The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: July 31, 2026
Part 1: Rabash. The Spies. Article No. 28, 1985.
Reader: Dear friends, in the first part of the lesson, we will learn from a recorded lesson from the 19th of July, 2002. We will be reading the article, The Spies. We will read it together in the Ten, we have 28 minutes for that.
Reading: (00:34) The Spies
Article No. 28, 1985
The holy Zohar interprets the matter of the spies that Moses sent to tour the land (Slach, items 56-58) concerning the spiritual land: “Why is it written that the Creator tells them, ‘Go up there into the Negev,’ delve in the Torah, and by that you will know that world. ‘See what the land is like,’ meaning from that you will see the world to which I bring you. ‘And the people dwelling in it’ are the righteous in the Garden of Eden.
“‘The strong is the faint,’ meaning that in it you will see if they were rewarded with all that because they overcame their inclination by strength and broke it, or by weakness, without effort. Or, if they were strengthened in the Torah, to engage in it day and night, or left it off and were still rewarded with all that. ‘Whether they are few or many’ means if many engage in My work and strengthen themselves in the Torah, and are rewarded with all this or not.
“‘And what is the land like, is it fat or lean.’ You will know what the land is like in the Torah, meaning what is that world, if the upper abundance is plentiful for its dwellers or if anything is missing there.
“‘And they went up into the Negev and came to Hebron.’ Going up in the Negev means that people are ascending in it, in the Torah. ‘In the Negev” means with an idle heart, as one who tries in vain, dryly, thinking that there is no reward in it. He sees that the wealth of this world is lost for it, and thinks that all is lost. ‘In the Negev’ means that the water has dried out. ‘And came to Hebron’ means that he comes to connect with the Torah. Hebron was built in seven years, which are the seventy faces of the Torah.
“‘And they came to the stream of Eshkol’ are words of legend and interpretation, which come from the side of faith. ‘And cut down a branch from there,’ meaning learned chapter headings from there, headlines. Those who are faithful are happy with the words, and the words are blessed within them. They look at their being of one root and one kernel and there is no separation in them. Those who are not faithful and do not learn Torah Lishma [for Her sake] separate faith, which is Malchut, from ZA, since they do not believe that they are of one kernel and one root. This is the meaning of ‘and they carried it on a pole between two,’ meaning that they separated between the written Torah and the oral Torah.
“‘With the pomegranates and with the figs,’ meaning they put these words completely with the Sitra Achra [other side], to the side of idol-worship and the side of separation. Rimonim [Pomegranates] comes from the word, Minim [idol-worshipers], and Te’enim [figs] comes from the words, ‘And the Lord is not by his side,’ meaning when they do not believe in Providence and say that everything is incidental, and separate the Creator from the world.
“‘And they returned from touring the land’ means that they returned to the bad side, returned from the path of truth, saying, ‘What did we get out of it? To this day we have not seen good in the world; we have labored in the Torah and the house is empty. We have dwelt among the lowest in the nation. Who will be rewarded with that world? Who will come into it? We’d be better off not laboring so much.’
“‘They told him, and said,’ we labored and learned in order to know a part of that world, as you advised us. ‘And it is also flowing with milk and honey,’ that upper world is good, as we know from the Torah, but who can merit it? ‘However, the people … are strong,’ the people that has been rewarded with that world is strong, dismissing the entire world as something to engage in and have great wealth. Who can do so and be rewarded with it? Of course the people who dwell in that land are strong. One who wishes to be rewarded with it must be strong in wealth, as the writing says, ‘The rich man answers roughly.’
“‘And the cities are big and fortified,’ meaning houses filled abundantly; nothing is missing in them. And yet, ‘we also saw there the descendants of the giant,’ meaning it requires a body as strong and as mighty as a lion, since the Torah exhausts man’s strength, who can be rewarded with it?
“‘Also, Amalek is living in the land of the Negev.’ If one should say that even with all this he will be rewarded with overcoming, ‘Amalek is living in the land of the Negev,’ meaning the evil inclination, the slandering accuser of a person is always in the body.
“With these words, ‘they discouraged the hearts of the children of Israel,’ since they gave it a bad name. ‘These faithful ones, what did they say? ‘If the Lord is pleased with us, He will … give it to us.’’ That is, when one tries with the desire of the heart toward the Creator, he will be rewarded with it because all He wants from him is the heart.
“‘But do not rebel against the Lord.’ We must not rebel against the Torah because the Torah does not need wealth or vessels of silver and gold. ‘And you, do not fear the people of the land,’ for if a broken body were to engage in Torah, there will be healing for all, and all of man’s slanderers will become his helpers.” Thus far its words.
According to how the holy Zohar interprets the matter of the spies in relation to man’s entrance to the holy work, it is generally called “taking upon oneself the burden of the kingdom of heaven.” By this, one is rewarded with the reception of the Torah, as it was at the foot of Mt. Sinai, when they said, “We will do and we will hear.” It is just as each and every one who wants to be rewarded with the Torah must go through a period called “we will do,” and then he can be rewarded with “we will hear.”
