The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: November 11, 2026
Part 1: Rabash. What Is, “You Shall Not Plant for Yourself an Asherah by the Altar,” in the Work? Article No. 43, 1990
Reader: Hello. In the first part of the lesson, we'll watch a lesson from Rav from 2002. It's based on the article "You Shall Not Plant for Yourself an Asherah by the Altar in the Work." This is an article from Rabash. We will read it together in the Tens. We have 33 minutes, go ahead.
Reading: (01:01) What Is, “You Shall Not Plant for Yourself an Asherah by the Altar,” in the Work?
Article No. 43, 1990
The verse says, “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah, any tree by the altar of the Lord your God.” Our sages said (Sanhedrin 7), “Rish Lakish said, ‘Anyone who appoints an unworthy judge, it is as though he plants an Asherah in Israel.’ Rav Ashi said, ‘Instead of a wise disciple, it is as though he planted it by the altar.’”
We should also understand what is “judges and officers” in the work, and what is “in all your gates” in the work. It is known that “work” means the work that a person gives in order to achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator, which is that a person should achieve equivalence of form, called “cleave unto His attributes; as He is merciful, so you are merciful.” That is, a person should come to seeing only to the benefit of the Creator, and not to his own benefit. In this way, we learn the whole Torah on the individual level. That is, we learn both the quality of Israel and the quality of the nations of the world within one body. In other words, a person consists of the seventy nations of the world, from wicked and from righteous. For this reason, litigants, who come to judge in courthouses, we learn that they are also—both the litigants and the courthouse—in the same body.
We should understand why if a person wants to observe Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds] only for the sake of the Creator, it is considered “work,” and without the aim for the sake of the Creator it is not considered “work and labor.” After all, the fact that a person likes the rest, we learned that the reason is that our root is in a state of complete rest. Hence, when we make any movement, we must receive more pleasure than the rest. Hence, when the reward and punishment are revealed, it is not considered that a person is complaining that he must work, since during the work, he is considering the reward.
It follows that the reward sweetens the work so he does not feel the labor during the work. For this reason, we see that a person does not tell his friend, “Poor me, I got a job at a famous company where the work conditions are great.” Because the reward sweetens the work, the work and the labor are insignificant.
Therefore, when engaging in Torah and Mitzvot in order to receive reward in the work of holiness, although his aim is the reward, because the reward and punishment are not revealed, it is still regarded as exerting in Torah and Mitzvot although it is in order to receive reward, and he is careful not to transgress against the Torah and Mitzvot in order not to be punished. And since the main work is in practice, and “practicing” means that which is revealed, this work is called “the revealed Torah.”
We learn this Torah in the general public. Hence, we learn this not in one body, but in the world in general. In other words, in general, we discern many people in the same world, and there are many people in the world. As their faces are not similar to one another, so their views are not similar to one another. In that state, we learn the Torah between man and man, in two bodies. The same applies to wicked and righteous, and everything is likewise.
But in the work on the level of intentions, which is called “work in the heart,” none of this work is revealed outside. This work is called “the hidden part,” meaning that which is not revealed outside. It is even hidden from the man himself, for precisely through the work of Mitzvot, when the act is revealed outward, the Mitzva [commandment/good deed] is regarded as revealed to a person. That is, a person sees that he is observing the Mitzva in practice, and it cannot be said there that the person is deceiving himself during the performance of the Mitzva.
Conversely, in work on the intention, a person cannot see the truth by himself. He may think that all his intentions are for the sake of the Creator, and he cannot tell if there is a mixture of self-benefit there.
This is as Baal HaSulam said about the words, “Walk humbly with the Lord your God.” Although the literal meaning of “walk humbly” refers to another body, in the work, “walk humbly with the Lord your God” refers to his own body. That is, when a person works with “faith above reason,” this is called “walk humbly.” That is, a person’s reason cannot come to work above reason. Only above reason, a person walks without a gauge by which to see, monitor, and measure his work, whether he is walking on the right path or not.
When a person wants to see if this is true, he examines it with his mind and reason. Since he is going above reason, he has no one to tell him if he is fine or not, since man’s reason, which is his monitor, which should see if this is fine or not, cannot see anything because his work is above his mind, and the mind cannot see this. This is why this work is called “Walk humbly with the Lord your God,” when his body does not see this work.
It therefore follows that when a person works in order to achieve Dvekut [adhesion], which is to come to a state where all his actions are in order to bestow, the will to receive comes and resists it. At that time, a person comes to his litigant and establishes the arguments of the will to receive and the arguments of the desire to bestow. Each one claims that he is right, and then this judge must decide which is right.
