The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.

Daily Lesson (Morning) August 20, 2024.

Part 3: Donations and Tithing - Selected Excerpts from the Sources.

Reader: So we decided to study this topic of Donations and Tithing. We selected excerpts from ancient times to today. And we chose it for two reasons. One, to understand the spiritual laws and increase importance, and two, in order to understand how the tithing, our financial donation, helps us support the independence, the financial independence of Bnei Baruch, in order to guarantee the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah, cleared from any external influences and advance the correction of the world. So please. Donations and Tithing, selected excerpts from the sources. A donation to the Creator, excerpt number one. Baal HaSulam writes:

Reading: (00:58) 1. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 103, "Whose Heart Makes Him Willing" - Twice

In the verse, “from every man whose heart makes him willing, you shall take My donation.” This is the meaning of “the substance of a donation from sanctity.” In other words, how does one come to a state of offering? Through sanctity.

This means that if one sanctifies oneself with the permitted, he thus comes to a state of donation, which is the Shechina [Divinity], called “my donation.” This is the meaning of “of every man whose heart makes him willing,” all of his heart, meaning if he donates all of his heart, he is rewarded with My donation, to adhere to the Shechina.

M. Laitman: Is that clear? Again. I don't see anything, hear anything, yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (03:35) Can you explain the sentence that if one sanctifies himself with, what is permitted? What is the permitted?

M. Laitman: In what he can draw from this world to himself.

Student: What does it mean that he sanctifies himself in the permitted? 

M. Laitman: I don't know, he draws from this world to himself something, and those things, he sanctifies them. Meaning, he takes from the world what he's allowed to.

Student: Sanctifies, meaning he wants it to be for the purpose of bestowal? 

M. Laitman: In order to bestow.

Student: In order to bestow. And then he comes to a state of donation, what does that mean? 

M. Laitman: That whatever he uses, it's called a donation.

Student: So why is it called, because in the end he says, if he donates all his heart, he is rewarded with My donation, the Creator's donation. So why does the verse say, from every man whose heart is willing, you shall take My donation. You should say, you should donate My donation. Who is giving to whom?

M. Laitman: I don't know. I don't know, what do you want?

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (05:22) It says here, all his heart, meaning that if he donated all of his heart, he is rewarded with My donation, meaning to adhere to the Shechina. What does it mean all of his heart? 

M. Laitman: All of his heart, that's how it is. 

Student: A donation is what, it completes a part of the heart so it becomes the whole heart? 

M. Laitman: We can already get into an area that isn't for us.

Reader: Number two, Rabash writes:

Reading: (06:06) 2. RABASH, Article No. 389, "Raise a Contribution for Me – 1"

“Raise a contribution for Me.” RASHI interprets “for me” as “for My name.” “From every man whose heart is willing.” RASHI interprets, “Words of donation are words of good will. ‘You shall raise My contribution.’ ‘Take’ means against their will, which contradicts ‘whose heart is willing,’ which means voluntarily and not by coercion.”

It is written in The Zohar that Truma [contribution/donation] means Tarum [raise] Hey [the letter], meaning we must raise the Hey, which is Malchut. It is also written in The Zohar that Teshuva [repentance] means Tashuv [return] Hey [the letter] to the Vav, meaning that a person must raise the Hey, which is regarded as the Shechina [Divinity] in the dust. We must raise the Shechina from the dust, meaning that the quality that is called “for the sake of the Creator” is in exile.

M. Laitman: Yes? No questions. None. Let's keep going.

Reader: Three, Rabash writes: 

Reading: (07:47) 3. RABASH, Article No. 397, "Take from Among You a Contribution to the Lord"

We see that sometimes it becomes known that the gold fell in the world, meaning lost its value and it is not as valuable as it should be.

It is likewise with spirituality. If spirituality does not have the value it is supposed to have, we do not pay for it the required payment. And since one is demanded to work with devotion, if a person does not have the real value, to make it worthwhile to pay the price of devotion, this is considered that the Shechina is in the dust.

It is about this that we pray, “The Merciful one will raise for us the fallen Sukkah [hut] of David,” meaning that the Creator will give us the feeling of the exaltedness of the holy work. This is the meaning of “Take from among you a contribution to the Lord,” meaning that the vessels of reception of a person will give to the Creator, which is called annulment in devotion to the Creator.

