BAHIR VERSE 196

Start in the middle of everything and work your way from the center outwards transforming everything that falls under you perception. It is here that you begin your journey and here that all higher thoughts are entered into. It is here where tasks are mostly in your face that you rise above and set the tone for your future permanent freedom. You make your goals as something that is happening concurrently with the surrounding waves that ebb steadily towards the shore. These are the vibrations of the status quo and you may give yourself permission to rise above these vibrations to roll your own currents towards their own destination shore.

196. Rabbah said: If the righteous wanted, they could create a world. What interferes? Your sins, as it is written (Isaiah 59:2), "Only your sins separate between you and your God." Therefore, if not for your sins, there would not be any differentiation between you and Him. We thus see that Rabba created a man and sent it to Rav Zeira. He spoke to it, but it would not reply. But if not for your sins, it would also have been able to reply. And from what would it have replied? From its soul. Does a man then have a soul to place in it? Yes, as it is written (Genesis 2:7), "And He blew in his nostrils a soul of life." If not for your sins, man would therefore have a "soul of life." [Because of your sins, however] the soul is not pure. This is the difference between you and Him. It is thus written (Psalm 8:6), "And You have made him a little less than God." What is the meaning of "a little"? This is because [man] sins, while the Blessed Holy One does not. Blessed be He and blessed be His Name for ever and ever, He has no sins. But the [Evil] Urge comes from Him. Can we then imagine that it comes from Him? But it originated from Him until David came and killed it. It is thus written (Psalm 109:22), "My heart is hollow within me." David said: Because I was able to overcome it (Psalm 5:5), "Evil will not sojourn with You." How was David able to overcome it? Through his study, since he never stopped [studying] day or night. He therefore attached the Torah on high. For whenever a person studies Torah for its own sake, the Torah attaches itself to the Blessed Holy One. They therefore say, "A person should always study Torah, even not for its sake, since if [he studies it] not for its sake, he will eventually come to [study it] for its sake." What is this Torah that you are discussing? It is the Bride who is adorned and crowned, and who is included in the commandments. It is the Treasury of the Torah. It is the betrothed of the Blessed Holy One, as it is written (Deuteronomy 33:4), "Moses commanded us the Torah, the heritage (Morasha) of the congregation of Jacob." Do not read "heritage" (Morasha) but "betrothed" (Me'urasa). How is his so. When Israel engages in the Torah for its own sake, then it is the betrothed of the Blessed Holy One, then it is the heritage of Israel.

Commentary: I think we need to talk about Torah study and its mystical significance here in order to understand what we are being shown here in this awesome revelation. Torah study is the process by means of which we discover new meanings in Torah relating verses of Torah to each other and to higher aspirations of holiness. The ultimate goal of Torah study is attachment to the Blessed Holy One. It is the unification of consciousness that we seek in all of Torah study. In addition it is the knowledge that each of us is able to communicate directly within the unity of our consciousness. Okay lets study this unity as it relates to the creation of a world. The verse about says that the righteous would be able to create a world except for their sins. If they were righteous then why would they have sins? Righteous here must refer to a level of understanding that references the knowledge of creation.

We create worlds every second with our thoughts and just as quickly will we see these worlds crumble because of our sins. What are these sins? They are thoughts that pull down the creations we are building through our thinking. Yes they are doubts that keep us from experiencing the good that we are thinking about. These doubts are dissipated like clouds through the action of our certainty and the association of our feelings with the accomplishment of our good. What was it David learned through his Torah study that allowed him to accomplish past his doubts or sins? It was the evolving nature of consciousness itself. David understood the flow and ebb of thought and how consciousness was affected by every purpose given to it. Through his contemplation of the deepest meanings of Torah David learned to see past the appearances of what was written enabling him to discover the hidden secrets within himself that he could use to do away with sin before it matured into experience. In a sense David learned to make atonements for his sins through the recognition of the highest function of consciousness, which is to unify with Hashem. This is the Bride spoken above that is adorned. We take our thoughts of what we are and connect them with Hashem. Through this connection our feeling nature is aroused producing the holy union or unity. Thoughts evolve through this unity of feeling and higher intention called the Treasury of Torah above. It is indeed a treasury because once you realize these inner workings of consciousness you will be able to ask what you will and see the results in kind. The flowing of thought into being transcended by the Bride or Shechinah that is our feeling nature personified through connection with the Above.

Why is man a little less than G-d? It is because man does not recognize his sins right away but will rationalize them until through experience he has to wake up to them. G-d on the other hand represents the quality of perfect thought. This is why we seek connection with G-d because to have even a moment of perfect thought is enough to expiate and heal our sins meaning that the karma we would otherwise incur is erased. This karma is erased through both our understanding and acceptance. What we understand then is to stop thinking that produces sin and to accept thoughts that are perfect in their presentation and that promote our highest awareness of our connection with G-d.