Given: April 11, 2022
Pesach is here.
The first thing is what seems to be the fall of the Israeli government. The coalition is no longer what it used to be. It is now 60 seats which means it is equal to the number of seats of the opposition. This means that the opposition can actually stop the government from destroying Judaism. What’s significant about this is that it could very well be the beginning of the end because all you need is one more person to leave the coalition and the government collapses. If that happens, they can, possibly, elect a new government even without elections. That’s what I’ve been told.
Fundamentals of Justice’s Claim, its Erosion, and Today’s Situations
The main idea of al pi hashkafa--based on the Divine Plan-- as I’ve been saying, is that the g’zera--decree in which justice has to be satisfied is what constitutes the chaos and calamity in the world. Should you recall the previous shiurim--lectures, this is why Trump lost. It was part of the satisfaction of justice because everything has to be balanced. Jews have to deserve the mashiach so part of that is the domination, the control and the victory of evil over good. Evil has its claim. Since there’s so much evil in the world, it deserves to take the ”top seat.” What’s interesting about this system is that this situation can prevail for a limited time. In the end, when justice has been satisfied, when evil’s claim has been satisfied, its claim begins to erode.
We’re beginning to see this in America because Biden’s poll numbers are really “in the dumps.” I think the whole Democratic Party is sick and tired of Biden because they know it’s going to be a slaughter in the November elections. This itself means that evil, as represented by Biden’s administration and the Democratic Party and the liberal-progressive factions, are beginning to be vanquished. That’s a very important idea. If the decree for them to to be victorious were operational, then this would not be happening. Everything they would be doing would be successful. We see, however, that G-D is not doing that and it tells us that the decree of the victory of evil is dissipating.
Simultaneously, in Israel, the Eirev Rav, those Jews that want to destroy Judaism, also have a claim--same idea--also dominate, but that seems to be ending. If this person quit the coalition, that’s the beginning of the end of the ability of the Eirev Rav to destroy Judaism. What’s very interesting about this is its happening in the month of Nisan, the time of Redemption. That’s certainly an interesting movement forward.
Besides that, the kever--tomb of Yosef Ha’Tzadik was vandalized by arabs. They destroyed artifacts and set fire to it. This too is interesting; why? They’re trying to destroy the ability of Yosef Ha’Tzadik, spiritually, to vanquish the zoama. That’s really what Yosef is. Yosef and Ya’akov took over the job of Esav, as I’ve talked about in other lectures. The major thrust of Yosef’s mission is to stand up to the zoama, the klippa of the Satan. He represents that idea. The Satan, realizing that he’s fast losing his claim, is trying to destroy the resting place of Yosef. That means that he’s trying to destroy Yosef’s ability to remove the zoama which is the job of Mashiach ben Yosef. It’s tragic, but what it indicates is an attempt to stop the spiritual energy of Yosef, that which has the power to destroy the Satan and his minions--the klippas--and destroy his ability to be a power over the world, to destroy the zoama. That seems to be what is happening.
The Existential Contest
It's easy to be fooled but there’s always a war between good and evil. That’s what we’re watching. As I’ve said before, one of the major impetuses of evil, why we see such a display of evil all over the world, particularly in America with the concept of “wokeness” and the demand for normalizing ideas about “gender-fluidity” and all forms of gender distortion, perversion, etcetera, is because the Satan is dying and desperate to get the Jews to sin. This proliferation of evil we’ve been watching is really part of the contest.
We’ve seen this by Moshe Rabbeinu in Egypt when pharoah issued the edict for the Jews to have to gather their own straw to fill their quotas of brick production. That meant that balancing the scales of justice so that evil can satisfy its claims was why the conditions of the Jews had to deteriorate.
This is what we see at the End of Time. Evil dominates in some ways, trying to recoup its energy but, ultimately, if fails just like it failed in Egypt. Since then, we’ve never seen such an incredible victory of evil over good. It’s incredible in terms of the LGBTQ-plus agenda, its perversion. In Israel, we’ve never seen such rabid attempts of the Eirev Rav to destroy Judaism in so many ways, in kashrus, Shabbos, the military, conversion. This is really their “last hurrah.” The Satan is desperately trying to recoup his energy and survive.
We know; it’s predicted. The Gemara tells us that, at the End, terrible things will happen. Civilization will appear to be collapsing. There are so many different statements to this effect, in “Sota,” in “Sanhedrin,” about the ongoing collapse of civilization before mashiach comes, the war between good and evil, but don’t worry! This is what has to be to balance the scales of the heavenly judicial system because people have to deserve the process that brings the mashiach. To begin it, what’s happening is to be expected.
Now, I want to continue with the ideas I spoke of last week and, ultimately, explain them as the underpinnings of Pesach.
The Mechanics
Last week’s shiur was quite detailed about the concepts of the Satan, the original plan of Creation, about the four differentiated levels of zoama and how the levels define and represent the nations. You may wonder why I spent so much time on zoama. The reason is because the basic mission of the Jews in Egypt was to destroy the zoama. We will realize this as we understand the mitzvos. You have to understand the “mechanics,” the operational principles of the Satan and the zoama. So, I’ll continue that then lead into Pesach.
