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

Daily Morning Lesson: August 4, 2025 

Part 1: Recorded lesson - October 30, 2021

Baal HaSulam. Shamati 39. And They Sewed Fig Leaves

Reader: Friends, in the first part of the lesson, we're going to watch a recorded lesson with Rav Laitman from October 30th, 2021. This is from Shamati 39, “And they Sewed Fig Leaves.” Again, Baal HaSulam, Shamati 39. You can find it in kabbalahmedia.info. 

Reader: Hello, we are learning in the writings of Baal HaSulam, the articles of Shamati, article number 39. We are studying from the writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati 39. In the Arvut system, you can ask questions during the lesson.

M. Laitman: I think that maybe we should simply hear the article in a single flow, and then we can read it slowly. So, you will read it first, beautifully, as you know how to, from beginning to end, all of it. And later on, I will somehow be able to explain it. Please. 

Reader: The writings of Baal HaSulam, Articles of Shamati, Article number 39, “And they Sewed Fig Leaves.” 

M. Laitman: And each one can write down the questions that he has, and later on, we'll hear the questions.

Reading: (01:42) 39. And They Sewed Fig Leaves

I heard on Shavat, 26, February 16, 1947

The leaf refers to the shade that it puts on the light, meaning on the sun. There are two shades: One comes from the side of Kedusha [holiness], and the other comes due to a sin.

Thus, there are two kinds of concealment of the light. As the shade conceals the sun in corporeality, so there is concealment on the upper light, called “sun,” which comes from the side of Kedusha, namely because of a choice. This is as it is written about Moses, “And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look.”

The shade comes because of fear, and fear means that one is afraid to receive the abundance, that he may not be able to aim to bestow. It follows that the shade comes because of Kedusha, meaning that one wants to adhere to the Creator.

In other words, Dvekut [adhesion] is called bestowal, and he is afraid that he might not be able to bestow.

It turns out that he is adhered to Kedusha, and this is called “A shade that comes from the side of Kedusha.”

There is also a shade that comes due to a sin. It means that the concealment comes to him not because he does not want to receive, but on the contrary, it is because one wants to receive in order to receive. This is why the light leaves, since the whole difference between Kedusha and Klipa [shell] is that the Kedusha wants to bestow and the Klipa wants only to receive, and not to bestow at all. For this reason, that shade is considered to come from the side of the Klipa.

There is no counsel to exit that state, except as it is written, “and they sewed fig leaves and made themselves girdles.” Girdles refer to forces of the body that joined in the form of a shade of Kedusha. It means that although now they do not have light since the abundance departed due to the sin, they still overcame in serving the Creator by mere force, above reason. This is called “by force.” This is the meaning of the verse, “And they heard the voice of the Lord, etc., and the man and his wife hid,” meaning they went into the shade. This is the meaning of “and Moses hid his face,” meaning Adam HaRishon did the same as Moses.

“And He said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid.’” Naked means stripped from the upper light.

Then the Creator asked, What is the reason that you came to the shade, called “and I hid”? It is because I am naked. Is it because of a shade of Kedusha or because of a sin? The Creator asked him, “Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” meaning because of a sin.

But when the shade comes because of a sin, it is called “images, image makers, and sorcerers,” which is “God has made them one opposite the other.” As there are forces in Kedusha to make changes and to show signs and omens, so there are forces in the Sitra Achra. This is why the righteous do not use these forces, because of “one opposite the other,” so as not to give strength to the Sitra Achra to do as they do.

Only on exceptional occasions does the Creator not give the Sitra Achra the same force that is in Kedusha. It is like Elijah on Mt. Carmel saying, “Answer me,” so they would not say that it is witchcraft, meaning that there is the strength to conceal the upper light.

Hence, girdles that come from the side of the fig leaves, which is from the sin of the tree of knowledge, these leaves, meaning this shade that comes due to the sin, since the cause is not from the side of Kedusha, when they choose to take shade by themselves, but they take the shade because they have no other choice, this can work only to exit the state of descent. But afterward, the work must begin anew.

M. Laitman: So, pretty much we heard what this is about, how should we hide ourselves from the direct light, since in our will to receive, of course, we are drawn to receive it, but in such a form, we only push it away from us. We are in the opposite form. But rather, we need to prepare ourselves for the reception of the light in the right way, so that it will be only to bestow, just as the light comes from the Giver, from the Creator. And then, in such a way, we will get closer to the source of the light, and we will be filled with light. And only in such a way will we be able to exist in spirituality. So, let's read together, and you will be able to ask questions. 

