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

Daily Lesson (Morning), April 17, 2024.

Part 2: Baal HaSulam. The Freedom.

Reader: We're going to continue in, “The Freedom” article by Baal HaSulam. We are in the subtitle, For Social Life, the Law, Take After the Collective.

Reading Article Subtitle: (00:19) For Social Life, the Law, Take After the Collective.

Now we have come to a clear understanding of the sentence concerning the freedom of the individual. Indeed, there is a question: Where did the collective take the right to expropriate the freedom of the individual and deny him of the most precious thing in life, freedom? Seemingly, there is no more than brute force here.

But as we have clearly explained above, it is a natural law and the decree of Providence. And because Providence compels each of us to lead a social life, it naturally follows that each person is obligated to secure the existence and well-being of society. And this cannot happen but through imposing the conduct of “taking after the collective,” ignoring the opinion of the individual.

Thus, you evidently see that this is the origin of every right and justification that the collective has to expropriate the freedom of the individual against his will, and to place him under its authority. Therefore, it is understood that with regard to all those matters that do not concern the existence of the material life of the society, there is no justification for the collective to rob and abuse the freedom of the individual in any way. If they do so, they are deemed robbers and thieves who prefer brute force to any right or justice in the world, since here the obligation of the individual to obey the will of the collective does not apply.

M. Laitman: Any questions? Yes. Yes.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (03:09) Could you even explain what it means to follow the many? Because we started speaking about it in the last lesson, but we didn't have time for questions. Until we got to that topic, he explained about uniqueness, about the self. And now, he defined it in the previous topic, and he now explains the law of following the many, because of the Providence that always forces us to take care of the well-being of the friends. So, where does such a law suddenly appear? That providence makes us concerned about the well-being of the others? What is that law?

M. Laitman: Nevertheless, you understand what it means to take after the collective.

Student: First, he explained, as if the individual has to take care of the many. If the society determines laws, I have to follow them. That's what I understood.

M. Laitman: So, we need to explain if it's not.

Student: So, that's what I'm asking. What does it mean to follow the many?

M. Laitman: I don't know what the majority is, but let's say we agreed to it, about a certain quantity, by pounds, by kilos, no matter what. So, we agreed. So, you have to take after them?

Student: I understand that if my city, my government, determined a certain law, I can only drive at such a speed on a certain road, I have to follow that. That's simple. But between that, to the obligation of Providence that I must take care of the well-being of the friends, that's a huge gap. It's much bigger than that. What is that law? Where did it come from?

M. Laitman: The principle needs to be the same thing.

Student: What principle?

M. Laitman: That we take after the collective, after the majority.

Student: How does that determine that I always have to take care of the well-being of society? What does it even mean?

M. Laitman: Because by this, you look after the society that you're in.

Student: Usually, when we say Providence, we're speaking Upper Providence, Upper Guidance.

M. Laitman: It's probably arranged that way also by the Upper Providence.

Student: Okay, that's the Creator, but arranged, that's His qualities, not my quality. Why am I expected to do?

M. Laitman: For you to observe it out of your understanding, for you to agree with it, and accept it upon yourself, and observe it from your desire, and not from being obligated to do so.

Student: But that's opposite of our nature. To always be concerned about the well-being of our friends. It's opposite our nature.

M. Laitman: But is that not okay? Is that not justified?

Student: I don't understand.

M. Laitman: You don't even understand?

Student: What do you mean it's not justified?

M. Laitman: That you're in a society which looks after you as well, and accepts upon it a law that we take after the collective. Would you not accept this?

Student: Okay, that's a law of what I understand, what society decides I have to do, even if I don't agree with it. That I understand.

M. Laitman: How is it possible that you're receiving, even if you're accepting it, even if you don't agree?

Student: Because I have no choice.

M. Laitman: There's no choice? You're being compelled to do so?

Student: Yes.

M. Laitman: So?

Student: Between that and the Providence forcing us to take care of the friends, it's something completely different.

M. Laitman: Yes, we need to come to a state in which we understand this law, accept this law out of understanding, and we bring ourselves closer to it, and we enter into this law. And build a society in such a way more and more until, according to our understanding, we observe this law fully.

Student: So, practically, in our state, what does it mean to take care of the well-being of the friends?

