The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: June 27, 2026
Part 1: Rabash. What Is, The Smell of His Garments, in the Work? Article No. 9, 1991
Reader: Friends, in the first part of the lesson, we're going to enter a lesson with the Rav from February 2002. We are going to read an article called, "What Is, “The Smell of His Garments,” in the Work?"
Reading: (00:55) What Is, “The Smell of His Garments,” in the Work?
Article No. 9, 1991
“Rabbi Zira said about the verse, ‘And he smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him. And he said, ‘The smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed’ (Genesis 27:27). ‘The smell of his garments,’ do not call it Begadav [his garments], but Bogdav [his traitors], for even the traitors among them have a smell to them’” (Sanhedrin, 37a).
We should understand the words of Rabbi Zira. What is the connection between “garments” and “traitors”? “Garments” are clothes that a person wears, meaning there is a connection between the clothes and the person. It is a good thing that the person has clothes. But “traitors” are the complete opposite, since when one person betrays another, it is a bad thing for that person. In other words, a person feels so bad in his situation that he wants to come out of that state, and he has no other choice but to betray the person who put him in the bad state he is in. Therefore, how come Rabbi Zira explains about the verse that “garments” means “traitors”?
It is known that the order of the work is that person should correct himself and enter Kedusha [holiness], since man was born with the evil inclination, which comes to a person and as soon as he is born, it is with him. The Zohar says about it (VaYeshev, Item 1), “And when one comes into the world, the evil inclination immediately appears to partake with him, as it is written, ‘Sin crouches at the door,’ for then the evil inclination partakes with him.”
It says there (Item 7), “‘An old and foolish king’ is the evil inclination. From the day he was born, he never parted from his Tuma’a [impurity]. And he is a fool because all his ways are toward the evil way, and he walks and incites and lures people.”
It is known that the order of the work divides into the work of the general public, meaning what the general public can do, and the work of the individual, what the general public cannot do. This is expressed by the words Lishma [for Her sake] and Lo Lishma [not for Her sake].
In other words, the work of bestowal pertains specifically to individuals. But work that is in order to receive reward is work that the general public can do, as well. Maimonides says about it, “Therefore, when teaching little ones, women, and uneducated people, they are taught to work only out of fear and in order to receive reward. Until they gain much knowledge and acquire much wisdom, they are taught that secret little-by-little” (Hilchot Teshuva, Chapter 4).
Therefore, when a person wants to walk on the path of individuals, to do everything in order to bestow, the evil inclination, called will to receive, which is concerned with its own benefit, can work only in order to receive reward. When a person wants to work for the sake of the Creator, the evil inclination objects to this work, since it conflicts with the nature with which he was born. Hence, here begins man’s work with a hard battle, since the person tells his body when the body asks him why he observes Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], “What will you get out of it?” The person tells him that our sages said, “The Creator said, ‘I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice.’”
“Therefore, since I haven’t the power to annul you, by engaging in Torah I will have the strength to annul you and remove you from your kingship over me, as it is written, “You are an old and foolish king.” Therefore, I want to remove you from your governance that you govern me, and take upon myself the governance of the King of all kings, the Creator.”
What should the evil inclination, called “will to receive for oneself,” do? It has no other choice but to interrupt with all its might. However, normally, a person does not make efforts to obtain something if he can obtain it easily. Therefore, when a person begins to work and makes little efforts to emerge from its dominance, the body does not need to resist a person with all its might. Rather, the evil in a person emerges gradually, with greater force each time, depending on man’s work.
In other words, the order of the work is balanced, so that one will have a choice to elect the good and reject the bad. This is as our sages said, “One should always see oneself as half guilty, half innocent. If he performs one Mitzva [singular of Mitzvot], happy is he, for he has sentenced himself to the side of merit” (Kidushin p 40b). The reason one should see oneself as “half guilty, half innocent” is so as to have a choice. Conversely, if one thing is more than the other, he can no longer make the decision.
Therefore, if a person performs one Mitzva, he has already sentenced to the side of merit, so how can he make a choice once more, since the side of merit has already prevailed? The answer is that if the bad in a person sees that the person has overcome it, the evil uses greater force, meaning brings him just arguments why it is not worthwhile to work for the sake of the Creator. It makes one taste the taste of dust when he wants to do something to bestow, and gives him a greater flavor in work for self-benefit.