M. Laitman (Source text/Commentary): (09:19) The leaf refers to a shade that is put on the light, meaning on the sun. There are two shades: One comes from the side of Kedusha [holiness], and the other shade comes due to a sin. Meaning from the other side. Thus, there are two kinds of concealment of the light. As the shade conceals the light, the sun in corporeality, so there is concealment on the upper light, called “sun,” which comes from the side of Kedusha, to bestow namely because of a choice. So then the lower one makes a shade, and by this he advances. This is as it is written about Moses, “And Moses hid his face.” That is, he placed a screen or something so as not to receive the upper light so that he will not reveal the Creator directly, for he was afraid to look. He's afraid that in such a way, he will distance himself from the Creator even more. The shade comes because of fear, of fear, out of Moses' fear, and fear means that one is afraid to receive the abundance. Why? That he may not be able to aim to bestow. This means that, first of all, we need to make a restriction, and have a screen, and reflected light, and a calculation. How much am I in contact with the upper light so that it will not enter my vessels of reception? And only after that do I enter a negotiation with it, giving and receiving. So again, fear means that one is afraid to receive the abundance, that he may not be able to aim to bestow. It follows that the shade comes because of Kedusha, that he is afraid, and he hides himself, meaning that one wants to adhere to the Creator. So first of all, a screen, first of all, concealment. So, in other words, Dvekut [adhesion] is called bestowal, and he is afraid that he might not be able to bestow. 

It turns out that he is adhered to Kedusha, and this is called “A shade that comes from the side of Kedusha.” He hides himself completely, and only after that he checks how much is he able to open himself up to the light in order to remain in adhesion, in bestowal, however, even greater than the concealment, because in the concealment, with the restriction, he doesn't make any action towards the host, towards the Creator, being as a guest. He just stops himself from being the receiver but not being the bestower, not being in a connection with the Creator, or in our example with the host, the guest and the host. But nevertheless, hiding himself, it is called a shade that comes from the side of Kedusha. That first of all, he wants not to receive, he does not receive. 

There is also a shade that comes due to a sin. So, it's not already from the side where the person guards himself, and he wants to come closer to the Creator, to maintain his identification with the Creator, but rather due to a sin. He's thinking about himself. It means, and about himself, it means his corrupted will to receive. It means that the concealment comes to him not because he does not want to receive, but on the contrary, it is because one wants to receive in order to receive. This is why the light departs, since the whole difference between Kedusha and Klipa [shell], the entire difference between Kedusha and Klipa is that the Kedusha wants to bestow and the Klipa wants only to receive, and not to bestow at all. For this reason, that shade, which is considered to come from the side of the Klipa. That is, that I want to receive, and at that moment, they shut everything down for me. So, I'm in the shade, in concealment, but that concealment comes because I'm in the will to receive in order to receive, in the Klipa [the shell]. There is no counsel to exit that state, except as it is written, “and they sewed fig leaves and made themselves girdles.” Girdles, belts, refers to forces of the body that joined in the form of a shade of Kedusha. This means that you can create some kind of a shield, something that will make a shade over me, and then in that shade, I can hide. I can be without pressure, without damage from the upper light that is working on my will to receive so that I will receive. It means that although they do not have light now since the abundance departed due to the sin, they still overcame in serving the Creator by mere force, above reason. That is, then I understand that this whole concealment that I have, it's in order for me to prepare myself so as to relate to the Creator, to have such an attitude towards the Creator, which is above reason, only in bestowal, not to receive for myself, for my will to receive in any form, in any way, so that I take it into consideration. This is called by force. By force, meaning, or in potential, in potential means I'm not yet operating in such a way, I'm just planning my work so that this is how it will be. This is the meaning of the verse, “And they heard the voice of the Lord, and Adam and his wife hid,” meaning that they went into the shade. They hid themselves from the upper light. This is the meaning of, “and Moses hid his face.” Moses did the same, and we will also have to do that, meaning, Adam HaRishon did the same as Moses. And He said to him, the Creator asks the man, Adam, who hid, “Where are you? Where are you? What's with you?” That is, it's not that the Creator doesn't know where the man is, rather, by this question, He wants a man to check himself, to know where he is and why. And he said, Adam said, he answered to the Creator, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid.” Naked means stripped from the upper light. Then the Creator asked, “What is the reason that you came to the shade, called, “and I hid”? Why are you hiding? It is because I'm naked. Is it because of a shade of Kedushah, or because of a sin? That is, there needs to be concealment, but why the concealment? Either you feel that you are sinning, and you have to guard yourself then so as not to receive, the revelation, or because you are in Kedusha, and you are putting on a screen, concealment, in order to start to enter a connection with the Creator. So the Creator asked him, what happened here? “Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” meaning, because of a sin. Is that why you're hiding from me? But when the shade comes because of a sin, it is called “images, witchcraft, and magic,” which is, God has made them one opposite the other, as there are forces in Kedusha, so there are also forces in the opposite form, in the Klipa, in the shell. As there are forces in Kedusha to make changes and to show signs and omens, so there are forces in the Sitra Achra. This is why the righteous do not use these forces, that is, to show everyone all kinds of things that exist above the nature of this world. Even though Kabbalists are capable of doing everything, they have higher forces than nature, than the physics of this world, from the laws of this world, because the spiritual laws are a lot greater, and they exist above time, place, and movement. They can do such things so that there is no time, and no movement, and no place, but rather they can do everything above it. But we will never see from a Kabbalist that he engages in such things, because by that, he will truly lower himself back to corporeality. Where are we? This is why the righteous do not use these forces, because of one opposite the other, that is, so as not to give strength to the Sitra Achra to do as they do. Only on exceptional occasions does the Creator give the Sitra Achra the same force that is in Kedusha. Meaning, because these two worlds, these two forms: in order to receive and in order to bestow stand one opposite the other, either you are in this one or you are in that one, if a person awakens forces, certain forces in order to bestow within the spiritual force, then against that, he creates as a copy, as a projection, he causes changes in the system of the Klipa in order to receive, and this is why Kabbalists do not do anything where there is something that is above nature. They cannot show it to others, because by this, they will truly bring the system of the Sitra Achra also such forces, and they strengthen the Sitra Achra. And the ego, the Sitra Achra loves these things. Hence, the girdles that come from the side of the fig leaves, which is from the sin of the tree of knowledge, these leaves, meaning this shade that comes due to the sin, since the cause is not from the side of Kedusha, when they choose to take shade by themselves, but they took the shade because they have no other choice, this can work only to exit the state of descent. But afterwards, the work must begin anew. 

