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

Daily Morning Lesson: November 24, 2025

Part 2: LESSONS OF THE RABASH ON TES 

Reader: Dear friends, we want to enter together with a mutual effort into a lesson with Rabash, “Cleeve to Him is one.” At the end of the lesson we'll also have a workshop where we share our impressions. We'll read the preparation excerpt for the lesson from Rav's words. Rav says: 

Reading: (00:27) Preparation Excerpt for Rabash's Lesson

All the recordings of TES, I recorded on my tape recorder, and from them we have all of his lessons. That's how we studied. He never paid attention at all to who knew more and who knew less. It wasn't relevant to how much you achieve in study. I have some volume of his TES, he would write some note about what's written in Baal HaSulam's text, right in the margins of the page. And it's interesting that afterwards, he would cross it out and write "incorrect" on top of what he himself had written, and he would write another note next to it. Then again, he would cross it out, meaning put a line through the note, write "incorrect" and write something else. There are really many cases like this. He would even write the date next to it.
(Rav Michael Laitman, January 9, 2015)

Reader: We're reading from TES, Volume 1, Part 4, Chapter 5, Item 8, from the words of The ARI. We're going to read Item 8 from The ARI before we enter the study, because the lesson with Rabash will start from Item 100, “Inner Light.”

Item 8, the words of the Ari. 

Reading: (02:06) Baal HaSulam. "Study of the Ten Sefirot" (TES). Vol. 1. Part 4. Chapter Five. #8

From Nekudim and below, there are no more than five inner and two surrounding, and there cannot be ‎less than that‎

8. However, from the world the world of Nekudim downward, which is the world of Atzilut, there is one drawback (100): Not more than five inner lights and two surrounding lights, which are the surrounding of Yechida and the surrounding of Haya, manifested in all their details. However, the other inner three do not have the phases of NRN of surrounding lights, but only the phases of Yechida and Haya (200), which surround everyone and not their own phases. They do have other disparities and drawbacks according to the order of the Partzufim and the worlds, but the rule in them is that there cannot be less than five inner and two upper surrounding lights. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (03:37) Let's see what's written there, 100. This means that even in the Roshim, heads of the Partzufim, after the world of Nekudim, we do not find more than five inner, and two surrounding. It is so because of the ascent of the lower Hey to the Eynaim, which is the association of the quality of mercy with judgment that was done there. Because the place of the coupling was in Hochma of the Rosh, which is the Eynaim, because of it, Bina, ZA, and Malchut of the Rosh went outside the Rosh. This is what is called the Guf [body] to the state of from above downward, which is the phase of the Guf. Thus, all that remains in the phase of the Rosh is only Keter and Hochma. As this is explained in length in my explanation of Panim MeOrot and Panim HaSefirot, the interpretation, commentary on the Tree of Life. This is completely perplexing. What is so difficult here? One - that name the inner five. If I say the lower Hey in the Eynaim, there is no inner Hey. Two - if he says that Bina and Zon come out, then three phrases are missing. But he still says, two phases, two surrounding. We'll see a bit more. 200. What does it say above? It starts with other surrounding lights. However, the other surrounding lights, the phases of Yechida and Haya, these are the two surroundings. However, the other inner three do not have the phases of NRN of surrounding lights, but only from the phases of Yechida and Haya, which surround everyone and not their own phases. What does it mean? Let's see again in 200. This means that the two surrounding lights, Yechida and Haya, surround the three lower lights of NRN as well, though not from the phases of NRN, but from the phases of Yechida and Haya. Know that all this refers to the general surrounding lights, although there are always five internal and five surrounding lights in the particular surrounding lights, for there is no light that does not have internal and surrounding. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (07:16) So, literally, what does it mean that “For there is no light that does not have internal and surrounding?” Since it is impossible to receive any light except through coupling by striking. What is coupling by striking? He makes a calculation. I will not receive anything. Whatever he can receive in order to bestow, he'll receive it, and the rest he won't. So, it turns out that a part he receives and a part he leaves as surrounding lights. It follows accordingly that if I say that there is no light that doesn't have ten Sefirot, immediately they are divided into inner and surrounding. He drinks wine. He drinks enough to get drunk, and he leaves the rest. He drinks Arak, and he leaves so that he won't get drunk. He drinks beer, he drinks in order to not get drunk. So, it turns out that he receives a part, and he doesn't receive another part. I don't want to speak about spirituality, we don't understand it, but this, we do understand. So that there won't be the bread of shame, you need to aim so that he won't become drunk, he'll be despicable. So, as much as we can aim in order to bestow, this he receives, and the rest he'll leave aside. Do you understand that? 

