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

Daily Morning Lesson: February 5, 2026

Part 1: A lesson based on the articles of Rabash

Rabash. Article No. 21, 1986. Concerning Above Reason

Original lesson date: Jan 31, 2003

Reader: Dear friends, today in the first part we will study a part of a lesson that Rav taught in 2003. It's based on the matter of “Concerning Above Reason,” the article. The other part we will learn tomorrow. You can find it in the Rabash writings. We'll read it together in the Ten, Tens that finish before the time is up, you can workshop the major things you take out of the article.

Reading: (01:37) Rabash. Article No. 21, 1986. Concerning Above Reason

Article No. 21, 1986

Concerning above reason, we should use this tool both between friends and between an individual and the Creator. However, there is a difference between them. Between an individual and the Creator, this tool must remain forever. In other words, one must never underestimate this tool, called, “faith above reason.” But between friends, if he can see his friend’s virtue within reason, it is all the better.

And yet, the nature of the body is to the contrary—it always sees his friend’s fault and not his virtues. This is why our sages said, “Judge every person favorably.” In other words, although within reason you see that your friend is wrong, you should still try to judge him favorably. And this can be above reason. That is, although logically he cannot justify him, above reason he can justify him nonetheless.

However, if he can justify him within reason, this is certainly better. If, for example, he sees that the friends are at a higher degree than his own, he sees within reason how he is in utter lowliness compared to the friends, that all the friends keep the schedule of arriving at the seminary, and take greater interest in all that is happening among the friends, to help anyone in any way they can, and immediately implement every advice for the work from the teachers in actual fact, etc., it certainly affects him and gives him strength to overcome his laziness, both when he needs to wake up before dawn and when he is awakened.

Also, during the lesson, his body is more interested in the lessons, since otherwise he will lag behind his friends. Also, with anything that concerns Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], he must take it more seriously because the body cannot tolerate lowliness. Moreover, when his body looks at the friends, it sees within reason that they are all working for the Creator, and then his body, too, lets him work for the Creator.

And the reason why the body helps him shift to in order to bestow is as mentioned—the body is unwilling to tolerate lowliness. Instead, everybody has pride, and he is unwilling to accept a situation where his friend is greater than him. Thus, when he sees that his friends are at a higher level than his own, this causes him to ascend in every way.

This is the meaning of what our sages said, “Counters’ envy increases wisdom.” In other words, when all the friends look at the society as being at a high level, both in thoughts and in actions, it is natural that each and every one must raise his degree to a higher level than he has by the qualities of his own body.

This means that even if innately he has no craving for great desires or is not intensely attracted to honor, still, through envy, he can acquire additional powers that he doesn’t have in his own nature. Instead, the force of the quality of envy in him has procreated new powers within him, which exist in the society. And through them, he has received those new qualities, meaning powers that were not installed in him by his progenitors. Thus, now he has new qualities that society has procreated in him.

It turns out that a person has qualities that his parents bequeathed to their children, and he has qualities that he acquired from the society, which is a new possession. And this comes to him only through bonding with the society and the envy that he feels toward the friends when he sees that they have better qualities than his own. It motivates him to acquire their good qualities, which he doesn’t have and of which he is jealous.

Thus, through the society, he gains new qualities that he adopts by seeing that they are at a higher degree than his, and he is envious of them. This is the reason why now he can be greater than when he didn’t have a society, since he acquires new powers through the society.

However, this can be said if he truly sees the friends at a higher degree than his own. But at the same time, the evil inclination shows him the lowliness of the society and makes him think, “On the contrary, this society that you wish to bond with is not for you. They are many degrees below your own. Thus, from such a society, not only will you gain nothing, but rather, even the inborn forces that you have, which are small, are larger than those within this society.

“Thus, you should in fact stay away from them. And if you do want to bond with them, at least see that they all obey you, meaning follow your understanding of how the society should behave: how they sit when they gather, how they study, and how they pray. In other words, either they are all serious, and God forbid that they should even smile or ever discuss the friends’ worldly matters—if they make a living, or how they make a living, easily or with difficulties, if he has a job where he doesn’t suffer, or has a difficult landlord who gives him a hard time, or if his co-workers don’t mock him for being orthodox,” etc.

All those matters are of no importance and it is a waste thinking about them, for they are only corporeal matters. He, on the other hand, came to partake in an assembly of Israel for a noble purpose, which is to be a true servant of the Creator.”

It follows that when he wishes to forget about his corporeality—when in fact, his corporeality deeply concerns him and he lets it go and does not want to remember—the friends come and begin to discuss their friends’ corporeality. And he does not care about his friends’ corporeality, since now he wants spirituality, “So why are the friends suddenly messing up my mind with mundane stuff which is of no concern to me at all? Is this why I want to forget about my corporeality, to make time to think about the friends’ corporeality, can this be?” Thus, “You’d better listen to me and stay away from them,” his body tells him, “And you will certainly be more successful. Why mess up your mind with such nonsense?”

