On the Completion of the Zohar

The meaning of cleaving

1. As we know, the expected goal of the work with the Torah and the commandments is to cleave to blessed God, as said, “to hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 11:12, Ibid. 30:23, Joshua 22:5). We need to understand the meaning of cleaving to God, seeing that thought cannot grasp him at all. The sages have preceded me in discussing this issue, raising the question regarding the verse “to hold fast to him.” How can one hold fast to him, who is a consuming fire? And they answered, by cleaving to his qualities: “Just as he is compassionate and merciful, so too should you be compassionate and merciful…” (tractate Shabbat 133b). This seems difficult. Why did the sages ignore the verse’s literal meaning? It is clearly written, “to hold fast to him.” Had the interpretation been to hold fast to his qualities, it should have been written, “hold fast to his ways.” Why does it say, “to hold fast to him”?

Similarity of form and dissimilarity of form 2. The reason is that among material objects that take up space, we interpret cleaving as spatial closeness, and we interpret separation as spatial distance. But among spiritual entities that do not take space, cleaving and separation are not perceived as spatial closeness and spatial distance as they do not take any space at all. Instead, we understand similarity of form between two spiritual entities as cleaving; and we understand separation as a dissimilarity of form between two spiritual entities. Just as the axe cuts a material object into two by severing the pieces from each other, so does dissimilarity of form cut the spiritual entity and divides it into two. If their dissimilarity of form is minor, it is said that they are distant from each other to a small extent. If the change of form is substantial, it is said that they are very far from each other. And if they are opposite in form to each other, it is said that they are diametrically opposite.

For example, when two people detest each other, they are said to be separate from each other as the east is far from west. And if they love each other, they are said to be attached to each other as one body. This does not refer to spatial closeness or distance but to similarity of form or dissimilarity of form since people love each other because of the similarity of form between them. The one loves what the other loves and hates what the other hates. Thus, they are attached to each other and love each other. But if dissimilarity of form exists between them, meaning that one of them loves something even though the other hates it, and so on, they hate each other to the extent of this dissimilarity of form, and they are separate and distant from each other. And if they are opposite to each other so that whatever the one loves the other hates, they are said to be far and distant from each other as east is from west.

As you realize, dissimilarity of form acts among spiritual entities as an axe that cuts material objects. Also, the degree of distance and the magnitude of their separation depends on the degree of the dissimilarity of form between them; and the degree of cleaving between them depends on the degree of the similarity of form between them.

Cleaving to his attributes 3. We now understand how accurate the sages were, when they interpreted the verse, “to hold fast to him” as cleaving to his attributes: “Just as he is compassionate and merciful, so too should you be compassionate and merciful…” They did not ignore the verse’s literal meaning; on the contrary, they based the interpretation of the verse on its absolute literal meaning. Spiritual cleaving can only be imagined as similarity of form. Therefore, when we make our form equal to the form of God’s attributes, we cleave to him.

This is the meaning of “Just as he is compassionate and merciful …” God’s every action is to benefit and give to others rather than for self-benefit since he has no deficit to make whole and also no one from whom to receive. All your actions as well should be for the sake of giving and benefiting others; this way you will make your form similar to the blessed Creator’s attributes. This is spiritual cleaving.

The mind’s similarity of form 4. This similarity of form has a “mind” aspect and a “heart” aspect. The issue of engagement in the Torah and the commandment for the sake of giving satisfaction to one’s maker is similarity of form in terms of the mind. The Lord does not wonder whether he exists or whether he guides his creatures, nor does he harbor any other doubts. Similarly, one who wishes to attain similarity of form must not consider these matters when it is clear that the Creator does not consider them. For there is no greater dissimilarity of form than that. Therefore, whoever contemplates these matters is in a state of separation from blessed God and will never reach a state of similarity of form.

“And all your deeds should be for the sake of heaven” This is what the sages meant when they said, “And all your deeds should be for the sake of heaven” (tractate Avot 2:12) for the sake of cleaving to heaven. You must not do anything that does not pertain to the aim of cleaving, that is, all your deeds should be for the sake of bestowing on and giving to another. Then will you achieve similarity of form with heaven. Just as all the actions of the blessed Creator are to bestow and give to others, so all your actions should be only to bestow and give to others; this is complete cleaving.

Do not raise the argument that it is impossible for a person to perform all his actions for others’ benefit. After all, people must work to support themselves and their family. The answer is that actions performed out of necessity, that is, to receive the little required for survival, must be neither condemned nor praised. It is not considered as doing something for oneself.

