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

Daily Morning Lesson: April 25, 2026.

Part 1: Rabash. Concerning Ancestral Merit, 11. (1984)

Original Lesson January 15, 2003.

Reader: Hello dear friends, in the first part of the lesson we will learn from Rav's lesson from January 15, 2003. It is based on the article, "Ancestral Merit," in the writings of Rabash, first volume, page 28, in Hebrew. We will read it together in the Ten, we have 90 minutes for that. Tens that finish ahead of time are welcome to start a workshop about the main points of the article.

Reading: (00:49) Ancestral Merit, 11

A dispute is introduced regarding ancestral merit (Shabbat, p 55): “Shmuel said, ‘Ancestral merit has ended.’ Rabbi Yohanan said, ‘Ancestral merit pardons.’” In the Midrash (Midrash Rabah, Vayikra, 37), “Rav Aha said, ‘Ancestral merit exists forever and is forever mentioned.’” And there, in the Tosfot, it is said, “Rabeinu Tam says that ancestral merit has ended, but ancestral covenant has not ended.” To Rabbi Yohanan it seems that there is no dispute between Shmuel and Rabbi Yohanan: Shmuel said that it ended for the wicked but not for the righteous, and Rabbi Yohanan is referring to the righteous.

According to the above, we can interpret what is being asked about the choice: “If there is ancestral merit, then there is no choice here, since ancestral merit causes a person to be righteous. And according to the words of the Tosfot, in the name of the ARI, who says that ancestral merit is only for the righteous, it follows that initially one has choice, so as to be righteous, and subsequently one can enjoy the ancestral merit.

From the essay Matan Torah [“The Giving of the Torah”] (item 19), it appears that thanks to ancestral merit we have the power to make the choice, and were it not for ancestral merit we would not be able to make the choice. In reality, we see that even though we have ancestral merit, we still do not see that everyone has the strength to make the choice. Rather, everyone finds it difficult. However, the ancestral merit assists us in making the choice.

This means that choosing applies where there are two equal things, and I must decide. But when one side is more difficult than the other, it cannot be said that I must decide, since I naturally lean toward the stronger side. Therefore, thanks to ancestral merit they are two equal forces and we can decide. This is called that we were given the strength to make the choice.

To understand these matters we should look at what is written in the essay, “The Giving of the Torah” (item 19): “Therefore, the Creator did not find a nation or a tongue qualified to receive the Torah, except for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose ancestral merit reflected upon them, as our sages said, ‘The Patriarchs observed the whole Torah even before it was given.’ This means that because of the exaltedness of their souls, they had the ability to attain all the ways of the Creator with respect to the spirituality of the Torah, which stems from their Dvekut [adhesion] with Him, without first needing the ladder of the practical part of the Torah, which they had no possibility of observing at all (as written in item 16). Undoubtedly, both the physical purity and the mental exaltedness of our holy fathers greatly influenced their sons and their sons’ sons.”

It therefore follows that thanks to ancestral merit we can make the choice. Otherwise, it would be impossible.

However, we need great mercy even once we have ancestral merit, so we can make the choice, meaning abandon self-love and take upon ourselves love of others, and that all our aspirations will be only to bestow contentment upon the Creator. And even with all the powers of Torah and Mitzvot [commandments], that we will be able to defeat the evil in us and turn it into good.

However, we should understand why he says “Ancestral merit has ended.” The question is, “What existed prior to the end of ancestral merit?” And if so, there was no need for choice then, since he had ancestral merit. However, we should say that a person’s request that He will help him come close to Him—to the true service of the Creator—is the prayer itself. His request that He will help him with ancestral merit is itself considered a “choice.” The choice is that he is doing what he can, and this is already regarded as a choice. 

Reader: We'll move on to the lesson from January 15, 2003.

M. Laitman: (09:46) This article is very short and to the point. Ancestors or fathers means the upper degree- the root- from which the entire force and state and existence and qualities of the lower degree cascade. Everything there is in the upper degree exists also in the lower degree. 

