Tanya By Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz Sec 4 Chap. 9 “How to open your eyes & see G-D”

welcome to thanks tiny class we are studying Tanya we're in the fourth section of Tanya called the gerotor Kodesh the holy letters and we're holding letter number nine chapter nine and as I always say that in Tanya every single chapter is a foundation of mysticism so each one is independent so to speak and it's complete but you learn really powerful ideas of mysticism and each chapter so tonight in chapter 9 and we Garrett echo - the author is going to teach us how to really open our eyes and see God who wants to open their eyes and see God's what we want to open our agency god yes because what happens is the optimist teaching us a how do you open your eyes and see God and when you're able to open your eyes and see God you'll have such a easy time doing your God once whether it's prayer Torah study and more importantly in this case and this chap the author was gonna focus on charity how important it is to give charity but the right weighting of charity because there's a right way to give charity and then there is the way when you give charity the way the Optoma teaches you here which is the right way you'll give it with an open heart and you will to give it constantly and it'll have a real connection with God and that's the reason why we're giving charity so here we're gonna learn how to open our eyes and see God and obviously therefore if we do that but they'll think give charity freely to everyone and especially if take care of your family in a godly way and so on and so forth okay so the first of the outdoor starts off and he teaches us something very very powerful and that is as follows we know there's a term in Hebrew called heaven or hell javelina hewill have Alim it comes from the idea that it's something that's not or nothing so for example there are certain things there are something and there are certain things which are nothing so what's considered for example a something now to everyone is a little different what's really is something but what's really is something what's a something something of value real value anybody realvalue huh love is a real value okay close to God is real value okay huh relationships okay that's it's about life okay so they're all correct answers but if you go to the core of the something that's uh something what's the only thing that really exists God God is only it really exists your family's a part of God love is a part of God and so on but ultimately you get the hardest heart of the heart or anything what's really is something that's the real yes or in terms of Kabbalah the yes from eg the real the true something is God now what is this materialistic whole world that we living in and materialistic world is everything it could be houses cars tables Cheers anything materialist materialistic in this world so the Opera says that anything materialistic in this world goes under the classification of Hevel or possibly ever love all of them nothing nothing nothing whoa so then the question is why God created if it's nothing what God created and if we said everything is a part of God so then why are you calling you know nothing God God created a bunch of nothing's to do what so we should be busy but not nothing to be busy with nothing what does it mean God create a bunch of nothing's so the author explains and this is a very powerful insight this will hopefully be a good paradigm shift into everything you do in life it's as follows that materialism yes is heaven is nothing except there's one exception unless it has a higher purpose so when you attach a higher purpose to a nothing it goes out from being or nothing to being or something so for example you take a piece of wood nothing what if you take the piece of wood and you carve it out and you make a table and now on the table we sit and we put our books down and we study so now this table went from being a nothing to or something because that has a higher purpose take a cheer take a house take anything physical in this world it's really a nothing but if you create a higher purpose to it it has value even a human being if you do nothing that's what you did nothing but if you are doing something which has a higher purpose you're making God's presence in the world felt in a real way so you turned yourself from being in tune into nothing to being into something something is the definition as long as you're doing something for a higher purpose it becomes of something so you can take anything in this world magic you can be like the biggest magician around you want to see me turn something into nothing or nothing into something I kick you all both ways by the way if you take away something's higher purpose from something you took something which had a higher purpose you took away the higher purpose you turn into nothing and vice versa if you take something which has no prior purpose and you give it a higher person if purpose becomes of something so we have the power to create some things by giving it a higher purpose we have a power unfortunately creating nothing's by taking away the higher purpose so think about even in education if you take a child your child if you're teaching in class and you inspire people you show people how they can make a difference in the world you've made a real something out of them you even have a higher purpose or and they got a college of it I want to say this view tell someone hey you can't make an impact in the world you take away their power and their thinking they could you turn them into a nothing so the biggest gift you can give yourselves or anyone else or anything else is give it a higher purpose once you give it a higher purpose you will have taken a heavy a nothing and turned it into uh some things now God made us with a godly soul and a physical body now what we say before who is a something what is a something God and a higher purpose what's interesting is our body our goof our body our net our animal