Now, surrounding. So, this is now a different matter. If we say that there was a second restriction that could ascend to Bina, we should also explain that it's not that Bina became able to receive. Bina is called Ozen, ear in corporeality. The Ozen never wants anything. However, whatever the heart wants, he can use the ear for it. I can give an allegory about that. A man has sight, hearing, smell, speech. He doesn't use these four senses for himself but only for the benefit of others. When they want something from him, then he uses it. This is considered that Malchut uses the phase of Bina, but Malchut remains Malchut. Bina will never be Malchut, because this means only that Malchut doesn't use her own phase, which is considered receiving in order to receive, or receiving in order to bestow. It's considered that she no longer uses Malchut. In spirituality, we learn that every new form is a new phase. This is why The ARI comes and says, you should know that in AA there are no more than nine Sefirot. Until AA, they all have ten Sefirot, but only AA of Atzilut doesn't have it. So he asks, there is a rule that there is nothing that doesn't have Malchut. ZA is under the Ateret Yesod, the crown of the Yesod. So, we have this inner light and it says, what is the description of Ateret Yesod? Does it have Malchut or does it not have Malchut? So he explains about that that every new form is a new phase. It therefore follows that if Malchut does not use her vessel of reception but only to the extent that she's incorporated with the vessels of bestowal, it is no longer called the same Malchut. It's already a different phase. Therefore, with the Ateret Yesod, it implies to us that Malchut no longer uses her own phase, which is called receiving in order to bestow. No, even in Gadlut, in greatness or adulthood, when she uses the vessels of reception, it's only to the extent that vessels of bestowal are incorporated with the vessels of reception, not the vessels of reception by themselves. What did you learn with this allegory if you remember it? Do you remember the allegory? 

