The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Morning Lesson: December 17, 2025
Part 1: Recorded lesson - Dec 8, 2018
Rabash. Article No. 12, 1991. These Candles Are Sacred
Reader: Hello friends, in the first part of the lesson we're going to be studying an article on the topic of Hanukkah from the lesson that took place on December 8th, 2018. It's in the writings of Rabash. The links are on the websites. These Candles Are Sacred, please.
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Hello, we are in a lesson on Hanukkah. We're going to be reading the article; These Candles Are Sacred.
M. Laitman: (00:49) Obviously, the more we enter and go deeper into what Hanukkah is, with all the stages that we need to go through before it, in order to attain that state, to feel it, to acquire it, that it'll truly be our state that will integrate with every little detail. In attaining Bina, we'll understand more and more, as much as it's not simple. It's not Sufganiyot and lighting candles and singing nice songs in a warm home on a winter evening. It's a great war and when it took place years ago in spirituality because a spiritual root has to touch a corporeal branch at least once. So, in the same way through the corporeal branches, we need to reach the spiritual roots until we truly feel that we recognize the Greeks in us, the Maccabees in us, all of those between them in doubts or understanding and that Israel—that huge mass that doesn't know who's just. All this is in us as much as we can discern between those two sides. As much as we go through each and every thing, every detail, more than what's written on Hanukkah. Because, really, what is Hanukkah, we can't grab onto it so much because it's the light of Bina, the degree of Bina, the degree of bestowal. That doesn't really grasp onto the matter like the fire upon the material we can ignite. But the more we still feel and want to connect more and study more between us, we'll feel as much as this war is a war of freedom. Freedom from the control of our ego which is the main thing. It's the foundation of the spiritual state we want to attain. It's not something nice and pleasant. It's a war that also—that we're in now.
Maybe in the beginning of it, we don't exactly know or understand, like taking a young guy into the army and doesn't know what's going on exactly, separates from his home, comes to the place where everybody's called in, a group, a Ten. He's giving some group he works in and he starts training. It's not war yet; it's just a preparation; it’s still far from the actual deed. That's how we are now, in this, right now. Actually, it's a war and it's all in disconnection from our ego. The disconnection must be complete, final. That, the more we can, from inside, be in our heart, disconnected from everything that belongs individually to each and every one; I have nothing of my own. That's what's also demanded of a fighter in the army, that he doesn't belong to himself. He has no home; he has no self. He's just a small part, a little screw from the machine that unites all these parts, And thanks to them being devoted to this machine, to this task, then they can succeed. Only in connection and in attacking each and everyone's ego and, later on, we'll discover that it's against a complex ego that knows how to guard itself, to connect its parts, too. Then, it shows us, as much as it succeeds compared to us, that it can gather its parts even though they're egoistic and to stand against us.
We'll learn a lot from it, that by guarding itself and doesn't want to surrender but it's about to surrender us. From that we'll learn how we need to be corrected, united in the will to bestow. We have no signs; we can’t do anything against it. Only through those forms that, when we're in our egoistic form, if we pass, if we invert him from the will to receive to the will to bestow, with the intention already of receiving in order to bestow. Then , from that, we will understand from our ego, the way it accumulates and defends itself and unites and we’ll understand what we are supposed to be. Only not on its corporeal level: in order to receive but on our spiritual degree: in order to bestow. In this way we advance.
Meaning, not to disregard in the help against, not to just push it away—to learn from it how to connect with it in an opposite way. Because here we can already learn how two opposites can be under one topic. That there's nothing that we don't need here. We don't need to eradicate the evil from the world but it needs to be the foundation for the good. That , in the opposite form, we learn all of its orders and upon it we build the good. Then, we will discover as much as the Creator is proud of us.
Reading: (10:05) Rabash. Article No. 12, 1991. These Candles Are Sacred
Baal HaSulam said about what is written, “These candles are sacred and we have no permission to use them, but only to see them,” that we must know the difference between the miracle of Hanukkah and the miracle of Purim. On Hanukkah, the decree pertained only to spirituality, that the people of Israel were prevented from observing the Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds]. The miracle was that when they prevailed over the Hasmoneans, they could observe the Mitzvot. Since spirituality has no Kelim [vessels], since Kelim are called specifically “vessels of reception,” which is called “creation existence from absence,” which is the will to receive, this is why the intimation comes, “These candles are sacred and we have no permission to use them.”
This is not so with the miracle of Purim. Then the decree was over the bodies, too, as it is written, “To destroy, to kill, and to annihilate” (Esther 3:13). It follows that the miracle was on the bodies. “Bodies” are called “vessels of reception.” Hence, on Purim, it is written, “Joy, feast, and a good day,” where a feast pertains to the body. On Hanukkah, we were given the miracle, “no permission to use them, but only to see them.”
This is the meaning of what our sages said, that Hanukkah means Hanu-Koh [parked here]. He asked, What is the meaning of “parked”? He said that “parked” meaning parking, and he gave an allegory about it. Many times, in the middle of a war, soldiers are given a vacation and they go home so that afterward they will have the courage to be brave soldiers. After the parking they return to the battlefield. But some fools think that the soldiers were given a vacation because the war must be over so they are not needed anymore.
