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

Daily Lesson (Morning) May 26, 2024

Part 1: Rabash. Letter No. 8. 

Reader: Hello, we're going to read from the Writings of Rabash, Letter No. 8. The study material appears in Sviva Tova, in the Arvut system, and then you can ask questions during the live broadcast on those platforms. Anyone who wants to ask a question here in the study hall, just stand up and hold the mic close to your mouth and speak clearly.

 Reading: (00:35) Letter No. 8. 

Hello and all the best to my friends,

In response to your letter, I must tell you that for now, I have nothing to add in writing. Rather, as it is written, “Speak to the children of Israel and they will journey.” Concerning journeys, you know that it refers to going from state A to state B, that this is the meaning of changing places, as Baal HaSulam said in an interpretation to the verse, “Day to day expresses speech.” He wrote there that it is impossible to have another day without having a state of night in between, meaning that there is a break in the middle. Otherwise, it is called “a long day” and not “day after day.” But the order of the work is precisely day after day. “And night to night reveals knowledge” means that there is a day in between, thus far his words.

This is the order of the journeys. Therefore, do not be afraid of any states, but only, as we said above, “journey,” go forward. Each time, a new current must be streamed, as ... wrote me in his last letter, the verse, “They are new every morning; great is Your faith.”

Incidentally, I am disclosing my thoughts and will to you although it is not usually my way. And yet, I wish to disclose before you what I thought about the people of Tiberias, to know how they regard us, amiably or rudely. In this letter, I will write to you how I picture and what I see of the people of Tiberias. And even though I did not describe the essence of Tiberias, still, I will write my thoughts to you.

Currently, I am becoming a little more relieved from my personal and general problems, and I am taking some time off to raise my head and behold the spectacle that is unfolding there. It is as though I see three kinds of people there, three images and forms clothed in three different types of bodies.

1) A large share, the vast majority, I do not think considers us unfavorably or favorably, or that they respect or disrespect us. In all honesty, I think we are beneath attention in their eyes. In other words, they neither think nor even feel us. It is as though we don’t exist with them together in the world, on earth.

Even if they happen to hear that there is such a thing as students of the Rav Ashlag, it is of no interest to them. They are preoccupied with their own provision all day long—in their passions, or pursuit of respect, or in their spirituality. They have no need to consider such trifling matters as us—this tiny group of people—especially since they heard that there is a dispute within this tiny group.

“Scraps do not satisfy the lion.” That is, the tiny group is too small and insignificant in their eyes to provide them with satiation and mental satisfaction if they let us into their minds to decide if we are good or bad. This is how inferior we are in their eyes—completely beneath scrutiny, unworthy of a moment’s notice. And even though I think that this lion has all kinds of schemes in regard to us, there is actually nothing of the kind.

2) The second kind is those who respect us and in whom we already take up space in the world. They regard us as worthy people, respectable, and of certain stature. They do us the big favor of allocating time for us in their minds and in their thoughts during their free time. They take interest in us and note our stance and our activities to see if we are truly virtuous and with integrity, to criticize us with an air of criticism if they find anything in us.

When they think about it, they see that at the end of the day, this is a group of people who have gathered to be together in one place, under one leader, to be together. With superhuman courage they face up to all those who rise against them. Indeed, they are brave men with a strong spirit, and they are determined not to retreat one inch. They are first-class warriors, fighting the war against the inclination to their last drop of blood, and their only wish is to win the battle for the glory of His name.

However, along with all those contemplations, when they begin to consider themselves—according to their prejudices and their self-interests regarding desires and pursuit of honors—they must unanimously agree and unite against us. Thus, they wholeheartedly and unequivocally resolve that it is better for them not to unite with us. This is so, although among themselves they are very remote and so different from one another that they can never agree on anything. They might even hate each other to such an extent that they cannot bear being in the same room with one another, and all wish to kill each other. Still, against us they all unite.

And since they are biased because of the will to receive in them, and “Bribe blinds the eyes of the wise,” they promptly see the opposite of what they thought of us. And after all the praises and virtues that they found in us—that each of us is praiseworthy and honorable—once they have made their resolution, they quickly execute the verdict passionately and zealously, since we spoil their reputation with our views. Thus, on the one hand, they see that truth is on our side; on the other hand, our way is burdensome to them.

