The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: June 25, 2026
Part 1: Rabash. What Is,What Does It Mean that a High Priest Should Take a Virgin Wife, in the Work? Article No. 29, (1991).
Original lesson date: 06/21/2002
Reader: Dear friends, in the first part, we will study a lesson by Rav from June 21st, 2002. It is based on the article, "What Is,What Does It Mean that a High Priest Should Take a Virgin Wife, in the Work?" You can find it in Hebrew in the second volume of the Rabash’s writings, page 626. Let's read the article together in the Tens. We have 36 minutes for that.
Reading: (00:38) What Does It Mean that a High Priest Should Take a Virgin Wife, in the Work?
Article No. 29, 1991
The Zohar says (Emor, Item 38), “It is a Mitzva [commandment/good deed] for the high priest to marry a virgin. This is the meaning of what is written, ‘A widow, or one divorced, or a profaned woman, or a harlot, these he shall not take, but a virgin of his own people shall he take for a wife.’ He asks, ‘Why is it necessary to take only a virgin, without a flaw?’ He replies, ‘A woman is a cup of blessing. If it is tasted, it is flawed.’ This implies to Malchut, who is called ‘a cup of blessing,’ and the priest, who offers a sacrifice before the Creator, must be perfect and flawless, since the flaws blemish the priests. Perfect in his body, perfect in his Nukva, by which to observe, ‘You are all beautiful, my wife, and there is not a flaw in you.’”
We should understand what a “high priest,” a “virgin,” a “widow,” a “divorcee,” a “profaned woman,” and a “harlot” mean in the work, and that he should take only a virgin, who is without a blemish, meaning that a virgin is unblemished. What does it imply that a virgin has no blemish in her, and what is the connection, in that he says that a woman implies a cup of blessing, which is Malchut?
The ARI says about Malchut, that each day she becomes a virgin once again (The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 12, Item 144), which is regarded as only a dot, and must be rebuilt until she obtains Gadlut [greatness/adulthood]. It is written in Shaar HaKavanot (Part 2) that each day is separate, and “There is not a single prayer since the world was created through the end of the world, that is similar to another whatsoever. And each day, new sparks are sorted, which have never before sorted until that time.”
We should understand this in the work. Malchut is called the “kingdom of heaven,” which man must take upon himself each day anew. It is not enough that he took upon himself the kingdom of heaven yesterday, but rather each day is a new discernment in and of itself. Hence, we must believe that each time we take upon ourselves the kingdom of heaven, it is considered that we sort out sparks that were outside of Kedusha [holiness], which is called (in Shaar HaKavanot) that “These sparks were previously captive among the Klipot [shells/peels], and they were raised to Kedusha by accepting the kingdom of heaven and by engaging in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds].”
It is as we say in the prayer (Master of the World, after the Omer count), “By this, great abundance shall flow in all the worlds.” For this reason, it is said in the holy books that a person, while accepting the kingdom of heaven during the Shema reading, should take upon himself the kingdom of heaven and intend that the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven will be with devotion. And since each day is a new discernment, and we must build the Malchut so she is in Gadlut, each time it is renewed.
This is why there is the intimation about the high priest. In the work, one who is a servant of the Creator, who wants to draw near to the Creator in Gadlut, is called “high priest.” When he comes to take a “wife,” called “kingdom of heaven,” he must take a “virgin,” since a virgin means that she has not been blemished. A virgin is as it is written, “a virgin soil,” which is a moniker for land that has never been cultivated, as it is written, “It was virgin soil,” which man has never tilled (Avoda Zara 32).
In other words, a person should take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven as though he never had the kingdom of heaven and it is a new thing for him. Naturally, now he must think that he is going to do something new that he has never known about. It follows that this acceptance that he takes upon himself requires extra scrutiny, to know what is the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven, and what it requires so that the fear of heaven will be upon him.
This means that one should reflect on what he should do so that this will be a perpetual thing for him. That is, what does the Creator require of a person who has taken upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven. The verse says, “What does the Lord your God require of you but to fear Me,” and to reflect on what is fear. But if a person stops remembering about the matter of accepting the kingdom of heaven, regardless of the reason, and then reawakens to accept the kingdom of heaven, he does not need to continue the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven upon him in the manner he did prior to losing it, and to say, “I must go and awaken the kingdom of heaven,” meaning that it will be continual. Rather, he must begin the work anew.
We should compare this to a person who died and had valuable things, and his children come and want to receive the inheritance that their father bequeathed them. Our sages said about that (Avot, Chapter 2:17), “Prepare yourself to learn Torah that has not been bequeathed to you.” We should interpret that if a person comes to a state where he has forgotten everything, meaning he suffered a descent, it is as though he is dead. That is, previously, he was alive, meaning that he had the kingdom of heaven, which is considered being adhered to the Life of Lives. When it stops in him, he is considered dead, as was said, “The wicked in their lives are called ‘dead.’”
In spirituality, cause and consequence are called “father and son.” It follows that now he is called “a son” and wants to take upon himself of what is left after the demise of his father. We should interpret that “this is not your inheritance.” Rather, one must turn to a new page in the work of the Creator, as though he was born now, and now he wants to take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven and has no one from whom to inherit.
Accordingly, we should interpret what we asked, What do “high priest” and “plain priest” imply to us in the work? We should interpret that a “priest” is one who serves the Creator. Some workers belong to the general public. These are called “plain priests.” And some want to work in the individual manner, to achieve Gadlut, which is to work in truth. These are called “high priests.”
Among high priests, there is a completely different order of work than that of the general public—when a person engages in Torah and Mitzvot in practice and relies on the general public as far as the intention is concerned. Conversely, there are people who want to work also with the intention, meaning they want to aim all their actions for the sake of the Creator.