But the smarter ones among them understand that they were given a vacation in order to rest, so they would be re-energized to fight against the enemy. Therefore, they understand that the rest is in order to acquire strength to fight.
It is likewise here. On Hanukkah, the redemption was only on spirituality, since the decree was only on spirituality, as it is written (“About the Miracles”), “When the wicked kingdom of Greece arose over Your people, Israel, to make them forget Your law and remove them from the rules of Your will, You with Your great mercies stood by them in their time of trouble.”
It follows that the redemption was only about spirituality, and in the work, “spirituality” is called “vessels of bestowal,” called “light of Hassadim that dresses in vessels of bestowal.” But here, when we are rewarded with vessels of bestowal, it is only half the work, half a war. That is, a person must be rewarded with the vessels of reception also entering the Kedusha [holiness], meaning to use them with the aim to bestow.
Once the vessels of reception have also entered the Kedusha, this is considered that he has Kelim to receive, as well. At that time, this degree is called “sweetening of the Gevurot.” In other words, before he obtained the vessels of reception that work in order to bestow, he could not use the light that was revealed over vessels of bestowal, for vessels of bestowal means that a person gives something, and in return for the giving, he does not want anything, since he believes that he is serving a great King. Therefore, he is happy that he has been rewarded with serving a great King.
But when he uses the vessels of reception, meaning takes pleasures from the Creator, since through reception he becomes separated from the Creator because of the disparity of form, these vessels of reception are called “bitter Gevurot,” because it is bitter for him that he is far from the Creator. Gevurot means that a person has two kinds of Kelim: One is called Hesed, meaning he gives, and one is called Gevura, which is that he receives. It is called Gevura since there is the matter of Hitgabrut [to overcome] here, not to receive. If he does receive, he will be far from the Creator, and that state is bitter for him. Hence, when he can place the aim to bestow on the will to receive, then the previous Gevurot, where he used the vessels of reception, are bitter for him because of the disparity of form.
But now they have been sweetened, meaning that now that he is using the vessels of reception, he feels some sweetness because his intention is in order to bestow, and this is already regarded as equivalence of form. Hence, now he can enjoy them, since in reception in this manner, in order to bestow, there is no bitterness and all is good.
We say (in the song Mighty Rock of My Salvation), “Greeks have gathered over me, then in the days of the Hasmoneans, and broke the walls of my towers.” “Greeks” are those people who go within reason, who cannot do anything if it is against reason. At that time, there was the governance of the Greeks, meaning this dominion governed over the people of Israel.
This authority is called “the wicked kingship of Greece,” whose role was to make them “forget Your Torah and move them from the laws of Your will.” That is, the governance is to go specifically within reason. This is what causes the breaching of the wall that guards the tower. A “tower” means that within man, there is a certain measure of greatness of the Creator. This “wall” is called “faith above reason,” and specifically by faith above reason one can come to feel the greatness of the Creator, as well as depict to himself the greatness of the Creator.
When a person feels the greatness of the Creator, he is “like a candle before a torch,” annulled before Him. But the Greeks, meaning dominion of within reason, which did not let them go above reason, is regarded as “breaking the walls of my towers.” In other words, the faith above reason, which is a wall. Within this wall we can build towers, meaning obtain the greatness of the Creator, which is called “a tower.” That is, specifically through faith above reason we are rewarded with the “reason of Kedusha.”
It follows that man’s greatness, who is rewarded with feeling the greatness of the Creator, comes specifically by lowering himself, meaning lowering his reason. At that time, he can be rewarded with the greatness of the Creator called “reason of Kedusha.”
By this we can interpret what is written (“And [the Lord] Will Give You,” for After Shabbat), “Rabbi Yochanan said, ‘Wherever you find the greatness of the Creator, there you find His humbleness.’” There is certainly a simpler explanation, but when we speak in terms of the work, we should understand what is written, that we find the Creator’s humbleness, that He is humble. We should understand how is there the quality of humbleness in the Creator, for it means lowliness, and how can we speak of this quality in the Creator. Normally, it is written, “The Lord is King, He wears pride.”
We should interpret that this refers to the person. That is, wherever a person is rewarded with His greatness, to attain something of the greatness of the Creator, “there you find the humbleness of a person.” According to the greatness of the Creator with which a person is rewarded, to that extent the person sees his lowliness.
In other words, precisely when a person goes above reason, the reason comes to him and wants to obstruct him, and begins to argue with him. At that time, the person sees that he has nothing to reply. Then a person sees the evil within him, that he needs more strengthening so he can be saved from the reason of the evil inclination, which is called “Greeks.” At that time, he sees according to the evil that is revealed in him, that no one is as low as he, since the evil in him is revealed more than in the rest of the people. As said above, this is according to the good that a person does, if he walks on the path of truth and wants to do everything in order to bestow.
