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

Daily Morning Lesson: November 13, 2026

Part 2: Baal HaSulam. Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah. #15

Reader: We are continuing in the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah. We are studying in the writings of Baal HaSulam, we are in The Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Item 16, we'll study 16 and 17 today. Again, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Items 16 and 17. In the first part of the lesson, we'll read in the Tens, Items 16 and 17, then we'll enter a lesson with Rav, and before that, we'll just mention that in the previous items, 13 and 14, Baal HaSulam explained to us that after the first restriction, we begin to work with new vessels. And the new vessel, instead of the desire that will be filled directly by the light, as it was before the restriction, the new vessels are called screen and reflected light. It's a different kind of work, a new method of work, and then he comes to Items 16 and 17, we will read them together in the Tens – sorry, 15 and 16. We'll read them together in the Tens, and we'll give that six minutes.

Reading: (01:39) Thus, new vessels were made in the Partzufim of Kedusha instead of phase four after the first restriction. They were made of the reflected light of the coupling by striking in the screen.

Indeed, we should understand this reflected light and how it became a vessel of reception, since initially it was but a light that was rejected from reception. Thus, it now serves in an opposite role from its own essence.

I shall explain that with an allegory from life. Man’s nature is to cherish and favor the quality of bestowal, and to despise and loathe reception from one’s friend. Hence, when one comes to one’s friend’s house and he [the host] invites him for a meal, he [the guest] will decline even if he is very hungry, since in his eyes it is humiliating to receive a gift from his friend.

Yet, when his friend sufficiently implores him until it is clear that he would do his friend a big favor by eating, he agrees to eat as he no longer feels that he is receiving a gift and that his friend is the giver. On the contrary, he [the guest] is the giver, doing his friend a favor by receiving this good from him.

Thus, you find that although hunger and appetite are vessels of reception designated for eating, and that person had sufficient hunger and appetite to receive his friend’s meal, he still could not taste a thing due to the shame. Yet, as his friend implored him and he rejected him, new vessels for eating began to form in him, since the power of his friend’s pleading and the power of his own rejection, as they accumulated, finally added up to a sufficient amount that turned the measure of reception into a measure of bestowal.

In the end, he saw that by eating, he would do a big favor and bring great contentment to his friend. In that state, new vessels of reception to receive his friend’s meal were born in him. Now it is considered that his power of rejection has become the essential vessel in which to receive the meal, and not the hunger and appetite, although they are actually the usual vessels of reception.

Reading: (04:47) Item 16 From the above allegory between two friends, we can understand the matter of coupling by striking and the reflected light that rises through it, which then becomes new vessels of reception for the upper light instead of phase four. We can compare the upper light, which strikes the screen and wants to expand into phase four, to the pleading to eat, because as he yearns for his friend to receive his meal, the upper light desires to expand to the receiver. And the screen, which strikes the light and repels it, can be likened to the friend’s rejection and refusal to receive the meal, since he rejects his favor.

Just as you find here that precisely the refusal and rejection have been inverted and become appropriate vessels to receive his friend’s meal, you can imagine that the reflected light that rises by the striking of the screen and its rejection of the upper light became new vessels of reception for the upper light instead of phase four, which served as a vessel of reception prior to the first restriction.

However, this was established only in the Partzufim of Kedusha of ABYA, not in the Partzufim of the shells, and in this world, where phase four itself is considered the vessel of reception. Hence, they are separated from the upper light, since the disparity of form in phase four separates them. For this reason, the shells are considered wicked and dead, as they are separated from the Life of Lives by the will to receive in them, as it is written in Item 13.

Reader: And now we will move to a lesson with Rav.

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Reader: We're reading from The Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Item 15.

