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

Daily Morning Lesson: October 29, 2025 

Part 1: Recorded lesson - Dec 22, 2021

Baal HaSulam. Shamati 113. The Eighteen Prayer

Reader: Hello friends, in the first part of the lesson, we will learn articles from Shamati. We'll start with the article we started with yesterday, this is from Baal HaSulam's writings, Shamati Article 113, The Eighteen Prayer. This is a lesson we had on December 22nd, 2021. We'll start with there. 

M. Laitman: (00:40) Okay:

The Eighteen Prayer. In the Shmone Esrei prayer, for you hear the prayer of every mouth in your people Israel with mercy. 

Meaning—there are a few things here; the Creator hears every mouth, everyone that belongs to this people Israel, meaning aimed at correction with mercy. 

It seems perplexing since first, we say, for you hear the prayer of every mouth, meaning even an unworthy mouth, the Creator still hears. It is written every mouth, meaning even an unworthy one. Afterward, it says, Your people Israel with mercy. Meaning specifically a prayer that is in mercy, otherwise it is not heard. The thing is that we must know all the heaviness in the work of the Creator is because of the oppositeness that is in every step. For example, in our work, for example, there is a rule that man must be humble, but if we follow this end, although our sages said be very, very humble, this end still does not mean that it should be a rule. It's not enough for us to be only humble since it is known that one should go against the whole world and not be canceled by the many views that abound in the world, as it is written, and his heart was high in the ways of the Lord, 

Meaning I should be proud, what does it mean to be proud? To be higher than everyone else – I don't want to accept any view, only to scrutinize myself with the Creator. 

Hence, this rule is not a rule that we can call complete, being humble. 

So, we have to be both proud and humble, 

And if we go by the other end, which is pride, that too is wrong, since anyone who is proud, says the Creator, 

That's what's written, 

He and I cannot dwell in the same abode, meaning we're not together. I'm not together with a proud man. And we can also see oppositeness in the manner of suffering. That is, if the Creator sends suffering to some person, and we should believe that the Creator is Good And Does Good, and the suffering He sent is necessarily to that person's benefit. Thus, why do we pray for the Creator to remove the suffering from us? 

How can we ask, at all, for something to become better, because whatever comes from Him is for corrections? 

And concerning suffering, we should know that suffering only comes to correct us, to be qualified to receive the light of the Creator, the upper light, 

That's what all the corrections, and all the torments and sufferings come for. The role of the suffering is only to cleanse  the body, to make it softer, closer to the light. 

As our sages said, as salt sweetens meat, suffering cleanses the body. 

In the matter of the prayer, they constituted that it would be instead of suffering, meaning by prayer we replace these sufferings. 

Thus, prayer too cleanses the body. However, prayer is called, the path of Torah. This is why prayer is more effective in sweetening the body than suffering. Therefore, it is a Mitzvah, a commandment, to pray for the suffering, since additional benefit stems from that to the individual and to the whole. 

Meaning, we should pray and not be under these sufferings, because that's the best response in the eyes of the Creator and in the eyes of man. 

For this reason, the oppositeness causes one heaviness and cessations in the work of the Creator. 

When you feel heavy and it disconnects us, distances us from all spiritual thoughts and intentions, 

And he cannot continue the work and feels bad,

(05:55) it seems to him that he is unworthy of assuming the burden of the Kingdom of Heaven as an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load. Thus, at that time he is called unwanted. However, since one's sole intention is to extend faith, the force of bestowal, called Malchut, meaning to raise Shechina, divinity, from the dust, meaning instead of bestowal, which is down in the dust, meaning that his aim is to glorify His name in the world, the quality of bestowal, to rise until the infinite height. 

And that's basically the quality of the Creator, His greatness. 

So, the Shechina will not take the form of meagerness and poverty. So, the Creator hears the prayer of every mouth, even of one who is not so worthy, who feels that he is still far from the work of the Creator. 

This is considered, wanted, because we're always talking with respect to a person. If he understands that he is unwanted, then this makes him sorry, 

He becomes wanted. This is the meaning of, For You hear the prayer of every mouth. When does he hear every mouth? Each one, when your people, Israel, pray with mercy, Meaning simple mercy. 

