The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: September 14, 2026
Part 1 Rabash. Man Is Rewarded with Righteousness and Peace through the Torah. Article 3 (1986)
Reader: Hello, in the first part, we will learn from a recorded lesson from the 4th of November, 2003. The lesson is based on the article, "Man is Rewarded with Righteousness and Peace Through the Torah," from “The Writings of Rabash.” We will read the article together in the Tens. We have 19 minutes for that.
Reading: (00:38) Man Is Rewarded with Righteousness and Peace through the Torah
Article No. 3, 1986
In The Zohar (Lech Lecha, item 1), Rabbi Aba explains why Abraham was rewarded with the Creator telling him Lech Lecha [Go forth] more than all his contemporaries. It writes, “Rabbi Aba started and said, ‘Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness.’ ‘Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted’ means how hard are the hearts of the wicked. They see the trails and ways of Torah and do not look at them. Their hearts are hard since they do not return to their Master in repentance. This is why they are called, ‘Stubborn-hearted who are far from righteousness,’ meaning far from the Torah, and hence far from righteousness.”
Rabbi Hizkiya said, “They are far from the Creator. And because they are far from the Creator they are called stubborn-hearted.” The meaning of the verse is “far from righteousness.” Why? It is because they do not wish to approach the Creator, for they are stubborn-hearted. And because of it, they are far from righteousness.
Because they are far from righteousness, they are far from peace, meaning they have no peace, as it is written, “‘There is no peace,’ said the Lord to the wicked.” What is the reason? It is because they are far from righteousness, hence they have no peace.
We should understand why when Rabbi Aba says that being far from righteousness means that they are far from the Torah, and therefore far from righteousness. On the one hand, he says that righteousness is called Torah, and then he says that by moving away from the Torah they move away from righteousness. This implies that the Torah is the reason for righteousness, but we do not see any connection between Torah and righteousness.
We see that the nations of the world have no Torah, as our sages said, “He says His words to Jacob,” and still they give Tzedakah [righteousness/almsgiving].” Does giving Tzedakah require believing in the Creator and keeping the Torah and Mitzvot [commandments], and only then can one give Tzedakah? Rather, he says that they are far from Tzedakah because they are far from the Torah.
He also said that because they are far from the Torah, they are far from Tzedakah. This implies that the Torah is the reason by which we can keep Tzedakah. That is, the most important thing for us is to achieve Tzedakah. How can we achieve such a high degree? Through the Torah.
Thus, we should understand the greatness and importance of Tzedakah, which means that the Torah is a lower degree than Tzedakah because through the Torah we can achieve Tzedakah. We need to understand this.
Also, it is difficult to understand the words of Rabbi Hizkiya in what he adds to the words of Rabbi Aba and says, “Who are the stubborn-hearted? Those who do not want to approach the Creator. And because they do not want to approach the Creator they are far from Tzedakah.” How can we understand this? Does this mean that through approaching the Creator they will be rewarded with a higher degree, which is Tzedakah?
We should also understand why Rabbi Hizkiya says, “Since they are far from Tzedakah, they are far from peace.” This is even more perplexing because once he has clarified for us the importance of Tzedakah, meaning in Rabbi Aba’s view, Tzedakah is more important than Torah, and in Rabbi Hizkiya’s view, Tzedakah is greater than approaching the Creator. Now he comes and says that if they do not have the degree of Tzedakah, they cannot achieve the degree of peace.
Thus, we should understand what is the degree of peace. It is implied that after all the work he will achieve the degree of peace. That is, the first degree is either Torah or approaching the Creator, the second is Tzedakah, and the third is peace. This requires clarification.
We find that Tzedakah is called “faith,” as it is written about Abraham, “And he believed in the Lord, and He regarded it for him as righteousness.” Thus, because faith is regarded as Tzedakah, we can already know the importance of Tzedakah. It is not as it seems literally. Rather, Tzedakah implies faith.
What is faith? It is regarded as Tzedakah? We see that one who gives Tzedakah [almsgiving] to the poor does not expect the poor to repay him in some way for the almsgiving he has given him. It is especially so with concealed almsgiving; he certainly does not plan to receive anything in return. Therefore, Tzedakah means that he is doing something without any reward.
But since the faith we should take upon ourselves must be without anything in return, it means that we must believe in the greatness of the Creator, which holy Zohar calls, “For He is great and ruling.” He is to have no thought that he is taking upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven and by this he will receive from Him some reward. Rather, he is working entirely in order to bestow. This is why faith is called Tzedakah, to interpret for us the form that the faith we are taking on ourselves should have.
However, we must pay attention to how we achieve such faith, which is in order to bestow. Our nature is only to receive and not to bestow. Therefore, what can one do in order to achieve bestowal? He is telling us that it is done precisely through the Torah, as our sages said (Kidushin 30), “I have created the evil inclination, I have created for it the Torah as a spice.”
In the “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot” (item 11) he says, “However, we find and see in the words of the sages of the Talmud that they have made the path of Torah easier for us more than the sages of the Mishnah. This is because they said, ‘One should always engage in Torah and Mitzvot, even Lo Lishma, and from Lo Lishma he will come to Lishma.’ That is, the light in it reforms him. Thus, they have provided us with a new means instead of the penance presented in the above-mentioned Mishnah, Avot: the ‘Light in the Torah.’ It bears sufficient power to reform one and bring him to engage in Torah and Mitzvot Lishma.”