In other words, each time, he gives him a greater pleasure is self-benefit. In other words, he never thought that there is so much pleasure in self-benefit, since when he makes more efforts, he sentences to the side of merit. Hence, he must give him more evil in order to be able to choose. That is, it does not mean that he gives him more bad deeds. Rather, it means that he gives him greater pleasure in self-benefit, to the point that it is difficult for him to retire from self-benefit and work in order to bestow.
This is regarded as a person suffering great descents. That is, when the evil appears to him with greater force and it is difficult to overcome it, the person sometimes comes to a state of “pondering the beginning,” meaning that he sees that he has labored and toiled in vain, since in fact, it is impossible to emerge from the governance of evil. Thus, it is a shame that I exerted for nothing. It follows that during the descent, he betrays the work of the Creator. Afterward, when the Creator sends him an awakening from above, he ascends to spirituality once more and thinks that now he will be in a state of Kedusha.
However, afterward the evil appears within him once again, and with greater force, and he suffers another descent, just as before. Each time he thinks the same, meaning that each time, he falls into betrayal in the work. It follows that “He who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him,” since otherwise, there would not be choice. It follows that one who is greater has more betrayals in the work, where as one who does not have the strength to overcome, the evil does not need to show its full strength.
Hence, the question is, If he has committed a transgression, woe unto him, for he has sentenced himself to the side of fault, since he has already decided, so how can he later make a choice? The answer is as our sages said, “Transgressed and repeated? It becomes as though permitted to him.” In other words, he does not feel the power of the evil that there is in the transgression, and naturally, he does not need excessive overcoming. Rather, with a small overcoming, he can choose the good and loathe the little bit of evil that is in him.
Conversely, one who is great, that person has many ups and downs. That is, often, he betrays the work of bestowal, as the complaint of the spies who slandered the land of Israel, which is the kingdom of heaven. In other words, his taking upon himself the kingdom would not be for his own sake, called Eretz [land] but because of the Shamayim [heaven]. Put differently, the person wants to take upon himself the burden of Torah and Mitzvot in order to bring contentment to his Maker, so the spies slandered it, as it is written in The Zohar (Shlach, Item 63):
“‘And they returned from touring the land.’ ‘They returned’ means that they returned to the bad side, returned from the path of truth, saying, ‘What did we get out of it? To this day we have not seen good in the world. We have toiled in Torah and the house is empty. Who will be awarded that world? Who will come and be in it? It would have been better had we not toiled so. We learned in order to know the part of that world. That upper world is good, as we know in the Torah, but who can be rewarded with it?’”
We should understand the argument of the spies. After all, they said what they felt. When a person is in descent, he does not lie; he says what he feels. Hence, during the ascent, he wants to annul before Him as a candle before a torch, since he feels that he will be happy from this. Conversely, during a descent, he sees that all that the will to receive argues is correct. Thus, why does the verse say as it is written, “And they slandered the land”?
According to what Baal HaSulam says, the answer is that they had to believe that since the Creator promised to the people of Israel that He would give them the land of Israel, which is a land “flowing with milk and honey,” the Creator will certainly give them. But the situation that they saw was that they had to believe that this revelation of the bad came to them from above, meaning the revelation of the evil that exists in man by nature, and that one is unable to emerge from the governance of evil and be rewarded with Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator.
Rather, it is only the Creator Himself. They had to believe that the Creator would give them a second nature, which is the desire to bestow, and by this they will receive all the delight and pleasure called “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Then, when they have the vessels of bestowal, the Tzimtzum [restriction] and concealment are lifted from them and they are rewarded with the delight and pleasure that were in the purpose of creation. At that time, it is a “land flowing with milk and honey.”
It follows that these descents are required in order to reveal the evil, so that afterward they will know that only the Creator can help. His help comes specifically on a complete lack, for then the complete help can come. This means that if the evil were not completely exposed, there would not be a complete lack. Hence, first we must see that the evil is revealed.
Subsequently, the filling called “help from the Creator” comes and fills his lack. This follows the rule, “There is no light without a Kli.” We could ask, Why must we wait so long? That is, there are many accents and many descents, but the bad could have appeared at once. The answer is that if the bad were revealed in full, no one would be able to begin the work, since the bad would prevail and there would not be room for choice. Hence, the bad appears according to the level of the good that a person increases in the work.