To excuse themselves, they have no other choice but to destroy us and obliterate our name from the face of the earth. They toil and strain for that, to disperse us to every direction, and they plot and conspire how to fail us and place stumbling blocks on our way, using all sorts of means—legitimate and illegitimate alike, even if these means contradict the human spirit and the spirit of Torah. They do not care because they see that there will be no persistence to their will if we have any domination and expansion of our goal to wholehearted and honest people, for then we will have the power to show them the truth.

And this is bad for them, for it is better for them to do what their hearts wish and at the same time be “the face of the generation”—influential and spiritual leaders. For this, they conspire plots of ruin and destruction for our future and say, “The sooner the better; it is better to degrade them while they are still small, so not a trace of them remains.”

Still, we should be very grateful to them for respecting us and for appreciating our view by at least admitting that there is something to be revoked. In other words, they do not ignore us as though we were dust, but at least we are sort of real to them. This is unlike the first kind of people, who give us no thought and believe that what happens around us is not worth any attention. They are also not impressed by our weakness of thinking that they are following our actions, which is why we avoid taking certain actions, lest they find them displeasing, and that this often causes us to escape the campaign for fear of the first kind of people.

To be honest, none of them pays us any attention or any thought. Perhaps it is as it is written, “You will flee when no one is pursuing you.” Therefore, we should be glad about such people as the second kind, for at least they joke, mock, despise, and slander us. In other words, at least we have a reality in the world and it is not so easy for them to resolve to obliterate our name from the face of the earth.

3) The third kind are people who wish for our well being and our favor. However, they are very few, as in “Two is a plural.” And I call them by initials, BShMA, meaning B..., Sh..., M..., and A... In the holy tongue [Hebrew], they are called Bosem [perfume], and in translation [Aramaic], BoSMA, for translation is considered Achoraim [posterior]. In other words, they should be rewarded with the light of Panim [anterior light], that all their actions will be in Kedusha [holiness], which is called “the holy tongue.”

And what should I do when I see that I wish to describe and to picture our loved ones who are in Tiberias? At that time, I feel that Tiberias is a bustling city, and the above-mentioned third kind that are clothed in two bodies are mingled in a whirlpool, roaming among all the wishes and whims that are clothed in other bodies, meaning the first and second kinds. And then it is hard for me to find them because it is as though they are in a big stack of straw and hay, and how can one find two precious pearls, two wheats, which vanish in the vast majority? And although the rule is that even one person out of a thousand counts, they should still endure and cry out as a crane, which are truly lively creatures.

From this we can understand the allegory that our sages present, that the straw and hay and wheat deliberate for whom the field was sown. The argument of the straw and the hay seems so correct that they cannot be persuaded, and at times there is fear that the wheat will surrender under the rule of the straw and the hay. The straw and the hay argue, “We are the majority, and you, wheat, are as nothing compared to our numbers. We are of higher status and we were born before you came into the world. In other words, while you were still nonexistent, we were already grown and handsome, and our greatness could be seen by all. From afar, we dazzle the eye with the beauty that we give to the whole field. But you, wheat, are so tiny and indistinguishable that only through special attention can one see you, when one comes near. This must be due to your incompetence. But we give a place and a shelter for people who are weary and lost on the road, and have no place to rest their heads. We take them in our midst and cover them from winds and from evil beasts so they will not be seen. But who can enjoy you?”

But when it was time to harvest, everyone knew for whom the field was sown, since the straw and the hay are only fit for being animal food; they have no hope of being greater than their current measure of greatness. Wheat, however, after a few corrections, when it is broken, sifted, mixed with wine and oil, and placed in the oven, is placed on a table of kings and is worthy of serving as an offering to the Lord. And all the merit that can be attributed to the straw and the hay is their service to the wheat, which they nurtured and fed.

In other words, they took nourishment from the earth and transferred the nourishment to the wheat. It was a burden and a load to them that the wheat was riding the backs of the straw and the hay, and their value is the same as a servant who serves the king or a maid who serves her mistress.

But prior to harvest time, before the conclusion, it was impossible to clarify the truthfulness and sincerity of reality itself. Rather, each was to his own, arguing according to his own sensation. And being considerate with the truth without noticing if this might cause some lowness and unpleasantness is not such a simple task, except when one can analyze each element into many details until the truthfulness and justness of the matter are brought to light. And this requires being rewarded from above with not being trapped in the net of self-love and being carried away in the flow of the collective.

From all the above-said, it is hard for me to find you when you are on your own, without any mixture of desires and views, since everyone is hiding you, as described in the wheat allegory.