Therefore, when the body shows him the inferiority of his friends, what can he answer his body when it comes with arguments of a righteous one? In other words, the body doesn’t advise him to turn away from the society because the body is suggesting that he be wicked. On the contrary, the body tells him, “By staying away from the society, you will be righteous and you will think only about your spirituality, and when necessary, of your corporeality, as well.”

Therefore, if a person believes that without a society it is impossible to advance and achieve love of the Creator, since this is the springboard for exiting self-love and entering love of the Creator, he has no other choice but to go above reason. He should tell his body, “The fact that you see that they are not really at the degree of craving to attain the love of the Creator as you desire it—meaning, since you are my body, I see in you that you are holier than the rest of the bodies of the friends, since you wish to be a servant of the Creator.

“I see that you are advising me to leave the friends because their bodies already display their inferiority and they haven’t the strength to conceal their improper traits, since people normally hide the evil in them from one another so that others will respect them because they have prominent qualities. But here, their evil is so great that they are unable to overcome the evil and hide it so that others will not see them. Thus, from my perspective, they are certainly ignoble.

“However, without a society I will not gain anything, despite all my good qualities. Thus, above reason, I will keep what our sages said (Avot, Chapter 4), ‘Be very, very humble.’ In other words, I must go above reason and believe that they are standing at a higher degree than mine. And then, to the extent of my faith, I will be able to receive encouragement and strength from the society and receive from them what the society can give.”

It follows that the only reason he is accepting the love of friends above reason is because of necessity, for lack of other options, but within reason he sees that he is right.

However, it is precisely here, meaning concerning friends, that within reason is more important than the degree of above reason. This is so because in truth, when a person wishes to bring himself closer to Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, through the work that he wishes to do only in order to bestow, the evil begins to appear in him. And the matter of recognition of evil is not an intellectual matter. Rather, it is a sensation in the heart.

This means that he should feel about himself that he is worse and lower than the whole world. And if he hasn’t come to feel it, but thinks that there is someone who is still worse than he, then he probably has not obtained recognition of evil. In other words, the evil is still hidden in his heart and still hasn’t been disclosed in him.

This is so because it is possible to see evil only when he has some good. For example, it is impossible to detect any dirt in the house if it is dark. But when you turn on a lamp, you can see that there is dirt there.

Also, if one does not do good deeds, does not engage in Torah and prayer, and wish to draw near the Creator, he has no light to illuminate his heart and to allow him to see the evil in his heart. It turns out that the reason why he is still not seeing that there is more evil in his heart than in all of the friends is that he needs more good. For this reason, he thinks that he is more virtuous than his friends.

It therefore turns out that his seeing that his friends are worse than he comes from his lack of the light that will shine for him, so he will see the evil in himself. Thus, the whole matter of evil that is in man is not in finding the evil, since everyone has this evil, called “will to receive in order to receive,” which is self-love. Instead, the difference is entirely in the disclosure of the evil. In other words, not every person sees and feels that self-love is bad and harmful, since a person doesn’t see that engagement in satisfying his will to receive, called “self-love,” will harm him.

Yet, when he begins to do the holy work on the path of truth, meaning when he wishes to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, so all his actions will be for the Creator, by that he receives a little more light that shines for him each time, and then he begins to feel self-love as a bad thing.

It is a gradual process. Each time he sees that this is what obstructs him from achieving Dvekut with the Creator, he sees more clearly each time how it—the will to receive—is his real enemy, just as King Solomon referred to the evil inclination as “an enemy.” It is written about it, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread, for you will heap burning coals on his head.”

We therefore see that in truth, a person should feel that he is worse than others because this is indeed the truth. And we should also understand what our sages said, “Counters’ envy increases wisdom.” This is precisely within reason. But above reason, his friend’s merit is not evident enough to say that he is envious of his friend, so it would cause him to work and toil because his friend compels him, due to envy.

Baal HaSulam interpreted a phrase by Rabbi Yohanan, “The Creator saw that righteous were few. He stood and planted them in each and every generation,” as it is said, “For the pillars of the Earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them.” RASHI interprets, “Spread them through all the generations,” to be a basis, sustenance, and a foundation for the existence of the world (Yoma 78b). “Few” means that they were growing fewer. Hence, what did He do? “He stood and planted them in each and every generation.” Thus, by planting them in each generation, they would multiply.

We should understand how they would multiply if He planted them in each and every generation. We should understand the difference between all the righteous being in a single generation, and being scattered through all the generations, as is understood from the words of RASHI’s commentary, that by spreading them throughout the generations the righteous would increase.

He, Baal HaSulam, said, “By having righteous in each generation, there will be room for people who do not have the innate qualities to achieve Dvekut with the Creator. However, by bonding with the righteous that will be in each generation, through adhering to them, they will learn from their actions and will be able to acquire new qualities through the righteous that will be in each generation. This is why He spread the righteous in each generation, so that in this way the righteous will increase.”

And as was said, the same can be obtained by adhesion of friends—new qualities by which they will be qualified to achieve Dvekut with the Creator. And all this can be said while he sees the merits of the friends. At that time, it is relevant to say that he should learn from their actions. But when he sees that he is better qualified than they are, there is nothing he can receive from the friends.

