The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: May 17, 2026
Part 1: Rabash. They Helped Every One His Friend, Article 4. (1984)
Original lesson date: 05/18/2003
Reader: Hello friends, In the first part of the lesson we will watch a recorded lesson from the 18th of May, 2003 based on the article “They Helped Everyone His Friend.” We will read the article together twice in the Ten. We have six minutes for that. Go ahead.
Reading: (00:34) Rabash. Each One Shall Help His Friend
Article No. 4, 1984
We must understand how one can help his friend. Is this matter specifically when there are rich and poor, wise and fools, weak and strong? But when all are rich, smart, or strong, etc., how can one help another?
We see that there is one thing that is common to all—the mood. It is said, “A concern in one’s heart, let him speak of it with others.” This is because with regard to feeling high-spirited, neither wealth nor erudition can be of assistance.
Rather, it is one person who can help another by seeing that one’s friend is low. It is written, “One does not deliver oneself from imprisonment.” Rather, it is one’s friend who can lift his spirit.
This means that one’s friend raises him from his state into a state of liveliness. Then, one begins to reacquire strength and confidence of life and wealth, and he begins as though his goal is now near him.
It turns out that each and every one must be attentive and think how he can help his friend raise his spirit, because in the matter of spirits, anyone can find a needy place in one’s friend that he can fill.
Reader: And now, friends, let's continue to the lesson from the 18th of May, 2003.
M. Laitman (Source Text/Commentary): (06:44) It's understood that the article is speaking about our society, and not that just each one gives a good mood to the other, in an ordinary sense. We must understand how one can help his friend, and the person himself can hardly help himself. How? And this matters specifically when there are rich and poor, wise and fools, rich, weak, and strong, but when all are rich, smart, or strong, etc. It doesn't matter. There is something in which help can come to a person only from outside of himself. We're speaking about people who are in the process of spiritual development. How? We see that there is one thing that is common to all. The mood. The mood of people who are on the path, yearning for a certain goal, and who can make a push forward each time. As it is said, "a concern in one's heart, let him speak of it with others." Where each and every one is concerned about reaching the goal, and by that he gives elevation to everyone, and that shared concern among all is called the mood within the society, an awakened mood. Because with regard to feeling high-spirited, neither wealth nor erudition can be of assistance, but here it's the inspiration that one can receive from the environment. Rather, it is one person who can help another by seeing that one's friend is low, in the state of lowliness, in a fall, where he does not have this inner enlivenment toward the goal. It is written, "one does not deliver oneself from imprisonment." A person cannot exit the descent alone, or from the mercies of heaven they'll give that to him, which is already a loss. Exiting through the society, where the society comes and helps him, is called that he does it by himself, because the forces of the society activate that action. But precisely, it is one's friend who can lift his spirit. Meaning that one's friend raises him from his state into a state of liveliness, spiritual liveliness. And then he, once again, starts attaining the strength and confidence of life and wealth, and that he comes to spirituality. Even when he is in a descent from spirituality, that's already enlivenment, it's already a goal-oriented state. And it turns out that he begins as though his goal is now near him. It turns out that each and every one must be attentive and think how he can help his friend raise his spirit. That is connected to the goal, because in the matter of spirits, anyone can find a needy place in one's friend, can always find a needy place, that he can fill. I would even say in a state of ascent, but especially in states of descent, where a person receives an additional need, an additional deficiency, and for some time still cannot complement it.
Meaning, how do we complement the mood? It's not that we just simply go to drink a beer or tell jokes, although sometimes that too can help. When a person is truly at rock bottom, he no longer hears anything else. But certainly, in that we can read some article that discusses how a person, even in a state of lowliness, is in a goal-oriented state, that even then he has a connection with the Creator, and that the Creator organizes this state for him, the state of "There is None Else Besides Him." And then, from the attainment of the state as a goal-oriented one, sweetening comes, justification comes, and from that point, one begins to work. And when we care collectively about the greatness of the society, we need to be concerned that all of its members have this elevated spirit. That belongs, as it were, to the obligation of each and every person, to see whether there is still room for this. And in that, there is always the possibility to add. Afterward, we will see what exactly is lacking to add to the society, what kind of spirit, what kind of exaltation. Usually, it is confidence, the feeling of confidence in the goal, the feeling of confidence that the present state is aimed at the goal. That is mainly what we need.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (13:24) What is confidence? How can you give a person confidence? It needs to be in you. You need to have confidence for it not to be extinct.