According to the above, we should interpret what we asked, What does it mean that Rabbi Zira interprets the verse, “And he smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him.” He says, “Do not call it Begadav [his garments], but Bogdav [his traitors], for even the traitors among them have a smell to them.”
We should interpret that since Jacob was rewarded with wholeness, meaning that from all the descents he achieved wholeness, so that the help from above could come, since all the bad has been revealed in him. It follows that the descents, which are the betrayals, are called “sins.” When the light appears through them, we now see that the sins have become as merits, that were it not for the descents, we would not be able to achieve wholeness. This is why Rabbi Zira interprets that the smell of his garments was because he achieved his completion, meaning that the betrayals were also corrected. It follows that the betrayals were as fragrant as the merits, since everything was corrected in him. This is why he says, “the smell of his traitors.”
Therefore, when a person is in a state of ascent, he must learn from his state during the descent in order to know the difference between light and darkness, as it is written, “as the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” However, for the most part, a person does not want to remember the time of darkness because it pains him, and people do not want to suffer for no reason. Rather, a person wants to enjoy the state of ascent that he is in.
However, one must know that if he considers the descents while he is in an ascent, he will learn two things from this, which will benefit him and he will therefore not suffer from descents for no reason: 1) He must know how to keep himself as much as he can from falling into a descent. 2) “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness.” At that time, he will have more vitality and joy from the state of ascent, and he will be able to thank the Creator for bringing him closer to Him. That is, now a person has a good feeling from being in a state where he understands that it is worthwhile to be a servant of the Creator, since now he feels the greatness and importance of the King.
But during the descent, it is the complete opposite. The body asks him, “What will you get out of wanting to annul before Him and cancel yourself from this entire world, and care only about how to bring contentment to the Creator?” When a person considers both extremes, he sees the differences between them. At that time he has the values of a different importance than he thought about the ascent. It follows that by looking at the descent, the ascent rises in him to a higher level than he feels without looking at the descent.
It follows that when he thinks about the time of betrayals that he had during the descents, all the descents are sweetened and filled with the blessing of the Creator, since they are causing an ascent. Hence, when a person completes the work, everything is corrected into merits. This is the meaning of what he says, “And he said, ‘The smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.’” This means that then the smell of my son’s betrayals is as the smell of Malchut, who is called “a field that the Lord has blessed.” That is, he already received all the bestowals of delight and pleasure from the Creator.
Accordingly, we should interpret the words, “And the Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from your abdomen, and one nation shall be stronger than the other.’” RASHI interprets “‘Two nations’ as ‘There is no nation but Malchut.’ ‘Will be separated,’ one to his wickedness and one to his wholeness. ‘One nation shall be stronger than the other,’ they will not be the same in greatness; when one rises, the other falls.”
We should understand what the RASHI interpretation adds to us. Here the writing brings the order of the work when we want to achieve Dvekut with the Creator. He says “nation” as “There is no nation but Malchut.” That is, a person must know that there are two discernments in Malchut: 1) an old and foolish king, 2) the King of all kings.
The evil inclination belongs to the old and foolish king, but there is also the good inclination in him, which pertains to the King of all kings. Therefore, he says, “‘Will be separated,’ one to his wickedness and one to his wholeness. ‘One nation shall be stronger than the other,’ They will not be the same in greatness; when one rises, the other falls.” This pertains to ascents and descents, where each wants to overcome the other, meaning that specifically by quarreling, each one grows, as was said, “All who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him.”
This is called “One nation shall be stronger than the other,” meaning that both grow, and each one grows through the other. In other words, the descents, which is the old and foolish king, his power grows through the ascents of the good inclinations. It is as our sages said, “To the righteous, the evil inclination seems like a high mountain,” since he has many ascents, which in plural form is called “righteous.” That is, in the work, when speaking of one person, that he is a small world, there are many righteous in a person, meaning many ascents. They come by overcoming the wicked. Concerning “many wicked in one person,” this is called “many descents,” since in each descent he becomes wicked. It follows that each one grows through the other. This is the meaning of “One nation shall be stronger than the other.”
Conversely, those who do not walk on the path toward achieving Dvekut with the Creator, which is to obtain the desire to bestow, are called “wicked” in that they are not walking on a path where they will be able to do everything for the sake of the Creator, but rather for their own sake.
