Pleasure for oneself or G-d? What's your focus? Purpose of Existence - Rabbi Chaim Dalfin

so goodday we're learning now chapter 3 we're on page 156 this chapter the AL introduces us to a new insight into existence or better said non-existence now in order to appreciate this chapter one needs to remove themselves from where they are what is around them and everything else that they experience because the AL here the trajectory that he follows is logic a question a logical question reconciling it with reality perceived reality reality and Torah he's bringing together Confluence of three ideas and when you look at it cursory from the outside it's a it seems contradictory and what am I referring to what is he referring to we have a world we live in a world at the same time there's a Creator God now God exists in the world not only does he exist because he create created the world 5,784 years ago but he's recreating the world every moment and that's part of our prayers our prayers every morning we say that at 365 days a year and we're saying it it's not just lip service it's reality the the novelty of creation is Recreation and in what Manner does he do that in the style of what's called yes XO something from nothing and what is the nothing there all there was is was godliness in the terminology used in there was a m h it was space What filled the space godliness God how is it possible for there to emerge from a space full of God something that seems to be non- goodly and and the answer is God himself decided to what we call contract himself which in Hebrew is called theum with Sam to contract himself to kind of remove part of himself that doesn't allow for emergence of anything else to kind of hide it within himself and within himself since he says he he said I want a world the world comes to be so the process ofum of contraction itself from of God from the space allows for the emergence of space in the sense of a world then this world that God makes happen through the tsim Tsum process is then filled by God but not in the same way because if Hashem outwardly is exactly the way he in the world in the world post ssum to preimum that no world can be so how do you how do you have a world the answer is Tsum but did God Walk Away From The World God forbid God is in the world in every iota of the world in every detail of the world world so this is what the ALB is grappling with and presenting to to us here in these first three chapters and now particularly in chapter three and what's his nuda what's his point that this novelty that the world is constantly being recreated every moment in other words here here we are sitting aler the sun is out probably by you guys here too and and we're saying you know what if Hashem wouldn't recreate the world there would be no world but what do you mean I'm looking I'm looking out my window now I see houses across the street that's right that's only because Hashem animates it and and and makes it be now not 5,764 84 years ago and this is p you know Phil philosophically a a difficult idea andus spends thousands of pages thousands of thousands of pages on this one idea is the foundational source for this idea in earlier writers like the rambam and others discuss these ideas for example in his guide for the replex in this book but they're coming from a philosophical perspective called in Hebrew kakir Jewish philosophy and then you have the C cabalists the M okay so we have Mark mha we have cabala we have we have of course we have theal and we have but theal and generally doesn't deal with these issues and deals with these issues the metaphysical not just what we see but why how where when who says so those are all discussions in these three path of Torah they're all Torah but each has a different set of rules and applications and that's why as an aside if you try to apply cabala while learning Jewish philosophy it won't work and if you try to apply Caba pure Caba while learning it won't work either and that's a big mistake that many people make they think one moment M thinks you're so funny balloons go ahead I don't know how that happened but we know inas right now the um we've been learning some very like in chapter 38 chapter 39 very very cabalistic terminology ideas that is is is putting on on the table I'm just mentioning it because that that's very very capitalistic well I will encourage you to listen to Rabbi dolphin's classes that you were part of in which we stripped the cabala from it and we brought it down to the human mind so yes it you know I I know what you're referring to and by there is some language of cabala but that's not even heavy cabala you know there is much as is already warned us and asked me are we going to actually one day learn the last section of Tanya called that's a lot a lot of cab there but it says in 38 and 39 has a few words of malim and and and I can understand your question but if if you really want to understand it non non- cabalistic I'm very serious just Rel listen to those classes but anyway but so so see this is not Caba it's not Caba you know it's a two-way street cabala takes God takes man and and strips him s dresses man it's two different ways Abra up from up or down or for upward so talks about let's say Aus the world of of of of closeness of the world of emanation right so says