It follows that when one is rewarded with even a little bit of the greatness of the Creator, he does not know why the Creator helped him more than other people, since he feels that he is worse than all the people in the world. He tells himself that if the rest of the people knew the path of truth the way he understands it, they would certainly be virtuous people, not like him. It follows that when one feels a little bit of the greatness of the Creator, he comes to a state of lowliness at the Creator helping someone as base as he. This is the meaning of the words “Wherever you find the greatness of the Creator, there you find His humbleness.”
Therefore, when one says to the Creator, “You lend a hand to criminals and Your right is stretched out to welcome the returning” (Conclusion prayer), this means that when one asks the Creator to bring him closer, it is regarded as stretching out the hand for reconciliation, “and Your right is stretched out to welcome the returning.” In other words, a person says to the Creator, “I feel my situation, that I am more wicked and more criminal than the rest of the world.” This comes to him because from above, he was shown the evil. As said above, a person is not shown more evil than what is in him.
As we interpreted what our sages said, “To the wicked, the evil inclination seems like a hairsbreadth, and to the righteous, like a high mountain.” It seems as though it should have been the opposite. The wicked, who cannot overcome the evil inclination, should say that the evil inclination is like a high mountain, and the righteous, who did have the power to overcome, the evil inclination should have been in their eyes like a hairsbreadth.
The answer is that a person is not shown the evil in him but only according to the good within him, so that the good and the bad will be balanced. Therefore, the righteous, who have many ups and downs, all the descents are from the evil inclination. As a result of the many descents, a “high mountain” is built. The word Har [mountain] means Hirhurim [reflections/thoughts]. This means that any reflection, where one doubts the quality of the Creator, when he does not believe in His Providence, that He is good and does good, this is called “a bad thought.”
Therefore, to the righteous, the evil inclination becomes a high mountain, whereas to the wicked, who have no ascents and descents, since it is impossible to descend before you ascend, as we explained concerning Jacob’s dream, where it is written, “Behold, angels of God were ascending and descending on it,” where it should have written first “descending” and then “ascending.”
But in the work, all the people came into this world to carry out the mission of the Creator, and an “angel” is called a “messenger.” Therefore, first one must ascend in the degree of the work, when feeling some nearness to the Creator, and afterward, there can be descents. For this reason, the wicked, who have no ascents, naturally have no descents. Indeed, why do they not ascend? It is because the evil inclination disrupts them from ascending. For this reason, they remain in the evil inclination that is only as a hairsbreadth.
Hence, the righteous, who have the real form of the evil, when the Creator helps them, they feel their lowliness, that the Creator brought them closer, and this is called as it is written, “He lifts the poor up from the trash.” That is, the person says, “I was in the trash, enjoying everything that animals take as their nourishments, meaning trash.” This is the meaning of “In the place where you find the greatness of the Creator, you find His humbleness.”
However, we should interpret this as said above, that one should not say, “Now that I have been rewarded with the greatness of the Creator, I no longer need faith above reason because I have what to build my work on—the basis that I have now been rewarded with the greatness of the Creator.”
Rather, as Baal HaSulam said, a person should be careful when he is rewarded with some nearness on the part of the Creator. He should not say that now he knows that it is worthwhile to do the holy work because now he feels a good taste in the work. Rather, he should say, “Now I see that it is worthwhile to work above reason because specifically by wanting to go above reason, the Creator is giving me some nearness to Him.”
Hence, he takes this nearing as a sign that he is walking on the path of truth. Therefore, he resolves that henceforth, he will not want to accept any work within reason. Rather, everything will be above reason. It follows that he does not take the nearing to the Creator as a basis on which he says that it is worthwhile to be a servant of the Creator, “since I already have a basis.” On the contrary, from now on he will work only above reason.
This is the meaning of what is written, “In the place of the greatness of the Creator, there you find His humbleness.” That is, “In the place of His greatness,” meaning in the place where one attains some greatness of the Creator, there you must find His humbleness. In other words, there, in the place where a person finds the greatness of the Creator, a person should find man’s humbleness, which is faith above reason, called “lowliness,” “humility.”
Since faith is regarded as being of inferior importance, faith is called “below.” That is, when one finds the greatness of the Creator, he should search and find a place to work in faith, and not in the sense that he has found a place of the greatness of the Creator.
Since one should say that the fact that he has been rewarded with finding some greatness of the Creator, it is because first he went with faith, which is called “low,” “lowly.” Hence, he continues on the path of faith above reason since he sees that this is the path of truth, and the proof of this is that specifically through this preparation, the Creator brings him closer to Him.
This is the meaning of what is written, “Greeks have gathered over me … and broke the walls of my towers.” This means that a person should guard this wall, called “faith in the Creator above reason.” In other words, a person must not wait until he understands that it is worthwhile to learn and to pray, etc. Rather, he should not consider what the reason advises him. Instead, he should follow the way that the Torah obligates a person. This is how one must behave. Only in this way, called “unconditional surrender,” can one be rewarded with the reason of Kedusha.
