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

Daily Morning Lesson: June 19, 2025 

Part 1: Recorded lesson - Oct 5, 2021. Baal HaSulam. Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate

Reader: Dear friends, for the first part of the lesson we will watch a recorded lesson from the 5th of October 2021, article 13 in Shamati, “A Pomegranate”.

Reader: In the first part of our lesson today we will learn from the Shamati articles, number 13, “A Pomegranate”. You can find the article in Kabbalahmedia.info. You can also click the study materials tab in the Arvut system, you can also send questions live.  Relevant questions may be aired.

M. Laitman: (00:52) We already understand that the main thing with the wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us, that the main thing that we have in this life, that we exist in this world in this time is to reach Lishma [for her sake]. Meaning, to exchange our egoistic approach that we receive and feel the world in the will to receive, which is called “to ourselves”, which is directed seemingly to man's own benefit, and to turn it to be for the benefit of the Creator. That’s actually our goal. In this goal, there are a few matters to perform, to attain it. That’s why we unite together, it helps us to exit ourselves, and to be influenced by the environment.The influence of the environment, the society upon men is very important, as we learn. Also, how to invite the light that reforms. It is not just to receive an addition of desire from this society. Rather, specifically through the society to make the effort to draw the light that reforms, through the society, together with it, to influence the upper force - the upper source, to awaken it to bestow upon us. All these things can exist, and there are a few more, on the condition that we appreciate the upper source. He becomes by us the only necessary thing that determines our entire life, that such we relate to Him. So, what we need here, is to see how we are in upliftment, to lift the upper above us, that He will draw us and give us confidence, that our attitude towards Him will provide us with all of the forces, and we’ll truly be able to work in order to bestow to Him. The upper is concealed intentionally, that only on the condition that we’ll want to use Him to be like Him, only then we’ll be able to enjoy His force, and correct ourselves, and raise ourselves to the degree of the upper. That’s what we learn. The entire wisdom of Kabbalah is that we shall be able to reach this and to exchange our approach, which is directed towards us, towards our will to receive - to change it towards the others for the benefit of the Creator. That’s called to bestow, that’s called to pass from reason to above reason. Reason is what we feel within our will to receive, feel, decide, check, measure, live inside the will to receive, like everyone, to various degrees, more or less. Accordingly, we have scientists, and fools, and various different people, but they’re all within the will to receive, below reason, or within reason. But spirituality is above reason. That we pass onto a state that we use the force of the Creator, in His mind, in His sensation, in such we raise ourselves from degrees of still, vegetative, and animate. That we still relate to the degree of animate and to rise to the degree of Adam, to the degree of speaking, similar to the Creator. This, if we use the mind of the Creator. It is above our mind, because it is entirely on the intention to bestow, that He calculates all the actions, if you can say such. All our actions are on the intention to receive to ourselves, very large difference, opposite, like it is written in the Zohar, “I have seen an opposite world”, inverse of our relation, our attitude towards creation. We have nothing more to do here; rather, to make an effort to learn what actions can assist us and to reach an attitude of the Creator towards creation not in force of reception, rather in force of above reason, force of bestowal. That He will direct us. Let’s read the article and see. Write your questions and then ask.

Reader: (07:37) Shamati 13, A Pomegranate 

I heard during a meal on the 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah, October 5, 1948

A pomegranate, he said, implies to what our sages said, “Even the vain ones among you are filled with Mitzvot like a pomegranate” (Iruvin 19). He said, Rimon [pomegranate] comes from the word Romemut [exaltedness/sublimity], which is above reason. And the meaning will be that the “The vain among you are filled with Mitzvot.” The measure of the filling is the extent to which one can go above reason, and this is called Romemut.

There is emptiness only in a place where there is no existence, as in “The earth hangs on nothing.” You find that what is the measure of the filling of the empty place? The answer is, the extent to which one raises oneself above reason. 

M. Laitman: All the emptiness is revealed only in order to show us that we are in the empty place. If we want to reach some true foundation in our existence, we need to rise above the emptiness. This is by the actions that we each time make an effort to rise from reception to bestowal, from disconnection to connection, meaning, all those same discernments that are in the spiritual world. Then, it turns out that by such efforts, even that we are empty, specifically upon the emptiness we build our spirituality, and that’s why it is called, “the earth hangs on nothing.” Meaning, specifically the spiritual ground is built upon the air, upon the emptiness, that there is nothing to base on but simply to build it in the force of Bina, force of Emunah (faith), force of bestowal.

