The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: July 9, 2026
Part 1: Rabash. What Are Merits and Iniquities of a Righteous in the Work? Article No. 22 (1988)
Reader: Dear friends, in the first part, we will study a lesson by the Rav from June 23, 2002. The lesson is based on Rabash's article, "What Are Merits and Iniquities of a Righteous in the Work?" You can find it on page 706 in “The Writings of RABASH”, first volume, in Hebrew. Let's read it together in the Ten, we have 25 minutes for that.
Reading: (00:36) What Are Merits and Iniquities of a Righteous in the Work?
Article 22, 1988
It is written in The Zohar (BaHar, Item 67), “A complete righteous—all his merits are above, and his iniquities below. A complete wicked—his iniquities are above and his merits below. That is, a complete righteous—all his merits are kept for him above, for the next world, and he does not receive anything from them in this world. His iniquities, namely the punishments for his iniquities, are below in this world. A complete wicked—his iniquities are above, meaning he is avenged in hell after his passing from this world. And the merits he had done are below, meaning he is given his reward in this world. Intermediate—both judge him, meaning that both his reward and his punishment are below in this world.”
We need to understand the meaning of “complete righteous,” “complete wicked,” and “intermediate” in the work, as well as what are “this world” and “the next world” in man’s work, and the meaning of “above” and “below.”
It is known that the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations, meaning that the created beings will receive delight and pleasure. For this reason, we see that the whole world, without exception, strives only to receive delight and pleasure, since this was the purpose of creation. However, in order to have equivalence of form, there was a correction that everything we do must be with the aim to bestow contentment upon the Creator and not for our own sake.
How can one do something not for his own sake when this is against nature? The answer is that when a person believes in the greatness of the Creator, to that extent a person can do things in order for the Creator to enjoy his work. In nature, when the small serves the great, he derives pleasure from it and does not need any reward. Just the privilege of serving him gives him vitality and makes him feel like the happiest person in the world.
Therefore, when a person achieves this degree where his only aim is to bestow upon the Creator, he is called “righteous.” That is, when he can bestow upon the Creator, this is his only hope in life, and he does not need to be given anything else in life. If he sees that he is not permitted to serve the King, he says that he must have committed some iniquity for which he is punished with ejection from the King’s palace into a place of litter, a place of waste.
That is, he is thrown into the pleasures he derived from self-gratification, of which he said that this was suitable for the “animate,” not for the speaking, which is the human level, as our sages said, “You are called ‘man,’ and not the nations of the world.” But now he is in a state where (he) can enjoy only that which pertains to self-benefit. At that time he says that he must have been punished for some iniquity, that he was not careful and was therefore punished. This is the degree of “complete righteous.”
Conversely, the pleasures of the complete wicked are only those that can be received in vessels of reception, which is only for self-benefit. If he sees that no self-benefit would arise from this work, but rather everything will go toward bestowal without any reward, he cannot derive pleasure from this. Then he says that he must have committed some iniquity, which is why he cannot receive anything in the vessels of reception, and he looks and examines why he cannot make the vessels of reception enjoy.
It follows that when he thinks that the will to receive will not receive anything, he is very worried. He says about the state he is currently in that it is truly hell, that he is being punished above for his iniquities, and this is why the will to receive for himself (cannot) enjoy anything, meaning that now he has nothing to live on.
“Intermediate—both judge him.” Once he agrees with the righteous, and once he says that the complete wicked is correct.
By this we can interpret what The Zohar says, “A complete righteous—all his merits are kept for him above.” He regards merits as “above, in the next world,” meaning that he can do things that belong above, namely in order to bestow above, to the Creator, who is of superior importance. He regards this as “the next world,” and the next world is called “reward.”
He does not receive from them anything in this world. This world is called “receiving.” That which a person receives in the vessels of reception is called “this world,” regarded as Malchut, whereas the next world is called Bina, which is a vessel of bestowal. For this reason, Bina is called “above,” “the next world,” and Malchut is called “this world.” Hence, the righteous does not want to receive for himself anything in the vessels of reception, but rather only in order to bestow.
He says, “A complete wicked—his sins are above.” This means that he sees, when he engages in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], regarded as “above” in importance, that he is wicked, meaning that he does not want to work in order to bestow upon the Creator, but to bestow pleasure upon himself, and this is why he engages in matters of above. That is, things he should bestow upward, when he sees that below, meaning the will to receive, will not gain from this work, the wicked says about this state, “Why am I unable to give something to the will to receive for myself? It must be because of iniquities; this is why the will to receive cannot enjoy.”
He says, “He is avenged in hell after his passing from this world.” “His passing from this world” means that he says that now that he no longer has vitality from this world, called “vessels of reception,” which are now devoid of life, this is called “passing from this world.” This is the meaning of “He is avenged in hell.” Now that he feels that he has nothing from which to derive pleasure for the will to receive, he says it is a punishment and he is being punished in hell. This is why he has no life.
This is the meaning of “a complete wicked above.” To the extent that he must engage in bestowal upward and receive below, it is regarded as a punishment. This is considered that now he feels that he has passed away, since he no longer has any life.
“And the merits he had done are below, meaning he is given his reward in this world.” “This world” is that which the will to receive enjoys. He says about it, “The fact that I can receive delight and pleasure in the vessels of reception must mean that I have merits, and this is why I am given pleasure.” This is the meaning of “his merits are below,” meaning in the vessels of reception, regarded as being of inferior importance.
Accordingly, the meaning of “complete righteous” is that his intention is only to bestow contentment upon his Maker. A “complete wicked” means that he wants only to receive, and not to bestow at all. Yet, both apply to the same person, meaning when he works in Torah and Mitzvot and wants to begin the work of Lishma [for Her sake]. At that time, through work and overcoming, he comes to know that he is a complete wicked and does not want to annul his own authority, and not to think of himself, of how he can delight himself, and make all his concerns about bestowal. At that time he sees that this is difficult.