This is why they said that when the evil inclination comes and shows him the lowliness of the friends, he should go above reason. But certainly, it would be better and more successful if he could see within reason that the friends are at a higher degree than his own. With that we can understand the prayer that Rabbi Elimelech had written for us, “Let our hearts see the virtues of our friends, and not their faults.”

However, between an individual and the Creator, it is a whole other matter. In other words, above reason is better. This means that if he takes upon himself faith above reason, his work is in the right direction. This is not so within reason, although a person’s intellect grasps differently. In other words, every person knows and understands that if he didn’t have to believe, but His Providence were revealed throughout the world, meaning to all the creatures, the whole world would certainly engage in Torah and Mitzvot, and there would be no place for secular people. Rather, everyone would be orthodox.

However, His Providence is not revealed to the lower ones. Instead, they must believe. Yet, faith is a difficult thing, since the Creator gave us intellect and reason to see each thing according to our own eyes. We consider everything that concerns human relations according to our best judgment, and there is nothing that will give us distinctions except our minds, as our sages said, “A judge has only what his eyes see” (Baba Batra 131). It follows that we conduct all our matters within reason, not above reason.

And for this reason, when a person begins with the work of the Creator and he is told that he must assume faith above reason, he begins to think: “But I see that the Creator gave us reason so as to understand everything according to the intellect, meaning according to the way our minds grasp. Thus, how can I take upon myself something that is against my mind?” It is a very difficult thing for the body to understand that it is in its interest to do the work of holiness in above reason.

Above reason applies to both mind and heart. This is why not every person can enter the work of holiness in the form of bestowal, which is work above reason. Therefore, when teaching the rest of the world the work of the Creator, the order is as Maimonides said, that they begin in Lo Lishma [not for Her name] until they gain knowledge and acquire much wisdom, and then they are told that the essence of the work is in order to bestow, which is called, “work for the Creator.”

However, we should understand why above reason is better. The contrary seems to make more sense—that if serving the Creator were clothed within reason, more people would come and want to be servants of the Creator. Baal HaSulam said about it that one should not think that when the Creator gives us His work in the form of above reason, it is a low degree. Rather, we should believe that it is a very high degree, for only by that does one have a chance to be able to work in order to bestow. Otherwise, he would have to fall into in order to receive.

Therefore, although more people would be serving if the work had been within reason, they would never be able to achieve Dvekut with the Creator, which is the work in order to bestow. Hence, although there would be an increase in quantity, in terms of quality, it would be impossible for man to be able to receive the delight and pleasure that the Creator wishes to give to the creatures, according to His desire—to do good to His creations.

Thus, for the delight and pleasure that the creatures will receive to be flawless, meaning to avoid having the bread of shame, there was the correction of the Tzimtzum [restriction]—that the upper abundance would not shine unless it was where there is equivalence of form. This is considered that the creatures receive the abundance in vessels of bestowal. And when there are no vessels of bestowal in the creatures, they must remain in the dark, which is called, “they will die without wisdom.”

However, we should know that although there is the light of Torah in Lo Lishma, as well, of which our sages said, “One should always engage in Torah and Mitzvot in Lo Lishma because from Lo Lishma we come to Lishma, since the light in it reforms him,” afterwards, one must reach Lishma. In other words, he should come to work above reason in mind and heart.

But between a man and his friend, if he can work in love of friends within reason, meaning if he tries to see the friends as being at a higher level of holiness than himself, this is certainly better. In other words, if he sees within reason that the friends are closer to Dvekut with the Creator than he, it is certainly better than if he had to believe above reason.

Thus, in truth, he sees that he is at a higher degree than the friends. Within reason, he always sees the friends as low. However, he believes above reason that he should say—because it is a Mitzva [commandment/good deed]—that he should believe that it is not as he sees it. Certainly, if he can see within reason that the friends are at degrees of holiness, it is all the better.

Similarly, we can interpret the verse (Samuel, 16:7), “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for it is not as man sees, for man looks to the eyes, but the Lord looks to the heart.’”

We therefore see that when the Creator sent Samuel to anoint one of the sons of Yishai [Jesse], Samuel understood by what he saw in his eyes that Eliav, son of Yishai, was fit to be the king of Israel instead of King Saul, but the Creator disagreed with his perception. In the end, they brought David, who was herding the cattle, and David was red-headed with fair eyes and good appearance, “And the Lord said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is he.’”

What does that teach us? There are two things that we see here:

1) From the perspective of Samuel, he understands Eliav’s virtues—according to his mind—as being fit to be king over Israel. But the Creator told him, “No, do not follow your own reason,” since when concerning the Creator, reason is worthless. Rather, since the Creator wanted to enthrone a king, this is called “between an individual and the Creator,” where there is no room for reason, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways.” Rather, what did the Creator tell him? “For it is not as man sees, for man looks to the eyes, and the Lord looks to the heart.”

Reader: Now we will enter a lesson from the 31st of January, 2003. 