One thing to understand, and which I’ve mentioned previously many times, but which is particularly relevant here, is the question: how do we deal with the mechanics? Mankind was never supposed to confront the zoama. The original plan was for pure geshem--materialism, physicality, to be spiritualized by the energy of the sefiros--spiritual energy, into what is called the neshama--divinity. That was the original task.
Adam, therefore, was physical and yet not physical. Adam was given a task. His job was to avoid the reality of the Satan. Adam was to avoid that Satanic energy, not intermingle with it, just do the mitzvahs--commandments of G-D and not eat from that tree. As a result, a zikuch--purification would have occurred and the materiality of his existence would have changed into that of ruchni--spirit. There would be no zoama to deal with at all, that projection of the Satan, his power, his being. He would be there just to tempt you to sin.
Tragically, Adam failed, together with Chava. They failed. Their reality changed. They “fell,” becoming gross, becoming more physical, like you and me. They changed from some type of hybrid of physicality and spirituality to a physicality that is “zoamic.” This means that they fell “into the basement,” into the actual reality of the Satan. You can’t mesakech--purify if you have the zoama in you.
The consequence of having zoama in you is to be under that influence of the Satan as part of your being. Before, that influence had been external. After, man becomes subject to death and decomposition. The essential idea of the Satan is to decompose, to destroy, to dismember, and so man is subject to death. That is the ultimate decomposition, the ultimate destruction of man. This is the result of having zoama in us. We cannot remove the actual zoama. What we must do Is destroy the Satan himself. He is the one who energizes this projection called the “zoama.” When it is removed, your body becomes purely physical, no longer involved with the Satanic influences. From there, you can go ever higher to become a spiritual being.
Adam changed the nature of reality.
The Reality of the Satan
The world he inhabits, that we inhabit, is physical and evil. There’s only one thing the Satan is interested in. He wants you to believe that you are somebody, that you exist independent of
G-D. That is the entire task of the Satan. We don’t realize that we are subjected to his delusion constantly. We’re constantly trying to get the feeling that we are somebody, that we merit, that we are worthwhile. Mankind is always involved with reassuring itself, that it exists independently. It’s a deep topic that I’ve discussed in other lectures so won’t get into it here. This is a re-cap. It’s important to understand the basic design and tasks, both of Adam Kadmon--primordial man, Adam Ha’Rishon--sole reperesentative of fallen mankind, and, finally, the Jews.
So, how do we destroy the Satan, destroy the delusion he infuses mankind with? How do we change our being into a spiritual entity?
We have to redirect something. If adam, mankind, does the Will of G-d, he brings down what Kabbalah terms “nitzotsei kedusha”--sparks of holiness. These are energies of the sefiros that are “triggered” every time a person does the Will of G-D. It comes “down” in whatever measured amount which, in some way, begins to accumulate and, ultimately, changes the physical universe into a spiritual one. This is what “adam” tries to do.
Adam’s having given existence to the Satan through his failure to resist the nachash kadmoni--primeval snake, means that the Satan, who always existed, was given a makom--place. The Satan now became part of adam, of mankind, of his “body” and, therefore, he now mingles with the zoama which is part of that reality. The sparks of holiness that were to have come down had he obeyed G-D’s singular commandment, went, instead, to the Satan who came into possession of the sparks, the yunika--sustenance, nourishment from that spiritual energy. He can obtain such nourishment when you sin. The spiritual energy you bring down from your service to G-D will go, instead, to the Satan when you sin. As a result, he grows powerful. Initially, Adam gave a “place” for the Satan to have “standing,” in his domain. He now has nitzatsos to sustain himself which is, of course, very bad.
An “adam” can take back those sparks which will weaken him and, ultimately, cause him to perish along with all his minions. If he is destroyed, along with him is the zoama, his projected energy, his power. If that is destroyed, then the products of that zoama, the four levels of evil, of the klippa which I spoke of last week, collapse because the sparks are no longer on the side of evil, called the “sitra achra.” The sparks are now on the side of sitra d’kedusha--side of holiness. The zoama disappears. All these three things happen if, in some way, you could take back the sparks. The Satan dies, disappears, the four levels of evil collapse, and the zoama disappears.
Once those sparks are returned to the side of holiness, they being to activate, are released, and change mankind. That’s zikuch--purification, the process of spiritualization. It’s also the end of death, sickness, tragedies, all evil. The author of these is the Satan so, if he’s gone, these too are gone.
We are now at that point in history where Adam sinned so we see, therefore, that Adam is the determinant. Does the Satan have the sparks of holiness or not? If he does, because Adam sinned, how powerful is he that he can alter history by influencing the nations of the world to do his bidding which is exactly what he does.
Mashichim--Messiahs and Forerunners
If, however, he must give up the sparks, that’s the beginning of the end and all reality changes and that’s what we want. The major neshama--soul that is responsible to remove the sparks from the Satan, collapsing his zoama and eradicating the four levels of evil created by the zoama, is the Mashiach ben Yosef. That’s why he exists. Once Adam fell into the “zoamic embrace,” you need an individual who can contend with that to remove it. Once the sparks are part of the Jewish people, you have the Mashiach ben David who brings down the flow of more sparks. That, ultimately, changes the entire world.
There are two individual souls responsible for two different aspects of the job. One aspect is to raise the physical level of the universe to being more spiritual and, ultimately, Divine. That is why there is a Mashiach ben David. The reason for two people, two meshichim--messiahs, is because one must contend with evil. The other brings down more sparks in order to transform physicality to reach greater and greater spiritual heights. These two have differing personal characteristics. The one who contends with evil must have different characteristics than one who inspires greater holiness, more sparks.