that the the root word of the word is close what does it mean to be close to God what does it mean to be far from God how why is Aus considered close and Bre the three other worlds are already further from God and that's because the the creation yes begins in Bri not and and we discuss it we give Parables so what this does it has an entire different approach to the same words that are used in cab so to say is Caba is wrong to say cab is wrong do use calistic language absolutely but the entire ethos ofus Caba and three different frames of reference completely so the AL who is part of the Bic movement introducing the Nuance of withinus not just the emotionalism and the enthusiasm but the to try to understand everything and break it down and splitting hairs and and and that excites the heart and therefore it results in a in an action you know yesterday I was interviewed by the kabad magazine who called me you know they want they they they they finally uh I don't know how I know how in my book conversations with the rebba I interviewed 14 personalities one of them was K poak I actually went down to Maran station in Pennsylvania and I interviewed him I remember it like yesterday how I got the interview I might have told you once I think but I'm not going to go into it now it's going to take away too much time anyway so he got he was writing something this freance writer forab I guess was writing about the Reb K CU K po came at least at two different occasions to the Reb fa and the Reb spoke about a writer and what a writer should do as as far as Yiddish kite besides writing the news and you see a picture of PO he he knew Yiddish you know PO poac is a you know was a a boy a teenager who grew up and his wife was from Crown Heights he told me so you know he was uh you know besides being a you know a writer and a SP you know all that he he was someone that knew he knew what was going on so they were writing they want to write about poak and the rebber so he came across my book so he called me this was a week or two ago so I told him he asked me if I had more information I told him some more things then he calls me yesterday he wants to interview me he saw that I've written so much and he says okay so tell me about yourself and why am I saying this to you because as I was talking you know and and and something he asked me where where do you get your drive where do you get your drive so I said first you know first thing is this is how a person's born a certain way but I said there were three people who really impacted my drive the rebba my father and rabo Khan these three people who I consider you know was close to the rabbi close as you can get you know what I'm saying but I I heard him talk and explain and I was around him for 25 30 years of my life right I from childhood from I was five six years old my father would bring me we I would would walk a half an hour from East Flatbush to Crown Heights 20 minutes and I didn't want to go okay I was a six-year-old boy I didn't want to walk and my father said if you don't walk your backs side's going to feel it move there are people who saw this on on remon Avenue they told my father I remember seeing you across the street and your son sat down with me and I don't want to walk and and my father said you don't walk you're I'm going to make you walk and I went when he came there shabas talking about shabas day right we're walking we're not driving and and and he picked me up I remember this you know and he gave me to a friend of his who was standing on the bleachers all the way top looking at the Reb listening and he picked me up and he said that's the Reb look that's the re five six years old okay so I I grew up you know from birth you know my my my bris was on chabas and de moel did a not a great job my relative came running into 77 he said where is my he said where's my father he asked my his son is bleeding that was me a week after I was born at the faan so you know basic I'm I'm I'm from from there that's where I come from so he as so I realized as I was talking to him that that the some of the teachings that I heard from Rab in in an intimate way not just at a class but driving with him a car only me and him when I would take him some places and he would bring up ideas sometimes out of the blue and it you know picked up a lot of lot of ways of thinking about life not just aboutus and not just about the rebba and not just about Torah but about life like Mark and I we drive together many times he's my wingman as he says next week Mark I'm coming into Florida so we talk and I ask him about his his his daughters and he shares me what's going on you know there's something that's becomes very intimate when you're able to have a private time and you can't run out and you don't take a call cuz it's rude you know what I mean see talking like normal people so these ideas of EMS that's what the AL is trying to do in Tanya that's what he's doing in Tanya to explore EMS EMS we should be EMS it's the hardest thing to be EMS it's not easy to be truthful now you'll say well I'm not a liar of course you're not a liar of course we're not Liars but you know sometimes a little bit here a little bit there we don't say the entire truth and and R was a person who there was no room I'm telling you in his life for anything other