However, the lower degree has only one thing with which it can realize, its choice. Its choice means to grow stronger in the same path, in developing in the same direction that the upper degree shows it. This strengthening means an addition to the vessel. Actually, it's a new vessel. Where in this vessel, the lower one discovers the Upper One, gets to know it, equalizes its form with the Upper One, and so on. 

In order to allow the lower one to have all of these conditions for free choice, for realizing itself to make a vessel, an intention from the Upper One comes down to the lower one with all kinds of forces and qualities. Which are also called merit and covenant- helpful forces. Forces that position the lower one in the right direction towards the Upper One. It's not enough to beget the lower one, because the birth of the lower one is actually on behalf of the upper one, it is still from the side of the Upper One. 

We also see that when a person begins to get to know himself there is nothing in him besides the evil inclination. And when he then begins to receive the records- when the records awaken from their silent state, and a person begins to get to know his existence where he exists, where he is with respect to the goal. Beforehand, he wasn't even thinking about it. Beforehand, he was seemingly not existing. Now he is allowed to see that there is him, and there is the goal, and there are actions that he has to go through. Some of these actions, some of these steps, he needs to go through without himself being involved. Some of these he has to go through, or a part of each and every action he needs to go through with his self-participation. 

So in order to enable the lower one to make a step of his own, or in each and every step a part of his own where his free choice exists - his stature, and his true exertion. The Upper One must hide himself. He must make it possible for the lower one to make these actions, and all in all these conditions become clear to us in these great concepts, which are merit and covenant. 

M. Laitman: (14:53) By that the upper one needs to show the lower one all of the actions in a way that the lower one will learn from that and later on will carry them out but with his own free choice. This is why it is written that the forefathers kept the whole Torah out of their purity. The upper degree has the entire Torah. It has this whole combination of actions and intentions and lights and vessels, and it is considered out of their own. It exists in a corrected form and the sons, the lower degree, when they receive the Torah from the upper degree, they already have to keep it through their own free choice, meaning through effort. By realizing this intention of in order to bestow upon each and every desire of theirs, whatever is revealed in each and every degree those 613 desires, and then they keep it. 

This means they position, they establish the intentions in order to bestow in each and every state. They beget in each and every state a new degree from the corrected intentions which they already fill through coupling by striking in order to bestow as we learn. For that purpose the Upper One has to both give an example and also to move away, to make room for the lower one. 

This means as it is written in the introduction to TES, he has to show the lower one the way and place his hand as it says that the Creator places man's hand on the good fate and says take that, and a person needs to grow stronger and truly take it by himself. Meaning to choose that this is truly him and this is his and to continue on the path. And on the way that he already sees and he received it from above as an example. But when he receives it from above as an example and he applies it, then for him it truly becomes as a new creation. That's it.

Well of course we should interpret fathers and sons as two states, upper one and lower one, two degrees, and each time they are replaced. Each time they move from their initial state as we learn in the world of Atzilut, we have ZON, we have AVI, and there is even above them there is AA. And then ZON rise to AVI, the lower one who rises to the upper one becomes like him, AVI also rise to an even higher degree, and so on. 

This is how all of the degrees move, from the lowest degree to the highest degree as it is said, “Return O Israel to the Lord your God.” Meaning until they reach the highest degree and then they become the actions of the forefathers are as assigned for the sons, as an example for the sons, each and every time. Until necessarily in the highest degree both the fathers and the sons and all of the degrees join together to a single degree which reveals the full state of the end of correction. This is what it is. There are things here that he doesn't quite want to explain because they might be misunderstood. 

And so before you ask questions you need to depict to oneself only the spiritual degrees. And certainly, this is not in our world, between people, these laws that they tell us about, they exist of merit and covenant, and then in such a way, we can scrutinize it. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (19:55) Why is the article so short? 

M. Laitman: The article is so short, precisely because he doesn't want to explain even more. I remember how he wrote that. The questions were still from this world. What is ancestral merit? What is the ancestral covenant? How come…why was I born as a Jew, with the Torah in my hand, and they give it to me from above. 

Meaning for my parents, my biological, my beastly parents from this world, they give me all of these things. How do I belong to it? Why is this relevant to the soul, and all kinds of such things for beginners. 