By this we will understand the words of Rabbi Aba, who said that “far from Tzedakah” means that they are moving away from the Torah, hence they are far from Tzedakah. We asked, “Is the Torah the reason for achieving Tzedakah? Is it impossible to give Tzedakah without Torah?” The thing is that Tzedakah refers to faith. It is impossible to achieve real faith before one has equivalence of form with the Creator, meaning that all of one’s actions are only in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator.
He says in the “Introduction of the Book of Zohar” (item 138): “It is a law that the creature cannot receive disclosed evil from the Creator, for it is a flaw in the glory of the Creator for the creature to perceive Him as an evildoer. Hence, when one feels bad, to the same extent, denial of the Creator’s guidance lies upon him, and the Operator is concealed from him.”
The reason is that before a person is rewarded with vessels of bestowal he is unfit to receive the delight and pleasure from Him. It follows that he feels bad and therefore cannot be awarded real faith before he has corrected the evil in him, called “receiving in order to receive.”
It follows that through the Torah, which reforms him, meaning that by receiving vessels of bestowal he will be rewarded with faith, which is called Tzedakah, which is “faith because He is great and ruling,” and not that the basis of his faith is in order to receive some reward.
Now we will understand what we asked about the words of Rabbi Hizkiya, where he explains the meaning of “stubborn-hearted.” He explains that because they move away from the Creator, they move away from Tzedakah. We asked, “Can approaching the Creator be a reason that we will have the ability to do Tzedakah? What is the connection between them?” It is written in the Sulam [commentary on The Zohar], “Rabbi Hizkiya does not dispute Rabbi Aba. Rather, he interprets more than him.” We asked, “But Rabbi Hizkiya’s explanation is even more difficult to understand!”
According to what we explained above, Rabbi Hizkiya explains more what it means that they are called “stubborn-hearted,” for which they are far from Tzedakah, since regarding what Rabbi Aba says, that they have moved away from the Torah, they think that they simply need to learn Torah and by this they will be rewarded with Tzedakah, called “faith.” However, Rabbi Aba’s intention is that through Torah they will achieve equivalence of form, called “vessels of bestowal,” since they cannot achieve real faith before they have vessels of bestowal, as it is written in the Sulam (“Introduction of the Book of Zohar”).
This is why Rabbi Hizkiya elaborates more and says more simply that “stubborn-hearted” are those who move away from the Creator. That is, they do not want to approach the Creator because they are stubborn- hearted, therefore they are far from Tzedakah. This is as we said above, that it is impossible to be rewarded with faith, which is Tzedakah, before we are rewarded with nearing the Creator, called equivalence of form, which are vessels of bestowal.
Perhaps that reason why Rabbi Aba does not interpret the same as Rabbi Hizkiya is that Rabbi Aba wants to tell us two things at once, meaning the reason and the advice. The reason why they have no faith is that they have no vessels of bestowal. The advice for this is to engage in Torah, where by the light of Torah they will be awarded equivalence of form, regarded as all their actions being only to bestow. At that time they will be rewarded with Tzedakah, which is real faith.
And concerning Rabbi Hizkiya’s addition that through Tzedakah they will be rewarded with peace, we asked, “If Tzedakah is such a great thing, which refers to faith, then what is peace? It implies that peace is even more important!”
We should interpret that peace is the completion of the work. Before one is rewarded with vessels of bestowal, he has no room for faith. Once he has vessels of bestowal and has been rewarded with faith, he obtains the purpose of creation, which is to do good to His creations. This means that then he feels the delight and pleasure that the Creator has created to do good to His creations. At that time one is rewarded with peace.
But before one has been rewarded with Tzedakah, which is faith, on the basis of vessels of bestowal, he does not have the Kelim to obtain the delight and pleasure, since the good is lacking the correction of not being the bread of shame, for which there was the correction of Tzimtzum Aleph [first restriction]. Only when the creatures have that correction, called “vessels of bestowal,” there will be a place where the light of the Creator (which is to benefit His creations) can be present.
Prior to this he is in strife with the Creator, as he says in the Sulam (“Introduction of the Book of Zohar,” item 175): “Peace, too, complained that he was all strife because he cannot engage in Mitzvot [commandments] in order to bestow, but with a mixture of self-pleasing.” By this he is always in strife with the Creator, since he thinks he is a complete righteous and does not feel his faults at all. That is, he does not feel that his entire engagement in Torah and Mitzvot is Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], and he is angry at the Creator for not rewarding him as much as a complete righteous should be rewarded.
Thus, we see that before one is rewarded with Tzedakah, which is faith in the Creator on the basis of vessels of bestowal, which brings one to approach the Creator, it is impossible to have peace. It follows that the end of the work, when the goal is achieved, is when we achieve the degree of peace. That peace cannot be achieved before we go through the preliminary stages, which are approaching the Creator, then faith, called Tzedakah, and finally the goal, which is called “peace.”
Reader: Now we continue to the recorded lesson from the 4th of November 2003.
