The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: December 9, 2025
Part 2: LESSONS OF THE RABASH ON TES
Reader: Hello friends, we are studying from The Study of Ten Sefirot, volume 1, part 4, chapter 2, chapter 4, item 2. Before we start, we'll read an intention excerpt, excerpt number 2 from Rabash, Menus, created in the Torah.
Reading: (00:28) Preparation Excerpt for Rabash's Lesson
It therefore follows that the Torah has the power to reform a person, referring to the evil within man, meaning the will to receive, that it will work in order to bestow.
In this manner, he will have Dvekut [adhesion] and will be able to receive the real pleasures and will not be considered a receiver. Thus, through the Torah, it will be possible to sustain man in this world, for the Torah will reform him.
This is the meaning of “Let us make man,” which they explained, “I and you will establish him in the world.” That is, from the Creator comes the will to receive and from the Torah comes the desire to bestow, and from those two, man will be able to exist in the world. That is, through those two, he will be able to receive abundance yet remain in Dvekut.
Reader: Rabash in the Torah, Menus created in the Torah. As we said, we are studying from the study of the Torah. But for cAHPter 4, item 2, we'll read that and then go to Rabash, item 2, the words of the Ari.
Reading: (02:13) Baal HaSulam. Study of the Ten Sefirot. Vol. 1. Part 4. Chapter 4. #2A second reason that Malchut is called a mirror without light is that she did not leave a record in her vessel
Reader: Let's go to Rabash.
RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (03:03) Now the light of Malchut rises. Why not from the record? That's the whole thing. It's actually one and the same. Why does he say in 232 that the light of Malchut rises above the degree of Keter? Meaning that we learn that Malchut leaves a record, that's why he calls it the light of Malchut though it is the degree of Keter. Now, here in item 2, page 232,
it says this.
There is another reason why is Malchut called a mirror that doesn't shine.
When her light rose,
when the Masach was refined in phase 4,
it did not leave in
Malchut
any record in her at all.
Why? He doesn't say.
However, the record that remained in the vessel of Yesod for its own need, illuminated from there in the vessel of Malchut too.
Meaning, after the departure of light from Malchut, then comes light, and a coupling was made over phase three, and light came to the vessel of Yesod. Then when the Yesod departed, meaning the record from the Yesod would shine to the vessel of Malchut. So I ask, who shined for the vessel of Malchut after the departure of the light, before there was a coupling over Yesod? He doesn't say. Look at page 206, item 6. He says,
Malchut does not leave a record.
What's written?
However, when the light of Malchut departs, she does not leave a record in her vessel.
Why?
For there is no Sefira beneath her to receive from her. Although there will be other worlds beneath her, receiving from her, it is not their kind, and she has no adhesion with them as there is adhesion with the Ten Sefirot of each and every world in and of itself.
Look at item 6 below. He explains what is written above.
When the light of Malchut departs, she does not leave a record.
Why?
Because it is a female light, receiving for herself and not bestowing. Because of it, her Ten Sefirot end the degree, as it is only reflected light. Hence, she does not leave a record, as a record is only the remains of the expansion of direct light that remains there.
In the vessels of Malchut, there is no direct light, only reflected light. Therefore, she does not leave a record.
Also, there is no cessation in the upper light here, for the lower one is completely dependent on the upper one. But the upper one does not need the lower one.
I want to bring evidence from here that the light of Malchut rises above and says record of the direct light.
RABASH: (07:26) What does it mean that the light of Malchut rises above? So, I say, this is what she has left. But the direct record, that's not what he calls it.