There are many degrees in “we will do,” which generally divide in two ways:
1) The revealed part is regarded as keeping the Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] in practice, learning day and night and being meticulous with all the details of the Mitzvot, until there is nothing more he can add as far as actions are concerned. His intention is that he does everything for the Creator, to keep the King’s commandment, and in return he will receive reward in this world and in the next world. In this respect he is considered righteous.
2) The hidden part refers to the hidden part in the Torah, which is the intention. What a person intends while practicing is hidden from people. But mostly, it is hidden from the person himself because this work must be above reason. Thus, the reason cannot criticize his work—if he is on the way that ascends toward Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, meaning if he is on the path called “in order to bestow,” called “not in order to receive reward.” Therefore, it is hidden because he is working without reward, so the reward is hidden from him.
This means that a person who works for a reward knows that he is working well because he is receiving a reward. But one who works in order to bestow contentment upon his Maker, so the Creator will enjoy, cannot see if the Creator is enjoying his work. Rather, he must believe that the Creator is pleased. It follows that the reward, too, is called “in order to bestow,” and it, too, is above reason.
There are other reasons, called “the hidden part.” This work does not belong to the general public, but to individuals, as Maimonides says (at the end of Hilchot Teshuva), “Sages said, ‘One should always engage in Torah, even if Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], since from Lo Lishma he comes to Lishma [for Her sake]. Therefore, when teaching children, women, and uneducated people, they are to be taught to work out of fear and in order to receive reward. Until they gain knowledge and acquire much wisdom, they are to be taught this secret bit-by-bit, and are to be accustomed to it pleasantly until they attain Him and know Him, and serve Him out of love.”
The matter of spies begins primarily in a person who wants to walk on the path of Dvekut, which is to bestow. At that time the spies come with their just arguments according to their views. Through reasoning, they make one understand that they are right.
It is known that the holy Zohar says, “Every man is a small world,” consisting of seventy nations, as well as of Israel. This means that since there are seven qualities, which are seven Sefirot, and opposite them there are seven qualities in the Sitra Achra. Each one consists of ten, thus they are seventy. Also, each nation has its own passion and wants to ordain its passion over everyone. And the people of Israel in a person also has its own passion, which is to adhere to the Creator.
There is a rule that one cannot fight oneself. Rather, this requires a special power for a person to be able to go against his views. But he does have the power and strength to fight against another if he understands that his view is true, and he will never want to yield before the view of the other.
Accordingly, if the seventy nations are within the person, how can he fight himself? That is, once a certain nation prevails over the seventy nations with its passion, and then a person is governed by that passion. Then, when a person thinks about himself, he sees that this is his passion. He does not say that someone from the seventy nations wants to govern him, but thinks that this is he, himself, and it is very hard to fight against himself.
Therefore, a person should depict to himself that he has seventy nations in his body, as well as the people of Israel. He must determine for himself to which people he belongs. That is, there is a rule: every person loves his homeland and fights for his homeland. Therefore, he must determine if he belongs to the people of Israel or to a nation from the seventy nations. If he determines that he belongs to the people of Israel, then he can fight the seventy nations when he sees that they are coming to fight.
At that time he sees that the seventy nations want to obliterate the people of Israel, as it is written in the Passover Haggadah [story], “She stood for our fathers and for us, for not only one arose against us to obliterate us. Rather, each and every generation, there are those who arise against us to obliterate us, and the Creator saves us from their hands.” If he knows that he belongs to the people of Israel, he has the strength to fight against the seventy nations, since there is strength in nature to fight for one’s homeland, for he knows that he is an “Israelite,” and they want to obliterate him. It follows that it is as though there are two bodies fighting one another, and then he has the strength to fight.
Thus, here, when we speak of the work of the Creator, the “people of Israel” is called that which is Yashar-El [straight to the Creator]. He wants to adhere to the Creator, wants Malchut, meaning to take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven. Malchut is called El [God], as it is written in the holy Zohar (Korah, item 14): “This is why it is written, ‘A God who has indignation every day,’ meaning Malchut, while the seventy nations in him resist it and fight with the Israel in him. With all kinds of tactics, they wish to annul and obliterate the Israel in a man’s body.”
Here, in the work with the intention—when he wants to go specifically in a manner of bestowal—the argument of the spies begins, which the holy Zohar interprets their arguments according to the verses written in the Torah, which dispute and fight the Israel in him, and want to eradicate them from the face of the earth.
That is, he must not think that he will achieve what he thought he would achieve with all kinds of arguments, for they are fighting him, since the basis of the seventy nations is the will to receive, and Israel is precisely annulling before Him without any reward at all. Therefore, precisely when a person wants to go against their views begins the argument of the spies, who make him understand rationally that he has no chance of achieving the goal that he plans to achieve.
However, sometimes the spies make a person understand something that is harsher than anything the spies claim. They say to a person, “Know that the Creator cannot help an ignoble person such as you.” This is the harshest of all because usually, whenever a person is in trouble he can pray. But when they come to a person saying “You are wasting your efforts because the Creator cannot help,” they deny him the prayer, since what can he do then? To whom can he turn for help?