This article is one of the first ones. It's from the first book, number 11, from the beginning of the articles. So, this is how it is. On the one hand, the questions came from people who were not into it at all, and you couldn't explain to them in a way that is more detailed. From examples in Atzilut and all kinds of states, that's on the one hand. On the other hand, if you speak with the words of this world to explain it, it could be even more confusing for people. 

You see, for us in our world ancestral merit usually means to say that there is someone who is righteous, and a son was born to him. It doesn't matter which son, he has ancestral merit. He was born from a righteous so he also has something in him. You need to treat him with respect and give him a special attitude. What can you do? 

In truth, we hardly see in history that great people also had great sons. It happens very rarely, if at all. But, rather if you already start to relate to it, like, this is a king, and this is a king’s son, so he deserves to inherit him, that's something else. 

But if we start measuring it according to spirituality, then the son hardly ever acquires anything from his father. This is according to the example in history, as much as we can see that. To such a point that I can tell you there were many such great Kabbalists, so many Kabbalists, great Kabbalists, and each one had you know, families. You know, a family then, it would be 15 kids, so 10 sons or 5 sons. It's hard to say that here there was any kind of ancestral merit, so that you could determine that something like this exists on a plane of our world. But rather, in a beastly manner it was customary to relate to it in such a way. With Hassidism the whole of Hassidism fell because they started engaging in ancestral merit in a corporeal form instead of a spiritual form. They started to interpret it in such a way. So instead of having the correct students, they would, instead of establishing the first student, instead of the Rav, instead of the Kabbalist, they started establishing his son. And then the whole business, the whole thing fell from the spiritual degree to the corporeal degree, and by that the whole of Hassidism went bankrupt. This is how it is. We have to interpret all of these things only from a spiritual perspective. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (23:57) How can there be any other way for the common people than to choose Hassidism? How can they know who has attainment and who doesn't? 

M. Laitman: I'm not blaming the common people, of course, so that people couldn't do anything else.

Student: So the students themselves didn't take their place, I don't understand. 

M. Laitman: No, it happened in history in a very simple way. In Poland, in Russia, in Germany, in Czechoslovakia, in all these places there were regions where Jews would live and they had rabbis. These rabbis were all  truly, almost without exception, they all had attainment. Until the beginning of the 20th century every great Rav had attainment, a little bit but he had it. Because the will to receive has not yet started to truly burn inside of the person, their records. 

We have to understand that the whole of history doesn't follow a certain simple curve, a line that simply rises gradually, linearly, but rather it's exponential it's in such a way. So, although there was this development we also see it in the human development. How much the development in the 20th century was several times greater than all of the previous thousands of years. This should also give us an example-  a perspective of how much the development that was not the human, but rather in the soul - because it all comes out of the soul how much the development in the soul erupted in such a way. 

Therefore, the ego and all of these egoistic qualities they started, especially in the 20th century, they started to come out, to erupt. And they brought on the one hand, the technological and scientific development and everything. That's on the one hand. On the other hand, they caused the spiritual decline; the ego that rises and there is no corresponding correction. So this is what happens. This is why we had these world wars and all of the other things. 

And in the current century, just wait, it only started. So what happened is that before all of this, for thousands of years people (I'm speaking about our nation) there were many sages, Kabbalists in the eastern countries also in the European countries that simply out of their purity, because the will to receive wasn't so big, it was enough to just study the Torah in different manners, to start to receive from it a sufficient impression in order to feel spirituality. 