M. Laitman: (31:55) Okay, so we heard the article “Concerning Above Reason” from “The Rungs of the Ladder,” volume 5, page 113. We haven't yet reached the matter of above reason itself, but rather Rabash told us about how much we have to go towards above reason. What does it mean, towards above reason? That it is impossible for us to reach the correction except through actions that are above reason. And all the actions within reason that a person does during the preparation, these are also actions within reason, but he does try somehow to get closer to above reason. What does that mean? We have a will to receive. The will to receive is the vessels of reception. The Creator created it, and this will to receive is the only created being. How is it possible that the will to receive will receive something? We know, even from our experience in this world, that the will to receive is not designed for reception. The moment it begins to receive, it starts to block itself. The desire within it begins to diminish, and then it stops enjoying. So the will to receive is not designed to receive something directly, to fill itself and enjoy that filling. The moment it fills itself, the desire itself disappears, the feeling of the pleasure disappears, right? For example, I begin to eat, and even though I was hungry, but from the very first slice that I began to eat, my hunger diminishes, the pleasure diminishes, and I feel bad for this appetite that I simply lose gradually while I eat until I reach the best portions, but I no longer have any appetite. And again, I need somehow through some actions, I need to renew my appetite, my desire. This means that we are constantly chasing after a deficiency, and then we chase after pleasures. We know how much people suffer when they don't have an appetite, or they have no desire for other kinds of pleasures. Why? Because without the feeling of pleasure, there is no life. Life is the feeling of pleasure. The moment that a person completely loses the desire, meaning that when the pleasure disappears, then bit by bit he dies. Everything depends on the desire, until the smallest light comes out of him that gives him a vitality, this vitality, and he then descends down to the level of the still, material. This means the will to receive in the direct form, as it was created from the root phase to phase one in the four phases of direct light, it wasn't created to be used, but only as preparation. And later on, we need to add to this will to receive many more stages in order to come with it to a state where it is possible to work with it in a way that it will truly a will to receive a desire to enjoy, so that it would feel the pleasure. And not only would it feel the pleasure, but it would also be creative, meaning that each time that it receives pleasure, it will make it want even more. It will give it a possibility to add even more to the appetite that it has to begin with from above, but rather that he will add the desire by itself. The thing is that when we receive a desire from something, from someone, we also don't feel that as a true pleasure, even in our world. 

M. Laitman: (36:51) If I look at somebody, at someone, and I see that he's enjoying, so I also want to enjoy. Even if I acquire from him all kinds of actions, a deficiency, I feel a flaw in that. I don't feel that I'm enjoying, because this deficiency is not the result of my own creation. I did not create it. I don't feel that it is my desire. This means that a person should reach a state where he will seemingly be the creator of his own desire. This is why, both from the perspective of the desire to receive the pleasure, and also from the side of the desire that can be felt as my desire, the will to receive that was created to begin with is not fit for usage. It still requires many stages of development. We call all of these degrees of development the cascading from above downwards. By the fact that the will to receive from Ein Sof begins to lose its initial feeling, by the fact that it loses both the feeling and also the awareness of the root of the feeling, in the will to receive, there begins to be formed, how shall I say it, in the will to receive, there begins to be formed the preparation seemingly, the records, the yearning for the feeling and also for the root of the feeling. And then, in the work from below upwards, I still cannot find a nice way to say it. There are many details there. I'm not sure how to express it. So, in the work from below upwards, we attain both the feeling and also the root of the feeling. The problem is that if the Creator was not hidden, but rather we could do all of the degree on the spiritual degrees, then we would attain the... No, it's still difficult for me to explain it. It needs to cook more. Well, to our matter, closer to what the article says. 

M. Laitman: (40:04) It is written that the righteous multiply through the wicked. This means that the Creator created the will to receive, and the will to receive on its own, which is not designed to enjoy, like I said, it's not intended for filling, because it cancels the filling and its own pleasure if it is filled. But it can receive a filling and the ability to increase all the time, to increase the filling all the time, through the desire, through the will to bestow. The will to bestow, that's vessels of bestowal, the vessels of Bina, the vessels of Galgalta Eynaim, the people of Israel, the righteous, Katnut; and the will to receive, that is the vessels of AHP, the nations of the world, the vessels of reception, Gadlut, adulthood. Meaning, the fact that it says that the righteous will multiply by the wicked, that the vessels of bestowal will connect with the vessels of reception, by this, the righteous, Galgalta Eynaim, in whom there is only delighted in mercy, and the light of Ruach, only the light of Hassadim, they will multiply. Multiply, Rav [great], means the light of Hochma. By connecting to the AHP, they will have the possibility to receive, inside the light of Hassadim, the light of Hochma. And they will have the possibility to create, in and of themselves, a desire to receive of their own, upon the will to bestow. This means that when Galgalta Eynaim receive, they can add to themselves, to the intention to bestow, also the vessels of reception, in receiving in order to bestow. This is considered that we generate a new desire upon the intention to bestow. We always say that there is a will to receive, and this will to receive can work with the intention to receive into itself, and with the intention to bestow towards the Creator. And in truth, we don't have to be based on the will to receive, like we said, because it in itself cannot be more than just an initial point for the new vessel. But rather, we have to begin, that the basis in spirituality begins from the vessels of bestowal, from Galgalta Eynaim. Then the will to receive, as much as it is able to join the Galgalta Eynaim, by that it can assist, and by that the Galgalta Eynaim build a new desire, a new vessel, a vessel that is called above reason. This means the same will to receive that existed to begin with, we give up on using it. We attain an intention in order to bestow, to be in Galgalta Eynaim, the people of Israel, and later on, according to the ability to add the vessels of reception to the vessels of bestowal, then we add to the Galgalta Eynaim to the intention in order to bestow the vessels of reception, the ability to receive.

