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

Daily Morning Lesson September 6, 2026

Part 1: Rabash. What Does It Mean that Charity to the Poor Makes the Holy Name, in the Work? Article No. 31, 

1991.

Reader: Hello, friends, in the first part of the lesson, we will watch a recorded lesson from the 26th of June, 2002, based on the article, "What Does It Mean That Charity to the Poor Makes the Holy Name, in the Work?" This is in “The Writings of Rabash.” We will read the article together in the Tens. We have 34 minutes for that.

Reading: (00:40) What Does It Mean that Charity to the Poor Makes the Holy Name, in the Work?

Article No. 31, 1991

It says (BeHukotai, Item 20), “‘I will give your rains in their season.’ Each one will give his strength over you. Who are they? It is that correction that you made, unifying that Holy Name. That unification of law and ordinance will bestow upon you. It is written, ‘Keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.’ Since it is written, ‘Keep the way of the Lord,’ why does it need to write, ‘To do righteousness and justice’? He replies, ‘Since one who keeps the ways of Torah, it is as though he does righteousness and justice. And what are righteousness and justice? It is the Creator.’ Rabbi Shimon wept and said, ‘Woe unto people who do not know and do not consider the glory of their Master, for who makes the Holy Name every day? One who gives alms to the poor. One who makes this awakening from below, meaning gives alms, it is as though he made the Holy Name in completeness: As one does below, so it awakens above.’”

We should understand the connection between alms and the unification of righteousness and justice. Also, what is the connection between righteousness and justice and making the Holy Name? We should also understand what it means that a person makes the Holy Name, since we understand that the Holy Name makes man and not that man makes the Holy Name.

We should interpret this in the work, what this comes to teach us. It is known that the essence of our work in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] is to be able to receive the delight and pleasure that He contemplated giving to the created beings. The whole delay is in that we haven’t the Kelim [vessels] to receive the abundance that comes from the Giver to the creatures, meaning for the creatures to have equivalence of form, called “As He is merciful, so you are merciful,” meaning for the creatures to also have vessels of bestowal like the Giver.

Therefore, when a person takes upon himself the kingdom of heaven, the body asks, “What will you get out of this work of accepting the kingdom of heaven?” Our sages said about this (Pesachim 50), “One should always engage in Torah and Mitzvot even if Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], since from Lo Lishma he comes to Lishma [for Her sake].” This is as it is written in The Zohar, that there is the matter of fear when he observes Torah and Mitzvot in order to be rewarded in this world and in the next world. But the fear that is important is “because He is great and ruling,” meaning not in order to be rewarded, but because he says that he has the privilege of serving a great King, and this is why he wants to observe the Torah and Mitzvot.

Although a person understands that there is the matter of serving the King, man’s body is created with a nature of a desire to receive delight only from things that benefit itself. The body cannot understand serving someone else, so that the other will enjoy, meaning that he will enjoy someone else enjoying his work. That is, it is unnatural for an employee, who works for the owner, and the owner really benefits from the work of the employee, that the employee will tell the owner, “I don’t want you to pay me; it is enough for me that you enjoy the things I fixed for you because you regretted the broken tools you had. But now that I fixed them, you are enjoying this and I don’t want any payment for my work.” This is against nature. On the contrary, if you are enjoying my work, you should pay me more than I requested for my work.

Accordingly, we can understand how it is possible for a person to have the strength to work for the sake of the Creator without any reward. The first state is when a person wants to observe Torah and Mitzvot so it will bring him the cure, which is “the light in the Torah reforms him.” That is, through them, he will obtain the second nature called “desire to bestow.” Then, he will be able to serve the King without any reward, and his only reward will be that he is delighting the King. The Zohar calls this time, when he observes Torah and Mitzvot in order to obtain the desire to bestow, “613 Eitin [Aramaic: counsels].”

The second state is after he has acquired the desire to bestow. This is the state of receiving the delight and pleasure that are in the 613 Mitzvot, which The Zohar calls “613 Pekudin [Aramaic: deposits].” This means as it is written in the Sulam [Ladder commentary on The Zohar], that the delight and pleasure are there as a deposit.

For this reason, man’s work when he takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven is to make it as a “charity for the poor.” It is known that The Zohar calls Malchut “poor and meager.” We should interpret this as not wanting to receive any return. This is similar to giving charity to a poor person and not asking him for anything in return. That is, we do not even want the poor person’s gratitude, since real charity is called “concealed giving,” which means that he does not see to whom he gives.

Therefore, giving the charity was devoid of any gratitude from the poor.