M. Laitman: (19:43) We heard an article from Rabash from portion “Lech Lecha.” What does Rabash want to explain to us? The stages that a person goes through before he reaches the goal. Because we begin from matter and our matter is the will to receive, the will to enjoy, it turns out that that the way is to invert, to work with this desire against its natural intention. When we learn the development from above downwards we learn about the creation of matter through four phases of direct light, and then the will to receive, and the will to receive which develops until it comes to the shattering, it is completely in a quality where it's not yet a will to receive the way we know it. Rather afterwards, when it goes through shattering and then sparks of Bina enter that will to receive, sparks of bestowal, they become in the will to receive as an intention in order to receive. They come from Bina, however they go through shattering, both Malchut and Bina, and therefore turns out that he has receiving for himself, enjoying for himself with the intention that is for himself, that it is completely closed within itself, both in terms of action and intention. And therefore our work is not like the vessel decided in Ein Sof that it wants to work in order to bestow, meaning that's the matter of the worlds where there's no evil inclination, there's no intention to begin with, only later in the worlds of BYA, of Tuma. However, we begin from the opposite state. Therefore, we first have to undergo a correction called the degree of faith, the degree of Tzedakah, that our intention will change from in order to receive to in order to bestow. We should reach a state called “the first restriction,” where we don't use the will to receive if it is not in order to bestow. And it's about the relation to the Creator. It's not about corporeal things, that a person usually through the Klipot, he enters all kinds of thoughts that he is forbidden to drink or eat or limit himself with all kinds of matters of this world. No, we're talking about what's relevant to the Creator, all our thoughts and actions that belong to our spiritual development. There we have to have intentions in order to bestow, to try to reach equivalence of form, to be in equivalence of form with the Creator, the equivalence of intentions, because in the equivalence of action, we can never be. We can only receive or not receive, and the Creator is only bestowing. But if we come to that intention, not for myself, each one, but only for the Creator, then we are in equivalence of form with Him and this correction is called “faith.” And then our action, in order to bestow, is called “Tzedakah,” meaning that if a person reaches a state where he doesn't expect any reward to come from what he thinks or does, that means that he's doing Tzedakah. And if he truly reaches that state where he's actually trying to do Tzedakah, then he begins to reveal that he's incapable, that he doesn't want, that by no shape or form he can even get close to that degree. And then the degree called the “stubborn-hearted" becomes revealed in him, that he's really blunt, he complains and disregards spirituality and the Creator, and he doesn't want to reach Tzedakah, and also the degree after Tzedakah, which is called “peace.”
M. Laitman: (26:05) Therefore, Baal HaSulam tell us about those four angels, meaning the four main qualities by which the Creator wants to bring man, the will to receive, to a correction. So, peace, the last degree, he said, is all strife, the will to receive. He will never want to be in peace. And it turns out that it's really so, that the will to receive is not capable of wanting to reach receiving in order to bestow. However, not within man, not within these four qualities, four degrees, there is a means from above called “the light that reforms,” “surrounding light,” and that light corrects the will to receive, and then he can really come to that. And there are two states regarding that, where a person can be in a state where he does a lot of action, and he studies the Torah, and like Rabbi Abba says, that despite doing everything, he doesn't acquire the degree of faith. He thinks about himself as righteous, and based on his actions, he truly is, but he doesn't acquire the degree of faith because the Torah that he studies doesn't awaken the surrounding light upon him. And he only thinks of himself as a righteous, and he actually slanders the other path. He doesn't see that he's at a dead end.
And Rabbi Hizkiya says that you can't reach the degree of peace, even for the degree of the righteous, the degree of faith, without going through the stage called “stubborn-hearted,” that the body resists and it doesn't want anything, and he is in strife, it kicks away everything, it doesn't agree to anything on this path, because it sees that there's an attempt to bend it, to correct it. And if a person keeps going, and he keeps going by attracting the surrounding light that reforms, so if he's fighting his stubborn-heartedness, and then he passes through it, he breaks the heart, and this is called “the joy of the broken-hearted,” meaning he then is awarded with the Torah, filling his heart, his broken heart, correcting it. And then he comes out the other side of that shattering, to the correction of his self, comes to peace. So there are seemingly two paths, as if, because one path is a path written with no end, with a dead end: those who study the Torah without the intention for self-correction, to invite the surrounding light upon themselves, which you can invite only by studying Kabbalah with the intention to be corrected, to awaken the surrounding lights, to see evil, to correct it, and reach love thy friend as thyself. So then they feel the stubbornness of the heart and the strife against the path, and certainly through breaking they come to correction.
M. Laitman: (30:31) And there's another path, where you study and do actions and count the actions you do, the hours of study, the pages of Gemara you know by heart. And you look at what is the amount of that, and what is the amount of days they have engaged in the Torah or the pages, they do that math. And so it turns out that there's no attainment of faith, no attainment of peace, and not feeling that they're against it, and think of themselves as righteous. That's the whole difference between awakening the stubbornness of the heart, or just bypassing it without feeling it, and kind of live all of life while covering the correction, moving away from the correction. Certainly the path that doesn't reveal the evil in the person is pleasant, the person is in an illusion, but he lives in a kind of a false wholeness, feels good. And one who reveals the resistance of his heart, so from all of the strife, from all the burdening of the heart, he feels bad, he feels himself poor.
And it turns out that the path of Torah is opposite to the path of the landlords. Landlords, meaning that he always counts what he's got. Another day he made commandments, another day he studied another page of Gemara, another day he engaged in something that is considered fulfilling the will of the Creator on the one hand. And on the other hand, one who invents by way of the work, then every day he sees he has less, he's farther away, he doesn't agree with the path, his will to receive is completely opposite to the goal, and he sees himself as moving away. So he's got nothing to count, and therefore he's not called a landlord. Rather he makes the calculation, not according to what he has, but rather how much he feels that he's in disparity of form to the host, and how much he demands the Torah. This is called the path of Torah. It's opposite to the reason of the landlords, because the landlords don't need the Torah that reforms, “I created the evil inclination, I created the Torah as a spice,” rather they need to just count their property. So like we have this division between the workers of the Creator and those who do actions, similarly it exists in each and every person also, each time one examines himself, being in different states, and that is among those who are on the path of correction. One should always examine himself and be happy, even though it's not what he feels, but he's happy about what's happening, that he's on the right track. Therefore it is said, “Go forth,” Lech Lecha, that it's not simple to go along this path, but only through the commandment of the Creator and with the help of the light that corrects and transitions you from stage to stage. Then you can truly reach, “go forth from your land, from the house of your father to the land that I'll show you.” Meaning moving from one desire, from qualities of receiving to qualities of bestowal.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (35:25) I remain, despite this strife I have with the path. Yes, but how do I know if I'm staying because I'm passive, afraid of God, or maybe I'm staying for the right reasons, meaning that I'm drawing upon myself the surrounding light.
