Morning Lesson January 11, 2024

Transcription is made from simultaneous translation, which leaves a possibility for differences in the audio.

Part 1:

Rabash. Article No. 26, 1989. What Is “He Who Defiles Himself Is Defiled from Above” in the Work?

Reading Article. (00:40) “It is written in The Zohar, ‘What is ‘Or on a far off…”’

1.S. (37:25) In the article he talks about the eye sees and the heart covets, and he says that the spirit of folly answers because he didn't repent for seeing, so what does it mean that we need to constantly be in repentance for what we see to constantly be in this process of repentance? What does it mean to repent?

R. That we constantly follow what we see what enters the eye and from the eye needs to get to the heart, and before it enters the heart, we need to analyze it critically and establish as we once read cops and guards in all your gates.

S. If the same thing repeats itself the same thought the same vision that repeats itself?

R. It may seem to us the same but it's not, it's always new records new vision.

S. What attitude should we have towards the whole corporeal reality some kind of neutral attitude towards it because we're constantly putting some boundaries so that all the thoughts won't enter the heart, we're constantly so what is the attitude towards the corporeal reality?

R. Corporal reality the material attitude should be that I'm ready with my own forces and sharper in my reading to discern them, discern all those disturbances, either those are disturbances from the side of sanctity or from the side of the shell. So, I need to try and receive them from the side of sanctity. Although superficially it seems to be against me, if I accept it as coming from the Creator, it means I need to try and establish a different attitude. Which is for my own benefit, and I need to connect to those conditions that are approaching me and together with them to move forward.

S. If we enter the process of itself of repentance what does it mean I put the Ten against anything it appears or how is it?

R. What are you saying?

S. Everything, I see I put it against the connection with the Ten is that repentance or what is it to repent?

R. Yes certainly that's it. 

2. S. (41:45) There's an example of the angel of death with a sword at the end of the sword there's a little drop of poison, a person opens his mouth, and that drop he swallows it and dies. In this example where the angel of death stands with a sword and there's a drop of poison on the tip of it and the person swallows the poison and dies, it's like there's no choice he has to die so how can he hear on the way not put it into his heart or prevent some, I don’t know, put some kind of protection here a shield, the group?

R. If he's tied to the group to the process, he understands that everything that comes is to his benefit to advance him. If he's not ready it turns out that he receives this process as the other way around, to harm him.

S. That he receives before death or after it happens or is there a possibility while you're somehow discerning the situation decide which side, I want to receive this from?

R. He decides.

S. When does he decide before he dies or after he dies?

R. Of course before he dies, he has to determine through the connection with the friends that anything that comes, comes in order to bring him up. 

3. S. (43:51) To continue that also the eye sees, and the heart covets. It's really not clear, is there a gap between seeing and coveting because it's like an automatic process you see you covet?

R. You can put a timer here and test it. A gate that although you feel this coming to the heart, this likening, this coveting you can stop it you can even reverse its direction.

S. I felt that way also in the last paragraph to see from above a lot of things seeing and coveting they come together it's an automatic mechanism it's the will to receive, no?

R. How do you respond to it?

S. That's the question we already saw and coveted, and I sinned is that when I respond or is there a gap between the two?

R. You allowed the coveting to enter your heart?

S. That's what I was asking.

R. That’s what needs to be there, the eye sees, and the heart covets. The eye sees, it sees, there's nothing you can do about it. It's not in our hands but the heart covets here we need to seemingly place a gate here where I don't allow the heart to reach coveting. Otherwise, I will have no ability to keep going.

S. He describes it like a fish that sees the bait the fish immediately forgets about all the danger he'll be taken out of the water; he sees the bait and he's tempted. The person is like the same and only later inevitably he is recovering from a car accident and if he recovers then it seems to him like that.

R. That's how it teaches a person but to the extent he overcomes and does things correctly.

S. He says that if he didn't see the danger in advance like in the car accident if he didn't see the danger when he had the chance to overcome the thought it won't enter his heart, what is to see the danger in advance? 

R. But he also has these vessels with which to see the danger.

S. What vessels to see the danger?

R. Either he is like a baby or like a fish that swallows, and he thinks only about those immediate pleasures or he's able to look ahead and see the danger behind it.

S. Meaning, I see some kind of temptation and I need to be very cautious about why it's coming and all that?

R. Also certainly before that you're looking for ways to approach the Creator and when such a temptation comes you wish to identify; does it bring you closer or pushes you far.

S. There is free choice in this?

R. Yes, yes, it's always like that. 

4. S. (47:52) That barrier of overcoming that we talked about, seeing does that also work with thoughts that enter that are not of sanctity, Kedusha?