It is written in the holy Zohar (item 82): “Rabbi Yosi says, ‘They took it upon themselves to slander everything. What is ‘everything’? It is the earth and the Creator.’ Rabbi Yitzhak said, ‘With the earth, it’s true. With the Creator, how do we know?’ He told him: ‘It is implied in the words, ‘However, the people … are strong.’ That is, who can defeat them? ‘The people are strong’ is accurate, meaning that even the Creator cannot defeat them, and they slandered the Creator.’”
A person cannot argue with the words of the spies with his reason, or wait until he has what to reply to them, and in the meantime be under their governance. Rather, he must know that he will never be able to answer their doubts with the external mind. But specifically when he is rewarded with the inner mind, he will have the words to explain to them. In the meantime he must go above his mind, meaning say that although the intellect is very important, the importance of faith is still higher than the intellect. Therefore, he must not go according to the intellect, but according to the path of faith, to believe what our sages told us, that a man must take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven as faith above reason. At that time there is no place for the argument of the spies because they speak only within the reason of the external mind.
This is the meaning of Israel saying at the time of the preparation for the reception of the Torah, “We will do,” and then “We will hear.” “Doing” means without the external intellect. Rather, he calculates according to the Commander, for the Commander probably knows what is good for him and what is not, meaning what is good for a person and what is not. But one big question remains, “Why did the Creator give us an external intellect, which we use in every single thing, while here in the work of the Creator we must go against this intellect, and not with the intellect with which we were born?”
This comes because the Creator wanted to be asked for help. The help He gives is the light of Torah, and if they could go without the help of the Creator they would have no need for the light of Torah, as our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.” Therefore, in order for him to need to extend the light of Torah, we were given this work in concealment on the intention, so that man will need an inner mind.
From the perspective of the outer intellect, the Creator made it so as not to give any help for the work. On the contrary, it is obstructing him to work in order to bestow. This is the meaning of what is written in the holy Zohar (Noah, item 63): “If a person comes to purify, he is aided with a holy soul. He is purified and sanctified, and he is called ‘holy.’”
By that one comes to need to be rewarded with the NRNHY that pertains to the root of his soul. Hence, there was a correction of concealment, which is the Daat, meaning that a person’s outer mind will be against working in order to bestow. This is called “within reason of the outer mind,” which makes all of man’s calculations that it is not worthwhile for him to work in order to bestow.
When he overcomes and does not escape the campaign, and prays to the Creator to help him go above reason, meaning not to be under the rule of the will to receive, then, when the Creator helps him he receives an inner mind called “inner reason.” At that time, through this reason, the body agrees to work in order to bestow upon the Creator, as it is written, “When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies be at peace with him,” referring to the evil inclination.
It follows that while he is within reason, meaning that the intellect tells him it is worthwhile to do this work, he can exert in the work. Therefore, when he has an outer intellect, the reason compels him, meaning the intention to receive. This is called “within reason.” When he is rewarded with the inner mind, meaning the inner reason, the mind obligates him that it is worthwhile to work in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator.
Be under their governance. Rather, he must know that he will never be able to answer their doubts with the external mind. But specifically, when he is rewarded with the inner mind, he will have the words to explain to them.
In the meantime, he must go above his mind, meaning, say that although the intellect is very important, the importance of faith is still higher than the intellect. Therefore, he must not go according to the intellect, but according to the path of faith, to believe what our sages told us, that a man must take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven as faith above reason. At that time, there is no place for the argument of the spies, because they speak only within the reason of faith. They speak only within the reason of the external mind.
This is the meaning of Israel saying at the time of the preparation for the reception of the Torah, we will do, and then we will hear. Doing means without the external intellect. Rather, he calculates according to the commander, for the commander probably knows what is good for him and what is not, meaning, what is good for a person and what is not.
But one big question remains. Why did the Creator give us an external intellect, which we use in every single thing, while here, in the work of the Creator, we must go against this intellect and not with the intellect with which we were born? This comes because the Creator wanted to be asked for help.
The help He gives is the light of Torah. And if they could go without the help of the Creator, they would have no need for the light of Torah. As our sages said, I have created the evil inclination, I have created the Torah as a spice. Therefore, in order for Him to have the need, to extend the light of Torah, we were given this work in concealment, on the intention, so that man will need an inner mind.
From the perspective of the outer intellect, the Creator made it so as not to give any help for the work. On the contrary, it is obstructing him to work in order to bestow.
This is the meaning of what is written in the Holy Zohar. Quote, if a person comes to purify, he is aided with a holy soul, he is purified and sanctified, and he is called holy, end quote.
By that, one comes to need to be rewarded with the NRNHY that pertains to the root of his soul. Hence, there was a correction of concealment, which is the Daat, meaning that a person's outer mind will be against working in order to bestow.
This is called within reason, within the reason of the outer mind, which makes all of man's calculations that it is not worthwhile for him to work in order to bestow. When he overcomes and does not flee the battle, and prays to the Creator to help him go above reason, meaning not to be under the rule of the will to receive, then, when the Creator helps him, he receives an inner mind called inner reason. At that time, through this reason, the body agrees to work in order to bestow upon the Creator.
As it is written, quote, when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies be at peace with him, end quote, referring to the evil inclination.