soul has a different terminology a different description what's something on what's nothing our never our animal soul our body says what to something stuff things things places anything that makes me feel good and fills my time material materialism becomes a something so now you have a big conflict we just created a stage of a war war and this war happens guess when every single second of our life the godly soul says guess what I want to live my life with a higher purpose that means everything I do from the morning til at night all throughout the week well throughout the month throughout the year I want to have a higher purpose this way I will be creating real value real something a godly connection the animal soul says what do I want and it makes me feel good and here you have the godly soul the animal soul living in the same body it's like having two drivers in one car and they both want to drive so the Pens who's driving if the teenagers drive it's getting a nice bumpy ride and a wild ride and if I see an older person 90 years old is driving you're gonna be going maybe five miles per hour and he feels good it's calm it's slow right and that bumpy very you know you get to see a lot for a long period of time so what happens now is when the animal soul or the body starts engaging in the world without a higher purpose has the godly soul feel how's it feel doesn't feel so great so what are you doing you don't feel great you know what the godly soul does when you start engaging in the materialistic world that had without a higher purpose and the godly souls not excited about it what is he gonna do he's gonna fight with you he lost he does not driving the car now so he and God Lisa doesn't fight she no he does he goes to sleep what are you when you go to sleep you close your eyes he goes your eyes so he basically closed his eyes makes for leave he doesn't hear it doesn't see it you see tries to deny himself he goes to sleep now so that is the vision of a human being when the godly soul is proactive and he's creating a higher purpose his eyes are wide open if the animal soul the body is running the show the godly soul is there because this can't run away it's in the body but what it does is it closes its eyes so here the Opera teaches us and he inspires us that guess what if you close your eyes you don't have anything close your eyes you see nothing they've got they've got the soul's eyes and who's running your life your animals soul your body and what are you involved with you around with nothing software says don't allow yourself to go to sleep and don't feel like you're a loser and a failure that you can open your eyes open your eyes but what do you mean we're busy with materialism so the optimist says I'm going to teach you something guess what in every single thing that the body is doing and the animal souls are entering for business stuffs enjoying enjoying a nice beautiful dinner or going out to a park or going for a ride or a vacation so the one hand the college says hey where's the high purpose comes along the alternative ever says open up your eyes get yourself to work put yourself to work start digging start looking for the godliness and everything in the world so when you're eating dinner you can say it's just food has no purpose that's what one can say if you look at the external part but if you look deep down there's a godly spark in that food that we are elevating when we eat it well if you're going to the park or just want to chill out and you start looking at all these wonderful things that God created and you recognize that God created it and how beautiful it is you know what happens now now becomes a godly experience it's a comes along in the after when the Alfre says that we should look at the godliness and everything we should look at the godliness everything everything what does that mean practically that bridge is a very practical example we are living in a world that the way the world works is in order to survive the world or more importantly even to thrive in the world you have to work everyone has to have a job gift of a job you have to go out you got to do something now when a person has a job why are you working on this on a external level why are you working you're working because you want the paycheck at the end of the week or if you're in your hustler and a businessman you want to make the deal you want to get the profit at the end of the deal so a person works either for the paycheck if you're an employee to make you happy money makes you happy I get it I get it I got it or are you doing it because you want to close the deal and walk over it with a profit so that's one reason why the person working now and the other reason why you're working you're working so you can earn the money but not because you just need the money the money has no value we said the money is nothing but the money gives you the power that you can support your family and you can do great things for the community we do great things for the community and here the auto teaches us a very powerful lesson there's a verse that sounds like this me I'm hoarse well who is as great as the Jewish people and it says go ahead and one nation but all right so in in the in the in the land what is arts mean arts means the land physical land what is the verse a guy a hard one in the land what is that about teaching us that we should look for in the art cos in the materialism of the and whether it's in the job whether whether it's in the street wherever we are we should always be looking for the F Codd what is the ultimate after all what's X I mean one what is the ultimate of one it's a Shem so we should be always looking for the one list for Shem and everything in this world now when a person is doing that now it creates meaning and purpose and it creates a higher purpose than everything you're doing so this way when you're out working you're not just working because you want the paycheck at the end of the week or to make the profit of the deal you're