The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.

Daily Morning Lesson: August 19, 2026

Part 2: Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Chapter Two. #1.

Reader: Hello friends! We heard, now, in the lesson that we are starting to study TES now, and to the extent to which you will be connected to the goal in this, why I am studying. I am not studying to know but in order to reach something, to corrections. So, according to that, according to your intention during the study, it’s called the quality of the exertion, according to that, you will advance.

So, let's go to the recorded lesson. We'll start to see Lesson Number 9, first part. Mark it for yourself, the principles Rav is talking about, and we'll take questions later. And it's really worthwhile for you to write down questions as we're going, so that we'll have as much time as possible and as much of a possibility to answer questions immediately after the recorded part. We're starting today, Chapter 2 in Part 1, so let's move to the recorded side.

Reader: The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Volume 1, Part 1, Chapter 2, Item 1.

Reading: (08:09) Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Chapter Two. #1. -Twice

From Ein Sof, He extended a line into the space‎.

1. After the above restriction, there remained a place of space and vacant, empty air in the very middle of that light of Ein Sof ₍₁₎. Then there was a place where the emanated beings and the created beings and the formed beings and the made beings could be. Then, He extended one straight line from the light of Ein Sof₍₂₎, from His circular light₍₃₎ from above downward₍₄₎, and it cascades and descends into that space.

Reader: Again, Item 1 from the ARI.

Reading: (10:03) Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Chapter Two. Inner Light #1.

Inner Light

1. There remained a place of space and vacant, empty air in the very middle of that light of Ein Sof: Do not be misled into thinking that the restriction of the light from the middle point caused any changes in Ein Sof, since there is no absence and change in spirituality, and all the more so in such a sublime place.

M. Laitman: (10:29) Meaning, the previous picture remains forever, and there's an addition relative to the created being that is in a new state relative to it, as far as how it absorbs it, receives it. Not that the state changes, there's only one state in reality, Phase 4, where the created being started to feel that He and His presence, two things, I and I am in something, some state. And the state He's in is what he's starting to criticize, analyze. Now, the state that he feels is depicted like a place, a sphere in which he is present. It's not that there's something truly there, actually there; it exists in his perception, in his imagination, that is how Malchut of Ein Sof imagines itself, the degree of its impression inside its vessels. Who is outside of it? She can't tell, what's inside of it, of her? She can't tell. What does she know? How I feel, and that's it. Like no hands, no legs, no eyes, no nothing, how do I feel? That's it. And Kabbalists tell us about this feeling, meaning, there's no reality outside of what Malchut of Ein Sof is feeling. And the rest of development is a development of its feeling, only. Each and every state of Malchut of Ein Sof is called her world or world's degrees, Sefirot, Partzufim. She can divide it into many things, but all in all, we're talking about her state, her feeling, nothing changes except for her inner feeling.

So, we have to understand that, other than phase four, where until phase four, everything was created by the light – everything else that is happening, the light is not taking care of it. Phase four inside of itself reveals the actions that open up, develop, and evolve inside her feeling, only. Through these four phases, the Creator made this feeling in the will to receive, that it created as existence out of absence, from the root phase, and it brought the will to receive from existence out of absence all the way to phase four. The will to receive started to feel itself, and that's it, now, using this feeling, through this feeling, the will to receive is starting to develop. So, every new phase, every depiction, every new state is another state in the development, the evolution of its feeling. I hope this will help you, this will help rid yourselves from the corporeal, material perception. This graphic, visual depiction, and you can transfer it to your feelings, from geometry to depiction, from depiction to feeling. The drawing is good in order to concentrate a lot of words but later, this drawing has to be translated to the language of feelings.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (14:54) Phase four feels, but in relation to what?

M. Laitman: Phase four feels itself: what am I, and I feel. I said it, I, meaning the vessel, and what I feel is the light in the vessel, and there's nothing besides that. He and His name, that's it, that is it.

Student: But what is this Kli? Is it a primary thing, is it something that was? What is that thing?

M. Laitman: This vessel is the one who feels, very simply, the one who feels. He feels that he has infinite fulfillment according to his desires, and additionally, the feeling that he has is a feeling of receiving the impression, the excitement of this fulfillment. And the feeling of being a receiver brings him also the feeling of shame to such an extent that he is willing to give up the fulfillment. It restricts it because the feeling of the receiver brings him suffering in place of pleasure; and the suffering is greater than the feeling of fulfillment, and from the feeling of pleasure and filling and it makes a restriction and decides that it never goes back to that state. That's how terrible, terrible it is.

Reading: (16:34) Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Chapter Two. Inner Light #1.