It follows that while he is within reason, meaning that the intellect tells him it is worthwhile to do this work, he can exert in the work. Therefore, when he has an outer intellect, reason compels him, meaning the intention to receive, and this is called within reason.
And when he is rewarded with the inner mind, meaning the inner reason, the mind obligates him that it is worthwhile to work in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator.
Reader: We will now continue to the lesson from the 19th of July, 2002.
M. Laitman: (24:47) We read an article, heard, an article from Volume 3 of Rungs of the Ladder, page 121 – the Torah portion, Shalach – the article, The Spies. Well, our first assumption should be that everything the Creator created in His world was created for a purpose. He did not create anything unnecessary, because from the actions of the Perfect One, imperfect actions cannot emerge. Therefore, the evil forces and the good forces certainly work together like two reins, guiding us toward the purpose of creation. In truth, from the Creator's perspective, or from the perspective of the corrected state, there is no difference between the evil forces and the good forces; the only difference exists in our perception, and how they feel to us. And how we experience their effect upon us. We also know this from this world, how forces that seem harmful to a child are in fact beneficial and good for him. There is a great difference between what we feel and understand, and what is true. The difference is simple: our feeling belongs to the current degree, to the place where I presently exist. This feeling is called Daat, my opinion, knowledge, my sensation, my understanding. But the state that I must reach is higher, greater, more exalted. So, I cannot understand it, I cannot measure it, I cannot evaluate it according to my intellect. Even in this world we see how children – and we ourselves when we were children – disagreed and did not understand all the pressures and demands placed upon us, and much more so in spirituality. In this world, you can give a child some candy, or frighten him a little with something. But in spirituality we need to acquire each degree ourselves, consciously, and according to our own desire. So how can I desire something that is beyond me, something that doesn't appear good to me, if it is really the true thing?
What happens is that each time we imagine the degree above us, that it is a better version of our current degree, according to our present understanding. It never seems to me that a higher degree means giving up more, working harder, investing more, giving more, thinking less about myself, receiving less. Not taking into account at all how I feel or what's in it for me. It always seems to me that a higher degree means more comfort, more convenience, more for me, that's just how it is – what can you do? Therefore, it's said that the higher degree, relative to the lower one, is called faith – it's a very strange name. Where I am now is called Daat, knowledge, my knowledge, my opinion, my feeling, my understanding, my perception. And what is above me, if I ascend to a higher degree, then there, too, I will know, feel and understand what exists there; so that, too, will become my knowledge, my understanding, my feeling. But meanwhile, from the perspective of the lower degree, the higher degree is called faith. And how can I rise to it? To rise to it, to conquer it, I need a desire for it, without desire, it's impossible, because there is no coercion in spirituality. It's not like in this world where you give a child a few smacks and, poor thing, they go to school and somehow get through their education. In spirituality, smacks are indeed given, even after the smacks, I need to still come to an agreement, right?
M. Laitman: (29:38) So the more I try to understand the higher degree, and the more I try to understand it truthfully, the less attractive it appears to me. I can thank the Creator that we're in a concealment and we're not allowed to see the higher degree, otherwise we'd all run away from it. What spirituality would it be if I knew that this is what spirituality really is? I'd immediately go into reverse, that's it; but I thank the Creator for a concealment. The higher degree appears to me as more brilliant, according to my own understanding, so I yearn for it. In that state, it's called Lo Lishma, not for her sake. And from Lo Lishma, we gradually come to Lishma, for her sake, why? It's because I yearn for the illusion that I myself have built, that this is the higher degree. In the meantime, while I yearn to attain that illusion, it shines upon me, but it shines in a true way, through the surrounding light. And this surrounding light gradually grants me what's called the grace of holiness, Chen deKedusha. Somehow I begin to agree, I don't know how, but somehow I begin to accept that spirituality should indeed be as it is. Even that's unclear, everything remains concealed. However, there is another point, here, that when I go to ask, despite my intellect understanding one thing; while faith, that is the higher degree, is above the intellect, there is another thing here. According to my own strength, I cannot go in faith above reason, that is, I cannot annul myself before a higher degree, before my future state. However, in order to acquire that higher degree, a more spiritual state, I need an external force. That external force is called, The help of the Creator. Why do I need that, it's because, truly, the higher degree, it's not that I understand more, control more, or acquire more. Nor is it merely me giving up more and more, rather, it's that I become more similar to the Emanator, to the Creator, to the Upper force. That is why it is called, An upper degree or a higher degree, because in it I attain greater equivalence with godliness.
Therefore, the next state, which I go to acquire with the help of the upper force, it's not merely the next world, but it's a higher and more spiritual world or degree. When a person, after everything I have described, when the person sees the relationship between themselves and the future higher state. And after they acquire that higher state, they see how all the forces of separation, which seemed to want to pull them away from the path and destroy all of their progress, how much these forces actually were beneficial and truly brought them to that higher state. Accordingly, the spies themselves become really beneficial forces.