How can one transform his nature? 5. All those who fully understand these issues must be surprised that someone can reach a state of complete similarity of form, wherein all his actions benefit others, while that person’s entire being is the receiving for oneself. From the nature of his creation, he cannot perform even a small action for others’ benefit. When imparting to others, he of necessity expects to receive something of value in return. If he is in doubt about its value, he would not act. How could all his actions be for the sake of giving to others and not at all for his own needs?

The special quality in observing the Torah and the commandments for their own sakes I admit that this is very difficult, and that people are powerless to change the way they were created, which is to receive for oneself alone. Needless to say, a person cannot completely transform his nature by receiving nothing for himself but instead acting only in order to give.

For that reason, blessed God gave us the Torah and the commandments that we were commanded to observe only for the sake of giving satisfaction to the Holy One, blessed be He. Were it not for engaging in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake, that is, not for self-benefit, no stratagem in the world could help us transform our nature. From this you would understand the importance of engaging in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake. If a person’s intention while engaging in them is not for the benefit of the Holy One, blessed be He, but for self-benefit, this would fail to transform the nature of the desire to receive; on the contrary, the desire to receive within him will grow much more than what he was naturally born with. I have discussed it in the introduction to the Sulam commentary in the first volume. Read sections 30-31 there. This is not the place to discuss it at length.

Revealing the secrets of the Torah

6. What are the virtues of one who achieved cleaving to blessed God? They are not clearly expressed anywhere, except by subtle hints. However, in order to explain these matters in my article, I must reveal a little, as necessity dictates, and explain these matters with an analogy.

The virtues of one who reached the state of cleaving The body and its limbs are one. The entire body transfers thoughts and sensations to each individual body part. For example, if the body as a whole thinks that a certain body part will serve it or give it pleasure, that part immediately recognizes its way of thinking and produces the pleasure it conceived. Also, if a limb thinks it is too confined, the entire body will know its thoughts and sensations and move it to a more comfortable location. But if the limb is cut off from the body, they become two different entities. The body as a whole no longer knows the thoughts of the severed part. And the part no longer knows the thoughts of the body or able to serve or benefit it. If a physician reattaches the part to the body, the body part will again recognize the thoughts and needs of the entire body. And the body as a whole will again recognize what the body part requires.

According to this analogy, we can also understand the virtue of a person who attained cleaving to God. I have already proved in my introduction to the book of the Zohar, section 9 in the first volume (and also in the booklet discussing the Smaller Gathering (Idra Zuta) that I published separately on the occasion of Lag Ba’omer) that the soul is a ray of illumination flowing from God’s essence. This illumination is separated from God in that God enclothed it with the desire to receive. For the plan for Creation to benefit his creatures created in every soul the desire to receive pleasure. And the dissimilarity of form in the desire to receive separated that illumination from God’s essence, making it into a separate part from him. Read the source there, for this is not the place to discuss it at length.

It transpires that every soul was a part of God’s essence before its creation. Yet with Creation, that is, with the nature of the desire to receive pleasure inherent in it, it acquired a dissimilarity of form and was separated from the Creator, who is entirely about giving. For dissimilarity of form separates on the spiritual plane as the axe does on the material one, as explained above. Thus, the soul now completely resembles an amputated limb that is now severed from the body. Even though before the separation the limb and the whole body were one and used to transmit thoughts and sensations to each other; when the limb was amputated, they became two entities. The one does not know the other’s thoughts and needs. This is truer after the soul was enclothed with the body of this world. All communications it had before it separated from its essence were interrupted, and they are now two different entities.

7. The virtue of a person who attained to cleave to him again is now obvious. It means that he attained similarity of form with the Creator imprinted on him by transforming the nature of the desire to receive by means of the Torah and the commandments. It is that desire which separated him from God’s essence. He now transformed it into the desire to give, and all his actions are to benefit and give to others. By making his form identical to that of his maker, he is like a severed limb that was later reattached to the body. It can now again understand the thoughts of the entire body, as it used to before it was severed from it. The soul is the same; after it acquired a state of similarity to the Creator, it again knows his thoughts as it used to before it was separated from him due to the dissimilarity of form of the desire to receive. Then the verse is fulfilled in him, “Know the God of your father”) I Chronicles, 28:9) for he then attains full knowledge, which is divine intelligence, and attains all the mysteries of the Torah, as the Creator’s thoughts are the mysteries of the Torah.