In other words, a “plain priest” means that his work is in the manner of the general public, and a “high priest” means that his work is in the manner of individuals. By this we can interpret what The Zohar says, “‘Why is it necessary to take only a virgin, without a flaw?’ He replies, ‘A woman is a cup of blessing. If it is tasted, it is flawed.’” We should interpret that a high priest, meaning one who wants to be a true servant of the Creator, must not take a wife, meaning the kingdom of heaven, that has already been flawed in him, meaning to continue the kingdom of heaven that he had prior to the descent he suffered, for this one is no longer “a virgin,” since he had this kingdom of heaven previously, and she was blemished.
That is, like the cup of blessing, “If it is tasted, it is flawed,” meaning that this Malchut was already tasted before he suffered the descent. This is the meaning of “If it is tasted, it is flawed,” since he already suffered a descent. It follows that he already blemished this Malchut, so he must take upon himself a new kingdom of heaven as though he never tasted the taste of the kingdom of heaven, and must turn to a new page in the work.
According to the above, we can interpret what we asked about what is written, “A widow, or one divorced, or a profaned woman, or a harlot, these he shall not take.” We should interpret that a widow is after he suffers a descent, he is regarded as dead. It follows that the previous wife, which is the kingdom of heaven that he had prior to the descent, is regarded as that person’s widow.
Likewise, what is a divorcee in the work? It means that he divorced her because he did not like her, since the minute a person does not agree to work for her, since he does not feel her importance, this is considered that the man divorces the wife. Although she does not want to divorce, since she has mercy on him, meaning Malchut sees that he is immersed in self-love and feels sorry for him, but he divorces her against her will.
This is the meaning of the judgment being that a woman is divorced against her will, since as soon as he does not like her, it is considered that he has divorced her. Therefore, a servant of the Creator, who is called a “high priest,” will not return and take that woman who is a divorcee. Rather, now he must begin to accept the burden of the kingdom of heaven anew and not take what happened into consideration.
Also, we should interpret “profane,” that he must not take a profaned woman. When a person wakes up once again to the work of the Creator, if it is in the manner of a high priest, it means he wants to work on the greatness of the Creator. That is, it is known that when one works in order to receive reward for his work, he does not look at who is giving, whether he is an important person or not. Rather, he looks at the reward. This means that if the owner is a simple person but pays twice as much as an important person who has some factory and pays salaries, he will certainly work for the one who pays higher wages.
But if a person works without a salary, but because he wants to serve an important person, that person always looks to see who is the most important and wants to work for him. It follows that one who wants to work in Gadlut, meaning that his work is built on the greatness of the Creator, since he wants to work without any reward, he is called “high priest,” since a priest is one who serves the Creator, who wants to approach the Creator. It is as we interpret the verse, “Should a man from among you make an offering to the Lord.” It is interpreted that “from among you” means that the offering is “from within you, yourselves,” meaning that the person who offers himself to the Creator is called “high priest.”
That person must not take a profaned woman. This means that whenever he comes to take a wife, he will always take a virgin, one who has never had a husband, meaning that he never used this Malchut. Rather, it must always be a new wife. Conversely, if he already used this Malchut before and had a descent, and stopped the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven, this is because he profaned her and did not behave with her as one should honor the kingdom of heaven, and dealt with her in contempt. Hence, he will not receive that discernment once again, since he already desecrated her.
Rather, a high priest should try to always take a virgin woman, meaning to depict to himself that now he is beginning to do the holy work, and what he had until now does not interest him. Rather, he says he hopes that henceforth, he will keep her and respect her. This is the meaning of the words “He shall take a wife in her virginity.”
We should also interpret what is written, “A widow, or one divorced, or a profaned woman, or a harlot, these shall he not take, but a virgin of his own people shall he take for a wife.” We should interpret what is a harlot in the work. The thing is that when the high priest wants to assume the burden of the kingdom of heaven, he must take a virgin, meaning “virgin soil,” which is a moniker for a land that has never been cultivated. Naturally, such soil cannot be expected to yield crops for food. This means that a person cannot sustain himself from this soil. Only after he cultivates it and gives it all that it needs, he will be able to sustain himself from that soil, and not before.
It follows that when a person accepts the burden of the kingdom of heaven, which is called “a wife,” he must be careful not to want the woman to be a Zona [harlot], from the words Zan uMefarness [nursing and sustaining]. That is, if the acceptance of the burden of the kingdom of heaven will sustain him, meaning he will have nourishments from her while he engages in Torah and Mitzvot, then he is willing to take her. Otherwise, he will not agree to take this woman, and this is called “a harlot woman” in the work.
Rather, he must accept the kingdom of heaven as a burden, meaning “as an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load,” unconditionally. This is regarded as a “virgin woman,” which is a “virgin soil,” which bears no fruit. If a person agrees to these conditions, he will be rewarded with being a high priest, namely to bring himself closer to the Creator.
According to the above, we should interpret what our sages said (Kidushin 70a), in the work: “Anyone who marries a woman for wealth has unworthy children, as was said, ‘They have betrayed the Lord, for they have borne foreign children.’” We should understand what is marrying a woman for wealth. It means that a woman, in the work, is called “kingdom of heaven,” and he takes upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven because he heard that she has great wealth, and wealth means that she will provide for him, meaning that through the kingdom of heaven, he will have good taste in the Torah and in the prayer. Otherwise, it is enough for him to continue the same path that he received by education.
And why does he now need to take upon himself the burden of the kingdom of heaven and exert, if the kingdom of heaven does not add to his provision, so he can sustain himself more affluently, whereas what sustains him now, all the nourishments he currently finds in the pleasures of this world do not satisfy him, so he wants to receive the kingdom of heaven?
This is called “marrying a woman for wealth,” meaning his only reason for accepting the kingdom of heaven is to satisfy self-love. This is also called that he marries an unworthy woman, since it is written in all the holy books that the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven should be with devotion, and there are many interpretations about it.