However, I have found a tactic similar to the harvest-time that was mentioned earlier. Only at night, after midnight, when the night-breeze blows and scatters the stack of straw and hay, and everyone lies flat over the field like carcasses, that is, sleeping in their beds, the two wheats break free and pour out their hearts before their Father in heaven. They enter the flame of the fire of Torah until the morning light, when it is prayer time. At that time, their souls come out as they speak the words of the living God. I believe that this is the right time for entertaining with the precious pearls that glow as flames of fire to be mingled with the whole of Israel with the help of the Rock of his Redeemer, and may the Creator give.

Let me write a few more words concerning love. It is known that there is no light without a Kli [vessel], meaning that each pleasure must have a clothing in which the light of pleasure might clothe. For example, when a person wishes to gain some respect, to be honored in the eyes of people, his first move is his clothes. In other words, he must dress in honorable attire, as our sages said, “Rabbi Yohanan called his garments ‘My honorers.’”

Thus, one must give a certain measure of toil until he obtains the honorable garment, and even after he has acquired the garment, he must keep it from any harm and damage. That is, each day he must dust it, and if it is stained or becomes dirty, he must clean it and iron it.

But most important, he must keep it from the most dangerous saboteur—the clothes moth! In Yiddish, it is called “a Mol,” which is a tiny mosquito that can’t be seen. The first amendment is that it must not come in contact with old clothes. And there is also a wonderful remedy called “naphthalene,” which keeps it from the damagers, called “Mols.” And when he has this garment, he is ready to receive the light of the pleasure that is clothed in honorable apparel.

It is similar with love. To be rewarded with the light of love, one must find clothing in which the light might clothe. And the same rules of keeping apply to that apparel: avoiding the “dust” of slander, and especially the sabotaging mosquito known as Mol [in Yiddish, Moil means “mouth,” so there is a pun here], which are people of good appearance, who speak beautifully. You’d think that they have already “circumcised” themselves in the covenants of forbidden couplings and slander, and from the uncircumcised heart, but deep within them is the saboteur that can harm you, and you cannot guard yourselves from it because it is all handsome and beautiful.

This is why this mosquito is so tiny that without special attention it is impossible to detect this harm-doer, which comes from those circumcised ones who can spoil this precious garment. Indeed, it is known that this mol does more damage to wool [Hebrew: TzeMeR] garments, meaning the letters MeReTz [Hebrew: energy], which spoil the energy for the work. And Yatush [mosquito] comes from “VaYitosh [and he forsake] the God who made him,” or in Aramaic, “And he ceased worshipping the God that he served.”

Ordinarily, one who has a precious wool garment must avoid contact with old clothes. In other words, he must avoid contact with “old adherents” who spoil the energy because they are no longer competent for the work, so all their words are only to lessen the energy. And even one with strong garments of love, who is like a tree—meaning he is self-asserted—that mol should still be watched. If that mol gets into the wood, it can do harm, too, as we see that wood decays and disintegrates because a mol enters it.

And the only medicine is Naphthalene, from the word, Naftoley, which Onkelos interprets as Tefilah [prayer], meaning to pray to the Creator that this damager will not be permitted into his garment.

One should be careful with an honorable garment, for if there are rooster feathers on it, they should be removed. Also, one mustn’t enter a place where there are rooster feathers while wearing these clothes. In a garment of the light of love it is interpreted as Notzot [feathers], from the word Nitzim [quarreling], as in cockfights. This refers to the singing and chanting of people who are still in exile from the path of truth and are enslaved to self-love. All the singing and the praise that they show during their Torah and prayer only inflict quarrels in your soul until you begin to make war in your views—on whose side is truth and justice. This spoils and ruins your garment, which can inhabit love. Therefore, you must be careful and avoid places where there are rooster feathers, so that afterwards you will not have to work on cleaning yourselves up from those feathers.

We can see that for people who strain to acquire the light of honors, if they do not keep their clothes properly when they go outside, the external ones immediately cling to their clothes when they see that it is not proper clothing, suitable for honoring people. In other words, people will see that he is accepting their authority over him and that he is so enslaved to those people who are standing outside, he is compelled to make great efforts to obtain the clothes but also to keep them. Even the mode, meaning the design and manner of wearing, must be precisely according to the liking of those people under whom he stands. Thus, it is precisely those from whom he wishes to receive respect that he must worship with great toil to be favored by them, so they will impart upon him the light of the pleasure that is dressed in clothes of honors.