R. Yes.

5. S. (48:15) He says therefore those people who want to go on the way of Truth and cannot overcome the will to receive for themselves, they want nourishments in which they will be able to overcome. They received from the Kedusha called the Light in it reforms and they received nourishments according to their preparation. It's like he gave a solution to everything here but how do we constantly work on receiving nourishments that will remain in Kedusha that they will be able to overcome?

R. They can receive nourishment that will keep them in Kedusha sanctity and advance.

S. Meaning that our life needs to be concentrated on receiving nourishments of remaining in Kedusha? Because if we don't have that, we understand the alternative.

R. You are not the master there, it all depends on preparation, yes.

6. S. (49:41) He's showing us two stages of seeing and coveting. The matter of coveting is already the spirit of folly. A person has nothing he can do here, and he says calm down there's a correction that happens here. But then he kinds of tells me, hey leave it, anyway the correction will come so come fall into the heart devote yourself even to the sin, and it's like he's telling a person in some way it's like maybe you won't build this gate like you said earlier but this barrier because really, it's all from the Creator. How not to fall to that place where you say There's Nothing Else Besides Him, but everything you do takes that responsibility because there's this tendency towards danger, anyway it's all corrections. 

R. There's None Else Besides Him can be like an obstacle here when you say everything is the Creator then you have no choice you seemingly run away from what is before you while in those states you are not taken into consideration that There's None Else Besides Him, you wish to take into consideration only your choice, how do you make that choice.

S. How not to fall into that danger because he even comforting you with that's part of the correction, you're beginning it's like a very delicate place how you pay attention not to fall into that place?

R. I make a calculation, what is before me, either I take the straight path to the Creator, above reason I trust him, or I accept whatever is in my power.

S. It places me like in that place that if There Is None Else Besides Him, and he also says here if you fall there, it's even a good thing because it's on the side of correction in the heart, and I'm saying None Else Besides Him so on one hand, there's a danger and on the other hand, there's also my work. How do we do this correctly because anyway in the end it's all the actions of the Creator.

R. The fact that in the end, everything will be the Creator's actions, that’s clear. It has nothing to do with your choice, even your choice will turn out to be completely dependent on the Creator, but now what we need to do is everything that belongs to us therefore you are judging it like that.

S. At least as far as I'm concerned, it's deep scrutiny because here in the society it's the place that.

R. In the society, I come to the correct scrutiny. 

7. S. (53:16) What is that barrier between the eye and the heart?

R. It's two degrees, the eye sees, and the heart covets. We wish to tolerate it, but we need to beware that it will not even be seen, I'm not going to follow what the mind sees.

S. The barrier is before he even sees or the barriers between the eye and the heart?

R. How do I determine if I will have it or not?

S. I didn't understand, how do I acquire this barrier between the eye and the heart?

R. If I wish to make a choice in seeing, then I try to make it so that already in seeing I'll have the power of the barrier and I'll choose it from there, I'll step on it. If I can't do it, that's already a big problem in the heart. Can I make the calculation in my heart?

S. How can the will to receive even deal with such a passion that tempts him?

R. This is as it's written, a wise man has his eyes in his head. Since through seeing he can already scrutinize where he needs to go.

S. How do you acquire this correct vision?

R. I acquire the correct seeing through adhesion in the group. This still has to do with my own senses.

S. Why is being defiled from above is a correction?

R. Because from above they add to him the will to receive let's say, it becomes more impure, more defiled and it's all for him to scrutinize the discernments and desires, his thoughts more accurately.

8. S. (56:25) It says here about people that who want to leave self-love sometimes they receive nourishments, meaning vitality by wanting to do in order to bestow. However, when they don't consider the nourishments they receive for vessels of bestowal, they are given some lust that appears to them. The example is that car that is this Ten and I'm in the Ten, and I'm in good thoughts, then some lack of importance comes for what I'm receiving, like some car that's coming close and soon there's going to be an accident. What's the advice to such a person who's in the Ten already and starts to come close, he sees the lack of importance for the forces he received for vessels of bestowal coming to him, where all of a sudden lust can enter his heart right now. How do we, is there like a break to press on or is the steering wheel that you can steer away from it? Is there a way to elude it?

R. Yes.

S. What's the advice here? I'm already in a Ten, I'm making efforts for connection, to want to bestow, I'm giving nourishment, and it could be suddenly I won't give importance or consider this help, what do we do?

R. What's left for us to do? Fall into the hands of the friends, is that not part of it?

S. It's like to devote yourself even more to the Ten when the lack of importance arrives?

R. What is the lack of importance? On the contrary, the Ten is very important. I am truly a zero who's in them, like in the wavy sea, and it all depends on them.