M. Laitman: You are asking this: if I myself have no confidence, so how can I project it onto another? Within yourself you neither see it nor feel it, but with regard to another you can begin. We see how a person can say beautiful things to others while he himself is in a completely opposite state. Speeches, he can speak nicely, speak with confidence and successfully uplift the audience while inwardly he might be thinking the opposite. So it does not matter what state you are in. You cannot pull yourself out of that state, but you can pull others out of it.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (14:55) We always talk about how we want to get close to something, and here he writes that there is a place, of lack that you can fulfill in a person. What is that?
M. Laitman: It's speaking about fulfilling the desire of the friend.
Student: It speaks of a state where we can join desires together?
M. Laitman: What deficiencies? To fulfill the friend's deficiency that he now has a deficiency, even if he does not feel that he lacks the greatness of the goal. He’s in a state of lowliness. Right? So I certainly don't want to attach that state of lowliness that he has to myself. I need to bring him to this awakening. And when he's already in an elevated mood, then I can influence him with my deficiency so that he will give me this elevation. I join together with the friends. I take from them positive deficiencies toward the goal, not deficiencies such as having no air in the tires when a person's in lowliness. When he's in lowliness, he doesn't have the correct deficiency. He has no air. He has no spirit of life. You can receive from a person correct deficiencies only during a state of ascent. In a state of ascent, he's in an elevated spirit and he has a deficiency for the goal. For you, the word deficiency cannot be connected to a good state, to an ascent, and that is incorrect. And in a descent, there is no deficiency. We don't understand that desire itself is the vessel.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (17:21) How does a person need to prepare when he approaches a friend not to make him fall also, not to enter into his lack?
M. Laitman: How do I approach a friend without him pulling me down if he's in a bad mood? First of all, we have a rule that it is forbidden also, it's forbidden to express it verbally if a person does not feel well. That state should be concealed. At least it should not be expressed verbally. Now, when I come to the friends and see that there is a certain kind of disconnection, that there's no enlivened feeling, then the best possible thing is to cause them to read something through which they awaken. If several people together in a not so good state, then we should not approach all of them together, but rather each one separately, and sometimes not. It depends on what kind of state of descent they are in. Sometimes one person who begins to rise, who starts to get upliftment, they can positively influence another, and sometimes they weigh each other down even more. These are things that need to be looked into. But no matter what, the main means is the correct reading, something special.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (19:53) He writes here, now he attains his goal, he sees his goal as being near to him.
M. Laitman: So?
Student: What is that light, of feeling that the goal is near to those who feel it?
M. Laitman: One person feels that the goal is near, while another feels that the goal is not near.
Student: What makes him feel that the goal is near?
M. Laitman: What gives him the feeling that the goal is near? The surrounding lights- Ohr Makif. A person is impressed only by the light. The surrounding light shines upon him from afar. Although it is from afar, it still illuminates him. And this is called having a sensation of the goal.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (20:54) Should a person, let's say, prepare a friend, telling him, listen, if you see that I'm in a bad state, this article, this certain article does something to me, moves me, maybe read this to me. Or, if I'm in a bad state, then maybe invite me over for a beer or something. Should I make some kind of preparations for that, to make it more clear?
M. Laitman: Everything is permitted between friends, any kind of connection that can exist. It doesn't matter. So much so that you can take him to a pub, to some place like that. Could be such states that one needs, physically speaking to remove him from one place, to take him to another. To give him some fresh air. Together outside, to take him to do some sport. And by doing so, pull him out of it.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (21:58) I heard that the spiritual degree of each friend cannot be higher than the general group.