And if, God forbid, he did not serve them sufficiently, this could yield unpleasant outcomes. That is, not only will they not give him the respect he wants from them, but on the contrary, they will all degrade him, humiliate him, and make him feel low and inferior. And that sensation of inferiority will first make him sad, then idle, and then he will feel that the whole world has grown dark on him until he sees no hope for obtaining pleasure in life. Then, he finds only one counsel—to go home, lie in his bed, and plead bitterly that his prayer will be granted—meaning that the angel of sleep, which is one sixtieth of death, will impart him with the light of the pleasure of sleep. This is the only pleasure he can hope for.

And if, alas, the angel of sleep has no mercy on him and he finds no remedy for himself, then, for the bitterness of his soul, he has no other choice but to take pleasure in a cure that is popular among the desperate who seek relief for their sadness. They fight with the inclination that wishes for one’s persistence, overcome it, and extend pleasure from the angel called “suicide.” That is, they feel that only this angel can deliver them from their melancholy. Evidently, it is impossible to obtain pleasures from the angel just mentioned without terrible torments and a mighty and awful emotional struggle.

Hence, “The eyes of the wise are in his head,” and he knows and sees ahead of time what he can acquire and what he might obtain if he doesn’t keep the laws and conditions of his contemporaries. That is, he must surrender and assume everything that the external people demand of him, or they will promptly punish him in this world. In other words, reward and punishment are revealed in this world and do not require faith above reason.

From this we can deduce the boundless care and watchfulness, and the great and special attention required to obtain the clothing that clothes the light of love—a garment that is made of such a fine and delicate fabric—lest the outer ones grip and ruin this precious garment, which has literally been bought by so much sweat and blood.

And now let me clarify to you how and in what way I begin to obtain that clothing of love: The order of making a proper garment is to first, weave a piece of cloth. In other words, we take threads and place them together in a warp and weft manner (crisscross). Through the warp and weft, a piece of clothing is woven.

Therefore, I take a thread of warp into a thread of weft. A Nima [Aramaic: “thread” as well as “say”] comes from the words “Say a word about it.” Shti [weft] comes from the word Tashi [forgetfulness], as in “You forgot the Rock who begot you.” In other words, I begin to act with the power of my memory and soon remember that my friends spoke unfavorably about me, that these words made them do bad things to me, and this saying [also “warp”] wears out the friendship, the camaraderie, and the brotherhood.

Afterwards, a thread of Erev [weft] comes to my mind, meaning I heard that my friend spoke favorably about me, which made him do good things, which are Arevim [pleasant] and sweet to my taste. That is, I hear and see that my friend has left all his engagements and thinks and acts only in my favor so that I will have pleasant pleasures. And these two threads create a mixture in me, and I don’t know which way to decide, saying, “Is truth on the side of the warp or on the side of the weft?”

It is known that everything that exists in our world is in a form of positive and negative—right and left, true and false, light and dark, Israel and the nations, holy and secular, impurity and purity, and bad and good. This is so because it is impossible to detect a good taste without tasting the bitter taste of the bad. This is the meaning of what our sages said, “To avenge the wicked and to give a good reward to the righteous.”

The word Para [avenge] comes from the verse, “Para [let loose] the hair on the head of the woman.” In other words, it is possible to receive help from the wicked in order to discover the real flavor and sensation of the good reward of the righteous.

For this reason, when weaving the garment, I stand bewildered and await the verdict that will eject the poverty of mind that is clothed within me. And since I am now engaged in weaving a garment of love, to place the light of pleasure there, I am already biased and an interested party. For this reason, I decide according to the words of the weft, as the Torah implied to us that “Bribe blinds the eyes of the wise.”

Thus, I no longer care if the truth is what it is; rather, I care about the goal that I desire at this minute, during the weaving of the garment of love. In that state, I have a deciding line in the middle, meaning the goal is the very thing that always decides between right and left.

And once I have acquired this above-mentioned clothing, sparks of love promptly begin to shine within me. The heart begins to long to unite with my friends, and it seems to me that my eyes see my friends, my ears hear their voices, my mouth speaks to them, the hands embrace, the feet dance in a circle, in love and joy together with them, and I transcend my corporeal boundaries. I forget the vast distance between my friends and me, and the outstretched land for many miles will not stand between us.

It is as though my friends are standing right within my heart and see all that is happening there, and I become ashamed of my petty acts against my friends. Then, I simply exit the corporeal vessels and it seems to me that there is no reality in the world except my friends and I. After that, even the “I” is cancelled and is immersed, mingled in my friends, until I stand and declare that there is no reality in the world—only the friends.