M. Laitman: (34:29) Therefore, on the one hand, in Kabbalah and in Kabbalah, every state, whether higher or lower, has a specific deficiency. For example, the spies cause the descent, therefore it is called, The sin of the spies. But unless a person descends into that sin and overcomes it, there is nothing he can do; without it, he cannot conquer the land of Israel. Therefore, the spies have their place in the Torah, and they fulfill a very important role. What did the spies do, they brought back from the land of Israel enormous fruits. In other words, regarding the fruits of spirituality, a person is ready. They brought back, you can see it in the picture, a huge cluster of grapes, such enormous produce. It's written that, Each person carried only one fruit upon their shoulders, or there were these huge pears or apples! So, in other words, we're ready for the fruits of the land of Israel. But that there are mighty nations, there are frightening nations, and that everything is quite complicated, that it's hard to acquire, that's also true. These two things together are exactly what help a person reach the land of Israel. If there were only fruits, he would simply run there with his will to receive. Without any problem, his will to receive would merely become even greater, and he would enter an even greater shell, an even greater Klipa. That he needs to confront those nations there, that he needs to wage war, and he needs to conquer the land of Israel. Conquering the land means transforming intentions for the sake of receiving into intentions for the sake of bestowal, that's what it means. That the seven nations dwelling in the land of Israel, the nations – meaning intentions for the sake of receiving – they exist in the person himself, within his own soul. There are the seven primary desires, from Hesed to Malchut, the ZAT of the degree. So the person corrects those so that in their place the people of Israel may dwell, the people of Israel means the intention for the sake of bestowal. Upon that same land, upon that same desire, there will now be the intention called the people of Israel, for the sake of bestowal. Instead of the seven nations, which represent intentions for the sake of receiving, that's the meaning of, Conquering the land. Yes, are there any questions? No. Either it's not understood, or yes?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (37:52) How can a person fight against the 70 nations? He doesn't know. He sees that it's a state he doesn't want to advance through, but still he needs to fight. Because he knows ultimately how to scrutinize in a more precise way exactly what it is that's hindering him.
M. Laitman: We don't need to be clever, you're asking how can a person know, how can he discern whom to fight, how to fight. We can never know more than what belongs to the state we are currently in, the future state is always concealed from us. What we can do is exert effort in whatever is possible. In choosing the environment, the books, investing effort into them, and connecting to the subject, itself, as much as possible. But to know exactly what I'm now doing, what Sefira I'm combining with what other Sefira, and to what extent, to what level of Aviut, or coarseness of desire, and with what precise intention I'm making these unifications, I cannot know. That is not yet my degree, on higher degrees, once I'm already in the spiritual world and not just in the states of Ibur, conception, or Yenika, nursing, which belong to the state of smallness, Katnut, but rather in the state of greatness, in the state of Gadlut, where I have screens all over my desires, together with understanding and everything else, then I proceed above reason. Even there, there are things where you advance while detached from your own inner perception, adhering instead to the upper one, like an embryo or a small child. And that way you're elevated to a higher degree, but it's not even as though you fully control your state. Your control there is simply something entirely different. You know your own structure, who you are, the structure of your soul. You know which things and in which combinations you can correct, and accordingly you ask for the necessary forces.
In other words, the entire manner of advancement is completely different: in our present state, we exist in what is called double concealment, where we see nothing other than ourselves, but we know that we see nothing but ourselves. That is called double concealment, it's not that an ordinary animal, beast, or person living in this world is considered to be in double concealment, they're not even in concealment. Double concealment means that you already feel that you are in some kind of a concealment, but you do not even know what it is that is concealed from you. Afterward, that state turns into a better one, where you feel that you are in concealment, and that there is an upper force organizing all sorts of events in your life. Whether they seem good or bad is irrelevant but you sense that He is organizing something for you, and that is already called, A single concealment or ordinary concealment. In these states, we cannot determine precisely what to do or how to do it. I don't know myself, nor do I know the system that I exist in and that I'm working with, I have no conception of it at all. What I can do is only what has been given to me in this concealment—the books, the group, and dissemination, that's all.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (41:48) If so, then it appears that you can tell if you're in regular concealment or double concealment. Maybe it's better to be in regular concealment?
M. Laitman: A person doesn't determine what concealment they're in or even which revelation they're in; that depends on how really the light shines upon them from above. The Creator is concealed from us behind 125 curtains, so to speak, 125 degrees. These consist of five worlds multiplied by five Partzufim, multiplied by five Sefirot. Within each part, beyond them is the Creator, I am here. Between Him and me, there are 125 degrees of concealment, veils, or worlds. I never determine the state I will be in. That is determined by the structure of my soul, which I received from the beginning. According to the structure of my soul, I need to reach my particular corrected state at the end of correction, just as you need to reach your own corrected state. So, between me and my corrected state, there are 125 degrees; and, in those degrees, there is an exact, very precise path for me and another one specifically for you. We only need to press the accelerator pedal, so to speak, beyond that, nothing else. If I agree with the progress, if I agree to go on this path no matter what comes. And I want only to increase the pace without getting involved in anything except the speed of my progress, then that means I've chosen the correct way to advance. Then I truly feel it very clearly; in every single state, I realize myself to the fullest extent possible, and I really travel the entire path in the most optimal and beneficial way, that's all, we're done.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (44:27) How can a person tell what nation he belongs to – what people he belongs to – what's his homeland, as per the article?
