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

Daily Morning Lesson: September 29, 2026

Part 1: Sitrin Convention, Sukkot 2003 - Lesson 4

Baal HaSulam. A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar

Reader: Hello! In the first part of the lesson, we will continue with a series of lessons from the Sitrin Congress with Rav. We'll continue with Lesson Number Four from October 12, 2003.

M. Laitman: (00:19) This world is called, My sensation, it can include all the worlds and the world of infinity. Still, this sensation is called, My world, so how can we make it so that this sensation would be all-encompassing? So that I would sense the entire volume of the universe, which is called the Creator? To sense, it can be done unconsciously, then a person exists within his five senses. He did not create them, he did not acquire them, he doesn't control them. They're just given to him for a particular period of time, so that while he exists in these senses, he can have an opportunity through his own effort to come to the sensation of a higher existence. Then, not only to come to it but to also master it; to be just in the upper world of the soul. For us to sense only the upper world, is natural for us, until our birth and after our death – but the sensation of our world is also natural, from our birth and until our death. The sensation of this world and the upper world, simultaneously, that is what we must attain through our own efforts. For this reason, all of these states exist.

So why is this all needed? If we exist in a certain period of time in the upper world and sensing the upper world, and during some other period of time, we also exist in our world. So why do we need to sense both worlds, why do we need to put in special efforts for this? Two boundary states: this world and the spiritual world, we do not sense that by our own choice, we are given either this state or that state. The soul is outside of the body in complete adhesion with the Creator, like a point within Him. Then suddenly, the sensation of being part of the Creator, of being a point in the Creator, vanishes, and the soul finds itself in this world, sensing this world. Not even knowing where it is and what's happening, a person is born, and he has no memories that he was part of a different existence, what does this simultaneous attainment of both worlds give us? The soul is created as a point; that is, I, our sensation, in general, is a point that senses either the Creator or His opposite, complete consumer. A state when we will be completely equal to the Creator, sensing the entire universe, entering into an existence of the perfection within our sensations. It is only possible if we put in the efforts to turn this point into a Kli. By the way, to create it through complete free will under certain circumstances, these certain circumstances all put together in a certain way, and us inside of them, they are called this world. So, there has specifically been created this environment, this atmosphere around a point which senses what we sense and call it this world, our world. Because from this state, it is the most optimal way and possible way it is for us, out of this point, to create a Partzuf, that is also a Kli, that's equal to the Creator.

M. Laitman: (06:03) Kabbalah speaks about how this is created, what we do, what we must carry out in this process. In general, we must attune ourselves to the perception of the upper world, while not yet being a part of it. We do this in all sorts of different ways: through study, through the work in the group, through all kinds of actions in this world. If we put our intention towards drawing closer to the sensation of the spiritual state, then we evoke that state upon ourselves from there, as though we draw towards it by our desire. This action is called evoking the surrounding light, Ohr Makif, which purifies us and pulls us up to the higher state. These actions are unconscious, in other words, a person acts because he was told to. He believes what the Kabbalists tell him and does the advice, so if I need to study, then I'll study. Even though I don't feel like it, even though I don't understand it. During the study, I start to think about the science, perhaps I picture how the science brings me a certain experience within myself. Maybe there are some actions that I must perform.

No, a person can relate to the science entirely as something external, and aside from that, there are other actions in the group, actions with friends. He's told to do something, even though he doesn't desire it, but he must do something, even mechanically. He should do common actions with them, even though it's clear that everybody's an individualist. And if he gathers together with them – well, they can create a pleasant atmosphere so that everyone – there's so much pleasantries. So we get together, and it's pleasant, but we need to think if we gather for the sake of it being pleasant for us, or do we gather for the sake of an action that raises us, elevates us? In general, there are many issues here: how to relate to everything, how to tune yourself precisely to drawing the upper upon ourselves, the surrounding light. At the end of the day, all of these actions evoke the surrounding light upon us, but there's another kind of work. When a person begins from within himself to elevate himself to a higher degree, not to draw the upper light from above but to draw himself towards the higher degree. This work is called equivalence, attempts at equivalence with the higher degree, with a spiritual state.

M. Laitman: (10:20) From where we can take such examples? From what the Kabbalists write, they tell us that the spiritual is a complete exit from your, I. Just as a person, when dying, leaves his body and the body remains. What happens to it afterwards we all know, it no longer has anything to do with the soul, there's nothing in it. It turns to dust, while the soul continues to exist. So, too, with us, we must completely exit our, I, transfer ourselves into others, and only exist in them – within their desires, aspirations and thoughts – without thinking about ourselves at all. So writes Baal HaSulam in the article, To The Conclusion of the Zohar. Just as the Creator does not think about Himself - does He exist or not, even such a question is not even posed - my, I, does not exist. So, too, a person who must cross, wants to cross the Machsom, must perform such an action, that I don't exist, I exit myself into the beyond.

Kabbalists do not speak about this method of drawing closer to a higher degree, to become similar to the higher degree because there is a certain danger that people will plunge into all kinds of fantasies, all kinds of illusions, and start to imagine for themselves that they're already soaring somewhere up there. Such images can only be pictured together with actions that are inside the group. Only together with actions with friends, in joint actions. So just fantasizing about these topics is not recommended because it will be an action that will cut you off from reality and take you somewhere – who knows where? To imagine for yourself, imagine that you're exiting from your, I, that I do not exist, that I am in the thoughts and desires of others. And act only in accordance with their thoughts and desires, this is the very first exercise that we can have. As soon as a person can start with such an action upon himself, he can begin to sense others and not himself. He can see, in other words, he senses clearly that there's one single force in this world that governs everyone around. Why does he begin to sense this? Because he has exited himself, he has integrated with this force; he has merged and adapted to it because its first quality is also the absence of an, I.

M. Laitman: (14:38) The person sees that everything in the world, absolutely all of the people in this world: villains and the righteous ones, the capable and the foolish, savage and civilized. No matter who or how, all of them simply carry out one thought, no one has any personal individual desire of their own, no individual movement of his own. Everything is determined by one thought alone, one plan, which simply exists in the world like a field. Everyone, absolutely everyone, moves only in accordance with it – what does it mean in accordance with it? Each person is a mechanism that operates to achieve maximum satisfaction at a minimum cost, and this mechanism automatically takes its place each time and acts in accordance with this field.

This field is called the Creator, precisely, it's not yet the Creator, it is a manifestation of His governance over everyone in this world. A person begins to see how everything acts according to only one law, only one rule, only one thought of will. To the extent that he merges further with this thought, having lost his, I, and wishes to go in further into this field of the Creator. He begins to see how everything turns towards the good in relation to him. That is, not simply in relation to him, naturally nothing changes, he simply sees how good everything is. A thought arises in him, and he sees that all other people carry out this thought, because the thought arises in him in accordance with the Creator, with this field. He merges with this field, with the Creator, and sees how everything around him—all of a sudden a person comes towards him, suddenly someone does something there—how everything in the world is done for the sake of him, absolutely everything. Whatever is being done, how it seems to him that it's being done badly, he understands that it is not bad, that it could not have been done otherwise. Therefore, by no means he so approves and understands them that even if someone approaches him and, let's say, threatens his life, he wouldn't be able to oppose him in any way. To such an extent a person loses his, I, and senses that everything around him is being done absolutely correctly and rightfully.