M. Laitman: (07:35) So far, we've studied that the Creator created the desire to receive, and this desire to receive is in disparity of form from Him. And in such a manner he can't even feel more than his existence form, than the bit of inspiration of air, because the desire to receive and of pleasure neutralize this inner common feeling. Hence, although it's called the world of Ein Sof, this feeling of Ein Sof, or infinity, is a feeling that is very minute. The created being is under the control of the light, not feeling himself as a created being, not having a feeling of deficiency and pleasure together, which gives the feeling of fulfillment. Although this is Ein Sof but it's Ein Sof out of the control of the upper one—not the feeling of the lower one—as it needs to be according to the Good That Does Good, which is rooted in the thought of creation to benefit one's created beings. Hence, and this creation is not completed, but the upper force needs to bring the created being to a state that was decided upon in advance of the Good That Does Good, that can be done only through the action of the complete benefit.

Hence, the created being continues to develop by the upper force obliging it, and this development is in order to lead the created being to equivalence of form, to the same state and stature like the Creator, how do we do this? We need to be, on one hand, keeping the manner of the created being, which is the opposite of the Creator, to exist and be independent, to have a personality of his own, on one hand, and to be like the Creator, because in spirituality, it's the same thing – there are no two, there's but one. So how can the created being remain outside of the Creator, two, and nevertheless be one? So, the Creator created the foundation of the created being, the desire to receive, which is opposite His, but leads the created being to a state of the desire to receive which takes on the form of complete bestowal like the Creator. Accordingly, this action makes them as one, and according to the original nature, they are opposed to one another. Then they exist as two, and both are on the same degree, in the same complete, perfect state.

M. Laitman: (10:33) How can you lead a created being to this? Baal HaSulam explains this through the example of the Host and the guest, where the guest is ashamed of the Host even though he yearns greatly to all the nourishments that the host prepared for him. The Host prepared with love all this for him and the guest relates to the actual treats that He prepared for him. The moment he relates to these nourishments through the feeling of the offerings of the Host, His love, then he has this inner struggle, this inner clash between the desire in his nature for the nourishments, and the way he relates now how he feels towards the Host. To the extent in which he recognizes the greatness of the Host, and the shame of himself, and in the pleasure that there is in the goodies that he prepared against his desire. Then he begins to see within him these relationships with the food and with the Host. In these two separate systems, in connection to the nourishments that he has a desire to receive, with the pleasure which you can perform a restriction upon. And you can do the same to do with the desire to receive an act of pleasure, as well with the Host, there's a matter of the shame of the Host, which he feels himself as suddenly as a force that neutralizes this pleasure from the nourishment.

And then he also has the ability or the possibility to make his vessel be the opposite. Not because he's ashamed of not receiving the nourishments and protects his ego by that. But rather starts to use this ego of his for the benefit of the host. Meaning, not to refuse because he's ashamed but rather refuse because he wants to delight the host. Meaning, even his ego, his egoistic desire to receive invert into giving. As by this, he builds two systems: one system that works with the desire to receive, more or less; and the second system, which are his intentions towards the Host. From this, we get out of the manner of the receiver to becoming the bestower, this is a central example for us.

M. Laitman: (13:30) We need to see in this example the entire plan of creation. It's not some nice side story here, but this is the plan of all of creation. Which later we see in all the building of the worlds, and the Partzufim, and Sefirot, and what happens in them. The implementation of this story, of this example, this allegory of how the created being reaches his purpose. Therefore, all the actions that follow in the created being, we need to return to this same allegory, the guest and the Host, and to see in it the implementation of step after step of the whole process rooted in this story.

There are very deep things here that there are not even any words to interpret them, especially in that the guest feels the shame and works with the shame as an elevator, a lift to – even though he feels later shame for himself but he inverts this shame to the opposite of it – towards the Host, he turns it to love towards the Host. From this, we need to understand that we have stages that the guest needs to recognize, the created being needs to recognize his nature, his desire to receive all the way to its most despised and lowly state as a receiver. He also has to recognize the great shame to the extent in which the Host is revealed in the oppositeness of form, where the created being is the receiver, the guest is the receiver, and the Host, the Creator, is the Giver. And he yearns only by his nature to reception, the guest needs to understand that this yearning to receive does not come from the Host, because otherwise it will be on the degree of animal.

