Bilvavi Part 6 - 00 Preface

Author's Preface

The soul within a person knows its Creator and feels the truth of His existence, but it is covered over with a lot of garments that hold it back from being revealed in the thoughts and heart of a person. The more a person merits to know and to recognize in his mind and heart about the truth of Hashem’s existence -- the higher level his soul will be on (and the 613 forces present in the soul will be aware of the knowledge as well). One needs great merit to understand these words here, and if he doesn’t merit, then even if he looks many times into the Torah, he will still not see or internalize in his heart the inner point of the Torah, as well as anything in Creation.

When a person merits to know of Hashem’s existence, his heart will be filled with a joy that has no end (as the Chazon Ish has written). His soul will feel attached to the knowledge of the Creator, and this knowledge will be the joy of his life. It becomes a part of his existence, and a source of life and hope. Throughout any stormy wave that a person encounters in his life, he can now be attached to the existence of Hashem, and it will calm his soul and bring pleasure to himself. When this knowledge will fill every soul of the nation of Yisrael, and be revealed in their minds and hearts, all movements will come to a rest, and the souls of Yisrael will come to rest in the existence of the Creator. Moshiach will then come, for the light of Moshiach is essentially the attachment and serenity of the soul’s realization in the truth of Hashem’s existence.

One who learns this sefer, the sixth volume of Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh, knows that this is the purpose of the Bilvavi series – to bring a person to a realization in his mind and a feeling in his heart about the truth of Hashem’s existence.

Section One: Achieving closeness to Hashem

Preface: Feeling Hashem’s existence in your soul
1. The three levels of the soul – Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah
Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah | Improving each of these three levels of the soul | Serving Hashem with the “Ruach” | Talking on a level of “Neshamah” | Only a few are really serving Hashem | A life of growth | Holiness is to be constant | Finding the point of renewal in all matters | Living for life itself, not for mere self-awakening

2. The purpose of everything – Being attached to Hashem
Searching for the right way, and not for any other motive  | Our purpose – Attachment to Hashem; anything else is mere tools  | A person’s nature is to be far from being attached to Hashem  | “The end of all actions was originally planned in the thoughts”  | “Know Him in all your ways”  | “Heavenly assistance” is to be helped directly from Hashem  | “If not for Hashem’s help, we would not be able to overcome”  |  Hashem – The place of the world  | Hashem – Life’s very existence  | Serving Hashem is revealing the essence of existence  | Practical Avodah takes a lot of thought

3. “I and him cannot dwell under the same roof”
There are many ways, but the goal is the same | The danger of thinking  | The perfect person – “Ayin”  | “The face of Hashem I seek  | Forgetting about the “I” gives freedom  | “The end of all actions was originally planned in the thoughts”  | Being merely in the thoughts hampers one’s growth  | Thoughts and reflection require a lot of time

4. Nullifying the “I”, and revealing the true “I”
Revealing the true “I” | “Remove yourself from evil” – nullifying the created state |The purpose of many views |The root of creation – Differences| Two ways to get to Hashem | Hashem doesn’t need our actions; they are merely for to clarify one’s essence | One must see Hashem in everything, not himself | “Do good” – Reflecting on Hashem’s existence

5. Time, and Above Time   59

Everything Teaches Us Something | Time and Non-Time | He Creates World And Destroys Them |Before Creation | Two Ways To Connect To Hashem | Lishmah and Shelo Lishmah | The Difference Between Today and the Time of Moshiach

6. Lishmah, Part One   66

Lishmah – The G-dly Element in the Soul | Lishmah Is Above Logic | What Can Spur Us On To Act Lishmah | Reaching Lishmah | Lishmah is D’veykus | Which Comes First? | Daven For Help About This

7. Lishmah, Part Two 

 “Shelo Lishmah Leads to Lishmah” | A Human Is “Shelo Lishmah” By Essence | Three Kinds of Existence | Three Levels of Shelo Lishmah | Closeness to Hashem for Ulterior Motivations (Shelo Lishmah) | Lishmah – Focused Only On Hashem | The Self Is Expressed In The Emotions and In The Thoughts |The Lesson from Parah Adumah | “It Is Better Had Man Not Been Created” | The Mission of the “End of Days” Era

8. Mesirus Nefesh – Sacrificing for Hashem  

The Message of Death |Being Ready To Sacrifice For High Levels | An Internal Examination: What Is Our Life Worth If We Are Missing Some Ruchniyus? |The Inner Redemption|Vitality of the Soul – Revealing G-dliness |Above Free Will

9. Emunah Together With Torah 

Four Approaches to Avodas Hashem | “The Whole World Is Sustained Through Chanina, My Son” | The Level of Learning Is According To How Clear The Emunah Is | Torah and Doing Teshuvah | Torah and Tefillah | How Teshuvah and Tefillah Are Needed In Order To Learn Torah | What Is The Main Thing – Torah, or Hashem? | Unifying With Hashem – Our Whole Life

Section Two: Chochmah/Wisdom – Developing our thought process

10. Unifying Everything Into One Point 

The Simple Approach Combined With the Intellectual Approach| Wisdom Unifies | The Inner Source of Wisdom – The Power of Unity in the Heart | Unifying Everything Into One | Ponder One Point For A Long Time | Seeing How Everything Reveals Hashem | Revealing the Neshamah

11. The power of human thought

12. Connecting and disconnecting from the thoughts

13. Palpable thoughts

14. Glory and the Throne of Glory

15. Existence and absence