Weekly Zohar Portion- Tetzaveh

Tetzaveh Volume 12 Verse 86

The words of Torah become clear only there and the only light is that which comes out of the darkness. When this side is subdued, the Holy One, blessed be He, rises, and His glory becomes greater. There is no service of the Holy One, blessed be He, except from out of darkness and no good except from out of evil. When a person enters the evil way and then leaves it, the Holy One, blessed be He, rises in His glory. Therefore, overall perfection is good and evil together and rising to the good afterward. The only good is good that emerges from evil, and through this good the glory OF THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, is elevated. This is perfect service.



In this section the Zohar tells us that even though we all would love just to be in that positive mood, that positive mindset, that unstoppable positivity to help us to help others, to help us to get rid of negativity, to help us to make dreams happen, to help us to manifest our huge dreams that we all have … the Zohar tells us that the way that we do the biggest service to the Creator {and service means the way that we will reveal the most Light in this world} is by connecting to positivity or to goodness—but by going through the evil … through the darkness ... through the difficulties … through the limitations … through the selfishness and the egos.



This is a lesson that throughout the Zohar comes back again and again and again. I want again to reawaken an important word which we all have to have in our consciousness, and that word is: Opportunity.



We are so caught up with the belief system that exists in our head that tells us that evil, difficulties, challenges are bad. “Run away from it. It is bad!”



What the Zohar tells us is that it is NOT bad. It is bad if it controls us. But it is an opportunity to reveal the biggest amount of Light.



That consciousness of opportunity is lacking in our life. Even with Kabbalah … I can tell you that for myself, as a teacher and after a lot of studying – even I can be caught up again with the consciousness of, “Okay, negativity; I want to get rid of it and overcome it, and I would like to be back into the positive place.” But, no! What the Zohar tells us is, “No.”



It is in those moments when we fall into jealousy, those moments when we fall into ego, those moments when we fall into hurt, those moments when we fall into judgment, those moments when somebody who is dear to us hurts us … in those moments we have a HUGE opportunity to reveal more Light.



We need to awaken that belief system that our soul has: It is an opportunity; it is not just bad and we need to get rid of that challenge. It is an opportunity. Going through it is an opportunity. Going through it. Going through the tough challenge. And really it is an opportunity ... an opportunity to reveal more Light.



It is really how we look at this. Do we look at this as just a challenge that we need to overcome and to push away … or do we look at this as an opportunity to reveal a greater amount of blessings in our personal life and in the world?



The whole idea is looking at things as opportunities, which is so essential. There are difficulties. As the Zohar says: Without the darkness, we will never be able to get Light. I am not talking about just difficult challenges outside.



If we have done something horrible and stupid that we are so ashamed about and we so regret, and we wish we would never have done it … part of our ego cannot stand ourselves not being righteous and not doing the right thing and being judged for it … but our ego right away jumps to the conclusion that because we have done something bad, we are not going to be liked, and it will take so long to fix it … and right away we look at the dark picture instead of the opportunity.



Darkness – even the darkness that we have created ourselves – is opportunity. It is an opportunity whereby as we are shifting in the midst of darkness, shifting to the good path, shifting to learn our lessons, then we are creating a new reality and bigger miracles. “Yes, but it is horrible. I will be judged for it.” Yeah, we might be judged for it; nevertheless, we should not lose the consciousness of opportunity.



In every situation—and it can be a person who is about to be bad, it can be a person who just heard horrible news about cancer, it can be a person who just did the most horrible thing to somebody and hurt that person so much that they do not know how they will ever repair it – even to the degree that that person says (s)he will never forgive them … and it is so painful and hurtful—we are not going to skip the painful process and fix it right away – just to know that that painful process or that bad news is darkness that leads towards Light.



It is ALWAYS … not sometimes. NOT sometimes. It is ALWAYS! And that Light … I am not going to promise you how that Light will be. It is possible for some people that the Light will be after death. They will experience huge growing experiences, being in heaven, being in a different state of consciousness, being an angel.



I am not promising how that good will manifest itself … but … every darkness is a doorway to Light. EVERY darkness: The bad things we have done, the bad things happening to us … and we have free choice. We DO have free choice. It does not matter how bad a situation is; we DO have a free choice that we stop exercising because things seem to be too bad … because we are allowing the cassette and the belief system that “it is bad” to give us all the movies instead of saying, “One second; what free choice do I have here?”



Some of the free choice is creating a better future in our own mind – just seeing the Light after the darkness in our imagination – we might not feel it right away, and it is not logical, but the fact that we are imagining things that our ego does not let us imagine means that we are practicing free choice. We are freeing ourselves from the belief system that dark means dark. What I am saying is that the real belief system is that darkness is a doorway to Light.



So in the midst of this darkness, we need to reach a place in our soul where we can imagine Light. We need to reach a place in our soul where we can imagine or try to love in the midst of it. We need to try to inject real meaningful emotions of loving somebody. “How can I? I am worried about my own future. How can I love?”