They were in spiritual attainment, a small one here, there, but almost all of them. I would even say all of them. And this is how it was with each and every Rav, in every village, you could say. I'm speaking let's say about my region, where I live, the Rebbe, myself, and the Rebbe Rabash, and these are adjacent areas, it was the same. So let's say in a village, there was some Rav, he's a Kabbalist, teaching a few people. He has a group called Cheder, literally, room, a small room where the students gather, and he teaches them to be Kabbalists, and beside that, he also has his own congregation, just ordinary people. These people are just landlords, they don't really study so much Torah, they don't feel like it, they don't have a head for it or nothing, but rather, what they do is they come and pray, they want to receive the blessing. And then they go to all kinds of, well, what occupations. What could you engage in? In commerce, in Russia, and specifically, and in all of these countries, they didn't allow the Jews to engage, either in industry or in agriculture. So they made a lot of money. There were some of those, others were starving. And the rich people were idiots in the Torah, they didn't understand anything in it. They would come, kiss the hand of the rabbi, give him the money, and they didn't need anything more besides the blessing, to do well in business. When the Rebbe would die, they knew that there was this thing called ancestral merit, that the son should inherit all of these things from the father. He grew up with his father in his room, in his cradle, in the bed, and all of this his father gave him food and everything in short. You understand, in a beastly way, this is how you relate to the children, according to who he is. So they started to determine who will be the Rav after the previous one passed away. And they chose the son instead of the first student from the room of the Kabbalists. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (30:11) But the first student in the room had attainment? 

M. Laitman: The first student and not him, even a few of them already had attainment, but they didn't have any way to determine anything. Who are you? What are you? You sat there. Some landlord would say, I held you, I financed you, both your rabbi and you, so sit down, keep studying. And this is his son, look how elegant he is, how handsome he is, how he's walking, that's it, that's it. 

Until this custom began, Hassidism was truly Hassidut, meaning this custom was in order to determine the class for every big Rav, that he'll disseminate further this way. Meaning take from his congregation good people and turn them to Kabbalists. This is what Baal Shem Tov founded. But afterwards, that's what happened. 200 years later, instead of the first student from the Rav's room who had attainment, the landlords who held everything with their money and didn't understand who and what for, they said, okay, we need the son. It says in the Torah that the son inherits the dad's position and the elder deserves double. So what are you talking about? 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (31:47) But a Kabbalist who knows now that he's going to depart, doesn't he take care of things and organize them before he departs? 

M. Laitman: Well, it didn't really help. It didn't really help, and typically, Kabbalists worked in such a way that they didn't lead in such a clear manner. It was customary that way. I saw this on my Rav. 

Student: But why? How come? 

M. Laitman: I don't know. Let's say he knew at least six months in advance before he departed, if not before. I noticed, then at least six months in advance he already knew based on many signs. 

Typically, he would also care about the four species, all kinds of things. It was evident. I also saw that in conversations and trips, he didn't say anything. The maximum he did was he gave me Shamati and said, take it. This belongs to you,  take that. 

But otherwise, to say something in some organized fashion, who, what? No, nothing. And the situation in the synagogue was very complex. There were relatives, many of them, a very big family of relatives. And among them you know, not so simple relationships. And there were Hassids, meaning people who were left from the students of Baal HaSulam, their fathers. And those fathers had sons, and those sons stayed where they were. You know, how can they be at fault for being born for a father who studied with Baal HaSulam, but they have nothing with regards to that? And they just kind of stayed next to the Rav as Hassids, you know. It was like by inheritance. 

And there were a few students, just a few students that Rabash joined to himself when he was younger from the religious people he went as a younger man to give a lesson there of Matan Torah, and people came, Mier and others, and then these boys got married. And they started being next to him. Today they are all my age. 

But they started from 15, 18, they already knew the Rabash. And they too were a kind of, you know, many of them would kind of come once a week or holidays in the head of the month meal, and then there were students that I brought from Tel Aviv. They were also a big group of around 40, maybe 50 people. And they were kind of warmer than everyone. So it was a synagogue where, I don't know, it was like, it's like in a country. You have many different factions and so on. And Rabash was kind of on the side. You understand? He said he didn't want to…because to start engaging with that, it's all, it's impossible. You drown in that and you have nothing left. So he had his own line, you know, that's how I live. I print out articles, I give a lesson morning and evening. He used to say, my store is open. That's it, my store needs to be open. Whoever wants to, will come and take. 

M. Laitman: (35:52) And generally, I managed his bank account. I bought groceries for him. I went with him two days a week to Tiberias. Meaning I was around him most hours of the day, except for four or five hours a day, and maybe six, five, six hours at night. So like 12 hours next to him and 12 hours not next to him. And he didn't tell me anything. He didn't want to determine anything. What will he determine with such a public? This is what I'm telling you, but you don't, it's, you know, what for? What a mess. What will he do about that? What can you do? 