And the most important is the prayer. That is, one must pray to the Creator to help him go above reason, meaning that the work should be with gladness, as though he has already been rewarded with the reason of Kedusha, and what joy he would feel then. Likewise, he should ask the Creator to give him this power, so he can go above the reason of the body.
In other words, although the body does not agree to this work in order to bestow, he asks the Creator to be able to work with gladness, as is suitable for one who serves a great King. He does not ask the Creator to show the greatness of the Creator, and then he will work gladly. Rather, he wants the Creator to give him joy in the work of above reason, that it will be as important to a person as if he already has reason.
M. Laitman: Maybe questions? Yes?
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (31:48) What's the difference between the miracle of Hanukkah and the miracle of the exodus from Egypt? It seems like in both, a person frees himself from his will to receive and comes to the point of Bina.
M. Laitman: Disconnecting from the will to receive that we had in the exodus from Egypt still isn't liberation from the will to receive. Meaning we need to understand that nothing was created for no reason. We just have to know how we organize all these discernments that we have in nature. That they will all be organized correctly—the correct connection between all these discernments. We shouldn't erase or burn anything even though we say they have to be eradicated from the world. It's not like when we speak about Passover, that we shouldn't leave any evil inclination or Klipa. You can't do this without it, the Klipa, the shell, takes care of the fruit. It helps it grow and also when we throw them, we use it for spiritual ascent. It sustains the spiritual ascent.
It's—in our language we say that something disappears or is lost from the world, that we're trying to get rid of it and eradicate it. But , actually, that's why when we come out of Egypt, we only overcome the will to receive in order to work with it correctly. All of our ascent from Malchut to Bina is in the correct work with the will to receive. That we take the will to receive — it's like I said in that short talk I gave before we started reading. In the will to bestow, we have no form, no discernments, we don't know, it’s like air. What do you bestow, what do you say if I know what He wanted, I can bestow. If I know what the resistance is, I could do something. But without having some kind of foundation of the will to receive, the will to bestow, can't express itself. in what, upon what, for what? Nothing, that’s why the exodus, it's called, That I overcome. I disconnect from the ego in order to not be a slave, not to be under its control, in the exile in it. When I disconnect from it, I can start using it. I build the entire will to bestow, the degrees from Malchut to Bina, by using the Malchut, the will to receive. Then, according to that, only cover it and cover it and cover it with the intention to bestow and that's my ascent.
Those are called the degrees from Malchut to Bina or from the exodus until Hannukah. On the path, obviously, there are many contradictions, wars, problems. And afterwards, when we already attain this, so we're continuing the work with that will to receive, the Malchut, in a more cruel way that it's revealed. Because it's not the vessels of bestowal: root one, two, three, four of Aviut — Gimel and Dalet. It's already need to receive in order to bestow. It's against the ego, not to cover it. It's to invert it, as we say. It's work that we can't even imagine what it is.
How can you even start doing this? For now, for us, the work and the miracles that are before us to discover, it's how we cover our will to receive in “in order to bestow,” with the intention to bestow. That is called, That the darkness will shine as light. That's why we need to relate to all the obstacles, the problems, the trouble that's revealed, all of the deficiencies that each one of us and all of us together . That we discover, all these things are essential, they're necessary on the path. Just all of our work is by speeding up our development but not that we can skip over something. As Baal HaSulam said about the skipping over that, supposedly happened in Egypt, that it brought many trouble afterwards.
We have to know how we, upon every little detail that's revealed, we bless it. We respect it, we kiss the stick. We can only speed up the development but not that we go around it or something, no. Only upon every detail to advance and to truly—there's subjugation in this, it has to be very great. I think here, too, there was something: I have to imagine that I agree with everything the Creator does. I don't resist what He sends to anything that's revealed. I don't want to exchange every state; it can be the worst state. I take it from Him and after I take it, I start thinking how I will turn it into a state that makes Him happy. And then to make this correction to also make me happy, to be good in my eyes. That's the work, for now, this is Hanukkah. Purim, we don't understand yet how it truly happens. It's very special work!
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (39:40) There are states where I shouldn't kiss the stick, not agree?
M. Laitman: Not to agree! It's a question of what you're calling the stick. If it comes to me and it's revealed in some way — in me or before me — so first of all, I need to say upon everything that There’s None Else besides Him. That's how I start my attitude towards life, that nothing happens by chance. It's all organized from the Creator. Now, if it's None Else Besides Him that sent it to me, so what am I supposed to do? First of all, ascribe it all to Him. The worst things that can happen are only signs that I need to reach a state that I see them as the best states. Just as suitable to that upper force that sent it all to me, that’s my work.
Meaning my work is not to change the state itself. But the fact that I change my attitude towards that state, I must reach a state that the state itself changes. Because if I change my observation, I have to see all of reality as the Creator sees it, that, There is no cruel one in the King's palace.
Question (Jerusalem): (41:26) What does it mean that all the descents are from the evil inclination?