M. Laitman: The spiritual degree of each friend cannot be higher than the general state of the group. That is usually right. Besides that, there are exceptions. Such a thing can happen, but generally not. There can be some special role given to a person from above, but those are exceptional matters. Essentially, a group can contain complete beginners, but we are not speaking precisely about level. Instead, we're speaking about the state of elevation. If there is this awakening or elevation in the group, it could be that, let us say, 80% of that awakening is generated by beginners, and 20% is generated, for the time being, by people in some state who have already been there for a long time. Right? Now, from that awakening, each person takes fuel and works with it. A veteran works with his vessels. A beginner works with his vessels. It does not matter who influenced the society. In general to create that state, but whoever takes from it and works is already working with his own vessels, and accordingly, he has his own degree. So certainly, there can be people in the group with different degrees. Now, what can exist is that a person's degree will never be higher than what the mood or the spirit of the group lets him attain. Meaning, don't count this according to the degree a group has no degree. You understand? There is no such concept that this group is on such and such a degree. It is not worthwhile to imagine it yet as one vessel. In spiritual degrees, yes. If everyone crosses the barrier and exists there, then each one will have their own place. And the group as a collection of spiritual vessels, where each one complements the other, will also have its place. But for now, it's too early to discuss that.
What I want to say is only this- that each person receives according to their preparation, awakening from the group, and they work with that force using the vessels that they prepared beforehand, and that determines their degree. Meaning, to the extent that the group provides you with awakening, forces, strength, to that extent you will rise, and you will be unable to rise beyond that. Therefore, you must again and again increase the force of the group, the power of the group, the strength of the group, and only through being filled by it will you ascend, there's no other way. That's why it's written in the article “The Freedom”, he writes there that a person is completely dependent on the society where they exist, and they have no possibility whatsoever to determine how they will grow, in what form, by what type of development, or at what speed — only the society determines that. However, the society indeed determines it, but the work afterward belongs to the person. I influence the society, that's my work. I receive forces from the society and process them that too is my work. But if there's no society in the middle as an amplifier of those forces, then I simply have no possibility whatsoever to ascend. Therefore, the extent of the greatness of the society determines the maximum degree each person can attain, that they can rise to. Well, is that it?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (26:44) Is it good to use my sense of humor?
M. Laitman: It is worthwhile to use humor. Rabash used it, he loved jokes very much, really. He had remembered thousands of jokes, all kinds of stories. He loved hearing them, and he understood those flashes of wit.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (27:21) What is the intention here in the paragraph where he says, that even if everyone's wise, everyone are heroes, and so on?
M. Laitman: It's that in a group, everyone can be wise, rich, understanding, and strong, and so on, but it does not help a person with his mood. And you too, neither wisdom, wealth, nor erudition, or strength, or anything can help you. Mood is mood. It's the spiritual part within a person. And it does not depend on what he has in his pocket, or otherwise. That is the main thing that plays a role in our society — the mood of the society, in generality, toward the goal.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (28:27) If I see that a friend rejects me, what should I do then? To leave him in that situation, or maybe should I try to change it?
M. Laitman: It is written, "Buy Yourself a Friend," yes? Well, buy him.
Student: Yes. I see the friends invest a lot in bringing inspiration into the society. How does a person extract that, derive that from the society in the best possible way? Maybe you can catch one of the friend's attention specific, or...
M. Laitman: Look, you can now bring millions of examples. Everything is permitted if the result will be quick and close. One thing only - inspiration from the goal that we are in a process to, and only that determines our whole life. That is all. All the articles are before you. Trust me. I have nothing more than what is written there. Everything is written there. Draw it out from within, everything is there.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (29:53) How with respect to loving one's friend, how does a friend care for the society? How can you do more in thought?
M. Laitman: If I care about the level of the mood in the society only through my thought, it acts and everyone receives my thought without words. They will feel it and change. Tell me, did you feel during Passover some special spirit? Did someone actually discuss that? No. And when some kind of spiritual inspiration comes, or even a spiritual picture comes to a person when he begins to feel something, he cannot express it. He will never tell others about it. He simply doesn't feel like saying it. He doesn't say it. Automatically, somehow he protects it. Not even through effort, but he simply cannot release it outward. The more a spiritual emotional inspiration comes in a more concentrated, stronger, and higher way. The more the person will close themselves in order to not speak about it. He cannot. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to express it outwardly. That's how it works.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (32:02) What impression, you start receiving some kind of, it takes some kind of form externally, some kind of presentation. Maybe I'm having some difficulties because one of the friends, I know him, I know how he'll respond externally to?
M. Laitman: Yes, there are all kinds of people, all types of people, and each one expresses inspiration outwardly differently. It might be that one person's form is closer to me, more understandable and pleasant to me, while another's is not. That's true. What can you do? That is how it is. These are human things that afterward become as though... I’ll already begin to read him inwardly, you understand? Not outwardly. Little by little, that disappears. I understand his external language, his body language, and I already read the inner state. This in the society is…
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (33:09) In the society, we need a lack. How to work with it- the lack in the society?