The forerunner of the Mashiach ben Yosef who contends with evil was Yosef in Egypt. His job was to “destroy” the evil of Egypt by ruling over it which we’ll speak about again in the future.
So, the job of adam now, as Adam then, is to conclude phase one called “kefias ha’ra,”-- subjugate evil under holiness. The second phase is “hishpashtus kedusha”--spreading holiness by bringing down more sparks in order to transform reality, to “climb the ladder” so to mirror a divine being.
What happens after that? You have Cain and Hevel, a division of labor. The job of Cain was to fight evil like Mashiach ben Yosef. If you’re familiar with the story, you know that Cain’s offering to G-D was substantially inferior to Hevel’s and so Cain was crestfallen. G-D told him that he could win over evil that lies at the “entrance” and control it, can dominate it because that was his task. Hevel’s job was to bring down more nitzatsos like Mashiach ben David.
We know that Cain killed Hevel. By doing so, he not only gave a “place” for the Satan to exist in the realm of man but to have dominion! Cain’s murder of his brother transferred tremendous amounts of holy energy to the Satan. It became much worse! At least with Adam, man had to contend with the evil who is your “next-door neighbor.” With Cain’s act, the Satan owns the entire hotel and you’re renting a room!
After that, since the Satan had dominion, he was able to influence mankind to commit acts of extraordinary evil. Finally, you arrive at the Flood. After ten generations, all mankind was equal, in a sense, to Adam. Evil-doing had been feeding the Satan with the sparks of holiness while acts of righteousness by Noach took back the sparks to the side of holiness.
Mabul--Flood
At that time, every person had the power to do this tikkun-rectification. There were no Jews then. It was just “mankind.” There was no such thing as “nationhood.” Mankind was like Adam ha’Rishon--Adam after the fall. By the time you get to the mabul--Flood, about 1,560 years later, mankind had reached an unbelievable level of evil. G-D decided that the amount of evil is so great, that the Satan is in possession of so many sparks, that the world had to be destroyed. The major sin that prompted G-D’s decision was one that was irreversible, that of sexual perversion, gender distortion, and bestiality. At that time, if a guy married another guy or an animal, he would have to write a kesuba--a license which means that such practices had been legalized, institutionalized. Homosexuality was legal. Even bestiality was legal. Its irreversibility compelled G-D to destroy the world. It’s as if G-D said: listen! That kind of behavior, such conduct, enables the Satan to acquire an enormous number of sparks. Therefore, I must destroy mankind.
Eventually, what that meant was that mankind does distort gender. That’s what’s happening with unbelievable speed in America and throughout the world. The world is facing the possibility of a mabul--Flood equivalent, which is frightening. The way G-D will rescue the world is to bring the mashiach.
G-D decided to destroy the world at that time. RaMCHaL, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, says the ratio of sparks the Satan had in relation to the sparks in the hand of mankind was the same as the ratio of the size of the flooded area--the entire earth--to the area within the ark!
We recognize that the key task of mankind, or whoever is a mesaken--rectifier, is to destroy the Satan. The only way to ascend from being a gross physical being to a spiritual one is to get rid of the zoama within the self! That is man’s primary task. We are at the point as after the Flood. We must rectify Creation by refraining from sin and doing G-D’s will to restore the sparks to mankind and take them away from the Satan. The task from that point is to remain righteous, and avoid sin. Doing so restores the sparks to mankind.
But notice what destroyed them--water. The Torah uses a term, “tahom”--the deep abyss. If you recall, I taught last week that the fourth level of klippa, the evil which pervades the entire planet, is what?--tahom, or water! What that indicates is that the level of klippa mankind had reached was described with the term the Torah uses. That is why the mabul uses the term “tahomes.” The “deep abyss” opened up and out poured the flood. The extent of the Flood is equivalent to that fourth level of evil. So, it comes out that the Flood was an equivalency to the grievous level of sin which gave the Satan such power. The physical analog for the fourth level of the klippa was turned against mankind--water!
G-D used water, the analog to the fourth level of the klippa--represented by Rome, as per last week’s shiur--to destroy the world. Remember, what sealed their fate and intensified that level of klippa was sexual and gender distortion, perversion, and depravity. This tells us how bad it is now.
After that came Noach, the only one saved. The sparks were really in the domain of Noach at that point. All the sparks of holiness, all that remained, were with him and his family. He was able to go into the ark. Those who didn’t have them, because the Satan had them, died.
Ten generations later, mankind is still sinning characterized by mankind’s attempt to destroy
G-D. That’s the Tower of Bavel. Mankind continued to harbor the delusion that he can destroy G-D if the tower were tall enough. After Noach, until the generation of the Tower, mankind, again, created the situation of the fourth level. It’s both the intensification and the pervasiveness of evil that characterizes the fourth level. So, G-D confused them, fragmented them geographically and linguistically.
Three Strikes, You’re Out
G-D gave mankind three chances to attempt to rectify Creation. First was Adam, second was mankind during the generation of Noach, and the third was the generation of the dispersion based on the Tower of Bavel. You know “three strikes and you’re out”? So, G-D altered the scenario, the Divine Plan.