M. Laitman: We need to understand that it's not the desire that is the problem but the intention in order to receive is. Here, there's work to see the difference between the desire, the intention — there is a difference. That's why we can see a person that he might do things that aren't so kosher, let's say, but you don't know what his intentions are, you understand? You don't know what his intentions are, because for you the intention and the desire are still connected together; but for him it's not. For him, the intention is the intention, the desire is the desire, that's it. Especially, when we are included in beast and man. So, on the degree of man, we don't know what's happening to him. On the beast, you supposedly see it. That's why our eyes can't give us the true discernments and that's also why we are not allowed to judge the friend but only to the scale of merit. What to the scale of merit? By this, I actually correct my observation, Because each one flaws in his own flaws.
If I see something flawed in somebody, so I must right away correct my observation. To see these things as correct, and to ascribe everything only to me, the corruption. Well, it goes all kinds of ways. It's work that a person needs to try every time to do it. And not prevent himself from it, not to want to skip over it because the more such discernments come, they all accumulate to one correct discernment. After he performs a few of these corrections of his observation, of hearing, of feeling, then from above, he is given a new vessel.
Question (Moscow ): (44:34) Before the Congress and the groups and people are having a lot of corporeal problems that are appearing right now, financial problems. How do you learn to live in that duality where, on one hand, we see that all these problems come from the Creator and not to ask Him to cancel these problems. On the other hand, to constantly try to resolve these problems in the corporeal world?
M. Laitman: If we make correct statistics, correct calculation, I'm sure that, all in all, what's revealed, let's say within the thousand people that are connected together, more problems than what's revealed in a thousand people that aren't connected together, but separate, scattered families. But because those thousand people feel themselves together as one family. Let’s say we here are sitting together, how many, 400 people? How many are here? Let's say 400. We're one family, right? Now, let's take an average family, statistically, off the street, right? Here, the doctor can tell you how many sick people are there, how many problems they have, how many things and troubles there are in a family. Let's say a five-people family or a family of 500. Here, it's not 500. These are 400, it's about a third or a quarter of the family. You have people at home, right? Let's say 2,000—sickness, problems, trouble to the 2,000 people compared to five people of an average family on the street. What do you want? Divide those 2,000 into five, how much is that c on, who knows? 400. In our group, we should have 400 times more problems, troubles, diseases, and so on than in an average family that's outside of us, right? Is it truly like that? Truly here, it's 400 times more so what do you want? It's simple math. We multiply, you know and he's sick and they're wrong and so on and so on.
It's much less than what's happening on the outside. Just us in our eyes can't see it. We're not aware of it. Think about it because I'm sure you have such questions from your students also on campus and so on. That's why I don't—friend, bring me all those, your calculations, okay? We, at least, are in a state no less than each and every average family on the street, that it. Just that our problems are multiplied, except for that, they're multiplied for us because we think we're advancing in spirituality, there must be—the Creator should help us, right? Where is that? What do we deserve, right? That's our ego warming us up. That's why there's a problem here.
I came here, right, to this Laitman guy. I thought, I'm going to have better corporeality, maybe tomorrow better spirituality and this is how we advance from day to day. I see I got nothing of that. That's all it is. We need to be a bit more aware where we are. Spirituality doesn't give a person any prevention from corporeality, nothing. On the contrary, he starts feeling, not that it truly happens but in his feeling, in his expectations. In his subconscious, in his increasing ego, he starts feeling every little thing that happens to him, that it came from None Else Besides Him. That's wrong, that shouldn't be like this! He's getting mad and then it seems to him that he gets into even more trouble. So, I'll just let go and get out of here.
Truly, even in those people who left us, I don't see that right away they went into complete relaxing and into something good and nice. No, where? Meaning it's all through our inner attitude, egoistic, ego central, that this is how it happens. Not to say that all of us are sick—we have problems. I'm saying it again, make calculations, even statistics. Divide yourself into many parts, many different families as it used to be then and then you'll see what happens. That's why here I'm telling you, if you calculate, you're getting less and much less things and troubles and are happening to you than people on the outside but you're having different trouble, spiritual instead of corporeal. What do you want to say?
Question (Moscow ): (51:22) I didn't say that we have a lot of problems or a few problems.
M. Laitman: No, you said according to what the friend wrote today from New York, another wise guy who's complaining!
Student: I read your answer, that's why I want to ask a question: How to learn on one hand to keep the point of there's no else besides Him and not ask from the Creator to cancel the problem. On the other hand, if a corporeal problem appears to me, to go to the corporeal world and solve it?
M. Laitman: We have to make a difference between this and that. It all comes from the Creator. I take from every state, state I'm saying, not trouble, I'm taking from that state what I can take care of in the corporeal part. And what I have to take care of on the spiritual part and go in both. I'm not getting confused between them. That's it, simple — it’s not simple but until it stabilizes in a person, it takes time. The main thing is patience. If you have that, you'll reach a stabilized balance, correct observation. That's for now, we're on the path.
Question (Kyiv): (53:08) You said here that you need to do a correction so that it will be, “to the liking of.” What does it mean that it'll be to the liking of? We're now in Hanukkah, we’re rising above the state and we're included in another state that's in a state of Bina or bestowal and that's the aspiration. What does it mean that the state will be to my liking? Is it the state that I'm in or the state I'm running from, seemingly?