S. Like they say, they don't give a child a precious stone that he will lose. Here they're saying if there's already some nourishment some vessels of bestow, they don't consider them meaning in the Ten we must constantly raise the importance of the quality of bestowal so it will immediately be identified as something that comes to us?

R. Yes.

S. We constantly need to be?

R. We should constantly work towards the connection and towards that, this is where all these scrutinies are. To connect, it turns out that each and every friend from the Ten brings to the Ten more and more new discernments, and if each Ten overcomes and adds in connection above, the small obstacles that each one is revealing, they can advance nicely.

S. Does the goal to come to bestowal to bring contentment to the Creator but I need to constantly be examining the connection in Ten?

R. Not just you, everyone.

S. All of us need to be constantly identifying what's happening in the Ten so it will be connected?

R. Yes, and then you will see how much it raises you higher and higher and higher without stopping.

9. S. (01:00:43) I heard many times in the lesson, the words the spirit of folly, but I don't understand exactly what the spirit of folly is?

R. Frivolity is when a person says, ah it is not important, never mind, it will not help, it won't help, I've already tried, all of these things. He rejects the help from the Ten.

S. It's not, kind of like, foolish behavior, or is it towards the behavior in the Ten, my attitude in the Ten?

R. No, it is not simply foolish behavior, it is instead of going and connecting and adding additional forces to the problem that each one is trying to bring to the society, he's not taking part in this, he thinks that things will just pass on their own.

10. S. (01:02:15) He writes that if we want to work only for the benefit of the Creator and not for one's own benefit, it's hard work because we need to battle against the vessel the Creator created. Now about this war, I find lately that the center of my war is for the morning lesson. The battle or the war is on the level of hours of sleep hours, even what to eat in the evening in order for me to wake up later and be alert and awakened to the lesson. Now I feel that like this war is still a war on the level, it's like an athlete that has, you know, tomorrow he has a competition, so he also needs to look at his sleeping and his food. What is the war on the morning lesson? What is the war on the higher level do I need to aspire for?

R. I need to come to the morning lesson with questions, ready; what is clear to me, and what is not clear to me. Check both during the lesson and to pull myself in the direction of the group.

S. What is the war, here, if I come now ready with questions, I went over the article before the lesson. I took out some questions.

R. You check to what extent your opinions are in wholeness with the society.

S. I wanted to ask whether Kabbalists, the teacher Rabash, would they battle to come to the morning lesson or was it a complete desire?

R. They would fight until they acquired complete desire.

S. Was that their preparation for the lesson?

R. Yes.

S. I'm simply trying to understand what that war is?

R. I don't know what you're trying to ask.

S. What scrutiny, war, needs to be done in order to come?

R. There used to be very difficult situations. We would go to weddings, the weddings wrap up around midnight, and then quarter to three, you would have to be in preparation for the lesson.  We would have to be able to get home from where the wedding was and then go back to the place of study. People were sleeping with their faces inside of the plate! It was really difficult, much more difficult than here. Here it's not a problem, you come full of energy.

S. How did you help one another?

R. Like that, each one is caring for his neighbor not to fall asleep, not to fall, that's how it is. It was good during these times that we were allowed to smoke, that helped us greatly.

S. What can sustain us, keep us alert today without a cigarette; keep us awake in the lesson, involved, active, what do you recommend?

R. Each one should be concerned with his Ten that they will always be on the alert.

11. S. (01:07:09) Let's say, the example: A few years ago, I came here for the first time, and I was in the convention with all the friends, all that power! And it was truly excellent fun awesome, you know it's connection so there's a part in me that wants it again. To see the friends from South America here and all of that but there are all kinds of impurities. There's, like, all kinds of impure matters with it, I'm feeling really egotistical from within, right? Let's say from this example, how do I need to work with this so that it will be more pure, the desire?

R. I don't understand.

S. He's giving an example, he's from South America and he's missing the friends from South America, the friends to being here from South America, to be here in the convention. He's asking, how can this desire be more pure because it's filled with all kinds of impurities in this request. How can that request be more pure?

R. Try to connect with them better, try to feel that they are truly together with him, standing together with him before the Creator. Let's say, in this special event we wish to arrange two weeks from now and that's it. There's nothing more to say, for now, that's how it is.

S. But usually I feel.

R. Yes.

S. It could be that there's an inner drive that rises inside of us but, as he writes here, on our path, there’s these impurities. This exertion within something that we truly want, let’s say, our unity that is something very special, that being together is something, that it's the greatest pleasure in the world to feel one another, to be together to be connected with the Creator. There is no such thing, it's wow! But it's so impure, do you understand? It’s my ego only, so sometimes I feel that the Creator giving us a little drop of tasting it. And then I am chasing that pleasure so badly that I feel within, at least, that it's not pure, it's something I'm chasing.