I must be brief because the holiday is approaching.

Your friend, Baruch Shalom HaLevi

M. Laitman: Are there any questions?

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (50:37) Rabash writes, you should make sure not to come in contact with them, so-called adherents which ruin the energy cause they are no longer competent for the work, all their words lessen the energy. What does it mean not to come in contact with those adherents?

M. Laitman: With those who were adherents, according to the families, according to … They were born as these adherents, as followers. Not that they became these Hassadim, these followers from their own work. The difference is big, because a Hesed, a follower according to their birth, was born in a family where his father was also a Hesed. And he continues as such. The customs, the dress, everything that he has. Others, there are those where it doesn't matter what part of the society, they're in, but they want to be the followers, the Hassadim, the adherents of the Creator, not of their Rebbe, their teacher. And they have work to do. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (52:43) First of all, there's many questions. It's fascinating. It's actually much deeper than the Rabash articles. It's difficult to understand. I wanted to read a bit if you can explain. Before the time of the Golan, we cannot inspire the honesty of reality as it is for itself. Everyone tastes according to his feelings and considers the truth without considering if it will cause some unpleasantness. And only one who can divide things into many details to the point that he finds the truthfulness of the matter, that requires a word being awarded from above to not fall into the net of self-perception and flow with the current of the whole public. Can you explain that? 

M. Laitman: Not to incorporate in the general collective way the Torah is taught, and try not to get brainwashed by that form of Torah but according to your own individual, particular way. 

Student: You need to be awarded from above, not to get caught by the net of self-love? 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: So, only one who can split all the details to their… That's the matter of going deeper and then seeing the truth? 

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (54:30) As he describes here, some process of a person wanting honor from the others, and then bit by bit it continues until he commits suicide. So, how to be saved from that? We don't just live among ourselves. We are also outside. How to guard yourself? 

M. Laitman: Yes, but if we are in our small society, how should I put it? That we appreciate what each and every one has, specifically what each and every one has. And we don't relate to some seemingly holy ones that the society deems as holy. So, then we have a good chance of developing the desires and thoughts and inclinations in us from birth, from the source, from one's birth. And then we won't get lost in the flow of the world. 

Student: I assume that when he talks about the honorable garment, it's the honor of the Creator, it's not the honor of self, right?

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Student: And here he says we need to be very cautious. It's something very delicate, very subtle?

M. Laitman: Yes, because you might behave well, and good, and correctly, and then you'll see that it takes you not to the purpose of creation. 

Student: Now, we are exposed. What can you do? We're not just sitting in the lesson every day, like the whole day, like in a congress. A congress is a wonderful thing. You can be for two days in only a supportive environment.

M. Laitman: We need to organize our environment so that it will always connect us and bring us to the desired goal each and every day. That depends on building the environment, where we need to make this criticism at each and every moment and every day that we do not deviate from the path. In other words, that our connection between us would be to the point, and each day we will go towards this collective goal of ours. It will be common to all of us, and we only hold on to that. 

Question: (Petah Tikva Center): (58:14) Rabash tries to teach us here a few things with regards to love. There's a matter of being awarded with the light of love and achieving the garment that can clothe the light of love. Can you explain what that is?

M. Laitman: I can't explain what love is. A person needs to come to that and to feel that. 

Student: We say the Creator is the quality of love and bestowal. 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: When we talk about weaving a garment of love, he's talking about how a person aims himself to achieve the revelation of the Creator?

M. Laitman: Certainly. 

Student: He says at the end that a person has two possibilities to look at the environment, their friends, in a way of warp and weft, to judge them on the scale of merit or demerit, and that's how it should be. And when he decides to judge them to the scale of merit, then he ends up with a garment, with a cloth that can be suitable for the light of love. And then he also gives us these depictions of how we move from a state of, I see, and I feel and so forth, until there is a point where there is no more I. There are only the friends. What is the state where a person dissolves that way into the society where he no longer feels himself at all? 

M. Laitman: He understands that if he dissolves into this general collective love among the friends, that is the only way to come to the Creator. 

Student: I'm trying to take something from that to our work. Say I see myself as a friend in the Ten, a friend in the group, I have a connection with the friends, and sometimes there's a thought that, well, let's say I'm using them to attain spirituality, that it's like a means, but it seems like I have to completely disconnect the thought of self in the Ten, that in the Ten there needs to be no Ten at all, it's we who attain spirituality, who discover the light of love, and so forth?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: How do you break this self that won't exist in the Ten? 