M. Laitman: It's written that a person must bless the good like the bad—that's God, that he has a Masach. And afterwards, he needs to bless the bad more than the good because this bad, this evil, helps him even reach to receive in order to bestow. The more the evil inclination is received more, is revealed more, he can develop more. That's why all these things, good, bad—it all belongs to as much as we can work with them in this dynamic way. Either overcome them, rise above them, or work with them and process them to something opposite. That depends on the degree of the Adam, of man, and what he's in.
Question (New York ): (54:43) We didn't want to complain about it, rather to ask if there is something specific we need to learn from these states?
M. Laitman: No, no, no. I thank you for it. It's good that you're writing about it and write more! Don't be insulted that I'm lowering your yelling at you, I need everybody to hear this, it’ll maybe shake something up! I'm really thanking you that you're awaking these things, it’s correct. It happens in a lot of groups. Everybody complains that the moment they started studying or entered the wisdom, they have greater problems. But again, I'm saying it's not greater problems.
Even, we’re not really connected — know what state we're in in the groups. But even that word, we've started connecting, we already feel as if it's an increasing of the bad, of the problems. There's all kinds of problems that come to the group, so I explained why. It's the opposite of what happens on the street, according to statistics. In the bad cases, we think it's more, and it'll happen more and more. It's the opposite: We will once stand before a state that will connect even a bit more towards one another in one gram of connection, and we feel, oh, what a problem's coming. And if we move away just a bit, we'll put some space between us, oh, what a relief, oh, that's so good. That's the middle third of Tiferet. Just like that.
Question (Astana): (56:52) You're completely correct. I did it an analogy like this. We don't even notice between good or bad. We're also corporeally in a better state than the whole world. So, I have a question. And you said in the morning, how can you connect in the problems in an opposite way, without disregarding them? How do we do that correctly?
M. Laitman: There are a few nice sayings that we should use for now as a slogan, I don't know. How do I say slogan? Yes, like a password:
The judge doesn't see only what his eyes see
And everything I see is what I see. And I don't see the beautiful, correct world that the Creator is the good that does good to everybody. Give me a few more of those slogans. Yes, of course,
None Else Besides Him.
And what I said today, that truly,
Everybody are the Creator's servants.
If you think there are wicked and righteous and all kinds of these and those, everybody are activated from above.
There Is None Else Besides Him,
And none of us have any calculation, true personal calculation.
We are all the Creator's servants.
But what? There are 90% of those who walk on two legs that aren't even thinking or aware of it.; and there are some that in all kinds of other forms. And we, we are as if not the workers of the Creator. Meaning who are those that are engaging in Kabbalah, they think they're not the Creator's workers. Meaning the evil inclination entered them that disconnects them from the Creator, supposedly, and they have to skip over it. The Creator gave them this game, and they have to skip over this evil inclination and ascribe themselves to the Creator. And the others don't think if they belong or not. They do, and also we, but we have a concealment, a burdening of the heart, and we need to overcome it.
So, we need to establish ourselves in a more mature form. That, well, I don't have words, maybe I shouldn't, but. What are you asking? Astana, what are you asking?
Student: How to connect with the Creator in an opposite manner, through the disturbances?
M. Laitman: The Creator wants you to be adhered to Him, and then He puts all kinds of disturbances between you. You have to show Him that even above these disturbances, you are adhered, you're asking for Dvekut. It's checking your faithfulness. Well, that's how it is, what do we want by this, what do we acquire by this? Truth, if everybody's in None Else Besides Him, so what's the benefit of our work compared to all those other ones that are instinctively working the Creator, what does that mean? That the Creator is activating them. Like beasts, just activating them, they are 100% without any problems, just doing in every cell, in every thought, in every desire the desire of the Creator.
He's managing them, and that's clear, and we're not; meaning, we were given in all of our desires and all of our thoughts to see as much as we are opposite, for us to acquire a Rosh. Why are Israel called LiRosh? That after, that I will understand by this. I'll be able to digest all of this creation. That in awareness I will have, I will see what's happening here. Not that I am instinctively doing, doing, doing, doing, doing — what I'm activated, like robots today, no. The Creator gave me an opportunity to join Him in understanding, in feeling. That’s called Dvekut, and then I acquire that same part, that it's truly Him, but the rest, no.
But don't say that they're not in Dvekut. They are specifically in Dvekut, and that in their feeling, in their mind, in their body, in their soul, everything they have, they're completely, completely doing all the actions of the Creator upon them. They have nothing, no doubts, no desire, yes or no, everything. With trouble, with problems, with all the things that the Creator is just activating them, just as they respond to something He's doing, that is all 100% good. That's clear, right?
Question (Arten): (01:03:36) I want to ask you about bestowal, because this is also something we teach. When we describe the relations with the Creator?
M. Laitman: You're doing bestowal to the Creator; you're doing the benefit to the Creator. It's not a favor, but you're bringing Him contentment.