I'm using such extreme examples, they may not be entirely clear to us, but they can give us a sense, a little understanding of what it means to rise, even slightly, above the Machsom. To give us the opportunity to feel, even a little bit, this transition from here to there and back. One can cross back and forth, a person can have this possibility, there is such a period, and in general a Kabbalist who is at a higher degree, can lower himself in order to match himself with everyone else. To be on the same level as others, to be able to be in contact with them, to help them. Any higher degree, if a person attains it, exists in him and is attained by him only in order to bring all that light down and raise everyone up to himself. Then the next ascent, and again to pull everyone upwards as much as possible. This is the property of every higher degree, natural property, any Kabbalists can act this way.

M. Laitman: (19:50) Why do we need this? If we try in the group, in our study, whenever possible, to reproduce such states in ourselves. Not fly off somewhere with thinking that we're already in the spiritual, clearly understanding that we're not there, but we want to be there. It's like, as the example I usually give, it's like a child playing with toys but we'll understand that the child grows thanks to this. So, we take the child's games seriously and we try to buy the best games for them – the most developmental games suited to his age, not too difficult – so that he develops harmoniously, each time higher and higher. This is what we must do as well; that is, to model in ourselves all kinds of future states, which because we want to be in them, it would act like raising MAN. Raising our desires upward to the next degree, and accordingly the upper light would descend and pull us up. Besides lessons and all sorts of actions, this action is also necessary. The only thing, again, is the Kabbalists do not write about this, it's usually done only between teacher and student, either privately with the student or with a small group of students, that can be managed, where one can really control their state so that they wouldn't get carried away in all of their still completely unconscious, uncontrolled actions. So they don't begin to picture for themselves silly illusions, as if they are already somewhere up there, and so on.

To picture these states to ourselves, as I said yesterday, let's read this – you probably already read it, but let's read it together, Machsom, Welcome. Who has the text? The question was asked of me by one of our students on Yom Kippur. After that, I wrote this page: What is the state when a person is in this border layer, did I cross the Machsom or not? That's the question, what states arise so that I can monitor and to know whether I am already here or there? We are not talking about the heavens opening, some forces appearing, thunder and lightning, I don't know, angels and so forth. We are talking only about our inner sensation; a deeper vision of the universe is revealed in us in addition, beyond its borders. We see to the depths, the forces that govern it, the general force, the general thought, and the plan, and the will. And how is it sensed by us, perceived by us?

First, it must be said that, of course, these are inner subjective sensations that arise in a person. Outside, nothing changes. The world remains the same, and has no idea that one of its inhabitants is ascending to the degree of direct connection with the Creator.

As the Rambam writes, The world goes on as it always has; and he writes this about Gmar Tikkun, the very last point of correction. Not just one person but all people reach the very last, highest point of their existence, the eternal, perfect point. Even so, our world continues to exist, our world seems to us to be defective, dirty, insignificant, tiny, suffocating us. But in fact, we will see that that is not the case at all, our perception will change. Nothing changes around a person, what changes is his worldview, his perception of the world.

M. Laitman: (25:27) The crossing of the Machsom, itself, consists of several stages, and the crossing wavers, it oscillates. A person finds himself above his ego, at one point then below, and several times again, alternating. This is a question here, I once said that once the Machsom is crossed, there is no way back, that's correct. Whoever has received a degree, he has attained it already, he has it, he can go back – more or less, but these oscillations are so that he processes through all of his ego – brings all the ego across the Machsom. It's not like there are ten crossings, that you cross ten times, but the state itself oscillates, you go there and back, there and back. Then comes the final and complete crossing, breakthrough. It's like these oscillations described in Egypt, what happens with Pharaoh, the ten plagues, and so on, until - how do you call Yam Suf? - the Red Sea, until you cross the Red Sea. In Hebrew, it translates as the, End Sea, not the Red Sea, Yam Suf. Ein Sof is infinity, Sof is the end, finite, so the sea is called, Yam Suf, the End Sea.

You cross it and thereby you come out of this virtual world, so it's the Red Sea, the End Sea. The person is shown how the world changes, and then he must perform his own exercises through his willpower, his inner exertion to enter, try to come out of himself, out of his, I, and try to connect to this sensation, the general thought of the Creator.

In the beginning of crossing the Machsom, a person's state can be likened to someone in the water. At times, he is above the surface of the water, meaning he's immersed, I'm sorry, it's below the surface of the water. He's immersed in the desires and thoughts of our world, about himself, for himself, about others, only with the expectation of benefiting himself.

That's how we think we need to work for the group, connect with the friends – we should do this, we should study, etc. Why do we need this, so that I will advance; this state is called below the Machsom, that's where we are.

And the second state is when he is as if above the surface of the water. Then he understands that all the egos are like children, and that's how the Creator created them. They're not to blame, they act consciously, exactly as they act. And the Creator is completely indulgent over them, because He created them this way. And a person who crosses the Machsom, when he rises above the surface of the water, begins to feel within, that he wishes everyone goodness, good and help. He feels a need to relate to everyone as the Creator relates to them, because rising above the Machsom means adhesion, equivalence with the Creator's thoughts.

And so he begins to ask the Creator to show him how He relates to humanity, to people, in order to become more and more similar and equivalent to Him, to rise higher and higher. Not for the sake of rising higher and higher but in order to justify the Creator's thoughts, His plans, His attitude towards all humanity. He begins to feel within himself a need to justify; he is afraid that he does not understand, does not yet grasp. He cannot fully understand how the Creator relates to everyone, and that somewhere he might not agree with Him. This is the state in which a person already passed the Machsom, he wants greater revelation of the Creator, not so that it will be pleasant for him to see how everything in the world moves by one system. But in order to justify the Creator, not for himself because I cannot justify what I am. Instead he wants to justify because by this he gives contentment to the Creator.

M. Laitman: (30:52) In this state, when a person has already passed the Machsom, and again there are several intermediate states here, semi-egoistic ones during the Machsom. You know that after they crossed the Red Sea, the End Sea, they spent three more days in Sinai, the word comes from the word Sina [hatred]. They approached Mount Sinai, this Mount Sinai – imagine what a mountain of hatred is – the mountain, Har, stems from Hirhurim [doubts]. The doubts that arise within a person, he is beneath all these doubts, he can't imagine how he can adapt to all this, to what he sees. Where can he get such a state, such strength, such desire? A pressure from which to come to adhesion with the Creator? In the end only one of his points rises up, ascends this mountain, above all these doubts, above these still egoistic desires, only there comes in contact with the Creator.