Student: Yes. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (12:41) But incorporation is a different matter. I once gave this allegory. One gave wine to the other one, and both people drank from one cup. One was a smart kid. He said, you know, I don't want to drink wine at all. You know, I'll just dip a piece of cake in it, and you can drink the whole wine, okay? So, he dipped it and dipped it until the cup became empty. It turns out that through incorporation, we can extract everything. We can drink the wine at once and get drunk, meaning, it will be receiving in order to receive, so you can’t overcome it. But here each time we just use a little bit of the vessels of reception so we can correct them in order to bestow. That's the lesson. It turns out that in Malchut also, when I say the bottom Hey in the Eynaim, when we have no more than Keter, Hochma, and Gar of Bina, in each and every Sefira, we learn that there is incorporation. So, we have ten Sefirot. Malchut now receives in the light of Hassadim that there is in each and every Sefira. From the vessel of reception that has now been incorporated, which is now from Bina and below, in each and every Sefira, he doesn't receive. So, what do I know? There are five internal and five surrounding. And when I say that there is no more than Keter, Hochma, and Bina, this means in that each and every Sefira, whatever we receive from it. So, he comes and says the following. When Malchut rose to Bina, we also call that the bottom Hey in the Eynaim, what comes out is only Zeir Anpin and Malchut. Why does Zeir Anpin and Malchut come out? Galgalta and Eynaim, Keter, Hochma and Bina remain. We learn that from the source of it, from the origin. Where was the restriction in the Nekudot of SAG, which are Bina, that was able to descend below the Tabur, because there are no vessels of reception there? Bina is a vessel of bestowal. So, she will not mix with the phase four that is there below the Tabur. Whereas AB and the Taamim of SAG, who have vessels of Hochma, if they will see that there is Hochma that can be received, they will yearn for it. They will want to receive it. They don't have a screen. So, it will be receiving in order to receive. This is forbidden. This is why they didn't come down to be filled. They didn't descend to Malchut. Only Bina, which is the line of Hassadim, vessels of bestowal. So, there's no issue there. Whatever you can receive, you do it in bestowal. So there's no concern, no fear that they'll mix with the vessels of reception that are below the Tabur. So that they won't be able to overcome them and receive them in order to bestow. This is why he asks, why was the second restriction made? They might get mixed. So you're saying. And the answer is, Bina is incorporated with ZAT, the bottom seven. Bina is incorporated with what is the root of ZA. It needs to give ZA the illumination of Hochma. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (17:24) It follows that ZAT of Bina that needs to receive the illumination of Hochma for ZA. Here there was a mixture. So we learned. We learned that Keter, Hochma, Bina, and GAR of Bina, in order for them not to mix, this is called the place of the emanation, Atzilut. What came out of the degree? ZA and Malchut in Bina. Whatever they need to give to ZA, they mixed in the phase of receiving in order to receive. So, whatever he'll receive will be in order to receive. There was a restriction on that. So, he comes and tells us that the vessel of ZA became a surrounding vessel, an external vessel for the Makif of Haya. Why? We will see that later. So, this Malchut that came out and became an external vessel for the Makif of Yechida, the surrounding of Yechida. Why ZA and Malchut became as an inverse relation to the surrounding of Haya and the surrounding of Yechida? According to this well-known rule, that there is an inverse relation between vessels and lights. Meaning, if there are three vessels, or let's put it the other way around. If there are three lights, they enter into three vessels. Neshama goes into Keter, Ruach into Hochma, Nefesh into Bina. If Haya comes also, then Haya is in the Keter, and Nefesh goes down to ZA. It turns out that when can ZA enter into the degree? Precisely when the light of Haya comes. It turns out that now it becomes an external vessel. To whom? To the light of Haya. It should be in the degree of internality, then he received the light of Nefesh. But now he receives the surrounding of Haya, which is only an illumination from the outside. Later on, when the light of Yechida comes in the vessel of Keter, then the light of Nefesh that was in the vessels of ZA goes down to Malchut. It turns out, when does Malchut enter into the degree? When the light of Yechida comes. Now Yechida cannot come in because there's no vessel for it. It turns out that he receives it as illumination from the surrounding of Yechida. It turns out that now in the world of Nekudim, when we have in the Rosh, because of the second restriction and onwards, that the second restriction is not cancelled, so now we have five internals. Why? NRN, when I said that there are five phases there, in every phase, then NRN, Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, shine, they're called five internals. What's lacking? What's missing in general? ZA and Malchut in each and every phase. But this is so in the Rosh, but not in the Guf. Why? There is a rule, we talked about it yesterday. What is internal and surrounding? We talked about it before. Internal means that he can make a screen and say, I want to receive. Why? He wants to bestow. He's able to make a screen. And if whatever he cannot make a screen, if he will receive it, it will be in order to receive. So he says, I don't want to receive it. This is called surrounding. It remains on the outside. But in the Rosh of the degree where there are no true vessels yet, then the coarseness is not yet regarded as coarseness. There is still a little bit of equivalence between the vessel and the light. The extent that he can receive from it, the surrounding illumination, not more. But in the Guf, where there are already true vessels, how can they come into the vessels which are called true vessels? This is why in the Rosh there are five internals, which are truly only three. In truth, there is no more than NRN, Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, and two surroundings, which are Haya and Yechida. Now, the Haya and Yechida are they surrounding, the way it was in AK, where there is internal and surrounding? Some part receives from Haya, and a part which is from the outside. A part receives from Yechida, and a part of what was on the outside. No, it turns out that when he says that there are surrounding of what should be internal, that's also not so.

RABASH: Is it clear now? 