I'm not saying that what she had wasn't left, that's impossible. What I'm calling record of direct light, that's what she had. Therefore, he calls it light of Malchut that was on the degree of Keter. Therefore, the clash that happened there, called Sefirot, he calls it record. And on Malchut, reflected light. And I ask about this. When we say Malchut rose to ZA, what is the meaning Malchut rose to ZA? That the phase four of direct light, called Malchut, over which there was a restriction, now she makes a coupling over phase three, not of ZA of direct light. ZA of direct light is not a vessel. So, I have to say that here, too, there's no record. For this, Malchut, too, has no but, nothing but reflected light, it says explicitly. And she doesn't bestow to herself, meaning she cannot receive besides what she's given. Malchut doesn't have from within her or from without her, but from what is given to her by her husband. Meaning, if she's given, she receives. She herself doesn't want to receive. What is the light of female from below upwards? I don't want to receive. We've learned Ten Sefirot of this Sium, the end, the Ten Sefirot of below the Tabur of the first AK, they say there's only reflected light there. And we learned that there's illumination of Hochma there. What does it mean that it ends? It doesn't bestow downwards, below, correct. But it's not precise. She doesn't bestow to herself. What is Malchut of Tabur saying? I don't want to receive. Why? If I receive, it'll be in order to receive. If so, since she doesn't want to receive due to adhesion, due to equivalence of form, so she receives light of Hochma by the power of adhesion, by the power of not wanting to receive. So, what is the light of female? She is in a deficiency which says I cannot receive in order to bestow. All that says that I don't want to receive recognizes the deficiency. She has illumination of Hochma. Turns out, she receives but doesn't bestow to herself. What does it mean bestow to herself? Above the Tabur, it is called Toch. What is he saying? I want to receive. So, he bestows to himself. He receives. Why does he receive? He says, I want to receive. Why? Because he wants to bestow. This is a male. He has a force of bestowal. Therefore, he receives in order to bestow. What does the ending Malchut say? I am female. I have a deficiency I cannot bestow. Therefore, I don't want to receive. Why? Because she wants equivalence of form. By equivalence of form, called light of Hasadim, the illumination of Hochma shines there. This is called light of female. She receives, but she's not bestowing.
RABASH: (11:46) Turns out, in any case, she says I don't want, she has. All that she wants, that is an immediate shattering. And that's called light of female. She doesn't have from within or from without her but what she's given. So she has, but she's not the one who benefits it. What does the woman, the female, benefit? To pay a price is called that she can receive, she can give in order to bestow. I gave an allegory about that once.
A person goes into a furniture store and tells the seller, you know, I like this closet. So what do you want? I want you to give it to me. Why? Give me. Give me pleasure. Give me money, which is your labor. If you bestow money to me, then I will see if it's worthwhile for the bestowal that you give to me, then I'll give you the closet in return. So, it turns out, how does he receive the closet? Only in order to bestow to the host. He doesn't give it for free. If it turns out, if we are female, meaning that she doesn't benefit, so she cannot aim in order to bestow, so she says, I don't want. As long as I say, I don't want to, she can receive.
Student: No record.
RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): So, therefore, I say, what is there in light of Malchut that he says that there's a clash or beating in the light of Malchut? Before, I would forbid reflected light on the degree of Keter. Now, I'm going to receive degree of Hochma. I don't want to. I don't call it a record, but that's reality. I don't say the record is called direct light. This is called a record. It gives a different name, but it's a force. Therefore, she doesn't want to receive. She wants to make something smaller. These are two things. I say the last phase is lost. He also wants to say it's called a record. I know that I have an impression left by the surrounding light that gives the understanding that it's not worthwhile to reject the light, but I've already weakened. I know. So, this is left for me when the last phase is lost. That leaves an impression. What's an impression? That I've lost the previous force, and now I depend on names. So, we're talking about a positive check, not the negative. Therefore, he doesn't call it a record, but that is realistic. So, we should start with page 248,
Chapter 2, 12 kinds of reflected light.
There's a rule that everything we talk about is Malchut, is about Malchut. When we go into the details, we get confused. So, I can say that I'm talking about the Malchut of the vessel of phase four, Malchut that was refined to phase three, and now I'm talking about the Ten Sefirot from the Malchut of phase three, and phase two, I'm talking about the Malchut of phase two.
RABASH: (15:53) Why? If we say that there is a coupling of striking, over what phase is the coupling of striking? What's coupling of striking? There is restriction, it's forbidden to receive. Over what phase was the restriction, the prohibition to receive? Only over the Malchut called the will to receive, called the fourth of direct light. Therefore, there's a rule. Everything that we discuss is only about the phase four of direct light. The light of the phase four of direct light exists in every degree, and there's no difference here between one degree and another. It's like we could say there's sight, and sound, and smell, and speech, for the littlest one and the greatest one, for the most foolish or the most genius. So, what's the difference then? The difference of degree? What does a small child do with his cleverness? Playing what? You've heard me saying, little girls play with what? A six-year-old plays with a rag doll. Then what can a girl who grew up to be 18 play with I said, if she comes to see the same girl at the 18 years old, she goes with her doll and kisses her on the hand; she says, “Why, daddy, you bought it to me, that's not good?” Why did you buy that, do you understand? When she was six, her whole mind was about the rag doll. Now when she's 18, you can take a baby and maybe give that to her by the rag doll, that she would be falling behind, but it's the same mind, it's the same sight, it's the same hearing, same speech whether it's an eight-year-old girl, or a six-year-old, or 18 years old, but the degree, the forces change. Therefore, everything we discuss is only about the Malchut. That's why I asked, if we say that Malchut has only reflected light, then over each and every phase there's no more than reflected light, that's what I asked before. It says that there's 12 kinds of reflected light, 12 kinds.
RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (19:20) The reflected light that is rejected in general from Malchut becomes surrounding light.
We'll see that later. Item 7.
We find 12 kinds of reflected light in the ARI’s words. Here they are.
There's a question. From one reflected light to another, there's no questions, since reflected light could be interpreted in many ways. Just like there's no question about why you call a donkey chamra or chamrayan, there's no question about that, because these are two different meanings. In the same way, you can't ask about this versus that type of reflected light. So, we have to know what it's talking about according to the context. So he starts his commentary.
The first is the reflected light rejected from phase four during the first look.
What is the first look? What is the look looking at all? We've learned that light of Hochma is called light of eyes. This light comes, and that's called look. So, where is it looking? It's looking as it wants to bestow to the Malchut. But due to the restriction that was over the vessel of Malchut, another thing we should remember, wherever it says Malchut, typically it means Malchut of direct light. What is Malchut of direct light? Receiving in order to receive. When the light looks, the light of Hochma comes to Malchut. But since there was a restriction over receiving in order to receive, he made a screen. So he says,
when the screen detains the upper light and does not let it expand there, the light returns backwards and clothes the Ten Sefirot of direct light.
We spoke about one action now. So, he says, in this action we should discern. There are two kinds of reflected light to discern here. The first is all of the light that was rejected from clothing in the vessel of Malchut. There's a great measure of it especially in the first Partzuf of AK, that we are concerned with. It contains the entire difference from Ein Sof, which filled the entire reality, to Partzuf AK, which is but a thin line of light in relation to the light of Ein Sof. Know that this reflected light incorporates all the surrounding light into all the worlds. What does it say here? First of all, we have to distinguish and discern what is Malchut. Malchut, after the restriction, he refers to it as the calculation. You know, certainly there is HaVaYaH, four letters, Yud, Hey, Vav, Hey, four letters. Sometimes he says the calculation, the total of these four letters, how much is that? 26. When he wants to speak about the Malchut, he hints at that when he speaks about this calculation.
RABASH: (24:22) What is this calculation? Malchut of Rosh that extended the light, sorry, that drew the light, the light comes, makes a calculation, how much she can receive in order to bestow, that much she will receive. And as much as she cannot aim in order to bestow, she will not receive. I have to remember one more thing. What is the difference between a screen and a restriction? Restriction means that you don't receive anything. You do not use any coarseness. That's why we learned, if you remember, when the Guf of Galgalta, for example, stopped receiving, stopped using the vessel of reception, why? Because she cannot aim in order to bestow. She stops receiving, she returns to her root, and she rises to Malchut of Rosh. In that case, restriction means that we do not use the vessels of reception. Why? Because he cannot aim in order to bestow. Now, what is a screen? A screen is named after the coarseness, that it does use vessels of reception. How much does he use them? As much as the screen sees that it can aim. You find that the screen means that he is using the vessel of reception.
Allegory. We say there are four phases in the screen. Phase four of the screen, meaning this screen can be used with four phases of coarseness to aim it in order to bestow. Or, for example, with another example, the screen says it can receive 20 %, and 80 % it detains and rejects it back. This reflected light that rejects it back, he refers to that as surrounding light. What is the meaning of the word surrounding light? Surrounding, there are typically two meanings. One, it did not yet enter the vessel, the surrounding light, clothed from the outside. Surrounding, from the word crown, so I explained, if there's a circle, not crown, maybe a circle, if there's a circle around the city, then when you encircle the city, the city surrenders and accepts your term, the terms of whoever encircles it, and you find that the surrounding light later enters the internality of the city.