The above restriction became a new essence, in addition to Ein Sof. Thus, Ein Sof remained in all its simple unity, as it was before the restriction, as He and His name are one. The restriction on the middle point is perceived as a new world that came out, from which the light departed, leaving an empty space as has been explained above. In the place of that space, all the worlds were emanated.

Reader: Middle Item 2 relates to the words, extended one straight line from the light of Ein Sof.

M. Laitman: (17:34) I see that no one is asking. Meaning, there was a feeling of being full, inside this feeling of being full, there was mixed in the feeling that I am a receiver. The feeling that I am a receiver, like in our lives, right, we can't really imagine it as it truly is, and the height of Ein Sof, who knows what you feel in that state? But to the matter at hand, in our state, this feeling that I felt that I am the receiver neutralizes all the goodness from the fulfillment, from the filling, to such an extent that I hate this state. I'm willing to depart from it, what does it mean to depart from it? I don't feel that I'm receiving, I don't feel that I'm full, I don't want it. This is the meaning of I don't have it, very simple – when I hate this state, the state is not present.

It's not like in corporeality that it's possible that I hate something and it's with me together because there's the existence of a place, time, and motion. In spirituality, there's no such thing, if I hate something, it's out of my field of vision,it's not felt. And the contrary, the opposite is also true, when I love something, it's close to me according to the degree of love. Because equivalence of form is the law of proximity and distancing in spirituality, closeness and distancing. That's why it turns out that to the extent that a person behaves this way, in spirituality he behaves this way. So, Malchut of herself when she felt that she hates the quality of reception, the state of receiving, she stopped feeling that she's receiving, and she decided that I'm never coming back to the state of reception, that's it. Everything according to the feeling and the decision – hate or love – to the state of the created being.

So, we got this excerpt, meaning she feels herself now as empty, I have no filling. When I have no filling, I don't receive it, I got rid of the filling using my desire. So, I feel like I'm not receiving at all, I have no connection to reception and to the shame that comes from it. Do I feel the host? I feel it, it doesn't bother me because I don't want to receive from Him, I don't want to only receive from Him. I'm closer to Him, or I'm farther away from Him, when I decide that I'm in a state of restriction, if during the restriction I determine that I'm creating the restriction because I feel bad. Then I'm farther away from the host, from the Creator, because I do it because I feel bad. If I do the restriction because I feel bad that I'm distant from Him, then I approach Him through that.

Meaning it depends what is the restriction. Either I don't want to receive from the host where I'm staying, so to speak, because it's shameful, I don't want to feel shame. It's not about him feeling himself as the Host, and who respects me, and I receive from him as if I don't have it back at home, no, I don't want it. I don't want to be the receiver, the one who's lower than Him. This is the meaning of moving away, putting distance between us, right? It's not for my benefit, neither for my benefit nor for His benefit. The ego is celebrating, here, my ego; rather, if I wish to resemble Him, I envy His state, I want this state, I respect His state of greatness, the state of a Giver, I value that. Then, consequently, I make a restriction, not because it's bad for me to be the receiver. It is bad to be a receiver, but I'm willing to do it even when it's a terrible feeling, I'm willing to agree with it, although it's humiliating. It takes everything away from me, it takes out all the knowledge and feeling, it's like rising later in faith above reason. So, I give all of it, all of this up, I do it only to connect with the Host, meaning, with this restriction, I don't think at all about the bad feeling, the terrible shame from being a receiver because that's an egoistic calculation – one cares only about feeling good. Then, we can say that Malchut of Ein Sof, it came to be in its simple desire to create the world and to emanate the emanated beings, and so on and so forth. It came up in the desire, there are many things there. We'll advance, and we'll see.

Reader: Inner Light Item 2 relates to

Reading: (23:25) Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Chapter Two. Inner Light #2.

2. Extended one straight line from the light of Ein Sof:

We should not perceive this act in its superficial meaning, as a human act, where one does one thing, and then another, while no longer performing the first act. There is no greater materialization than that, because He is not subject to chance and change. It is written: “I the Lord do not change.” We are not discussing His self, but only the light that is expanded from Him. Nevertheless, because there is no change and incident and motion in His self, and He is in complete and utter rest, so must be the light that is expanded from Him, as long as it does not reach the emanated being, meaning as long as it did not become clothed in the vessels. Only then does it exit His self and becomes an innovated emanated being that receives from Him. We have already explained that this innovation pertains primarily to the vessel of the emanated being, meaning the will to receive in the emanated being. Although this desire is spiritual, it is nonetheless a new form and a “incident,” since it is not necessitated in Himself. This is not so in the light that clothed in it, which is not innovated since it is extended from His self by way of “existence from existence.” Nevertheless, the activation of the upper light according to the measure of the vessel, meaning to the extent that the vessel is affected and receives from the upper light, is also regarded as an innovation, which is necessarily an incident.