That person can see the truth—that he is far from the truth of working only for the sake of the Creator. At that time he decides that he is truly wicked because then he sees what his body wants, and he sees that he cannot be a worker of the Creator, but rather his own worker of himself.
Conversely, those who do not begin the work of bestowal can never see that they are completely wicked. Instead, they sometimes see that they have not reached the degree of righteousness, but to see that they are completely wicked, there is no such thing, as it is impossible to see the truth before one begins the work of bestowal.
This world is called “vessels of reception,” and the next world, “vessels of bestowal.” Likewise, “below” means into the vessels of reception, and “above” means vessels of bestowal, namely that the lower one wants to bestow to above.
“Intermediate—both judge him,” meaning not at once, but at two separate times. That is, once he thinks that he has already achieved the degree of “righteous,” and once he sees that he is a “complete wicked.” It follows that a righteous says, “All my merits are kept for me above, and my iniquities are below in this world.” This means that while his pleasures are in vessels of reception, he considers it a punishment.
By this we can interpret the words of The Zohar (Truma, Item 522): “One’s table must be clean, so the body will not approach eating its food unless when it, itself is clean. For this reason, one must first clear himself out, since that food, which he has prepared for himself, the Creator wants it, so he will not approach that table of feces vomit from the Sitra Achra. Once a person has eaten and been delighted, he must give a part to the Klipot [shells/peels]. And what is it? This is the last water, the filth of the hands that must be given to that side, which needs it. Because man is obliged to give him that part, there is no need to bless at all.”
We should understand what is “cleanness” in the work, where he says, “For this reason, one must first clear himself out, before he eats the food of the pure table.” We should also understand what he says, “Once a person has eaten and been delighted, he must give a part to the Klipot [shells/peels]. And what is it? This is the last water, the filth of the hands… Because man is obliged to give him that part.” We should understand why before the meal he says not to give anything to the Klipot, and after the meal he says we should give some to the Klipot, and that it is even mandatory to give, but there is no need to bless.
It is known that the purpose of creation is to do good to His creations. But in order not to have shame in it, there was a correction that we must aim all the pleasures we receive to be in order to bestow and not for our own sake. The Klipot are called “wanting to receive for one’s own sake.” When all the vessels of reception are corrected to work in order to bestow, this will be called “the end of correction.” That is, there will be nothing to correct into working in order to bestow because all the vessels of reception will have entered the authority of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], called “in order to bestow upon the Creator and not for one’s own sake.”
Hence, in order for a person to be able to aim—while receiving the pleasure—in order to bestow, regarded as sitting at one’s table, a person should say, “This is the table before the Lord.” A “table” is the place from which a person derives pleasures. A “table” means the place of one’s sustenance. It is called “table,” as our sages said, “reliant on his father’s table, reliant on others’ table [dependent on others].” Also, during the blessing for the food, we say, “The Merciful One, He will send us much blessing in this house, and on this table on which we have eaten.”
We should understand what are “this house” and “this table.” A “table” is the place where one receives one’s sustenance. This is why we say, “The Merciful One, He will send us much blessing,” meaning that the provision we receive from the Creator will not be with envy, which is receiving for himself. That is, he asks of the Creator that the sustenance with which he is providing the body will not go into the vessels of reception of the body, which are called “envy,” as our sages said, “He is envious of what others have.”
Rather, it should be as “much blessing,” which are vessels of bestowal, which is called “expansion,” which is Hassadim [mercies], when he wants to do only Hesed [mercy]. From this should be his provision for himself, and (his provision) will not be with envy, called “receiving and not bestowing,” since from those who receive for themselves, there cannot be sustenance to the world. That is, if the whole world worked in bestowal, the world would be sustained even in corporeality, as he writes in the book Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah]. This is the meaning of what he says, “On this table.”
Concerning the words “much blessing in this house,” a house means Hochma, as it is written, “As the glory of a man to dwell (dwells) at home,” and as it is written, “A house shall be built with wisdom [Hochma].” This is the meaning of what is written in The Zohar, “Three things broaden man’s mind: a handsome woman, a handsome home, and handsome Kelim [vessels/tools]. A handsome woman is his soul; handsome Kelim are his organs, and the home is his heart.” That is, the home is regarded as man’s heart, and man’s heart should be a Temple, as it is written, “And let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell within them.”
This means that one should work on two things: 1) The correction of creation, which is Hesed, is called “much blessing.” Expansion is called Hesed, the opposite of envy. This is called “the table of the Lord,” and it is attained through the Torah, as our sages said, “The light in it reforms him.” 2) Afterward comes the work of the purpose of creation, called “light of Hochma [wisdom]” or “light of life.” This light is called “the wisdom of the Torah,” regarded as “the Torah and the Creator are one,” In general, this Torah is called “the names of the Creator.”
This comes after a person has received Kelim of Hesed, which are vessels of bestowal with respect to the equivalence of form. This is as our sages said, “Rabbi Meir says, ‘He who learns Torah Lishma [for Her sake],’” meaning he has vessels of bestowal, meaning only to bring contentment to his Maker, “‘the secrets of Torah and shown to him,’” which is the names of the Creator.
Now we can interpret the meaning of cleanness in the work of the Creator. He says, “For this reason, one must first clear himself out before he eats food on the pure table.” This means that it is impossible to place important things in dirty vessels, since everything will be spoiled by the dirt. So it is in the work of the Creator: Precisely when one works for the Creator and not for himself, meaning when he wants to bestow upon the Creator, the abundance can enter these Kelim because there is equivalence between the light and the Kli [vessel].
Conversely, if the Kli is mixed with reception for oneself, which is regarded as “dirty” compared to the light, which is all about bestowal, accordingly, before a person comes to receive sustenance from the Creator, which are delight and pleasure, he must clean himself up from self-reception. At that time, the abundance, which is the pleasure, does not go to the Klipot, regarded as reception for oneself. Rather, the abundance will go to Kedusha because he can aim to benefit the Creator while receiving the pleasure. This is called “eating the food on the pure table.”