A person gradually begins to ask the Creator, to show him how the Creator Himself relates to people, and the Creator's attitude towards people is precisely the Creator's commandments. Therefore by fulfilling them we become similar to Him.

What are these commandments, then? The commandments are the correct attitude out of the ego towards the whole of creation. I ask the Creator, as we already gave the example, as though I'm standing next to Him. I am a completely independent point, already out of myself, that's why it's independent. Before the Machsom I was not independent, I was submerged under the ego, under its power and control. Now, after crossing the Machsom, I am an independent point of the ego's influence on me, and so I begin to ask the Creator, Show me how You relate to them? To them, means to all humanity, which is an absolutely homogeneous mass, one Kli consisting of 620 desires. As the Creator relates to each of their desires, I also begin to try to relate the same way as He does. This means that I fulfill the 620 commandments, and my correct attitude towards their 620 desires, when I take each desire of theirs as my own and wish for its fulfillment, I relate to it altruistically. That is the fulfillment of the commandment, in this way I gradually observe all 613 commandments. That is, I take each of these desires into myself and I fill it in order to fill them. So, through myself I fulfill all the souls, this gives me the opportunity to connect, to come to adhesion with them. Through my own labor, this enormous Kli that consists of all the souls, called Adam, man, it is formed. To the extent that I connect these desires to myself and fulfill them through me, I become equivalent to the Creator, I come to adhesion with the Creator.

M. Laitman: (35:13) What about before, before I do all this, that would be my Gmar Tikkun?

A feeling of shame arises. Shame is when you cannot look others in the eye, you feel that you are an egoist, that all of your thoughts are about yourself and not about them.

It is in the border layer of crossing the Machsom that a person begins to feel this, he is ashamed to look at others. It does not matter who these others are, they may be the worst villains of all, it doesn't matter because they automatically carry out the Creator's will. A person can no longer define them as villains, as good or bad, he defines them as little children who simply do what nature dictates. But he, since he has begun to feel his I, his independent point. Now he begins to feel his attitude towards others as though he uses them, exploits them, as a desire to exploit. That's what makes him feel ashamed, this is where he begins to control, control himself, monitor himself, to finally the possibility appears to avoid this feeling of shame. At the moment you feel shame, you see, you understand that it can be worked on, where, what to do about it. It becomes, this feeling of shame is desirable, it's a starting point from where you can see where and how you can move forward into the domain of the Creator. This feeling is absolutely clear; when you look at anyone, you simply begin to feel ashamed of why you want to relate to him egoistically. Why you have no concern for them, you don't think about them, others. This happens out of necessity in accordance with the degree of crossing the Machsom. It doesn't depend on some inner pressures or fantasies. It's the actual influence of the light, when the manifestation of the Creator when crossing the Machsom, that's what evokes this feeling in us, the manifestation of the Giver, the sensation of His quality, it naturally evokes in the person the sense of his own oppositeness called, shame.

And it doesn't matter that whether everyone else is an egoist or not, you know that before the Creator you're obligated,

You were created to think only about them, and you're different, not like them. So you can't just say, I'm like everyone, everyone is like that.” Everyone is not like that, everyone is under the Creator's automatic governance, is below the Machsom, there is no independent point in them. But to the extent that in you it is now growing, this feeling is there, the feeling of shame, and you need to become equivalent to the Creator. Just as a mother feels an egoist towards her children, and she reproaches and despises herself for it. Naturally a child in the meantime, she doesn't demand that the child relate to her, she relates to him. That's how a person begins to feel when he crosses the Machsom; he feels this way towards everyone, towards all humanity, that's how he must relate to them, if not, the opposite sensation is shame.

And when that happens, you do not judge others, either friends or all of humanity for their ego. Of course, they're all egoists, they were created this way. They must be this way. Just as a mother does not demand that her children be altruists and love her. But you feel obligated to be different, to think about everyone. And for as long as you're not like that, you're ashamed to look your friends in the eye.

M. Laitman: (40:08) This phrase – I'm ashamed to look my friends in the eye because I want to use them for myself – should already be our motto, our key rule. You must try to find within yourself such a feeling. True, I'm an egoist, I was created this way. That's right, the Creator has created this within me, it's natural, but I must try to find within myself this point of shame. That I look at everyone around me as someone to exploit, to use for myself, for my own well-being, for my own progress. I'm ready to step on him in order to rise higher, which is absolutely opposite to what I should be doing. So, I'm ashamed to look my friends in the eye, that must be cultivated within us artificially. But this artificially evoked feeling will invoke the manifestation of the upper light upon us. I'm not just reading to you what happens above the Machsom for no reason, I want to show you that through this, by imagining that you are already above, through actions between one another. Then you can call upon yourselves this enormous surrounding light, it will truly pull you upward. Not I, not the lessons on their own, not your attitude, not the work, not your fantasies. But the surrounding light evoked by all of this, it will elevate us. To imagine these boundary states and to aspire towards them, that is the most important thing. This is all described in the articles and letters. It is described in the Talmud Eser Sefirot, except that now we try to explain it out in a more clear, vivid way, so that we would be able to imagine it in action and to realize it, to reproduce it.

I am now doing the same thing that Baal HaSulam and Rabash were doing and all other Kabbalists, except in a more accessible language. I'm explaining what are these states that we must aspire for, toward. To the extent that we strive for this, that is why we read all this literature: why we work in the group, why we create in it this artificial atmosphere of love towards the friends, in order to become even a little similar to what exists above the Machsom, to the extent that the upper light will shine upon us.

M. Laitman: (43:21) What I'm telling you today is in that same direction, maybe I'm just presenting it in a more vivid, bold way, but these are the points that we need to hold on to. If we begin to do this today, act in this way, and every person will try to internalize this within themselves. Then, within a few days, we will feel that we are already there. It will not be an acted state, but surrounding light will evoke within us truly this feeling.

Gradually, the calculation becomes more and more not in relation to people, but in relation to the Creator.

That is the next degree, being ashamed to look in a friend's eye and trying to reach such a level where a person begins to feel that they're crossing the Machsom. As though they're separating from their, I, not thinking about their, I, about their existence, do I exist or not, what will happen to me - he lives within others. Gradually, the calculation becomes more and more not in relation to other people but by integrating within them, he senses the Creator through them, this general all-encompassing thought.

And then, his calculations become only in relation to the Creator, to become similar to Him, and passively, whatever the Creator reveals, to receive it into a pure heart.

That is, the desire becomes one and only to be filled by the Creator, what does that mean, to be filled by the Creator? Gradual purification, adaptation of all of one's desire in order to feel, to relate to everything. To go further and further forward out of his pre-Machsom state, forward.

One feels unable to do anything bad to others, to such an extent that by earthly standards, a person feels himself spineless and weak.