M. Laitman: Are you talking about us or about the spies? The whole created being, everything the Creator created, is called The soul, or man, Adam. This soul is divided into two primary parts, which are called Galgalta ve Eynaim and AHP, vessels of reception and vessels of bestowal, the anterior and the posterior vessels. It doesn't matter what terminology you use, there are simply two parts: the first part, which is purer and has less Aviut, or coarseness. That is essentially the inclusion of the Creator's qualities in the created being's qualities, and that part is called The people of Israel. Since that part is the inclusion of the Creator's qualities in the will to receive, it has the task of correcting the rest of the created being, which consists of the created being's own qualities.
Therefore, now it's like this: after the breaking of the vessels, let's see what I said, I said this. The Creator created the created being, and in that created being there is a part called the people of Israel, or the nation of Israel, and another part – how do we write it, called the nations of the world, let's put it that way, the nations of the world, okay? The people of Israel correspond to Galgalta ve Eynaim, the nations of the world correspond to AHP. What is Galgalta ve Eynaim, you could say that they are the first nine Sefirot, the qualities of the Creator that entered the created being. Thus, this part is initially similar to the Creator, while the other part is the created being, itself. That is why it is written that the Creator went to all the nations and wanted to give them the Torah, but they did not want it, why not? Because they are vessels of reception, they want to receive. And what does the Torah say? Give, give, we don't want that. You heard that story, they don't want it, so they refused to receive the Torah. Israel, however, said, bring it on! This is because the nature of Israel resembles the nature of the Creator. And this whole structure is called the soul, or Adam, man, or Adam HaRishon. Afterward, this structure undergoes the breaking. And accordingly, Israel and the nations of the world become completely mixed together, and there is no way to distinguish one from the other.
In every single part that we take from this broken state, every part, it doesn't matter whether it's above or below, there will always be a part related to Israel, and there will always be a part related to the nations of the world. Every single detail contains both, that's the result of the breaking and that's what we need to correct. Now, in this world, as a copy. If we're not speaking about spirituality but how it is dressed in corporeality, there are the people of Israel or the nation of Israel and the nations of the world. The people of Israel is also a result of the breaking. Originally, there was no nation called Israel, there were simply nations of the world.
M. Laitman: (49:07) Then the scrutiny process began from above, where one man started to feel an attraction to spirituality. The part within him called Israel began searching for correction. Then he became the root of the people of Israel, that first person in this world was Abraham. Originally, Abraham was simply a Bedouin, like everyone else around him, an Iraqi, not a Jew. He became a Jew by beginning to connect with the Creator, then he began gathering students. Then through Isaac and Jacob the nation also began to form, and what is a nation? A group of Kabbalists. Beyond that, there was no difference between them and all the neighboring Bedouins. Abraham would sit at the entrance of his tent, gather people, and say, Come, let's study. He would speak with them about godliness, about the Creator, about spiritual attainment, and that's what he did. He disseminated and that's how he became a Jew, there was nothing else that made him one. So you ask, how can I know where I belong? If you have within you that same yearning for spirituality, for closeness and connection with the Creator, then that desire in you is called Jew or Jewish. If you have other desires, even the finest desires imaginable in this world, but they're not aimed at connection with the Creator, then that is called the Gentile part in you. In the beginning, Abraham himself was a Gentile, what does it mean? He simply wanted more goats, more cattle, just like the other Bedouins; afterward, other than that, he began to desire spirituality. So much so that the desire became so strong that he left behind his goats and cattle, they were no longer important, and only spirituality mattered.
That is how he became a Jew. Jew, Yehudi, coming from the word for Yichud, unity with the Creator. So, anyone can examine themselves. It could be a barber from Italy, or a soccer player from Brazil, or even some Israeli mafioso, Israeli gangster, an uncultured thug. It doesn't matter who or what he is, if he has a desire to unite with the Creator, he's called a Jew. If he does not have a desire to unite with the Creator, he's called a Gentile. However, Abraham's biological descendants inherited this orientation toward unity with the Creator as an obligatory law. In other words, they are obligated because they are Abraham's descendants. Just as spiritual parts of him emerge one from another, so too the biological descendants born from a person inherit that obligation. Therefore, Abraham's descendants are required to attain spirituality before the other biological nations of this world. In other words, there is already a correspondence between the souls, the desires that become dressed in the bodies of a Jew in this world and a Gentile in this world. A Jew in this world is obligated to connect with the Creator, otherwise he will receive blows. A Gentile, at the end of it all, also will be obligated but only after the Jew. And the Jew, other than that in which he needs to connect with the Creator, he needs to bring that method of connection to the Gentile.