After the meal, it is to the contrary. He must give a part to the Sitra Achra [other side]. This means that he says that there is still dirt here, which belongs to the Sitra Achra, and I must still correct myself.
Reader: Now we move to a lesson from June 2002.
M. Laitman: (24:28) “The Ladders of the Sulam,” we’re in the portion “In the Mountain,” "What Are Merits and Iniquities of a Righteous in the Work?" We are existence from absence, the desire to receive, and around it, the light that created it from absence. And this desire to receive, totally, all of it, from the moment it was created, and all of its ways of development depend on the light. To the extent in which the light bestows, in what manner it bestows, that is how we develop from above downwards, meaning until we reach the other end of the light. The light created existence from absence, and constantly cares for this point, this desire, in order to lead it to the most distant place, this world. The moment He brings the created being, the desire to receive, to this world, He brings it, not one, but divided into many parts, called souls. This desire to receive is kind of in disconnection from the light, meaning the light does not bestow upon it directly, but rather, He only discloses its posterior to it. Meaning, He reveals the negation, that He's not there, and by this, evokes in the desire to receive a necessity to long for the light, after the fillings. And because you can't receive fillings without corrections, then gradually he learns to ask for corrections as a necessity. He must have corrections. Meaning, on the path from above down, as we learned from “The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” we have the expansion of the worlds, Partzufim, Sefirot, a cascading of reality, as we call it, from above down, from wholeness, from Ein Sof, to unwhole, in this world, if you will. And this is the preparation. Degrees were created from above down, 125 degrees, 5 worlds, 5 Partzufim, 5 Sefirot, altogether 125 degrees of descending, of concealment, of diminishing of the light, of the desire to receive in the lowest possible degree in this world - and he feels that he's in darkness. And then, according to one's exertion in the study of Kabbalah, he invites the action of the surrounding light upon himself. The surrounding light is not felt, but it somewhat illuminates from afar, but the desire, the Kli, we don't feel it, because of the disparity of form. And the study itself, from the opposite state, truly opposite from the light, called Lo Lishma, in order to receive, the study itself, nevertheless, awakens the surrounding light, because it surrounds from afar, and it gradually corrects the Kli until I will have the Kli with the intention in order to bestow. And there's no other means to correct the vessel that is in this world below the barrier, only in awakening the surrounding light. So we need to examine and think and care for all the means that can awaken the surrounding light more mightily, so it truly has a greater influence as fast as possible, as powerful as much as possible, as efficient as possible, so that it won't be just the exertion of people and the actions that he does without benefit, but rather to check and see what actions, from what thoughts - from what will there be the best possible results. It's a waste of exertion and time, otherwise.
M. Laitman: (29:32) So all the things seemingly need to be aimed to that. And to understand from all the study, that the action of the light, after we have come to the final lowest degree, must be invited by us. And until we're capable of inviting the action of the light upon us to come and correct, so that the reforming light... And so from the light there's but one action, in burdening us more and more, making it heavier and heavier for us, to show us in what a truly finite state we're in, detrimental state we're in. And this means that the concealment is even more and more and more. We could say it this way, you know there's what we call the inverse relationship between lights and vessels. So when we are below the barrier, and not more below the barrier, but truly under the barrier, but adjacent to it, and the light illuminates, and if a person starts yearning, then he is truly... he needs to kind of collect to himself a certain sum of labor, so that the light will illuminate upon him to a certain extent, and then a person will be able to cross the barrier and enter the spiritual world. To the extent in which a person doesn't hear what the light awakens in him, doesn't listen to it, but is stiff-necked and stubborn, doesn't want it, thinks that according to his will to receive, he'll be able to reach some kind of improvement in his life: pleasures, something; so the light lowers it to a person, illuminates less, and by illuminating less he descends more from the barrier, and enters into even bigger problems. But bigger problems are also bigger concealment. So it's hard for a person to understand that the light can reform him and bring him back to the good. Meaning, each degree, the lower it is, it's not that it causes troubles only. Those troubles come as a consequence of the deficiency of surrounding light, and the deficiency of the surrounding light does not let a person understand what the solution is. Hence a kind of closed circle is created here, where this causes this, and this causes this to be bad, and this is how it rolls this way, cascades this way. And we truly need some external pressure upon a person to awaken him to grab himself with some new idea. But those who are already in the understanding that only by the study they can awaken the surrounding light, and by the surrounding light they can really come to the upper world, the bright and eternal and whole light world, then we also need to meanwhile remember and then understand and then of course feel, that the phenomena that will happen, they will happen in accordance with equivalence of form. That to the extent in which a person is in equivalence of form with the light, he will feel the light. To the extent in which he is in disparity of form from the light, he’ll feel darkness, the posterior of the light. And there are no other possibilities here, rather it all takes place after the first restriction in what we call just and righteousness. Meaning, the screen is according to the qualities of the vessel in equivalence with the light. Hence we need to think more about how the light operates, how it is in one flow with the vessel, in coupling and unity, and final correction, and to think in this way and yearn for it and try to resemble it.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (34:31) On one hand, we always say that the will to receive is very sophisticated, and it's always searching for ways, and it always finds openings. On the other side, we have the understanding, the will to receive understands, it's supposed to understand that we're going to kill it, and still runs forward towards it, as if it doesn't understand the desire for spirituality. How can we settle these two things, because it understands that we're going to kill it?