This is what Rabbi Meir meant in his words, “Whoever studies Torah for Torah’s sake merits many things… The Torah’s secrets are revealed to him, and he becomes as an ever-increasing wellspring…” (tractate Avot 6:1). This concurs with what we said that through engaging in the Torah for its own sake, that is, focusing on giving satisfaction to his maker when engaging in the Torah, instead of on any self-benefit, the person is assured to cleave to blessed Creator, which means that he will attain similarity of form in that all his actions will be to benefit others, not for self-benefit at all, just like the Holy One, blessed be He, whose every deed is only to benefit and give to others. By that a person cleaves again to the Creator as the soul had been before it was created. He therefore merits many things and attains the Torah’s secrets, for once he reunites with the Creator, he is aware again of the thoughts of the Holy One, blessed be He like a limb that is reattached to the body. And the thoughts of the Holy One, blessed be He, are called the secrets and interpretations of the Torah. And he becomes an ever-increasing wellspring because the screens that separate him from the Creator are taken down and he again becomes one with the blessed One, as he had been before he was created.

The manifest and the concealed 8. In truth, the entire Torah – both the manifest part and the concealed – is the thoughts of the Holy One, blessed be He; there is no difference between them. This resembles a man who is drowning in the river, and his friend throws him a rope to save him. Once the drowning man holds on to the rope nearest him, his friend could save him by pulling him out of the river. The Torah is the same, consisting in its entirety of the thoughts of the Holy One, blessed be He. It is like a rope that the Holy One, blessed be He, throws to people to save them and take them out of the Klipot. The end of the rope closest to all people represents the revealed aspect of the Torah, which requires no intention or thought. Moreover, even when an improper thought accompanies the observance of the commandments, it is still acceptable to the Holy One, blessed be He, as said, “A person should always engage in Torah study and performance of the commandments even [if he does] not [do so] for their own sake, as through [engaging in the Torah and the commandments] not for their own sake, one will ultimately come [to engage in them] for their own sake” (tractate Pesaḥim 50b and others).

According to it, the Torah and the commandments are the end of the rope; anyone in the world can hold on to it. If he holds fast to it, that is, if he merits to engage in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake, that is, to give satisfaction to his maker instead of doing so for his own benefit, the Torah and the commandments bring him into a similarity of form with the Holy One, blessed be He. This is the meaning of “to hold fast to him,” as said. He then merits to grasp all the thoughts of the Holy One, blessed be He that are called the mysteries of the Torah and the interpretations of the Torah, which are the rest of the rope. This he attains only after he reaches the state of complete cleaving, as said.

Levels and worlds 9. The reason we liken the thoughts of the Holy One, blessed be He, that is, the mysteries of the Torah and the interpretations of the Torah, to a rope is that the similarity of form to the blessed Creator contains many gradations. Its section of the rope therefore contains many gradations, that is, levels of attaining the mysteries of the Torah. Attainment of the mysteries of the Torah is measured by the level of the similarity of form to the Holy One, blessed be He. It has five general levels: Nefesh, Ruaḥ, Neshama, Ḥaya, and Yeḥida. Each comprises all of them, and each one contains five individual levels to a total of at least twenty-five levels.

They are also called “worlds,” as the sages have stated that “In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bequeath to each and every righteous person three hundred and ten worlds” (Mishna, Oktzin 3:12). The reason the levels of understanding him are called worlds is that the word ‘world’ has two meanings. One is that everyone born into the world receives the same senses and feelings. Whatever one person sees, hears, and feels; every person sees, hears, and feels. The second is that anyone reaching the “concealed” world cannot know or perceive anything in any other world.

These two definitions apply to understanding as well. The one is that anyone who attained a certain level is able to know and perceive in it all that those who reach that level throughout past and future generations do, so they have the same perception just as they inhabit the same world. The second is that all those that attained that level cannot know or perceive anything on any other level, just as those who were born into this world cannot know anything of those who reside in the world of truth (the next world). The levels are therefore called worlds.

Those who understand can therefore author books and write down their understanding using allusions and analogies that are understood by those who attained the levels that the books discuss and have that understanding in common. But one who has not attained that level sufficiently as did those authors cannot understand their allusions. This is truer for those who have not attained them; they will understand nothing because they do not have perceptions in common.