Avraham and Covenant
Man still had to destroy the Satan so G-D sort of “looked around” and “saw” that Avraham avinu was the only one doing the will of G-D and bringing back the sparks to the side of holiness. G-D therefore “decided” to designate him, not mankind, to do the tikkun. G-D appeared to Avraham--that’s the bible portion “Lech L’cha”--and introduces the concept of “bris bein ha’bsarim”--covenant between the pieces. G-D declared a covenant with Abraham, taking it away from mankind. Mankind could no longer influence the sparks of holiness even if they sinned. Mankind became “nations” or “goyim.” They could no longer affect the sparks of holiness no matter what they did. They can affect their own mazal--fortune; that is true. That has its own “department.” They no longer have cosmic influence. They can no longer damage Creation nor rectify it. The task was given solely to Avraham.
If a goy wants to be able to “get back” the ability to influence the sparks of holiness and, therefore, receive the reward of those sparks in an intense fashion, he has to become Jewish. If a person does not want to become Jewish, he can become a “ger toshev”--Noachide. Even though the Noachide still cannot influence the sparks, he doesn’t have to have that type of neshama of a goy. He will receive the reward of the sparks by being close to, attached to, the Jewish people. Without getting involved in that discussion, let’s just understand that G-D tells Avraham, in essence, “You’re the man!” You’re the only one who can influence the sparks. It’s your job to do the tikkun which means to bring down the rest of the sparks.
Avraham realizes: what about the sparks in the possession of the Satan?
G-D informs Avraham: You’ve got to bring those back too. It’s not enough to bring the energy of the sefiros into the world. You must also, first, retrieve those that the Satan has. I need you to destroy him, collapse the zoama, and then to collapse the entire environment of the four levels of evil.
This is the covenant, the pivotal event that changed mankind. The covenant required that Avraham and his descendants take the sparks that were in the hands of the Satan, that he’d garnered over the course of 2000 years when mankind was in charge of them but relinquished them to the Satan due to their sins. The way to take the sparks back is to remain righteous even when you’re in the Satan’s domain. He’ll weaken and die and the levels of evil will collapse.
But there was another way. Avraham wondered what consequence could ensue if his descendants didn’t do the Will of G-D. Would G-D destroy them like He destroyed the generation of the Flood?
No. G-D gave the progeny of Avraham a new way to accomplish the rectification, the retrieval of the sparks. Besides remaining righteous in a nation that is corrupt, they can suffer under the auspices of that nation. This too could retrieve the sparks because their yessurin--suffering will have satisfied justice. This was the new “device.” This was the deal.
The ritual involved passing between the pieces of creatures that were halved and separated after which Avraham fell into a prophetic trance. G-D passed through those pieces in two forms: as a great light and a smoking furnace. This is in parasha--Torah portion “Lech L’cha.”
What do these symbols mean? The flaming torch is about bringing the Light back, retrieving the sparks of holiness from the side of evil. This could be done by remaining righteous; that’s the Light. Then G-D “passed” in the form of a smoking furnace. Rashi says that the smoking furnace is the analog of gehenom--purgatory. That’s the suffering, the second “device” to liberate the sparks and bring G-D back into Creation. The suffering can take many forms: exile, persecution, expulsions, and so on. In any case, they will then have taken back the sparks and that will succeed in destroying the Satan.
Egypt: The Firstborn of the Satan
And here’s where Egypt becomes relevant. G-D’s “thinking” was: to take back the sparks, I will bring them to a nation that will be the greatest nation on earth of that time, a nation termed the “firstborn of the Satan” because the Satan uses them as his main agent to spread evil. Egypt was empiric. The name of the nation is not mentioned. G-D says that the Jews will have to enter that nation, remain righteous, thereby removing the sparks of holiness. Evil will collapse and the nation itself would also collapse because it had been sustained by the very sparks that the Satan had. It would result in the wholesale deterioration and eradication of the entire Satanic domain.
What happens if they don’t do it? “Your descendants will remain ‘gerim’--aliens,” we’re told, meaning they will remain exiles who must resist evil and remain righteous. If they don’t remain righteous, the sparks the Satan has accumulated over 2000 years and that now find expression in Egypt, will be extracted via the next option of “v’avodum”-- they (the Israelites) will work for them (the Egyptians). That’s the mechanism of suffering being instigated. If slaving for Egypt isn’t enough, then this nation, Egypt, will persecute them. The ever-worsening suffering was due to their sinning that continued despite the suffering,
It says that, “achar kach”--afterwards, “yetze b’rechush godol”--they would go out with tremendous possessions. To show you that this entire episode is really about the sparks--though it’s not explicit nor appears as such--the numerical equivalent of “yetze b’rechush godol,” the gematria of that clause, is equivalent to “nitzisos kedusha”--sparks of holiness. On the real esoteric, spiritual level, G-D’s conversation with Avraham is unbelievably kabbalistic. Understanding this gematria answers the age-old question as to why the Jews had to be in Egypt. More popular is the notion of G-D taking us out of Egypt but the question less asked is: what they were doing there in the first place?
Now you understand. The Jews took over the mission to bring the Divine Plan to fruition, to rectify Creation by destroying the Satan, removing zoama in order to transform physicality into ever-higher levels of spirituality until it would reach the level of divinity, olam ha’ba--Future World. So, the discussion centers on the sparks of holiness, on the sefiros.