Yet, here, “wicked” is a different discernment, a completely different interpretation. That is, there are no righteous there in the middle, but all their actions are as wicked, meaning not for the sake of the Creator, but for their own sake.
In the work, they are called “wicked,” but to the general public, who observe Torah and Mitzvot, they are called “righteous.” They are called “wicked” only in terms of the intention, in terms of the work, to work only for the sake of the Creator and not for their own sake. And since they do not have a quality of “righteous” in between, their evil does not receive an addition, for only if there is a righteous in between, meaning an ascent, when he wants to work only in order to bestow, then the bad must receive more bad so as to be able to lower him from his degree.
Hence, “To the wicked, the evil seems like hairsbreadth,” and the bad does not grow in them. Instead, “Transgressed and repeated? It becomes as though permitted to him.” In other words, he has no sensation of the evil. This is as our sages said, “And one nation shall be stronger than the other.” As RASHI interpreted, “They will not be the same in greatness; when one rises, the other falls.”
But how come when he rises he then falls? Each time, someone else receives an addition. Once the good receives an ascent from above and the bad falls, and when the bad receives bad from above, the good falls. This is the order of descents and descents, until all the evil within man is revealed specifically by a person receiving good each time, which is called “ascents.” This is the meaning of “And one nation shall be stronger than the other.” Hence, a person should not be alarmed by the descents. Instead, he should ask the Creator each time to bring him closer to Him.
According to the above, we should interpret, “Thus far, Your kindness has assisted us and Your mercies have not left us, the Lord our God.”
We should ask, In which state is he in now, and what was his state before, of which he comes to say something new, as though now he is in a state of delight and pleasure? It seems as though he was not in a good state, but was in a state where he was not happy, and now he has come to realize that thus, what we felt have been help from above, from the side of mercy. Although he did not feel them as mercy, now he sees that that then, too, his feelings, which we felt as bad, were also from the side of kindness. “And Your mercies have not left us” means that then, too, Providence was from the side of mercy and not from the side of judgment.
We should understand how this is so, meaning to say that the bad state was also mercy. The thing is that there is no light without a Kli, since a person cannot be given something if he has no need for it. It is like a person who cannot eat if he is not hungry. Therefore, when a person begins to walk on the path of the Creator to achieve Dvekut with the Creator, he cannot receive help from the Creator because normally, a person does not ask for help from someone unless he cannot obtain that thing by himself.
Therefore, when one thinks that he can come to work in order to bestow alone, he does not ask the Creator to help him. Thus, when one begins to work for the sake of the Creator, and sees each time that he is incapable of achieving the degree of work in order to bestow, he becomes needy of the Creator’s help. It follows that all the descents he had, to the point that sometimes he despaired and came to “pondering the beginning,” and wanted to escape the campaign, and certainly, these state are called “bad states,” and he was in a state of “wicked.”
But afterward, when he has satiated the lack of the Kli, when he saw that his Kli was full of lacks, the Creator gives him help, which is the desire to bestow, a second nature. At that time, he sees that thus far, the many descents he felt, and thought that the reason was that he was unsuitable for it, and this is why he suffered the descents, now he sees that thus far it was also help from the Creator.
This is the meaning of “Thus far, Your kindness has assisted us,” and it was all mercy, as it is written, “and Your mercies did not leave us.”
Reader: We will now move to the lesson from February 5, 2002.
M. Laitman: (32:59) So we heard the article "What Is, “The Smell of His Garments,” in the Work?," from the Rungs of the Ladder, first volume, page 205. What is the main content of this article? No bad comes from the Creator. Everything in providence is through the Good Who Does Good to the bad and to the good, and every action that a person undergoes from above is only in order to bring him closer to the Creator. And a person who initially feels providence only through his senses, meaning through bitter and sweet, he then certainly feels it as ascents and descents.
Later on, when he adds to his perception of the Creator's governance over him, true and false, he sees that there, where it seemed to him as bitter, he sees it was the truth. By this, the bitter becomes all sweet, and he sees that the descents help him to advance even more than the ascents. That as much as the ascent is greater, it is, all in all, the support of the forces that will enable him to cope with the descent and turn it into good.
All of the ascents, from one degree to the next degree, are through the bad that is revealed through the descent. From that, one reaches the understanding that there is nothing bad in the world at all, but rather it is only Hassadim, mercy. And from covered Hassadim they become revealed Hassadim. Are there any questions?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (35:15) What do you do with a sense of satiation? A person feels satiated.