But this yearning, he developed himself on the degree of speaking; hence, he has shame for the yearning, and this is a very special thing, as he writes. That shame is a feeling that appears only in especially exalted high souls. Then you can work with this quality in order to turn it into love, meaning the opposite path and the direct path included from all the stages which you could say are all against the human intellect, hence appear to us as concealed. We don't understand the spiritual world, meaning all the processes that our desire goes through. It's concealed from us because, from our mind, from our intellect and feeling, it is concealed because we are not yet in that development.

There's no concealment like in this world, where there's a certain concealment in time, space, and motion. But rather, concealment in spirituality is a concealment upon the development of the created being. Therefore, advancement can be with faith above reason, meaning an attainment of spirituality against the determination of the current states. Faith is called a feeling, the feeling of the spiritual reality, and above reason means that each time this feeling, the state that has been revealed. This state is revealed in its opposite form, in its undesirable and identified in advanced way to the created being. But no matter what, what we learn later in the whole Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, and altogether in the Wisdom of Kabbalah, is the implementation of this allegory of the host and the guest. And please, Item 16.

Reading: (19:02) From the above allegory between two friends, we can understand the matter of coupling by striking and the reflected light that rises through it, which then becomes new vessels of reception for the upper light instead of phase four. We can compare the upper light, which strikes the screen and wants to expand into phase four, to the pleading to eat, because as he yearns for his friend to receive his meal, the upper light desires to expand to the receiver. And the screen, which strikes the light and repels it, can be likened to the friend’s rejection and refusal to receive the meal, since he rejects his favor.

M. Laitman: Meaning, we can see here inside this story that although we say the upper light comes, direct light, to the created being and wants to enter him. So we say it that way, but according to the allegory, the desire to receive, the desire feels within itself that it wants the nourishment. It wants the pleasures, it wants the upper light, and draws it, meaning, not that the upper light comes and pressures the desire. But rather the desire wants the pleasure, the upper light, meaning everything takes place in the created being; only he interprets it as if it's something operating upon him from the outside.

But in truth, he is impressed from within. The desire feels the pleasure that is, seemingly, outside, and that this pleasure is pressuring him. It's actually the desire that's awakening now towards this pleasure, which is felt from within as well.

The host does not pressure, he does not press, if I didn't have a desire, I wouldn't feel his pressure, but rather my desire gives me the feeling that it's pressuring me. This relates to everything that happens to us in this world, towards our relationships, towards everything: if it weren't for our desires, I would feel that this one relates to me this way, and that way, and that way? No, meaning our desires determine the picture of reality.

Reading: (22:05) Just as you find here that precisely the refusal and rejection have been inverted and become appropriate vessels to receive his friend’s meal, you can imagine that the reflected light that rises by the striking of the screen and its rejection of the upper light became new vessels of reception for the upper light instead of phase four, which served as a vessel of reception prior to the first restriction.

M. Laitman: (22:36) What's the difference between direct light and reflected light? Where the reflected light has coarseness, reflected light – this is direct light plus coarseness of the vessel – meaning its desire to use the coarseness in order to relate and return to the host. Now, reflected light is not just a refusal, just like that, what does it mean a refusal? It doesn't want because, and here comes the question, because of what? Here, we're talking about the intention: it could be that it rejects because it feels shame, can't permit the host to harm his honor, just like we are usually in our lifetime. I'm ashamed, what does it mean I'm ashamed? I have this self-respect and to the extent in which this honor or self-respect permits, as much as I'm willing to make such a calculation, then I make it. It could be that I'm making a calculation towards the host already, meaning in order to bring Him some good. Or that I make the calculation towards the Host because I love Him.