M. Laitman: If a person is on the path or not, how does he check? He checks. He only checks according to the failures. We can't measure ourselves according to our good accomplishments. Our accomplishments today is the recognition of evil. The more evil is revealed within us, it indicates or measures to what extent we've advanced.
Look, I'm told, until you reach a state where you lift 100 kilos, you don't move to the next stage. So now I place some boundaries, some accomplishments in front of me, 100 kilos. And every time I advance, let's say 20 kilos, I can already lift that, then I'm given 25. I can't. I advanced. I can lift 25, but I'm looking at 100. What will 25 give me? Then I'm given 30. And again, I can't do it. I work on it until I lift 30. Meaning, each time I see a greater and greater difficulty. And I don't count my accomplishments that I'm lifting 20, now 30, now 40. Why? Because I'm looking at 100. And it turns out that the good accomplishments in the meantime, they still don't feel to me as accomplishments. Because 100 kilos is, it's just so far from what I've accomplished that I only see how much burdening I have each time that's added to me. And so the path is tough, but essentially, this is what helps a person gradually determine the right relation to the stages of progress. That he's not looking at how he feels, rather he's looking at being in it with whom he is. That he appreciates the singularity of the Creator's attitude to him. That he's in a group. That he nevertheless does something special, let's put it like that, even though he doesn't feel it. He begins to build slowly other values besides what he used to examine in vessels of reception. And it is specifically because each time he feels disappointments, it builds in him a different attitude of weighing the situation, each and every state, each time. So, in the meantime, he also measures his mood, as well as truth, and then bit by bit he lets go of his mood, he pays less attention to it, he's not so much under the control of his mood. He slowly transitions to truth and false from bitter and sweet, meaning he puts his connection with the Creator, with the goal, with what's above this life, he places that connection as the greatest thing, with almost no relation to how he feels, good or bad. He gradually acquires the force of resistance to how he feels, good or bad and doesn't pay attention to it. Bit by bit, a different system is built in him to observe life. This is certainly not for beginners, but that's how it happens.
M. Laitman: (41:01) And he comes to a point where he demands that from the Creator. Every time it happens through a burdening and he demands it from the Creator, meaning he wants it to be so, from the study and from his actions, that he merits the surrounding light that corrects him and brings him the degree of faith. What's the degree of faith? That I don't pay attention to my will to receive, and it’s growing, and by attracting the surrounding light, I correct myself, when I ride above the will to receive, where it doesn't pressure me and necessitates me to determine my state based on how I feel it, rather I become bestowing in order to bestow, meaning I stop taking it into account, just stop. Why? Just like that, the influence of the light. It doesn't come directly, it comes as if directly, but also in the opposite way, because directly means that I can't do it, it's not in my own strength, but rather I cause the surrounding light to influence me. It's not a direct action, it's an action that I summon upon myself, and then the light reforms, and then one comes to correction. And the way there begins from man's demand that the Creator will correct him. Meaning, one who doesn't feel that this happens to him on the path, one who doesn't feel, meaning doesn't reveal from the descents that he needs these corrections. At first, my descents reveal to me that I feel bad, it's darkness, I lose taste in everything, I go into some kind of despair, depression, better off dead, I can't move, I just feel bad and that's it. Meaning, I just call my state that I feel bad, meaning it's not truth and false, it's bitter and sweet, and it's bitter. Then bit by bit as I advance, I attach that bitter to the truth, so it's true that I feel bitter, but I'm in the right development, and then this bitterness receives some mitigation. It's also relevant for our life. When I want to be a professor, so I feel bad, bad in life: I don't go to party, I just sit in the library and pressure myself, but I sweeten my life for now through the goal. So it's the same thing, let's say, on our path, although the mitigation here, the sweetening has to be through support from the group, faith that I'm truly coming to something that can't be seen. Professor, I see what that is, that's respectable, it's good. Now, and afterwards, by truly seeing the evil and asking for its correction, meaning I ask to evaluate these states according to truth and not by feel, then the light certainly acts in such a way where it brings me the correction, in order to bestow. That is what I'm asking, actually. I don't want to be bribed by the feeling. The sensation of evil - fine, the will to receive, but not that it will control me. I just want to be adhered. Is this better? Fine. Closer to the goal? All right. And without taking into account whether it's painful or not. Let's say, I give my hand to the doctor and I say, “Cut, do something there.” Why? This is more healthy, then I'm willing. And I don't take into account at all the sensation of pain, if there is any or not, so much so that if it's the actual truth and I adhere to the truth, I do not feel pain. I don't feel pain. How could that be? The light gives me that ability.