Student: Yes. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (23:21) Okay, now we will move into item 200 in “Inner Light.” 200. This means that the two surrounding lights, Yechida and Haya, surround also the three lower lights, NRN. But not from the phases of NRN. This is not as internal and surrounding what shines in NRN. It's a completely different matter, but from the phases of Yechida and Haya, know that all this refers to the general surrounding lights. Though there are always five internal and five surrounding in a particular surrounding lights. For there is no light that does not have internal and surrounding. Meaning, if I say that there is no more than Keter, Hochma, Bina, there has to be ten Sefirot. In each and every Sefira, a phase shines which is called KHB, Keter, Hochma, Bina. In that respect, there is internal and surrounding. We learned about the surrounding in the Guf. What is the surrounding in the Guf? They receive in the internality. However, when we speak of a higher degree, there is another phase of surrounding. He calls them the marrow, bones, and tendons. These are called the inner lights. Flesh and skin, that's already surrounding. The flesh surrounds all the Guf and the skin also surrounds the entire Guf. What is Levush and Eichal, garment and hall? Rav says, a person sits and he has a garment on him. So this garment is not a part of the Guf, of the body. And Eichal, the hall, it's even further away from the Guf. So now light comes, it's called surrounding. The garment and the hall are called surrounding. In the end, the light is called the surrounding of Haya and Yechida, and the garment and the hall are called Haya and Yechida. And I asked a question about it using reality. I told him, when I go to the sea, I see people there without a garment, without a hall. I've never been in the sea without flesh, without skin. So what is the difference? The flesh and the skin are also internal. The flesh takes vitality from my body. The skin receives vitality from my body, but the garment doesn't. If they are internal, why do I say that they are called surrounding? It's a hint. In truth, the flesh and the skin are the vessels of the garment and the hall, ZA, and Malchut. ZA and Malchut remain below in BYA, and they do not join before the end of correction, so long as the second restriction is not cancelled. And when we say that the flesh and the skin have Haya and Yechida in them, it is only from the incorporation with those vessels of the garment and the hall, the incorporation of the vessels of the AHP, the vessels of reception. But in truth, it's the vessels of the Panim, the anterior that it's incorporated with. It's called Bina that is sweetened. Malchut that is sweetened in Bina. Malchut that it's incorporated with the vessels of bestowal. It turns out that these are not true vessels. They don't have true light. They only have BAK for it, but not a true vessel. This is why there is a hint, an intimation that these are not the true vessels. The true vessels remain in the garment and the hall. This is only by incorporation. But what do they receive? An internality. This is why you can't have it in the marrow, and bones, and tendons without the flesh and the skin. I want to show you an example of what surrounding are. Surrounding means a lot of changes. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (27:54) Item 200, I'll repeat it. Item 200, I repeat. This means that the two surrounding lights, Yechida and Haya, surround the lower light NRN as well, that they stand above them, though not from the phases of NRN but from the phases of Yechida and Haya. Certainly, Yechida and Haya is not NRN. Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama. I'll explain to you that there are specific, special, or particular surroundings. As we said, the internal and surrounding, so every degree that you receive until the coupling and striking, you take a little and you leave behind a little. The part that you take is called internal, the part that you leave is called surrounding. It turns out the Yechida and Haya which surround the NRN, surround the NRN as it was, as the NRN was, a part it received and a part it did not receive. It doesn't receive at all these surroundings. It means that it wants to, it wants to intimate what The ARI is saying, the surroundings of everyone were not of their own phase. Let's say that in the Yechida and Haya there's also a little bit, but there isn't. You find that it's not the same. The surroundings that I'm talking about, that NRN have surrounding from their own, of their own phase, meaning part they receive from Neshama and a part they don't receive. It typically names them the five, because it has to be five qualities or five phases. And what the Yechida and Haya, these surroundings, I'm not saying that they received something from it, from the internality, it's all surrounding. Flesh and skin, Haya, Yechida, it receives in adulthood greatness. Before that, it does not have any other surroundings. But we learn, in the embryo, it has greatness. It sees from one end of the world to the other end. It has all the degrees in the embryo. He's born out of that, and he says the following: the baby that is born has to be born in wholeness. He asks, how come a newborn baby has only NHY? Does he have ten Sefirot or he does not have ten Sefirot? In the embryo, he has ten Sefirot. If he has ten Sefirot, I must say that he has ten vessels. And what does it mean that he has NHY? He says in the embryo, each and every Sefira is only shining with a small light, the NHY of that Sefira. That is why when he is born, he has all his organs, but he cannot sit yet, lying down, which shows that his legs and his head are on the same level, same degree. There is no more than NHY of lights, and this is called of vessels. And this is the case in each and every Sefira.