M. Laitman: Meaning, on one hand, the desire to receive is very sophisticated, the light made it with all the qualities in its oppositeness, and we can truly see how our nature is really very complicated. Also, in upper degrees, as we study, we don't know or see it, but we learn that the desire to receive and the desire to bestow, meaning the qualities of the Creator and the created being, are one against the other. BYA of holiness, and BYA of the shell, of the Klipa. We even learn in the Zohar, “The Letters,” the article, “The Letters,” the first article, the letters of Rav Hamnuna Saba, the letters are qualities that are in the soul. Each letter symbolizes a character, an attribute within the Kli. And so the Zohar scrutinizes all the qualities in the soul until it reaches the letter Bet, and says the letter Bet is special. Why? Because it's a symbol of blessing, meaning there is no distinguishment between the desire to receive and the desire to bestow, that this is less from this, or something like that. This is Pharaoh, that's the Creator - and there's nothing against that. It's just a blessing, meaning, in truth, the root existence from existence comes from the side of the light, but all the rest, also in the Kli, it exists. And it's even written in the Pentateuch that what Aaron can do before Pharaoh, also all the sages of Pharaoh did, yes? Yes, all those, what were they? Khartumim, like in hieroglyphs. Khartumites, yes, they're wizards of some sorts. So this is on one hand, and on the other … So, what are you asking? And we see that the desire to receive, how sophisticated it is, meaning that's nature, the desire to bestow - we don't know, maybe it's more, maybe it's something completely different. But the desire to receive, we can see, it's in our nature. It develops on its own, it's constantly seeking the best possible ways. It operates according to this law of optimalism, where every single thing, and now nature does everything, everything. So you're asking?
Student: That's on the one hand, on the other hand, as a person advances, he advances in the study, it becomes clear to him that we're going to kill the will to receive. The will to receive understands, it's going to be killed, we're going to kill it, it's clear to it. How does it still manage to find such things?
M. Laitman: When we're in the study, and we say that we're about to go kill the desire to receive, we just say it. If you were truly to know what that is, that's what the whole matter of concealment is. This is the matter of concealment. To say something, or to give something, kind of, that you can see, but until the state where you can tolerate it. What does it mean to tolerate or suffer? Meaning, despite that it hurts, it's worthwhile. That's how we're constantly advancing, until the state where I don't want anything except for this, really.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (38:32) When you come here, you say, now I'm going to take all of this, and take advantage of it for my own benefit. Over time you realize you have to equalize to something else. You're not going to adapt everything to you, but you need to bring yourself to a certain state.
M. Laitman: Until you're in constant going towards the barrier, you're just going into a greater and greater desire to receive. The fact that it seems to you like you're improving, you're getting more to the good, you're not improving, you're simply aiming your desire to receive to the Creator, meaning it's best for me to benefit from that, in place of all of this world.
Student: That's what I'm asking, how does it work out?
M. Laitman: And it seems like an improvement to us. What improvement? It's simply a bigger desire to receive. It's like a scientist has a bigger desire to receive than a painter, and a painter has a bigger desire to receive than a businessman. A businessman has a bigger desire to receive than just some laborer, a day laborer, that lives a normal life like that. The desire to receive is greater - does not consider that it takes on more disastrous forms, no. You can see beastly pleasures: money, honor, knowledge. Science engages in such things there that are so finite, there's no science that is pure. What does he want from this life at all? There are people that want to devote their lives to it, and it's considered that they're a big desire to receive. He's not bothering anyone, or he doesn't want to kill anyone, nothing.
Student: But in the intellect, at least intellectually, you realize the more you study that eventually you will need to equalize with a system that is fixed. You won't be able to take advantage of this system for yourself.
M. Laitman: The intellect, that you're saying, does not operate on us whatsoever. We are the desire to enjoy. And with the intellect, you can do whatever you want besides this desire. You can do whatever systems you want. It won't help. If I feel, I feel. The whole thing is a matter of feeling. The mind operates only to the extent in which it can assist the feeling. I can't do anything with my mind which is against the feeling. I must care for them in such a way that they will go together. Baal HaSulam explains this to us, that the moment that you really need to give, but it's really to give, you must search what fuel you will do this with. I can't just like that to take and to give you - I can't. I must, because the desire is in order to receive. It's not just a desire to receive. I just enjoy. If I give you, with what energy will I make that action? You know about the law of the preservation of energy. Where would I take it from? Meaning, I must give to myself some kind of justification of what I'm benefiting here. And for that value to be no less than what I'm doing, even more. It can be not in calories. It can be in some other benefit. I can give great exertion for 10 years to just see one special thing, but for me, it's worth all that exertion. But I must justify it to myself. So each time we advance, we have to give ourselves the justification that we will have it better. Do you think that you're sitting here really with the intention, I am going now to study how to give everyone without benefiting anything?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (42:23) No, but you're saying there's no contradiction. But I'm saying this contradiction is living inside of you. On the one hand…
M. Laitman: It's not a contradiction. It's considered that I will gain something from you giving me, what I'm receiving, and I'll receive now. I want to receive money, honor, knowledge, pleasures, animalistic pleasures - all those things that I want to receive. But I see that from this, that I want to receive and don't receive, I suffer. Maybe I'll learn how to learn to live in a different way. Maybe I won't want that much, like the Indians who sit like that in some special physical pose, like a lotus pose. And it's dead. It's really just — you only breathe less, think a little less, maybe close your eyes. I don't know what else they do there. Meaning, to deaden the desire to receive as much as possible, and suddenly he feels oneself like nirvana. Why? He made a stone out of himself. So he doesn't feel any deficiencies. That's called spirituality. What's spirituality? He simply rid himself from the troubles because he diminished his desire to receive to zero. That's what fanatic people do. They tell you, do this and this. Believe me, it'll be good for you. Same thing, same method. You know, you're living, you're doing this, thank God, we're done. Really, thank God? You know, go into Bnei Brak and you'll see how everyone's happy amongst the Orthodox community. It really helps in increasing the, overcoming the problems. A person diminishes himself, and he knows that he has that in life - he feels good. It's a known psychological method. So how can I make it so that the desire to receive will constantly grow, and nevertheless feel good?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (44:26) How was the will to receive created, existence out of absence?