Reading: (10:16) Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate

This means that the emptiness you find what is the measure of the feeling,the empty place, the answer according to ones elevation and above reason.

M. Laitman: We can't see the empty place in something because it is empty. How can we check how much it is above our reason, and how much we feel the emptiness that we raise ourselves above reason, above the previous corporeal materialistic foundation.

Reading: (10:58) Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate

This means that the emptiness should be filled with exaltedness,

M. Laitman: To the extent that we appreciate the Creator, this spiritual force is in control of all of reality. As much as we want to reveal Him, to this extent we can uplift above, rise above the emptiness, and as it says, “the earth hangs on nothing.” Meaning, the spiritual earth is built specifically upon the empty air, that there is nothing, there is no rational foundation, egoistic corporeal foundation. Rather, it’s all, only, built upon force of bestowal and not on force of reception.

Reading: (11:56) Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate

This means that the emptiness should be filled with exaltedness, , meaning with above reason, and to ask of the Creator to give him that strength. This will mean that all the emptiness was created, meaning it comes to a person to feel this way—that he is empty—only in order to fill it with the Romemut of the Creator. In other words, one is to take everything above reason. 

M. Laitman: All the conditions that we receive are only in order that we shall be able to rise above, from reason to the degree of above reason.

Reading: (13:00) Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate

This is the meaning of the verse, “God has made it that He will be feared.” This means that these thoughts of emptiness come to a person in order for one to have a need to take upon himself faith above reason.

M. Laitman: Meaning, everything that we feel bad, that we are harmed, that we are confused - all these states - in them that we feel ourselves not so good, not confident, it’s in order that we shall search how, not to find in those same states a corporeal foundation, rather that we will rise above it to the spiritual foundation.

Reading: (14:01) Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate And for this we need the help of the Creator… 

M. Laitman: We are incapable ourselves to reach faith above reason. It’s force of Bina, above our nature, but we need to give forces, effort. Then, from above comes the light that reforms, what’s called, that raises us from the degree of reason, from the degree of this world, from the egoistic rationality to the degree of Bina, to a perception in the force of bestowal, an exiting of the ego. Then, we will begin to feel the world opposite, as it is written, “I have seen an opposite world.”

Reading: (14:58) Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate

It follows that at that time, one must ask the Creator to give him the power to believe above reason. 

M. Laitman: We are incapable ourselves of attaining spirituality, to rise above our corporeal nature, rather only through the effort that we shall make them together And this is what is written in the advice of the Kabbalists: to connect, learn, ask as much as possible that we make an effort to rise each one above his nature and incorporate in the friends, and only in such a manner we can reach the degree of Bina. The people who can do this are called people with the point in the heart. They have the quality of Bina that awakens in the will to receive in man called, a heart and this quality of Bina draws him above this world, above Malchut; and such that he yearns, not knowing exactly to what or to whom, but he reaches us. The upper providence, the upper light that illuminates upon him brings him to a place where this person can develop and receive fulfillment. All of these things are dependent on fear of the Creator, as it is written that the Creator made it so that there will be fear towards Him. Fear prepares for us and provides us dependency on the Creator, that without Him we will now be able to reach faith above reason. We will not be able to rise from the egoistic form, from this world, from this lowly level that we are in here, truly slaves to our egoistic will to receive. We need to reach a state where we will feel we are dependent entirely on the work of the Creator upon us, and so what we engage in is called the work of the Creator because He does the work, He corrects us, He makes us. From us we all need to raise a lack, and the more lack is correct, to this extent make your desire as His then the Creator in that same channel; He bestows back to us the Light that reforms.

Reading: (18:16) Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate 

It turns out that it is precisely then that one needs the Creator to help him, since the exterior mind lets him understand the opposite.