Once perhaps he could fight, he could smash, hit, demand, command for his own sake, to subordinate everyone for his own sake. But at the same time, he suddenly discovers that there is no need for force. This is not within the frameworks of our group, but higher, when he looks at the entire humanity that this precisely not forceful attitude will turn the world towards him.

And it turns out, it's a most benevolent state, and everything falls into place, and suddenly turns out that everyone carries out what the Creator instills in them. And everyone is benevolent.

Baal HaSulam writes in the article, Concealment and Revelation of the Creator, this is our next article.

Question (Sitrin): (47:02) What do you do with shame that arises when you see that it's in a group?

M. Laitman: What to do with the shame that arises when you see that in the group, it's artificial, it's being played, acted? It doesn't matter to me that it's played, that it's an act. Right now, I'm working through certain exercises with my friends, drills; as soon as we are ready, through these trainings, to the extent that we do these exercises, the surrounding light descends and influences us. We will begin to feel, to sense all sorts of sensations, feelings, maybe connections. It's not just that we're playing, as a result of this game, we will acquire the necessary qualities within ourselves. We will begin to understand where I am, where the group is, where the Creator is, where all of it is. We begin to create within ourselves these preconditions for the future Kli, this is not simply a game, it's not a lie. It is a special type of training. Not the realized state, yet, but we want to be in it.

What do you think is called raising MAN, Aliyat MAN, raising the desire upon which constant correction takes place in the upper worlds? In the upper world, too, I am on some degree, but I want to raise, let's say, to a higher degree. Until I have risen to it, for me, that degree does not exist; for me, it is reversed because the AHP, the backside of the higher degree, is inside of me, and I, too, must play, I must act. This is called, Going by faith above reason. Contrary to my present qualities, desires, intentions, and thoughts, contrary to everything that is in me. Contrary to that, I must picture the higher degree, what does it mean to picture, yes, it's a nice picture? No, not like that, I need to model it within myself. I must begin like a child, he lives and it seems to him that he's like an adult, although he's playing with his toys. No, but for him it's real, these objects are real. My Rav always gave this example, when my eldest daughter was small, five or six years old, she played with his granddaughter, played dolls. They often played close to us and disturbed us. So, he always said, Look, suggest for her to play with a small baby. Let's, say her mother comes to her and says, Here's a newborn baby, sit next to him, give him a pacifier, play with him, etc., will she want to play with him? She'll say, a doll is a doll, it's my baby, that's real for me, but a little actual baby is for the mom, I don't understand this little baby. For each age, for each level of growth, for each degree, there are objects on which a person must realize himself and raise himself, based on which.

Therefore, the fact that we are busy with these toys, that we play, it's not a game, we adapt ourselves to a higher degree. By that, we evoke upon ourselves the upper light, light can only be inner or outer. If I want to become similar to it, but I'm not yet similar, it shines from afar; but if I'm already ready for it, and have become similar to it, it enters into me inside. So how can I evoke it upon myself from afar? Only to the extent of my desire to be similar to it, only to the extent of my desire to be similar to the higher degree, that's all of our games.

M. Laitman: (51:46) When I say try by looking at others to be ashamed that you're an egoist, try to show some mutual love, mutual concern, to help them, all of this is, of course, a game, it's a lie, it's artificial. What we create inside of ourselves, in our group, it is all artificial. We say that through this, we want to attain the Creator, I egoistically want to attain the Creator by this. I cannot overcome this within myself, this is my degree. But I model, I build such a group in which these artificial relationships resemble, at least a little bit, the natural relationships on a higher degree. Then surrounding light, upper light descends upon me; I don't feel it, but I feel its manifestation, because I change. Through my changes, I can say, Yes, I made some correct efforts, and the light acted upon me. Only through its effect, through the results, otherwise, there's no other opportunity to pull yourself up.

This is called, Going faith above reason; faith, means I try to make a greater altruism for myself, and this is called, Faith, the quality of Bina, above reason, above my I, above my understanding, above who I really am, closed eyes. I don't look at who we are, what we are, we're not creating an artificial society. We pull ourselves up, we play as though we're on a higher degree, and we will draw upon ourselves such a sufficient amount of surrounding light that it truly will elevate us to a higher degree, and this is what we now try to realize. Therefore, these exercises are like sports, you could also say that before competition, what are they doing, they're playing with one another? They should be competing against their opponent out there, no? In army, everywhere, without exercising – this comes from the spiritual root – therefore, everything in our life: achievements, successes, everything happens through this play, acting, and all of it, only with the help of the upper light. Even the same soccer players, they want to play better, they want to outplay the other side. Through this desire, they evoke and descend as upper light upon themselves and therefore improve their results. This is the same law, except that we are in the most maximum realization of it. We want the higher degree of it in its purest form. Not to become a soccer player or whatever else, we want to receive this higher degree in its pure form, so we are adjusting ourselves in accordance to it.

Question (Sitrin): (55:35) The degree, itself, how does it change?

M. Laitman: When I begin to feel everyone else as if they're entirely within the Creator, as part of the Creator, how do my actions change? There are outer and inner actions, I'll tell you what I can tell you, it's a delicate question: inside of yourself there arises, corresponding to the Creator, a love and understanding, an attitude towards inanimate creations, that is, those that are entirely under the control of nature. So, we think that plants have some independence, animals even more so, right? A dog lunges at me and I get angry at it, but if a stone falls on my head, do I get angry at the stone? It seems to us that in a more animate creature, there is more free will in its behavior, and in a human being, even more so. Whoa, someone's coming at me and I'm going to show him, How dare he come at me, and so on. For some reason, it's because we're on this level, the still, vegetative and animate and speaking nature in our world. It seems that there are all these gradations that exist, free will and so on, it's false. When you break away from your, I, you can see that everyone under you is entirely under the power of nature, under the Creator. So, there's no such attitude towards it as there's something independent. Jews, Arabs kill Jews, these blow up that, these do good, these do bad things. If a person does some action within himself or towards others, you don't experience any emotions, neither good nor bad. You simply see how this general field moves people to the point that a thought arises in you and you see how people carry it out. If you are above the Machsom, it is corrected in accordance with the Creator, it arises in you because you have become equal to Him to that extent. To that extent, you have attached yourself to the Creator's thought, and you see how everyone else carries out this thought. In this way, you see everyone as corrected, you could say that they don't exist in their free state, yes. But in their root state, in their zero state below Machsom, they are all corrected. What does corrected mean? They unconsciously carry out the program of creation. Here you begin to feel, what about me, I'm not doing it, and where's my, I? Not the one that I parted with, but the one I must now acquire, equal to the Creator. This is where you begin to work on yourself, egoism is added to you, and you begin, there are already spiritual degrees. So what did you want to ask about this?