M. Laitman: Through incorporation of wishing to feel one another, everyone together. And they have no other goal in practice, only that each and every one connects to the others. 

Student: There's such a sentence that sits in my head for many lessons now from Rabash, because he aims us to work in the Ten with the friends. After all the big things, he ultimately sends us there, and there's this sentence that says, I've learned a lot from my teachers and even more from my friends. What can you learn from your friends that you can't learn from, say, the teacher, or the Kabbalist, or the Creator? What can you get from friends that only they can give?

M. Laitman: An example. An example of how the friends are always in this tendency to the central point of connection between them, where they want to discover that there is no one else, but all of them together reach a special reality called the Creator. 

Student: And this should be stronger for me more than, say, what I get from the knowledge of the teacher, that this example needs to be stronger for me?

M. Laitman: Yes, it needs to be a more internal example than everything else. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:03:22) More or less the same area the friend talked about. He explains here about the warp and weft and all the states that exist between the friends, if you judge them this way or the other way, and the mutual goal. And a question that really screams from that to me is, how do we weave, create that garment of love? It feels like everything's already apparent between us, so it already exists. And maybe we don't do something in the work, or how do we weave that connection?

M. Laitman: You seek someone who can be clothed in that connection, which is the Creator. He is not in the weft, he's not there but only in the connection between them. That is where He becomes revealed. 

Student: We go through many states between us, many happy things that give you a lot of strength, and also things that throw you away. I don't understand how do we take all this richness that is apparent to us, and how do we find the Creator there?

M. Laitman: The Creator is not in one or the other, but if you take the two of them as one, as one, which is in faith above reason, then you find Him.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:05:28) About the same issue, he writes, now that I'm engaged in weaving the garment of love so the light of pleasure will reside in there, now I'm already bribed. Is he bribed because he's going to receive the light of pleasure to himself? What is the bribe?

M. Laitman: The bribe is that he uses it for himself. 

Student: And he continues and says, I touch the matter, therefore I'm going to the warp. What does it mean in the context of being bribed because of the pleasure? 

M. Laitman: It is that he wishes to go to the thing in its opposite. 

Student: Meaning, even though I might fall into the pleasure, I keep going for it because that's the goal?

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Student: So, then he writes, if so, it doesn't matter to me if the truth is as itself, what's important to me is the goal?

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Student: Meaning, it doesn't matter if I fall into pleasure or not, what's important is the goal?

M. Laitman: He calculates only with regard to the goal.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:07:15) It's amazing, it's the first time where he kind of builds the conditions for himself to work above reason. He awakens the feeling of criticism with the friends, the feeling of love, and then he says, even though everything is mingled, I've decided, so I'm choosing the weft. For the first time, it seems like he's creating the conditions for himself to work above reason. 

M. Laitman: It is not in nature, according to these conditions, this system. That it will be above reason. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:08:18) He writes about the first and second kinds of people. We should be happy about the people who belong to the second kind that at least they scorn and slander us, and at least we are a reality in their world, and we're important to the point they need to eradicate us. Why is that better? 

M. Laitman: We exist. They hold on to that we are the opposite, it doesn't matter what. But in any case, it is more of an attitude than if they just think of us as nothing and be it. 

Student: He says that only when they were impressed by them, then they can feel such a negative thing. Only after they saw greatness. It's interesting that today they saw them as great, and then.

M. Laitman: Yes.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:09:41) Who are the people of Tiberias? And why does Rabash seem to write a lot about that? What is that?

M. Laitman: Look, that's usually the landlords. They have all kinds of these small customs among themselves. How much they observe them. They have nothing that we can learn from them. 

Student: And who are the people of Tiberias of today? 

M. Laitman: I don't think it changed much there. Tiberias is a place today as it was yesterday.

Student: What exactly were they fighting about? The two kinds of people he describes there. 

M. Laitman: I don’t know.

Student: Why is there such hatred towards them that he describes there? 

M. Laitman: I don't know, maybe we need to read it again. I didn't really pay attention to that. Tiberias is a place where all the religious from Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, these kinds, they would travel there for holidays, for vacation. They then all entered into homes and apartments there that they would rent out. And that's it. They would pass their time there for two or three weeks when they had this big vacation of theirs. Big holiday of theirs. Where after… what day? 

Student: 9th of Av?