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (32:41) Later, when it begins to receive Ruach by nursing, suckling, he can already sit. There is already a difference in the Rosh, the Guf, the Raglaim, the head, the body and the legs, meaning that in each and every Sefira, there is an additional force with the exception of HGT of Orot, HGT of lights, and HGT of vessels. What does it mean HGT of vessels? HGT of vessels, they already function. He can already sit. He still has all ten Sefirot, all 248 organs of the baby, of the newborn. Later, when he acquires Mochin, already the NHY of the vessels of the legs are functioning, he already has a brain. It means he acquired a higher degree. In that case, all the vessels must be. It just depends what shines inside the vessels, how many forces are in the vessels that they can function. You have legs, but they can't function, the vessel of the feet of the legs of the baby. Why? There's no light yet that needs to shine in them to impart them this force. In corporeality here, you can say the same thing in spirituality. All the vessels are present, but they're not functioning. They are missing additional light, and they receive that later on. It turns out that the flesh and skin, Basar [meat] and Or [skin], that have to function, but only in the time of Haya and Yechida. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (34:58) So we need to start chapter six, page 245 in the Hebrew book, chapter six, item one. Let us explain the emergence of these lights, called Akudim. What does that mean, emergence? There are no places here. Emergence means revelation. He's going to explain now how the lights called Akudim were revealed. You know that when they emerged, they did not emerge complete. The reason for it is that the intention of the Emanator was to now make the beginning of the HaVaYot of the vessels, the plural of HaVaYaH, to close the light for the receivers so they could receive. Thus, since they emerged incomplete and unfinished, they returned to their root above to be corrected and completed, and thus a vessel was made. What is he saying here? That is why they intentionally came out incomplete, so they could rise above, acquire correction, and by that become vessels. What was lacking before? That's the item two. The thing is that the phase of vessels was certainly in potential, though it was not actually inside the light. Since it was a vessel in the phase of light that was coarser and cruder, the vessel was called, it was called, light was coarser, though it was well connected with the essence, with light. Consequently, its phase remained concealed of the vessel, since it was connected with the light. It is so because when the light emerged through the Peh outward, it all emerged mixed together. That is why its quality was not evident, was not revealed. Whereas now, when they returned to ascend and be completed, then certainly through the emergence of the light outside of the Peh, light of the phase of the vessels, which we refer to as coarser, now acquired additional coarseness, thus it too cannot return to its origin as in the beginning. That light that is coarser and cruder, and the refined light expanded from it and rose to its source. In that state, further coarseness was added to the coarseness of the above coarse light, and the phase of the vessel was completed and remained. What does it say here? In item one he says, generally speaking, the intention of the Emanator was for the world of Akudim to have vessels, that the lower one could receive it. Thus, since they emerged incomplete, by emerging incomplete they have to rise once more, and thus a vessel was made. In item two he explains to us, why wasn't there a vessel before that? If there was no vessel, who did receive the light? You must say there was a vessel there, in that case, what are you saying? Why are you saying that you have to rise above and then later you will have a vessel? So he explains it. The refined light expanded from it, from the coarser light, and rose to its source, in that state, further coarseness was added to the coarseness of the above coarse light, and the phase of the vessel was completed and remained. Then it appears that the coarser light is the vessel, that's how he explains it. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (40:48) Another item, three. If you say that when the coarser light, called reflected light, and the refined light, called direct light, when they're together, they are connected, then you can recognize a vessel. Below he says that when the refined light departed and only the coarser light remained below, the coarse light appears as a vessel. What will you have later? If he says that when the refined light returns to descend and expand in the vessel, the vessel later will return the light, and the vessel will become refined, as in the beginning, and cease being a vessel. What do we gain from having the refined light going up? And you see its coarseness, why it goes up. But later, when it will return, it will be the same thing. The light will cancel the vessel as before the ascent. Is the question clear? The answer to this is that not all ten Sefirot, which rose to their origin, returned to descend down below, although the nine lower ones alone descended below in the Partzuf, below later, and the highest, which is Keter, remained with the Emanator always. The second degree is lacking. There is no more degree of Keter, but the degree of Hochma, level of Hochma. Thus, it turns out that the light of Hochma returned to clothe in the vessel of Keter, and so it is with all the other Sefirot - the light of Bina in the vessel of Hochma. You find that in every vessel there is a deficiency left. So he says, and the vessels can receive and reduce light from it now, compared to what they had at first. Now you can recognize a vessel. What's the first hint? Look above. What does it say? Know that when they emerged, they did not emerge complete. Item one below. As we heard written before, this is because only Malchut received the complete five inner Partzufim, called NRNHY in wholeness, in completeness. But the other first nine Sefirot were deficient. ZA lacked Keter, and Bina lacked Hochma too, and Hochma lacked Neshama as well. Keter also lacked Ruach. The outer vessels for the surrounding lights were absent there altogether, as will be explained later. I can tell you; I can give you a little introduction to what he's saying here. According to the known rule that the light expands below, he says, everyone emerge with the level of Nefesh. There's no changes in the light. Every light that appears has only Nefesh in it. However, the level of the light, or the greatness of the light, the measure of the light depends on the measure of the vessels. 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (45:22) I told you about this corporeal allegory, if you remember. There's one wire in my house that has the power to illuminate my house, my entire house. Light. There's another one that says to him, I also have this wire, and it can heat as well, this wire. The third person comes and says, for me, this wire also cools. A fourth one comes and says, in my place, it grinds the meat and the fish, the same wire. And another one comes and says, for me, he also does the laundry. Meaning the actions of this electric wire, from the corporeal allegory, appear according to the vessels that we give it, then it acts. It appears that light is not changing the light. Only the vessels grow the light. Now, Ohr amplified. By what? Through the vessels, you can see the abilities of the light, the measure of the light. That's why I'm saying, beforehand, there's a rule. The small lights appear, whereas the large vessels appear. In that case, when the light of Nefesh comes, it enters the vessel of Keter. When the light of Ruach comes, it enters the vessel of Keter. So the light of Nefesh that was in the vessel of Keter, descends to the vessel of Hochma. There's already now two vessels in the light of Nefesh. It has Nefesh and Ruach. Later comes the light of Neshama, it descends to the vessel of Keter. So the light of Ruach that was in the vessel of Keter, descended to Hochma. And the light of Nefesh that was in the vessel of Hochma, descended to the vessel of Bina. You find that the light of Nefesh now has three vessels. There's Neshama of Nefesh, and Ruach has two vessels, there's Ruach of Ruach. And Neshama has one vessel, Nefesh of Neshama. Later, the light of Hochma comes to the vessel of Keter. Then Neshama descended to the vessel of Hochma, and also added one for each one. So Neshama that was in Bina went down, descended to ZA. There's already Haya of Nefesh. Nefesh already has Haya. Haya of Nefesh and Neshama of Ruach, Ruach of Neshama and Nefesh of Haya. Later comes that light, we have the level four, phase four of coarseness, the light becomes the light of Nefesh, the light of Yechida in the vessel of Keter, then you see that Yechida is one vessel, the Nefesh of Yechida, Ruach of Haya, Neshama of Neshama, and Yechida of Nefesh. Is the calculation clear? 

RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (49:19) He says further that the surrounding vessels for the surrounding light, the external vessels for the surrounding lights would end there completely, we'll elaborate on that later. What does he want to say? When the light is clothed in the vessel, he refers to the light as direct light, a refined light, and the reflected light, he refers to it as a coarse light.