According to what we learn, the meaning is that he accepts the kingdom of heaven for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake. This means that by taking upon himself the kingdom of heaven, he wants that His great name will grow and be sanctified, and not for his own sake. It follows that if he accepts the kingdom of heaven for his own sake, it is considered an “unworthy woman.” This is called “for wealth,” since “wealth” means that from this he will be able to sustain himself, meaning that through the wealth, he will be satisfied in life. Instead, one should try to take a woman for the sake of the Creator, meaning that the kingdom of heaven, called “woman,” will be for the sake of the Creator and not for his own sake.
Now we can understand why a person should accept faith above reason. It is so because usually, a person always considers the profit. If he does not see that he will gain something from the work, he chooses to stay at rest and does not want to make any movements unless he gains something.
Hence, when one is told that he should accept the kingdom of heaven for the sake of the Creator, meaning to sanctify His name, the body asks, “What will I get out of taking upon myself the kingdom of heaven? What is my gain in this?” It is told, “There are no words that the body can understand. Rather, you must believe that this is a great thing for you that you have the privilege of serving the King.” This is called “above reason,” since there are no words to tell the body so it can understand that it is worthwhile.
Therefore, when one does not see the profits within reason, it is considered that the labor is greater than the reward, since he does not know what is the reward, but he sees the labor and does not need to believe concerning the labor. Thus, as long as one has not been rewarded with fear of the Creator, he always looks at the labor, since he cannot understand the benefit from the work, but only believe above reason. Hence, this work is called “hard work,” and requires heaven’s mercy.
By this we can understand what is written (Deuteronomy 25:18), “when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear God.” It means that since he sees that he is making the effort, but he still does not see the benefit from this work, and he must only believe. It follows that one becomes faint and weary, and all because he has still not been rewarded with fear of God.
One should know that faith is the Kli [vessel]. When the Kli is properly completed and is fit to receive, the abundance immediately fills the Kli of faith, which is above reason. The abundance is called “fear of heaven,” and a person obtains this light after he has provided this Kli, called “faith above reason.” Before one is rewarded with fear of the Creator, he suffers the labor because the light does not shine for him.
It follows that one who wants to assume the burden of the kingdom of heaven must work above reason, meaning that it will not be for his own sake but for the sake of the Creator. This is called “above reason,” since the body does not agree to it, since it does not understand anything but that which is to its own benefit.
Now we can interpret what our sages said, “There is no poor public.” It is known that “poor” means one who is “poor in knowledge,” as our sages said (Nedarim 41), “There is no poverty except in knowledge.” Baal HaSulam said that Malchut is called “public.” By this we should interpret that “There is no poor public” means that one who accepts the burden of the kingdom of heaven above reason, it does not mean that he has no reason and he is poor, and this is why he accepts the burden of the kingdom of heaven. It is to the contrary; he stands at a degree that is above reason, meaning even more important than reason. In the work, “above” and “below” mean that “above” means being of superior importance, and “below” means being of inferior importance.
“There is no poor public” means that one who takes upon himself the kingdom of heaven above reason is not regarded as “poor,” meaning one who has no reason. It follows that the heart of the work is to work above reason, since when a person wants to work for the sake of the Creator, it is called “above reason,” namely against the view of the body. However, one must know that we also need the Torah, as our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.”
This is as he writes in the book A Sage’s Fruit (Letters, pp 115-116), “The purpose of the soul when it comes in the body is to attain returning to its root and to cleave unto Him, while clothed in the body, as it is written, ‘To love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him.’ Yet, who knows the ways of the Creator? Indeed, this is the meaning of ‘Torah that has 613 ways.’ He who walks by them will finally be purified until his body will no longer be an iron partition between him and his Maker, as it is written, ‘And I will take away the stony heart from your flesh.’ Then he shall cleave to his Maker. Thus, it is best to yearn for the commandment of the Upper One (meaning the Torah), for ‘He who does not know the ways of the Upper One and the commandments of the Upper One, which are the secrets of Torah, how will he serve Him?’”
We therefore see that one should try to exert to obtain the Torah. In order to obtain the Torah, one should accept the kingdom of heaven above reason. That is, against one’s view, meaning that for himself, he does not need anything, but only for the sake of the Creator. By this we should interpret what is written (Genesis 28:14), “And your descendants will be as the dust of the earth.” “Your descendants” means Banim [sons]. In the work, Banim means Havanah [understanding] in Torah and Mitzvot. The Creator promised Jacob that understanding in Torah and Mitzvot can be obtained only when one agrees to be “as the dust of the earth,” meaning that he agrees to observe Torah and Mitzvot even if he does not feel any feeling in it and tastes only the taste of dust in Torah and Mitzvot, since he says, “I am working for the Creator. If He wants me to work for Him in this manner, I agree.” Then he is rewarded with Gadlut [greatness] and understanding.
Reader: We will now move to the lesson from June 21st, 2002.