RABASH: (28:23) The lesson here is that this light that you cannot receive in order to bestow now, at the very end, eventually, over time, they will receive it in order to bestow, and that light called to benefit the created beings that they received in order to receive, that light has to shine, and you can see, only when the conditions are in order to bestow. You find that, accordingly, that this screen, only in potential, when we speak of the Rosh, made a division for us between internal and surrounding, and it says here, if we speak of the first Partzuf after the restriction that drew the light, it receives a part, a portion. Then he asks, what would be if there would be no screen? Then once again, it would fill all of reality, and it's called the light of, it's called Ein Sof. In that case, in what does it differ? When I call it now a thin line, whereas before, it would fill all of reality. The difference is only in the rejected light, called surrounding. This is what he says here. He says here, I don't know what is your question, I'll explain it. Theoretically, what was the first action when the light came? Did it receive it or not receive it?
Student: No.
RABASH: (30:24) We don't say it like that. When the light came, I made a calculation. Before I made a calculation, did I receive it or not receive it? There's nothing to talk about here. Only when the light comes, I have to now receive it, I'll make a calculation. If that's the case, what do I speak, where do I begin to talk about it, to consider it? From where I drew it, or from where I made a calculation? Before that, I did not receive it. Why do we need a calculation? Where do we begin to talk about it? From the thought that He made it, but this is not, and this is, yes, this is a division, this is what we're talking about. This is rejected, and this is, I'm saying, I'm going to receive it. So, what's the difference between restriction and the screen that I talked about? The same like you're asking now, I made an allegory. There was a guy, he was invited to a, to a festive celebration. He drinks a few bottles of wine, and he falls on the ground drunk. He's, how can I say, everybody's looking at him, his lowliness, then he's being humiliated. Later, people went and took him home to his misses. She says, take him, where did you take him from? What does this person do? I'm not going anymore, there's no choice. I can be so despicable, especially, and then they don't let me enter my own home later. She's afraid of me when I'm drunk. He's got an advice not to go. So from this point on, they invite him to a ball, celebration, a party, he's not going. Then a smart guy came and said, listen, be like all the people, they go, they stay. I can drink one glass of wine.
Or maybe two glasses, and no more. Why? I don't want to be despised, humiliated. You're right. You find that the screen means that he goes and he drinks two glasses, and that's it. So we ask the question, what's easier, not to go at all, or to go in the middle? Well, what do you think here? What's more difficult? In that case, we learn the first feeling to be in equivalence of form was with Bina. And Bina had this power. Why? Bina is not considered a vessel of reception in actuality.
Bina is still called that there's a judgment from what Hochma receives, that she was from the upper force. Therefore, if it doesn't have such sparks of reception, he can overcome. But when it comes to Malchut, when he has true vessels of reception, stand, they tell him. I can't. That's why Bina we can understand, and Malchut we cannot. It's so difficult.
Student: No, no.
RABASH: (34:05) We learned something new. He brings it. He talks about it there in Panim Mazbirot. Why is it called a thin line? It is a very beautiful interpretation. We learned, before there was a circle. What is a circle in spirituality? Like in corporeality, there's no difference between up and down in importance. All of that low importance that was begotten to us, it's because we see that with the vessels of reception, we cannot receive anything. So, we say this is low in importance. And when we can bestow, we receive more. This is higher in importance. So I know what is up and what is down. The one that's closer to Malchut, closer to the vessel of reception, is called down or low. If it's distant, if it's far from the vessel of reception, it's called high in importance. When we say in Yiddish, it's a man with a stature. How many feet is he? Only a stature? He's gentle. What does it mean gentle? He doesn't care about himself. He cares about the collective. For this one, for this one, for that one. I want to give an example. This is what I learned in spirituality. After the restriction, where the restriction was a result of choice, not because it's lower in importance. And he says, a desire in the upper one, becomes an obligating law in the lower one. That's why once the light has departed, which is called restriction, it returned and drew light from the vessels that remain from the world of the restriction, called empty vessels. They're called Ten Sefirot of Igulim, of circles. And there are records left in them. The record in the Malchut drew that light back in. When she drew the light, that's already a second action in the lower one. It's forbidden to receive. It's forbidden to receive. It already becomes low in importance. This is called up and down. So he asks... Why a thin line? Up and down, higher and lower, I understand when we talk about low in importance. But he says there is a law. See, if we can say that there's a line and it has no coarseness in the middle, there's no width to it, no thickness. Do you have such a thing? In that case, what he wants to say is that even that he drew from above down and he can't receive it, do you attain it? No, it's called thin.
RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (38:00) What does it mean thin? No width, no thickness. You cannot attain it; there's nothing in it. Later, when you make a screen, what does the screen give us? A reflected light. By that, the line acquires the thickness, the width of reflected light, and by that, you can already receive it. You find, who makes the width of the line to make you capture it, specifically the screen and the coarseness. You find that the line is Ein Sof. Why is it the line of Ein Sof? Before the screen attains it, when the screen attains it, it's already restricted. It's already called Ein Sof, it's called, it's not called Ein Sof, it's called the world of Adam Kadmon. This is a very beautiful explanation. Eight. What is the headline here? Words of The ARI:
The reflected light that clothes the direct light is an outcome of the first reflected light rejected from Malchut.
What did we learn? That the surrounding light is called that which rejects it, the part that says it cannot receive it. Here, there's a question. According, as we learn it, what is the reflected light that clothes what he aims in order to bestow? Why is it called light? The word light, what is it? It tells us,
it's an outcome of the first reflected light rejected from Malchut.
The rejected light, we learned, it's 80% light, light in actuality, direct light. We're going to interpret it here. Are you confused? Let's call the direct light abundance, and the reflected light receiving the abundance. You will understand it better. Now, what is the rejected light that he does not receive? It's abundance. He comes and he says, know,
the reflected light that clothes the direct light,
the reflected light that clothes the direct light. Clothing means a screen in spirituality. This reflected light is an outcome of the abundance. What abundance? The one that was rejected from Malchut. You understood the headline now? Now he interprets it.
The second kind of reflected light included here
in the first action
is the reflected light that ascends from below upwards and clothes the Ten Sefirot of direct light. And there is great depth in that, as there is existence in the reflected light rejected from phase four, meaning the actuality of the light that is rejected from there.
This is abundance.
And we must discern the negation in it, which is the force of the striking itself.
He doesn't want to receive it. This is negative. There's nothing I don't want to receive. Again, the rejected light is abundance. He wants to receive nothing. So, he says again,
we must discern the negation in it, which is the force of the striking itself, generating a great light because of the withdrawal from the light. There's a correlation between the light that is rejected back,
meaning from the abundance,
and from phase four, which is left empty of that light. This reflected light, which is born by the withdrawal from the light is the second kind of reflected light, rising and closing the Ten Sefirot of direct light,
the abundance.
RABASH (Source Text/Commentary): (43:12) Hence, it is considered an outcome of the first kind of reflected light, especially from the negation, but through the correlation as explained above. What is he telling us here?
A little explanation. Here, it means in the following way. When he makes a calculation, he says, I will receive this, and this, I will not. It's a little difficult. They say that if I do not want to receive this abundance, why? I want equivalence of form. You have to say, he receives light from this abundance of the rejected light. Let's talk about the light of pleasure through an allegory. This refusal to receive it, reject it, he receives an illumination from this abundance. Let's give an example that he receives a great pleasure by wanting to bestow to the upper one. We have to say, because of that, because he wants to bestow to the upper one, then he sees how much he can receive in order to bestow to the upper one. He sees that the upper one lacks nothing. What does it lack? To receive from it all the good and the pleasure. He wants to give pleasure to the upper one. That's why he has reflected light that clothed the 20%. But what's difficult for us to understand? We say reflected light before the 80%. That's a little tricky. So, it goes hand in hand. What does it mean hand in hand? He rejects the light, he makes a calculation, while making the calculation that he does not want to receive the light because it wants to bestow, and it wants to receive only in order to bestow, then he receives the force on that by attaining pleasure by wanting to bestow. Then he's certain that what he wants to receive, it's because he wants to bestow. Before that, he made a calculation. What was the calculation? That he doesn't want to receive. Only what he can receive in order to bestow. But here, how do you require the strength for it? The strength comes from, what to say? I can't. We need to say where does it come from? By removing oneself from the light, by not receiving it.
Student: That's the 80%.
RABASH: (47:06) Yes, by that he can receive the light, the clothing light in eternality. He wants not to receive. You should remember, everything here is in potential. Later, he receives the 20%. You find that when it's in potential, you learn about it all together. When does he receive it in practice?