Besides the obvious narrative about being freed, about becoming a nation with an independent ideological structure, receiving the Torah, there is the esoteric, mystical, kabbalistic meaning. It’s about the sparks of holiness. It’s critical to understand the “game plan” that’s unfolding.
G-D realized they would fail. They did fail, even though they were taken out. They failed when they sinned having constructed the Golden Calf. Therefore, G-D uses the expression, “and I will also judge the nations, that they were slaves.” The “v’gam”--and I will also alludes to failing again to remove the nitzotsos and G-D’s having to bring them into four other kingdoms, each kingdom representing one level of the klippa of evil. These were the four exiles, as discussed last week: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Jews were on the same mission as they had been on in Egypt. These nations were replacements, in a sense. As I explained last week, each of these nations had a level of evil equivalent to the four klippas of the zoama. It all adds up. Because we are still on the same mission, the “Haggadah” we read on Pesach says that every Jew has to see himself as if he, himself, left Egypt.
We are all replacements, doing the same job, bringing the energy of the sefiros down into this world and, in so doing, the Jews will have changed their own reality and ushered in the Future World. This the beginning of the understanding of Pesach. I will continue next week to explain the events of Pesach and how the mitzvos of Pesach flow from this kabbalistic understanding I’ve given you. The events of Pesach are nothing more than a continuation of the mission the Jews took on based on the covenant made with Avraham avinu.
Q & A
Participant: When Adam and Chava sinned, they changed their reality from spiritual to physical with zoama, right? So, the energy of the sefiros…what did they do? Is that how we moved backwards.
R’Kessin: That’s what one would think but that’s not what they did. It would seem to diminish but it doesn’t. The way it works is that you transfer them to the side of the Satan. This is the whole concept of how evil grows. In order for it to grow and dominate, it must have the holy sparks. Everything has to have them. When the Jews sin--which is what’s happening---the sparks maintain themselves but are transferred and empower the Satan to do terrible damage to the Jewish people. We witness that as exile, as persecutions…this is evil strengthened to an extraordinary extent. G-D knows the exact measure of what we give them. It is manifest as exile, as expulsions, as inquisitions, as Holocaust. G-D knows exactly what form and amount of suffering has to take place because that’s the concept of the “smoking furnace.” This is in order to get the Jews to remove the Satan’s power and bring it over to holiness.
Participant: By transferring the sparks, that’s how you change realities?
R’Kessin: Correct. We don’t realize what the sefiros are. They are sort of like a conduit for the energy of the ein sof. It’s the ein sof that changes reality. The ein sof, being a term that refers to G-D, and the sefiros, are different levels of conductivity of the ein sof, bringing more of G-D’s Presence that changes reality. The real power source of everything is those sparks of holiness so whoever has them can do whatever they want in the sense that they can change reality. The key is not diminishment but transfer. Were it diminishment, then the Satan would also die. So, it's transfer. If it transfers to him, he uses it. That’s called “usurpation.” He usurps our sparks which is why many times the Satan is referred to as a “ganif”--thief. He’s using the same power source as the Jews. The problem is that what he wants is for the Jews to sin more. When they do, he gets more power, more sparks.
As I said earlier, the numerical equivalent of “holy sparks” is what is foretold about the Jews leaving Egypt “with great possessions.” The Torah is telling us that the valuable possessions are the sparks of holiness.
I might as well add that when the Jews did leave Egypt, the Torah tells us that “all the hosts of G-D left Egypt.” The pshat--literal meaning assumes that the “hosts” are all the Jews, the servants, animals, etcetera but it what it really refers to, again mystically, is the sparks. That’s what left Egypt. The gematria of “all the hosts of G-D left Egypt” is also equivalent to nitzotsos kedusha. Same gematria--numerology. Astounding! That’s the hidden power. The purpose of Egypt was to destroy evil, and not only in Egypt. So, before and after Egypt, the numerical equivalent is “sparks of holiness.”
Participant: In every exile that we were in, did our oppressor know this formula, so to speak?
R’Kessin: No. If they did, do you know what they would have done? They’d have treated us with golden gloves. They want to hold on to this. This is their power. Have you ever noticed that, whenever the Jews enter a nation in exile and then leaves, the nation collapses? Babylon collapsed. Persia collapsed. Greece collapsed. Rome didn’t collapse but it changed. It developed a Byzantine edition, then Catholicism which is also a collapsing. The only way it could collapse is to remove the sparks. When the Jews walk in and leave because the time is up, they take out the sparks from that nation so it collapses.
That is what happens in the End of Time but, instead of happening on an individual or national scale, it happens to the entire planet. Evil collapses and the Satan dies. The zoama collapses and all the levels of evil collapse when the sparks are fully restored to the side of holiness, the Jewish side, empowering the Jews. That is why the Jews become unbelievably powerful. Isn’t that fascinating? This is what explains history. This is the underlying framework of the entirety of history of man, the task of the Jew, and the Divine Plan.
Egypt is the understanding of the Divine Plan. An equivalent to what I’m saying is as if in a war--like, for example, America in WW2--you want to know what’s going on, all the different battles, the strategies, tactics. What would you do? You’re not going to read the New York Times. You’re going to fly to the Pentagon, take the elevator down to whatever floor, get out where the “war room” is, and look at the map on the wall depicting what’s called the “theater of war.” You notice the little pins that represent troops, weapons, everything, and say to yourself: aha! That’s what’s really happening!