R. So what's bothering you?

S. I want to work in a pure way.

R. Slowly, slowly, this comes gradually.

S. I want to wash my...

R. Yes, slowly, slowly. 

12. S. (01:11:18) How did you differentiate between a temptation that we have to be cautious about or a desire that's legitimate for us to advance with?

R. According to the goal, what does this desire bring me to, and to what goal am I drawn to?

13. S. (01:11:51) Can the Ten help all the friends and protect them so that they will covet acts of bestowal above the desire to receive?

R. All the friends in the same framework, that they are connected to.

14. S. (01:12:08) What does it mean to repent, what inner actions does a person perform?

R. To repent means that we are in a state where we feel between judgment and mercy, that we wish to choose the path of truth; and we don't care which path we end up on judgment or mercy as long as it's the path of truth.

15. S. (01:12:57) When the upper one comes down to the lower it becomes like Him. What does that state in our work? After all, we learn that the upper one is in complete rest and only the lower one only changes?

R. Yes, but in order to obtain the upper one we have a ladder. That's why we wish to climb this ladder gradually each time more and more.

16. S. (01:13:31) A person on the path constantly grows, his desire grows. And every temptation, more or less, that we're standing before kind of distances you from the Ten?

R. Also connects to you, later.

S. Exactly, so how do I identify what distances me, what's dangerous, and what distances me even for a month or a period, and then I actually come back, and I bring something with me? 

R. No, for a month, that, there's no such thing. I don't know such calculations.

S. I'm not talking about disconnecting me completely, I mean, thoughts can go to some other place because you are in a certain process. But then you see that you are, like, stronger in the Ten, even if you bring contentment from growing?

R. I don't understand these calculations, nevertheless it's incorrect what you're saying. If I need to remove myself from the Ten in my thoughts, it's incorrect.

S. Everything that distances me, even for a moment from the Ten, I need to run away from it?

R. Yes, cancel it, it doesn't come from sanctity.

17. S. (01:14:50) I want to ask about the verse, the excerpt that the friend asked about, that a person gets nourishment from holiness, but he doesn't appreciate that he declines. What does it mean to appreciate the nourishment of the holiness and not fall, not decline?

R. What does it mean to see importance in the nourishment of holiness and not fall? Well, that itself is the solution, what else to do?

S. Okay, so I received strength and performed an act of bestowal. And then something probably happens, and I disconnect. Maybe tomorrow morning I will wake up and I don't feel that excitement that I got before this nourishment. You understand it's a force from above that allows me to perform acts of bestowal. So, what does it mean not to appreciate, not to value? I want to know what to be careful of.

R. Yes, those means that would connect me to holiness, now I don't see them as important.

18. S. (01:16:23) If I have desires to receive or I want to enjoy what this world has to offer but it doesn't disconnect me from connection, is this okay? We're not talking about these desires, right?

R. I don't understand the state.

S. The question is, what desires of impurity is he talking about, only with respect to the Ten, or also? 

R. Only towards the Ten, if I disconnect from them.

19. S. (01:17:11) I need some advice: Every year I go to the United States to visit my family. At that time, it was a terrible environment and my devotion drops. And the connection to the Ten, I don't know what to do because I cannot ever visit my family, life, it doesn't work this way, but it affects the Ten. 

R. Yes.

S. When I decline in my devotion and I don't know what to do, I also feel, like, I go there and absorb all the deficiencies and nonsense of American Jews. And I come back with this; but what do I do? So, I don't know what to do with it.

R. What do you do there? 

S. I see my family and friends, things like that. And many times, it happens at the time of the lesson, I try to listen in my earbuds, but I cannot.

R. You need to be connected to us through our recordings, through the computer. That you're constantly with us in the lessons and the meetings and all kinds of lessons when we read together. To always be connected even though you are there.

S. All the comfort there is dangerous, very dangerous. Every time I fall asleep, and if I sleep without the environment around me, how do I wake up? I thank the Creator for having my wife on the path and she is like that but she's not in my Ten. She doesn't have the strength of men like this.

R. It is written that a man's wife is as his body, and she can influence you more than all your friends. Alright, we have to think about what's up with you when you take books with you, and one or two books. And you are constantly adhered to them, and you just go through them according to the text when you are with us, and all the connections, in all our activities from here. And you connect and write back, even in English or better in Hebrew, still. And that's it, it can be a good time actually.