Complete attainment 10. As we have already said, complete cleaving and complete attainment is divided into one hundred twenty-five general levels. According to this, we cannot attain all one hundred twenty-five levels before the Messianic era. There are two differences between all generations and the Messianic generation. The first is that only during the Messianic era can one achieve all one hundred twenty-five levels, unlike during all other generations. The second is that throughout the generations, only few exceptional people merited attaining and cleaving, as the sages have commented on the verse, “One man among a thousand I have found” (Ecclesiastes 7:28): “out of a thousand who entered a school… only one emerges who is capable of rendering decisions [pertaining to religious matters]” (Rashi and Kohelet Rabbah on Ecclesiastes 7:28), that is, of cleaving and understanding. But during the Messianic era, everyone can attain cleaving and understanding, as they have said, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:9), “and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them” (Jeremiah 31:34).

The single exception is Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai and his generation, that is, the authors of the Zohar. They fully attained all one hundred twenty-five levels even though they lived prior to the Messianic era. It is said of him and of his disciples, “And a sage is greater than a prophet” (tractate Bava Batra 12a). It is therefore written numerous times in the Zohar that there will be no generation such as that of Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai until king Messiah’s generation. His great book made such a strong impression on the world because the mysteries of the Torah in it encompass the stature of all one hundred twenty-five levels. It has been said in the Zohar that the book of the Zohar will only appear at the End of Days, that is, during the Messianic era. For, as we have stated, if the levels of the readers do not completely reach the author’s level, they will not understand his allusions, as they do not share the same understanding. And the level of the authors of the Zohar is the full stature of the one hundred twenty-five levels that cannot be grasped before the Messianic era. Thus, the generations preceding the Messianic era do not share the same understanding with the authors of the Zohar. The Zohar could not have been revealed in the generations preceding the Messiah’s generation.

This is clear proof that our generation has already reached the Messianic era. As we see, all previous interpretations of the book of the Zohar have discussed less than ten percents of the difficult passages in the Zohar. Even the little they did explain is almost as vague as the words of the Zohar itself. In our generation we have merited the Sulam commentary, a complete interpretation on the entire Zohar. Apart from the fact that it does not leave a single unclear word in the Zohar unexplained, the commentary is based on a simple, theoretical logic that any average reader can follow. The revelation of the Zohar in our generation is clear proof that we are already in the Messianic era, at the beginning of the epoch of which it is said, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord…”

Time of giving and time of receiving 11. We need to know that spiritual matters differ from material matters for which giving and receiving occur simultaneously. On the spiritual plane, giving and receiving occur separately. First, something is given by the Lord to the recipient; the giving merely enables the receiver to receive it; but the receiver has not received anything yet. Only when the receiver becomes properly sanctified and purified, does he merit to receive it. Thus, a long time may pass from the time of giving until the time of receiving. According to this, this generation has reached the state proclaimed in the verse “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” but only in terms of giving. We have not yet reached the receiving aspect until we are purified and sanctified and study and toil sufficiently. Then will the time of receiving arrive and the verse will be upheld of us, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.”

Redemption and attainment As we know, redemption and complete understanding are intertwined. This is exhibited by the fact that whoever is attracted to the mysteries of the Torah is also attracted to the land of Israel. We were therefore assured that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” only at the end of days, that is, at the time of redemption.

Attaining full understanding does not mean we have reached the receiving phase but only the giving phase, which enables us to attain complete understanding. It is similar to the matter of redemption; we have attained it in terms of giving alone. It is a fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, extricated our holy land from foreign powers and returned it to us. Still, we have not received the land as our own possession since the time to receive it has not yet arrived. As we explained, it applies to complete understanding in such a way that he has given it yet we have not yet received it for we still lack economic independence, and political independence is impossible without economic independence. Much more than that, redemption for the body is impossible without redemption for the soul. As long as most of the inhabitants of the land of Israel are captivated by the cultures of foreign nations and are not ready for the Jewish religion and Jewish culture, the bodies are in captivity under foreign powers. From that respect, the land of Israel is still in foreign hands.

And the proof is that no one is excited about redemption as he should be during the time of redemption for which we have waited two thousand years. Not only are the members of the diaspora not moved to join us and benefit from the redemption, but many of those who were redeemed and are already dwelling among us, are yearning to rid themselves of this redemption and return to the diaspora. Even though the Holy One, blessed be He, has taken the land of Israel out of foreign authorities and gave it to us, we have not yet received it. Nor do we enjoy any of it.

But with this giving, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave us the chance for redemption, that is, to be purified and sanctified and accept upon us God’s service through engaging in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake. Then will the Temple be built and we will receive the land as our own, and sense and feel the joy of redemption. But as long as we do not reach it, nothing will change and there will be no difference between the customs of the land now and as they used to be under foreign rule in law, economy, and God’s service; and we have but the opportunity for redemption.