We all have the power within us … to inject love, to inject acceptance, to inject certainty, to see a better future, to imagine greater realities, to become closer to somebody, to know that we are growing, to become hopeful. All those emotions of the soul that during the time of darkness our ego does not let us have … we need to inject that computer of the soul in the midst of those moments. That is what the Zohar tells us.



The faster and more energetic our injection of this different reality, the reality that darkness is just a doorway for Light, the faster the process of pain will be, and the faster the miracles that we will experience.



Darkness is a doorway for Light.



The darkness that we injected when we are waking up from it … or the darkness that comes from the outside towards us.





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BENJAMIN MALUL LECTURE FROM 2007:





Good evening everyone. Before we start with tonight’s lecture on the portion, let us prepare ourselves to have the right consciousness to receive the information. The first time we hear something we tend to question it, react to what we hear, not knowing if it is right, accurate. Whatever is going on in our head is how we receive the information. When we hear new information immediately there is a reaction in our brains. Things that our going on in our heads, events that are going on in our lives tend to color the lesson we receive. So as we prepare ourselves to receive the lesson tonight, in order to receive much more than we think we can, try not to immediately react to any of the lesson. Instead try to observe the lesson and get a deeper understanding. This is a tool to better understanding. Remove reaction. Empty yourself and receive the information as it is the first time ever hearing it.



We open ourselves so our consciousness can receive the energy that is currently available in the cosmos. The Zohar helps us to decode the Torah, the Five Books of Moses. We know that it is not the story, but it is an energy that in a way to teleport ourselves to a different dimension. This does not mean going to some different planet, but changing our mind frame. Learn to take the energy, observe the energy and use it for our lives today.





The portion, Tetzaveh, continues the building of the Tabernacle in all the details. Moses was the architect for everything regarding it’s construction. The Mishcan, the Tabernacle, was a tool to channel and deliver the Light to the masses. The portion then goes on to give information about the high priest, the Kohen Gadol. The Kohen was an unique individual. The Kohen did not have, own anything of his own. He was a pure channel, whose only purpose in life was to serve.



This Shabbat, the Shabbat before Purim, is called Shabbat Zachor. We add a small part to the reading, a special Maftir, which is about the war to defeat the nation of Amalek. The Zohar tells us that Amalek is not really a nation , but a concealed truth about life. The word Amalek has the same numerical value as the Hebrew word for doubt. Words of the same numerical value have the same or connected meaning. So the real purpose is to learn how to defeat the war that is going on inside of ourselves to remove the doubt from our lives. This is an ongoing war. That is why it is so important to hear this week’s Torah portion. Remove the doubt in our lives, not blame others for what happens to us, and learn to believe that the tolls will work. We can also connect to the Kohen inside of ourselves so we can become servants for the Light.



From the time of Moses’ birth he is mentioned in every portion of the Torah except Tetzaveh. After the sin of the Golden Calf, Hashem decreed that all the Israelites should die. Moses protested and offered himself as a sacrifice so that the Israelites could live. (Inserted from the Kabbalistic bible): “ This may seem as a punishment, but the truth is we have more of Moses in this portion than in any other. The more physicality there is in anything, the less Light there is. Here, there is no physicality of Moses, so we are getting all of his Light.”

When we are saying things that we can learn, we mean the energy into which we can tap. It is energy that can enter into our systems, our bank accounts. It is a totality of energy that we can share, spread to others. If you are not tapping into that energy and spreading the energy what you are then sharing is your own Tikun, your own garbage. What you want to give is an ongoing flow of information, flow of wisdom, Light, a constant happiness. Otherwise you are just giving to others your own little selfish place that is trying to get energy. It is an ongoing reminder as to what you want to give to others.



This weeks lesson is to learn how to give, spread the Light without the interference of our ego, to channel the Light to others. We studied sections 4, 55, 75 and 61.





Section 4:

How to become a pure channel. The craftsmen who worked on the Tabernacle did not know how to do everything. What they did know was how to become a pure channel. It is not about what we know, but about how to use what we know, how to let it flow thru us and share with others. The portion starts “V’ata.” The Hebrew word for “and you” which is spelled, Vuv, Aleph, Tauf, Hey. This is the secret. We say this during our connections, “From Aleph to Tauf, to Hey, Malchut.” In the Hebrew alphabet Aleph is the first letter and Tauf is the last letter. So we are saying from a to z. The letter Hey represents Malchut. Thus we are bring all the energy, from a to z, down to manifest in our physical world, Malchut.



The physical world is not negative. Everything in the physical world is a channel for the Light and it is to be appreciated as such. If you think the physical world is negative, then there is nothing you can use to channel the Light. Everything becomes an obstacle instead of an instrument of the Light.



When you start at zero and complete a project at the end, you geta feeling of accomplishment. You are connecting the Light and the Vessel.

The Vuv represents Zeir Anpin, the spiritual dimensions above Malchut and the three upper dimensions. The Vuv is the first letter, the seed level, of the portion. This is giving us the opportunity to channel the Light from Zeir Anpin.