M. Laitman: (33:34) We read an article from the second volume of the “Rungs of the Ladder,” page 141, “What Does It Mean that a High Priest Should Take a Virgin Wife, in the Work?” Reality includes two parts: the Creator and the created being. There is no more. What seems to us that there are all kinds of other parts of reality in corporeality and also in spirituality - they have no existence in and of themselves. Just like in our world, there is the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking; and the speaking, man, is what governs the rest of reality. Maybe not that he governs, but at least he's the most developed out of the whole of reality. Likewise in spirituality, we also have the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. The speaking is the soul, and it is more developed, and it does control, does govern all the parts of the spiritual reality. The Creator created the will to receive. We learn that the will to receive, is in order to be detached, independent from the Creator, it has to go through four phases of development, which are called the four phases of direct light. This is why the will to receive itself also includes within it four kinds of desire, from the small desire called the still, and then the vegetative is greater, and the animate is greater, and the speaking is even greater. And only the speaking is the independent will to receive. This independent will to receive, in what is it independent? It is independent in that it is detached from the Creator, and it feels its own desire. What does it mean that it feels its own desire? It feels itself as a lack, and that the Creator is a source and pleasure towards it. The feeling of the Creator inside of the created being, inside of this desire, inside of this soul - this feeling is called light, spiritual light. For us, when the Creator is clothed in the created being, the measure of its clothing in the created being is called the measure of livelihood, life. This means that the created being is the receiver, and the Creator is the giver. And even though we learn that later the created being undergoes corrections and becomes similar to the Creator, this compatibility with the Creator is only because the created being wants to resemble the Creator. But he cannot change his own nature, that he is the receiver, but rather, receiving with the intention to bestow, it is truly like the giver, but it is like the giver. This is why the created being is always called, with respect to the Creator, Nekeva [female], or a hole, a deficiency. And the Creator wants to fill this female, this deficiency, so that the created being will feel pleasure, good, delight, peace, wholeness. Then, in order for the created being to truly reach the purpose of creation, which is the absolute feeling of good and pleasure, which is eternal and perfect, the created being must undergo first through orders of development, from one end to the other end, to feel how disconnected he is from the Creator, how much he is the opposite of Him, how much he’s not capable of anything, until he goes and corrects himself. He asks the Creator for correction, then he asks the Creator for a filling, and this is how he advances, until he becomes equal to the Creator. Those stages of development of the created being, meaning us, the souls — we're not talking about the bodies, the bodies are just born, they grow up, die, rot, and that's it, there's no calculation with them; we're talking about a soul which develops from one incarnation to another, from one generation to another - every generation, it's the same souls that come again and again in order to improve and reach the peak of their development.
M. Laitman: (38:33) So the stages of development in the Torah, and it's mostly in the Gemara, there it speaks about the development of the soul using the language of judgments and Halachot. So there it speaks about women, and there is a portion about women, and there are many, many parts in the Gemara that discuss the matter of women. Because the kinds of women are internal states of the soul that it goes through during the development. One time I'm only called a woman, another time I'm called a married woman with a husband, one time I'm called a divorcee, one time - a bride, one time - a harlot, and this is how it is each and every time, it's a different kind. In part 15 of the “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” we learn about the development that there are seven degrees in the development of the woman, from being little to then mature, grown up, etc. Even though also in the “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” it speaks in our language, the language of this world. But later on, both The ARI and also Baal HaSulam, they already shift to the language of Kabbalah, and they show us what kinds these women pertain to, meaning, they speak of which level of development of the souls. If a soul, let's say, develops a certain degree, she's considered grown up or adolescent, even more - it's a girl, then a woman, then even more - it's a bride, and so on and so forth. This means that in general, the whole matter that we see in this world in all the different manners for each and every kind, we should search in that what could be the corresponding spiritual root, because whatever exists in this world is simply a copy, a projection from the spiritual world. And what we see in this world, whatever is happening, whatever is advancing or changing or is made, these are results, like a shadow from the spiritual world. These are necessary results. In this world, there's nothing new that comes. All the innovation is only in the spiritual world, and in our world, it is simply a projection in our substance. And also, the substance, as I said, in this world is divided into the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. So then, according to whatever phenomena take place in the upper world, accordingly, these phenomena are also projected in this world, in the four levels of the matter in this world. And so, we learn from that what processes a person goes through by advancing in spirituality, and they explain it to us also in kinds of women. Now, but we're talking also about men. Who are the men? The thing is that both men and women exist in a single person. A woman, means his will to receive, and a man means his will to bestow, that develops from the point in the heart and onwards. According to how much I have the desire to bestow, the ability to bestow, a screen, which is called Gever [man], Hitgabrut [overcoming], to that extent, I can take my will to receive and work with it, with this screen, in order to receive, in order to bestow, and by that reach and match, compatibility with the Creator. Therefore, opposite every kind of overcoming, there is the Nukva [the female], my will to receive. You might say it's the right line and the left line, or the screen and the coarseness.
M. Laitman: (43:25) And so here, Rabash explains to us that there are various states where each and every state determines what kind of a will to receive could be suitable for it. And there are limitations, like let's say, those of the great priest, that he's forbidden to take a divorced woman, because the priest means the higher degree, a new degree. If she's new, then you have to take also a new will to receive and work with it, and so on. And also, all the judgments and the Halachot, accordingly, how to get divorced, how to marry, the matters of the Chuppah [the canopy], the matters of the menstruation, and all of these personal things between men and women - they all stem from the laws that exist between the screen and the coarseness in the spiritual world. We learn this in simplicity, it's a vessel that I always draw like a cup with a screen on top of it, so the matter of the vessel and the screen, this is a matter of a husband and a wife in our world. And in spirituality, well whatever we have in our world, whatever we can discern in our world and the relations between man and woman, it’s a very small part of what takes place in spirituality. That's it. So this in general is what the article speaks about. Whoever enters spirituality, whoever begins to feel it, truly sees this copy from spirituality to corporeality. He sees how much the things that happen up there are great, and with all of their details, between the parts of creation in a person, between his soul and his will to receive. So he also sees this projection in this world. And he also sees, accordingly, how he can, by changing in spirituality the relation between the right and the left, he can change his corporeality. Then it is already considered practical Kabbalah. Are there any questions? Oh, I guess you must want to marry. According to what it says here, this is something good already. In our world, there is still a doubt. But here, it's certainly good.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (46:07) During the preparation period, can we even identify all these states?
M. Laitman: Even during the preparation, we begin to smell, smell it, as it is called - to smell. You know what it means to smell? Something that is from far away. What does it mean, the time of preparation? The time of preparation is when I advance more and more towards a greater and greater surrounding light. Or to the contrary, to the extent that I labor, the surrounding light shines on me more. So on the one hand, I feel my status against my will to receive, which is intolerable. On the other hand, I feel the attraction to spirituality, which is greater. In the ascents, it could be worse than in the descents. But later on, not anymore. Later on, towards the barrier, it just becomes an attraction, and yearning, and passion. But certainly, we can distinguish roughly, you understand. It's like when it's half dark, it's possible to distinguish the states also. Meaning a person who reads the books, he starts already to depict to himself what it could roughly be. Roughly, certainly not...
Student: About those states that are written here, as an example?