It follows that when a person accepts the burden of the kingdom of heaven above reason, he does not hope for the Creator to thank him for it. Thus, the body asks, “Why are you taking upon yourself the burden of Torah and Mitzvot?” In that state, when he wants to take upon himself to observe Torah and Mitzvot without any reward, a person needs the Creator to give him the strength to overcome the body’s question, and have the strength to do the holy work gladly.

It follows that precisely when one works in order to come to work that is purely holy, without any mixture of waste in there, he becomes needy of the Creator’s help. Each time he wants to reassume the burden of the kingdom of heaven, he must work anew. A person must believe the words of the ARI, who says, “Each and every day, new discernments that have fallen into the Klipot [shells/peels] are corrected, and one day is not like the next, or one moment like its following.”

Therefore, assuming the burden of the kingdom of heaven anew corrects new discernments into Kedusha [holiness]. For this reason, when a person wants to take upon himself the kingdom of heaven anew, the body asks, “What will you get out of working for the sake of the Creator?” And there is no other way but to ask the Creator to give him the power of faith above the reason of the body. In the words of our sages, this is called “Had the Creator not helped him, he would not overcome it.”

According to the above, we should interpret what we asked about the relation that The Zohar explains about the verse, “Keep the way of the Lord,” why it had to be written, “to do righteousness and justice.” He replies that “one who keeps the ways of Torah , it is as though he does righteousness and justice.” As said above, since man does not have the strength to assume the kingdom of heaven above the reason of the body, but only by the Segula

[merit/quality/power] of Torah and Mitzvot, which is the way of the Creator, the ways of Torah, by which a person is rewarded with giving alms to the poor, since “the light in the Torah reforms him,” then he will be rewarded with doing “righteousness and justice.”

This is the meaning of what he says, that by keeping the way of the Lord, they will achieve the degree of doing “righteousness and justice.” Yet, what are “righteousness and justice”? That is, what is this unification that The Zohar says is called “making the Holy Name?” In other words, what does it mean that by giving alms, he makes the Holy Name?

As said above, “righteousness and justice” mean that the Creator is called “justice” and Malchut is called “righteousness,” which is the quality of judgment, on which there was a judgment, since Malchut is called a Kli [sing. of Kelim] that receives the abundance from the Creator. There were Tzimtzum [restriction] and concealment on the vessels of reception in order to receive, meaning a judgment that it is forbidden to use the vessels of reception as they are due to disparity of form between the receiver, who is called Malchut, and the Giver, who is called “the Creator.” It follows that there is separation above where the abundance cannot spread to the creatures because of the disparity of form.

For this reason, there was a correction for the lower ones to give “alms to the poor.” In terms of the work, when they take upon themselves the burden of the kingdom of heaven without anything in return, but rather as one gives charity to the poor and does not want to receive anything in return for this, each one causes at the root of his soul, above in Malchut, that it will also work only in order to bestow.

It follows that they cause the unification of the Creator and His Shechina [Divinity]. This means that by a person doing everything in order to bestow, alms, called “justice,” extend from the Creator to Malchut. In other words, through the abundance that Malchut, called “righteousness,” receives, she is now called “charity,” due to what she receives from the Creator.

In other words, by the lower ones giving alms to Malchut, the Creator, too, gives alms to Malchut. At that time, Malchut receives the name “charity.” This is the meaning of the words “One who gives alms to the poor, it is as though he made the Holy Name complete, as it should be,” meaning connects her with the Creator, who gives her everything, as though he made the Holy Name in completeness, “As one does below, so it awakens above.”

This means that the kingdom of heaven is called “poor” because she has nothing to give to the creatures. If the creatures come to her with vessels of reception, then she is poor and meager, since the creatures cause in Malchut the reception that exists in the quality of Malchut, and this causes separation between Malchut and the Creator, who is the Giver. Hence, the name is not complete because in terms of the name, the Creator is called The Good Who Does Good. Since they cause the reception that there is in Malchut, at the root of their souls, and there was a Tzimtzum of the abundance on the quality of reception, by this they prevent the abundance from spreading to the lower ones.

But if the creatures give alms, meaning do their actions in order to bestow, they cause a desire to bestow at the root of their soul, and then they cause equivalence of form above, and the abundance flows to the created beings. Then, the name The Good Who Does Good is revealed to the lower ones and this is considered that they make “the Holy Name in completeness.” In other words, everything comes by directing their actions to be in order to bestow.

It follows that there are two states to man: 1) At the beginning of the work, we must begin in Lo Lishma. That is, everything he does is in order to receive reward in this world and in the next world. At that time, the Creator is called for him “King of the Nations,” as it is written, “Who will not fear You, King of the Nations.”