M. Laitman: (46:17) That is the meaning of reaching the degree of faith, that I am in a state where the feeling in the will doesn't control me at all, but only the greatness of the goal, the greatness of the Creator. That is the meaning of reaching Tzedakah, righteousness or charity. It's called, reaching a state where there's no compensation for the will to receive. No compensation, meaning whatever is in it is no longer felt, you don't take that into account. And therefore, this state of Chafetz Chesed, seeking grace, bestowing in order to bestow, that is called the degree of equivalence to the Creator, where one condition is the same way as He doesn't think about Himself, the person also doesn't think about himself, whether he exists or not, and so on. The first restriction, as we call it in short. And then there's another degree, inverting the will to receive towards bestowal in order to bestow, and that is called, that is not called Tzedakah, that is called “Shalom” [peace]. It's another very, very complex addition, very refined.
But for the time being, this is what it is. Meaning we, through our process in the society, we need to respect our states that a person can go through without feeling that he's in a state of a descent or fall, or an ascent in his sensation, in his feelings. But rather, he should determine that it's an ascent or a descent according to the importance he feels towards the Creator, for the Creator, coming close to Him, the importance of the society, adhesion to the society. Meaning, not according to the feelings in the limbs and organs, what the desire feels, the will feels, but according to truth, according to spiritual values, not beastly values, assessment. So, that's the meaning of having to show respect, to show appreciation for it, to respect it. So, in our society, it's considered respectable.
And here, of course, like in every uncorrected state of ours, we have the good state as well as the … Well, we have the correct state and the incorrect state. When a person does it correctly, he is joyous. That means that he's truly walking correctly. And the wrong state is where the Klipa [shell] tells him, “You will suffer, and by suffering you’ll advance.” So, the examination here is, if a person is assessing things correctly, meaning that bestowal is more respected than a sweet taste, a sweet flavor, right? And the examination here is what state he's in, whether he's joyous, if he's still joyous while in that state. And here, the support of the society is simply crucial. Without that…
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (50:24) The support of society and the influence of the light, we say that solving any problem so that the path of truth will be good, requires the importance of the path, and this gives strength. And, you know, saying that the support needs to be given by society. So who's doing that? The society gives importance to the path of truth? What are we building now, the higher importance?
M. Laitman: The society gives a person support. It gives the person an indication, how to say, scale, maybe, yes, frame of reference, to see if he's advancing correctly or not. Can it be seen externally? What does he look like externally? What form? Opposite every state, he receives a reaction. You see, Rabash doesn't say in every single place, “The society, the society, the society.” He wrote about it 20, 30 articles. Baal HaSulam as well, here and there in his letters, he touches upon that, and why? Because after that, they look at things from within the person. Of course, it comes from within the person, through the society to the Creator, but this is already made clear, and now they're talking about discernments within the person. You have no, how to say? You have no action from you towards the Creator or from the Creator towards you, that doesn't need to go through this amplifier, this magnifying glass, this decryption system, analysis, a system which arranges your intentions and desires exactly like the society. There is no action, no relation between man and the Creator or Creator towards man, if not through this general vessel called “Adam,” human, because there, inside, towards the Creator, and through the entire vessel, all of it, all its parts, which are in absolute unity, there you discover Him. So because you're asking, well, this is through the society, and this maybe isn't through the society. No, there's no such thing. And it follows that there's nothing to even speak of. If I'm talking about in order to bestow, then I'm already… What is “in order to bestow?” In order to bestow, means that I came to such a degree of connection between all the other parts, so there's no difference between me and them, and through these relationships between myself and all the other souls, I came to a point where I feel the Creator dwelling within this collective, within this sum of souls, all these relationships, and there's no difference between them. But it's impossible to keep repeating that. But all the actions that we take - there are no other actions from the 613 or 620 actions - there's nothing except for actions of connection, and through connection, some relation to the filling. That's all there is. Nobody corrects himself. We all correct only the connection between us, and according to the measure of connection between them all, the Creator is revealed. And as soon as you attain this connection between you and the rest of the souls, then it's clear to you how he relates to the filling, because the filling is revealed accordingly. The filling is revealed according to equivalence of form.
M. Laitman: (55:39) Now, you could say, “But I perform actions after I discover the connection between us, and I form connections between the souls. Am I also performing some specific actions towards the filling within us, or no?” Do you reach such a connection between the souls that you become a complete Partzuf? Well, if so, then this complete Partzuf performs an act of unification, an act of bestowal towards… Well, you could ask, what is the difference between an act of, well, my act of bestowal towards the rest of the souls, and my act of bestowal towards the light that is within us, right, in the relations between us? So, the action by which I connect with all the rest of the souls, that is called “the correction of the vessels.” That is bestowing in order to bestow. And having corrected that, with the vessel bestowing in order to bestow, now I relate to the light, receiving in order to bestow.