M. Laitman: (01:00:07) Action of people in relation to the Creator, that's clear; in relation to the group, with respect to the group, the group sees nothing, the group doesn't see. Ask the people who were around, close to my Rav, there are still hundreds of people alive today. They will say, Oh, there was nothing special, it was like this little man, like stocky little dude, always running around, wasn't, couldn't be calm, was always speaking like a mile, ten miles a minute! On the phone, if we talked, it's a quick conversation, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, not even hello or goodbye. You'll understand later that any unnecessary extra word, anything extra superfluous, it's intolerable, it's harmful. He couldn't see anything about him that was special on the outside, he would get irritated even worse than I do, it would take, it would be instant. Later on, he learned to control himself, he would say, I don't have the strength anymore. He had the strength, he just learned to in the end. They say that before he was seventy, he was completely unbearable – I came to him when he was seventy five. People would tell me, like, even if he looked at him, if he should have seen him two, three years ago, you couldn't see anything about him, but why should anything be visible? With respect to you, he's on the same level as you in order to be in contact with you, he cannot engage with you any other way.

It's only magicians and wizards, someone who wants to bewitch you with miracles, they're the ones who make themselves something, make something out of themselves. It's like a mother with a child, she comes down to the child's level and talks to him, babbles with him, plays with him so the child feels in her not a mother but a partner, a playmate. She prompts, she helps, but generally, she is on that same small low level. She punishes and encourages, everything happens according to the degree. The same is true of spiritual degrees, whatever degree you're on, the higher degree always descends downward, it even turns its backside, Achoraim, towards the lower degree. It shows itself not in a good way, not in a pleasant way. You begin to feel the ego in yourself, because the light is concealed there from the backside of the upper degree. The state you go through is not very good at all, that's what the Creator shows you. It always starts with: there is evening, there is morning, one day. A new degree always begins with the creation of the Kli, and these are not pleasant states. Again, the left line is stirred up, that's the ego, the night, the evening. Same is true of a Kabbalist, he can't behave in place of the Creator. The Creator is concealed, He punishes us, He brings us all these bad states, but this is a kind man who will help us, help things for us. Make our life, beautify our life in some way – how, it's on the contrary. Next to him, it should be even worse. Of course, he wants to lead you more concretely on this path so that you don't run away, you don't get confused. So, the attitude of a person who crosses or who has already crossed the Machsom towards the friends, it's practically the same, same as before on the outside. He will not set any special example, he will act just like them, he will not stand out.

M. Laitman: (01:05:09) Again, you have to understand, I'm not afraid or ashamed to say this, I don't know what's going to happen in the future. There is no Kabbalist, you know, we read a lot of Kabbalist literature. They all predict different things, the future in different ways. So what the future state is going to be, our current, present state in the world but we are the first, we are the pioneers, the trailblazers in this matter. It's impossible until the clothing of the light in our world, to know in advance how it's going to happen. We only know, at least I only know how individuals cross the Machsom, not groups on a mass scale. Now, we have a group that needs to cross on a mass scale – maybe not five hundred people, maybe fifty. But still, it's a group that must make the crossing, there cannot be any other way. I have researched this already, and I feel that this is so. Of course, it depends on those who truly work on themselves; it is these people that will come together into a group, maybe a couple from America, fifteen from Russia, a couple from Kaliningrad, Kirovograd, Israel, ten here, ten there, and so forth, it doesn't matter. But these people will be called a group, and it must be a group, but exactly how it will happen, I do not know. I can imagine and picture anything I like, but it's never yet been clothed in our world.

So, not even the greatest Kabbalist, and I saw this with my own Rav, if something hasn't happened yet in the world, anything like it that's never happened before, you can never predict how it will manifest. It's an absolutely new action, and we can draw conclusions only from what has already been actualized, what already is. Everything that is imagined is unreliable.

We studied this as well in The Preface to the Book of Zohar that talks about matter, material – how do you say – form clothed in matter, abstract form, and essence. The Book of Zohar speaks only about matter and the form that's clothed in matter. Abstract form in the Book of Zohar, and no Kabbalah speaks about that because that is only fantasy. If you begin to deal with the real wisdom of Kabbalah, you begin to avoid it, you hate it, you despise it, it's an empty philosophy. On the contrary, all these inventions, they only lead you astray and can carry you off to who knows where. They will lead you off to waste thousands of years more. You'll be building all kinds of contraptions against communism and so forth. You'll only get bruises this way. So, I don't know how this will come to be, how it will manifest, I can't say it.

Question (Sitrin): (01:08:48) You said that there are two parts of the work: the first part was mechanical actions?

M. Laitman: No, the first part of the work and the second part of the work. The first part is not mechanical actions, the first part of the work is when we study, we have meals together, right? We share a meal, yes, fine, yes, we have a meal together, we break bread together, fine. Then we work, we carry out common group actions, we start from study, songs, meals, work, dissemination, everything. We try to do it all collectively, all together as much as possible. At the same time, we clearly know that with these actions, we evoke the surrounding light. We must understand this and to pursue this result, this outcome. If we do this, it's called, The first part of the work; the second part of the work is when we as if picture ourselves on a higher degree, above the Machsom. These circumstances – how do I put this – these relationships between us, we try to model, to implement them in the group, into all of our relationships with one another. So, the first part is when, at our level, we want to draw the upper light; and the second part is when we try to be similar to the higher level and also try to draw the upper light. These are two parts, just as I drew here: a little bit underwater, a little bit above water, that's how we can picture this for ourselves. It's desirable to relate to it both ways because, otherwise, you might float away and start fantasizing that you're already somewhere up there.

Question (Sitrin): (01:11:24) How can I include myself in the desires of others?

M. Laitman: We read about this in all the articles. For this, one must simply try, Rabash writes, Simply do pleasant things for their friends. The one thing your friend is always lacking is a good mood, high spirits. So, work on his mood, on his spirits, coming out of oneself, maybe; then include oneself into another's glee, another person's glee. You shouldn't be interrogating him, What is it that you need? Here, I've come to help you, now tell me everything, tell everything that you have. So that, no, you should simply try to lift his mood. It's better than doing any other actions, it can even be internal. Generally speaking, one's attitude towards the friends is internal, no one really knows what it is. But even Kabbalists over many years, thousands of years, being in groups, they practiced the complete opposite. Meaning, outwardly, they treated each other as if with mockery – roughly – in order to conceal their real, their true attitudes. If we read about Kotsk, they would even mock, make fun of each other. There are all sorts of commandments, they would make themselves out to be such so that no one would take them seriously, in order to conceal as much as possible what was inside in their hearts. This is according to the rule, Let's name it Hochma, because it must always be hidden, concealed behind the screen, one's, I, all of one's inner attitudes. Only the outcome can be shown outwardly but we are in such a state, however, that with the ego, where it's grown compared to where they were, that if we begin to play at this rough, mocking attitude between us, while internally holding ourselves in such intense love towards one another. Then both inside and outside, we're just going to get roughness and mockery, and not at all what we need.