M. Laitman: Not hungry or satiated, he feels like there's nothing. It's good this way or good that way. Whatever comes is good. It's a sign that you have to shift, to add in the exertion, to impress yourself a bit more. Enter into the article, get some impression from this upper wisdom from Kabbalah, get some inspiration from the friends. I see how he is inspired and he is inspired. I see how he is sleeping. And this one is like a corpse sitting there. He might fall off his chair or something else. It depends on who you're inspired by. It is written that each time you have to choose a better environment. So, attach yourself each time to someone who seems to you that he's more inspired than you are and become impressed by him. That's it. And in this way you'll be able to ascend.
And also, if you have some power, then awaken others. That is also to your merit. Then instead of you descending, if you see someone who is descending and you help him to ascend, it's as though you went down and up. From the adhesion it becomes the same action, truly the same action. And so, therefore, we simply need to work. That is to see in every state a good state from which we can begin the work. If even a thought comes to you of why am I like that? How come I'm not doing something? What should I do and so on, something of that kind, it's a sign that you're being awakened from above, and they want you specifically from that state to move. And so then try, by all means.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (37:26) More or less the same question. I want to know if it's possible that there is such a state where a person just forgets everything he learned so far?
M. Laitman: If a person can forget what he studied or about the work. There are states where I simply forget about my daily routine. I walk around, I get confused, all kinds of other things. God forbid, some troubles or vice versa, all kinds of events. So because of that, you have to determine in advance, according to the clock and according to the diary what exactly I need to do. I have certain hours for that. Indeed for me, the day is organized pretty much more or less, except for what Nassi sometimes throws some mess in there with all kinds of meetings. That's it. So I know that this is it. I have to go through it. I have the study of the Ten Sefirot part now that I'm doing for Moscow. I have the forum from last year. And I have five or six other books along the way. Each one is kind of cooking. And I have 20 questions and answers on emails and on internet and so on.
In short, I know that to each and every thing, I have to devote such and such time, and I have no choice; besides the fact that I need to work for a few hours in order to make a living. So there's an order. And if I forget or I don't forget, nevertheless, after one hour or two hours, I reach a certain state where, according to my routine, my order, it awakens me and reminds me of the issue. That is necessary. And besides that, we also have a Shamati every day, right? At one o'clock, we read some article, right?
Sometimes one of the friends calls and says, what's up? How are you doing? Do you think this way or that way? I wasn't even thinking this way or that way. But his question brings me already back to the state. At first, when he begins, I curse him, and later on I see that we have to do it, otherwise what? I'll remain a beast. And somehow I agree with him, and later on I even like it that he calls me. That's how it is, right?
M. Laitman: (39:37) Now, we are in the world of action. This means that whatever happens here, it's only through information that comes down from above. If every second, every moment, every state does not come down to this world from above, then it simply won't exist in this world. It's not that there is something here, let's say there's some object here, and it's enough that it's already built, it's made, it exists, and now we don't have to worry about it. There is no such thing. It only seems to us, because we can't see the cause and consequence, but each and everything needs all the time. You have to sustain it, each and every second, otherwise it will have no existence.
This means that the light has to operate on it, and through the cascading, to build a certain shell on it, a certain garment, and keep it all the time; feed it, as we call it, give it existential energy, let's say. And so, something that appears to be most dead, something that doesn't change at all, some kind of desolation, cannot be except through non-stop operation of the light from above. That specifically over that state there is an intention and precise action from above, and this is how it exists. So there is no state which is not under supervision from above, and which is desirable each and every second, even if it hasn't changed yet.
There are states where a person feels how they're going over him to such an extent that seemingly everything departs, or everything comes, or nothing changes. So in every state, even if it doesn't change, as I explained, or it departs, or it comes, it all comes in a directed way from above. And in all of these changes, we need to understand that if the light will stop, then my “I” will disappear, myself. It's very simple, as we learned from the four phases of direct light. If the light doesn't make the vessel, if it doesn't create a desire, if it does not sustain this desire each and every second, as it comes from above, from Ein Sof, then this vessel will not exist. This desire will not be. The light precedes the vessel. If the light disappears from the vessel to a certain extent, not in terms of its existence, but in terms of its filling, then the vessel feels itself as empty. And these things happen to a person who's advancing with a quite high frequency.
