Instructions On Canning Egoism
The Book of Zohar, Introduction, Chapter “BeLaila DeKala (On the Night of the Bride)“: …the Sitra Achra has only a thin light of the illumination of Malchut. This is regarded as Shoresh [root], and it is sufficient for the persistence of the Klipot… This Shoresh is also called “a fine thread,” meaning a thin root for the sins. It is written about it, “At first, it is akin to spider-web, and later it becomes as cart-ropes.”
Klipa is Kelim that we are unable to correct yet by the intention of bestowal. We are talking about very powerful and important desires in which the greatest Lights will be revealed later on at the final correction. In principle we do not have the possibility of doing anything with the desire for pleasure. We can only sort out its parts and decide which of them we are now able to work with on various conditions.
As for the rest of the desires, we have to “can” them and constantly keep guarding them so they won’t break out and attack us. All the enemies of Israel, meaning those who hate the aspiration “straight to the Creator,” are exactly the great egoistic desires which we cannot correct yet. The Torah calls them the nations that never let Israel be.
Of course, we understand that their wars are the awakening of egoism, which is for a person’s benefit. They enable him to discern his uncorrected desires and “to kill” them, meaning to always find new parts in them that can be corrected and attached to him in order to be used for the sake of bestowal.
Thus, we need to worry about the egoistic parts of the desire which are not yet subject to correction. We have to support their existence and perform special spiritual work for their sake.
After all, I feel them inside me. It’s not enough to simply cut them off and not use them. On the current phase I correct them by giving them a small illumination, designated by the letter Kuf (ק), whose lower part descends beneath the line, bringing a thin glow to the worlds of BYA and to the Klipot that are there.
It’s the same as how a sick person is connected to a life support machine in the emergency room. It’s not that I pretend that these desires don’t exist in me, but on the contrary, I admit that they exist and I rule over them. It turns out that they depend on me because I support a small spark of life in them.
We need the Klipa because, like a peel, it protects the fruit during the period of its ripening. Without these actions we are unable to start correcting Malchut.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/10, The Zohar
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The existence of a negative aspects supplies the grounds to understand and perceive the positive aspects of the same thing in ratio; hence, without a strong desire, one truly is like a plant, content to sit and do nothing. To the plus in an egoistic desire that is pride yields one thing positive, because “something great” is accomplished, however, it also yields on thing negative because pride becomes lofty on its own, forgetting its humble roots, forgetting one did not achieve one’s position, but by the charity of others.
So there are so many angles from which one can view any instance. Even humbleness itself is a form of pride when you really think of it.
In all things, the position of a plus aspect, and what it means, can always be gauged by its negative aspect. Even the general concept that people have of “love” in its “goodest” (no such word– goodest 🙂 but “best”) form becomes so sickly sweet there is no growth at all. Such is the case of children growing up with doting parents that cater to their every whim.
Likewise, the plus aspect of patience. A good thing to a point; however again, there exists a scrutiny whereby common sense needs to be activated.
Recently, I was working with a computer program for which I don’t have sufficient skill. I worked on it for about ten minutes, but it was not an intuitive program, and really, I could see that I could spend enormous amounts of time on it and get nowhere. So I drew a line between “what is patience” and “what is stupidity”. It’s like, I thought, when I was a kid growing up in Vancouver, and I did my share of traveling by bus. In Richmond, (part of the lower mainland) I would sometimes wait for the bus which ran once an hour in the non busy times. If the bus didn’t come, and I figured I had missed it, I would start walking because it was only a half-hour walk. Essentially, I could beat the bus. 🙂
The consideration we make in such little things, allows us a bit of a glimpse into how the Creator views– from all sides.
Loving Thoughts,
Sandra