M. Laitman: (53:35) That is what is meant by the people of Israel saying, We will do and we will hear. They accepted this method of connecting with godliness in order to pass it on to the rest of the nations, the Torah, because they are the ones who require correction. The people of Israel in their original state did not require correction, so Israel is shattered, is brought down to the level of exile, to the level of the nations of the world, where in that exile there is intermingling and assimilation among the nations. And as a result of that exile, it later becomes possible to gather desires from among the nations and also to influence them. Then in such a way, at the end of the exile, the people of Israel draw the lights to themselves, reconnect with the Creator. And also pass it on to the rest of the nations, it's on to all the nations, the method of connecting with the Creator, and that's what we need to do. So, the Kabbalists, it's also written that at the end of the generations, Baal HaSulam writes about it in the Arvut and the Zohar, as many other sources. They explain that at the end of the generations, there is no longer any restriction on the wisdom of Kabbalah, but on the contrary, dissemination, itself belongs to everyone, because humanity has reached a state where nationality and all such distinctions are no longer the determining factor – we're already late.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (55:09) In my current state, I discover all of a sudden that a new desire awakens in me, and I want some goal. I don't know how to define it right now, it's concealed, but I know that I want it. In truth, though, I don't want this goal because suddenly some new goal came up. But simply that I'm sick of the place I'm in, I can't live in it anymore. If I look at the story of the spies, the spies come and tell me how difficult it is to obtain that goal, how it's unattainable. Why don't they come and tell me how worthwhile it is to remain where I am now?
M. Laitman: That's a very nice question! Why do the spies tell me, on one hand, that the land is good, that it has wonderful fruits, but on the other hand, that it's difficult to attain? Because the spies are messengers, angels, they're emissaries, and they tell a person two things: we progress to anything we desire through two forces, the first is the negative force in the present state, that I no longer feel good where I am, that something in my current condition no longer satisfies me; and the second is the positive force in the future state, that there's something attractive there, something sparkling, something that draws me. A negative force here, and a positive force there, through these two forces, I run forward to the state that I want, that's all, but that's still not enough. Because the attainment of the new state is always an attainment, it means that you need to acquire greater vessels. What does it mean that I reach a better state? A better state means that I will want more, that I'll understand more, feel more, that I'll become richer in discernments. Who was it that sprayed French wine around? I don't remember which of our ministers did that. Ezer Weizman. Ezer Weizman, yes. He arrived in France and they opened a bottle of wine that was 200 years old, an exceptionally fine vintage. He poured carbonated water into it, you know, made a spritzer. He said, that's how I'm used to doing it. The French went crazy, they couldn't believe it, you understand? It was such a rare wine and they had opened a bottle worth who knows how much. What does that tell us, he simply didn't understand. There are probably many other things he didn't understand either but that's not the point. The point is that you need discernments in order to distinguish things. You need an inner culture, refined and rich desires. We see this in every field, that's what it means to be an expert, what's an expert? Take a machinist, for instance, what does he know about life? But when he takes a piece of metal and begins working on it, he can feel how much internal stress there is in that metal. He senses exactly how removing a shaving will release that stress, how the metal will change. He truly lives it, it's as though that piece of metal exists in him. You, on the other hand, might be an excellent computer specialist, but when you come to that piece of metal, you have no connection to it whatsoever. But in your own field, you work with incredible precision, as though you're using tweezers. What can we do, that's just the way it is, in every field, we need discernments. When you rise to a higher spiritual degree, you lack all those qualities that make the higher degree higher than the one you currently occupy, meaning you need greater sensitivity. The number of your discernments in every matter must increase. It's not only greater sensitivity – I don't know how to express it – in engineering, there are all kinds of terms for this. It's like you're looking at a map. There's this map where the whole world fits into 10 centimeters, and then there's another with much higher resolution, I don't know what the Hebrew term is. Scale, yes, you understand that you zoom in more and more, and then you begin distinguishing all kinds of details. So the spies help you in exactly that way, they provide you with what you're lacking. They tell you, my friend, it's going to be hard for you. Why, because you're missing this, this, and this, and this, and that. You need to overcome the seventy nations, the nations dwelling in your land of Israel.
M. Laitman: (59:55) Every nation possesses great vessels, great desires, you need to fight against them. Through that struggle, you become wiser; through that struggle, you have to overcome yourself, you need to exert strength and give up many things. By conquering those nations, by conquering the land, you conquer a new desire – the land represents the desire. You conquer a new desire, a new vessel, and only in that vessel will you truly be able to enjoy those fruits. Right now, the fruits we brought you from the land of Israel into this place where you are, the lower degree, you can only look at them. You cannot enjoy them, you can enjoy the fruits of the land of Israel only after you attain the desire of the land of Israel, only after you acquire that vessel.
