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

Daily Lesson (Morning) March 16, 2025.

Part 2: Rabash. Record 369. Joy While Learning Torah

Reader: We are reading from The Writings of Rabash. The records, it's volume number 6 in English, article number 369, “Joy while learning Torah.” 

Reading: (00:24) Rabash. Record 369. Joy While Learning Torah

Question: If a person does everything in order to receive, meaning that all he does is only with the aim for his own benefit, then what is the difference between enjoying corporeal things or deriving pleasure from words of Torah?

We can understand this in the manner that a person eats fish, meat, and wine on weekdays and enjoys it. This eating is called “optional eating.” But when he eats meat, fish, and wine on a Shabbat [Sabbath] meal, it is a Mitzva [commandment] of the delight of Shabbat.

Mitzvot [pl. of Mitzva] do not require intention, meaning to aim only in order to bestow. Rather, he should aim that he is doing this only because of a Mitzva. Thus, when he enjoys the Shabbat meal, he observes a Mitzva although this Mitzva is still Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], meaning that he cannot aim in order to bestow. Still, from Lo Lishma he will come to Lishma [for Her sake]. It follows that he is observing a Mitzva.

But when he eats an optional meal during the weekdays, it cannot be said that this optional meal will bring him to Lishma. It turns out that when he learns Torah and enjoys, although it is not in order to bestow, he observes the Mitzva of learning Torah with joy, since he enjoys it, so he is observing a Mitzva. It follows that from Lo Lishma he will come to Lishma. Thus, this is the right way to achieve Lishma. Conversely, other pleasures do not lead him to Lishma.

M. Laitman: Questions? 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (04:02) Why specifically on Shabbat is it a Mitzva?

M. Laitman: In Shabbat, a person is surrounded by the upper force, so it's easier for him to direct himself towards Kedusha. 

Student: And the environment, does the corporeal time make a difference? 

M. Laitman: The corporeal time does make a difference.

Student: It influences a person, gives him a stronger environment to have like higher intentions?

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (05:03) What do we mean by learning Torah? 

M. Laitman: Learning Torah is any gathering we have, which we call gathering for a lesson. We want to accept, each one wants to accept a certain portion of the upper light, the influence of the upper light, that it'll bring us a clarity of connection with the upper degree more. 

Student: What does it mean to approach the study of Torah as a commandment or as anything else? 

M. Laitman: No. If I approach the Torah so as to study it as a Mitzva, it is a commandment over me. With that, I carry out the Creator's will, He gave this to us, and also, I want to bring my desire closer to the Creator's desire in this action. So it turns out that me, and the Torah, and the Creator are together as I study the Torah.  

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (07:15) He distinguishes between learning Torah as a commandment or learning Torah with intention. So what you described now, is it regarded as with an intention or a commandment? 

M. Laitman: It depends on the person that accepts it.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (07:50) It's written here, so it turns out that when he learns Torah and enjoys, although it is not in order to bestow, but he observes commandments, the commandment of learning Torah with joy, because he derives pleasure from it, so he is observing a Mitzva. From what does the person enjoy in this case, what is the pleasure? 

M. Laitman: Ask him. Either he studies because it gives him joy, pleasure, or he studies because he enjoys learning the Torah with joy.

Student: In other words, it's pleasure for myself, it's not something… 

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (09:01) It's written here that commandments don't require intentions. What are actions that don't need intentions if there is such a thing?  

M. Laitman: Mitzvot that don't require intention, I would say… I don't know. Commandments, Mitzvot that require no intention. 

Student: How can it be that there is an action that doesn't require intention, because the very essence of our work is to direct it to the upper force? 

M. Laitman: It's correct, you're right.

Student: So, how can that be? 

M. Laitman: You're right. Well, do you want to help me?  

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (10:38) To continue the friend, he says that commandments don't require intention, meaning to aim only in order to bestow. Rather, he should aim, and he's doing it only because of a Mitzva. So he doesn't say that we don't need intention. So the question is, what does it mean that he doesn't need to aim in order to bestow, but he has to aim, that he's doing it because of a Mitzva. What does that mean? 

M. Laitman: Because of a Mitzva, meaning because the Creator sent us an opportunity to raise ourselves to carrying out this opportunity as it's commanded to us from above.

Student: For example, today we have our Purim feast. We have several commandments: joy, food, drinks. We don't need intentions? What intention do we need in order to draw the maximum light, the maximum spiritual advancement from this event? 

M. Laitman: As you said, maximum spiritual progress. 

Student: Within the joy, we should also add... 

M. Laitman: Yes, yes, of course.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (12:23) We see that throughout history, people observed commandments because of the commandment of observing a commandment, but that didn't necessarily lead them to spirituality, or even to an intention for Lishma. 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: So, what causes a person that when he observes a commandment, it will lead him to Lishma? 

M. Laitman: That he tries to carry out the Mitzva properly. Very simple.

Student: We always say about the commandments that it's the correction of the desire. So, what does it mean to do a Mitzva for the sake of the Mitzva? 

M. Laitman: Yes and no. We still have time until the evening to think about it, discuss it, each and every Ten should come to the meal, and at the meal, we will do a few Mitzvot together, the meal and a Mitzva, also connection, also gathering. In short we have an action, let us do that action as a holy action. 

Reader: So let's go to the lesson summary between us now, then we'll go to studying between between the friends.