That's why we must not be one way inside and different on the outside, we're not that strong, we're not that sophisticated in this matter. But when you become a Kabbalist, meaning after the Machsom, then naturally you'll be able to both conceal and reveal yourself to the extent required. You will understand how to conceal and reveal. Today, however, we must not do this, we must relate to each other only exactly how we would relate on a higher, more spiritual degree – only in this way, to set an example for everyone. You don't have to go around kissing anyone or hugging anyone necessarily, you should simply, perhaps even with unnoticeable actions, but there must be actions for sure. But, to show an example of your attitude, that is the best and most effective action.

Go into the kitchen, see how the friends are working, or somewhere else, try being with them. You'll see how half an hour of work in the kitchen, and you feel all that they feel; or clean up, or somewhere else, through these interactions, you'll gradually do it. Each of you has some time, some free time, right, or not free time, shifts, duties, yes? Everyone? Who doesn't have one, if someone doesn't, he is unfortunate, that's very unfortunate, he should immediately ask to be given a duty, this is my recommendation for all of you. Before the lesson, I also went to the kitchen to do some work, it's necessary to connect at least a little bit, for an hour to this crew, to that crew who are working to serve us. Without this – the connection must be on all levels.

Well, we're not going to start, Concealment and Revelation of the Creator, now, it's the kind of article that you can’t stop it halfway through, so next time.

Question (Sitrin): (01:17:24) What does it mean to become similar to a higher state? Does it mean to play, to act?

M. Laitman: What does it mean to become similar to a higher state, what does it mean to play it in action? The same way actors play, we are now staging a theater, a show, a play. That is, we've gathered here to spend a week in a state as though we're all, we're in a completely different group, we're in relationships with one another. This actually should be a constant in our group, right, maximum expression of concern, and love, and respect towards one another, so that through this, we would attain the Creator. As we said yesterday, every beginning and every end of an action or thought must begin with the Creator and end with the Creator. That is, I search for the Creator for this, I have a means, this world, the group, the texts, the dissemination, lessons, and so on, in order to come out and reach Him, attain Him. It won't be difficult, you'll see how in the coming months, humanity, every day we see how more people begin to understand us, how suddenly they begin to hear what Kabbalah is talking about. You'll see how they will start looking for you, seeking you out.

Those who, today, it seems that they don't want to hear, suddenly they'll come running; today, they're still fighting with themselves. They're holding on to what they have, although practically everyone already feels emptiness. But it's not yet the kind of emptiness that pushes a person out to search. It will come, though, it will come, you can already see it, it's on its way. Then, it will make it easier on us, but in principle, you can see that the entire setup of the group, its charter, the connections within it, its approach to dissemination. All of this must stem from this principle to become similar to the higher degree, to the Creator disseminates through the knowledge into this world, or the knowledge that we disseminated to this world. Others are dissemination, he relates to humanity in this way. Baal HaSulam writes in the article, The Last Generation, that a person must choose only a small group, a small environment, and cultivate such relationships within it, by no means outwards. People won't understand you, they will consider you some fool or abnormal; you need to act according to these laws inside of your group because this society understands you, it accepts you, approves of you, and relates to you in the same way. He writes about this in the article, The Last Generation, Dor HaAcharon. This similarity to the next degree is what we're playing at in the group, and this determines all of the laws of the group, all of its actions. Everything that we desire to do, to invent for ourselves, only based on this, from here comes our charter.

Question (Sitrin): (01:22:06) How can we picture for ourselves a clear order of actions that we must carry out in order to create such conditions, as if we are already on a higher degree?

M. Laitman: I'll write out the order of these actions tonight. You see, I usually leave a bit early from your cultural evenings. I can't, I must study on my own for two to three hours – so tonight, just remind me and I'll write it down, I need to think about it. It needs to be expressed correctly, you understand: why is Kabbalah developing, why is it being adopted and becomes more open? Because people are developing, egoism is developing, it's becoming more fit to perceive due to all the suffering that it's going through. All of these unfulfilled parts are revealed within the so-called Moha ve Liba, feelings and mind, heart and mind. Therefore, more can be told, instructed to this egoism, it can understand you more. So, to the extent that the group will be ready, to that same extent I will be able to explain it to you. We went through good states, we were building the Sukkah, and I was able to write a little bit about crossing the Machsom. This is all also very approximate, you could write a whole book about these states, laying them out. And what a friend just asked, to give a specific order of actions for us from this moment onward: how to exactly become similar to the higher degrees, to draw the surrounding light in the most effective way upon ourselves? I'll try to do it.

Question (Sitrin): (01:25:02) You said that we now need to look for the feelings of shame to see in the friends that everything I do is to use them?

M. Laitman: Is it clear to me that everything that I do is in order to use the entire world, my friends, my parents, and Rav, in order to advance myself forward? This is my natural state, I have nothing to hide or gloss over, it's a natural state, I don't need to gloss over it. But on a higher degree, this state is replaced by a feeling of shame that I am like this. What is it needed for? So that at the very least I can look at myself from this point, the point of shame. This point of shame is no longer, it becomes no longer us; the point of shame appears from the influence of the light upon us. Where did it come from? In this first stage from which the second degree emerged, the desire to bestow, because the light acted on the first degree and imparted to it. Aside from pleasure and contentment, its own quality as well. It showed the first degree that it is the Giver. And from this, the first degree wished to become a Giver, so I need to imagine this artificially, as though the light is already acting upon me, and I am already sensing its quality of a Giver, and I feel myself opposite to it by comparison. If I try to feel that I am an egoist in relation to my friends, I will therefore draw even more surrounding light upon myself. After all, it is the light that must do this in me, this is its direct influence, this result of its influence on me will be felt in me as shame, as a sensation of my inner qualities. Therefore, this is, I would say, the most effective action for drawing the surrounding light upon me, and this surrounding light is specific to me.

Question (Sitrin): (01:27:29) What does it mean that I am an egoist? What does this mean, I – my, I?

M. Laitman: Right now, I cannot imagine myself, to artificially imagine myself as an egoist in relation to others. It is not artificial, I simply see that I am this, that I am like this, but the fact that everyone can see themselves as an egoist, that's possible, that's not a problem. The problem is to begin to imagine that you are ashamed of it, and for this feeling to guide you in relation to the friends. Then, it turns out that you are turning yourself to the higher degree. By no means it reduces my participation in actions, I continue to act, and my egoism becomes my driving force. I must give it fulfillment, some rewards, some badges so that I can continue to act. But at the same time, I understand and realize that I am an egoist, and that I relate to others as an egoist, as a consumer. I don't feel this egoism as my own disease, I feel it as a creation within me that the Creator made. I don't even take it upon myself as my own, I just feel that He created it within me, then I turn to Him so that He would take it away from me.

Question (Sitrin): (01:29:34) If you say that it's a natural creation that He made in me, how can I be ashamed of it?

M. Laitman: Why am I ashamed, I'm ashamed not because the Creator created this within me, but because I'm still in a state and have not yet, through my own efforts, managed to get out of it. A person shouldn't be ashamed of being created in this way, he should be ashamed that he has not yet corrected himself, and that depends only upon Him.