Egypt is the equivalent of the war-room in the Pentagon. This is a profoundly valuable lecture because this is the real data, the true foundation of the entire Creation. It’s this! Pesach is the holiday that illustrates the Divine Plan in a nutshell. That’s its greatness.
Next week you’ll understand all the concepts of the mitzvos, chametz and matzah and the four cups of wine and the ten plagues. This is the game-plan all wrapped up in Pesach. Now you can understand why G-D is always saying to remember the exodus from Egypt. There are reasons for that. One of the fundamental ideas is, if you remember Egypt, then you know the game-plan. You are in the war-room of the Pentagon. It can’t get clearer than that.
Participant: I’m going to go back to Yosef’s tomb being vandalized. Does that give b’nei Yisrael a better position in the heavenly court for Ha’Shem to back us up more against the Satan?
R’Kessin: There are several dimensions to what you’re saying. There’s no question that the arabs are (trying to) destroy an historical place and that’s a great sin. They don’t realize…they are so filled with hate against the Jewish people and have no idea what’s going to happen to them. When G-D finally says: enough is enough, what do you think He’s going to do to these guys? They’ve no idea of the hell they’ll go through for what they’re doing.
It’s part of the scenario but another aspect is that it’s a barometer. To know what’s going on, look at current events. Once you have the understanding of the Divine Plan, you begin to realize that all these events are barometers. By analyzing current events in the context of the Divine Plan, you realize that these are “signposts.” The attempt to destroy Yosef is really the attempt to stop the Jews from destroying the zoama. It’s a message to the Jews that the Satan is putting them up to this to stop the Jews from destroying the zoama. Yosef ha’Tzaddik stopped the zoama. That’s why he dominated Egypt. He took out enough sparks to be the Grand Vizier. He didn’t become the Grand Vizier because he was lucky. Since his avoda--service was so great, he had emptied Egypt of its sparks. He had to indicate, by his position as Grand Vizier, as royalty, that he had nearly all the sparks and, therefore, had to become Grand Vizier, the guy who controlled Egypt. This type of Jew being so high on the political ladder was a barometer of where the sparks were. That’s how you have to look at it.
The arabs trying to destroy the place of Yosef tells us that, in heaven, the Satan is trying to destroy Yosef’s ability, Mashiach ben Yosef’s ability, to destroy zoama. They can’t attack Mashiach ben Yosef directly so they’re trying to do it to his representative, Yosef Ha’Tzaddik.
Participant: Since Mashiach ben Yosef is alive and has a spark of Yosef Ha’Tzaddik, does he feel anything from the attack, or not at all?
R’Kessin: He doesn’t feel anything. The only one who can affect Mashiach ben Yosef is the Jewish people. A goy cannot affect another Jew. The only thing that can affect a Jew is his own sins. No goy has power over a Jew. That Jew is too high in the existential order. What matters to the Jew is sinning and mitzvos. Everything else is irrelevant. Why? It is these that affect the sparks of holiness. Either the Jew has it or he doesn’t because it’s been given over, transferred to the Satan. Therefore, he’s punished.
The Mashiach ben Yosef’s ability to come, or not come, is only dependent on the Jew himself. What is the level of holiness of the Jewish people? Is the galus--exile almost over? Have they done enough mitzvos? What the goy does is irrelevant. They only come into play after it’s been decided where the sparks go. See how it works? It doesn’t make a difference but it does serve as, like I said, a sign-post as to what is going on in heaven.
If you were privy to what’s going on in the heavenly court, you’d be astonished by what’s happening because they don’t even talk about the nations of the world! They talk about kitrugim--prosecutions against the Jewish people. They’re not interested in the nations of the world! They have their own task. Are the Jews sinning or not? If they are, how much? Which sins? The consequences are the decrees that affect the Jews which, of course, will involve the nations of the world. In heaven, they don’t care about the nations. It’s all about the Divine Agenda advancing or not and the only ones who can determine that are the Jewish people.
I realize that, in a certain sense, it’s strange. How can 15 million Jews be the pivot of the entire Creation? A person will look at me and think: what are you talking about? There are 8 billion people on the planet. You’re gonna tell me that the world moves only in response to what the Jews do?
I realize it’s hard to understand but, yes, the answer is “yes.” That is exactly what the bris bein ha’bsarim was, that covenant G-D made with Avraham in which He said to Avraham that everybody else was irrelevant. They can only determine their own futures but cannot determine, in any way, even one iota, anything pertaining to the sparks of holiness which is the “power source” of everything--the sefiros. How can 15 million Jews be the essential dynamic movers of everything? I realize it’s hard to understand but that’s the essence of Avraham’s agreement with G-D.
And that’s the essence of Egypt and the essence of the giving of the Torah. That’s all that counts. One may say: Wow! That’s arrogance! But it’s not. Why not? Jews didn’t choose themselves. G-D chose the Jews. They were the only ones doing His will.
Goyim cannot affect Jews. It’s Jews affecting goyim! That’s the way you have to look at it. What’s going on there (in heaven)? What’s the kitrug--prosecutoriai action? It’s a very important principle I’ve told you. Goyim register as “human beings” of course and they register as having their own mission and earn their place in the Future World, but they cannot register, even one nanometer, any movement pertaining to the Divine Agenda. In order for then to do otherwise, they must become Jewish. There’s no other way.