M. Laitman: Clear? No questions? None. What? 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (09:36) How do things we do in society, or donations, etc., how do external actions become something spiritual and devotion? How does something external become…

M. Laitman: Because what you give, you give out of your desire, so that's your contribution. 

Student: Sometimes it's done by faith in sages or out of habit. How can we instill the desire into it?

M. Laitman: As much as a person sees it as important and in a constant manner that he goes and he donates, he donates, he donates himself.

Student: How does it not become a habit and it becomes spirituality? 

M. Laitman: It can't be a habit because he has to calculate as much of his life he invests outside of him for the Creator. That's called a donation.

Student: So, or at least I come to a point where there's some absence of feeling, no emotion. I'd like to have some feeling in the donation. I see examples of friends here. Sunday we had a meeting and we talked about how dedicated friends are and that they totally devote themselves. And I check myself, the feeling that those friends have, I can't reach this, and I don't know how to add the feeling to it.

M. Laitman: Usually it's something we don't talk about. Only in general, but in a private, personal way, we don't talk about it.

Student: And how does envy of friends, how can I cling to friends who give such an exalted example? 

M. Laitman: To ask them to explain why it's so important. If they can tell you what's in their heart.

Question (Latin 1): (12:37) Does it matter if a donation is by a person's free will or by coercion? 

M. Laitman: Doesn't really matter. Because it could be that he calculates with his environment, with his home, with himself, with his ego, all kinds of calculations. But it's important that in the end he gives.

Question (PT 22): (13:13) Is there holiness in a donation or in tithing? 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: And he continues, what is the connection between a donation and raising the Shechina from the dust, if there is a connection? 

M. Laitman: By the devotion, we raise the Shechina from the dust. 

Reader: Excerpt number four, Rabash writes:

Reading: (13:43) 4. RABASH, Article No. 397, "Take from Among You a Contribution to the Lord"

By giving the awakening to raise the Hey from the dust, the Creator will help from above, so it is “Whoever is of a willing heart shall bring it.” This means that the whole heart will agree to the matter of devotion to the Creator. “Whoever is of a willing heart shall bring it” is called “He who comes to purify is aided.”

But before this, we must begin the work with faith above reason in both mind and heart, meaning in order to bestow.

M. Laitman: Yes, questions?

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (15:00) We see from these excerpts that a donation means increasing the importance of the Creator. And it requires complete devotion from a person, with all his heart. So, we know that we usually give a donation from, well, not everything, but a part of what we need. And here, it seems like to give a donation, you have to give everything you have. The donation that is expressed in our world, which is maybe why we read these excerpts. If I want to make a donation correctly, what does it mean in our world? Should I give everything I have, beyond the necessity?

M. Laitman: Actually, yes. Beyond your necessities. You're supposed to give everything, but... 

Student: And otherwise, I'm not giving my entire soul, as it says.

M. Laitman: Right. 

Student: So, maybe Baal HaSulam should give his, as Baal HaSulam writes, all of his free time that is beyond the necessary. So, he should give it, donate it. It's a pretty hefty demand from a person in our world. 

M. Laitman: Yes, but we aren't doing that. 

Student: Yes, right, we don't do this. 

M. Laitman: We're doing according to percentage.

Student: That's with tithing. 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: There are excerpts about the tithing afterwards. But the donation, what does it mean to give a part? Is there a meaning to it? Let's say a person says, I will donate, I have some, I'll donate some of what I have. Does that give something? 

M. Laitman: What do you mean, give?

Student: Does it advance a person? Or sometimes we donate only in order to feel good about ourselves. Is this amount just to not feel guilty? Is this good for us, or maybe that's not good?

M. Laitman: I can't say. That's each one's calculation.

Student: We dealt with the topic of donations and tithing at a talk a couple of days ago. So, there was a question about donation to our organization. And there should be a desire to do this. The Creator needs to give us a desire for it. But in the beginning, there was a question, should we do it by force, should I force myself to do it, should I try to force myself to donate, or if I feel like it, I'll do it in order to advance spiritually.