In the work, we should interpret that when one works for one’s own benefit, he is regarded as “gentiles.” He has still not achieved the quality of “Israel,” where his actions are Yashar-El [straight to the Creator]. It follows that the person is serving a king who is called “King of the Nations.” Thus, what sort of greatness of the King can there be in a person who is in a state of “gentile,” although he has fear, as it is written, “Who will not fear You, King of the Nations”?

We should know that this is very important. That is, a person must know that any contact he has with the Creator is very important.

Therefore, when a person works for a reward, we must not slight these works, although there is certainly a greater degree than the degree of “King of the Nations.” This means that when a person is rewarded with the quality of “Israel,” certainly in his current attainment, when he is at the degree of “Israel,” he has a better understanding of the greatness of the Creator, to the point that he is delighted that he is serving a great King and he has no need to receive anything in return for his work.

Concerning work for the sake of the Creator, we should interpret what our sages said (Midrash Tanchuma, p 235b), “‘If your brother becomes poor and stretches out his hand,’ the writing says, ‘Do not rob a poor, for he is poor.’ What is ‘Do not rob a poor’? Is there a person who robs the poor? What does one rob of someone who has nothing? However, if you were accustomed, if you were used to sustain him and you retracted and said, ‘How long will I provide for this one?’ and you refrain from giving him, if you did so, know that you are robbing him. This is ‘Do not rob the poor, for he is poor.’”

According to the above, we should interpret that charity to the poor refers to Malchut, who is called “poor and meager” because she has nothing to give back to man. If a person works for the sake of the Creator and wants nothing in return, but works only for the sake of the Creator, but sometimes, in the middle of the work, thoughts come to him that he is always working for the sake of the Creator and wants nothing in return, he will certainly be rewarded for this with a higher degree, meaning feel more flavor in Torah and work, since he has already done his part, meaning he says that he is assuming the kingdom of heaven without any reward, meaning he is not even receiving a flavor in Torah and Mitzvot in return for his work, so if his intention is already for the sake of the Creator, called “Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator,” he should have felt vitality in his work. Yet, he does not see any progress in the work; therefore, he wishes to stop this work of bestowal and work like the rest of the people—in order to receive reward.

The text says about this: “Do not rob a poor, for he is poor.” The Midrash asks, “Is there a person who robs the poor? What does one rob of someone who has nothing? However, if you were accustomed to sustain him and you retracted and said, ‘How long will I provide for this one?’ and you refrain from giving him, know that you are robbing him.”

It follows that the text warns us that one should not say, “I have already worked a lot on achieving the aim to bestow, and I did not obtain the delight and pleasure one should obtain when working with the intention to bestow, called “alms to the poor.” Also, I was promised that I will nonetheless obtain the light, called “power,” to be able to do everything in order to bestow, which is the light that is revealed when a person observes Torah and Mitzvot in the manner of “613 counsels,” in order to obtain vessels of bestowal, called “the light for the completion of the Kelim,” so they can work with the Kelim in order to bestow.” He did not obtain that force, either, although the whole time he engaged in Torah and Mitzvot it was with this intention. “Therefore,” says the person, “I have given You many exertions but I have acquired nothing, so I want to stop this work.”

This is the meaning of saying, “How long will I provide for this one?” In other words, I have given You much, but I have received no spiritual progress in return. “Therefore,” says the person, “How long will I have to work in a manner of ‘alms to the poor’?” At that point, a person wants to escape the campaign and return to working like the general public, when he was working in the manner of “Who will not fear You, King of the Nations?” As said above, when a person works in observing Torah and Mitzvot for the purpose of self-love, there is no place for working for the sake of the Creator. This is regarded as the king whose Torah and Mitzvot a person observes is called “King of the Nations” and not “King of Israel,” since then a person is not regarded as “Israel” but as a “gentile.”

The text warns about this, “Do not escape the campaign; do not rob the poor, for he is poor.” We should interpret “Do not rob the poor.” It means that you should not stop the alms that you are giving him, meaning the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven without any reward, for although you claim that you have already given him many alms, know that this is incorrect. The meaning of “for he is poor” is that as long as you think that Malchut, who is poor, should give you anything, you are not saying she is poor. That is, if a person demands of Malchut to reward him, he blemishes the name of Malchut, who is called “poor and meager,” since you are demanding something of her.

Rather, a person should pray to the Creator to give him the strength to be content and happy from being able to work for Malchut even when she hides herself and does not show him any nearing, and his taste in the work is as if he has now begun anew, meaning that he cannot say that he feels any flavor of which he can say that for this flavor he is working and laboring in assuming the kingdom of heaven.