When one prays to raise the Shechina, Divinity, from the dust to receive faith, 

He wants to receive the force of faith. To receive faith, that's what he wants. To be given the force of faith, the force of bestowal, he wants to shift from the will to receive to the will to bestow, to finish with his whole life this way. 

It is similar to one who has not eaten in three days. Then when he asks of another to be given something to eat, he's not asking for any luxuries or extras. He's simply asking to be given something to revive his soul, something. Similarly, in the work of the Creator, when one finds himself standing between heaven and earth, he's not asking the Creator for something redundant, but only for the light of faith. 

That's the only thing he wants, he doesn't want to change anything, he's not lacking anything except for being the one who bestows to the friends, to the Creator, to everyone. He only wants to bestow. And for it not to touch him at all. It's not that he wants to get rid of his trouble, it doesn't matter to him, that's called, Luxuries. But what he wants is to be the one who bestows, and that's all. One should examine himself, his intention: What is he gaining from this? If it's clear to him, he's gaining nothing, and he's willing to pay whatever is required, more and more, and everything he has, only to be a bestower. That's a sign that he's truly praying for a force of bestowal, 

Asking for the Creator to open his eyes so he can take upon himself the quality of faith. This is called, Raising the Shechina from the dust. This prayer is accepted from every mouth. That is, whatever state a person is in, if he asks to revive his soul with faith, 

All he wants is to bestow. By that, he wants to fill himself. By that, he wants to relate to everyone this way. His prayer will be answered. 

This is called with mercy. When one's prayer is only to be pitted from above so he can sustain his vitality, 

Meaning the greatest gift that can be, even if they put before him every good thing in the world, it won't draw him at all, but only the ability to bestow. 

This is the meaning of what is written in the Zohar, that a prayer for the poor, 

When he feels that he needs nothing, he doesn't need anything, it doesn't matter, is immediately accepted. All he wants is to bestow. It's immediately accepted; that is, when it is for the Shechina, it is immediately accepted. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (11:33) How can a person want to bestow if he has no suffering, bodily suffering or any other suffering? 

M. Laitman: In the beginning, he is learning with us, and he wants to reach bestowal in order to come out of his torments, the ones that he has in reception. Later, he's asking to be more and more in bestowal because he starts feeling under the influence of the upper light still does shine to us a little, even in Lo Lishma. He starts feeling that he's drawn to be, to get to know what being in bestowal means. What it means to be in spirituality, in the upper world, to feel the Creator. To rise above what he has here, for various reasons that are also, all of them are egoistic, but still. Until, through the light that reforms that bestows upon him all the time, even when he's in his ego, but still the light shines a little – small, small bits. It goes through the ego and still it does affect him. And then by that, bit by bit, by dedication, a person has to stand on his own and to nag like that child asking for something. And then he starts seeing that he really comes closer to a need for bestowal. This is considered true saving, Savior, that comes to us from the Creator: When the Creator makes a shape within a shape – a shape of bestowal that comes to us within the shape of reception. 

Student: When a person is under sufferings, there's all kinds of sufferings that he simply, all he wants is to get rid of them. It's right that there's also beyond that desire to connect and to think about the Ten and everything. But still, nature is such that you just don't want to suffer. I think even Baal HaSulam in his prophecy that he writes there, he says, Only so I won't have such suffering that I would condemn the Creator. 

M. Laitman: And?

Student: It's kind of like more powerful than anything else. How can you? 

M. Laitman: No, no, no, no, no. No, we have only one vessel: the will to receive. And in this will to receive, everything connects. Both bestowal and reception, everything connects within the will to receive; and we reach a form that we can yearn for bestowal, not out of sufferings, but out of values. Let's say it this way, if there are people around you, and all of them value the quality of bestowal, but really value it. And you're impressed by them, want it or not, because it entangles you. You're seemingly within them, inside their importance, the value that they project on you. Then want it or not, you're going to start respecting the form of bestowal, even though it may be a lie for them – they may lie to you, and only play with you. Still, you'll start yearning for bestowal. This is considered, One man helps his friend, each man helps his friend. None of us is, but when we play or act out this way between us, it turns out that everyone starts being affected by everyone else. No one has anything but ultimately, everyone will have everything!