Participant: I remember you saying once that Mashiach ben Yosef doesn’t die. He’s not gonna die.
R’Kessin: That original decree was changed. He should have died because that was the original decree.
Partcipant: What was that pasuk you brought down because I forgot it.
R’Kessin: “Od Yosef chai”--Yosef yet lives. That’s the remez, the allusion.
Participants: What I find interesting is that once they attacked Yosef’s tomb, they went to Ma’ras ha’Machpela and killed a Jewish soldier there.
R’Kessin: Of course. Yeah, because they’re trying to stop the Jews from destroying the Satan so they did two things. They tried to destroy, symbolically, the “power source” that will destroy the Satan, that source which is the concept of Mashiach ben Yosef. Then they destroyed the one who does kill the Satan which are the Jews. Makes perfect sense.
Of course, (they attacked) the machpela…trying to indicate that it’s your religion, its authenticity regarding the Divine Plan that takes the Jews as its main subjects. That’s the place where the avos--patriarchs and imos--matriarchs are. That’s where the entire designation of the Jews as the rectifiers of Creation started. So they went to the source, those people who started the whole business of tikkun, and killed a Jew. It’s classic as a barometer of what’s going on in Heaven! Ishmael is trying to survive, the evil part of Ishmael wants to survive, knock out the Jew’s ability to do tikkun, and take it over. They are deluded, which is a very important concept.
The Satan is deluded into thinking that he can actually own, possess a spark of holiness and, in so doing, he can become Jewish. Sounds funny. If the sefiros are diminished, okay, but if they’re transferred (to him), he’s under the delusion that he can become a divine being since he has the sparks. Not only that, he can actually control them. That’s how he affects the nations of the world. That’s the delusion of the Satan. He thinks he can become divine because he’s in possession of the greatest manifestation of divinity, the sefiros. Ishamel, in this case, who is energized by the sefiros, thinks his nation could take over. Ishmael wants to be the agent of G-D. Therefore, he will kill the Jews.
Look, you are watching the greatest contest ever known to Creation, the contest between the Jew and the non-Jew. The non-Jew doesn’t have to kill the Jew. Let him join and become Jewish. G-D left him a way. They’re not doomed to never having a chance of tikkun. Let them become Jewish or let them become Noachide and they will share in the Future World, in a different way. That’s not what they want. They want to rival the Jews.
Why do you think Christianity wants to kill the Jews? They want to be the messaken--he who rectifies. Why do they think they could be the messaken?--because of the delusion of the “their guy” the Satan, who is in possession of the sparks. You’re watching the origin of his delusion. Therefore, the goyim who are fed by the Satan have the same delusion so they think they can kill the Jews and get away with it.
The problem is that they’re successful many times, but their success doesn’t hinge on their delusion; it hinges on what the Jew has to go through because of his own sins. This is part of the suffering. Sometimes in history the Jews had to demonstrate being martyrs. Only G-D knows why different exiles take on different forms. We don’t know but, during the messianic era, we will know.
We’re watching a major contest. If the goyim realized what they were doing, they’d stop. They’d say, we’re cutting our nose despite our face. We’re killing the source of all the sparks. What we should do is to be good to the Jews, help them to do the mitzvos and then we’d have an unbelievable Future World. What a mistake they make! Can you believe this!
At the End of Time, when the messiah finally comes, all those goyim that persecuted Jews or were bad to the Jews, the haters, the anti-Semites, are all going to need a psychiatrist. They’re going to have an anxiety reaction that is second to none. They’ll know what’s gonna happen to them. If they were smart, that’s what they’d do, assist.
Your question might be: wait a minute! How would they find this out?
The secret I’m telling you, how they would know this, is the following: Anybody who reads the Torah sees it! G-D says, “You’re my people forever. The Torah is forever. I love you. You’re My children. I will never abandon you.”
How stupid can you be? That’s what it says. Anybody who reads the Tanakh…It says that a thousand times, the relationship between G-D and the Jews. How could it be that somebody comes along and distorts what it says in the Torah. What’s the goy gonna say: I didn’t know this. If I’d known, I’d have treated them differently?
So, G-D says: What are you talking about? Why do you think I made the Hebrew bible, the greatest book ever published?--That’s what it is, by the way.
A goy can’t say: well, I didn’t know this.
G-D would say: You didn’t know this? You have the bible. Everybody knows what the Torah is. Why don’t you read it? Anybody who reads it sees the plain meaning. How could you make a mistake?
They have no one to blame but themselves. G-D provided that, so they could know, so they can’t come and say: well, we didn’t know how to treat the Jew.
G-D would respond: What are you talking about? In the bible, the Torah, it says that they’re my children. That means they’re princes. How do you treat them this way--slaughter them, butcher them, torture them, persecute them? How do you do this?
When they finally find out, what can they say? They’ll say: G-d is right.
He offered them a way to understand and see the truth and they simply deny it because they are so busy trying to kill Jews so they can take over Judaism. Christianity has been trying to take over Judaism for 2000 years. That’s all they think about, taking it over. Take it over! They’re all jealous of the Jew. That’s why arabs hate the Jews. This goes on and on. Anybody who reads the greatest book ever published, anyone who reads it in an honest way, immediately sees the status of the Jews in the Divine Plan.