Certainly, the will to receive, with reason and intellect, says, “What’s to decide here about ‘who is right’? Let’s go and see what everyone does, meaning how the world behaves, if the whole world works for the desire bestow or for the will to receive. The rule is that we follow the majority, and the majority of the world use only the will to receive, as our sages said, ‘I saw the ascended ones, and they are few.’ Hence, the quality of ‘Israel’ is one among seventy nations, so we must follow the majority.”
Indeed, this is regarded as the “people of Israel being in exile among the nations.” Because they are the majority, they control the quality of Israel. But with argument does not conclude the arguments of the will to receive. He comes and argues like one who is clever, whose arguments are all clear and there is nothing to reply to them. The verse says about this, “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise.” In other words, since the will to receive argues only in its own favor, he is biased. Hence, he can no longer see the truth, since the eyes of his mind see only his self-benefit.
Therefore, when one wants to take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven, the body asks, “In whose favor do you want to work in Torah and Mitzvot?” If he tells him, “For the sake of the Creator,” the dispute promptly begins. That is, the dispute begins primarily during the work on intention, when determining with what intention he wants to observe Torah and Mitzvot. Hence, a person should see that this judge rules justly. And since the will to receive argues for its own benefit, it is impossible to listen to it, since it is biased. For this reason, all his clever arguments are incorrect, since “a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise.”
We should also interpret that when a person begins to determine who is right, the question is, When should one decide? The answer is, “In all your gates.” This is as it is written in The Zohar about the verse, “Her husband is known at the gates.” They said, “Each one according to what he assumes in his heart.” “Gates” means “measures.” That is, in each Behina [discernment/quality] where a person begins to work in holiness, he must determine there with “judges,” to see for whose favor he should work—for himself or for the Creator. That is, in everything a person does, he must first contemplate what he wants from this act, meaning for what purpose is he doing this act.
If he sees that his intention is improper, meaning that he sees that he cannot aim in order to bestow, then he has room for prayer. That is, the bad he finds within him through the calculation that he does with his litigant, he sees that the litigant is sentencing justly, except he cannot uphold the verdict.
Therefore, the question is, Where is the benefit in sentencing justly if he cannot follow what the judge says? It is written about this, “judges and officers.” “Judges” is only the verdict. That is, he sees the truth about what he must do. But when it comes to the execution, which is the “officers,” he sees that he cannot follow through.
At that time, a person says, “Now I can pray to the Creator” because I see that I will never be able to work for the sake of the Creator. Hence, then a person can make a heartfelt prayer that the Creator will help him. Put differently, at that time he has a Kli [vessel] called “lack,” which needs the Creator’s help to give him the desire to bestow, since without His help, he is helpless.
By this we should interpret what is written (Psalms 119), “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever mine.” We should interpret “my enemies” to mean “the bad within me.” I see that they interrupt me from doing Your will, for the Creator’s will is to bestow, and I am immersed in the desire to receive, which separates me from the Life of Lives. Hence, although I observe Your Mitzvot, they are still only an act, without the wisdom, for “wisdom” means that the light of Hochma [wisdom] is clothed in the Mitzvot, and the “light of Hochma” is called “the light of doing good to His creations,” which is the purpose of creation.
However, it is impossible to receive the light of the purpose of creation, called Hochma, before a person has the light of the correction of creation, called “light of Hassadim [mercies],” which are vessels of bestowal. Since a person sees how his enemies, meaning his will to receive, is in full control and they cannot emerge from its governance, he therefore prays to the Creator to be given the desire to bestow. By this he can later receive the Hochma, as well.
This is the meaning of what he says, “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies.” That is, the enemies caused him to be rewarded with Hochma. “Your commandments make me wiser” means that the enemies were the reason to be rewarded with delight and pleasure since the help he received from above brought him each time a higher degree than the one he had. Had he not felt that he had bad, he would have settled for what he had and would not have cried out to the Creator to bring him closer and reward him with vessels of bestowal, for only the vessels of bestowal are fit to receive Hochma. It follows that the meaning of “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies” is that in order for the Mitzvot to have Hochma, only those enemies caused me all this.
This is the meaning of the words, “for it is ever mine.” “It is mine” refers to the enemies, which are always my causes that the Mitzvot will not be without Hochma, but rather dry Mitzvot. Instead, I have been rewarded through the enemies. “It is mine” means that I do not have the choice to follow the ways of the Creator like the rest of the people, since my enemies are worse than those of other people. For this reason, I must stand and ask the Creator to help me, since I am worse than the general public.
From this we can understand the meaning of trials in the work: For whose sake should we know if a person has endured a trial or not? Clearly, the Creator knows everything. Thus, why does the trial come to a person? Many times during an ascent, a person says, “I do not need the Creator’s help anymore,” since I have something on which to base my faith, for I feel the Creator to some degree, so henceforth I will be able to adhere to Kedusha [holiness], and I will be able to observe Torah and Mitzvot once and for all.