M. Laitman: (43:36) This means, what I'm trying to say is that we don't work with the vessels of reception, and as much as upon them we can install an intention to bestow, but rather we work with the intention to bestow, and as much as possible we add to it the vessels of reception. So, the basis is Galgalta Eynaim, the basis is the people of Israel, and as much as we can add to them the quality of the nations of the world, we add to that. This is why it says the righteous, through the wicked the righteous are multiplied, but first we need to have the righteous. And as much as possible to then correct the wicked, the AHP, to correct them and add them to the Galgalta Eynaim, by this the righteous multiply. Also, the Rav, the Rabash was touching the matter of above reason and below reason, regarding the friends and the Creator, that there is a difference. In order to work on the plane of this world, we have to use our true vessels, those that we now have in our hands. We must not float in the air or count on miracles. We must not perform certain actions according to the phrases that are written in the book, but rather the judge has only what his eyes see. Truly what we see, what we're familiar with, according to how we truly are in this world, accordingly we have to exist. Not to bring into account anything that seemingly comes from the writings. If it's from the writings, this is a completely different degree, what's written there in the books. It's not where you are, it's not according to your vessels, it's not according to your ability. Therefore, a person must not delude himself and imagine as if he's already on some spiritual degrees and he's operating from there. No, this is completely irrational, it makes no sense. And also, the wisdom of Kabbalah, it's a wisdom, it explains to a person what he truly is and what does he have. Therefore, between man and his friends, we have to behave in faith within reason. What does it mean, faith within reason? Only according to how much I can bestow to the friend or receive from the friend. It's not that I trust the friend's integrity, that he is on a higher degree than where he is, or that I trust myself and I turn to the friend from a degree that is above where I am. Here, the relationship must be on our area, where we are. But why do we relate to each other in a direct and rational way in this world? Because both of us wish to reach an attitude towards the Creator, which is above reason. This means that the above reason, that the Creator dictates to me, that I have to relate to the friend and accept his vessels of reception as my vessels of reception, this is on relying on the advice of the sages, who say that I have to go forward and accept this advice above reason. In such a way, if I begin with a faith above reason in the Creator, or in the sages who told me to behave within reason with the friend, then my relations within reason with the friends become a leverage by which I can rise to a higher degree which is called above my reason. Then by this action, I rise. It's a bit difficult, right? I don't manage today to explain it in a good way. I was engaging in something today; I'm a little bit far away from this study. Are there any questions according to the article? 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (48:07) How do we, nevertheless, in our reality distinguish in truth in this work? We can confuse in our imagination, our psychology, what we think that we're doing, correct or not correct. What can we compare our work with, if it's correct or not? 

M. Laitman: Our work, if it's correct or not, we can put, first of all, the fact that we are connected only to a single source. There's always a problem with people who come and they want to be interested in a thousand and one other sources. And they think that from that, they will achieve a richness in knowledge or have a broader basis. And there are all kinds of other schools of thoughts and other views, and I want to read more and more books. I don't have anything to tell them. The thing is, that we have to grasp a certain idea, one idea. And then when you focus only on that, and you receive all the time surrounding light from that source, then it builds you directly towards it. If you go and take something else, read something else, it doesn't matter. If you don't want the writings of Baal HaSulam, take Ramchal, take Rambam, take whatever you want. But in spirituality, it's always desirable to take one thing. I'm not saying Baal HaSulam is everything, although for me, it is everything, but I also accept other views. But always, when you work in spirituality, you follow one person, one person. This is how it always was. Well we say, this one is the son of, or this one is a student of, so you understand that he belongs to a special source. And from there, he takes it, because it is impossible that other illuminations will come and draw you upwards from multiple places, from several roots. There is no such thing. Just as it is written that every hair comes from... So the source of the light must be one. And therefore, if we are connected to a single source, it is impossible that we will get confused and somehow we will lose our way, because all of the apparent corruptions along the way, and all the disappointments and confusions and lack of forces, and the fact that it is hidden and we cannot see, all of these things are necessary stages for our advancement. And as much as it seems to us that we seemingly get confused, we are not wrong on the path. Because first of all, we are always under one source, that's one.