Student: No, I don't understand, I don't understand this point where I am now. You say I shouldn't think about myself but the calculation in the end always returns to me. Where do I find this point, this focus?

M. Laitman: My point of concentration is not what the Creator did – the Creator doesn't do everything – it is that I have asked Him to do what depends on my request. What's unclear? Of course, I'm not ashamed of my own nature, I'm ashamed that I'm like the way I am, what does it mean? That I have not yet corrected myself, that I haven't persuaded Him, the Creator, demanded of Him for Him to correct me, that I have not yet done what depends upon me. This is where the shame is coming from, that's what I should be ashamed for. Of course, through my nature, I want to use everyone around me; moreover, a person is ready to kill everything and everyone, the entire globe. All of us are in such an egoistic state, the truest, the most genuine egoism, which doesn't take into account anyone or anything, including even our children. We don't understand this, but in fact, it is so. Let the psychologists be ashamed of this nonsense, we understand that teachers and students are on the same level. I reproach myself for the fact that I'm still like this. From the moment that I begin to feel that my correction depends on me, from that moment, shame arises within me. Shame does not arise in relation to the fact that the Creator has made me this way, but for the fact that I'm not dragging myself right away to the next degree – shame is precisely the driving force that helps me rise.

Student: Essentially, I should be ashamed that no need arises in me?

M. Laitman: If we unfold this entire action of shame within me, then I should be ashamed that I didn't make enough efforts to achieve this feeling of shame to a degree to turn to the Creator that He would correct me – this can be divided into several more stages.

Question (Sitrin): (01:33:15) Is asking to be relieved of shame the correct prayer?

M. Laitman: A request to be relieved of shame is a correct prayer? Again, here, too, exist two types of an appeal: to yourself or outwards. Either I want to get rid of the shame because it is just very unpleasant for me, it's just an unpleasant feeling. Or if I go out of my, I, it doesn't matter to me whether it's pleasant or unpleasant, it is only because I want to be similar to the Creator. To justify His actions upon me and within me, His nature, the nature that He made within me. For this, I ask that He correct me, everything depends on the intention, on the result of what I want in the end. For what do I want to be corrected—to be relieved of this feeling of shame, or to acquire the desire for the Creator's, to acquire the Creator's quality?

Question (Sitrin): (01:34:29) When the feeling of shame begins to affect behavior. The shame in a sense that exploiting someone for your own benefit. It gives a sense that there is this unity that comes as a result. Then you fear that you lose your own position, so that losing one's own, I, it stops you as if it's disappearing.

M. Laitman: I don't hear a question.

Student: How to cross the barrier when your, I, won't allow you? It's afraid of disappearing, it doesn't let you go.

M. Laitman: How to cross the barrier? A person can cross any barrier if he's in the group, not a single Kabbalistic method – there are a few variations – but in principle, they're all the same. Not one of them provides for an individual crossing of the Machsom, it cannot be done. Only if from above a particular soul is given a specific mission, then the person is simply dragged above the Machsom, along that path. But even that comes with huge trials and tribulations and great suffering. Nothing will help any one of us, only work in the group.

You're asking how to accelerate this, how to do it, how to strengthen it? Only through the group, individually, there's no way. Any action, any qualities, any traits that you are lacking, any definitions, whatever you might want. Only through the group you can pass them and amplify them back onto yourself. Convince yourself that public opinion is what's important, and at least that same feeling of shame, the same desire to stand out. All of the egoism works towards this; in short, by using the group correctly, you can invoke upon yourself any quality that would pull you forward, necessarily forward. Only correctly relate to your qualities and to the group as an amplifier of these qualities. You want it to happen so that you can rise, spiritually; to rise means to give to them, it depends on what words one can use, here, but in principle, the action is spiritual.

Question (Sitrin): (01:37:29) Beyond the Machsom, does a person who crosses the Machsom take the ego with him? In what way?

M. Laitman: When a person crosses the Machsom, all of his egoism stays below, he himself is called, A point, and he doesn't feel his egoism. All of his actions beyond the Machsom, he starts as a completely naked altruist. First he acquires altruistic qualities – of course, these altruistic qualities are also acquired based upon egoistic qualities. After all, creation is a desire to enjoy. It never disappears anywhere, it only manifests to a greater or lesser degree depending on how we work with it, how we must work with it. Inside myself, I am always a desire to enjoy, we don't experience it in its pure form today, we simply understand it only as a desire to enjoy for ourselves. When for oneself disappears, when this, I, vanishes, I exist, I don't exist and so on, when it vanishes, the desire to enjoy remains. That's when we begin to feel it but we start to feel it as, let's say, as an independent expert, an expert vessel. Upon it, we build our desire to bestow, that is, an intention to bestow, I'm sorry, not a desire. To the extent that we can build this intention, to that extent these desires to enjoy manifest in us more and more. We adhere them or join them with the screen – that's a simplified version, but egoism always manifests as the left line, as Klipot, as the desire to enjoy, there's always enough of it. To the extent that it is needed, we will always feel it, all the degrees of the ladder are arranged such that to the extent that one needs to ascend to the next degree, egoism manifests on the left, in the right measure and the right quality.

Question (Sitrin): (01:40:20) Rav, you said we cannot predict anything until it manifests in the material world, and to this day? [Question is not clear]

M. Laitman: You are asking me how the thought of Creation will manifest in a group? Again, I have already said that we cannot predict anything in advance, I think only relying on what the Kabbalists describe Kabbalah, on what Baal HaSulam writes. That our group will eventually grow to a certain mass, not infinite, not billions of people, perhaps tens of thousands. A movement around there maybe, not some boundless mass covering the whole surface of the Earth. Because in the end, we are dealing with the ego, which is built according to a certain structure, consists of a certain structure. Only the uppermost part of it at present is ready to begin somehow adapting itself to the upper world, for what is above the Machsom, or to approach the Machsom.

Also, he writes about this in the article, The Last Generation. He writes that it will still be a small society that will form out of itself a kind of a small state that will have all the structures that should exist in a spiritual state. It will be a prototype of the future arrangement of the whole world. Gradually, such conditions will be created, and the world around, more people will naturally be drawn to join the state, to connect to it. We can see this clearly the way the spiritual roots descend. It’s even more clear that the extent of the group, which is what must happen here with us. Because this now depends precisely in our states, whereas those states are already fairly smooth. We are talking about tens, hundreds that cross the Machsom who form this upper layer which naturally draws the surrounding light for the others, upon itself for the others. It's filled with inner light then, they already represent this enormous, enormous divine spiritual force in our world. So, the whole balance of forces in the planet changes entirely.