than EMS just like the rebba really only EMS and and and that's why certain people and certain organizations over the years had a hard time with the rebba why because he just was a straight shooter and and others you know what you know what does this Rabbi say I I shouldn't sign the Declaration because he's going to say this you know all the that all the foolishness that we hear it it's not that it's not 100% it's just not 100% I'm not I'm not saying there aren't other people outside of the laab that aren't that way please there are and it could be and it should be all of us here you don't have to be a rebba for that you have to be an honest person but the way of the world it sleps you down you know from your your April 15th tax deadline to I remember Isa told us a few months ago how uh people come into his office he's a a doctor and they want him to do this and do that and he says no I'm sorry you know I have I have protocol I have honesty you want to go elsewhere go elsewhere it but it's hard imagine imagine someone comes in from your own Shool and you're on and and and asks the wife of one asks for something and you know it's not 100% there are challenges at the same time at the same time you for example mha the rebba was so the Reba didn't allow and didn't want anyone that asked him to go to that he had a relationship with aik he would many times write to them without like fooling and cheating the T tax authorities you know at at the at the border you know who some you bring in sometimes an item when you come from America there just SL the technically you have to pay tax on but you know you put it in your bag and you know you say it's for myself and I'm just saying the Rebo there was no such a thing and the answer isra and again it's something to live up to you know it's something to live up to that is it's difficult so so the AL in t wants is doing the same thing with Creation with the the world that we live in how do we find truth here is the world a reality or it's not a reality and if it's a reality and God took you know God is hiding okay is but at the same time God is here how do we exist that's the chapter here and the novelty in this chapter is it's not just that Hashem created the world or recreates the world when you say Hashem recreates the world right once he recreates the world does the world exist seemingly yes chapter 3 says no wait a minute the world doesn't exist the world exists I'm I'm not I'm here so how how did the two go together so Noti on one hand we say the world doesn't exist and the other hand we say the world does exist how do you reconcile it to so that that's that's what we're in middle of explaining so let's go now to text Page 156 and um we are let's go back to where is the words I'm okay okay the third line Sorry the fourth line towards the end of the line M so gave us a mus of the or the the light of the sun within the Sun that the light is there but it's nullified to the sun we spoke about this at length yesterday so please listen to that she I don't want to repeat it now and so too similarly mus in their [Music] imagery is the same regarding all creatures in comparison to the influence of God from the spirit of his mouth that influences creatures and creates them The Who and this she of God is is M this is their source so in other words the source of hm is within Creation in creatures in created beings they themselves the the created beings are only they're comparable to the light and Ray coming from the Sun coming from the of God that then influences them and invest itself in in in in creatures might and allows them to emerge from nothingness to something therefore they are nullified in existence in comparison to their source and he he says for example go back to the example he says the light of the [Music] Sun the ray of the sun is uned in its existence it's considered not and it's not called at all an existence while it's in its source only once it comes out of the under the heaven that the source is not there I the source is hidden The Source meaning God and God's energies hidden go so too All Creatures they don't have the name yes at all we from from our perspective there's a yes from our perspective there's something that exists we do not see we do not comprehend at all the source which is the spirit of God that creates them that's why what do we see what do we see we see the physical in other words we're spiritually blind said earlier the chapter if God would have given us permission we would we could see the the source and the Reb marash said you some of you missed this yesterday I shared it yesterday that through hard work you can see the source could you imagine a you walking down the street and you see in the tree the force of God animating the tree like the story of the famous H he D for many hours shabas he meditated he walked outside and he saw a tree and he said ah the the word of God he saw the word of God he didn't just see it here he saw it of course he saw it here but it became his reality so too and everything what we see normally is the cover up is the facade the glitz the it's glittery you know glitzy and all that the Al said earlier if you would if we were given permission and usually we're not given permission and we don't make it possible to see it we don't see the source and that's