M. Laitman: (51:29) Second, the principle that Baal HaSulam tells us in the article, “There Is None Else Besides Him,” this is actually the foundation of the whole method. And the method is not his, but he simply expressed it in a more conspicuous manner that is more understood by our generation. And the method is simple. Every word that you turn to in life, if you want that your actions, your attitude, your thought will take on a more effective, more beneficial characteristic, so that by your existence in every moment in life, you'll advance towards the goal, then you must be connected through this action to the goal. Because just like from above, we're not given a moment that is redundant, but rather every moment of our reality, of our existence in this world, or all together in our existence, is for us to progress towards the goal. So in every moment, you have a choice from yourself to also make the efforts to advance to the goal. And if you don't use this moment, then you missed it. Another moment, you missed it too. How not to miss? Meaning, at any given moment, just as you were given it from above on purpose, it will be effective and beneficial, and you use it in the best way, relate it to it this way. What does this mean? That I, my action, and the goal, which is the Creator, are in me now as one, whereas I want these things now to happen in me, to connect in me. So if we, in the connection with the friends, which is the most beneficial thing, because the Creator is concealed, so the connection with the friend, the connection with the group is before me in place of the revelation of the Creator. Because if the Creator were to be revealed, I would be towards Him with my vessels of reception, relating the way I relate to a friend - disregarding Him, like to a foreign thing, like to something that I don't care about, and one that I cannot connect with. And if I take this advice that I'm told of taking the vessels of the friends as they're my vessels and work with them, then from the work within reason as I do this, meaning if I do this realistically with my vessels, if I take this advice because it's given to me from above, meaning its foundation is above my reason. I don't understand, I don't see the reason for it. So, it turns out that these actions between me and the friend become a catapulting lift to reach a higher degree. A higher degree for me, means a degree above reason, above my reason. My reason is what I see, and what I'm in, and my feeling, and my sight, and my recognition. And above reason is a degree that is a higher up one, a higher one, meaning more bestowing. And it's not understood to me in that. In that, my advices seem irrational and such that I cannot accept. 

M. Laitman: (55:34) So, how will I receive them if I'm in my degree nevertheless? The thing is, the gap between the qualities of bestowing more in the upper and receiving more in my degree, this gap is an impossible gap. It's impossible to connect between these two degrees. There's like no connection between the degrees. It's a problem that you cannot express in feeling. But from us being incapable of performing even the smallest action in spirituality, meaning in order to bestow, to truly give without any reason for ourselves, from this, we can see the extent to which I'm not connected to the upper one, and there's no connection to Him. To the adjacent degree whose AHP is in me, the AHP of the upper degree is in my heart, and I receive from this a certain feeling of what it is to be in order to bestow, and I'm not capable of grasping it. I'm not capable of holding on to this AHP in any way. Rather, if I receive His advice to go on my plane with my friends within reason, meaning the way I see and to try to receive their vessels of reception as if they're mine, that is work with the vessels of reception of each and every one as if they're mine, egoistically, from this, I seemingly begin to skip over the gap between me and the upper one. And in such a manner, if a person tries to do this, he creates by this MAN, a deficiency, in which he's truly not capable of connecting with the others. And this MAN becomes as the deficiency that the upper one gives correction for. What is correction? Light that brings him a screen. I can't connect with you. I cannot receive your vessels as my vessels. I'm sorry about this, because the upper one said that this is the only advice of His by which I can reach Him. There's constantly a connection in this triangle, you, me, and Him. And then, out of me constantly being in such a connection where I want to exit myself and to receive your vessels, and I'm not capable, so this sorrow of being incapable, because if I'm incapable, I can't connect to the upper one either. This becomes MAN towards the upper one, that I'm not capable. What to do? Help me. And then the upper one gives from above the light of correction, we call it the light of AB SAG, and this brings me a screen. My prayer is precisely for correction, to be able to connect. And after I already have a screen, then I begin to work in to bestow. Then I already have a connection with the AHP of the upper one, and the matter of the degrees begins. That is, without me beginning to work in exiting above reason, which I receive from the Creator, above my mind, my intellect, it’s not that I don't need it, but by me accepting this advice and realize it within reason, with the friends, that is the beginning of my relationships through the friends to connect with the Creator. Yes, I'm sorry about the language, I simply learned something that is hard for me to come down to such things today.  

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:00:08) In order for me to reach a state of prayer and see that I cannot truly connect with my friends, and I want to advance towards this state as much as possible, maybe instead of being with my friends and hiding my bad qualities towards the friends, maybe I should show them my beastly, crude side. If we would live in such a way in the group so that everyone is crude, is beastly towards each other, it would be more evident that we cannot connect. Maybe we would reach the prayer faster in this way.