Know that all these innovations and the cascading of degrees regard only the impact on the vessel and its reception from the upper light, for only it is subject to change and multiplications. However, the light itself is always in complete rest, as it is expanded from His self. Understand that well and remember every single word of it for the rest of the study in this wisdom.

M. Laitman: (26:48) The light is in absolute rest, meaning, it is only one thing, there's nothing else. It's worked only one way, it's opposite of the light in its quality to receive, and the light is bestowing. And everything that happens is in the development of the will to receive, it was only one action. The formulation of existence out of absence. Now, we talked about it, what does it mean, absence, right? That, that too, is from the created being, where the matter of the desire started to be clarified. And we're not talking about was there something there before or not; we're talking about the desire that was formed. Not that there was nothing, nothing, nothing, and suddenly in some space there was a desire, appeared and started to develop. Rather, we're talking about the formation of the desire from absence. Where it's not completely felt as a created being, let's say, like with me, now I have no desire. In a minute, I will start to feel that I wish to drink. Is it out of absence, or not out of absence? Relative to me, it's from absence, relative to the light, of course, it's not from absence. For it, it's not important what yes, what no, we're talking about the desire. The desire to receive is existence out of absence and it develops later. But from the side of the light and the Creator, there's no other action but this single action. And all the other actions, where later the desire develops in four phases of direct light, it develops by the light that took it out of absence until it begins to feel itself. And from that, it begins to produce a response: if in phases one, two, three, four, until it comes out of phase four, it provides an unconscious reaction, we call it four phases of direct light. Because it's still not fully conscious, no awareness, rather, it's the development that preceded that. So it's certain that this is how it will behave, so it behaves this way, it doesn't feel himself behaving this way. Whereas phase four and onward, he feels the: I feel, I behave. That's why we say that phase four is the first created being.

Question (Jerusalem): (29:58) If the light is in absolute rest, how did it create all reality altogether?

M. Laitman: The absolute rest of the light doesn't belong to the actions of the light, but rather to the absence of change in its actions. We have a problem in how we grasp these definitions, I relate to you. One time, I beat you up, one time, I'm caressing you; another time, I embrace you, another time, I'm yelling and cursing. Is there change, or no change? If it's one intention, then we say that there's no change, so why am I doing all these different things? These are different influences on you, according to you, according to what state you're in, but I don't change anything on my part. How come you don't change, yesterday, you were so beautiful, today, you're so evil. You were beautiful, yesterday, and today you're evil – it's not me I behave according to you; or more correctly, according to that, you see me behave this way. Each one is judging according to his own flaws. Is it clear?

Question (Holon): (31:39) First, phase four was created, and then the soul. So what feels, the matter, or the soul?

M. Laitman: We're not talking about the soul, yet, the soul is something that's completely separate from the Creator. It's a godly part from above, we're not talking about it here. I'm asking to please not insert definitions that are not written here. Don't confuse himself as if you know what you're talking about. There's no word about soul here, so don't bring that up.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (32:16) There is no translation.

M. Laitman: Can you say that existence out of absence is a desire that cannot feel the Creator? Well, certainly it cannot feel the Creator, it has a double problem. He's Lithuanian, so he doesn't speak Russian. So, I have to translate from Lithuanian to Russian, and from Russian to Hebrew, and then start to answer.

No, this point of existence out of absence, it doesn't feel itself, yet. It's a selfhood, it's being, it's still the will to receive before its recognition of his self. It's still from within, as if it's rising and rising, and rising, into awareness and consciousness. You feel it with babies, for example, they don't understand what they want. It doesn't have an awareness of what he wants, it simply wants. For him, the desire is, it simply wants, that's why we like the kids, because they don't have many great, great many calculations. He expresses everything directly. And that's why it looks cute to us, because there's no, an adorable, there's no ego, there's nature at work. The ego begins when he starts to be cunning: how can I exploit the others, take advantage of the others to receive this from them, for me to rule them, to control them? Then you begin to have the ego, a person becomes corrupted. But before that, he simply wants. He comes to you, and he takes, you don't get mad at him, why? Because this is the natural desire at work. It's not the man himself, it's his nature. Okay, let's continue a bit more.

Reader: Yes, friends. We heard, I don't know, every time I hear this, I'm more impressed! How Rav builds a world in us. We heard now that everything that changes is within us, within the created being. That there are no changes in the Creator; that when they say that the Creator is in absolute rest, the meaning is that there's no change in His actions.

We heard how the feeling of shame leads to the restriction, that hatred leads to distancing, which actually hatred is distancing, and love is nearing. And that the Creator created the desire to see existence from absence, and all the rest are actions in the development of the desire. So let's raise our hands, put up our question marks in the world, and start scrutinizing together a little bit more in depth all these beautiful things that we heard now.