M. Laitman: About the states that are written here? No, no, not in our world. In our world, it's what is here. In truth, even a person who is in spirituality, he... We think that Kabbalists are more kind of clever and they understand better in corporeality. They can, but it doesn't really occupy the person. The thing is that it seems to us that a Kabbalist who reaches the spiritual world and he sees all the roots, then correspondingly, he must see in this world up to the small details of reality. He can do it, but it doesn't occupy him. He can show you with great precision how the process of creation transpires, and how in people and behind there are all kinds of thoughts and all kinds of calculations that they make, but he doesn't get into that. So, sometimes he appears to be more naive and childish, perhaps, than an ordinary person who is constantly in the engagements of this world. Is that not what you asked?
Student: The question is not as far as corporeality, but as far as the inner processes. Can one feel that now I'm in this state of a woman or that state of a woman?
M. Laitman: Yes, one who is in spirituality, he knows his state and all the states that he went through, even though the next state for him is above reason; but he knows his own degree and all the causes and everything that happens within him and in his connection with the Creator. It exists truly as his vessels.
Student: Where it says here that he's not allowed to take this woman or that kind of woman, meaning he's not allowed to go backwards?
M. Laitman: No, a person who is in a certain degree, he knows according to his state what is permitted and what is forbidden and what needs to be done. And accordingly, he writes. How did they write the Gemara, the Babylonian or Jerusalem Talmud? They wrote out of their attainment, however, they wrote it in the language of this world. Later on came Kabbalists, or even before that, and they wrote the same thing in the language of Kabbalah. The prophets came and all of those, and they wrote it in the language of the Aggadah or prophecy. Moses wrote it in the language of the Torah, which is the ordinary, spoken language. That is all. But each one wrote from how he felt spirituality, the upper world, the laws that transpire there, and the way they work on him, etc.
M. Laitman: (50:19) Now, there are also all kinds of souls. We have ten primary kinds, meaning the ten Sefirot, which are ten, or we could say nine, but make it ten so it's more convenient. Ten fundamental qualities in reality. This means that we have ten kinds of souls that can be, in principle, like, you know, how we distinguish in this world four kinds of character. It also corresponds to the four phases. Later on, they're divided to four times four, sixteen. We say sanguine, melancholy, choleric, phlegmatic, etc. There are these kinds. So, one who is in spirituality, he also sees spirituality through his own personal nature, from his soul. And because of that, they have various manners of attainment. Let's say, you and I are in the same place, but you feel it and I feel it in a way that's a bit different. It's not that we don't understand this reality, but nevertheless, for you, and in you, and in me, the structure of the soul is different. So we understand and feel it in a way that is a bit different. But in the Gemara, let's say, they all express that. And out of that, we seemingly have conflicts and collisions and different views and all kinds of things. It's not that they truly collide and say, you're wrong, I'm wrong. But rather, at the end of correction, it all comes together. But before the end of correction, they want to show us how much these things are contradictory. And each one, according to his character, is developed and kind of rich.
Student: Why here they emphasize this whole topic of it is forbidden to take it as though…
M. Laitman: Prohibited and permitted, the meaning here and in every place, there are before the final correction certain desires that you cannot work with altogether. You put a restriction upon them. There are desires you can work with 100% that are already corrected. And also some in between, in the middle, that you can partially work with them. So accordingly, they say about it, this is permitted, that's prohibited, in such a way it's divided. Meaning, prohibited and allowed is according to the screen and the desire to receive. There's nothing besides that. If something is not clear, you must move from every language to the language of Kabbalah, since it's a technical language where you cannot err. And then from the technical language, if you can, and you're capable, you can return to any other language, please. It's written in the Gemara; once I got confused and I didn't know, I lost my connection with spirituality, that they speak of - then I would kind of come back to spirituality - what it's talking about, about the phases, discernment, Sefirot, screen - and you grasp a little bit of that in myself, and I once more return to the language of the Gemara.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (53:36) Is it possible to reach these degrees before the attainment of the Machsom, the barrier? I mean, how is it related to the barrier, the Machsom?
M. Laitman: Can one reach spiritual degrees before the barrier? The barrier is the first spiritual degree. That's why it's called the Machsom, or a barrier, since when a person rises to this degree, he no longer returns to this world, and his border, his limit of attainment, of the upper limit, is already in spirituality. The barrier is called the first screen a person receives, the minimal one.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (54:26) A person who is not married, as we talked about it, is it considered that he has no will to receive?
M. Laitman: An unmarried man in spirituality cannot be, because to correct the desire to receive is called “a woman.” And one who takes the desire to receive, and corrects it for himself, so that it will be possible to receive the upper light, he needs to go through the stages of correction of the will to receive. So the will to receive in him is born with a minimal screen, then it grows as this woman is called a baby, a young, mature youth, until she reaches a state in which he can marry her, meaning right line and left line. The screen with the desire to receive can be in one connection, at which point he corrects her to belong to him, and that part of the will to receive, altogether he corrects in order to join to the screen; at which point he does a Chuppah, and the Chuppah is the general screen which includes both of them. And then he does a Zivug, a coupling with the upper light, called coupling, copulating with her, and fills her with the upper light, and that's it. Meaning, the screen and vessels of reception. In spirituality it cannot be any other way, but we learn all these things in the “Study of the Ten Sefirot” and the “Preface.” We don't quite go over these things. Against that, in corporeality we tend to do the same things. Meaning, a person who performs actions in spirituality, the moment he performs a spiritual action in reality, and feels that he can join also the corporeal action to this, and he's drawn to that, because then by that he connects both worlds together. And a person who is just studying and has yet to enter spirituality, and doesn't perform any spiritual action, does not yet have the drive to make any kind of corporeal actions, rather he either does it due to education or habit, or somewhat - does them or doesn't. Meaning, existence in spirituality pushes a person to also do so in corporeality, because he sees this action as perfect, since it exists here and there. But it's not a must. Rabbi Shimon was in the cave for 13 years, to the extent in which he had possibilities to perform practical commandments - he sat in the sand and studied, and that's it. Meaning, we're not in a state of adapting between corporeality and spirituality. If you were not born a Kohen, so you can, in corporeality nevertheless, suddenly if you came to a degree of Kohen in spirituality, then you begin in this world, and also begin to behave like a priest. There's no such thing. If you get divorced from a spiritual woman, you must not get divorced, and so on. But we'll say, in getting married, the number that always I have with my Rav is that he must immediately get married. And people who didn't understand, he would say, “If you don't understand, why you're entering my spirituality?” He was 85 years old, and it was like that.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (58:47) If there is something, a habit?