The workers on the Tabernacle could not just do the job. Moses channeled the Light for the craftsmen and they were able to do the job when they received the wholly spirit and the wholly spirit moved them.



Likewise we do not want to disturb the Light by bringing our own system into the situation. We want to bring the pure Light, unencumbered by any part of me into the physical world.

There are tow situations. One is always acting to restrict. The problem here is that you are pushing back against the Light and not letting the Light in. The other way is to become a channel: let the Light flow thru you without the injection of the “Me,” with no disturbance to stop the energy. Just let the energy flow. Then problems and situations will be easily solved. The answer is just there because it is brought by the Light. You have no idea how you solved the problem. What appeared to be hard is easy. The goal is to connect to the endless in an endless way.



The Hebrew word for channel is “Tzinor,” Tsadik, Nun, Yud, Resh. Rearranging the letters to Resh, Tsadik, Yud, Nun, you spell “Ratsone,” the Hebrew word for desire. In order to channel the Light you must have a desire to receive. Ask for only me and you become a vessel. Ask for the sake of sharing and you become a pipe with on open bottom so everything flows thru you.



If you restrict and you see nothing to distribute to others, you are restricting the flow of the Light. You need to restrict in a different manner. The restriction is to look at the situation with a different point of view. As you see, you need to deliver. Without any entitlement as nothing in this world belongs to you. When you hold onto something, you cannot be a channel. You are closed and have become a vessel. A vessel is always limited in the amount it can receive. A channel allows endless flow of energy. Channels are endless, vessels are limited. Nothing around you can grow if you do not act as a channel, spreading the Light, nourishing those you. Then you receive an unlimited reward.



Usually rejection causes us not to become a channel. When we open our hearts and feel rejection our reaction is to close our hearts. Rejection is the Light telling you, you are going in the wrong direction. The Light is telling you that you must take a different approach, go in a different direction to meet your goals. When things always happen to you in the same way it is a message from the Light to wake up.



Being a channel is to take a risk. Seeing the rejection as a sign for the Light and change. Become a channel in everything you do in the day. Constantly ask yourself, “How can I remove my agenda in everything I do?”





Section 55:

Anger removes all the good deeds you have done in your life. Anger is a very deadly weapon. When people get angry they can either internalize the anger or show it. Anger is energy stimulation. We need stimulation in this reality. When you internalize the anger, it sucks all the sparks of Light from your DNA. We all have belief systems and when things do not go our way we get upset. We must change our belief systems. We need to identify what in our belief system triggers our anger. Instead of receiving energy and stimulation from anger we must change and receive the energy the Light is offering us. We must realize that the Light is always there to give us, we just need to be open.



Section 75:

This section connects us to Pesach. Matzah is unleavened bread. It does not rise. It is devoid of the Ego. Matzah’s perfection is that it has no desire to receive for the self alone. It is complete circuitry without the Ego. The Ego is always looking to grow, magnify itself. The Ego is about the desire to receive for the self alone. The Ego does not trust in the Light.



We must learn to have blind faith. The ability to jump into the unknown because we trust in the Light to guide and direct us. Simple faith is the ability to make the leap. If I want to connect to the pure energy, I must first reduce my Ego as much as possible.







Section 61:

We remove the mask in Purim so we can escape from our prisons during Pesach. There are steps in our recognition system:

Mask

Emptiness/Pain

Tikun/Klipot

Soul/Light/Diamond

(The mask covers our emptiness that is painful so we must deal with our Tikun by removing the Klipot to reach our Soul, enlighten the diamond within us).



There are many levels we want to break thru. We must not create different masks that guard us from revealing our true selves. We are always putting on different masks: success, victimhood, doubt, intellectual superiority, playing dumb. Masks hide a level of emptiness. They cover those uncomfortable places and hide our fear of exposure. When you put on a mask you do not need to deal with anyone. We do not want to admit our weaknesses, failure, so we cover up. When I have a mask, I do not need to explain my fears.



Without any doubt, we are strong enough to deal with everything that comes our way. We have all the tools we need to handle all the obstacles. We need to find the unlimited that is inside of us. Nothing comes from outside sources. We need to get to our diamond.



Purim is the tool to remove the masks in preparation for Pesach. First we need to identify the mask. The Amalek, the doubt within us, must be transformed into receiving for the sake of sharing. Every bit of the Amalek must be removed, transformed. Most of us are mostly Amalek.



How many levels of our consciousness within us are connected to the desire to receive for the self alone. How much time do we spend thinking about sharing the Light? If everything inside us is for the sake of sharing then there is no problem. How do we defeat the Amalek, doubt? We need to trust the Light, have certainty in the Light.



On Purim we drink to lose complete consciousness. If I have any aspect of doubt, receiving for the self alone, I need to go to the level where that doubt is melted, the Golem. Melt the consciousness and rebuild without the doubt, without the desire to receive for the self alone. We need to tap into the 50th gate of Binah, the storehouse of all the Light, positive energy.



At Purim we read the Magillah of Esther. This is the revealing the concealed, removing the doubt in our lives. We can then enter a different realm, level of understanding.



Love and Light