So, it will be more easy for us, you understand? So, the relationships between us, when we acquire the vessel of faith, the vessel of Bina, the vessel of Tzedakah, when we don't think about ourselves, but rather accept each one of us as an equal, equally, that's the meaning of… Well, that's us correcting the vessel, connecting it back together, reconstituting it. When we assemble it back together, we made this glue, so there's no gap between the vessels, that means that we've come to the degree of faith. We elevated Malchut to Bina, we came to Katnut [smallness] as we call it. But this is from Shoresh, root, to Aleph, Bet, one, two of coarseness. And now we begin to activate the will to receive in each one of us through incorporation, not in each and every one individually, but through the incorporation of the general will to receive towards the filling, to receive in order to bestow. And that is towards the Creator already, because the bestower is Him, and the abundance comes from Him, the light of Hochma, and then we have dealings with Him. The souls, one towards the other, they cannot engage in the work of receiving in order to bestow. They only correct their own vessels through bestowal in order to bestow. Bestowing in order to bestow is the correction of the vessels, the correction of the intention. And receiving in order to bestow, that is the act itself. There we work with the will to receive, receiving pleasures, meaning through connection, feeling the Creator within the created being. That's it, put simply. There's more, this and that and that and this. Meaning, there's also receiving in order to bestow in the relationships between the vessels to an extent, and also bestowing in order to bestow. We also have such vessels between the vessels and the Creator. We also have that between the vessels and the Creator, the light. But this is easier. Bestowing in order to bestow, that's the correction of the vessel of Adam HaRishon, and receiving in order to bestow, that's afterwards, when we make the Creator, we do it with the Creator. I don't think it's far off. Actually, I think opposite. I think it's simple. It clarifies the two stages, what we need to do between us, and then what we need to do as a society. So that's not far off. Maybe it is according to the stages on the path, but it's just those two things. It's reward and punishment and eternal love.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:00:30) If I understood, there are two things: to scrutinize what is truth, what you just described, and then receive importance of the path. So there's no ignoring the feelings. To clarify the path of truth, that also needs to be through the society, and the importance that specifically the path of truth is more important than everything. If I receive importance, if I delve into that, then who will do something negative? How will I do something negative? Because if I don't have importance for the path of truth, then what can I do?
M. Laitman: What is he asking? I'm hearing just one thing. If I have no importance in the path, true, I have nothing to do. Yes, I agree with you. Importance, that's only the society. All of my importance other than my beastly importance, right? I know what's good to eat, to drink, to mate, to have a family and so on. Those are my beastly instincts. Yes? With no society, if I'm on an isolated island somewhere, I'll also want those things. If the body is healthy, that's what it wants. Yes. That, I feel, is important, and I feel a corresponding lack. But I don't feel any lack for dealing with money, respect. Well, depending on the style of the respect or honor, each one still has that. Take a primitive person, he also has a sense of honor. If there's a degree of Enosh [human] in him, he's already more than a beast. He already has that. You see how these primitive people, they're not primitives, it's a special culture that they have. They have their special dances. They divide themselves according to rank, right? The head of the tribe and those who are below him and so on. But these things I receive from the society when I am born and as I grow. I have these inclinations because I was born a person and not a cow. But the society provides me with these measures, these qualities, meaning their fulfillment. What is honor? Respect, rather. Respect means the more you steal, the more respected you will be. Right? You know there are societies of thieves. So, the more respected, the more you cheat others, the more respected, the more you manipulate others, you're stronger and more respected. That's for politicians, for example. And so on and so forth, depending on the society you belong to, that you affiliate yourself with it provides you with different values. Without a society, you can't. And if you choose that the degree that you want to respect will be connection with the Creator, then you need to enter such a society, of connection with the Creator. That's it. This is clear, obvious. That is the entire purpose of education.
I was small. My parents very much wanted me to learn music. You know, Jewish parents. They gave me a terrible time. Everything, so I'll learn music. And my father forced me to go to movies about musicians. I went with him to the movie theater to watch movies about musicians. I remember it as if it were right now. I was five or six all these composers, you know all that. It had no effect on me. I didn't want it and that's it. You understand me. That's it. I didn't want it. I turned out the opposite, well it turned out the opposite, but from their perspective, from their side rather, they did the correct thing seemingly. So what to do? I remember all the children playing in the yard. We had a large place, a large yard there, and many people playing, many children playing games, hide-and-seek, all sorts of things and I am going to music school. Life isn't life, it's all dark. Obviously I hated this entire system.
M. Laitman: (01:05:39) But now how can we, we're also such children, just somewhat bigger, how can we educate ourselves? You're in the same state right now. The body wants to run off to somewhere more convenient, pleasant, or even within the society, to manipulate the society such that it won't be a music school, that it will be something different. Let's play inside of this with something else. You always want to distort it and you need to cleverly, against this inner desire of yours, to nonetheless organize the society such that it will bring you respect for music as the highest, the greatest thing, that you will despise all the hide-and-seek and all those things, and study music. This you cannot do that by yourself. You can do that to someone else and someone else can do that to you. And so we build a society, such a mutual society, yes with mutual understanding and agreement, that while we determine that our society must be such that it will influence each and every one with values, which I don't have these values now. If I had, why need the society? I don't have them now. And by force I determine, in the society these things that I want to receive.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:07:35) What are all those things? It needs to be kind of one thing. Why so many?
M. Laitman: It's not many things, what I'm telling you. Values?
Student: Values, yeah, like many values.
M. Laitman: It’s one value, one value. Connection with the Creator is the highest value. Anything under that, anything below that is worthless. That has to be the only thing. And from that I determine everything else. If there's a means that can achieve that then it's worthwhile. If not, then no.
Student: And these means, can I choose on my own, what I see as a good means or a different means?
M. Laitman: And then you scrutinize alongside the friends and with the texts that we have, what is the importance of the values and means that bring us to the goal?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:08:38) I know that when there's a problem against the connection between us, let's say a person starts the work and starts a new job or gets married, or we have some technical problem now. What is the way to try to understand the solution to the problem that the whole group thinks about it, awakens the surrounding light or in your simple intellect you solve the problem, or what?