working because you want to find God and godliness in the materialistic world and when we look for God in godliness imperiously the world guess what happens our whole day becomes filled with a higher purpose so the argument says the godly soul doesn't have to close his eyes and the country keep it opened and look look you'll find God in here and God near have soccer practice you'll find divine providence and everything but you have to look and the altar it gives a interesting example in shows like this we all pray three times a day we all know the highlight of the prayer service you know there's the blessings we say there's the sacrifices we say in the morning is the suki de xira the praise for God there's no blessing before the Shema and then what happens is the highlight of the prayer service is one verse which is literally like the peak of the mountain of a prayer service what's that verse very good Sh'ma Israel hashem elokenu hashem echad very good what is that saying here o Israel the infinite part of God of Shem a low Cain is a finite part of God Hashem getting back to the infinite it's a call it's all one it means infinite finite it's all part of the oneness of God now let's take it a step further when we say Akkad what do we have to meditate Eckhart is made up of three letters Aleph has and Dollard Aleph resembles what the one the one the wonders of God that is care found in all the seven heavens plus the earth that means when we would meditate we meditate the fact that God is in the seven heavens and the earth and Dollard means he's on all four corners of the world so as we meditate about God and the greatness of God we're meditating this infinite God is all over and in everything now when we say SH MA we have to have in Hebrew it's called carvanha in English is called meditation concentration we have to think about the words matter of fact the whole prayer service you should also understand what you're saying and think about a lot you saying you chef qivana but the Jewish law is in the one line of SHM a few did not think what you were saying is read it I said what do you read oh I just read it you have to go back and read it again smile you have to meditate now generally speaking when you meditate what are some people know that even on some people meditate they go into like a trance what happens they basically close their eyes remember the smile to close your eyes because you don't want any distractions why why do you close your eyes your own distractions because what happens is if you're praying right and your eyes are opened and you're looking around so what do you see you see people you see stuff etc so you get distracted in physical things what happens when you close your eyes what do you see nothing which really you're seeing and we you and now if you've seen nothing and when you were you seeing nothing you're saying gosh am is one seven heavens the earth all over the place what is your mind now seem what's the only thing you're saying God try it close your eyes think about f-con the one God in seven heavens and the earth and all four corners of the earth what are you seeing I'm feeling God Wow now when you're saying that and feeling that that everything is really God do you feel it yes do you believe it yes you even see it you see it now if you were able to keep that your eyes closed to the rest of the day now besides the fact you'll be bumping into walls and you're driving if I have a few accidents but if you were able to close your eyes throughout your day don't don't try this until you arrive I totally I'm sorry I bumped into you right but let's say if you're able to close your eyes conceptually the rest of the day and you think that the oneness of God and everything you did you were just thinking of the oneness of God guess what when you feel God throughout your day absolutely but what happens right after we say smile something kind of hard what we do we open our eyes whereas men are we open our eyes we see this we see that we see him we see her we see right hello what happened the problem was we went from visualizing literally visualizing God and everything and now we're getting distracted distracted by stuff but if we're able to see God and everything guess what if you're able to remain that concentration how would you treat everybody godly if everyone is a part of God and everything is a part of God and everything you see and feel be a part of God you would have such a beautiful dynamic spiritual godly lovely warm relations with anything and everything the problems we open our eyes so the honor is saying even when your eyes are open trying to remember the ideas that you're closed now this way this way why don't you keep your eyes closed on a spiritual level when it comes to giving charity someone needs help would you have a hard time helping so depends if your eyes are open and you size the person up however you size them up and you start making decisions should I give something give you're gonna have a hard time helping but if your eyes are closed conceptually and what do you see you don't see a godly human being that needs help need support it could be financial emotional whatever there's some physical any support they need guess what is that your question you're gonna help to know if you're in that spiritual state guess what you're gonna help with your Twitter open heart why because when you're connecting to God you're gonna want to behave like God how does God behave think about it every single second of the day God creates and recreates the world it means if God was not acting in a passive way to create and recreate the world we would be we would be be here we wouldn't exist we want to be here so God is what is gone doing every second he's giving he's creating he's giving is he judging no because he was judging that's what we wouldn't be so he's now if God is acting in a loving kind way shouldn't we that were connecting to God and we're part of God then we'll connecting God shouldn't we behaving that way so