Student: Is that from the love I'm giving?
M. Laitman: It's from your effort that you can add here — to be associated to Him, to belong to Him, from understanding, from feeling, from the longing. From your part as a person, as an Adam, not as a beast, where you want your way. You cannot do, but I mean, let's put it this way. You can rise and not do anything, but you are ascending. If we're talking about a spiritual action, it's only a desirable one, a conscientious one, and then you want to be in this. It doesn't matter whether you feel blows and problems from this end, whatever, it doesn't matter. You rise above this to belong to the Creator against nature.
I don't know how to say this. Even, even you can be without, not in this. It's important, very important to you to be together with Him in this action. And to be with Him is to be in the Rosh; and for that, you need to invert yourself because the body and the head are completely opposite. The reason of Torah is opposite the reason of the landlords, as they say.
Student: As far as the mechanism, it turns out that I receive, I get to know the greatness of the receiver, and I choose to actually bring him contentment through my agreement, through the intention that I put on what I received.
M. Laitman: Yes, it's a certain loyalty, it’s like you're loyal to the, to the state. Even though you have problems with this, and troubles, you are loyal to them.
Student: So, it's clear to me relative to the Creator, but what does it mean, bestowal to the others, what’s there?
M. Laitman: Nothing, there nothing in bestowal to others, but rather only in order to carry out the will of the Creator.
Student: I mean, it's like an exercise, like from the love of the creatures to the love of the Creator.
M. Laitman: No, it's not an exercise, it's implementation. You are realizing towards the Creator, you can't do anything. You and the Creator are together — I am dwelling within my people. But the others, I'm demanded to give. What am I giving them? What is bestowal to the others? Bestowal to the others where you want to give them all the good there is by being a pipeline from the Creator to him.
Question (Ekaterinburg): (01:07:02) How can I check whether I'm operating from the Rosh, the head, from the intellect, or like an animal, like in regular life, then that's how we also operate in the group.
M. Laitman: It's very simple: As much as your head is higher than your belly! And operates in such a way that it has values, not according to the belly, but according to what's in the head. In the idea, the ideal, in something that is abstract from the beast, disrobed from the beast — that’s what we have.
Question (Astana): (01:07:58) So, it turns out that the holiday of Hanukkah gives us an example to not needing to seek for something. You don't need to torment yourself to reach the state that we can rise above to the degree of Bina, and to go through it together, until the degree of receiving it in order to bestow, and to hold on to that state.
M. Laitman: Yes, that is great work, that’s very high work to come to Hanukkah. It's a very big war, but the war is to not be under the control of the will to receive. Meaning that in every action, every decision, everything that I think, do, I try to be above my will to receive, above it. It's work that we can already now understand, and even carry out, even execute, yes. But later, the work is with the will to receive. It can't be understood yet how we do that.
Question (Haifa): (01:10:08) There is, during time, the terms in spirituality and corporeality kind of got blurred out. What does a Kabbalist mean when he says corporeality, and when he says spirituality?
M. Laitman: Corporeality, in order to receive; spirituality, in order to be simple. That's also in order to receive corporeality of a Kabbalist is not the same corporeality like there is in the street. Because a Kabbalist who looks at corporeality, which is in order to receive. He sees in it the evil inclination, which is directing him to the oppositeness of sanctity, which is also like his guide, his teacher!— the evil inclination is my teacher, it’s directing me. He says, this you want and that's what you want. You see, it's how I'm showing you what you want, and how much you are not capable of emerging out of those desires, and how much you're under the control. Just so you know, I'm not just someone like that, I'm Pharaoh!
That's a different evil inclination than what people in the street have, they’re , it's beast. You know, look at animals, beasts. They have no boundaries. They can go for a stroll. They can do whatever. They have their nature. They understand nature differently. You can't, with all your intellect and all your feeling understand how a dog thinks of the world, or a bird — well , pets have the limitation that they're next to people. But how do they grasp the world? And here, it's not the degree of animal that we're in the will to receive, the Kabbalists. This is the degree of speaking.
Meaning that the evil inclination is really playing with me against holiness. Whereas to regular people, it's not against sanctity. There's no Kedusha, there's no Klipa, there's nothing, nature. Nature is like animals, that’s why everyone is similar to beasts. But with us, no; with us, nature is, meaning with us, the evil inclination puts us into all kinds of things. It's like Pharaoh — you will work, and you're going to work endlessly, why? Because I am obligating you, I am Pharaoh. What, you don't agree? Then I will give you more burdening. Also, without the straw and without the bricks, you're going to start to even prepare yourself for the tormentful work. That's the evil inclination that's in the Kabbalists. He's already greater, increased, Pharaoh is spiritual, already. It's a spiritual force — it’s not in regular people — only in human beings. Those who are called Israel in exile.
Question (Sochi): (01:13:47) What is that calculation of the 400 times 5? Do I really have to feel that huge mass, that sum of all the suffering?