M. Laitman: How to solve any problem, either through the surrounding light or the whole book or the whole group? We don't know what actions of ours can bring a greater surrounding light or a smaller light and how to measure all these actions. We can measure the… not the outcome, but the actions themselves. The more these actions work towards connection in size and height, then they are more effective, more beneficial actions, that is all. But again, this is on the condition that the society has the right values, so connection in such a society works to our benefit. But if it's a society of wicked people who have bad values, then the connection between them is bad, meaning we need to work with two things: to measure the values and examine them and focus them and around these values to unite. Yes? Because otherwise it might be a harmful society, better not to have a connection between them.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:10:47) If there's a problem how do you solve it? That comes against the connection between us, how do you solve it? We’ll all start thinking about the surrounding light, that's it?
M. Laitman: After we determined what we want from our work, after that we decide that we need to unite around it. So what are you asking? After that we begin to search by which actions we will be able to perform this. We want to reveal the Creator in our common vessel. Yes? In order to adhere to Him, to reveal Him and feel Him - I'm talking on purpose and with such simple words - we must create a state called “the common Kli.” That it. If I come to a feeling that there's no difference between myself and the rest of the friends in the society, then it's a sign that I have reached my correction, called “in order to bestow,” called “faith,” whereas I already go out, maybe to a certain extent, out of myself. Why do I do this towards others? In order to connect with the Creator. I'm not measuring now whether it's in order to receive or in order to bestow, and it's certainly still in Lo Lishma, but that's enough. Meaning, it is worthwhile for me to give up myself and be with everyone in one Kli, together in one connection, in order to discover between us the upper force, the Creator, spirituality. Everything is for the time being with my reward, my benefit. That's how we think and that's enough. I want that state. I am willing to work for it. This is called the beneficial Lo Lishma. From this we invite the surrounding light and it operates and corrects. It already changes the inclinations, but I'm not capable of thinking any other way. I can't even depict to myself what a corrected Kli, towards which I can yearn, I can't even depict it. That's okay. That's enough. That's the true state. When will it be the true or real state? If we will say to everyone, “Guys the revelation of the Creator, connection with Him is the loftiest of things. It is worthwhile for us to each concede his comfort.” That's it and this is fine. This is already connection, bestowal to one another in order to connect with the Creator. This is already no longer a kibbutz nor communism but this is the correct Lo Lishma which leads to Lishma.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:14:51) I'm asking if we have a disturbance in the connection between us and in the groups in Europe? So what's the solution? How to solve it?
M. Laitman: If there's an obstruction to connecting in the group or between groups and how do we solve the problem? Depends on what kind of obstruction. Either solving it by explanation or solving it by getting rid of the problem itself or putting it aside and deciding that we're not evoking it, and then we see that it's bad and it disappears. That’s…I don't know.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:15:35) If we, everything that happens here, let's say we know that we have a problem with the sound department. So is it right to relate to that as a disturbance against the whole group that is preventing it from spiritual advancement?
M. Laitman: You don't relate to any problem as to the general problem, sadly, that's how it is. It's not a matter of sound. You're not checking what the one who receives from us feels. If you were to think about that, you would be sitting on the other hand of the screen on your computer at home, and you would see that the way they change the camera from face-to-face, a person on his computer at home sees for half a minute a certain cloud. He doesn't see this face or that face. Why? Because the internet can't tolerate speed, it's not the movie theater. It's a different approach, it's a different philosophy seemingly. There are such limitations also in audio, also in seeing, and we need to take that into consideration in order to work. People aren't capable of clothing themselves in this, no matter how much I scream about it. They do clips, this and that, they don't see. It's not beneficial. We want to do it for their benefit, and we're doing it to our detriment. It causes disconnect. They came with such a good feeling to connect, and we're like, we're not clothing in them. We don't feel how to bring forth the message, our message to them. What can I say? They don't want to study.
Student: Now, the solution was?
M. Laitman: The solution must be on behalf of the receiver. Not his solution, our solution needs to clothe the receiver, and from it come back to us and here determine what we need to do. That's it. And it's not just like that, that we should, from our mind, start doing all kinds of things that come up to us. If you talk to the receiver - I receive every day dozens of letters, I collect them with all the problems - is this done in the departments, is someone concerned with this? Do we want to operate accordingly? I don't know. I don't think that video thinks about this whatsoever.
Student: So that's the question. How to see that it's not a physical issue but a group issue that's preventing spirituality?
M. Laitman: It is a group issue, where the approach is one that does not take into consideration the user. I don't know how to say this. I'm constantly actually asking, how are they feeling, what are they thinking, what's good for them, what's bad for them, what flaws are there? I'm constantly asking that. I receive letters and there's people who collect information and then bring it to me. But I'm concerned with that, I care for it. And they, no. They do like this with a camera or something else. Maybe they don't think or don't see good, or maybe don't hear good, because I hear these complaints for many months already. But when I pass this to those who are doing it they don't hear.
Student: Maybe we need to encourage the whole world Kli to awaken this concern that…
M. Laitman: I don't know. Do what you want. I can't talk about that anymore. You see, 102 groups we have right now, 102 groups. Are we thinking about them? Do we know how to pass the good things to them or things in a good way to them?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:20:12) We talked about the group's relation between us in the group and the group to the Creator. Where is Rav's position in that system? What relation should be between the group and the Rav?
M. Laitman: I think, really I don't know, I think that the group needs to respect the Rav by not kind of dropping on him and would rather want to be as independent as possible. And really, as a father, you're happy to see your child more independent, and not that he will always be dependent on you and need you, where the Rav is also happy when the group is more independent. And by hearing the counsels, the advices. That’s two things: to hear the advice and perform them, do them. Of course, critique things and scrutinize because by that we grow, and try to be as independent as possible. What else is there? I don't know. I am against relating to Rav, let's say to me, with any extra attention or all kinds of things like that. From that we also tend to warp things and none of us needs that. Really there's no need. And Rabash didn't demand that from the society either. I really don't know. As we work we need to find each time more collaboration, that's it. I don't understand what you want to ask by that.
