of earth or those who have a strong amount of wind-of-fire?
ANSWER Those who are mainly living their lives shelo lishmah (not for the sake of Heaven) are more interested in pleasure, and they will not connect that much to the [Bilvavi] approach.
QUESTION How can it be that the Rav’s approach is based on the element of “earth” but it’s actually expressed in a way that’s “fire-of-wind”? Did the Rav mean that his approach is earth-of-fire-of-wind?
ANSWER [The revelations that come from the spiritual dimension called] Atik corresponds to the element of “earth” [in the esoteric]. When Atik [esoteric “earth] descends into the lower realms, it is called Keser, which corresponds to the esoteric element of “wind”. Getting more specific [Keser is comprised of two levels – the higher level Keser is called Atik and the lower level Keser is called Arikh], the world of Arikh corresponds to the “right”, symbolizing kindness, the element of water, whereas the world of Atik corresponds to the “left”, symbolizing restraint, the element of fire.
QUESTION The Rav has explained that his approach mainly uses the elements of earth, fire and wind. What is the main element in the Rav’s approach? Is it earth or is it fire-of-wind? Is the element of “earth” the main part of the Rav’s approach, since it is the basis of the Rav’s approach, or is the main part of the Rav’s approach the “fire-of-wind”, which is the outcome of the basis for the Rav’s approach?
ANSWER Same answer as above. The basis of the approach is to apply the power of organization and structure [the element of earth]. In more inner terms, the basis of the approach is coming from the essence of havayah [the inner point of reality]. From the viewpoint of the essence of havayah, the basis that is organization and structure completely fills everything. From the viewpoint of the lower basis, the movement of fire-of-wind is expressed in a way of organization and structure.
QUESTION I connect very much with the Rav. I very much want to learn all the Rav’s Torah words, but it is difficult for me, because I haven’t yet become clear about my soul. How can I know if I have the same shoresh haneshamah (soul root) as the Rav’s?
ANSWER You have parts of a similar “soul root” [to mine], but we do not share the same exact soul root. You should take [from the shiurim and sefarim] any parts [of my soul] that are compatible with yours.
QUESTION How can a person know if his rebbi is the right one for his shoresh haneshamah (personal soul root)? How can a person figure out the shoresh neshamah of his rebbi?
ANSWER A person can know the shoresh neshamah of his rebbi by learning the Divrei Torah of his rebbi - but only if he already has daas, if he can think logically and sensibly).
QUESTION I have a general question about the entire deep, inner and truthful approach of the Rav, and I hear this question from other people as well, who sometimes struggle with the Rav says and they have a hard time accepting what the Rav is saying. Could it be that the Rav’s approach only works for people in Eretz Yisrael, and not for Americans? Because after all, the Rav did grow up in Eretz Yisrael, where people there are generally made of ‘tougher skin’, and where the “Torah of truth” is more found, so perhaps we can assume that the Israeli audience can more easily handle the truthful approach of the Rav, whereas Americans have a harder time with the truthful approach of the Rav. Also, the Rav is speaking from a very truthful place in the soul, and the Rav often demands a lot of intense deep spiritual growth from people. Maybe Americans just can’t handle this? Because we in America grow up surrounded with tumah and mixed with the goyim, and we’re much more affected by secular culture than our Israeli counterparts. And in America, the more popular approach that works for people here is to focus on the positive, to feel good about ourselves, to constantly get chizuk. Though many people feel that the Rav is speaking the truth, a lot of people in America find the Rav to be too much for them, and they have a hard time accepting what the Rav says. So, basically my question is: When the Rav speaks, is the Rav mainly addressing an Israeli audience, who can better handle what the Rav is saying, as opposed to Americans, who can’t really handle as much what the Rav says? And in particular, is the Rav’s approach mainly for those who are bnei aliyah, who are far and few between? Of course, any person on any level can gain from the Rav’s psychological insights about the human soul, but I’m asking about the very truthful and inner approach of avodas Hashem which the Rav talks about. Can this approach also apply for those in America…? Yasher Koach to the Rav for all of the holiness and purity which the Rav bestows us with.
ANSWER Even in Eretz Yisrael, most people are not searching for this [truthful] approach. There is never any one way of avodas Hashem that works for everyone, and this way [the “Bilvavi” derashos and sefarim] is only one of the ways of avodas Hashem. Each person needs to find the way that is suitable for him.