therefore if we really put we put ourselves mentally and spiritually in that level how are we going to treat another you and me that needs help let me cry anyway so come someone offer me says one second based on that if I got you to this great place you ready to help the whole world yes yeah ready why not really why not everything's a part of God's I see the God and godliness and everything I'm ready to help anything and everything so now therefore ask the simple questions so that's the case based on this is there a difference between your family and anyone else there's no difference so in theory you should based on this so far Robert you should help family now and family alike royal family but comes along everybody says you have to remember that the Torah instructor Torah instructor instructs us targeted specific instruction he says that Jewish law is it's not my opinion God says that when it comes to helping a family your wife your spouse your children comfort so then you have to help first let everyone else so in theory from a spiritual perspective once you see the garden godliness you want to behave like God you're helping everybody and in theory there is not the visiting family and anyone else correct but comes low Jewish law and Jewish law says no family comes first and again we know that Jewish law is that four levels who a poor people from your city a different City again that's because Jewish law dictates that and the only reason why you're willing to make all these distinctions because the Torah tells us to make these distinctions we did we didn't create distinction it's like a human being came said okay this person was this person last a Jew asked several questions what does God want me to do how does God want me to behave in this case I have X amount to give to charity hey what does God say how do I do it so it's not like it's not like I take care of myself and I'm gonna take care everyone else no mine what's your needs or my needs as well because we're all part of the same God so here the honor takes interesting twist he says as follows that we all know that we're living today in special times one of the special times now we're living now in the time which is called Equus of the mushy car it's a times before the Messiah coming no it was a time when God created the world and we had the name the patriarchs and the matriarchs and the tribes and the Jewish people in there in Egypt they went to Israel and then we're when Anneliese we were exiled the first temple was built the second temple was built but now we are standing in a threshold right before the Messiah's coming so the Opera Salinas there was a period in history that the main thrust for example let's say was going to Israel and it still is a throne we're not discounting that was the main thing at one period hence the main thing was studying Torah and again we should still study tour no one's taking no one's diminishing we're saying what's the main focal point but the author says we are living today in a time we are in exile and a song that's in exile spiritually what do you want me you want to be out of Exile you want to have the Google or you want to be free you want the art of a side to come so we all want to be redeemed from our challenges and our suffering and we're going through comes over after when he quotes the verse that says from the Rambam across from the realm under armour IDEs that and this is halacha this is Jewish law paying is thrown the garland elevates Luca the Jewish people will you redeemed only through charity so therefore the Opera says even though in the past there was a different maybe type of service but today our vote is to give charity charity means helping people whether it's money whether it's time whatever it may be whatever it goes in the county of charity today our role is to give charity and your author explains it based on like something we know that it says that we stayed in the grace after meals it says that today that no flaw Tsukasa dahveed the sukkah the canopy of David fell down what does that mean we say a lot in the prayers right but in the grace of the meals that suka Stubb expelled them what doesn't mean the canopy and David fell down the Opera explains cabbalistic Lee it's very powerful what is what is David what it what is David who was David David was King David now we know King David worked on himself he was a he was a king of the Jewish people and he worked himself very very much to be close to God and he fasted that he did a tremendous work on herself to come close to God and he was actually one of the Kings so it says that King David reached a level spiritually we know that there's four worlds at salute which is closest to God briea the world of creation it's here in the world information and ASEA the world of action I'm not talking higher and lower took them spiritually in each world you have the 10-0 simon cassidy farah while starting the cockman the intellect car can be das the emotion of customers various nuts Holly showed Marcus all the tensions in each world so the Opera says that King David was in the level of what of mal foot of which world about salute he was the king but on the level of a seal he was so close to God that's what King David worked himself now thank so the optimist says that since unfortunately the King David has created this beautiful canopy of what Malthus of excellence if you came close to King David you were able to feel the kingdom of what then there was God in the world you know King David he didn't go out to war without asking the prophets and he basically resembled someone it was totally connected to God obviously was a human being and he had his you know that as you read the prophets you'll read about different challenges yet in his life but the thrust and the energy you felt by King David was he was in the kingdom of the highest level of its he looked but so so now as his canopy so the Tsukasa the canopy of King David means the motto which is referring to mark littell oh that was