M. Laitman: So, this means you're recommending as such: let's be with the friends not good, but bad. The thing is that good and bad, good and evil is all a definition that comes from the advantage of light from darkness. You can't by behaving bad, feel yourself bad. Talk to all the wicked ones in the street, and you'll see that none of them are bad. On the contrary, each of them has complete justification. Meaning, recognition of evil only arrives when a person tries to do good from his uncorrected desire, so he sees to the extent in which his desire is not corrected, and then he, from that, accordingly, defines that it is evil. You first need to define what is good, and according to this good, you'll feel yourself bad. In the next degree, you will define an even higher good, so you'll feel yourself even more bad. Even though in the previous degree, towards the previous degree, you will be a great righteous one, but towards yourself in the upper degree, you'll feel yourself even greater wicked, because your precision, your resolution that you will discern yourself with will be more refined, more sensitive or delicate. You need to take each time some kind of a scale, some standard by which you go, what good is, and to want to be like it; and then against that opens up before you the will to receive, your will to receive, and you see how much it is the opposite of it. And to just do bad deeds, to long for bad deeds, come, let me do bad as much as I'm bad, so you're just going in one direction, only to the bad. So, in relation to what will you examine that you are wicked? Meaning, on the contrary, constantly yearn for the good, and by that, the evil will be revealed to you, and don't be proud of the evil. Sometimes we have amongst us certain kind of cases where, oh, look how bad I am. Well, why are you so special by that? We're all like that. A person who is really working to be good, he's not happy that his evil is so big. He understands with his intellect that it's truly, it has to be that way, the revelation of evil, but not that he's happy from this. We need to rejoice only from coming closer to the goal, and not from entering into the shells, into the Klipot. There should not be any joy from that. There should be an awareness that these are beneficial things, that they're necessary on the path. Therefore, to begin relating and behaving towards friends in bad is not beneficial. It's not that, oh, then what will it be in the society, there won't be good relations, or what? No, we're talking just about the efficiency. It's not efficient. It's not beneficial. It doesn't benefit either. So, let's start pouring all the bad that's in each of us upon each other. Until what? Until we're fed up? You see that this doesn't happen in the world. Why should it happen with us? Until you bring the light into the darkness, you don't see the difference between them, and then there's no benefit here. Everything that comes for correction needs to come from the connection between Bina and Malchut, Galgalta Eynaim and AHP, vessels of bestowal, vessels of reception, the point in the heart, and the whole heart. The whole heart is the general desire to receive, and the point in the heart is some form of relation to the desire to bestow. There must be a gap between two discernments, between two points. And then you distinguish between them what they are, the gap between them. Hence to just like that, going to bad and not be drawn to the good doesn't give forth any indication. You can see, talk to all the people in the world, everyone justifies. You see, we had elections a few days ago. What party said about them that they're bad? They're all bad, they're all garbage, but who, me, you? No. I know, you don't see? No one sees that evil, because everyone's talking from the truth in their hearts. And if they don't examine themselves towards some absolute truth, some eternal and perfect, something definitive, then you don't have, you don't know where you are. It's like when you do measurements in technology. If you don't have a point towards which you're measuring, you saw how they make a road. There's a certain point towards which it's measured and how we should pave it. If you don't see that, we're done. You don't know how to go. Towards what would you check it? Therefore, only towards the light, towards the good deeds a person is shown, and to the extent in which he's capable of exerting and making good deeds, to exert, not to do, to labor somehow, according to that, he's shown how much he's not capable of this. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:06:39) This model, I mean, there's something that I ultimately, want? I operate in the society, so that quality of good, whatever you want to call it, there is some model that I'm trying to imitate, right? From where do I take this model? What is this model that I go with, within, that I operate with it in the society? 

M. Laitman: Oh, according to what do I know that I'm doing good deeds? It's according to their advice. They tell you how you need to behave with the friends. The Creator is concealed. You just need to take an example from Him, seemingly, based on what He told you how to go with and work with the friends. All the rest, you were given to do in this world in an open manner. You have a few friends that want the same goal. Start receiving their vessels of reception as if they're yours. It's a very simple thing. And you know what? There are many societies that are willing to do it this way, and they do it this way. Take some group that is prepared for some mission, yes? For a submarine, or some campaign, or football, or whatnot. You know, like psychological workers that, you know, they kind of are contagious towards one another in all these kind of ways. They adhere to this. They work very good this way. It's very simple. Everyone is like an animal that can be arranged in such a way that he'll understand that working with another is worthwhile, partnership. But here, because you're taking advice from above to be in partnership with the friends, by this, you're corrupting the whole matter. Meaning, why do I need the friend in order to connect to the Creator? And you can't already connect to the friend already; you don't see benefit. Because the result is to be connected with the Creator. It disappears. It's not rational. It's concealed. What will I have from this? You see, even the Creator himself is interfering here. Take the Creator aside. Look at these societies that want to build themselves and how it works really nicely there. And with us - not. The most simplest of things cannot be sustained. Each is isolated from the other, does not feel the other. There's no connection. What love? And these things, it's good that they're being revealed. We just need, to the extent in which you will try to connect, then more of the evil will be revealed to you until the gap will be so great between that which you will want to connect and the evil that has been revealed, that it will be a true prayer, and the Creator will give vessels. The light that corrects the vessel. Meaning, all these errors of ours, these flaws, because we take advice from a higher degree, from above reason, from the Creator - an upper degree is called the Creator, towards the lower degree - that's the whole flaw here in our system. And there's no choice. Therefore, nothing comes out with us. But still, it doesn't come out in a sufficient way, this not working out, for us to truly cry out and receive from above an answer. That's it. The fact that we're not capable of reaching love of friends, all right, but we come down from that. So no, no, so we can't, we can't. We need much more than we have now to try. And then, the feeling will be as an outcry. And no, it's not an outcry. Okay, we see that we're not capable. That's the whole thing. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:10:41) We talked about faith within reason and faith above reason, which is basically two opposites. And they are one, together. You can't have one without the other. One, in fact, represents the spiritual; the other represents the corporeal. This means we have to connect both worlds together all the time? 