M. Laitman: Yes, Tisha B’av the 9th of Av and onward. 

Student: It's not clear. What did they not like about them? Same dressing, clothing, religious people. What did they pay attention to? To what, that became such a difference? 

M. Laitman: I went a few times to these holiday periods in Tiberias with the ones who were around Rabash. I didn't differentiate anything there.

Student: He writes that we make their smell stink with our views. And on the one hand, they see they're with us, on the other hand, we are a burden on them. What was it that was a burden on them in their path?

M. Laitman: With us, what is most important is to go above reason. And with them, it is within reason. As much as possible. 

Student: But where was it expressed? It's not that they sat and studied with Rabash. 

M. Laitman: But in any case, according to the spirit. They felt that it's not the same. That's how it is. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:14:14) The says in the beginning of the article that there's no one long day but a day is made up of day and night. I want to shift it to us. In a congress, you have a feeling that it's day. With all the friends, everyone prays within. And there's always this surprise when night comes, there is darkness, you can't pray for the friends. And so, he tells us that there have to be two parts, and then when he weaves the garment of love, it looks like he's going for the second kind of people who justify the friends or judge them to the scale of demerit. So, he's going for that, for weaving the clothing, not just closing and shutting his eyes. 

Meaning, he's looking whether there are things that the friends do that reject him, that he can't justify them, and other things he can't, until he comes to a point where he seems to make a decision above reason, that the goal is more important than what he feels. I wanted to ask about that. We, many times in a congress we can justify everything and connect, and then we come out of the congress, there could be two different phenomena. That you maybe fall into despair, indifference, the garment is damaged, or you go into a place of work. And we have something to guard, and on the other hand, work on the next garment. So, how do we, as a ten or a group, how do we focus on this work specifically where we each time build a new garment, and also make sure that the garment we had will not be damaged? That's kind of what the article revolves around. 

M. Laitman: Or by engaging with the new clothing. 

Student: How will the old garment not be damaged? He talks about not putting it where there's moth and so forth.

M. Laitman: You're building a state on it from which you can rise to the next state, the new one, you don't cancel it. 

Student: What does it mean to guard it? He says you put naphthalene in a closet with the clothes, he also calls it prayer. What kind of prayer do we have to maintain what we achieved?

M. Laitman: Because the degree from where you came from is important to you.

Student: So, what I achieved, I have to pray to not fall from it? 

M. Laitman: It has to remain as a foundation. 

Student: And on this foundation, we begin to weave the next garment, yes? 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:17:42) I don't really want to talk about the people of Tiberias, which I don't understand anything about that, but just to understand the attitude of the Kabbalists and the reality around him throughout all the years that I'm here and all the articles we read. My feeling is that you and the Kabbalists say the truth the way you understand it, and that's it, without really taking what people think into account or what other people outside are doing. And here somehow in this article, it seems that Rabash dealt a lot with what is, what others think of them, and so forth. And what's the right attitude of a Kabbalist to the environment that surrounds him? I'm not talking about the environment, his environment, but the more external environment. 

M. Laitman: I can't tell you more than that he has to consider this environment, respect it externally, for sure, and show that he's keeping the customs of that society. And that's it. 

Student: Does a Kabbalist have. I'll ask differently. Does the external environment influence how a Kabbalist works with him? 

M. Laitman: No. 

Student: This no here is what I understood here all the time, all the years, and in this article, it seems like he talks about them, he divides them into groups, and he analyzes each group’s attitude. Why is it so interesting for Rabash to deal with that, I didn’t understand that. What is the meaning of the whole first part of this letter?

M. Laitman: First of all, he is writing it to his society, which also, his group that includes several groups in it, and he has to look ahead. What's happening with the environment, does it stay the way it is right now, what will happen with it, how much is it going to change in one direction or another, he can't just let go of it in any direction. 

Student: Okay, so in this division of one, two, and three that he did there, maybe you could give what do I have to take from this to continue here in my life, in this external environment around me? 

M. Laitman: Relative to the external environment, we need to take nothing. Simply build ourselves and reinforce our own environment so it would give us everything we need, and that's it.

Student: Thank you. 