M. Laitman: Well, this is what it says here in the last paragraph, we will have to go through it in practice. So, we have a few questions.

Question (Turkiye 2): (24:10) What does it mean to be stripped from the upper life? 

M. Laitman: Because he doesn't have screens, so he cannot receive in order to bestow, and therefore, the upper light cannot clothe in his vessel. It's very simple. You need to come out of this depiction that he gave us in this article a little bit. All of these articles are written in such a pictorial manner. Adam HaRishon, the serpent, the shade, the sun, the moon, all kinds of such things. But we need to try to bring them to the state where we are, that is, to our language, the practical language. So, again, what are you asking? 

Student: In the article, stripped from the upper light, what does it mean? 

M. Laitman: That he doesn't have screens, and therefore he cannot receive the upper light, because it is possible to receive it only in order to bestow. 

Question (Moscow 4): (25:52) The shade from the upper light, does it mean he already received the screen, or is he afraid to lose it so he doesn't have enough in the future? 

M. Laitman: There is a state where we hide the upper light, where we don't want to receive it because we don't have the strength to receive it even though we very much want to. There is a state where the upper light is hidden from us because between us and the upper light there is a screen. It's not something that we do; the Creator does it. 

Question (Kyiv 1): (26:48) A person really wants to be in contact with the Creator, with the light. What does it mean to put a shade on the concealment at the same time? 

M. Laitman: If a person wants to be in contact with the Creator, then he has to realize that he can have contact with the Creator only on the condition that he wants to bestow to the Creator, and to that extent, he will discover that the Creator wants to bestow to him. He only wants to bestow to him. And then if he's ready, willing to bestow to the Creator, then to that same extent, they can be in contact. And otherwise, they cannot be. Otherwise, he is in the darkness, and he needs to make a preparation, you know, to reach a state where he will be able to bestow. And how can that be? He should exert in the group, with the friends, and prepare himself through mutual bestowal, as it says, “From the love of people to the love of the Creator.” And then, in such a way, through this process, he will reach contact with the Creator in the right way. 

Student: What is this willingness to bestow upon the Creator? 

M. Laitman: It's when I think about the benefit of the Creator more than my own benefit. I cannot measure these things. However, I need to try to carry it out in the Ten. And when I think that I can relate to the Creator in this way, I also relate to Him. And if it works, it works. And if it doesn't work, then apparently I still haven't reached in order to bestow even on the first spiritual level. 

Student: What does it mean to try to realize it in the Ten? 

M. Laitman: That we want to bestow to each other as much as possible in order to build a system, a network between us, which will be entirely in bestowal. And those forces of bestowal will give us a feeling that we exist truly a little bit above the ground, a little bit above the will to receive, we are flying in the air. This is what we need to feel. And with that approach, it is then possible to turn to the Creator.

Student: And what are we asking from the Creator when we turn to Him? 

M. Laitman: That we want to bestow to Him. Yes, talk openly, there is no problem. 

Student: And does that mean that we are concealing ourselves and bestowing upon Him from within the Ten, when we conceal something and bestow upon Him?

M. Laitman: We are hiding our will to receive, our ego, and we are revealing only a desire for connection, a desire to bestow from between us, between the friends and to the Creator. It's as if He is our baby, He is our goal. 