M. Laitman: This is intentional, because the Creator wants us to feel the need for His assistant: that we will truly want to be in the force of bestowal, the force of faith above reason, the force of Bina and thus He tempts us all the time giving us more and more obstacles along path until our desire will be sufficiently strong. That we no longer will run from the path, that we won't want some light silly things, but rather that we will want to receive the force of Bina, the force of bestowal.

Reading: (19:31) Shamati, 13. A Pomegranate

Hence, at that time, one has no other choice but to ask the Creator to help him.

It is said about this, “One’s desire overcomes him every day; and were it not for the Creator, he would not overcome it.” It follows that only then is the state when one understands that no one will help him but the Creator. And this is “God has made it that He will be feared.” The matter of fear is discerned as faith, and only then is one in need of the salvation of the Creator. 

M. Laitman: Meaning, the main thing is to reach a state that we are obligated to turn to the Creator to help us. Because to reach the quality of bestowal, the quality of Bina or faith above reason, it has a few names to that same state; we are incapable on our own - not to desire it, not to appreciate it, and not to reach it. We need to make an effort and gather our desires, our tendencies to connection, to bestowal, and when we connect it together then ultimately we attain to that same quantity and quality, the urgency of the quality of bestowal. That already the Creator can bestow upon us; to that same connection that we have gathered from the group, that same Ten, each one, and then in the meantime we are already beginning to get closer to Him and request from us on our part and the answer from His part. It's not important that we have small desires for bestowal, it is called that you are the few among the nations, that the wills to receive are large and the wills to bestow in men are small. But in our efforts to incorporated in each other in our rising above the corporeal force and annulling each one towards the others, and by this we invite upon ourselves the force of bestowal from above. Even though we do it in an egoistic form, the annulment towards the friends as Rabash it writes in the Social articles, it then turns out that upon my annulment, my tendency to help in something, to participate and support the friends on this I received the light that reforms from above; and thus we reach a state that nonetheless is revealed in us the desire to bestow, in something, an appreciation for the quality of bestow. When we reach it, then already we can more and more incorporate with one another and to demand of the Creator the force of bestowal to be in us, in practice in the Ten and it will help us to rise. In all the previous generations over almost six thousand years that the wisdom of Kabbalah exist, from the time of Adam HaRishon to now, we have not seen this matter of the urgency for connection in order to draw the light that reforms; weather it is enough for a few people, or one person initially there were just individuals, maybe couples, they're all sorts of connections. Only 2,000 years ago began the matter of connection began and the book of the Zohar was revealed. Another 1,500 years were the books of the ARI and another 500 years after that the writings of the Baal HaSulam, and thus the matter of connection is very important. The interior given with Rimon [pomegranate] is not just about the importance of faith above reason rather to be together, many seeds that are incorporate together, like a pomegranate, in one body. And then, if in such a manner we are capable to incorporate together in order to turn to the Creator, then for certain we will have the light that illuminates from above, and we will succeed.

Question (Kyiv 1): (26:36) Following the article it seems that all the states that we go through are only designed for us to build the level of above reason?

M. Laitman: Yes, of course, that is correct, only for this. All the purpose of our study, all our actions, everything that we do is in order to reach the degree of Bina, that it will cover the degree of Malchut in which we are in, in Malchut, in the will to receive. That the intention to bestow will cover the will to receive and in such a manner we will be able to exist in the spiritual world. Meaning in the forces of bestowal.

Student: You also said that we are included in the mind of the Upper One through this action. How do we as a Ten enter the mind of the upper One?

M. Laitman: To the extent that we want to be in the quality of bestowal, that we put the quality of bestowal above the quality of reception. That Bina is above in importance compared to Malchut, the will to receive, and despite that we don't want, but in order to reach spirituality we make efforts in order to connect and let go and so on. If we do this then gradually, we reach a state that, yes, illuminates upon us, according to our efforts the light that reforms from above and thus we rise to the degree of Bina.

Question (Moscow 4): (28:56) You said that it is impossible to measure the emptiness but we can feel it. You also said that we can feel fulfillment. Can you explain what it is?