M. Laitman: Therefore, you see what we are doing. We got our own building, it belongs to no one else. In this building we celebrate all of our holidays, all of our festivities, activities, and that's how we wish to carry ourselves, without touching anyone else, and without anyone else touching us. That's first of all. And from within, we need to ensure that the internality of the society will be strong, unified, and exalted, and that's it.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:22:41) Going back to the topic of the clothing of love. He starts there, and he writes about it, he thinks about a certain friend, and the friend remembers that he said bad words about him, and he also said good things about him, and he kind of contemplates, how do I relate to this friend. Is he okay, is he not okay, do I love him, do I not love him. And then he says that actually his goal is to build this clothing of love from all of that. And then he says, and I stand and wonder and wait for this sentence of bull to come out of me inside of this, and he's thinking in his thoughts whether the friend is not okay or not. And this is some kind of state of reason, he's waiting for this sentence. What is this sentence that he's talking about, this poverty of the mind, the verdict, what is it?

M. Laitman: Well, this verdict comes from above, when he's sentenced. Each time he wishes to feel in what he is okay, in what he is not okay, and how to advance step by step. 

Student: Meaning, the very thought and calculation about it is not good. That won't lead to the goal for him. He needs forces from above to take him out of this.

M. Laitman: Yes.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:24:25) What's this process that a person goes through where he announces that there's no reality but the friends? 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: It seems as if there's a certain understanding of a person, an inner understanding. 

M. Laitman: When he speaks of the friends, they alone determine his future. Because he has nothing to go towards except for the connection with the friends.

Student: What does it depend upon in our work to unrobe the external clothing that he has on him? 

M. Laitman: As much as I can be connected to states that awaken in me, as much as I am drawn to them, I see in my friends that they protect or maintain my future state. 

Student: To identify the point in the heart and make it grow? 

M. Laitman: Maybe you can say these definitions as much as you want. Nobody knows what you mean by that, what do I mean by that. Rather, you have to simply realize the future. Okay. 

Question (PT 32): (01:26:26) We see the loving attitude and special attitude that Rabash expresses to his students. There are my dear ones in the beginning of the article, and he truly merges with them, he truly lowers himself to the level of the students. What is that special attitude of Rav and a teacher to the students, if you could expand on that? 

M. Laitman: He feels that he can, together with them, he can climb up, and go up and down throughout this path that's ahead of them. 

Question (Women PT 6): (01:27:07) When a person is some of the day with external societies, can he respect the matter of being respected, can he resist them, what's the advice to be protected from that?

M. Laitman: First of all, stay connected, not disconnect. He must tie himself to the environment, to the friends, to the society, to the friends, and as much as he can, be in the same topic, the same lesson that they have gone through, and so forth. He must have a certain job, a certain role in the group, part of the group's life, and he has to be connected to it, to exist in it, and that's a very important thing. By that, he will constantly connect himself to that process they have to undergo. What else can I say? 

Question (Women Turkiye 8): (01:28:25) What should we pay attention to when we acquire this clothing of love? How will he depict himself to put on this costume, this clothing, this garment? 

M. Laitman: What does he have to do? He needs to try and check how he can relate, and above reason, to the connection he has with each and every friend.

Question (Women Latin 25): (01:29:06) I found counsel to my soul during the harvest, that only at night, after midnight, I think is the right time to delight with the matters of blazing fires of Torah until the morning, and what does he mean here when he's talking about these things?

M. Laitman: I don’t know what he means, I think that he is inviting all of his friends to be in contact and connected after the midnight prayer. The midnight prayer is the point after which the darkness ends, and the dawn starts. 

Question (Women PT 23): (01:30:17) It's written, people with a form which only perfumes, who you think that they've already managed to circumcise themselves from the manners inside their heart, and they found the armor that's inside them. And from that saboteur can you guard yourself from it because of it’s handsome and beautiful. Who are those people who have circumcised themselves? Who are those people who think that they circumcised themselves? 

M. Laitman: What is the question?

Student: Who are those people that think they circumcised themselves?

M. Laitman: These are our friends, some of them, whom a person thinks that they are after the stage called circumcision, where all the shells have dropped, have fell off from them. 

Question (KabU 14): (01:31:16) What is that ash that eats our energy towards the moths that eat our advancement? 

M. Laitman: We'll discover it together. Okay?

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:31:36) What does it mean that only the friends decide and hold on to my future, to my fate?

M. Laitman: Because you cannot be connected directly to the Creator except through this group of friends with whom you are now, with whom you connect, with whom you're connected, and that's how you move forward. And when all the friends are in connection, everyone looks after the society and tries to give everyone space and support so as not to fall. Accordingly, we will advance. 

M. Laitman: Okay. What do we have next?  

Reader: (01:33:11) We the preface for the letter and also the preface. Alright, first a song.

Song: (01:33:26)