Student: How we always discover, and it's a long time, we discover that we don't hear your advice. So what should we change? Here, this example now, but there's more of them. Every time it's…
M. Laitman: It could be that also I won't be able to explain it correctly. But when I say it again and again, on the other hand, there should be some kind of interest. Why like this? How like that? Maybe you're wrong. I am for being investigated and scrutinized. Because really there are things that have to do with corporeality where for sure I might error. Who am I in corporeality, no more than anyone else. Corporeality has nothing to do with.. it's not associated with spirituality. So when I say let's do this or that in some technical systems, who said that I'm seeing this correctly? I'm interested here in the proper critique of that. That which I'm talking about now is advice or counsels, it's not my counsels. This is the counsels of how we need to work. Is to sit in the place of the user and from his side to see the corrections we need to perform. In what way to do it, I don't know. That's already where the expertise which I'm not in, that comes in play. But I heard, and this is why I understood that here the vessel is limited and we need to approach it in a unique and special way, otherwise there's all kinds of problems there. What we do is, well barely, the majority can barely see what's happening. And if they see kind of all kinds of sharp tremors or shakes in the system, then we need to think of how we will bring them as much as possible to the way that the vessel will enable it. Whether it's video, audio, I'm not talking, that's something we have to be concerned with especially. Well, let's learn.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:25:14) There are a lot of articles about society and the relation to the Creator and there almost aren't articles about the importance of marriage.
M. Laitman: The importance of marriage is not spoken of. Kabbalists don't talk about the importance of marriage because this condition is even before a person starts to study Kabbalah. I'm telling you, I brought to Rabash after he sat until age 75, no wait, this is actually, yes more or less. I brought him only ten years, seven, eight, nine last years, he had students. Before that you can't even say that he had students. There are a few people with which he studied but that's not really his students. When I brought him these 40 people from Tel Aviv, young guys, Israelis, that really want and this is the only reason they're coming, he said, “I'm not receiving them.” Why? They're not married. There were two or three that were married, them yes, the rest not. A person that you know what, such a thing comes everyone went crazy. How is that possible, such a thing? That's it, tomorrow the Messiah is coming, maybe even today. How could such a thing be, that's happening, really? But him, because for him, that's not a student. What can you do? It's not a student. It's written in the Torah, “a help against him,” “it's not good for a person to be alone.” We will make as an aid for him, a help for him. Altogether, without this help, it's impossible. Why? Because. So until they get married, he didn't relate to them seriously. So each and every one of them got married. I'm telling you, twice a week we had a wedding. And almost no one took into consideration, there were a few individual cases where they took into account that something external wouldn't be repulsive, but besides that, nothing about that. You're willing, that's it let's go. And that's why I'm saying, this is not a case to complain about, why are we not talking about the importance of marriage? It's not important because it's a condition. Baal HaSulam didn't teach even his son until he got married. He got married at age 17 and a half. The next day he entered the lesson, and a day before that he didn't teach him and didn't permit him to even sit afar, that's it. So what do we have here to talk about? You can say whatever you want with your wisdom. I mean that's why I'm saying there are no conditions here, that's why they're not talking about this. They only talk about the fact the door is open and who enters, the one who has a certificate that says he's married.
Student: Maybe we should find more material about it.
M. Laitman: (01:28:48) I don't want any materials on this. I don't want to talk about this nonsense. I don't want to go and convince you after sitting here a few years that you need to get married. What for should I do this? You need to convince yourself. We are beyond that. The fact that you're sitting there and you're behind in your advancement, and where we can also sit there with you, no way. We have other concerns of how to advance. What can we even talk about here? If there's such a clear condition? Search for yourself other, you know, excuses, no you have to work on me and convince me. If I'll be, you know, a donkey, and you’ll have to drag me. That's what he's saying. For what? Rabash said very clearly, don't bring them to me. Why did you bring me 40 people? They're not married. That was on the first day. And the next day he agreed, he said that everyone should start paying Maaser. Do you know what that is? There was never such a thing in history where… well, today there is, yes. I'll tell you why today is, because you open the door and he said let anyone enter. But the fact that you open the door, it doesn't mean that they're all with us in every way. It doesn't mean that you're on the path in which you're being cared for from above. You need to be adapted in this way to the above. If you don't have it, be healthy, sit down. We don't throw people out because we want them to come, and by coming and hearing then they will correct this matter. It's not a problem to correct. That's it, to get married. But the way the upper relates to us is very simple. You have to be a married man. That's what needs to be there. It simply has to be adapted to its roots. Okay, where are we? I also don't understand the… Maybe he's right. He is revealing to us that he doesn't have enough strength to overcome the problem. He sees it as a problem. Yes, let's say that he's sick, but he doesn't feel that it obligates him to receive a medicine for it. So, tell me about this, about how dangerous this disease is and how horrible it is. And by that, I will agree to go to the doctor and be healed. But how much do we need to deal with this? It's true that you need it. I have two books in Russian, 600 pages each, only on the matter of women. Read. And that's also nothing… I don't know how to convince. There's a limit to how much you can talk about this. The fact that we're trying to, you know, drive him in that direction, it pokes your eyes out each time. We were like criminals in doing this. We're repulsive. We're tearing our connection between us and the groups overseas. So, here we can't compromise. But by one person that doesn't want it, is not wanting, what can I do? What am I, his father?