What happens from above? Since they want the person to advance and mount the trail that leads to the King’s palace, where everyone works only in order to bestow upon the Creator, and during the ascent, that person built the foundation of his Judaism on the basis of feeling a good taste in the work, which is a basis of Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], for this reason, the person is given some foreign thought. At that time, a person is tried, to see if specifically when the Creator gives him some flavor that the will to receive feels, he will be able to be a servant of the Creator. But above reason just like that, when he has no sensation at all, how can he do something? This is called “sending a person some trial,” so he will see that all his work is based on the will to receive, and then he will feel that he is deceiving himself in the work of the Creator. At that time, he has room to pray that the Creator will give him the strength to be able to work only in order to bestow, and not for his own sake.
Hence, every descent is a trial. If a person can endure the trial, meaning that the thought that comes to a person causes him to see if he is under the governance of Kedusha or not, during the descent, a person can see that at the time of ascent, his whole structure was built on the will to receive for oneself.
During the descent, a person cannot make any calculations. But afterward, when he receives nearing from above once more, which comes to a person by what is written, “I am the Lord, who dwells with them in the midst of their impurity,” meaning that even though a person is still in the authority of self-love, still, an illumination comes to him from above, called “an awakening from above.” At that time, he must awaken the state of descent that he had by himself, and think what was the reason he received the descent, and what he must correct so as not to come into a descent once more. A person must believe that the fact that he suffered a descent is because he was thrown from above. This is why he fell into such lowliness. At that time, he can work on himself, correct corrections so he does not fall again, since he must believe that the descent is a correction for him.
According to the above, we can understand what is written, “You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah.” They interpreted, “Anyone who appoints an unworthy judge, it is as though he plants an Asherah in Israel.” We should understand what is an Asherah in the work. Asherah is as it is written, “Ashreihem [happy are they] every green tree.” “Happy are they” means that they are happy when they work for their own sake, that he feels that he is happy. This is called “Happy are they,” meaning when a person works for his own sake, meaning that only when he feels good in the work can he work in Torah and Mitzvot.
But when he does not feel good, he says, “It is true that if I worked for the sake of the Creator I could say that I can serve the Creator under any condition, and not necessarily when I feel good. But I am working in the holy work because I was told that in the work of observing Torah and Mitzvot there is more flavor to feel than in corporeal work.” Hence, if he does not feel a good taste in the work, why should he work in Torah and Mitzvot? After all, his entire basis is only self-love.
Thus, what should one do when he wants to appoint a worthy judge? At that time, a person must look at the intention, meaning the reason why he wants to work on the path of truth. Certainly, he had an awakening from above that we should work for the sake of the Creator. And what is “for the sake of the Creator”? At that time, a person begins to work on the goal that the Creator will enjoy his work, meaning not as in corporeality, where if the owner enjoys the employee’s work, he gives him a raise to his salary. Rather, his reward is that he is delighting the Creator and he does not consider his own benefit. It follows that the judge he is appointing now is in order to see that he follows the right path, which is for the sake of the Creator. This is called “an altar.” That is, the judge lets him see that a person should sacrifice himself on the altar, meaning that we must observe as our sages said, “The Torah exists only in those who put themselves to death over it.”
If he is an unworthy judge, he lets him think that a person should provide for himself things that pertain to his own benefit. This is called “Asherah,” as was said, Ashrei-Hem [happy are they], meaning that the idol-worship of Asherah was that they would always look at what the body could enjoy, and were not interested to know if the Creator would derive from this contentment, but always looked at their own benefit.
However, there is a difference between Asherah and the general public. For those whose work is in practice, who do not think at all about the matter of Lishma [for Her sake], but as Maimonides says, “Women, little ones, and uneducated people are taught only to work out of fear and in order to receive reward. Until they gain knowledge and acquire much wisdom, they are taught that secret little by little.”
It is about those people that we should interpret, “Anyone who appoints an unworthy judge, it is as though he plants an Asherah in Israel.” In other words, the judge, meaning when he wants to do something and asks the judge in his heart, a person should be careful that his judge will not be biased. Otherwise, he will not give him a just verdict. This is called “It is as though he plants an Asherah in Israel,” meaning idol-worship.
If the judge is biased, he might permit any transgression, that it is permitted to do them, “for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise.” This is called, “It is as though he planted an Asherah in Israel.” That is, pertaining to the whole of Israel, who engage only in the practice of the Mitzvot but not in the intention in the Mitzvot, meaning concerning the need to aim for the sake of the Creator, they have no interest in dealing with this and say that this work belongs to a chosen few.