Student: So, it turns out that I'm hiding my ego, I don't want to receive for myself from the Creator. And if, for example, I want for the friends, is this the right direction, intention? 

M. Laitman: If you are following the friends and you want to incorporate in the goal and in the process that they have determined, then it is good? Yes. We need to determine this for all of us, with a group agreement. That we have to annul ourselves between us, and out of this agreement, that we all want to annul there only in order to direct ourselves to the Creator. This is how we then continue it, extend it from the group to Him. I'd say that we all are brothers in one family, and we have a mother, and we want to turn to her, all of us. So, we connect between us, and we agree between us in which form are we going to do it. We buy her some present, and we come to her, let's say that she has a birthday, or it's the 8th of March, and then we all, all of us, before we come to her, we need to connect, and to choose the gift, and in what form we can approach her and bring her that. So, this is how it needs to be towards the Shechina, towards the revelation of the Creator. This is how we can do it. So, first there has to be agreement and connection between us, and then we can do it. If we do it correctly, then we reach contact with the Creator. And then we feel, according to our efforts, that this is how we want to do it even though we discover on the way that we didn't quite succeed, and we still have inside of us all kinds of such elements, such qualities, desires, thoughts that are not quite towards connection. However, we do ask that that Mother, that the Creator will make such a connection between us, and He does it. And this is how we reach out of the connection between us to turn to Him so that we can connect and adhere to Him. This is the action, the operation. 

Question (ITA 1): (34:26) What are the forces that are called fig leaves, and how can we use them?

M. Laitman: Fig leaves, this is the force that is hiding the revelation of the Creator that we want so much according to our egoistic will to receive. The fig leaves are that we don't want to receive this revelation, but only in a form that we can work with it as reflected light, so that we understand that the Creator wants our benefit. However, His attitude which is to our benefit, we don't want to receive it like in Malchut of Ein Sof directly, because this totally distances us from the Creator. But rather, we want to receive it only in order to bestow, since by that we become bestowers like Him. Otherwise, we truly become receivers even more. Imagine to yourselves the children who grow up in a family, they receive everything, everything from the parents. And they are not taught to give back, to hide their ego. I'm not talking about the degrees of the still, vegetative, and animate, but rather more than that. So, the parents need to see how much they are giving to the children, that the children will have the ability to build themselves as human beings, smaller, and more mature. Otherwise, we see children who are already on the ages of 15 and 20, etc., and they still, as it says, “what can you do with children who have turned old?” They are still in the will to receive, and they are not taking upon themselves any form of the will to bestow, meaning they are not human beings. This is why it says they all seemed as beasts. That is, we need to be concerned about the form of Adam, human, that it will grow inside of our children so they will want to be similar to bestowal, similar to the parents, so that they will be a little bit above their nature. So, we need to help them to be in that. And this is something that we need to start from an early age, a very early age. That is, we need to give them a feeling of what does it mean to go against the desire, against reason, meaning against the brain and against the heart. That I think like this, but maybe I should think differently. I want this, but maybe I should want something which is the opposite of it. And so on. That is, to perform such exercises for oneself, whether… can I build a screen? Because only following or behind these leaves, which I, out of choice, I choose them, I choose this shade, then I build myself as similar to the Creator. And then by being similar to the Creator, by that, I begin to feel the upper light, the next higher reality. 

Question (Latin 1): (38:46) In the Ten, how can we help one another to build this shade of Kedusha? 

M. Laitman: It's all done through our work in the morning lessons, with these articles. And when we speak during the day about these articles, these texts, this way, that way, this way, that way, we want to process them, connect to them with more and more understanding, feeling. When I hear all the friends, when I become incorporated in them, how they accept it, how they see it. I'm not afraid to lose myself in their explanations or how they relate to it. On the contrary, I'm willing to absorb everything, to throw myself into the Ten and be incorporated with all of their views and feelings. Why? Because there, in the Ten is the Creator. So, I throw myself in there with my reason, and I get in return from there, myself above reason, with some spiritual discernments. Why? Where are the spiritual discernments from? From annulling before the Ten. “I dwell among my own people.” The Creator is in the Ten, inside the Ten. As much as they may seem to me inferior, to me, they understand less than I do, they feel less than me, it's incorrect, it is incorrect, it is as Rabbi Yossi ben Kisma annulled before his students, beginner students, because without it, he wouldn't be able to rise each day. It's a spiritual law that the more I annul before the Ten, I am one before the Ten, that I'm certain to rise to a higher level, and they themselves, each of them can be small and lower than I, but I annul before the connection with them, and that connection is higher than me. This is why that's the way to advance. And we, therefore, have to work during the day on that article, that same article, that same material that we went over in the morning lesson, and try to realize it. 

Reader: Dear friends, in the next part of the lesson, we'll learn from a recorded lesson from July 16, 2006, The Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, item 73.