That is, he has no support or basis that he can say, “This is why I engage in Torah and Mitzvot.” This is called “hanging the earth on nothing,” and it is called “completely above reason.” Although it is completely against the body’s nature, he prays to the Creator for this, to give him this power. This is the meaning of what is written, “Do not rob the poor, for he is poor.” One should always want to stay, take upon himself the kingdom of heaven, and his basis is “for he is poor.”

This is as Baal HaSulam said about what is written (in the poem, “A Woman of Valor”), “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain; a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” He said that when one assumes the burden of the kingdom of heaven, sometimes the kingdom of heaven is graceful, and sometimes he feels that there is beauty in the kingdom of heaven. The writing says about this: “It is all a lie.” That is, this whole basis on which he builds his kingdom of heaven is a lie.

However, a “woman,” who is the kingdom of heaven, that a person takes upon himself, should be because of the fear of the Creator, meaning that his fear will be as it is written in The Zohar, “The essence of fear should be because he is great and ruling” (“Introduction of The Book of Zohar,” Item 191), as it is said, “Fear, which is the most important, is when one fears one’s Master because He is great and ruling, the essence and the root of all the worlds, and everything is considered nothing compared to Him, and he will place his will in that place.”

It therefore follows that prayer is the most important. A person should pray to the Creator to give him the required force for anything that concerns the work, both in Torah and in prayer. Hence, one should ask of the Creator to give him the need, meaning a desire for the work. Sometimes, a person comes to a state where he has no desire for anything, meaning that he does not see anything good before him that he should want, that will bring him vitality, that will give him a need to exert in order to obtain something. Rather, the person stays without any desire of which he can say that it is worth laboring in order to obtain it. He does not see this.

At that time, he must ask the Creator to give him some desire for something, meaning that this thing will give him desire to work. According to a person’s understanding, the request will be that the Creator will let him see something that will bring him delight and pleasure. This is as our sages said, “The eye sees and the heart covets.” That is, if the Creator lets him see something for which it is worthwhile to work, the coveting in the heart will make him seek ways by which to obtain the matter. It follows that the prayer that a person prays now is only for the purpose of desire, called a Kli [vessel].

This means that the first prayer that a person should pray is for a desire and lack that the Creator will give him to ask for a deficiency, so that if he obtains the satisfaction of the deficiency, that satisfaction will fill man in completeness. That is, the Creator will notify him what is the wholeness he should achieve, so as to know what it is he truly needs. And in order to know what he truly needs, this is done through the Torah, where by the Segula of the Torah, the light in it reforms him, meaning that the Torah lets him know what he is missing.

However, a person should demand this of the Torah, meaning for the Torah to guide him toward attaining the truth. Also, a person should find the connection between him and the Torah, for his desire to know his connection with the Torah is already regarded as a prayer. This means that by this he already connects himself to the Creator when he learns Torah, since he is asking the Creator—when he engages in Torah—to understand the connection between the Torah and the person who is learning the Torah. And once he has prayed for the Creator to give him the deficiency, he must ask the Creator to give him the satisfaction of the deficiency, meaning to be rewarded with achieving the degree of man’s completeness.

Reader: Now, friends, we'll move to a lesson by Rav from June 26, 2002.

M. Laitman: (34:47) "What Does It Mean That Charity to the Poor Makes the Holy Name, in the Work?" Our effort to reach the goal is manifested through a few stages. A person makes the first effort, and he doesn't even know for what purpose he's doing it. He's confused. He comes there, doesn't know what is happening to him until he begins to ask. He begins to ask. It seems to him that spirituality is full of pleasures, just like the pleasures of this world. So he's asking as though he wants to obtain it. A request, means what he wants. That's called a request. He doesn't have to clothe it in nice words, to build a sentence like in a request: Please give me something. Please do something for me. That's not needed. Whatever he wants in the heart, that's it. That's the request. This is how it works, how it operates in spirituality. It's the inner desire in the heart.

So the inner desire in one's heart goes through all kinds of changes. He wants pleasure. Later on, through this study the surrounding light shines. And in that surrounding light he sees or doesn't see that the heart changes. That’s a more correct way to say that: the heart changes, and he starts to ask. The heart starts to ask already, to be a little bit corrected according to the surrounding light, as much as he feels these qualities in the surrounding light, what the light is. Accordingly, once again the surrounding light shines more. If the heart is asking for corrections, then the heart asks for even more corrections, this is how it comes.  According to how much a person invests in the right study, in the right intention, he relates more and more sharply. He sees, he feels how his heart is directed each time to a goal which is more true. And each time the surrounding light shines more, and he grasps from it the internality, more from the light. And accordingly, his desire changes, and this is how it works in a closed circuit.