M. Laitman: What is a deficiency? A deficiency is called a feeling. The feeling of emptiness from something. I have wisdom, strength, wealth, erudition, and so on, as he writes here, Rabash. But something is missing for me. What? Mood, spirit. So we're speaking about the fact that another person's spirit can fill it. We're not talking about a mood where I am upset because I lost money on the stock exchange or something like that. But we're saying that I have everything. What does it mean that I have everything? It means that I have everything except for one thing that I do not have, and that's what concerns me. I have no attraction, no upliftment, no yearning for the goal, for the spiritual goal, for the purpose of my life; and everything else I have. What does it mean “I have?”
It could be that I do not actually have those things, but I do not care, as if I do. I have no deficiency for them. That is called “having.” It’s considered that I have them, as if they exist, you understand? It might be that I have no money, no honor, no strength, no confidence, no wisdom, but it does not worry me. This means that those vessels are not empty. They are considered as though they are filled. And only one thing I don't have. I know there is a goal, but I do not ignite toward it. It does not illuminate for me. I have no spirit for it. That's a state being discussed regarding a person. That's called a spiritual fall. It is when the surrounding lights, the external lights, do not shine upon a person. Internal lights certainly cannot shine because he still has no screen, but even the external lights, those that are far, they do not shine. And this happens specifically because the Creator distances Himself so that the person himself will bridge the gap. It's like when they teach a baby to walk. They place him on the floor, steady him a little, and then they let go. And then the baby doesn't know what to do. He thinks, that's it, they left me. He feels his mother somewhere far away, but he still cannot even take one step toward her. That's exactly that way. So the surrounding lights distance themselves from us, and they give us a sensation of a void, seemingly. And then that gives us sadness, a lack of forces, a lack of strength, etc. And now we need to compensate for it, the absence of those lights, the absence of their action upon us. They normally bring us joy and confidence. Now we need to complement this through the society, through my inner work. It might not specifically be through the society. It might be that I somehow overcome the state, open a book or something, and find this upliftment, but in the end I must take that step to the surrounding light. And afterward, it will again distance itself, and again I'll have the same work. That's the deficiency, a deficiency for one thing alone, for those lights. And even those lights are desired in a goal-oriented manner. Not simply that I'll feel good, but through them I come closer to the truth. Those are already more inner discernments.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (36:53) I want to understand, the impression from the goal, does it depend on the person's preparation or the group?
M. Laitman: Impression or inspiration from the goal depends both on the person and the society together. If a person does not want to be inspired, then he will not activate the group. He will not choose a state within the group from which he wants to receive inspiration. So in that sense, it depends on the person. Afterward, it depends on the group, whether the group can truly provide for him. A prisoner cannot free himself from prison. He cannot do it by himself. Well, he can to some extent. But if he can, it's still done through his being within the general spirit of the society. There is such a thing where you do not come to the society. You open a book, you listen to music, you do something, and then something happens. You emerge from that state. But in general, even that is caused by the supportive environment that you build around yourself. You have a few means that you can awaken yourself with, not necessarily people. It could also be books, music, a daily schedule. That's all called the environment. It's not only the friends, but the inclusion of all those means together.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (38:16) When he speaks here about the poor and the rich, the wise and all that, is he talking about it in the simple sense, the way I understand it to be, or is there some kind of religion which is different to the poor and to the rich?
M. Laitman (Source Text/Commentary): He says we must understand how one can help his friend. Does this matter specifically when there are rich and poor, wise and fools, weak and strong? Right? If that were the case, then you would need to help them either with wealth or with strength or with wisdom, right? But that's not what is being discussed. It could also exist in the society as a topic. He's not saying it cannot, but the main point is that when all are rich, smart or strong, etc., how can one help another? It's not that each one will reach the highest level in all these things, but it means that they do not feel a deficiency in them. That's not the main thing. Leave me alone with that. I have another concern, right? That's what it is. But we see that there is one thing that is common to all, the mood, and the mood in relation to the goal. We're talking about the society. Each shall help his friend. It does not mean national insurance or social welfare. It refers to the society, as they said, a concern in one's heart, let him speak of it with others, and so on. Meaning we're speaking about people for whom all other concerns are secondary.