M. Laitman: But that's how we feel, if you were truly involved more and more, you would feel that more. Let's say in 400 people, it's true that if 5% or something like that are sick, not something horrible, but like this — a little bit of a flu, a little bit of a cold, headache, right or not? Where's our doctor, he ran away, yes?!. Statistically, what's happening? So, we would feel it as it's happening seemingly in each and every one of us if I'm connected to everyone.
Therefore, what's written about that? One who adds reason, adds pain. I feel, oh, what trouble! I'm afraid to reach adhesion, it awakens in me such a feeling, such stress, I’m trembling; that’s fear, that’s trepidation. Specifically, where... Let me see. Well, I don't want to talk about that. We'll talk when there's a need for it.
Question (St. Petersburg): (01:15:34) After this depiction you just depicted, so what is bestowal? Something completely scary, not attractive.
M. Laitman: Bestowal is — I'll tell you what I would recommend to you to... Bestowal is loyalty to the Creator, to the group, with your eyes shut, that’s called bestowal. That's it, where, of course, it's against our logic, against our will to receive, against fears and anxieties, against everything. Bestowal, I'm going for it, why? Because that’s bestowal.
Question (Asia): (01:16:52) A question about the Congress and Arvut, if I may. Of course, New York is with us. It's a question we had a few times. I don't understand why the friends aren't asking this. Maybe you talked about it, I don't know. It's just really disturbing me.
M. Laitman: Stop with the introductions. What do we care if it bothers you or not? Ask the question.
Student: Why aren't we starting the congress and ending it as one man, one heart, the same day, and we don't have to have that fourth lesson in the next day, and that Israel will complete it, and it doesn't feel right.
M. Laitman: The fact that you don't feel good, then I feel good. First of all, when the Congress was in Moscow, we went according to what they organized, the convention. Now the congress is being organized by the group of New York. We're following what they organized. You have problems, correspond with the New York friends, that’s it. Now, it's not important to me. However they organize, everyone needs to somehow, as much as possible, with force, to join them.
And I gave an example here, that we can't be with them in everything. We're just missing one lesson. Because Sunday here in Israel, people work. We're not lazy like the rest of the world. We work. You understand? Therefore, we're going to miss one lesson. Otherwise, people the next day, after a whole day of lessons, will not be able to sustain themselves. And there's children, and there's families, and travel time, and all that — y understand what a work day is? So, we're not capable. We're also not capable to take vacation time, because we're out of vacation days and we have preparations for the convention.
There's the desert convention; there’s the big convention in February, that we hope that you are all, all going to come to us, once a year, where we will all connect here in Israel together. So, all the groups, all the groups, I hope that you are ready with tickets in your pockets, yes? And that's it. Therefore, that is what we're going to do. But if you have some problem, then write to the friend. I think that... What are we going to have to, after that? What's the next Congress? What's the next group? Kyiv. If they're ready for it, I don't know. If they're willing. Well? Yes. OK, they're ready. OK, so it'll be Kyiv group. So, they will do something, whatever they do. Let's say for us it'll be good. For you, I don't know. You live completely in a place that is not meant for living.
Question (Krasnoyarsk): (01:20:50) Thank you to all the friends for this Hitkalelut during the lesson. The question is, how in the correct way can we ask from the friends, have the desire to love? You see that it has to be, but there's no desire, no sensation towards it.
M. Laitman: That's the influence of the reforming light. We don't have that force. We're not talking about beastly love. That I love cake, I love a woman, I love children, I love the sun, the moon, the sea. We're not talking about that, where it's naturally inside of us. I have many loves for all kinds of good sources to me. But I don't have love for what we're talking about — love for you, or love for all of humanity, or in general. Here, it's to the contrary. I'm not awakened enough for love of others. That's why I don't feel how opposite I am to that.
All those goody-two-shoes in the world that scream out, “Oh, I love everyone, we need to love everyone, we need to do good for everyone.” They didn't even start to awaken; they evoke the love in them for others. Otherwise, they would discover how much hatred they have for others along the way. And that we need to just, through rising above the hatred, grow, develop that love, and then they come to it. So, therefore, we need to understand that this is gradual. And first of all, let's implement it in the Ten. And you see how difficult it is in the Ten. We delay it, we detain it, we do all kinds of spins just to not come to more connections that are internal. And if we are ready to do something, then we're willing physically only to do it. Well, let's do something else. Let's do another assembly, another connection. We'll sit, we'll talk, we'll do something like that. But it's not bringing the heart closer to one another. The heart closer to one another, it does not bring, because the heart of a person is in the hands of the Lord.
And therefore, it's only prayer that emerges from us that can help us; and we need to all assemble into prayer, that’s it, only that. All the actions we do are only as an introduction for this. There's some kind of causation to this, but not the executor. For connection, even on the degree of Bina, from Malchut to Bina until Hannukah, also, only the light of the Creator can bring us there. And then from Hanukkah to Purim, meaning to the correction of the vessels of reception, there, furthermore, we need a very big light to correct that. That's how it is.
Reader: We'll summarize the main points.
Reader: Now we'll move to the next part of the lesson, and before that, we'll sing a song together.
Song: (01:30:40)