The light improves the desire, and the desire draws more light until he begins to want, along with reception for himself, also a little bit in order to bestow. This is considered the state of Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], from which it is possible to reach Lishma [for Her sake]. Then, when he reaches Lishma, he crosses the barrier, he acquires a screen, then already his appeal to the surrounding light, that surrounding light is called the higher degree, the AHP of the upper one, right? So then his appeal is more directed. His connection with the Upper One is more tight. But also, it follows the same principle, that there is the person's desire, and the light that precedes the desire, and that light is constantly correcting the desire, through illumination from afar, through illumination which is near, through inner illumination. But through all of these manners of the light towards the desire, the desire changes. And there is nothing else besides these two in reality: the light and the desire. And the intellect, the brain, the experience, whatever a person has received besides the vessel of sensation, this is in order for him to have the possibility to establish his relation to the vessel and to the light. 

M. Laitman: (39:43) Therefore, as much as a person can, through the means that are at his disposal, he can assist the operation of the light on the desire. If he does that, by that he determines his participation in the general process of correction that the Creator does. And besides this participation of the correction of the vessel through the surrounding light, the person has nothing more to do. All of the other things are simply not considered, not registered. They don't operate in reality, because reality, the way it is in the first state, it advances, evolves to the third state, through the second state — it evolves through its nature, through its structure, according to the way that the light operates inside of the vessels. And there's no innovation there, or things that can suddenly be innovated and appear in various different forms. No, there is a vessel, there is light, the light operates inside of the vessel according to its nature, and it evokes in the vessel clear responses that are known in advance. 

And the whole point is the pace. What does that mean? That if a person adds to the operation of the light inside the vessel, by that he determines his advancement, by that he determines his feeling, by that he determines how he relates to the process. This is called justifying the Creator's operation, the righteous. And as much as he justifies, as much as he's in this process, it is considered that he's on a spiritual degree. If I agree with the Creator 60% in His process, it is considered that I'm, let's say, on degree number 6 from out of 100 degrees altogether, we measure it this way. If I agree with Him 90%, it's considered that I'm on degree 90 out of 100 degrees. This means that as much as I operate together with Him, as much as the horse equalizes its actions with its rider, this is considered the spiritual degree of the person, the measure of participation, the measure of adhesion. 

This is why we need to pay attention only to that one point and see all the rest simply as things that come as help or as obstruction, which is also help. Only that point, to strengthen it, to participate in the process of correction that the upper light, the Creator, does upon us. It's called, "You have formed me from before and from behind." That's why we have to adhere together. The adhesion is in that process which was determined for us.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (43:21) If, as we say, all we have to do is actually to unify our states with the Creator, everything that comes, to unify with the Creator — now, in a state of ascent, I can unify things to the Creator. Once I can't reach that, it's called a descent, then the next state is revealed. 

M. Laitman: This means, you're saying that in this whole process I don't see anything which is pleasant- something that will bring me joy. Joy is a result of what? What do you think?

Student: A good feeling.

M. Laitman: A good feeling. Certainly, joy is a result of a good feeling. From what can I have that good feeling in me? 

Student: From doing.

M. Laitman: One says from doing. I cannot do anything but yet be happy. So, it's not, so it's not doing, but rather when do I feel happy?

Student: When I'm at peace with what…  

M. Laitman: When I'm at peace with what I do or what was done on me. That is all. You're right. There’s a good feeling in that, he's subtle, sensitive, he's right. That is, as much as I can justify my state, live together with it, accept it, then from that I get rest and joy. Joy is not that I'm laughing. Joy simply means peace of mind let's say, that's more correct.

Student: So how can there be tranquility if we're constantly feeling what we have all the time?

M. Laitman: It could be that I'm running around from morning to night, but for me, it's good. It's good for me. That doesn't matter. You can't measure a person according to how much he's moving, wasting calories, or at which speed he's running around. You measure him according to his feeling of satisfaction. So it could be that I'm in a very stressed situation, but I'm alive. You know, there are people — if you shut him inside a prison, he'll say, "Oh, thank you very much. I'm in a hotel. What else do I need?" And there is one who will say, "I'd rather have just a piece of bread on the street." He doesn't need anything inside. So it depends on the internal satisfaction. It doesn't matter what the person has. You know, you can see millionaires committing suicide. I didn't hear that in Africa where people are dying of hunger, that they're committing suicide there. No, nobody. Have you ever heard about that? Now there are millions who are truly craving a piece of bread. Are they going to kill themselves? No. Who kills himself? Pay attention. That is, it's about inner satisfaction, and not so much one has, how much he's running around or how much he's getting in that plate that he has before him.