Participant: One more question, rabbi. Now, going into Passover, what should we have in mind? What should be our main intention and also, if something positive would happen, what could we be seeing on the world stage?
R’Kessin: To answer your second question first: the collapse of the Israeli government. You are already seeing the collapse of America. It’s not just Biden. America is dying. People don’t understand that. Now, they (the “woke” faction) want to take over the school systems and indoctrinate kids? Can you believe what’s happening with this sexual perversion, gender distortion (curriculum)?
Participant: (It’s happening) in New Jersey, starting in September.
R’Kessin: Yes, I heard that today. I was shocked. Does Phil Murphy have any idea what’s going to happen to him when G-D “looks at him”? Does he have any idea, does the state legislature of New Jersey, have any idea what their end will be? Incredible! America is dying morally, ethically, in terms of righteousness.
Hopefully, in Nisan, it’ll be accelerated. That’s what to look out for. I’ve just interpreted the destruction, or the attempted destruction, of the kever of Yosef, how it fits, exactly, the function of a barometer, a sign-post as to what’s happening in heaven.
As to your first question, about kavanah--intention, the entire concept, the entire intention of Pesach is the “Haggadah,” about the mitzvos, to eat matzah, maror, four cups of wine, avoid eating chametz, all of which I’ll explain next week.
The main idea is that Egypt is our story. Egypt isn’t merely an historical event. It’s the story of the Jewish people in brief. Therefore, what you have to think about is your pride in being Jewish. You have to take pride in being Jewish, being part of G-D’s army. Every one of us is part of His army, each with a different assignment. That’s really what we are. We have to win the war which is the destruction of evil and the observance of all the mitzvos. We have to believe in G-D, be proud we’re Jewish, and look at the story of Egypt as not just about leaving Egypt.
It's about going to Sinai. That’s the essence of Egypt. Without Sinai there would be no Egypt. You have to be proud and convey that to your kids, that: you’re the luckiest person of all because you’re Jewish. You represent the king of kings. As a Jew, you’re the only one that could rectify Creation. There is nobody else. If you do that, you will give G-D unparalleled joy. Could you imagine what it is to give joy to G-D, what He would do to reciprocate? How lucky do you have to be?
People who work for a legitimate government thank G-D that they have that incredible job. Pesach is when we were assigned this job. How lucky are we? That’s what you have to think, that we are the luckiest people of all, even though it’s very difficult and it’s been laborious and tragic but, in the end, G-D will make it up. It says that. RaMCHaL says this. Why is it that the messianic era will be so unbelievable? Because the galus--exile was so bad. G-D doesn’t want to just impart: well, I’ll end the galus….That’s not what G-D is looking forward to! He doesn’t just want to say: well I’ll end the misery and tragedies of exile. Of course, we’ll be relieved, but no, that’s not it.
G-D will say: This is what you did! He’ll bring the messianic era that, as the RaMCHaL says, is beyond comprehension--the joy, the happiness, what the Jew will have, the pleasure…it’s beyond belief what the Jew will go through. It is the time that we cannot even comprehend. So, it’s not just an ending of galus. That’s not the relief nor the consolation, that the exile ends.
It’s the beginning of an era which is not only diametrically opposed to exile but is thousands of times more joyous than the exile was painful! The reason why is because of Pesach. If you can communicate to your kid how fortunate he is to be Jewish, can explain Pesach that way, then you will have done (as G-D directs). That’s why G-D says, “v’higadita l’bincha”--tell this to your kids, that they can do the mitzvos and alter Creation!
That is why it’s so important to share what I’m giving in this lecture, to realize that Pesach is not merely an historical event. It is the tikkun of the briya. That is worth everything. That is what brings the joy, that you will have been one of the people responsible for the glorification of G-D and His Name and the existential change of all Creation. That’s what Pesach is all about.
I’ll end with this. I once said this a long time ago. I was once in my car and I turned on the radio and I heard this baseball game and they were honoring a relief pitcher. I can’t recall his name.
Pariticipants: Rivera?
R’Kessin: Yes, considered one of the greatest relief pitchers of all. Anyway, there was a stadium packed with people and when he came out (to be honored) you could not believe the cheering in that stadium. That’s (at least) 50,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs. What hit me was something incredible, that: what is this? Okay, he was a great ball-player and he’s retiring. To show their appreciation of who he is--could you imagine what’s happening--50,000 are screaming….
Can you imagine, at the End of Days when, suddenly, Mashiach ben Yosef comes and reveals himself as Mashiach ben Yosef because, initially, he doesn’t. Could you imagine that? And then the entire world changes. Can you imagine what will happen? The entire universe--which means the hundreds of millions of angels because they’re the residents of the entire Creation, throughout all the olamos: Asiya, Briyah, Atzilus, all the angels, demons, goyim, every living creature--will be screaming for what the Jews did. We are going to hear it. That type of an audience, that type of display, will be beyond comprehension, the realization that the Jew is who accomplished the salvation of all Creation; that’s what’s gonna happen.
That’s what I realized when I heard those fans in the stadium screaming. That delirious reaction is nothing compared to the joy and happiness, the appreciation of the entire universe with all its residents, that will be expressed for what the Jews did! Isn’t it worth it all to be part of that?
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