Now we can understand why he says there, “Rav Ashi said, ‘Instead of a wise disciple, it is as though he planted an Asherah by the altar.’” We should understand what Rav Ashi adds to us by saying, “Instead of a wise disciple, it is as though he planted an Asherah by the altar,” whereas if he is not a wise disciple, “it is as though he planted an Asherah in Israel.” We should understand the difference.
We should interpret the difference between those who work in the manner of the general public. He said about them, “as though he planted an Asherah in Israel,” referring to the general public in Israel. But concerning a wise disciple, meaning those who want to be “wise disciples,” as Baal HaSulam interpreted, a “wise disciple” is one who wants to be a disciple of the Creator, who is called “Wise,” who bestows upon the whole world, and that person also wants to be rewarded with being a giver, meaning to work with the aim to come to work in order to bestow. If his judge is worthy, the judge advises him to sacrifice himself on the altar. If he is unworthy, he advises him only for his own benefit, which is “Happy are they.” This is why he says, “Instead of a wise disciple, it is as though he planted an Asherah by the altar.”
Reader: We'll continue to the lesson from the 13th of October, 2002.
M. Laitman: (33:53) We heard an article from Rabash, "What Is 'You Shall Not Plant for Yourself an Asherah by the Altar' in the Work?" Basically, our main point, our central point is that, again, he goes back to the matter of judges and officers, because this is the portion, and that a person should build a system in him that will scrutinize and make a correction. It’s a judge that judges everything correctly, without bribe, without any bias. And we know how much we are influenced internally and externally. We have to sort out all those influences and see why each and every one comes to us and what's the benefit of it; and if it comes, how do I resist or connect with the disturbance, or the assistance, it's actually the same thing. So, there're many details. When we go into the study, there're endless pieces of advice: do this, and do that, and so on and so forth. And we see how much is written about is, and you could even write twofold more. So what to do? How to build for oneself some kind of codex? And the simpler, the better, so that each one, with all of their concerns and confusions that are sent to him will know how to organize his inner environment so as to make the correct scrutiny and correction. First of all, we see from the article that certainly there's something that depends on us. Not as we think that everything comes from above, and I'm kind of this passive part, and positive and negative influences go through me, and I as if feel it, and as a result of all those feelings, positive and negative, I then come to some spiritual sensation. No. He says it doesn't happen like that. Rather, the person, from all these influences that come to him should build a special relation to them so that, through that, he sees spirituality. If he doesn't build this relation from what is sent to him, the right relation to it, then this picture will just remain an emotional picture without understanding, without deeper vision.
M. Laitman: (37:10) All of the advice that are really countless pieces of advice, and all of the disturbances that get us confused and throw us from one state to the next, they actually demand us to build the structure of that point of scrutiny and put all our time, and energy, and attention to that point so that it's as independent as possible, not dependent on the mood or the intention that I'll have something from it or what will I get from it. In short, bit by bit, this scrutiny has to rise to the height of Bina, and from the height of Bina, we can see Hochma. "The judge has no more than his eyes can see." The judge, meaning one who reaches Bina, and then he can see Hochma. First, he needs to be independent of anything. That's the qualities of Bina. And then to judge things, he needs the light of Hochma already. This is the degree a person should rise to. And then he can really scrutinize everything in him: all the desires, thoughts, intentions, and he'll know exactly what to determine with respect to each and every one of his qualities in accord with how that quality appears in the Creator. And in the middle, what he sees from the right and from the left between these qualities that are presented to him, he has to be a true, truthful judge, and then build through in his execution, and that's already through the guards, he builds the middle line, which is essentially the man. The inner point from which he builds is called “the judge.” Also, from above downwards and from below upwards, this relationship is also kept. The Creator also appears to us first like a judge, let's say, through the whole month of Elul and the Day of Atonement, and then when we come to this fulfillment from above through awakening from above, the qualities of Bina, through limitations and fasts and so on, we merit corrections of Sukkot, and so forth, and then again the judge is complete, and then through the guarding we already do the corrections of the seven days of the Sukkah. Meaning, from above downwards, there are these two things as well, judges and guards. So, the main point is to always strengthen that independent point within us, which is truly the point from which the middle line will later grow.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (41:15) Where do we find the second point from which to judge, meaning from the line of the will to receive? To judge, I need the scales; I need the two pans of the scale. So, from whence comes the second line so that the system works?
M. Laitman: The qualities of the Creator, the qualities of the created being, and in the middle, the person.
Student: How do I attain the second line, the Creator's quality?