M. Laitman: (01:45:09) In essence, I see, in the future, gradual transformation of our group, of all of our groups, into one large international group. Then, I don't know how this will happen but we will come to create a small mini-state, as it were. A mini-society, where we will live and work, it's quite possible that we'll be disseminating, teaching, educating, That, that will be our main occupation, and all of you, to be honest, I see people that will be primarily occupied by this, because that's what the world will demand of us. So, willy-nilly, it'll become our main occupation, and we must all prepare ourselves for this in one way or another. Because the whole world is built like a pyramid, so we will have to do it. Then, this will gradually grow into a small society.

I don't think it will be like a state with all of its normal functions, like an army. No, it will be like education on the state level, and it will attract more and more people until these ideas pass to the whole world. But it will happen very quickly, it depends on how successfully we are drawing the surrounding light from above and how fast the ego manifests from below. In our time, it's proceeding on an exponential curve, it's not like over the millennia, where people didn't develop. There's practically no difference in their development in between – say, like the tenth century, the fifteenth century – what was the difference in that time? Some, just a few small discoveries, small inventions over five hundred years? Today, even five years, we can't imagine what they will bring, I think that through maybe 2007, 2008, this will begin to implement, to manifest in life.

Question (Sitrin): (01:48:02) Do you mean to say that we've passed this terrible, dangerous period that you call, The Threat of Destruction?

M. Laitman: There was an article called, The Threat of Destruction that was written; the threat of destruction here referred to the existence of the Jewish people in Israel. By no means does it refer to the existence of a Kabbalistic group in the world. The existence of the Jewish people in Israel is naturally under threat of destruction, and this threat continues, and it's growing. So far, I see no solution to this problem and it's very possible that it will lead to practically all Jews having to leave this land. What are we doing to prevent this? Meaning, this begs the question: what about root and branch, yes? Meaning, the root, the spiritual root called Israel and its branch in our world called, Israel. I think that there won't be such root and branch, Israel is what we call one who strives toward the Creator. Those who strive toward the Creator will truly have that kind of force, an idea that they will, I think they will be able to remain here in this place and they will be able to – nothing will touch them. But the rest will experience such suffering that they will leave this land, and in this way, both the root and branch will align to their states.

Question (Sitrin): (01:49:57) This mini-state will be here?

M. Laitman: Yes, I think this mini-state will be here and from here it will spread further, because every branch must, in the end, correspond to its root. Even though what happened once doesn't necessarily need to repeat. Today, a person doesn't need to repeat the Exodus from Egypt, and the giving of the Torah, and so forth. No one, not a Jew, not a Gentile, there's no need for that; there once was a contact between root and branch, where there was a state here that was called, Israel – not our present country of Israel that was artificially created. It's a gathering of exiles, as they say, and nothing else; but in the time of King David, yes, it existed. We can say the same thing about root and branch, that this is no longer required. I don't want to say yes or no, because again, it hasn't been manifested, yet. But we have all the examples that it may happen or it may not, on the one hand.

On the other hand, the construction of the Third Temple must take place, because it has not yet manifested, it hasn't happened, so it must happen somehow. Now, will there be a state to go along with it, why, what does a state mean, anyway? The Temple means the manifestation of the people's aspiration to a higher, to the upper one, the actualization of the correction. The Temple is built on this exact image and likeness of the soul in the corrected form. If we take the completely corrected soul of Adam, the creation in its completely corrected form, and we represent it in its parts: GE, AHP, and so on. We express all this in the matter of our world, we will get the exact image of the Third Temple, which must exist in the material world. It can manifest if it's achieved inside people through the inner connection, then it can also be manifested externally, the upper root will truly touch its branch. But if it doesn't happen inside people internally, if they don't reach this final corrected state, then why build some little house, what's the point? They won't even know how to build it, you understand, the whole purpose of creation is that in all the worlds, from the very highest spiritual degree to the very lowest. Everything on all levels that's created by man, itself, is made completely similar to how the Creator created it from above downwards. So, man must create it from below upwards, after a person does it within himself, it can happen. If we don't do this, then we are again making a shattering. What is said about Adam HaRishon, why did he sin, so to speak, why did he undergo the breaking? Because he ate an unripe fruit, what does it mean, an unripe fruit? He was not prepared for it, he had no screen for it to take in all of that upper light. All the sins of people, all our so-called mistakes, they come from us doing something prematurely, all of them. This is the source of all of our mistakes from Adam, because what people do, look at the Kibbutzim, Kibbutzes, communism, everything. If a person doesn't wait until he's spiritually ready for mechanical action, then he carries it out. If it happened that way, all of our actions would be truly the manifestation of our inner correction, they would be good. If this is not so, then this whole Temple will be the greatest tragedy of all. It would be a mockery if we suddenly now begin building some palace, parliament on a mountain. It's a good thing that the Arabs are holding on to it, they won't let us do it, it would be inconceivable. What are you going to make, a museum, you're going to sell tickets there to let people in, show them what it is? What are you going to do there?

M. Laitman: (01:55:24) To the extent that the people were corrected after leaving Egypt, Moshe taught them what to do in action. Then to the extent that people fell, these actions were annulled. After forty years of wandering, they reached the level of Bina, the degree of Bina, they were able to enter the land of Israel and begin to cultivate it. Because one can cultivate the land, to work with Malchut only after receiving the qualities of Bina. Everything must be built in exact likeness and all the bad actions that took place, all the destruction, and war, and collapses and so on. It all happened because a person in our world, or people, or kings even, or high priests, they performed actions for which neither they nor the people were prepared for. The same thing is happening today among all the nations, that's why we must not be getting ahead of events.

You can say, but here we are creating a group, we're making ourselves likeness to the Creator, we're making an artificial likeness. We understand this, that we only wish to be on the next degree, we act artificially as if we are really there in this Temple. We artificially wish to be similar to the upper light, for the Creator to correct us and raise us. It's a big difference, the threat, though, it's not just a threat, it's real and gradually, it begins to manifest. The state of the Jewish people, here, in Israel is getting worse day by day, it seems to us that that's not the case yet, but in fact it is.

The fact that this is all given to us from above, including this state and everything else, it doesn't mean that everything given from above manifests in us in a good way. Everything given from above we perceive in a reverse Kelim, we perceive through Achoraim, that's why we perceive it as suffering. So, I speak of the threat of destruction as we see it from below, not as it looks from above. From above, everything looks like correction; from above, we're all in a completely corrected state. A person who crosses the Machsom doesn't see, what does he see here, that the Arabs are beating Jews? On the contrary, they bring corrections in them, they punish themselves. And on an even higher degree, no one is beating anyone at all, no one is fighting with anyone. Instead, everyone is like hugging and kissing. Once we read the article, Concealment and Revelation of the Creator, you will see – read it during a break. Before, the Creator concealed Himself and seemed that everyone is a jerk, a terrible villain, and those who steal are the luckiest, and then after you cross the Machsom, you feel the revelation of the Creator very differently. I saw an upside-down world, as it says. That these guys are like this and those guys are like that, and that's why when we speak with the general population, of course, we speak of the threat of destruction. How else?

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Reader: Let's share impressions from the lesson and what we are taking to realize in the Ten.