So, there are many calculations towards me as a receiver so I won't be hurt from receiving. And there are calculations where I already stop thinking about myself of not being harmed, and they begin to relate to the Host and how to benefit Him, and so on. So, the calculations, these calculations between the receiver and the Giver are, the calculations themselves determine whether the calculations are towards the receiver because of his shame, because of his pleasures, because of the calculations upon his sufferings. If the calculations are towards the receiver, it's called corporeality, and then the receiver feels only himself, and it's considered that he's in this world. If the calculations are towards the Host, where I don't take myself into consideration but rather use myself as a vessel of giving, bestowal to the Host in order to bring forth pleasures for Him, and what will I get from this I don't take into consideration whatsoever, that's called "not for his own benefit." Meaning, here I am above the restrictions, it's not important to me the sufferings or my personal pleasures. But rather pleasures and sufferings are only determined by what will happen to the Host from my action. If so, one can calculate the action, meaning it is considered that a person is in the upper world, in the spiritual world, upper to his nature.

Then he feels not himself, his essence called this world, but rather he feels the Host, the state of the Host, which is considered to be feeling the Creator, the upper world, the upper force. This determines what world he's in: in this world or the spiritual one, meaning only the inner way to relate that we have towards the state we are in. By this we define which world we're in, which world we will live in, feel, exist.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (27:16) When we say that the Kabbalist lives in two worlds, so he can live one time in this and one time in that?

M. Laitman: No, he can't, the two worlds that we're speaking about here are one world in considering myself, and the second world is in considering only the Creator. There's a state that's also called the state of our body. This does not change, the inanimate, the still, which is not a world, rather just a certain existence where they don't belong. The states of our body, to the corporeal or spiritual world in order to receive or in order to bestow. Rather, this is something that exists on its own, just like animals, beasts, that's how our body is the same only. It has no preference upon animals and lives out of the feeling of itself and the feeling of the environment like every animal. It cannot be in its function towards himself or the society any calculations of in order to receive or in order to bestow that change in according to the Creator. But rather, they're all bodily calculations, just like a beast.

It's not even considered egoistic, where there's our desire, let's say our bodily desire, bodily desire in the five senses; above it, there's the shell, the Klipa, and Kedusha, holiness. The Klipa, the shell, are in order to receive, and Kedusha, in order to bestow, those are the intentions. What happens, here, with us is a certain existence that doesn't change in relation to where a person is going to build himself till the final correction. The state that one's body is in does not change. It has to incarnate and each time be in his body until you reach the final correction, why? Because all the states he's about to correct here, each and every state is a new one, which he begins from zero and reaches with it until he implements it 100%. When he starts with zero up to its 100% implementation of that degree, then he must stand in this degree as being born with it. Then he's in a state where he's only in that state, that's bodily desire called, Shimon from the market, in every state. That's why we must also be in the body when there's a disconnect between degrees, where each degree begins as if I'm just in my body, and that's it.

Reading: (31:06) However, this was established only in the Partzufim of Kedusha of ABYA, not in the Partzufim of the shells, and in this world, where phase four itself is considered the vessel of reception. Hence, they are separated from the upper light, since the disparity of form in phase four separates them. For this reason, the shells are considered wicked and dead, as they are separated from the Life of Lives by the will to receive in them, as it is written in Item 13.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (31:45) How does a person determine that the Creator can enjoy his bestowal?

M. Laitman: This all takes place within a person. When one develops and in his desire to receive, you start to feel Keter, and Malchut, and the eight Sefirot between. Then he feels all together this reality called ten Sefirot, that there's a Bestower, Keter, and there's the receiver, Malchut, and something in between them called the means by which to bestow from this to that – from Keter to Malchut and from Malchut to Keter. All the processes in the Kli are inside its ten Sefirot and that is where his whole world is, of a person. From that, he determines who the Creator is, who the created being is, what are the relations between them are outside of the Kli.