how the world emerges that's what he says here and look at the three words here therefore to our eyes what do we see number one the physicality of creatures and their cority and their tangibility yes which and they are completely yet complete yes existence real existence to the ray of the sun which is seen as a real existence when it's not in its source MAA drer can you mute yourself please okay so the comparison want to make sure you understand just like the ray of the Sun in the sun ball is not it's there but it's not even though says also the chapter it's more powerful there because if it can illuminate the world outside of the sun ball needless to say it can it it's very it's more powerful closer to the sunbow right iser where are you more um kind of animated excited and and as a person as Aid as a Jew when you're near your rebi or you're outside of your rebi away from your rebi when you're near the re ah although although no question yes thank you same is true with the the the ray of the sun if the rain the sun of the sun can make the world illuminated away from the Sun ball surely when it's in the sun ball it's stronger it's not stronger in the sense that it can illuminate cuz it can't cuz the sun ball is overwhelms it but in its very essence it's more powerful nevertheless nevertheless you hear this nevertheless we do we benefit from the ray of the sun while it's in the sun bolt no we need it to emerge we need the source of the ray of the sun to hide itself cuz if it doesn't we have we have a problem yes yes sir want to say that this was an explanation I heard from by the breast lovers of how they how they Justified going away for months at a time by TI and whatnot to be by the rbit and then come home so it's the charge but the light comes when they leave they're bringing the light out and back into their homes that then illuminates the homes for the rest of the year just right right I just IDE right I just want to conclude now and we'll learn we'll finish tomorrow the chapter mem that they just published uh letters from my wife's uncle Ain sabransky he was the meric to Australia the rebba sent in addition to people who were there from the previous Reb times and the Reb's early years at a certain point they sent out certain people to different places to be what's called am under the which is the umbrella Organization for Ed education for kabad called merus okay so this Rabbi AR Aon sabransky was the americ schak who was sent in 1970 I believe to Australia now he he was he after they left Russia and they came to Paris they settled in 1949 in Melbourne Australia so he was a teenager in Melbourne Australia or a little older whatever in those years from 1949 but he didn't come back he he he was there other but but he was you know he got married in ' 62 I think anyway so they published letters um there was a family wedding they publish up letters in a letter one one of the letters the rebba he writes to the rebba in 1956 he studied in 770 came from Melbourne I think with a friend and they were there and in those years I he was very very uh you know open and and and fresh the reab became a rebba right 19505 1 is 56 it's it's just after the Holocaust was just a very very u a time of of opportunity and growth and anyway then he goes back to Melbourne he doesn't have except his father his brother a few others but so he writes to the rebbi he says I feel lonely I I you know I feel lonely being here in Melbourne and I missed the days when I was in 770 in 1956 with you and and he's like crying his heart out you know the rebbi answers him in a letter and they printed the letter the rebbi says to him when you were here you caused pleasure for creation it's called in Hebrew T NRA NRA means the what created yes you had great pleasure being here being with being with the Reb and all that but that's only the pleasure of a creature of a creation when you're a melber serving Hashem there and helping over there you cause what's called T Bor you cause pleasure to the Creator and in there's a lot of discussion about is that the difference between experiencing and Bor versus NRA is Adam for it's like M day and night right a creature of a creature creation how much pleasure could they have as much as a cre a creation can feel which is limited one second one second but making pleasure for hem is is Way Beyond anything so it's true iser there's time to recharge your batteries but we have to remember that being in the source next to the sun it's warm it's hot it's great but that's not really where it counts where it counts is when you're away from the Sun so I think it's very important to to know that you know that the the purpose is to illuminate wherever you are it's easy to kind of I'll move to Jerusalem to Bim and I'll park myself there and I won't leave the four cubits and of of of the walls of of of May sharim and all that of and uh I won't think about the world and my parents and my family and you know heck with all of you no that's pleasuring yourself you're not pleasuring God and if you're a real servant of God bring pleasure to him not to yourself to yourself you have plenty of time and you've done plenty of pleasure all over your life now it's time to bring pleasure to Hashem have a great day everyone we'll see everyone tomorrow take care byebye thank you