Often, people who live in chutz l’aretz are not looking for a “way” of avodas Hashem, and they are instead looking for a ‘compromise’ – they are looking for a way to have the best of both This World and the Next World at once. But there is no such way.
The way of avodas Hashem which we [I] emphasize is not in order to “demand more growth” from people. It is just to clarify and become precise about what we face, and that, in and of itself, can demand something from us….
QUESTION Sometimes people can’t handle emes (truth) and when they are told something that is emes, they say, “I don’t want to hear mussar right now, I need chizuk. Don’t tell me things that depress me. Tell me something that makes me feel good about myself.” The Rav’s approach is very truthful and it seems that not everyone can handle what the Rav says. Is this because a lot of people aren’t really meant to be so truthful? Or is it because many people are on a low madreigah and they don’t want to grow, or is it because some people by their very nature can’t handle being so truthful and they need a different approach?
ANSWER Everyone needs emes (truth), but every person needs to work with the truth that he can handle on his current madreigah (level). If we tell a person something that’s emes but it’s above his level right now, it’s actually not the emes for him. This is because emes includes the beginning, middle, and end (rosh, toch, sof) of a matter [the emes includes the entire picture], and if a person can’t handle something that’s emes, it means that the particular emes for him which he can’t handle is in the category of something that has no “end” to it, making it Ein Sof (endless) for him - which he is not able to comprehend right now.
That is one reason why people can’t always handle the truth, besides for 2 other reasons that are more deeply rooted, which may be the cause also: (1) There are different shorshei neshamos (soul roots), with some people being rooted in the kav yemin which makes them lean towards chessed], others rooted in the kav s’mol [which makes them learn towards gevurah and din, strength and judgment], and others rooted in the kav emtza [“middle line”, which naturally can fuse both aspects together]. (2) There is also a general difficulty that people have, when it comes to dealing with the truth.
QUESTION I have been listening to the Rav and learning the sefarim for over 6 years and I understand very well what the Rav says. (I don’t think I’ve reached my Yechidah yet.) I’ve reached the conclusion that although the Rav’s Divrei Torah goes incredibly deep and while it’s clear that the Rav is trying to help Klal Yisrael, I still think that the Rav’s teachings are only applicable to the Rav’s level, and that anyone who tries to “imitate” the Rav is being like Haran who imitated Avraham by jumping into the fire. The Rav’s Torah has an ongoing theme of a lot of harsh, judging “Gevuros” and “Tzimtzum” - to close yourself off in an inner world and live in one’s own private inner silence. For most people to do this, this is like asking them to die – it’s not an elixir of life that make them more alive, it is basically a poison that would kill them off. From what I understand, the Rav’s Divrei Torah focuses on all the darkness and concealment of G-dliness that there is on our world, how the generation is so far from feeling Hashem and how bad the world has become. With all due respect to the honor of the Rav, this doesn’t sound anything like what Mashiach ben Dovid will reveal, the light that will come to the world, the G-dliness that will be revealed in the world. Will Mashiach ben Dovid ask everyone to close themselves off in an inner silence and be cut off from the world? That sounds more like the avodah of Mashiach ben Yosef (based on what I understand from the sefarim about the roles of the two different Mashiachs), and yes, Mashiach ben Yosef is first needed in order for Mashiach ben Dovid to do his avodah, but the goal and purpose is the avodah of Mashiach ben Dovid, who will revive the world and bring light into the world. but the Rav’s Divrei Torah makes us focus on darkness and on how G-dliness is so concealed from the world. It’s all about he’elam (concealment, darkness) and not giluy (revelation, light). It doesn’t make us want to jump up and dance and sing and be happy on this world. Someone who is really kadosh (holy) is someone who knows how to come down to the level of everyone on this world and help them in the place where they are, to show chessed and rachamim on them and shine light on them. We can see that very well in the teachings of Rav Kook, who teaches how to take the quiet d’veykus of the inner and concealed dimension and to make it become revealed to all, to light up life on this world, to live in what that reality truly is, and not to just live in our hopes and fantasies for a better world. I very much respect the Rav and I hope I’ve been understood. Have a gmar chasimah tova.
ANSWER:
Thank you. May you rise and succeed! Everything you are saying here is true and correct after the Erev Rav will be cut off, and not before that. Before the Erev Rav is destroyed, we are currently in the peak of the 50th gate of tumah which is in control, something which wasn’t around 1 or 2 generations ago. And that results in a major difference, which necessitates a change of direction [on our avodah in this generation].
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