M. Laitman: Because, according to this law, there's no difference between the individual and everyone. I must relate this way to each and every one and to everyone.

Student: Yes, it says that it's like that between man and the place.

M. Laitman: Yes, yes.

Student: What does that mean, to have to take care of the Creator, too?

M. Laitman: That this law can be observed only if we're under the general love.

Student: To love the Creator, too?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: What does it mean?

M. Laitman: It's where His laws will take place in us, willingly and out of our understanding and our commitment. Why don't you agree? Just tell me. I don't understand.

Student: Because it's opposite of me?

M. Laitman: What's opposite, you here?

Student: It's opposite of the way He created me, all of us.

M. Laitman: It's hard to understand this?

Student: Yes, we just read a whole article, how far the love of the Creator is, how concealed He is. So, now not only is He concealed, I have to take care of Him and love Him.

M. Laitman: Yes, you need to observe His, out of understanding and awareness and understanding. Other questions?

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (09:34) The corporeal life is decided by the many, but anything outside corporeality, society doesn't determine. That's what he wrote. How can there be education to a mutual goal?

M. Laitman: We'll see. Let's continue to read. No need to jump yet.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (10:10) Let's say in laws of a country or social science, it's clear, the state can do anything except for the laws, but the citizen can do everything except for what the law prohibits him. Meaning the citizen is the free person. But if we decided I can't go beyond a certain speed, like the friend said, so that includes you. Why? Because your state decided. And the state, the opposite. They're not allowed to do anything unless there's a law that says that it can do something. What does it mean in spirituality? Where can a person have any freedom in spirituality, that he can say, this is me, and this is not about the collective?

M. Laitman: Man has freedom either in a state in which he's not associated with anyone, and lives like in the jungle, where he feels himself alone and follows his natural tendencies or he takes upon himself the law of the environment, and observes it fully.

Student: But as we learn, in everything he's affected from the environment. So, where's his freedom to say, this is me, this isn't from society?

M. Laitman: That's already philosophy. That's above our intellect. Why am I like this, and he's like that? Each could be the way he is. We're not going against the laws of nature that have operated on us, in us, even before we emerged from our mother's womb.

Student: That's not what I asked about. In a person's feelings, now he wants to do an action in society.

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: If he doesn't think, he says, it's me, I determined everything. But the more he makes efforts, and as we read in this article, he recognizes it wasn't really him. Society brings him to this. The more a person goes deeper into this, he sees that he isn't in there. So, what's left of all this, that he says, this is me; that's what I chose.

M. Laitman: There's nothing in that. A point, a black point, and that's it. All the rest is from the Creator.

Reading Article Subtitle: (13:12) In Spiritual Life, Take after the Individual.

It turns out that as far as spiritual life is concerned, there is no natural obligation on the individual to abide by society in any way. On the contrary, here applies a natural law over the collective, to subjugate itself to the individual. And it is clarified in the article, “The Peace,” that there are two ways by which Providence has enveloped and surrounded us, to bring us to the end: a path of suffering, which develops us in this manner unconsciously, and a path of Torah and wisdom, which consciously develops us in this manner without any agony or coercion.

Since the more developed in the generation is certainly the individual, it follows that when the public wants to relieve themselves of the terrible agony and assume conscious and voluntary development, which is the path of Torah, they have no choice but to subjugate themselves and their physical freedom to the discipline of the individual, and obey the orders and remedies that he will offer them.

Thus you see that in spiritual matters, the authority of the collective is overturned and the law of taking after the individual is applied, that is, the developed individual. For it is plain to see that the developed and the educated in every society are always a very small minority. It follows that the success and spiritual well-being of society is bottled and sealed in the hands of the minority.

Therefore, the collective is obliged to meticulously guard all the views of the few, so they will not perish from the world. This is because they must know for certain, in complete confidence, that the truer and more developed views are never in the hands of the collective in authority, but in the hands of the weakest, that is, in the hands of the indistinguishable minority. This is because every wisdom and everything precious comes into the world in small quantities. Therefore, we are cautioned to preserve the views of all the individuals due to the collective’s inability to sort them out.

M. Laitman: (16:52) From here it is clear to us what relations need to be in a developed society, an advanced society, especially amongst the individuals who are developed and the regular collective which is opposite of that.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (17:22) He makes a division here between the life of society, where you have to follow the many, and a spiritual life, where you need to follow the developed individuals. What is the limit, what defines what spiritual life is, and what society's life is?

