## Giving; The Essential Teaching of the Kabbalah, Essays by Baal Hasulam with Commentary by Rabbi Gottlieb, The Mutual Guaranty

###### Giving; The Essential Teaching of the Kabbalah, Essays by Baal Hasulam with Commentary by Rabbi Gottlieb, The Mutual Guaranty 18:2
[Giving; The Essential Teaching of the Kabbalah, Essays by Baal Hasulam with Commentary by Rabbi Gottlieb, The Mutual Guaranty 18:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Giving%3B%20The%20Essential%20Teaching%20of%20the%20Kabbalah/s/Essays%20by%20Baal%20Hasulam%20with%20Commentary%20by%20Rabbi%20Gottlieb,_The%20Mutual%20Guaranty/r/18:2)

יח. ולכן הסביר התנא (ויק"ר פ"ד פ"ו) דבר הערבות, בדמיון לשנים שהיו באים בספינה והתחיל אחד קודר (קודח) תחתיו לעשות נקב בספינה. אמר לו חברו: למה אתה קודר? אמר לו: מַאי אִכְפַּת לך, הלא תחתי אני קודר ולא תחתיך. אמר לו: שוטה! הרי שנינו נאבדים יחד בספינה. עכ"ל.

**Translation by Aryeh Siegel, Urim 2020:**
Therefore, the ***tanna*** [Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai] described the mutual guaranty as similar to the situation of two people on a boat. One of them began to drill a hole underneath himself, and his friend asked, “Why are you drilling?” He answered, “What difference does it make to you? I’m drilling under myself, not under you.” His friend replied, “Fool! We will die together in the boat!” [***Midrash Raba***, Leviticus Chapter 4]


###### Giving; The Essential Teaching of the Kabbalah, Essays by Baal Hasulam with Commentary by Rabbi Gottlieb, The Mutual Guaranty 18:3
[Giving; The Essential Teaching of the Kabbalah, Essays by Baal Hasulam with Commentary by Rabbi Gottlieb, The Mutual Guaranty 18:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Giving%3B%20The%20Essential%20Teaching%20of%20the%20Kabbalah/s/Essays%20by%20Baal%20Hasulam%20with%20Commentary%20by%20Rabbi%20Gottlieb,_The%20Mutual%20Guaranty/r/18:3)

והיינו כְּדַאֲמָרָן (כפי שאמרנו), כי מתוך שפורקי העול משוקעים באהבה עצמית, הרי הם עושים במעשיהם גדר של ברזל, המעכבת על שומרי התורה מלהתחיל אפילו, בשמירת התורה והמצוה על היכנה, דהיינו בשיעור הכתוב "ואהבת לרעך כמוך", שהוא הסולם להגיע לדבקותו ית' כנ"ל. ומה צדקו דברי המשל, שאומר לו: שוטה! הרי שנינו נאבדים יחד בספינה.

**Translation by Aryeh Siegel, Urim 2020:**
This is similar to what we have been saying. Those who throw off the yoke of the mutual guaranty are sinking in self-love, and by their actions they build an iron fence that prevents the Torah-observant from even beginning to properly keep the Torah and *mitzvot* according to the standard of “and love your fellow as yourself,” which is the ladder for attaining *devekut* [cleaving to God] as previously mentioned [section 6]. How correct were the words in the parable when he said: “Fool, we will die together in the boat!”86