We reach the conclusion that our generation is the generation of the Messianic era; we have therefore merited the redemption of our holy land from foreigners. We have also merited the revelation of the book of the Zohar, which is the beginning of the fulfillment of the verses, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” and “and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor… for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” Yet we have merited these two only with respect to giving by the Holy One, blessed be He; we have not received anything into our hands, we were merely given the opportunity to begin serving God, to engage in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake. Then shall we merit the great triumph promised to the Messiah’s generation, something that no generation before us has experienced. Then shall we merit the receiving phase of the two: complete understanding and complete redemption.

Cleaving – from theory to practice

12. We have thoroughly explained the sages’ answer to the question how we can cleave to him. They replied that it means cleaving to his attributes. This is correct for two reasons. The first is that spiritual cleaving is not about spatial proximity but similarity of form. The second is that the soul is separated from God’s essence only due to the desire to receive that the blessed Creator imprinted on it. Therefore, after a person removes the desire to receive from it, he regains the initial cleaving to God’s essence.

All this is in theory. In practice, they have not explained anything by interpreting it as cleaving to his attributes. It is tantamount to separating the desire to receive that is inherent in us from the nature of our creation and arriving at the desire to give, which is opposite to our nature. As we have explained, someone drowning in the river must hold on to the rope with all his might. Before he engages in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake in such a way that he will not turn back to folly, he is not considered to be holding on to the rope with all his strength. We thus return to the original question where he would take the energy to labor with all his heart and might just for the sake of giving satisfaction to his maker. For a person cannot make even a single movement without self-benefit just like a machine cannot function without fuel. If there will be no self-benefit but just giving satisfaction to one’s maker, he has no fuel for the work.

Attaining God’s loftiness 13. The answer is that the abundance bestowed on whoever properly attains God’s loftiness turns into receiving, as said in tractate Kiddushin, 7a that when an important man marries, it is the bride who gives him money, which is considered as if she received it [due to the benefit she acquires], when she is married to him. It is the same with the blessed Lord. When a person attains God’s loftiness, no act of receiving is more important than bestowing satisfaction on one’s maker. This is sufficient fuel for work and labor with one’s whole heart, soul, and being to give satisfaction to the Lord.

But it is clear that as long as he does not properly attain God’s loftiness, giving satisfaction to the Lord is not considered an act of receiving for which he would give his whole heart, soul, and being to the Lord. Thus, when he truly focuses his intention on only giving satisfaction to his maker and not on self-benefit, he will immediately lose all strength to work, remaining as a machine without fuel. For a person cannot move a limb without deriving some self-benefit from it; this is truer for such a huge effort as giving one’s whole soul and being, as the Torah requires of us. Undoubtedly, he cannot accomplish that without deriving any self-benefit from it.

The level of loftiness depends on the environment 14. In truth, attaining God’s loftiness properly to the point that giving is transformed into receiving, as said with regards to an important man, is not difficult at all. Everyone knows the greatness of the Creator who created everything and sustains everything; who is without beginning or end; whose loftiness is endless and infinite. The difficulty lies in the fact that perception of loftiness does not depend on the individual but on the environment. For example, if a person full of good qualities is not esteemed and respected by the people around him, he will always be low spirited and unable to take pride in his qualities even if he does not doubt their veracity. The opposite is also true; a person who is devoid of virtues but is nonetheless respected by people around him as if he has many good qualities will be filled with pride because perception of importance and loftiness depends solely on the environment.

When a person sees how people in his environment treat God’s service lightly and do not properly appreciate his greatness, that individual cannot overcome the environment; he too cannot achieve God’s loftiness but treats God’s service lightly like they do. And since he does not have the foundation of attaining God’s loftiness, he obviously cannot work to either give satisfaction to his maker or for his own benefit since he has no fuel to enable the labor, and “(If a person says to you:) I have not labored but nevertheless found [success], do not believe him” (v tractate Megillah 6b). His only option is to either work toward self-benefit or not work at all since giving satisfaction to his maker will not be considered true receiving for him.

This will help you understand the verse, “In the multitude of people is the king’s glory” (Proverbs 14:28). It claims that perception of loftiness comes from the environment under two conditions: one depends on the measure of social appreciation. The second depends on the size of the environment. Therefore, “In the multitude of people is the king’s glory.”

“Assume for yourself a master” 15. Due to the difficulty this presents, the sages have advised us to “Assume for yourself a master, acquire for yourself a friend” (tractate Avot 1:6), meaning that man should choose for himself an important, famous man as his rabbi to help him reach the point of engaging in the Torah and the commandments for the sake of giving satisfaction to his maker.