Therefore, the spies, and in general, all the negative things we feel along the path represent those very vessels that I currently lack. I need to absorb them, I need to acquire them, to incorporate them into myself, then I receive them, that's all. It's the same in this world, too, I'm in the third grade, and I need to advance to the fourth grade. In the fourth grade, I need to invest tremendous effort, I need to understand more. And then I truly become a fourth grader, so to speak, with all the greater understanding, discernments, and maturity compared to the third grade. But in this world, what motivates you is where you set a goal for yourself because you understand why it's good for you to get there. In this world, you set a goal and you can see it; you see people have already reached that goal, and somehow you can see what they enjoy there. And you can even see how much effort they invested to get there. In spirituality, however, it's not the case, why? Because there is a law in spirituality – the vessels must precede the lights, otherwise, whatever light you acquire, you will acquire it for the sake of receiving, and you will descend into the Klipot, the shells. First, you need to equip yourself with the intention to bestow, that's what truly makes it spirituality; otherwise, every time you receive something, you'll simply want to swallow it more and more and more and more, and you'll never be satisfied. Why, because if the light enters before the vessel is ready, it'll immediately choke you, it'll choke the vessel. It'll fill your present vessel, and the moment it does, you'll immediately stop feeling pleasure. Pleasure that completely fills the desire causes the desire itself to disappear, and if there's no desire, I no longer enjoy it, understand? Pleasure can only be felt at the boundary where it enters the desire. When I first begin putting something into my mouth, there is pleasure – five minutes later, it's over. I somehow continue living off the memory of that first pleasure, otherwise, after just a few minutes, a person would stop consuming altogether. Therefore, I need to create the vessel before the pleasure enters so that the pleasure will not extinguish the vessel. Then it becomes possible for me to remain in a constant sensation of pleasure.
M. Laitman: (01:03:36) That's what's called spirituality, what's spirituality? Spirituality means that it's impossible to attain any spiritual sensation unless I first acquire a screen, a protective force through which I am able to exist even without that pleasure. Then I receive it according to my own decision and only in the manner that I choose; if not, then I simply do not receive it. In that way, I govern and regulate the entrance of pleasure into myself, and then the pleasure never disappears, it becomes infinite, both in quantity and in duration, it truly becomes eternal. And only in this world, only in the tiny spark of light that descended into it, am I able to receive it, I receive pleasure, I enjoy it, and it immediately vanishes. Then I run after something else, when I attain it, it vanishes again, and so on, thus, I'm constantly running. Running after an imaginary pleasure, why is it imaginary? Because I feel it only for a brief moment, and then it disappears. How many moments of real pleasure do I actually live through in my lifetime? Do the calculation. Make a truly rational calculation, and you'll see. In spirituality, however, you live in every state because the vessel is never extinguished, and the pleasure never disappears. It does not matter whether you are in the right line, or the left line, or the middle line, it makes no difference, in every state, you remain in justification, and in a proper direction.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:05:34) Is there a detailed record of all these changes of qualities, all these desires?
M. Laitman: What the Kabbalists have written, they wrote from what they themselves attained in that vessel. There is nothing else to attain, except the vessel of the created being. Outside the vessel of the created being, there is the Creator – the abstract upper life that surrounds the vessel. Therefore, everything that is felt is felt in the vessel of the soul, in us, and that's what the Kabbalists write about. The soul is a vessel composed of ten Sefirot. That's why Baal HaSulam wrote a book called The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Talmud Eser Sefirot. More or less, it gives you a general description of what your vessel is, that's all. In that vessel, all kinds of phenomena unfold but everything takes place only in the created being. All the worlds exist in the created being, all the vessels, everything is in the created being. Outside the created being, we neither perceive nor speak of anything, just as right now we do not perceive what exists outside ourselves.
Student: Now, to what extent can we distinguish between all these nations?
M. Laitman: Certainly, to the very finest detail, you actually feel all 70 of those discernments. Because with every single discernment, you need to enter into its depth, precisely identify its nature, determine which screens you can apply to it, how to acquire it and how to fill it. In such a way, you elevate each individual detail of these 70 Sefirot to its correction, that's what attainment means. Where do you attain these things? We are built entirely from five discernments: the tip of the Yod, Yod Hey Vav Hey, the four-letter name of the Creator, that's all. Now, when you fill this vessel, the tip of the Yod, Yod Hey Vav Hey, these five parts, by means of a screen and with a particular light. That vessel is no longer merely a framework or skeleton. It receives fulfillment. That framework, together with its fulfillment, is called a name, why is it called the name of the Creator? Because in that fulfillment, I feel a correspondence with one of the Creator's qualities. Then, according to my inner feeling, inner sensation, I might say, for example, the Creator is beautiful. With that same vessel, when I fill it through a different screen and with a different light, I might say the Creator is internal, and so on. So I acquire 70 corrected discernments, which are called, The 70 names of the Creator; when they're not corrected, they're called the 70 nations of the world. That's all.
Student: So everything can be found in the study of the Ten Sefirot? Everything?
M. Laitman: (01:08:48) No, not everything is in The Study of the Ten Sefirot. What he wrote, he wrote, what he didn't write, he didn't write – you'll discover the rest yourself, that's all – why should he have to write about every single thing for you? In any case, when you attain these things, you'll attain them in your own way; he attained them in the way that he did. The principles are the same because our structure is a single, universal structure. Everyone attains that through the same path but the individual sensation of each and every person cannot be compared to another's. Just as you cannot precisely explain to me what tea or coffee tastes like to you. We can speak about general qualities, sweet, moist, hot, and so on. But the sensation itself, other than its outward description, cannot be conveyed, why? Because it's an impression in the vessel and every person's vessel is his own. So the Kabbalists give us the principles, how to work, how to reach the sensation, but when it comes to the sensation, itself, each person attains it and experiences it in their own unique way.
Reader: Now we will share the lesson with impressions and what we're taking to implement in the Ten.
Song: (01:16:10)