M. Laitman: You attain the qualities of the Creator through your work in the left line. Each line depends on the other. There's no such thing like saying, "Now I'm going to engage in the left." You can't engage in the left if you don't go to it from the right. Then you can see that it's the left, and how opposite it is, and so on. You can't see just one line. If you would see, let's say, qualities just from one side, they would disappear. You wouldn't see them, because you're already under their control. It's just like us in this world: “I am who's doing things, I'm doing things.” I'm being operated, but I don't even know, and so it seems like I'm acting. So, I have no point that is outside of me from which I can observe myself and see that it's not me, that there are forces that are acting on me, threads pulling me, and like thoughts that are being sent to me, and my machine just processes and does everything automatically. I don't have that point outside of me from which to see it. I can talk about this intellectually now, but if I don't feel that, so it doesn't help. So, it's just being smart, you know. So, it means I am not that yet, it's just the intellect. So, to be truly outside myself, it means to begin making a restriction on the intentions for self. By that, you move away from your nature, and you become outside. You come out as if between two worlds. You come out of this world, you exit all that you are, and around you, you as if reach space, and then from outside, you can see the correct picture. But how do you go out to space, to outer space? By what do you exit one nature? Only by looking from the second nature. There's no other choice. There's no state in between. There's Creator and created being, and in between, the best state we can consider in between is the middle third of Tifferet, the shell of Noga.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (44:30) You say that in order to attain the truth, we shouldn't have our minds made up on anything. I know that in the world this is known, but why is Kabbalah so hidden?
M. Laitman: I don't understand. What is known in the truth? In the world, they know there is spirituality? Let's say they know, but they don't have a method to attain it.
Student: Now, in order to find some truth, we need to be independent of any opinion.
M. Laitman: It is known that in order to attain truth, spirituality let's say, or even truth, let's say, in science, if you wish to attain something true, you have to be a completely independent judge.
Student: Why is Kabbalah hidden if this is already known?
M. Laitman: Kabbalah is not hidden. Who said it's hidden? It used to be hidden from people, from humanity, because humanity was in its diapers. It was not sufficiently developed to use Kabbalah. If you have desires only for food, sex, family, money, honor, knowledge, then you don't need Kabbalah. You chase all those things, you fulfill them, you live them, and this is how, you know, you keep going for some thousands of years, until you reach a state where you have more than that. If there's more than that, if you have perhaps now a development of a desire above this beastliness, above the previous desires, then you need a system how to develop this new desire? It doesn't develop naturally, it only develops through your labor. This is independent labor, deliberate labor, to develop this additional sense, this additional desire. And then you need a method. Before that, you wouldn't need it, because... and that's why it was hidden. So, it wasn't hidden. There weren't people who needed it. Go out to the street today and start shouting about it. You'll add to the group that's here maybe another 100, 200, with great yells and screams. Certainly, 90% of them will also leave and go back to their life, and so Kabbalah is not hidden. Kabbalists always look for people who care deeply in their hearts, so to speak. And how much they found? They found, how much they didn't, they didn't, you know. You don't know, but there were many students studying with Kabbalists for generations, but it was quietly, in modesty. Why? Because the rest truly didn't need it. There was no point in awakening that noise, because you begin to awaken hatred upon you from secular people, religious people, Jewish people, Christian people, whoever you want, because none of them cares about this. And you do the opposite, you awaken something in them that is completely foreign. Yet now, in our time, it begins to be somewhat more required from a broader audience. So, if you would go out to the street, and you would yell, and from the whole world, maybe one or two people would turn back to you. So why? So that's called that it's concealed. No one is hiding it. No one's hiding, it's just revealed according to the need. Today also, you can say, start going on television, radio, if you're given 24 hours to do whatever you want, you know. I'll tell you, I don't know if it's worthwhile. Because you have to match your cry to the one who's willing to listen, to respond to it. So, that's more forward. But now, besides our own attempts, and I hope that we are soon getting close to something quite serious in our attainment. So other than that, we build the method for the next generation. The next generation could be another 5-10 years that we might be awarded to see it in our time, but maybe not. The demand could also come in 10, or 20, or 30 years, I don't know. Maybe we won't be alive anymore. So, it's not like you take something and you start scattering it. So do it. So what? You know, so it's like you take a bag of dollars or coins, and you go to a tribe, they don't know what it is, and you start scattering it and handing it out. No one will understand what this is. If you give them something colorful that shines, then that they'll take. But if you give them such things that are above their ability to appreciate... So, it's like with beasts or animals, if you throw money, gold, something, for them, it's just redundant.
Student: (50:55) Many people are looking for the truth now. That's the main thing.