Outside of the Kli, there's nothing, we've said even direct light, the created being feels that light comes and the pleasure and wants to enter, from what does he feel this? He feels that his desire awakens, he feels a certain pleasure. Where does he feel it from, is there pleasure outside? No, but rather, this pleasure is felt within the created being as one that still stands before him, that has not entered him fully into his desire as a filling. It's already within the vessels of the created being, but in ones that have yet to reach Phase four, hence, they're considered coming from the outside. This is how all these processes that appear to him take place in the created being. Later, when it says that he's giving outwards from him to the Creator, how does he know, meaning outside him to the Creator? But rather, Phase four, who feels herself as reception, he develops this attitude towards the Keter, the Bestower, which is the image of the Creator in the Kli, which he gives to the Creator. This all takes place in the created being, all the worlds, all the Partzufim, all the discernments, all the deeds, nothing comes from the created being.

It turns out that the upper light is in absolute rest, and there's something outside that invites in us all kinds of actions. But all the actions that occur within the vessel are inscribed in the vessel as records, screens, desires, everything within the vessel. Hence, the Creator is called, Come and See, this is what we attain within the Kli: vision, sight, its true attainment within the vessel, and this cannot be outside of the vessel, like every attainment.

Student: So what actually is changing?

M. Laitman: (35:12) Everything changes only within the created being. Outside of the created being, we can't say whatsoever, that's Atzmuto, its essence. The upper light is in absolute rest, you cannot bestow upon it in any way. You can't operate anything upon it. Everything is within the created being. But this doesn't lower the importance of our work because from this, we feel that the upper light, this is what it did and what it wants, even though Him Himself is in absolute rest. There are things that can't be explained or interpreted for the time being – they're just words because we have no perception in this – but nevertheless, understand or not, these points are important because they place us with the correct attitudes towards our work, to the corrections, towards the change.

You could say, well, all that change is just my inner feeling, my inner calculation, what I think within? Correct, but all of that is important and there's nothing besides that, you can't exit that, you just don't know to what extent these things are important. So where, nevertheless, is there someone that I'm giving to? Is it someone that I'm imagining to myself? Yes, it's this Creator, let's say, is what you imagine within yourself. But what, are you taking a hand, or a foot, or an eye from yourself and you're seeing Him in some place? No, you receive Him, absorb Him from within. So, I don't know what it means to absorb or receive outside of myself. His image within the created being; and when the created being begins from within his structure, to feel why he's built this way, and comes to the root. Then from that he, nevertheless, understands the intentions of the one who created him. You could say that it's Keter but this is the one who created me as my root.

Student: We learned that basically who is the Creator? The Creator is my next degree, it's me in my next degree?

M. Laitman: If I talk about the gradual development of mine, I always describe my next state as the Creator. I can't imagine to myself beyond that, the exalted, the good, the bestower, the powerful, all of that is something that is above me. When I'm working on myself and receive help, support, then I advance to such a state and identify with it, and adhere to it, equalize with it. When I equalize with Him, I become like Him, reach actual adhesion with Him, where all my qualities are as all His qualities. Then I discover in this an even higher degree, a new Creator, a more higher up Creator, that's how it's correct.

Student: In this perception, what does it mean to bestow contentment to the Creator?

M. Laitman: Bestowing contentment to the Creator means that that upper degree that created me, and is called my Creator, I want to influence Him because by that, I feel – I feel – that I'm bringing Him, causing Him pleasure. This is all in my attitude and my connection, and my perception, understanding, it's all that I depict in myself. Is that how He feels? And this is when I come to Him, to adhesion, to connection, I feel like we are like two beloved! We need to understand that when we're operating out of this feeling, we are the desire to enjoy, the created being, that was created existence from absence. All these calculations with the desire that are revealing to me these things that don't seem to me are so small and our life is, as we speak of it, we can see that it's each and every one like this. No, there's the feeling of our eternity, and eternality, and wholeness within this feeling of ours, and then outside of this feeling, we feel that we're never there. Even when Kabbalists imply to us that there are other states outside of that, we can't imagine them. What is outside of that, outside of the feeling, outside of what the desire that was created to begin with? We just speak out of, Knowing You from Your actions.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (40:39) Can you explain the mechanics of changing the desire by the light? How does the desire change and suddenly it receives an intention, becomes the giver?