Student: That's the real work that we have to constantly engage in. What to do with the fear that some kind of suffering will come that will take you out of that, and then what do you do there? 

M. Laitman: That also depends on the environment, the environment can force you to do everything. It can convince you, confuse you, no matter what you call it, it can bestow values upon you that you would never look at. This is because we come out of the vessel of Adam, the general. That's why we have to understand that if there's this disposition for that vessel, especially for that vessel. If it's all kinds of different goals, it's like we say, It's replacing a cow with a donkey, it's the same ego. But if now we're talking about us wanting to come closer to bestowal. Then out of our work, even if we don't want it, but we're talking, we're doing some actions as if we're in bestowal, we do nonetheless awaken some upper illumination that bestows upon us and changes us. No matter what, whoever is in that, as much as he comes, he comes, and that's his profit. He still ends his life, for the time being, in a way that is much better than all the different forms of humans. That's why it is best, it is desirable for all our students to develop, and understand, and feel. And come close as much as possible to the quality of bestowal, meaning the upper force, the Creator, and that's how we'll advance. 

Question (PT 35): (18:42) We're always talking about the fact that we first need to address the friends, and with them go to the upper force; we're here, what’s the problem?

M. Laitman: I don't know where you have a problem, it seems to me that your problem is that you don't write your question so you can read it in a clear way.

Student: Should I continue? 

M. Laitman: Continue, but say it in a specific and a nice way so that it will become clear to us all.

Student: We, first of all, need to turn to the friends and together with them to the Creator?

M. Laitman: Yes?

Student: My appeal is supposed to be built from ten deficiencies ,yes? So I will fill myself in such a way that every friend is actually going to do the same action. With that, we address the Creator. In that kind of way, we must turn to the upper force? 

M. Laitman: No,no, because no one can be like others, and you can't compare yourself in a way that everyone will have the same. Everyone thinks differently, depicts differently, each one should act in the connection between you. Bring a deficiency for the connection between you, and this deficiency, together with all these deficiencies together, you turn to the Creator, that's all. That's all that should occur, and try to do that. 

Question (Belarus): (21:11) It's written here that the quality of faith is the quality of Malchut. But we always talked about faith above reason, that faith is bestowal. So I'm confused here. 

M. Laitman: That's correct, faith is the quality of Bina, and reception is the quality of Malchut. And Malchut, wanting to rise with an intention to bestow, means Malchut rises to Bina. Acting from the degree of Bina, even though in itself it's Malchut – it's the will to receive, it restricts itself wanting to be a will to bestow, like Bina. That's the right action of Malchut.

Question (ITA 1): (22:15) Is the suffering and the evil something that we feel, but if the Creator is just love and bestowal, then why do we feel this all differently than Him? 

M. Laitman: Because we're opposite in qualities from Him. If you make your desire like His, you'll see how good He is, The Good That Does Good.

Question (Kiev 1): (22:53) What does it mean that we are together in the Ten, when we start to put together the prayer, we'll come to a state in which we'll be able to raise our general Malchut to Bina? 

M. Laitman: None of you is equal to the other, everyone is different, but we have to reach a state that the intention of each and every one will be to reach bestowal. And that's considered that Malchut of each one is raised to Bina; and this way, you reach the right request to the Creator. The Creator is in an even higher degree, or He – the entire will to receive of yours becomes the will to bestow, and even more, to receive in order to bestow. Meaning that it doesn't only raise the degree of the will to receive only to Bina, from Malchut to Bina, but also from Bina to Keter. That's what the Creator is doing with us – that's how we reach the final correction. Our minimal correction is Bina, the force of bestowal, but later when we start working with this force of bestowal in order to overcome our force of reception to use the force of reception as well in order to bestow.  These degrees are from Bina to Keter, that's how we grow. So first of all, restriction over Malchut, not using the apparent will to receive, then to acquire the force of Bina, that's the first half of the way reaching from Malchut to Bina. That means reaching the Hanukkah festival, Hanukkah holiday, then we reach the correction of the vessels of reception.