His rabbi could facilitate it in two ways. The one is that since the rabbi is an important man, the student can give him satisfaction based on the rabbi’s high level, because his giving was transformed into receiving, which is the natural fuel that can help increase acts of giving every single time. After becoming accustomed to the act of giving to his rabbi, he can transform it to engaging in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake before the Holy One, blessed be He, because a habit becomes second nature.

The second way he facilitates it is that similarity of form with the Holy One, blessed be He, is only beneficial if it is permanent, that is, until “the knower of mysteries will testify about him that he will no longer return to his folly” (Maimonides, Laws of Repentance, 2). A state similarity of form with his rabbi is different. Since his rabbi lives in this temporal world, similarity of form with him is beneficial only temporarily for he will later return to his folly. Thus, whenever he achieves similarity of form with his rabbi, he temporarily cleaves to him. By its means, he grasps his rabbi’s knowledge and thoughts, depending on the level of his devotion, as we have explained with regard to the analogy of the amputated limb that is reattached to the body. Study there well. The student therefore can use his rabbi’s attainment of God’s loftiness that transforms giving into receiving and into fuel sufficient for one to give his whole soul and being. The student could then be also able to engage in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake with his whole heart, soul, and being. This is the unique quality that brings eternal cleaving to the Holy One, blessed be He.

16. This will explain the words of the sages that “service of Torah is greater than its study” (tractate Berakhot 7b) as said, “Here is Elisha son of Shafat, who poured water over the hands of Elijah” (II Kings 3:11). It did not say that he studied but that he poured water. This is surprising. How can simple actions be greater than the study of wisdom and knowledge? We derive from those words that serving the rabbi with one’s body and being for the sake of giving satisfaction to his rabbi, brings the person to cleave to his rabbi, that is, to a state of similarity of form. Through it he acquires his rabbi’s knowledge and thoughts by means of a mouth-to-mouth transmission, which is the cleaving of spirit with spirit, thus meriting to attain God’s loftiness to a degree that will transform giving into receiving so he would have enough fuel to give his soul and being until he attains cleaving to the Holy One, blessed be He, as said. Studying Torah with his rabbi is different because it is necessarily for his own benefit and does not bring him to a state of cleaving. It is considered a transmission from mouth to ear; thus, serving allows the student to access his rabbi’s thoughts while studying only his rabbi’s words. The virtue of service surpasses the virtue of study as the importance of his rabbi’s thought surpasses his rabbi’s words and as the mouth-to-mouth transmission surpasses that of mouth to ear.

All this is true when the purpose of serving one’s rabbi is to give him satisfaction. But if the service’s purpose is self-benefit, it cannot bring him to cleave to his rabbi. Then surely studying with his rabbi is better than serving him.

“…acquire for yourself a friend” 17. As we have discussed with relation to attaining of God’s loftiness, when society does not consider God as it should, it weakens the individual and prevents him from attaining of God’s loftiness. This also applies to one’s rabbi whom society does not value properly. It prevents the student from properly grasping his rabbi’s loftiness. This is why the sages have said, “Assume for yourself a master, acquire for yourself a friend,” meaning that man can form a new social circle for himself to help him realize his rabbi’s loftiness through the love of colleagues who think highly of his rabbi. Influenced by his colleagues’ talk of the rabbi’s high level, each one experiences the feeling of his high level, and giving to the rabbi turns into receiving and into fuel, to the degree that will bring him to also engage in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake. Hence, they spoke of the forty-eight virtues that the Torah is acquired with: serving the sages and companionship with one’s contemporaries; since besides serving one’s rabbi he must also be careful about his friends, that is, he needs the influence his friends exert over him to attain his rabbi’s high level because attaining loftiness is completely dependent on his environment; a single person can never accomplish it, as explained.

Attaining loftiness is achieved under two conditions. The first is to always listen to and fully accept others’ values. The second condition is that the number of people will be large, as said, “In the multitude of people is the king’s glory.”

To accept the first condition, every student much feel himself to be the least of all his companions. Then can he accept the perception of loftiness from them all as a greater cannot receive from one lesser than he, or even be influenced by his words. It is only the lesser that is moved by the appreciation of the greater one. According to the second condition, every student must consider the virtue of any companion highly and hold him dear as if he were the greater person in the generation. Then society will influence him as if it were sufficiently large because structural majority is more important than a numerical majority (v. Mishna, Ohalot 2:1).