M. Laitman: We spoke about this several times in four phases of direct light, where the bestower is revealed in what? He's revealed in the desire to receive, the desire begins to feel something, a feeling, what does it feel? It feels fulfillment, and this is Phase one; from Phase one, there's something that fills it. From there, it also feels that there's someone who fulfills it and that's Phase Root. The truth is, all of those attainments came from below, it's how Kabbalists arrived at it, but for now, that will do. So, the desire feels that there is pleasure in it. And this desire and pleasure are intertwined, why? Because the pleasure created the desire. And here, nothing more needed to change, there is desire, existence from absence; there is pleasure felt in the desire, that's what the desire feels, and that's the situation. And here, everything should have stopped. What else is needed? We're done, the whole creation is there, this pleasure is called Creator, or light. The created being is called desire, or vessel, that's it, no more is needed.

However, in this form, the vessel, the created being is the receiver, and the Creator is the giver. The Creator is one, the upper. The created being is two, the lower, and the created being depends on the Creator – this is not called doing good. This can't be called, the Creator bringing out to light His wholeness, actions, and appellations, and so forth. It's not wholeness, you created someone according to Your desire, there's everything in him that You have shaped and You sustain these things. Even though You provide, You sustain, You give, You created a deficiency, and You fill it. And You created the deficiency in such a way that it will never feel the deficiency. It was immediately filled with pleasure, it was created by pleasure.

M. Laitman: (44:12) Meaning, there was no moment for the created being that it suffered from being empty, from not being full. So, in Your actions, there's nothing that is incomplete, You created the desire by the pleasure. You give pleasure to that desire, but this desire, the second one, is the operated one, and You are the upper one, the operator. That is inferiority, even though the lower one doesn't feel that, and it isn't the perfection of His actions: if He is perfect, whole, then in His single action, He has to create something like Himself. Less than that is irrelevant, cannot be whole if something that is incomplete is happening in it.

And so, in this influence of the light, there is another influence, which is the essence of the Giver. The Creator passes on to that desire to receive through the pleasure, also the message of, Who am I? I am the Giver, the Bestower. Correspondingly, here at the end of Phase one, begins Phase two. She wants to resemble the Creator, the vessel now, in Phase two, wants to give, why? Bestowal in the pleasure is like with the Host, that the Host gives the refreshments to the guests wholeheartedly. But it's because He is in the action, if He wasn't there, I would not feel shame. The Creator is hidden, and I'm not ashamed, the whole world is mine. The moment it was revealed, I would immediately surrender. Like the host being next to the table, He's present. Or he left the room, I can take something from the table; He went into the room, I'm ashamed.

So, he works on me in a very direct way, I begin to feel the Host and that feeling of the Host, opposite the pleasure, is higher, stronger because He is first and then comes the thought of creation to do good. Therefore, the feeling of His bestowal is stronger than the sensation of my hunger. Then I stop wanting to enjoy the light and I want to be like the Host, why? How can the will to receive want to be like the Host? Because he feels more pleasure in that, that's all. Because the will to receive can't feel anything besides pleasure, so it weighs enjoying the refreshment, or enjoying being like the Host, I want to be like the Host, that's it.

M. Laitman: (48:06) You could say, But this is called bestowing in order to receive. You can put it like that for now, but the calculations are his inner calculations. That's how the light bestows because there are two qualities in the light: the quality of the Giver and the pleasure, itself. Those two qualities in the will to receive bring the will to receive a dual relationship to the refreshment and to the Host. From within my desire, I already can tell two sources in front of me. And according to the relationship between them, I evolve, the beast only feels the refreshments, only the table. If a dog or a cat comes, perhaps it could be afraid of the host because it knows that it can be hit, it was trained! But it's not due to attitude to the host, where there's honor and a sense of his superiority, and importance, and preference. So no, this is what we see in animals and beasts, or people who don't have that kind of connection. So there's no shame, they take from this world anything and it's natural. Meaning until we see the host, we won't be able to make any calculations besides beastly calculations. Well, we'll advance next time.

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