M. Laitman: I don't decide, that's why I can't say. 

Student: The question is spiritual. Spiritually, to advance in spirituality, should I force myself to want to donate?

M. Laitman: Actually, yes.

Student: Okay, well, that's a beginning point. Thank you Rav. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (18:58) How does donating to the society, my skills, my abilities, my capabilities, my money, how does it correct my soul?

M. Laitman: That's also a question, because there are such things and such efforts that we can't take them into consideration. We can't, that's why I can't answer you.

Student: A donation is basically my desire for the society or the development of the society? How does it advance a person? This desire of his to donate or to contribute to the society. 

M. Laitman: By this, he raises himself to the degree, a degree of a donation.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (20:14) Maybe I'll make a precision about it. Maybe a person should donate his necessities. Not the extras, but the real donation is to donate his necessity.

M. Laitman: I don't think a person should give from his necessities. 

Student: Whatever the Creator gives, I kind of donate, I give it back. Not the extras, what I make, what's left for me, what I'm thinking of giving, not giving. What He gave me, with my time, my necessity, this is what I give to Him.

M. Laitman: Well, I don't think it's like that. No. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (21:21) I want to share something that happened on Sunday that helped me. It may have helped other people. A friend spoke and opened his heart. He spoke about the privilege of giving, of tithing. Until that day, I didn't give any tithing, and technically, I can't give tithing right now. So I said, okay, so let's advance toward the tithing following the friend’s opening of the heart. And I didn't think that, okay, so you can't give a tithing, 10%, what can you give?

So let's take another step, just give a little more than you think you can, and give it, and that will be the beginning. In other words, those little steps are very important, and it didn't cross my mind that you can advance and not get to actual 10% right away, but to advance toward there. And just cross the little boundaries that you have, and go a little beyond them. And I wanted to share it because it didn't cross my mind before Sunday, so I want to thank each and every one.

Reader: Excerpt number five.

Reading: (22:48) 5. Zohar for All, "Truma" [Donation], "From Every Man Whose Heart Moves Him", Item 366

“And they will take a donation for Me,” meaning Divinity, the spirit of Malchut. Moses said to the Creator: “Who can take it and make it?” He told him, “Moses, it is not as you think. Rather, ‘From every man whose heart moves him you shall take My donation.’ You will take it and complete it from their will and spirit.”

M. Laitman: Questions? None about that. Well, one more and that's it.

Reader: Excerpt number six. Rabash writes:

Reading: (23:45) 6. RABASH, Article No. 688, "Raise a Contribution for Me – 2"

“Raise a contribution for Me.” From where? “From every man whose heart is willing, you shall take My contribution.” The question is, From whom can we take the contribution, meaning that he is able to lift himself up to the Creator? He replies about this, “from every man whose heart is willing.”

M. Laitman: Meaning, supposedly not from everyone, you can take that donation.

Student: No.

M. Laitman: Okay, so we finished. Six conditions, that's it. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (25:06) There are many ways to exalt the Creator. So, why specifically a donation? There are many ways to exalt Him. You can perform all kinds of commandments. You can work in the Ten and you can do all kinds of things. Why specifically a donation causes exaltedness?

M. Laitman: Because if you really take a part of a donation, what a person pays, passes to holiness. So, it turns out that it's a pretty big part. It's difficult for a person. It's difficult because the Creator gives you heaviness in this. Big heaviness. That if we calculate beyond our life, the 10th part that, let's say each one leaves, it's like a tail that remains after him. It's a lot. It's not a lot in money or something, but it's a lot in what a person needs to give freely and happily. And how can it be? It's not simple.

Student: I'm asking about the exaltedness of the Creator. The exaltedness received from giving the Maaser, the tithing, or giving the donation. Why do we get exaltedness specifically from this? You could say that we get exaltedness from anything that has to do with the path, with our action.

M. Laitman: You measure these things as much as it is important to you.

Student: So the process of making a decision every time, this is what causes us the exaltedness?

M. Laitman: Yes, except for that. The Creator is involved here as much as He gives you forces, that you must slice off of yourself and give it.

Student: In other words, the connection with the Creator out of this.

M. Laitman: Yes. What else do we have, friend? Nothing around this.

Reader: (28:26) Announcements.