M. Laitman: That's our method.
Student: In our method, why do you equalize yourself with a closed system?
M. Laitman: What closed system?
Student: The system of equivalence of form. It means like, there's a certain law, if I'll equalize with it, I'll feel good. If I'll move away from it, I'll feel bad.
M. Laitman: I'm learning these laws on myself.
Student: But I have to adapt myself to it.
M. Laitman: I don't adapt myself to it, and I can't adapt myself. There's nothing I can do. To the contrary, vice versa here. What I'm doing is, besides what I equalize myself, I compare myself to the light, kind of like bestowing, wanting all kinds of things to do.
Student: Not the light, but this law we we’re talking about. Through the study, I have to change myself, to adapt myself to this law.
M. Laitman: But by this, I invite a correction from above. I will nevertheless not change. You're saying, it's all a matter of limitation here.
Student: How can we not change? That's what I'm asking. Let's say, if you're in India, where instead of going down, we're going up. But we also change ourselves. We adapt ourselves to a certain state.
M. Laitman: Wait, wait, wait. An Indian, in the end, just diminishes his desire to receive.
Student: And we increase it.
M. Laitman: We are not taking care of making our desire bigger. It grows. We're taking care of it by this way: our only action is to invite the surrounding light. We have nothing besides that. We want to order upon us this force from above, that I don't know what it is, but it's opposite me, and there's some virtue, that if I do - I don't have a direct approach to this force, but rather through a certain action during this study with the intention, when I strengthen my intention, so I need a group, all kinds of actions around this - but the bottom line is it's a virtue. There's nothing besides this. If I didn't have this kind of a book, then I wouldn't be able to do anything. Nothing. Rather to search for when it maybe will happen, like it happens to certain individuals. To Abraham there, it happens to people. But my method is not a method seemingly. Because a method is considered that I do, build. Maybe there's here some... In me, cause and consequences are not connected to one another seemingly, because I directly cannot grasp this surrounding light. It's not some diet or some kinds of actions. The matter is simple, the difference is different, when I invite the force from above, compared to all the rest of the methods. All the methods are in this world - do whatever you want with the desire to receive. With me, no. I don't do anything with the desire to receive. I know I have nothing I can do with it.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (47:30) It doesn't matter different methods. I'm talking about some…
M. Laitman: I don't enlarge it, I don't diminish it or anything. I have nothing to do with it. You always heard from me, forget about how you are, don't think about your own qualities, stay with them. Be concerned about the light that will come to you, the force from above. He created you, He'll take care of you, He will change you. This is the difference in the method. This is why this method, because it pertains to the upper force, that it does not exist, seemingly, it's not tangible in my hands. So, I can't explain this method to everyone so it will be simple, it will be clear. It's not some kind of a diet or some kinds of exercises or things that people sell today. Reiki, Shmeiki, I don't know, all kinds of — I can't do it. I say, you have to do this and that, and then it will influence you.
Student: Many times I'm saying, I repeat this question that I have about the contradiction. If I nullify, what I don't understand is, let's say I make a declaration that I will fill my desires from the same place, but if I'm actually annulling, equalizing myself to that law, then what remains for myself altogether?
M. Laitman: To which law do you equalize yourself?
Student: I'm saying, there's a law of equivalence of form, and something that's opposite.
M. Laitman: You're now going to equalize your form?
Student: No, by the study. I'm going to equalize myself with the study.
M. Laitman: They just tell you that. You actually do it? What do you do?
Student: No, I'm doing it. Okay.
M. Laitman: You study what? I feel bad, and I have some belief that this will help me. I'll feel better. So you come and sit down. Don't tell me you have some other drive. This is what you want.
Student: I agree with that. I'm just saying that I still have in me, exist in me, such contradictions.
M. Laitman: The contradiction exists. Why? This is called, “I labored, and I found.” Indeed, you don't know where you're heading. This is your fortune, right? Your destiny, right? With respect to your present nature, this is something that you can't agree with it. You can't agree with it.
Student: So what, my desire to receive now hears what you're saying, and it doesn't listen, it doesn't hear it?
M. Laitman: It doesn't hear it, of course it doesn't hear it. Now you understand the reason for the concealment. Otherwise, he writes it, but if the will to receive would understand, well, first of all, if there would be no concealment, on the one hand, the will to receive itself would be chasing after the spiritual pleasure, so it would become the Klipa, the shell. And if the will to receive until now does not understand it, then it seems to it that the pleasures will continue, they'll just be better. And that's not going to help. I can't tell you it's not worthwhile for you, let go of it, no. Still, you cannot deceive nature, you can't do anything with it. The light that created the will to receive simply inserts into it, into the will to receive, a different quality. You can't explain it. He writes about it. What is the matter of Lishma? You cannot understand it, it's an illumination from above, right? You can open up and see it, right? The matter of Lishma, help me to find it. “Lishma is an awakening from above,” it's on page 84, you see, in “Kabbalah for the Beginner.”