M. Laitman: Spiritual life is probably those goals, ideals that people define, decide, the Kabbalists, the sages, and that's the spiritual life, and that's what we need to aspire for, and to educate our children this way, and to arrange the society this way, so the more they are drawn towards these exalted matters, accordingly they will advance.

Student: There are ideals, that from them actions come to our deeds?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: And then it starts getting blurred out, on what will be considered the life of society where we have to follow the many to the life of society that we're taking from ideals that you have to follow the developed minority, and that's where all the disputes between people are because each one is sure that he is the minority who is developed, and according to his upper ideal, we have to organize society according to that.

M. Laitman: We will try to go deeper in this difference between those who are developed, and those who are less developed, or undeveloped, between the collective and the minority, and then we will try to define the way we will advance. What to do, how will we say, try to advance, according to, let's say, Rabash and Baal HaSulam and all the rest of the sages to the extent in which each in his place, as much as we can, somehow use what he did. But the main thing are such stages that understand how the world needs to exist, and the forces, the active forces in the world.

Student: For us, it's more simple because it's clear who the wise ones are, the Kabbalists, the teachers, but here this text is speaking about how to conduct society in a good way in the world.

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: In society, the state, the world, what are.., we have a dispute about who the developed minority is. The fact that you bring the many to support your opinion, and as a result you'll want to manage a country according to the many, the minority will come and say, I'm the minority, but I'm more developed. That's why you have to follow my ideals. That's why there's a collision here in actual life between the law that the many decide, and the second law that the minority, the developed minority, has to decide. Practically it's not clear what he's aiming towards.

M. Laitman: To where Baal HaSulam is aiming us here?

Student: Yes, in the principles he's giving here.

M. Laitman: He's just explaining to us how to do it. How to do it, he's not telling us, almost, not at all. He's saying there's a path of suffering, and there's a path of Torah and wisdom, and this path is with our reason, this is not with our reason, and that's what he's explaining. He is not telling us how to exist, how to observe ourselves, where society's opinion will advance us to the goal. I don't know, something's happening today.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (23:00) Let’s go a negative way: What for example will the Kabbalists, the developed minority, what doesn’t he decide?

M. Laitman: What does he not decide?

Student: Yes because he is saying in society follow the many, not the Kabbalist.

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: What does he not determine? What does he not even engage in? What doesn't he voice his opinion about?

M. Laitman: I don't think that a Kabbalist altogether goes out of his field and begins to disseminate his opinion in the majority, in the public. Where have you seen that?

Student: We see that Kabbalists have a lot to say about many topics that are supposedly also in the life of society. And not only... this is also blurred out, so what does a Kabbalist... what's out of his borders? What areas in life?

M. Laitman: There's nothing that is outside the field or the area where a Kabbalist looks at because altogether he needs to explain to us how the world exists, and by which laws we can bring it to its corrected form.

Student: If it's that way, I understand that a Kabbalist, we also have to follow him in his spiritual development, and also how to organize society, actually, in everything. There's no opinion of society that's saying, no, we're going to determine in these areas in life, after we follow the many. And there's another different area of spiritual development where you can follow the individual, your spiritual teachers. In practice, what you explained, what I understood, is that a Kabbalist determines society's life, too. He can say it about everything, how to conduct your life in all areas.

M. Laitman: Well, if it will be that way. For the time being, it's not.

Student: Even, let's talk about us. For us, in our life, our friends want to organize their life. So, they hear advice, they read advice, they hear advice relevant to all our life. So, where is the limit when they come and say, no, this is spiritual development and this is society's life, and here I have to work like in society.

M. Laitman: When I am connected with the collective of people through my work, through children, education, through all kinds of systems, then there, I operate like a regular citizen. And I don't influence there more than anyone else.

Student: Well, now you gave an example: educating children.

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: I heard a moment ago that child education is directly influenced by an individual because I have to educate my children according to Kabbalists.

M. Laitman: So, there's a matter of desirable and what exists. Of course, I would change the whole education, not just for children, but for the adults as well. Also in our social life, what changes I would carry out if I could, but I am in a society that behaves according to its laws, its habits, it's the nature of human beings, the small egoistic ones, and therefore Kabbalists can't do anything. Also Baal HaSulam and Rabash.