And the Kabbalist and his customer, I think also in some town there in Russia or Poland, he also thought they need spiritual progress. I gave them the path. They know what they need to do. Love of friends, connection between them. Then the greatest of them will become great. If not, what I say, then someone else will, and he'll be the leader because they still belong just to a little bit of spirituality and a little bit of corporeality. 

So you don't need a leader who knows better, but one who knows how to hold everyone. You understand? With like a better leadership skills, not necessarily height of attainment. Some have higher attainment, but they're not capable of working in practical sense. Like Rabbi Shimon, for instance, as opposed to Rabbi Akiva. He was allowed to write the Zohar, and Rabbi Akiva didn't leave anything to us. You see, so in the Gemara here and there, the foundations of the work were only written by two students, one the Gemara and one the Zohar. So, the size of attainment doesn't indicate performance on the level of this world. So that's how it happens. 

Also, there's free choice in this respect, and there's many things, many reasons, that is, for why this is so. But from that, really, whatever happens, this thing wouldn't, you know, hold until the 20th century. And in the 20th century, when the will to receive began to erupt, the Reshimot began to emerge and burn in each and every person, then it would fall anyway. 

So everyone broke all the boundaries. Everyone became secular, except, you know, those who are, you understand. And then we see how this thing happens in front of our eyes today.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (39:07) But why did that help you?

M. Laitman: What helped me?

Student: That you didn't say it explicitly in public.

M. Laitman: Helped me, didn't help me, nothing helped me. It's like I didn't want anything. Look, an example. I didn't come and say, guys, let's now create a big, special group and, no- nothing.

 I saw who I'm dealing with, also the whole time I was next to the Rabash, and I brought them, basically. They all knew that I belonged to the Rabash, and I'm with him, and I'm driving him and doing everything with him, and so on. For example, he was three times in the hospital in that time, during that time, each time for a month. So I was there for a month. They studied and did everything in the synagogue, and I was just tied to him.  But it was also clear to me that I will not go, meaning this detachment was more or less there, and I didn't have any special urge to do something with them. I saw that it's, today also, it's impossible. Everyone is, you know, it's different streams. Today, within the last month, they were thrown out of this synagogue of Rabash, from Chazon Ish 81. And sometimes each one goes to, for Shabbat, to sit and talk and discuss some things, maybe these two, or these three, or those four, if at all. And the whole thing is really just completely...

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (41:13) In externality, they are...

M. Laitman: In externality, they are Orthodox, they are ultra-Orthodox. Meaning barely any needed Kippahs or something, on the contrary. They go with what they didn't do next to Rabash. Go with long garments, and many have kids who are even studying in Yiddish.

Student: And internality there's nothing?

M. Laitman: I'm not saying anything about internality, I'm talking about the externality- a person who can hold, in such a way, the internality is a special person.

Student: But these are discernments that he certainly saw, Rabash. So in how it helps you, the fact that he doesn't say in public that you are the one that...

M. Laitman: No, I'm also certain that he had no intention that I will become some sort of a leader here. No, no way. I also myself never thought about that.

Student: But he told you to go and open a big group, and...

M. Laitman: No, that was even before, when I went to lecture and disseminate, and I wrote books, and that was before, but it's not that - I wasn't even thinking about that. I lived and saw the whole thing so, you know, in his life, I would happily take him and run away to some other place than this entire mess. What for? Well, that's how things need to unfold.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (43:13) Can I ask about the article?

M. Laitman: About the article, I don't really want to dive into it, but okay, ask something. I'm saying again, two degrees, upper and lower, and the leadership of the upper one towards the lower one it happens in two forms, Ancestral merit and covenant. All of those things, these two things, allow the lower one to make a free choice action.

Reader: Let's share our impressions from the lesson. What do we take out of it for realization in the Ten? Let's take six minutes.

Reader: We'll move to the next part of the lesson. Before that, we'll sing a song.

Song: (50:10)