M. Laitman (Source Text/Commentary): (51:35) In order to be rewarded with the quality of Lishma, one cannot understand it. We simply cannot understand it because it's not in the human mind to understand how can something like that exist in the world, it doesn't exist in us in any form. This is because anything that a person is capable of understanding in our present state is that if he will engage in the Torah and Mitzvot, he will attain something, there has to be self-benefit there. This is why you're sitting there eating a cracker, right? Because otherwise a person is not capable of doing anything. How will I make some movement, open up the page? I need to give some fuel to myself, right? But rather Lishma is an illumination that comes from above, and only one who tastes it, meaning he already reached it, afterwards, then he can know and understand. And about this it was said, first taste, and then see that the Lord is good, that's it. Look, he later asks this question, therefore we need to understand why should a person perform all kinds of tactics and counsels how to reach Lishma, and none of it is going to help him, no advice, no counsels. If the Lord does not give him that second nature, if the surrounding light doesn't come, then I cannot change. I don't have some end of a thread from which I can begin this change, which is called a will to bestow, and no labor will help the person to attain the matter of Lishma. What does it mean that no labor will help the person? Directly my labor, my existence doesn't work. This is called “I labored, and I found,” meaning after I labored, He gives me the Lishma, but it's not that I by myself directly cause it. And the answer is as it is written, “it is not upon you to finish the work, but you are not free to idle away from it.” This means that a person must provide the awakening from below, since this is a prayer, because the prayer is considered a deficiency, you build a deficiency by it, and without a deficiency there's no filling. But what kind of a deficiency can I have? Not a deficiency for Lishma, so how will that help me? I want spirituality, I know what spirituality means, it's abstract spiritual pleasures, the Creator, I don't know what, but it's not truly Lishma. It doesn't matter. He says, you need to have a deficiency, and this is why it is called “I found,” and then comes the filling from above, and then comes from above the answer for the prayer. Meaning, that he receives a filling for his lack. It turns out that the fact that man's work is needed in order to receive the Lishma from the Creator, it is only as a deficiency and as a vessel, and a filling, a person can never attain it by himself, but this is, rather, this is a gift of God. End quote. That's it. So our work is only with the surrounding light. We have nothing else. This is why the society, the group, all kinds of causes for it, this is why it's so important for us. And we can see from here that, in the meantime, I don't know, now we're talking about all kinds of, how to broaden it, to expand it, so that many people will study. Meaning, how through the light, because only through the light we can make our world be better, right? So how can we draw upon ourselves more surrounding light over the entire nation, over the whole world? Look, the world is becoming more and more terrible and cruel and confused. This is all the concealment, right? So how is it possible to draw surrounding light? So you see what he writes, that it is only through the study. Now, how can I come to common people and tell them, you have to study? What kind of connection is there? There's no explanation for it yet. We don't yet have the approach, and all of this is because we don't enter spirituality directly from Lo Lishma to Lishma, we have the matter of the concealment here.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (56:29) If the desire to receive is existence from absence, how was he created?
M. Laitman: The will to receive was created, existence from absence.
Student: But how, if there's no reception in Him, how can it be created?
M. Laitman: This is a matter of, this is really the whole matter of creation. The Creator is called Creator because He created something that does not exist in Him. But rather, this connection that exists between Him and creation is that these are two kinds of nature, right? The nature of the Creator and the nature of the created being. But besides the fact that this one is existence from existence, and the other one is existence from absence, everything else already takes place between them without any limitations from the side of the Creator.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (57:27) Why from all the kinds of lights that we know, only the surrounding light operates?
M. Laitman: Why from all the kinds of lights that we're talking about, only the surrounding light works on us in our present state? It corrects us. What is light? Light is the presence of the Creator, the feeling of the Creator inside of the vessel. This is called light. There is no Creator and vessel, and there is light in between them, in the middle, or other things. There are only two things. However, all kinds of phenomena, special and particular kinds of influences, one on the other, we give them all kinds of names, but all in all, there are only two things, right? The feeling of the Creator inside of the created being is called light. The feeling of the lack of the Creator inside the created being is the lack or deficiency of the light, the absence of the light, or darkness. It's simple. Now, how could it be that this light, when the Creator created the will to receive, we learned that following the four phases of direct light, this light that creates and develops the will to receive, existence from absence, it brings it to the state of Malchut of Ein Sof, and fills it? This means that the Creator created the will to receive with a certain measure, and He filled this measure with His presence. This is called Malchut of Ein Sof. Now, when He departs, we feel bad, why have You forsaken me? When He comes, blessed be Him, we feel pleasure and good. When the light is not inside of the vessel, it is outside of the vessel. What does it mean, outside? There’s a feeling that it exists, but not inside of me, but far away. This is why it's called surrounding. According to the equivalence of form, as much as I resemble Him according to my vessels, He then fills me, He enters, and then it's called internal. It is the same light which is designated for me. We learn that before we descended to our state, we were in the world of Atzilut, in the state called “He and His Name Are One,” which is called the general soul called Adam, or Adam HaRishon, that was filled with all of the light, meaning it was in unity with the Creator. Later on, there was the shattering, what we call the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, and this soul was disintegrated, broken into many parts, it was divided, shattered, fell, descended and fell to this world; and down here, in this world, exists all of its corrupted parts. And the light that filled the soul departed, and it exists in Atzilut. This is what we learn: the lights are in Atzilut - the lights that should have filled, the lights that were in the souls - and the souls exist down below Atzilut. These lights that shine from Atzilut, from above the Parsa to the souls that exist below the Parsa, in the world of BYA, or in this world, these lights are called surrounding lights. What does it mean? That, as he writes in item 155 in the “Introduction to TES,” these are lights that stand ready to fill each one, and to fill his soul, but they can't do it yet because of the lack of correction in the souls. If I will correct my soul with the intention to bestow to a certain extent, to that same extent, the light will fill me. I'll correct myself a little bit more, the light will fill me more. So, all in all, I have 125 degrees, that is, 125 states where I can correct myself more, and more, and more, and fill myself accordingly with the light more, and more, and more, according to the equivalence of form, according to the measure of the correction. That is all. So, that same light that was once inside of me as internal light, it came out, it became surrounding. And it remained in Atzilut, and I'm down here. What kind of connection do I have with it? There is no connection. And so, Kabbalists wrote books, and they said: if you read our books, to the extent that you read the books and you want this light to influence you, that it will come and correct you, right, that you want to know, you want to belong to that, then this light shows up. It appears from afar, from Atzilut to the worlds of BYA and to this world.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:02:55) The will to bestow, means equivalence of form with the light or with the Creator?