Student: Feeling inner wholeness is nice. But that means when we are on the path…

M. Laitman: You're talking about our path. Why on our path? You're saying we're sad.

Student: Not sad, but it's some kind of…  

M. Laitman: There's no joy that breaks out. Yesterday, we traveled. Who did we travel with? In the morning we went somewhere, I don't remember. Oh, it wasn't yesterday. I saw a car was standing here in the junction, in Breslov Hassidim were dancing on the car. It's like a minibus, and they were jumping. They made like a strong roof for the car, and they were standing and dancing on it. You know, everybody's watching. So look, I don't know if that is joy, but they do want to express something by that.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (48:01) How to explain this? Maybe I'm not explaining well. If I'm in some state where indeed, in truth, let's say in some moments I managed to unify everything I have, to see that the Creator does it for me I guess, and I feel some kind of wholeness — but in the next second, I'm brought down already.

M. Laitman: Forget about the next second. Right here, now, I stop the moment. I have preparation for this moment, a desire. My desire at that moment is full or not? If it's not full, I'm sad. If it is full, I'm happy. Right? From what can my desire be full? Either with what it truly wants, or with correction. It's either the light of Hochma or the light of Hassadim. 

Without Hochma, without Hassadim, that's it, I'm better off dead. So the question is the following: I, on my path, go through all kinds of states. They're either full or empty from the light of Hochma, from what my desire truly wants. So the question is the following: when I'm empty, can I satisfy myself with the light of Hassadim, and I'll be happy? What is the light of Hassadim? 

The light of Hassadim means pleasure from bestowal. Well, I don't know what that is. Or let's put it this way: the light of Hassadim means pleasure from the process, from the future goal, from being a part of something that is great, let's say. This is all kinds of such variations, which is not precisely Hassadim, it's also Hochma, illumination of Hochma. So I need to think more about how to truly be in a state where I will have the importance of the goal, I'll have the importance of the Creator, where I will truly grip something so it won't run away from me in the worst possible states. 

I need to think about it in advance all the time. Make yourself an insurance, without that a person will run away from the battle. No one is promising you an easy life. You have to be seven years in enslavement in Egypt and go through Pharaoh's blows — he's sitting inside of you, within you — and then, only then, run away from there. When you run out of there, then you receive, then you understand what it means, what was Egypt, because “Egypt” means darkness. So you understand that you escaped from Egypt. What is Egypt? Where did you run away from? And also, you don't yet see where you have escaped to. They just give you a method. What does that mean? 

Now, when you ran out of Egypt, only now you understand how you can do it, which method, with which steps you can advance towards the purpose of creation. And then you enter the desert again for 40 years, up to the letter Mem. Mem, means 40, Bina, until you obtain the qualities of Bina. Bina, means the land of Israel. And they also don't promise you an easy life afterwards. The reception of the Torah, means that you received a method how to acquire the qualities of Bina. The exodus from Egypt, means simply that you already control the will to receive, it doesn't control you. Pharaoh doesn't govern you, you ran away from him. 

Now, when we reach the land of Israel, we also have to conquer it. There are spies within us, good forces. We start — I'm not even talking about the desert itself, the way we crossed it, but when we reach there, we also need these wars of conquest. Every war — we will learn at one point what character the whole thing has, how a person acquires it, which desires, in what form he does that. When Moses dies, he looks from afar at the land of Israel — your Moses. He blesses you, and that's it, he's gone, this force no longer operates.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (52:34) After this place, when it's already revealed, how is the advancement connected to Gevura, or might? How can we, at a state of preparation, get hold of such greatness, the greatness of the goal, of the Creator, so it will truly give us joy? 

M. Laitman: The problem is that we need to zero in on a degree each time which is concealed from me. I don't see its greatness, I don't see anything, nothing. Let's say, being a doctor. I want to be a doctor. The doctor tells a person, "You'll receive this and this, and you're sick with this and that." He walks with a white robe, he has… there's something to him, right? They like to show off with all those things. It's good, that is proper, it adds to the patient, it adds strength, it gives him strength. 

Or I'd like to be, I don't know, a movie star, right? With each thing, I can see what it is. Here, I see nothing, right? So by what can I advance? Only with a group. They also have nothing, but if they tell me those lies where, “you know the Creator is great” — they don't know, how could they know? Meaning, they're telling lies, not knowing, that makes it a lie, right? But it doesn't matter, let them speak these words into my ears all the time, then I'll be certain that He is great. You can see what brainwashing you get on the street. Seven billion, influenced by all sorts of nonsense. Why can't I be influenced by this in a goal-oriented way? I selectively… I choose the environment which will always tell me the things that I need. You know what I would buy with money, hire people who would come with various tricks, tactics, talk to me about the purpose of creation, and how nothing else exists, nothing else is worth anything. I would pay money for them to do this to me. Why not? This is called "buy yourself a friend." Exactly. Why do I need him? To brainwash me, and I'm willing to pay him, yes? That is all of our work. How can you be joyous if you see… look around you, look at those faces. What is this? What is this? Are we in mourning? What is this? I don't know. 