M. Laitman: Many people are looking for the truth. The question is what is it they call “truth.” There are people who are looking for truth and are in the government. They want everything to be according to truth. For example, how to treat women, children, the sick, the needy. That is also true. Meaning, the truth is whatever attitude they decide that one should have towards some discernment. Yes, maybe you can explain to me what the truth is. But people seek the truth. What is the truth? Truth is the state of the Creator. That's it. Are they really looking for that? Are you looking for that too?
Student: I know a few.
M. Laitman: You know a few. You don't really know those who already know the truth and actually seek it, meaning that they have a desire, a vessel ready for it. You know what degree this is? Each time a person scrutinizes a bit more, and a bit more, and so there are degrees which are still preparation, concealment, and then revelation. And one who enters into spirituality also, is he already in the truth? To some extent, to some degree, as an embryo, meaning one who himself cannot know or determine anything. He's just annulled within that truth, as a small, young one, or as great, an adult, great one. So we need to understand that on the one hand, the whole of humanity is heading towards that. And on the other hand, there aren't really enough people, other than a few thousands all over the world, who can actually be in this developmental process consciously towards the truth.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (53:13) On the one hand, you say that a person can't be just passive, he has to make scrutinies. On the other hand, you say this judge doesn't come from the inner nature, from another nature. So where do I begin?
M. Laitman: As it says here, "You shall place judges and officers in all your gates that the Lord gives to you." There's a combination here between what the Creator gives to you, sets before you, and what you, within the situation with these gates that He gives you, how you need to set the guards and the officers there. The gates, those are the environmental conditions that He sets before you. And you need to assert your presence there in the right way, which will first be called “judge,” and then “officer”, in each and every state that He establishes. And to accept the fact that it's Him giving you that situation, and that you need to relate to it in a certain way, that is called “judge” or “officer.” There's mutual work here. The Creator gives, and the person also acts. Without you doing it by yourself, you won't have any discernments with which you can rise to become similar to the Creator. Similar to the Creator, meaning in thoughts, in actions, in everything. In experience, as well, as you advance from below upwards, realizing the Reshimot, the records. Yes, this gives you the knowledge, the experience, to be like Him.
Student: And in the mind, I can't do that.
M. Laitman: We don't do that with the mind. What kind of mind do we have? Our mind, on each and every degree, serves the will. The Creator created the will, and the mind accompanies the will in order to get what they will wants. So, according to the will, the mind develops next to the will. Take a person, put him in some village, and you'll see how in a few years he's like the beast that he tends to. The same way, he doesn't demand anything more. Take a person, put him in a university, some culture, developed place, and you'll see that he has a demand. He absorbs desires. The mind must serve the desires, and so it develops as well. That's it. Everything depends on the environment. So, with our minds, we don't grasp anything. We need to make sure the will changes.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (56:07) What kind of work is it, that I could do it in the state I am in today?
M. Laitman: If I am now in some situation, what do you mean, in what situation? Which desires? And I want my desires, from their degree of X, to rise to the level of X plus one, the next degree, then I need to cause my desires for the next degree to rise. How to do that? I need to receive that addition from someone. I don't have it in me. Yes? This addition, they call it the environment, the society. My mind needs to work now to convince me to bow down before the society. And it doesn't depend on the size of the society. Well, the size, yes, "in the great multitude is the glory of the king." But multitude, you understand, it could be a society, a group of beginners. A group of beginners who are inspired by divinity. Their vessel, you can use over many degrees, spiritual ones also, because in them, it's not exactly felt where they are. But in truth, the vessel is with them. And when you attain that vessel, you use it to the size, depth, let's say, which matches your degree, not their degree. That's why it's written, "From all my students I have learned." How can I learn from a student? And I have learned; meaning, the mind even receives. And the student remains a student, he does not rise through this. He doesn't grasp what I get from him. This means that in each one of us, there are vessels, all the vessels, through to Ein Sof, infinity. And you can use these vessels of each and every one, according to the extent to which you get into the friend, according to the degree to which you're willing to participate with his vessels, meaning his sorrow, his development, to connect with him, internally.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (58:51) Where is my active role in this? The group, the desire, the group.