Kings Davis canopy that's how you felt in his presence so it's just enough law oh my gosh fell down where did it fall would it fall and the answer is fell down through bria it's zero and something falls it falls to the floor cassia so the this canopy of Malthus absolute which is the high level fell down to where hacia the whole lowest level now in the lowest level so what does that mean what does that mean that God this infinite God there was like all the way up there came down to this physical world so if you're looking for God we can look for him up there I mean God's all over but if you're looking for God we're gonna look from up in Malthus not ceelo's no he's down here we're more the more down you go the more course you go the more where God is not present that's what you're gonna find him so in other words if you're praying and meditating a whole day that's great but guess what you're not gonna find God there if you're studying Torah and doing all the mitzvot that's great it's one of you should do it cuz the Torah says so but you're not gonna find the God that's down here we're you gonna find God you're gonna find God in the lowest of the lowest of places you're gonna find God in places where people are struggling you're gonna find God in places where people are going through different challenges in life and people are yearning and searching when you feel close to God that's great but they're not gonna find God there you know you're gonna find God where people are struggling and people are challenging and people want more and people aren't satiated that's what you're gonna find God so comes along dr. burr said it's very simple where is the greatest struggle where is the greatest struggle think about it somebody that's in need of help someone that needs help could be physical emotional spiritual in any level someone that's like suffering they have nothing knows what's it what's a rich man in the poor man a rich man has everything by a rich man you're not gonna find God we're gonna find God by a poor person by someone that's destitute and again that's doesn't only need money someone that's struggling spiritually they feel like they're totally devoid and empty and they have no relationship of God guess what that's where you're gonna find God when you reach out as so to speak the rich person that has and you help someone and doesn't have guess what it's exactly what you're gonna find God in other words well cuz what happens like this when someone's suffering and someone's going through a challenge and you feel like you're above it do you want to help them no I'm above it I don't need them your evil inclination tells you I'm better than them what do they know but the Torah says no no when you're able to overcome your evil inclination and reach out to someone in need physically spiritually and mentally emotionally and you're able to go help them guess what you're gonna see you're gonna see God you're gonna see God and not all you're gonna see God you're gonna experience God in the deepest level and as when you study Torah when you study Torah so you're starting God's Torah so how you connecting to God so your brain when you're doing a mitzvah how you connecting to God but with whatever physical limbs and organs in your body doing the mitzvot but when you go to somebody that's really in trouble on the lowest level and you're there for them and you help them so you're helping to what the physical person you're helping the godly spark that's lost you will get to merit the CEO to see eye-to-eye with God and the author brings a verse that says that you'll be able to see I am I am which means like this on the infinite level and the most powerful level is God revealed God revealed on this world God's not revealed and the lower you go that's the more God's concealed so doctor says you will see I mean by means the same way in the infinite worlds God is totally revealed when you get down to the lowest level and you reach out to someone that's really in trouble and really you need you will get to see the same way it's seen above Wow and this connection offers is not greater than a connection of intellect or understanding because intellect understanding just you you hear something you understand that you comprehend it here you actually seeing God and godliness so in other words what is the Alpha teaching of this in this chapter it's a very powerful chapter chapter 9 he's teaching us how we can open our eyes literally and see God and it's very simple you want to open your eyes and see God don't look for him in high places doesn't mean you should still study and pray and doom it's 100% but try to do charity and charity where it's needed the most and maybe specifically where your animal soul tells you that that's not needed no that's where it's needed when your animal sources air there are such losers and let's give up on them that's where the Torah tells us guess what help somebody where everyone's giving up on them help someone that really needs help the most help someone that's out and destitute that's the ability to open your eyes and see God in everything and you will merit to see the greatest revelation of God and I think it's really a big gift because guess what doctor was teaching you how you can literally open your eyes and literally see God and the highest levels on the same level the gods revealed in an infinite world he's revealed in this world on the lowest of lowest of levels by literally open your God your eyes and this way you better have real compassion and a real connection with anyone and everyone and charity will be very easy to do because you'll see Garden Dominus in where it's needed and dr. Assessors remember and even though you're willing and ready to help anyone everyone but according to Jewish law family spouse wife children and again any other other laws with the with the halacha tells us what comes first but it's really so beautiful to be able to have the ability to open your eyes and see God and everything in this world