Student: It's this period of time, the 17th of Tammuz.

M. Laitman: The times, what times?

Student: No, it's the 17th of Tammuz, maybe it’s the time …

M. Laitman: Ah, the 17th of Tammuz. I didn't understand what happened. Oh, but it's not today, it's tomorrow. 

Student: We're preparing.

M. Laitman: Ah, preparing for tomorrow. No, it's written that when Tammuz enters.

Student: There's a whole year of preparation for that. 

M. Laitman: Yes, Tammuz and Av, meaning I look at the calendar, right? Now it's time to be happy. I look at the calendar. Oh no, now I shut something off. I stop being happy. 

Student: What should we do? 

M. Laitman: By the calendar it determines?

Student: But the calendar tells us that it was the ruin of the First Temple, the Second Temple.

M. Laitman: Ah, so the calendar determines about the Temple. It's only on the 17th of Tammuz. Great. Other days of the year, you don't care, you don't feel that you've lost anything. But one day a year, you're a poor man suffering. I don't understand what it means, this one day a year. I feel, as a result of the shattering, in what qualities I exist. And when I look at these qualities, I criticize them. This for me is called the ruin of the Temple. And then I truly do mourn that. And for me, this is called the correction of the ruin. 

Student: But this is the state each and every day.

M. Laitman: The state each and every day. So what's the problem? 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (56:56) So you don't relate it to the Temple or something like that?

M. Laitman: What do you mean I don't connect? I connect this to the ruin of the Temple — not the Temple in Jerusalem. Why do I care about stones? I tie it to the essence of the Temple, which shattered, was ruined, because we descended from love of others to unfounded hatred. That's why the physical stone Temple was ruined also, as a result of that. And that's it. We gave control over our hearts to the Greeks, let's say. And then in externality, in corporeality, the Greeks also came and destroyed that house we had in Jerusalem. So what? What's it to you that you can't visit the Temple in Jerusalem, that this makes you suffer, right? You'd bring some lamb there, eat maybe a steak, yes? And what, you'd be inspired by that? You'd come over for Sukkot, the holiday of Sukkot. I understand you. But it cannot be, if you do not make these inner corrections. The condition for its ruin, its shattering, and the condition for its rebuilding, for it to stand — that depends on your heart, on how much you regret this, and the extent to which you correct the ruin. You understand? What did you have at the time of the ruin even? The Great Priest was the biggest thief. All the Levites and the Kohanim, the priests in the Temple, were all thieves, all corrupt.

Student: Like today?

M. Laitman: Like today, you say. Fine. It's true, because it's written that any generation in which the Temple wasn't rebuilt, it's as if it was ruined, right?

Student: Of course.

M. Laitman: So, what's it to you that these actual stones were destroyed? It's written what the reason was, in the Nigleh, in the apparent, not the hidden. So you have something to grieve, grieve. You have something to regret. Regret, mourn, the inner thing, the reason, the cause. But this mourning shouldn't be expressed just one day a year, yes? Prior to the correction, you have to reach that grief. And if you don't come to that grief, without any outcome from that, without any correction, it means that that grief is also just an external thing. Yes. You know, there are prayer books where it says, "Here you cry." It says it in the book. A student is laughing. You don't know?

Student: I'm familiar with that.

M. Laitman: You're familiar with that. So you see? See what kind of externality we've come to. Not enough that they composed for us prayer books, because we don't know how to pray from within ourselves. The people of the Great Knesset, the Great Assembly, they composed the prayer book. It was their prayer in the heart, but they wrote it down in words and gave it to us, so that we can just say it with our mouths. But we've completely forgotten why we speak with our mouths. It's in order to awaken the heart. So next to this, we write, "Now you cry, now you shout."

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:00:28) The brainwashing — it's good, the books, the group, but it all remains an imagination. How does it affect a change in me?

M. Laitman: This brainwashing isn't just imagination, mister. It's not imagination. Your entire life is a result of the brainwashing that's done to you. Other than what's essential, like bread, water, meat, wife, children, roof, whatever a person needs, which is a little bit above the level of the beast — except for that, everything else is redundant, unnecessary. But through the society, you received a lack for those things, and it's only for the sake of the society that you maintain those things. Because without the society, you'd never think of them. If you were by yourself, you'd think only about food, sex, children, family, the minimal things that you demand, require, that's it. Meaning, all others, all other lacks, the society provided for you. And see how you work your whole life just to realize those things that the society put into you. 