M. Laitman: In spirituality, there's no habit, like in corporeality. In spirituality, each time there's renewal. Each time the desire to receive is renewed, and we need to work on a new desire to receive, correct it, and fill it, and once more the desire is renewed. That is, a person is constantly ascending, is constantly new. And in corporeality, because it's inanimate, and it doesn't change, that's why there's the matter of habit. Where I, let's say, I got used to tea, like what I'm drinking now. Then we're done. It's like every day it's as if these records are being written in me, and I am going according to those records, and constantly going over those things again. So even if I don't feel any taste in it, and I feel the taste in returning to these things and observing them, but in spirituality these records are renewed, and therefore each time there's new work, a new thing. It's truly a new attainment, a new flavor, an actual new man.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:00:12) I understand the whole matter of marriage and the male and female - this is about the spiritual world, about processes that are inside of me?
M. Laitman: Yes.
Student: Is there some stage where you attain this whole thing, where the side of the marriage in the corporeal sense of it, my life with my wife in the corporeal sense, it influences me in respect to my development, once I attain this?
M. Laitman: A person who gets married, or let's say he's married, it doesn't matter, if he goes to get married, and with that studies Kabbalah, then he started studying. And certainly his life, it changes, and his life with his wife also changes. We try, because our women, we want our women to also be in the matters and study. And let's say, at 10 a.m. today I have a lesson with the women, and that's how it is every Friday, and there's a connection between them, and a truly active group. And they're now going on a trip I heard, and mutual help and everything. Because we are interested to make of them as much as possible also women that would be in suit and adaptation to us. Now in principle a woman is not obliged, but it helps. It helps and is beneficial.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:01:44) Is there some point in the spiritual world where it influences me in my personal development? I'm not talking about the corporeal life, it's clear to me that it will be more convenient for me if the woman accepts these things and she understands why I'm even in that.
M. Laitman: There certainly is a connection between spiritual development and corporeal development, since one clothes in the other. In the meantime, in corporeality, we come from corporeality, we come to spirituality, and certainly corporeality works. What does it mean? In truth, the male part in reality belongs to the Creator, and comes down to the created being only in order to correct the desire to receive. The screen is a consequence of the light. The desire to bestow is, since the quality of bestowal is the quality of the Creator, after shattering of the vessels, they fell into this. We were to go deeper into these matters altogether, and feel how in our world we're independent, but a woman spins a man eventually to do all the things in the world. And where a man goes and wants to attain and advance, even if he's not married, doesn't matter what guy, but nevertheless, because there is this deficiency of a woman in him, a womanly manner that will oblige a person like this. Like it or not, that's how it is. Men would be even gossiping at this point. This is a known thing for psychologists, and this is because in the foundation of reality, this against that, need to serve one another. All right, we'll talk about this. Get married, so we'll talk.
Student: I got married already.
M. Laitman: Yes, so we don't need to talk about it. You'll see what “a help against him” you'll receive.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:03:57) What is this concept called the “kingdom of heaven?”
M. Laitman: Malchut of heaven is considered that a person reaches the recognition with all his desires and his awareness in thoughts, and all that is in him - 100% the Creator controls. This is considered that he has come to the recognition of Malchut, the kingdom of heaven. So with what thought, with what consciousness did he come to this, in his "I?” In a certain wondrous way, is not under the control of the Malchut of heaven, the kingdom of heaven, since the Creator gave him the possibility to recognize this. What does this mean? Let's say you look at a cat. A cat is in the kingdom of heaven 100%. Yes? Because nature operates upon it from above and doesn't leave any freedom of choice here by her. You were given a point outside of the control of the Creator. This is called existence from absence, this point. And from this point, you gradually start to recognize the rest of your nature. And then you come to a recognition, which is a great achievement. But this is altogether your "I." This is what is considered the kingdom of heaven. Now, the way we relate to this can be either positive or negative, from one end to the other. Pharaoh says, "Who is the Creator that should I listen to Him?" Pharaoh is our entire not-corrected desire to receive. So it's against the kingdom of heaven 100%. "Who's the Lord? Why should I be under His control?" And the opposite of that, Pharaoh, that is corrected completely, is in the final correction, as it is included in the kingdom of heaven, willingly. And he wants, and he goes, and "You hem me in, behind and before.” And it's like the horse and the rider are going together in all their movements.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:06:28) Do we reach that state of the kingdom of heaven only at the end of correction?
M. Laitman: The kingdom of heaven is truly complete. It's perfect. And we reach it only in the final correction, certainly. This is why it is called the final correction, since as before that there are all kinds of distinguishments, desires, and if they're not included together with the Creator, then it's the same action and thought.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:06:55) What reality will transpire at the end of correction? How will it be different from the reality that we know today?