When they want to replace the state of a person, then simply the light that was there before as a filling disappears. And instead of it, a new light comes, and seemingly new qualities, new fillings. And it seems to a person that whatever he had before, he forgot it completely, and he has nothing. He invested maybe a few weeks, or months, or years, and seemingly no memory of it even remained. He hears words. He doesn't understand what these words are. He didn't read them. He never heard them. These are well-known things.
What is the reason for it? They want to replace his state. But in between, it happens so that he feels himself as though he's completely between heaven and earth. And it is written like that about the Baal Shem Tov, that he had such descents that he would forget, how do you call the words, the letters, the letters.
M. Laitman: (44:12) And so his assistant would help him and say, this one is Aleph, Bet, Gimel. And he would repeat and come back to the letters and connecting them into words, and later on into sentences and so on.
The Baal Shem Tov, you understand, it's one of the great ones, one of the great Kabbalists. To such an extent, there is the departure of the lights. From the side of the light, it's a simple operation. What happens to us, that small change in the light creates within us changes from one end to the other. You see, we live from a tiny illumination cascading from above, and it comes down and clothes within us in a few, you might say, portions.
Its bottom-most portion is that it builds around it a material vessel, man's body, in which there is also the still, and vegetative, and animate, and speaking. And to each and every one, there is a specific light for it, for its kind, which builds around him a shell according to it.
We have the still things, we have the vegetative in the body, we have the animate in the body. This animate also develops, and the vegetative and animate develop also. The still does not develop, but the vegetative within us grows and it develops, and then it dies, the hairs, the nails, all kinds of vegetative parts.
Then we have our animate, that's our whole body. It's the embryo from the seed that develops until it becomes small, and then greater, and old, and it dies. It has its own order of development. This is through the portion of light that pertains to the animate degree.
And later on, the animate degree, we have the degree of the human being that develops from beastly desires for money, and honor, and knowledge, and then another higher level of portion clothes in it, which is already called the point in the heart. In that too, there is development.
Initially, it's called the time of preparation, and later on, the development of the Nefesh of Kedushah. And so you see, light comes, just a tiny illumination, but see to how many parts it is spread, and each part builds around itself a different garment. And in each and every part, there is its own plan, according to also the plans that come from the different parts of this light, and they influence each other. There is the general plan over this whole relation, which is called a person, a man in this world.
And each one of these parts within us exists only through the light. And if some part of the light will stop to the same extent, the person would die, or that part within the person would die. There are parts that stop completely. Other parts don't stop, but rather they move from one incarnation to the next, as we call it, and so on.
M. Laitman: (48:12) So we should understand that those changes in the light that build within us ascents and descents, and the departure of the Mochin, and once again, some kind of resurrection coming back to life, these are things that, well, in general, in the whole of nature, there is this kind of cycle and renewal. But in the spiritual part within us, it is certainly all quicker and felt more than all of the other parts of this tiny illumination that exists within us. This is so that we will develop by it faster. Its role is to make out of us the degree of Adam as quickly as possible. So we shouldn't be too impressed by the fact that suddenly I don't know anything, I don't remember anything, I don't feel anything.
My future is concealed of course. A person can't avoid being impressed by it. We depend so much on that small feeling of distortion until we will be able to control it through the screen, so that we won't be dependent on all of these things. The screen allows us to have such a correction and by that to acquire such a power where even though the light is not there, when it departs, I have how to fill myself. Instead of this feeling of the future, of confidence, of knowledge, of reality, of my personality, my orientation of where I am, what I am, I have what to be filled with.
This is called the light of Hassadim. And then I don't depend on it at all. I become free. I become free, so I start thinking, so what should I do? So from this moment onwards, I can determine whether I truly want to be disconnected from concern about filling myself, and I can think about spirituality, about godliness. That's the whole matter of the screen.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (50:56) There is no complete deficiency until the evil is revealed in wholeness. Who lets me discover the bad, the evil completely?
M. Laitman: I said it all becomes revealed and is done by the light, whether more or less, but it's all by the light. You're asking who, after I've explained it?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (51:22) What does it mean "He transgressed and repeated it, it becomes as though permitted to him."