So from here, you should understand how you can receive from outside these opinions and work to realize, to fulfill those opinions, those views. Meaning, you're 100% dependent on your friends. So throw those friends away, find other friends. That's your only choice. Why are you telling me it's difficult, it's impossible? Find other people. Take from all these maybe three, four, walk with them, go with them to some secluded place. I don't know what to do. Search. I'm telling you seriously, search. This is your life. Don't look at the 100 people here. Maybe none of them is suitable. Do some criticism, right, and then do what you want. Why are you looking at them? Maybe they're all mistaken. Maybe they're all wrong. Maybe I'm wrong. Why are you all in agreement with the state? 

I went to check Rabash. I went to check the situation where I was. I looked, and really, here and there. It's my life. It's important to me. Why are you looking? Yesterday, what did you hear throughout the day from the society, and what did it do to you?

Student: It gave me the spirit that it's worthwhile to…

M. Laitman: If the society gave you the spirit, this mood, that you thought that you should invest more, and then you prepared yourself for the lesson so that during the lesson you will now study and draw the correction, some of the correction — yes. But if not, either you change the society, or you find a different society. What is this? I would not be quiet in your place. I don't see that your situation is that good, another day and another and another. What of it? You see me being calm? No. And I wasn't like this before. Ask those guys at the synagogue how much wind I made. I would go crazy. The only thing is not to be calm. Rabash would calm everyone, and he would say, "Leave him alone, leave him alone." What’s this? 

Student: This is all the influence of the society. 

M. Laitman: It's all the influence of the society. So demand of them, you depend only on that.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:04:43) On page 178, it says there: "If so, his intention is already for the sake of heaven, called adhesion with the Creator. Then he should have felt life in his work, but he doesn't see any progress in the work. Therefore, he wants to stop this work of bestowal." And he continues. My question is the following: if after, beyond the barrier, there is a state where I can feel lack of vitality or no progress in the work…

M. Laitman: After the barrier, we'll talk about what's beyond the barrier. Then we'll speak to you differently. Now you should think about your current state. You can't imagine the work beyond the barrier. You cannot. That's it. It's like a baby who doesn't know what it means to be a doctor. When he becomes a doctor, yes — or at least he enrolls in university, to at least learn, to study what it means to be a doctor. Then he's brought into various places. He's shown what a hospital is like, how the doctors work, and so on. He begins to become familiar with these matters in practice. He has the opportunity to learn a little bit, to do something by himself. That's a grown person already, not just dreaming about it, you understand. So a baby should learn what a baby should. Not medicine, but things which come before that, yes.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:06:07) It says in the article, "to such an extent that he has joy in that he's serving a great king, and he has no need to receive anything in return for his work." Now, that joy in serving a great king, that is honor. So why does he write that there is no return here?

M. Laitman: I don't understand what you're asking. I got from the society the impression that the Creator is great. That gives me the power to ask of Him, maybe even demand of Him, to work in preparations for the lesson, during the lesson to turn to Him, to attach all of my troubles to Him. Because He became great for me. What does it mean, great? That He can change me. That is what I need. Alongside that, it gives me joy, of course. Why? I get a foundation. I have someone to turn to. I have whom to shout to. I have someone in charge, doing this deliberately, changing my entire life in order to bring me to some place. Yes true, I still feel, for the time being, not so good, but there's justification for that already. I'm happy already. That's it. 

There are many things a person does. A person engages in these things and sweats, toiling, but he's happy. Look at people who climb mountains. It's difficult, but they have pleasure. I see a person walking five kilometers — poor man. The other one I see… I was at the beach yesterday, let's say, so I see everyone walking, happy to be walking. They pay money to enter that beach and walk. Meaning, it depends on how you relate to the state you're in. If it's in a creative manner, then it brings you joy. 

Meaning, you lack a connection to the goal. There's no other reason for despair, for sadness. It's only the connection to the goal. And why don't you have a connection to the goal? You, in your will to receive, do not feel that it's important. Why? Because you don't see it. So this vision needs to be replaced with a rumor from the friends. You need to hear from them that it's important. That will serve you instead of that vision, 100%. You will not need to see anything. It's even better than you seeing it, if you can get to hear it from them. Look at how millions become fanatics, because diarrhea is constantly being put into their ears. Nonsense. And what things? They're willing to give up their lives, for sure. How many people are wanting to die, dying to die? What is this?

Student: This is what I'm asking. If this joy is not a certain kind of return, reward. 

M. Laitman: Try doing what I'm telling you. Believe me that it works. 

Reader: Try what I'm saying. Believe me, it works. Let's share impressions from the lesson, and what from it we're taking to implement, in the Ten. Summary workshop. Six minutes.

Reader: We'll move to the next part of the lesson.