M. Laitman: What will be different in the final correction and different than the reality of today? Until the final correction, we can somewhat talk about what happens with a person as he rises the spiritual degrees. He'll be cute like you. No, in truth, this means that a person in externality does not need to change. If everyone advances to the final correction, the world becomes more corrected, healthier. Although we know how much Kabbalists suffered to the last day of theirs, and how bad they feel in this world, but this is because they're incorporated with all the rest of the souls. So this is where you grasp and you hold on to viruses from them, you get them. Meaning, the desire to receive is corrected, corrects them together, and we prepare the correction for the rest of the souls, because they catch other diseases and catch all kinds of forms. Because of this, we move to these stages like it appears, and a person advances to spirituality and feels more of the upper light. And this is how he becomes healthier, happier, more bright. And really, this happens, on one hand. On the other hand, it's as if he's feeling sorrow of the whole world, because the world's not corrected. And against this, he's included in the desires, and the problems - not personality, or the world’s, it's not important. Hence, in the final correction, you can somewhat talk about it and somewhat understand these stages, even from the time of preparation, from the state of preparation, how this relates in the upper world. And not that we can do something about that, because it's written, "I've seen an opposite world." When he enters there, he sees that it's completely different than what he thought, because all his desires receive a new vessel. He sees things differently, because it's in order to bestow and not in order to receive. Prior to that, he just saw within himself. But what happens in the final correction, we cannot describe. There's an article called "Anterior and Posterior." How is it called? Where he talks about the four states.
Student: “The Concealment and Revelation of the Face.”
M. Laitman: “Concealment and Revelation of the Face,” there is such an article. You didn't hear? Were you here when we read it? So you can see that while there's concealment, he sees it as such. And during the revelation, he sees it completely differently. He doesn't see things differently, but he first sees his friend as good, and then as bad. And this good and bad are not so much so, because we understand the evidence that it's seemingly all changed. But you see that he was poor, completely poor before that, and now you see him as rich and happy. How is this possible? These are objective states. There's something that's outside me, and we're trying to understand how this spiritual vision is different from our reality, and it changes reality. I cannot explain this, there's certainly something that we cannot with words. Moreover, the final correction, what happens after the final correction — after the final correction, it's impossible to deal with the secrets of Torah. What does it mean that they write? It's no such thing as prohibited. What it means is that it's impossible to do such a thing. Hence, in such a way, you should not work in this, for everyone to understand. And for this, they said, don't do it. And don't get confused by what people say here, because they'll get confused on the way that there's a commandment in this. So what are they saying by this? Something good.
M. Laitman: (01:11:14) That's why Kabbalists, together with writing books, they also conceal many things within to not confuse a person, since they're in the current state still, and on this side of the screen, they're not capable of understanding it. So whatever they can, explain just a little. Now, the end of correction, we learn a little bit from the article of Baal HaSulam, the “Last Generation.” We have it only in our internal printing or on the internet. It's also in the writings of Baal HaSulam today. He explains there all kinds of things. But it's also not really the end of correction yet. The “Last Generation” is not really the end of correction. It describes things that will purportedly be in our world, but he cannot reach a conclusion to express what will actually happen on the spiritual level. But we need to understand that we should read this article. He says that according to the internality that people receive altogether, the inner correction, which is in order to bestow, so the law, "love your friend as yourself," will spread throughout the world, and that will be the inner necessity of each person. Just as now your necessity is to fill yourself up to the maximum with giving the minimum effort for it, the custom, the conduct of each one, the drive that impels every person will be the opposite, where each one will want to give the maximum effort for the benefit of the whole world and receive for himself not more than the smallest one receives. Everything will be completely opposite, according to the screen and not according to the will to receive. We see these things as kind of fantasies, a wild imagination. But the upper light changes these things to the complete opposite, very simply. In other words, to reach from our end to the other end, there is no problem, except we need to be somehow ready for this change. So that change is coming. We don't feel how we are changing, also not those who are seated here.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:14:45) We understood that man's only choice is in the environment, the society. At this point, is there no involvement of the Creator? Why is that the only choice? Why is that different than other things?
M. Laitman: If we study the world of Atzilut, the world of Atzilut is the world that operates on us. It is what leads us and brings us to the end of correction. The soul... We have the world of Ein Sof. The light of Ein Sof comes down from it and enters Adam Kadmon. In the world of Adam Kadmon, we have a system where there are five Partzufim: Galgalta, AB, SAG, MA, BON, and all together it is Adam Kadmon. The upper light that comes through these five Partzufim, it is divided into five lights: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, Yechida. And then from it, that's the bottom, the end of the world of Adam Kadmon. This is its beginning. This is the Peh of Galgalta, that's the top of Galgalta. And here we already have the world of Atzilut. What happens to us is that before the world of Atzilut came, there is Malchut here that needs to be corrected, and SAG, which is the quality of Bina, connects to Malchut in order to correct her. Together they go through a breaking, and from the breaking, the world of Atzilut is built. Although the world of Atzilut is exactly like the world of Adam Kadmon, it also has all those parts, except they are called Atik, Arich Anpin, Abba ve Ima, Zeir Anpin, and Nukva. But it's true that it's like Adam Kadmon, but it already has the parts of the breaking, meaning it already understands deficiencies, the deficiencies of the created being. And then, the world of Atzilut gives to the worlds Beriah, Yetzira, Assiya of impurity, and Beriah, Yetzira, Assiya of holiness. And the souls here are not corrected - uncorrected, broken souls are here, between them. And below all that, there is this world. There are many things I didn't draw here, with the broken souls, after Atzilut was made. In Abba ve Ima of Atzilut, there is Nukva that rose to Abba ve Ima of Atzilut and added to herself, Malchut, and from this, a Partzuf called Adam HaRishon was made, or, which is the same thing, that created being, or the soul. And then, that soul went down here, after the breaking. Afterwards, there was the breaking, like that. So, what I wanted to say is that the world of Atzilut, which runs all this thing, in the world of Adam Kadmon, we see that it is divided in its bestowal, that it has to bring all the reality to create a soul - Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, Yechida. And it brings all the souls to the light of Yechida, meaning both in their correction and their filling, that completes everything. So, the purpose of creation, and its whole design in general, are in the world of Adam Kadmon, but in a very general way. Whereas in the world of Atzilut, here these things are already divided and detailed. The world of Atzilut, the way it was created, it was created in a way that it has a part…
M. Laitman: (01:21:18) …let's put it this way, an upper part, which is godliness, Elokim. This is called Atik, Arich Anpin, and Abba ve Ima. And it's got a part that is called ZON, which is already the created being, deficiencies. And in the world of Atzilut, because it comprises, because of the breaking, it incorporates deficiencies from the breaking, it understands it like a mother understands what the baby wants, because everything that is in the baby is in her. And she herself creates a model of the baby. What could it be that it wants? What could it be that I need to give it, to give him? It doesn't come into her mind to give him a flower or something. It needs food, or warmth, or something. So here the system consists of deficiencies of the soul, and that's why it understands them. This is why it can bestow upon them very consistently, very orderly, all the corrections and the fillings.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:23:04) You said that Galgalta is the first Partzuf after the light of Ein Sof?