M. Laitman: Active work. Active work, as Rabash writes, to diminish oneself next to the friends. On the one hand, even, what word does he use there? Not “diminish.” To lower, to humiliate oneself in front of the friends, the group. On the one hand. On the other hand, to demand of the group to bestow upon you the greatness of the Creator, to influence you with that, with the greatness of the goal. So, the greater it is in your estimation because you made them bigger than yourself, greater than yourself, and to the extent that it now tells you about the greatness of the Creator, you ultimately gain from them this power, this greatness of the Creator. This gives you then the ability to add of your own, as if you received an awakening from above. But an awakening from above will not bring you closer to the Creator. An awakening from the group will bring you closer to the Creator, because an awakening from the group comes to you as you try to collect the broken vessels together with your vessel to connect them together. That is actual work, and in that, the Creator is revealed more and more in all of the vessels that you gather, as many as you do. And if you just feel more of the recognition of the Creator's greatness, then you will feel it only from the awakening from above. And an awakening from above isn't an addition to your vessels. It's Him opening to you the recognition of His greatness by adding to you His NHY, His vessel. But later, He takes that vessel, and more than some memories, which aren't really records that you can use, nothing remains for you. You understand? Meaning, to acquire vessels, you can't acquire vessels from above. You have to acquire them from the society. And then you use these vessels of the NHY. Meaning, don't wait for an awakening from above. It does not promote the person. It promotes the one who works so that he has more power with which to advance. But one who does not get vessels from the society, an awakening from above will not help him.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:01:48) Who does this work of the “judges” and “officers?” It's the society, the desire of the society?
M. Laitman: Who does it? Who executes? The person within himself. Nobody understands, nobody knows this, recognizes this from without, externally, how he does this. The judges and officers, I said this, this relates to the point from which you build yourself with the right discernments so that you don't get confused, don't change your goal, so that you don't start thinking about some person or the group as a goal; only the Creator. And specifically, through all these discernments, that's how you receive it. It's the focus of the scrutiny. That's called “the judge.” And with that focus of the scrutiny, when you continue on to execute on it, those actions and so on, extend them, keep them, you keep those boundaries oriented exactly towards the goal, that's called “officer.” And "in all your gates," that's all the states that the Creator establishes for you, sets before you.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:02:58) But he says the officer in me cannot carry it out. Let's say, I'm the judge. Okay. I'm not okay. I'm guilty, then I come to the degree that I'm guilty.
M. Laitman: If you can decide correctly in your mind, and you can't execute properly with the body, then you have the shattering. You come to the shattering of the vessel.
Student: How do I overcome that?
M. Laitman: Wait, wait, wait. These things happen from above downwards deliberately, through the process of development, so that later in the ascension from below upwards, it won't happen again. To give records of the shattering, so that later, through the correction of the shattering, during that, we know that it needs to be done a certain way, so that doesn't happen again. For everything that we… every step we take, we have to first of all discover the negative aspect of it, the lack, the wrong thing, the bad thing, our failure to actually go into confusion, despair, and from that, we begin to rise. There's no other way. It's not that sometimes you discover errors, mistakes, like in this world, where you can do good things, and suddenly, "Oh, I made a mistake in this or that." No, here, every action starts from a mistake, and this is because it comes from the shattering of the vessels. The vessels that we receive are, all of them, broken. Yes, they're in that error. And then you have the safest record that you can correct correctly, because if you don't correct it more than the broken state, then it's not a correction. You're not doing anything. You understand? Meaning, if it's completely broken, completely shattered, then every time you make some action towards correction, it's a successful action. If you don't perform an action towards correction even a little bit, then it can't be sustained. It doesn't happen. And so, there's a need for the shattering of the vessels down to the lowest degree. And when you receive the vessel, you receive it in the most broken way, broken form. And then the question is, are you making mistakes or not? Your mistakes, if you make them, they're not mistakes. You simply remain in the same state. Yes? You never go down. That's why it's written, "There are only ascents in holiness; never descents."
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:05:46) So, how do I carry out my order? How do I put the work into practice?
M. Laitman: In order to perform a correct action, you need to connect these three points, as he says: me, my action, and the Creator, so that they align. Meaning, I need to understand exactly who I am, what I am, and to somehow sense the Creator, a degree which is a bit above myself, and for the scrutiny to be as true, as correct as possible, and the action that I now perform will be one that brings me closer to that quality, that desire, which appears to me as more advanced than I am. And that relates to concessions, it relates to more refinement, purity. The power for this you can receive only from the society. If the goal is revealed to you, the degree which is higher than yourself, though it's against your desire, against your nature, but it will be revealed to you as a very important thing. A person goes into surgery, all sorts of suffering, because he knows that, "What can I do? Otherwise, I'm dead." Well, it's a shame that, what's his name, that doctor can't treat everyone here. It's something where during the treatment you feel that you're going to disconnect. It's a very special thing. But there is a lie here of a sort. He said that this can be done also with some kind of anesthesia. I don't think it's possible with sedation to have proper treatment, beneficial, that specific kind of treatment. It's a little… still, there's a spiritual aspect to it. Not spiritual above the barrier, but there are such energies in it, which you need to feel through pain.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:08:34) He often writes that Lo Lishma is when women, children and general population are taught only from reward or punishment until their knowledge grows. What is this quality “women, children and general population” inside the person? Is there anything else during the time of preparation?