M. Laitman: It becomes as though permitted. In simplicity, it means that a person is on some spiritual level, let's say degree number 15. And in that degree, he carries out all kinds of spiritual laws. If he was given a challenge, an addition of will to receive, and by that additional will to receive, he certainly falls from the degree right away, then begins to be a criminal. If he begins to work with the addition of the will to receive, so as to rise and correct this degree, then he rises not to degree 15, but 16.
But if he doesn't work on that will to receive, if he made a transgression, because from above he's given a will to receive, and then instead of correcting it, and turning that transgression into a Mitzva, as it's called, if he continues working in the will to receive without correcting it, that means it's the second time, and the third time, and so on. And so this whole will to receive that he acquired, which took him below his degree number 15, now it becomes his Keter, he stays below.
This is called transgressed and repeated it, meaning he broke his Mitzva, his level, because that's what he was given from above. He's not punished by that for the first time. For the first time, he's not the boss of that. He's punished for the second time. Therefore, it says if he transgressed and then did it again, it becomes as though permitted, meaning it becomes his Keter. You have determined that yourself, that you're not on degree 15, but 13, let's say.
Student: And how do you still rise from there? How do you go up?
M. Laitman: Later, he's being pitied from above. He's being reminded that there is a goal. It's either by a good blow, which suffers a good blow. That's also called mercy. Mercy means you're being reminded of the purpose of creation. How does it matter? It could be through a nicer awakening, or it already depends on the person, depends on the thought of creation. And then once again, he begins to rise and look for why and how. It’s like Rabash writes, that a person lives in some desolate place, suddenly he found the Book of Zohar, and he started remembering, according to that book, where he was, and that he was actually thrown out to some place, and he used to live there, and that used to be his home — meaning the spiritual world. And his family belongs there, and he belongs there, but he was thrown into some desolate place.
And so, meaning, even though he has family, and wife, and kids, and friends, and so on, all of that is beastliness, and he belongs to the spiritual degree. And that's where his true family, and his true house, and true friends, and the souls of the righteous who are his friends, and so on. And then he starts thinking. But Shana, a year, means, or repeated, means that the second time he does it of his own accord, not by what he’s given from above, the addition of the will to receive. Okay?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (55:31) Is there some portion of light that works on a vessel called a group, or is it simply that people gather, they come together, and they somehow grow stronger by that, they hasten it?
M. Laitman: Above, our whole function is from above. For us below, it is only the world of action, as I said. If you want to change something in this world, you only have one solution. Go up, become incorporated with the system of governance, and guidance, and the more you can enter there according to equivalence of form, and you will be allowed to add more good, then you can cause a good addition below. And only in that way you can change something. As we learned, there is only free choice in one matter, to jump a little higher or not, in one direction. One step, one direction, very kind of narrow, that's the only choice, you want it or not? Please. But only that is your free movement that was given to you. And so, after you rise higher, you only have one thing to choose in order to benefit something from below, but only after you ascend.
Other than that, in our world, there is nothing new except what comes from above. You want to change it, please, change. So, if you see in our world, people, all those things are orchestrated from above. Desire comes to the person, through None Else Besides Him. He has to… So, what are you asking now about the group? Of course, the group is orchestrated from above. As much as it is suitable for its formation from above, then it is really a group; as much as it is not suitable, then it is just a group of lizards.
From above, then it's truly a group, and if it doesn't, then to the extent that it doesn't, it's just a, you know, a seat of the scornful. And the first law in the group is each one pledges to relate to everyone equally. Meaning not that this one will be closer to me, and the other one will be farther from me. I like this one, and I reject this one. That's no longer a group, it's not unity. Group means unity. There can't be a different relation between one to another. And this is something you're not working on at all. Oh, okay, we have some general kind of good mood, that's good. What else? I don't have anything more to work on, I get such phone calls. Maybe the Rav can tell us what else we need to work on. Do you have nothing left to work on? You're already righteous, it's the end of correction.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (59:19) So, if one person in the group relates to everyone the same thing, and somebody else from the group relates to this one more and to that one less?
M. Laitman: So you have to sit together and discuss it. You have to scrutinize it and correct it. And I know it exists in each and every group, from the first to the last. And this is the first condition. And I don't understand why it's not worrying to people. Well, let's start studying.
Reader: Let's share in our impressions from the lesson, and what do we take from it for implementation in the Ten.
Reader: We'll move on to the next part of the lesson.