M. Laitman: Is the will to bestow equivalence of form with the light or with the Creator? The Creator, means all of the light in general. All the light in general is called the Creator. Now, the parts of the light, meaning the different manners, the way it is felt in the vessel, according to the measure of the correction of the vessel, we call that light. This kind of light, that kind of light, the way that He influences, this is the Creator, you understand? In this way, or in that way, like that, like this, it works with me. This is called the work of the Lord. He works. He does it. I just have to ask of Him, because without a request, whatever He will do with me will not be felt. I won't learn anything from Him. I won't know what He does. I will never be able to be like Him. And the purpose of creation is that I will be like Him. So, how to be like Him? By learning that it would have been good if now He would have done this or that. So, I learned His action, I reached a state where, as He now wants to do this action, if I also want to perform this action, it is considered that by that, I became like Him. Then He does it. What does it mean He does it? He completes this action. He shows me how it is done. And once again, on the next degree, I need to see something which is corrupted and how to make out of it something that is corrected. By this, I study His action. And by that, I become like Him. From that, we can see that it is impossible to reach being similar to the Creator if not by me always being in a corrupted state and choosing in it how it should have been - maybe like this, or like that, until I reach the solution. The solution is not to correct the corrupted state but through those corrupted states to be similar to Him, to be like Him. To be like Him, means I don't need to be in my mind like Him and in my desire to be like Him, and that's it. To want to be like Him, means to be together with Him in the Dvekut, in adhesion. And in adhesion, it means that upon this action that I discovered that I would have done it correctly this way or that way, afterwards, I reached the point where I want through this action to be adhered to Him. Because of that, after this action, I ask of Him that He will perform this action, and the result of the action will be adhesion. This means that all in all, the entire will to receive, with all the deficiencies in it, with the entire process of correction and the whole process of the filling is in order for me to be in adhesion with Him.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:05:54) Are all these actions spiritual actions?
M. Laitman: They're spiritual actions, of course. What do you mean? All the actions are spiritual actions. These are actions in the desire, the vessel is a desire. It's not the hands and legs, it's the desire. Until we begin to discern in our desire, all kinds of desires, according to the degrees of the coarseness or thickness, according to the character, in width, in height, the soul is the general desire, which is divided into 620 parts, 620 desires. Each and every desire is some kind, some manner with which to enjoy. It's a desire to enjoy. Each one is in its special form.
Student: So it's actually an action and a desire, an intention together? Do we avoid the intention?
M. Laitman: The action is in that I will use each and every desire with the intention that by using this desire, I want to be similar to Him. I want to adhere to Him. You understand? I also had a question like that on the internet. A friend was also once with this question with some great Rav who wrote to him that reaching the degree of the Creator, that's not called being Jewish, a Jew. This is something that is disqualified. But it's written explicitly, “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.” You have to reach that degree - not the Lord your God; to the Lord your God, truly. We have to reach that degree. We study this through the actions of ZON of Atzilut, let's say, the ZA and Malchut that must be equal. In the language of Kabbalah, we can talk about the details in that. With an ordinary language, it's really...
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:08:00) He writes in the article that a complete righteous, his intention is only to bring contentment to his Maker. A complete wicked will be one who only wants to receive and not bestow at all. According to these definitions, in the stage of preparation, is there a state where a person is called a righteous according to these definitions?
M. Laitman: According to these definitions, righteous, means that his intentions are entirely in order to bestow, and wicked, means his intentions are entirely in order to receive. Then during the preparation, we're not righteous nor wicked, because how can you be a complete wicked? How much of a will to receive do you have that you're truly complete? What do you want in your life that even if you'll actualize all of your desires, carry them out, all together? What? Do you know how many pleasures there are in the world, in the worlds, that you want them in order to receive? What is opened up for you? I mean, what can you... What are you really here for, between us? It's really like a rooster, right? No, seriously. This is why in every degree; there is a state of a complete righteous and a complete wicked. Before we start, we begin the degree, the person is in the will to receive, in darkness, in a fall, he feels how corrupted he is, this is considered that he determines to himself. The person must say that; it's not someone else says it. The person determines that his state is a complete wicked, right? That all of his desires and all of his thoughts and everything, it's in order to receive, and he's truly the most corrupted and the worst person in the world. Sometimes you don't yet feel that you're worse than your friend?
Student: I feel it all the time.
M. Laitman: Right. Truly, you feel that there was no one who is worse than you. So he determines it. He's called a feeling of a complete wicked, each one according to his degree. Later on, he studies and he corrects, and time changes, and then he reaches a state where he's a complete righteous. And that's on every degree. The left line, the acquisition of the vessels, the feeling of the darkness, right? Despair. In that, he sees those states where he's considered complete wicked. Later on, when he adheres to the right line, he corrects himself and feels a bit of spirituality - he's considered complete righteous. This is how it is. On every degree, you have both ends. And in between them, you have a little bit of wicked, a little bit of righteous. That's how it is. But the more he rises on the degrees and he truly comes closer to spirituality; he shifts to spirituality. Once he shifts to spirituality, then one time he's in the shells, one time he's in holiness. There, truly, wicked is a wicked, it's a part of Pharaoh, all of these shells. And the righteous is righteous, it's an equivalence of form to a certain degree with the Creator. There, it's real, it's true. For us, it's like playing in a kindergarten. That's how it is.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:11:14) What's not clear, you say he reaches a degree, meaning during the preparation, he feels like a complete wicked, I can't succeed in...
M. Laitman: In every degree, you have the state of complete wicked and complete righteous.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:11:26) What is complete righteous in the preparation stage?