M. Laitman: When do I connect above reason, and below reason, and inside reason? Only when I'm already in a higher degree, connected with the AHP of the upper one. I concede my reason. I connect with the AHP of the upper one. I'm ready to incorporate in Him without any connection to myself, only with the knowledge that I belong to the upper one, to lose my head completely. What does it mean to lose my head? To do everything the upper one dictates to me without any criticism on my part in my vessels of reception. This is something that we can't quite comprehend. It's considered an act of craziness, insanity. I lose my “I”, myself, but my “I” is found in this losing. And my “I”, I place it into the AHP of the upper one like a seed or a drop of semen from which I grow already inside, like inside a womb. And then all of my within reason and my below reason enter later into a higher degree and begin to be there as… how shall I put it, begins to be there as… Let's put it this way, it says that malicious acts and mistakes become as merits and commandments. Meaning that later, I take the below reason and my within reason, that I wasn't able to work with in order to bestow, and this turns them into, in order to bestow, a higher degree. But only after I annul myself and I incorporate in it. None of these things disappear.

Student: So, this is in the time of preparation or beyond? 

M. Laitman: After I incorporate in the upper one, meaning I have the Galgalta… Meaning, all the corrections could be in a degree that's higher than me. Only after I take all the vessels, all the lights, all the corrections from the upper one, gradually. And later I attach myself to Him, I add myself to Him. 

Student: So when we rise above reason, but we also always live within reason, right? You can't detach.

M. Laitman: I don't understand what you're saying. If I've managed to now connect to be in the AHP of the upper one and I'm in it, then all of my awareness is in it. All of the actions that I do are from within its mind, my mind becomes its mind. This is what it means that I'm incorporated in it.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:14:31) In the good cases, how does one choose? Where does he take the power to choose? The more you try, the less you succeed. It's as if you're despaired. 

M. Laitman: The more we advance, we become more despaired, weaker, yes. We feel powerless. Meaning, how do we come to a state of, “and the children of Israel sighed from the work?” Meaning, that our disappointment will be so great, and together with that our desire for the goal will be so great, that both of them together will give us a prayer, and a great cry. It's like… let's put it this way, there's a person, they grab him, and they wish to bring him to a place where they're going to chop off his head, like a guillotine. And he simply walks like that, and they're going to chop off his head. And there's another person, they grab him, and he sees that he's brought to the guillotine, and he, until the very last minute, he struggles and resists. For us, our problem is that we have to enter into this struggle until the very last moment, the very last moment. Where are we going to take the strength to do it? You see, by yourself, you're not able to get the forces from yourself, from your own connection with the Creator, and you also see it about the others. That's why we say that only in the connection, in the society, among the friends in the society, you can get all the forces, all the advice, all the means in order to reach the goal. The forces that you have in yourself, your own forces, you cannot have any real force or intellect, not even the beginning of the action towards spirituality. Only out of envy, fear, meaning where you see that you're losing something, that you're losing, only then can you advance. And this feeling that you're losing something, this feeling that I'm losing something is when you compare what you have with what you don't have, and what you don't have is already something outside of you, that's what the society has to show you. By yourself, you cannot grasp these two points. Meaning, if we don't grow in society, this godly concept, its size, its importance, compared to this life, without connection with the Creator, if we don't increase it and grow it to such an extent, it'll be clear to each and every one, that if he doesn't get it, it's as if he's going to the guillotine. And we'll sit; you can see that if five years ago people would come, they would grow despaired of this whole thing, and they would calm down after one year, two years, three years. 

M. Laitman: (01:19:03) Today, new people come, six months later, they're out of breath, out of air. The new ones, within a few months, they grasp the whole thing. They feel the spirit in the society, they feel that the society cannot provide it to them, and very quickly they grasp the main principles. You see? They join. Those who are asleep here, each one enters his shelf, he lies down, and it's done, he continues life like this. Only if the society finds the strength to show each and every one that without attaining the goal, life is worse than death. Only out of that. We constantly have to awaken the question of what's the purpose in our lives. If this question would not be burning each one, on the contrary, we put it out, this thing. We put out this thing. So, either we make ourselves righteous people, or thank God we have a purpose to our lives, right here. People from the outside respect us. Those who curse us, that's also important, right? But the feeling of what is the purpose of our lives is not burning in us, and that's because each one extinguishes the other. And if we could awaken one another artificially, we would attain very high degrees, because the society is set, we lack nothing but to ignite our friends; not himself, but his friend. Everything is here. Look at what we were given from above: all the means, the framework, the ability to exist, to understand, all the books, all the technology, the whole world around you, seemingly everything is ready. And? And this “and,” this Nu in Hebrew, you know, we don't start. That's the problem. We came to a state where, that's it. We shouldn't think that we lack anything else in order to attack.