M. Laitman: A person should scrutinize within him, from everything he has in him, all the desires, and thoughts, and intentions: the women, the little ones, and the slaves, and the general population. And with each such discernment, he needs to approach, actually, he needs to see if he has something else besides that. Other than that, there's nothing in the person. He starts from that. These are the types of broken vessels that exist in him. He has man, man is from “Gever,” from the word “Hitgabrut,” [overcoming]. He still does not have that. And he has no friend yet. Friend, Chaver, from the word “Hitchabrut” [connection], so towards holiness. He doesn't have that as well. He has nothing. He is in this broken, darkened state, which is the women, the will to receive, the small ones, that smallness of reason, the servants, the slaves, those who cannot emerge from under that control. And there's also the Hebrew slave who doesn't want to be free, he's willing to remain, and so on. There are many, many discernments. In the Gemara there are many stories of how to behave with each and every desire. In the language of the Gemara, it's explained very nicely. Well, but what is the question?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:10:24) I'm asking, in the time of preparation, the person has nothing besides that?
M. Laitman: So, to scrutinize the parts that can actually advance towards a Creator, that is the men, adult. That's it.
Student: The second thing I'm asking is, what is work from fear, that they're taught first?
M. Laitman: From fear? Work from fear is that you can't, a person that's in the will to receive, you can't turn to him with anything but the fear. “What's the meaning of life?” is actually a question that comes from fear, that there's nothing in my life, and yes, there's no pleasure now and no meaning for the future, but so, what with me, who am I, what will be with me, what will I have? Those are the questions that are below the barrier. The solution is beyond the barrier, and there, it's a different question. What is the Creator? What am I for Him? Now, what's the meaning of my life? There is a meaning, but it's all aimed towards Him. So, that's already not a question of the women, and the small ones, and the slaves. So for them, you turn to them from fear, as if that your life isn't a life. Suffering, lack of hope, despair, no decisions, what can you do? For now, we feel only such a plea. Go and tell everybody, "Let's go and bestow to the Creator, Divinity in the dust, let's… you know, try."
Student: Even though we once learned that it's completely opposite to the equivalence of form; it's the disparity of form.
M. Laitman: That's a call that you start from Lo Lishma with them, and it's written. How do they write it? It's like to get a reward, that you'll feel good. It's also written, "they've tasted and saw that the Creator is great." Look how it's good for beginners too, until…
Student: They’ll become wiser, and..
M. Laitman: They become wiser. Meaning, the light of Hochma comes from above, and then…
Student: They reveal these secrets to them gradually.
M. Laitman: Yes, and gradually they can overcome. What? That happened a lot of times.
Student: I'm asking whether the work of Lo Lishma, we once mentioned that it's also spiritual work. It's after the barrier, we explained once, of Lo Lishma. So here he means the period of preparation, and does he mean after the barrier?
M. Laitman: Here he means before and after. He writes it for everyone. All the questions and all the answers, it's only to fill your ears, really. So, more or less, that's not what's going to fill you. There can never be a fulfillment through your ears. They say that women are filled from hearing. That’s a lie. It’s a lie. I mean, it’s not a lie, but they can get a filling from a lie. That’s the quality.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:14:49) In truth, my question was a very practical question. I wanted to ask, how can the point of view of the Adam within us settle with this article as if a true workday, that "if not for myself, then who?" Because it's the opposite of that. It's the exact opposite, “if it's not for me,” I think. "If not for myself, then who?" It's the left line. It's totally within yourself, and you have no...
M. Laitman: I don't understand. What discernment are you saying, "If not for me, who is for me"? Maybe that the Creator isn't in my whole emptiness, that I don't feel Him as perfect, that I don't use Him to relate to all of reality correctly, and I must correct this inner state. So by this, "If not for me, who is for me?" So, why is that the left line?
Student: Because then you miss the point of the Adam in you.
M. Laitman: It seems to you that if you take the right line, and better if you listen, believe me, it's better. It seems to you that if you're taking the right, your self disappears. If it disappears, it's not the right. If it disappears, it's a point. So you're an embryo that has nothing in it. Also the right and also the left lines are qualities of the spiritual nature or corporeal nature that you approach, and you can absorb them, perceive them. And also, you perceive it from the goal. You hold on to the goal. If you don't start from me and the goal, and then you go from right to left, so it's not right and left. You're just, you don't know where you are.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:17:06) So, you have to hold on to this point all day long, every moment. Is that what you're saying?
M. Laitman: A person has to be… yes. That's what I was amazed in seeing in Rabash; for him, that's just the way it is. That's his constant inner state. I remember it was all the time, “Rest a bit, come on.” I remember that. For him, it was just… his inner atmosphere was that way. For us, it's an effort even to think about it.