M. Laitman: Complete, means with everything that I have at my disposal, in all of the desires that are now revealed in me. Maybe now from the entire soul, they only reveal to me 10% of it. But in those 10% of my desires, my passions, my thoughts, from everything that pertains to those 10%, if I discover how corrupt I am, it is considered that I determined to myself that I'm a complete wicked. If I afterwards correct it, when it is filled, then I feel that I have become a complete righteous. According to what? The Creator is called righteous. When I resemble Him, then I'm also like Him on the same degree, on the same 10%. Later on, they add to me one more percent. So in the 11%, oh my God, the 11%, I feel entirely bad, because it's not just that they add 1% to me. Those 11%, it means that you truly see from those 11%, you see the previous 10% also as bad, that in them also, you didn't correct anything. This means that as you rise higher, it's not that you advance in one percent, one more percent, one more percent, but when you monitor it from a greater degree of awareness - you see that all the other degrees you went through in the previous degree, you were thinking that at least with respect to that degree, you're righteous - now you see that you're wicked with respect to the previous degree as well. You understand? So now we have 11 bad degrees. And later on, you understand. So on the very last degree, before the end of correction, you see that in all of these degrees, you're truly terrible. It's as if you haven't gone through anything, right? You understand? So you realize what kind of wicked you are then, what kind of feelings you have. From this, it should be clear that this is not a path which is for any person on the outside. And it's a good thing that you don't know what I'm talking about. It's the same for me also with respect to the next degree. This is why the concealment is necessary. From here, you can see why it would be impossible to advance in any other way except through concealment. They hide away from you your vessels, and they hide the pleasures. They hide the vessels because you won't be able to overcome them. You see how horrible you are, and you run away from it. You'll shut your eyes. I don't know, you'll hang yourself. And they hide the lights away from you, because if you discover what lights are there, what pleasures, what is eternity, what is wholeness, you'll have no room to think of anything else. You'll be locked on it like a madman. This is called Pulsa deNura, a strike of light. Did you hear about it?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:14:21) But in our stage, you're saying in spirituality, when you go from here to here, you make a correction. Now when we are here, it's only from darkness to darkness. What kind of feelings it that “Oh, yes, this is good.” This is always bad, and then you say, OK, this is bad, and then worse comes. There's no such state as filling. There are constantly more deficiencies - deficiencies, more and more deficiencies, more darkness. I don't know how to explain it. There's no situation that you're describing that you're going through the degree. In the beginning, you're a wicked, and then you become righteous. There's the wicked, and then you become more wicked.
M. Laitman: What can you do if you don't have more than that? What can I do?
Student: No, I'm talking about myself. There's no feeling in it. You always see that it's only for me, for me, for me, for me, for me. And you see it prevents you. It stops you. You're saying it'll pass?
M. Laitman: What the mind doesn't do, time does. No, seriously, there are many states. What is before the barrier? What do we call that? That's a state - we need to do something without understanding the cause and effect, the cause and consequence. And this goes on until the very last moment. I'm telling you, the very last moment. Even when you get accustomed to it, there is a matter of habit becoming second nature. He writes about it in the article. And even if you already understand the processes, that we're after the bad things, the good things will come. And again it will change, and you have to go through it and somehow subjugate yourself and wait. Nevertheless, all the states are concealed from us. What can we do? There is no choice. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to go through it. I'm telling you from both sides, both from the side of the vessel - if it were not concealed, we would have been afraid to touch this great will to receive; and also from the side of the lights - we would become crazy about those pleasures, and we wouldn't be able to move. That's why on both sides, it's concealed. And we're in the middle, in the dark. This kind of state, neither here nor there.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:17:02) I don't understand. If “There's None Else besides Him,” where does the matter of labor come? Because I and my group are here because of Him. So, where does the labor come?
M. Laitman: If there's None Else besides Him, where is the matter of the exertion? The exertion is specifically to determine in all of my desires, that they are in all of my “I,” which is Pharaoh, which is “I will rule,” to place the Creator as the ruler there, called “There's None Else besides Him.” Who has to say that? The corrected Pharaoh has to reach a state where there's None Else besides Him. The self, the “I,” has to reach such a state.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:17:55) During the study, let's say now, in the thought, what should we do with a thought, with a desire?
M. Laitman: Oh, that's on point. Just to think that I want to be corrected from that. Not more than that. There's some surrounding light; I don't know what it is. There's something from above that influences me during the study. I feel some problems, some trouble - I need to come to the study and learn. What does Baal HaSulam say about the question, what's the meaning of life? If you feel bad, open a book. That's it. Not more. Simply. It's like a book of medicine. But not that you are now learning about the disease, that you have to go somewhere, and buy the medicine, and swallow it, and wait for it to influence you. No, here it's right on the spot. And all the side effects that will seemingly come from this, where you might feel even worse, you have to understand these are not side effects. Rather, this is the healing itself. You know how the vegans and the natural healers say that the worse it feels in the beginning of the healing process, the better it is. They always say that, and it's true. It is true. We see it in all the natural things. If you want to get rid of the disease, in the beginning you feel it worse.
Student: Which is more precise to want? I don't know what correction is. I don't know what to ask for, this thing you're saying.
M. Laitman: To feel good. You don't need anything else. What? You ask the question, what's the meaning of life? If it feels good, then stay at home. It's very simple. The question, what is the meaning of life? It obligates a person. You like it or not, you're asking it. It's not that, you have to write it. Look, they wrote it up there, like, what's the meaning of life, so we'll remember that I have no meaning, that it's tasteless. Someone wrote it up there. But if I don't have the demand in my heart, then the study is just, you understand, that's truly a waste. So we don't look for people who to come and study. They want to study, you understand, they lack knowledge, like some professor in the university. We used to have such people. We had a few times a Kabbalah professor from the Tel Aviv University, really the faculty of philosophical studies. So, you know, he says, I don't know, we learned the history when those things were things written. This is for us the meaning of learning Kabbalah.
Student: The will to receive is not...
M. Laitman: Well, he came in such a way that he didn't even want to study that. I didn't talk to him about, you know, work, but just to learn about Sefirot, Partzufim. Why should you learn these things? Well, you have to know about it, even about it. You know, he left. What can you do?