Student: What's the advice for a friend? Well, let's start first by scrutinizing between the state he hears that there's a desired state, what he hears from his teachers, that so and so is desired to be in life, but in practice, in society, it's very far before we reach it.

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: What's the advice for a person? What can he do if there's such a gap between the desire to where we are? Society doesn't follow the teacher's advice.

M. Laitman: The society operates according to the egoistic law. The main thing for them is to arrange things in such a way that each can observe them and as little as possible harm the neighbor or harm the other. That's it. That's how people behave.

Student: But still he hears that there's advice about education and all kinds of other areas in life, partnership, health, I don't know. And he hears that there's desired things like security and between what his teacher told him to reality there's a big gap. So what should he tell himself?

M. Laitman: That the time of implementation has yet to come.

Student: He can easily put a border. I am going to develop spiritually according to the advice of the Kabbalists. And the rest, the life of society, I have to follow the many, even though it's the opposite of what I'm hearing.

M. Laitman: Yes, yes, what do you want? That's life. Don't you see?

Student: I see but it gives a lot of frustration and confusion.

M. Laitman: There's nothing you can do about it. Try to spin it some other way.

Student: I see on myself for a long time, I'm trying to see it in a different way, and except for frustration and confusion, I don't get much.

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: But I heard that you have to educate in this way and work in that way.

M. Laitman: So gradually, slowly, slowly, we're hoping that throughout time, also our generation, also the next generation, will already be different than what it was before. We can see that the wisdom of Kabbalah was not learned in the previous generation. Today, in any corner of the street, any street corner, you can find books, you can hear on the internet, in every place, things, and it's all open. And let's hope that it will bring people closer, in a great manner, to the wisdom of Kabbalah. I hope that the next generation already, at least somewhat, will learn in schools the true form of the creation of the world, of this important education that we are learning from Kabbalah. I think these changes will be immense. The fact that, look, when I started this, it was all concealed, all hidden. They were even afraid to talk about this in a revealed manner, at all. Rabash, Hillel, Menachem, all those teachers of mine, in the wisdom of Kabbalah, it was truly all done in a hush manner, a very silent way, and today, please.

Student: So, maybe to summarize: a person who wants to scrutinize between the advice he hears about the desires, to say, from his teachers towards his life. So, what's the advice? How to scrutinize this correctly? How not to get confused?

M. Laitman: We explain to everyone as much as possible in all kinds of means what we think, what needs to be done, what we are preparing for the next generation, meaning to our children, for our children. I really hope that we will come to a state in which our children will learn in the classroom the wisdom of Kabbalah and our observation of life and the way we look at things, and this way they will advance even more. That's all I can say. It's very important what we can prepare for the young generation.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (33:40) So, we have to aspire to this, if we have, hypothetically, for our children, egoistically, to prepare classes where they learn the wisdom of Kabbalah, the way to look at life, we have to aspire and do it or to wait that society that one day it will be?

M. Laitman: Educate a child according to his ways: we have to do that. You see, in all our lessons, my son, although from age, I don't know, from age 15, he's moved to Canada, and today he's over age fifty already, yes? And nevertheless, he's in our lessons and comes here when it's opportune for him. And his children are still connected to it somewhat, at least connected to the land of Israel. It's again coming for next year, another, my last granddaughter there, to be here. It all belongs to the education, it all has to do with it, it's all associated with it. I think that we need to talk about this and to think about this and to hold it in such a way.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (35:40) In the previous part, he talked about following the many. Now he's saying that the spiritual law, we know there's one that is conducting the whole world in spirituality. And he writes that all the success and their spiritual wealth is in the hands of the minority. So, there's a certain minority in society that is responsible for that success. And he writes in the end, he warns us, we are warned to keep the opinions of all the individuals. Also a Ten is a society, also there, there's individuals who are more developed or less developed, and he warns us that we have to keep the opinions of all the individuals because of the weakness of the majority to scrutinize between them. So, there's something we need to discover here, how to conduct ourselves in a Ten and keep everybody's opinions. And that's something we have to scrutinize because if we want society to succeed, according to what he says.

M. Laitman: Okay, we'll get along with it.

Reader: (37:26) Two announcements. We'll end with a song.

Song: (38:03)

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