M. Laitman: Afterwards, let's not get into details now. I drew it in order to explain that the upper one incorporates the deficiencies of the lower one, that the world of Atzilut consists of souls, the deficiencies in the souls. This is why it can understand them and bring them faithfully to the end of correction. You can draw this scheme, make it very big and detailed, with all the possibilities you have there. Atzilut operates on the souls through the worlds BYA, and brings the souls, desires by which the souls connect to the worlds BYA, to the world of Atzilut. So, the system in itself is complete, and all its pieces operate in synchrony. But what he asked about it was, is there any freedom of choice there? So, in Atzilut, the thing is that it must bring all these things to correction, but it must do so in a natural way. What does it mean, natural? It gives you a blow. The will to receive wants to separate from the blow, meaning it cries out. That outcry is already a request for correction, and this is how a person is corrected. But in this way, we need to experience all the blows, and our correction will still not be a purposeful correction. We will not want to be givers; we will want to get rid of the blows. So, the blows need to also be directed to a state by which a person wants to understand not the blow itself, but when he understands the blow, when he delves into the blow, he knows the reason, and when he knows the reason why his suffering blows, he gradually begins to connect with the reason, and then, to that extent, he receives freedom of choice. In other words, the development, of course, it's through suffering, but in the depth of the suffering, meaning the more we, after the blow, think why we got it, for what? In spirituality it's, so you see how much we take it into account. We simply run away from the blows, and that's it. A person can take a tiny blow, now we could be in a state where we could stop all these riots and these blows right away, if we only thought just for a little bit why it comes down on us. We don't want to connect with the reason, so we are being forced to return to it time and time again.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:26:48) In terms of the flowchart, the shattering is located before the world of Atzilut?
M. Laitman: The breaking is before the world of Atzilut. The world of Atzilut is established by the breaking. Otherwise, how will it know what is happening with the souls?
Student: But the Partzuf of Adam HaRishon is the Partzuf that shattered, no?
M. Laitman: After the world of Atzilut came out, and the world of BYA came out, then the Partzuf of Adam HaRishon was born, we will learn it in time, in its time.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:27:25) We say that the Malchut, we say we correct the first nine Sefirot, so where is the Malchut that we don't correct in this place?
M. Laitman: In Adam HaRishon, there is a point that comes from Malchut of Malchut of Ein Sof as existence from absence, and is not incorporated in the first nine, and it cannot be corrected, and it's called the stony heart, and we do not touch it during the correction period. Meaning, I recognize in the corrections I do that I have such desires in me that I must not, I'm forbidden to touch. I cannot correct them, connect them to the Creator, so I should simply avoid dealing with them, and that's a correction, that I don't engage in them.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:28:20) We are here correcting all of the Sof of Galgalta, and the Malchut we're talking about is technically not in the end of Galgalta?
M. Laitman: Until the end of correction, we don't deal with Malchut of Malchut, with the essence of the created being, we don't deal with it. Because we ourselves are created being we cannot correct our own nature. As much as possible, we can incorporate with the nature of the Creator. I want to go according to what is in Him, I want to absorb His qualities, meaning replicate His qualities on me, but I cannot invert my original nature. Rather, I cut off this piece from me, and I say, “I don't deal with this.”
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:29:16) It says that every day a person should receive anew, what does it mean?
M. Laitman: Every day receiving anew, meaning every time a new record, a new desire appears, you have to correct the new things.
Student: Now, if the intention that he goes through every day are the same intentions we talked about, a woman, a bride...
M. Laitman: The spiritual degrees are similar to each other. Ten original Sefirot, and they are divided into more, and more, and more, and more, into thousands of thousands of discernments, and in each discernment you have ten Sefirot. And, of course, if you are talking about... Did you ever study mathematics? Two plus two equals four. Two - might be people, cars, it might be planes, it doesn't matter, depends what you're counting. So, in the wisdom of Kabbalah, we study formula, but in each degree, in this formula, you have completely different discernments, so you're constantly living a new reality, and a new world opens up to you every moment, and the adventures are actually adventures. But according to the formula, you experience within stages ten Sefirot, the screen, coarseness, refinement, etc. So, if we're not talking about the changes in the lights that fill the new vessels with new lights, so the process is the same process. When you breathe, isn't it the same process? You do it 15 times a minute, so... But stop it? So, there are necessary things you have to do, and there are things that you have, like pleasures you have to come back to, but each time it's a different thing. Spirituality has no… I don't know, you don't get tired of it.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:31:31) There's a discernment here of every time anew, on the other hand, there's a desire to reach fear, which is essentially continuation, so...
M. Laitman: We'll wait and see.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:31:49) How can I distinguish between the desire to receive first for myself that I need to correct, and the second nature that I can't correct?
M. Laitman: Everything can be corrected. How to distinguish that there's something you cannot? In each degree, we have such desires that we can only shut them up and say, I'm not touching this. What do you shut out? What you cannot, you'll see. There's no explanation for now, because we still don't have discernments. I cannot tell you, if you received a screen on the root coarseness, and you have other such desires that don't belong to that state, those you need to freeze. I cannot say, because you cannot distinguish. You still don't have enough light with which to see your desires in such a way that they are spread out in front of you, and you know what is each desire, and what you can do with it. You still don't have a Rosh, a head of the Partzuf with which you can discern, determine how you relate to all of your internality. Well, we are moving to...