M. Laitman: I can't explain what it is to feel, there is no such thing that we can explain what it means to feel. We can explain how to reach a sensation but not how to feel. Explain to me please how you feel about something that I have never tasted. Let's say, something salty. Explain to me what is salty? There's no such thing. We can't explain such things, because they are at the foundation of our perception of the world, the elements that are revealed inside our will to receive. You can explain it in atoms, molecules and ions that go from one end to the other in the chemical process, and how things influence the end of our nerves in our brain, but in this you don't explain what it means to taste something salty, because you are explaining from the foundation of a copy of the spiritual things that are revealed as a result in the lowest level, in the corporeal matter. We don't ask about such things until we attain and here it is written “to taste and see that the Creator is good”, meaning that only after we taste, then from the taste we can understand the matters, because this taste builds in us new vessels.

Question (Moscow 7): (31:20) Throughout the whole article Baal HaSulam says the moment one begins to ask of the Creator he begins to understand and feel that no one can help besides the Creator. I always thought that the prayer comes from the opposite state when you are despaired of your own strength and that moment you have a prayer. Baal HaSulam says the opposite - only after ask of the Creator you have the feeling that the Creator can help?

M. Laitman: I understand, it happened this way and that; there is prayer before prayer, there is prayer after the prayer and then there is the prayer itself. In order to reach a prayer, we need to make many spiritual and physical actions and afterwards also to pray, and these prayers or actions, they bring us to the true prayer which is called raising MAN; that our will to receive will be ready to serve to present to the Creator; to give Him to take care of it, to correct, arrange and connect it to the state that it needs to be. From us nothing is needed besides prayer. But you see, for many years we need to do all sorts of actions in order to understand what is wanted of us, what is demanded of us.

Question (Queens): (33:33) Is the state of emptiness a precondition to awaken spirituality, to attain the degree of the Creator and is this embedded in creation?

M. Laitman: Yes, all the questions result from each one and all of us together. They result from lacks, deficiencies that we once were in the Creator and then by the breaking that happened in the system of Adam HaRishon, we exited this connection and all the sensations of leaving the connection with all of the broken vessels and all of the fulfillments that were in them. It all stands one towards another the light that exited the vessel of Adam HaRishon and the vessel itself that lost the connection with the light, meaning it shattered. And this state exists now, and we must bring it to connection.

Question (ITA 1): (34:50) What is the emptiness? The Bina it's something that I receive as emptiness or something by which I will discover the fulfillment?

M. Laitman: Emptiness is called that I feel incapable of filling myself with the force of bestowal, that I seemingly want it but I am incapable and then I feel emptiness. And with what can I fill this emptiness? With upliftment (Romemut), as much as I appreciate the force of bestowal then I fill myself with this exaltedness. I don't become the force of bestowal myself but rather only that I appreciate it and then I ascribe myself to it.

Question (PT 6): (36:07) What does it mean in the article that it says in order for Him to be feared?

M. Laitman: The Creator did things in order for us to want His help, and to see that in order to attain what we need to attain we can't do it without Him. This is called the fear of the Creator. It is not fear of not having or not getting it. But rather that I want to get closer to bestowal, to become closer to Him and I can't do that with my own strength. And I have fear of how I will receive the force of bestowal from Him. It's not egoistic fear, it's the opposite - that I want to resemble Him. There are many levels in that. We will learn this and we will go through it.

Question (Turkiye): (37:22) What is the relation between the three discernments, the exaltedness of the Creator, the Mitzva, meaning the effort of a person to bestow, and the fear? What is the most important thing?

M. Laitman: The greatness of the Creator is the most important thing which we want to achieve because this feeling is the power that will push us forward.

Student: The Mitzva and the fear.

M. Laitman: The Mitzva [commandment], means anything that brings us closer to Dvekut, to the goal. That would be called Mitzva. And?

Student: The fear.

M. Laitman: Fear is, we learn this also from the Zohar and Baal HaSulam, that there are several types of fear. He writes this also in the Ladder commentary, we learn that from the Shamati articles as well.

Question (Tel Aviv 4): (38:52) Can we explain what happens to Malchut and Bina in the state of emptiness and the state of exaltedness?

M. Laitman: What happens to us is always between Malchut and Bina, where the Malchut is operated by the force of Bina the Upper force, and by that she is constantly changing, that is it, that is all I can say. We have to try to achieve the force of Bina. The force of Bina is outside of me. What does it mean, outside of me? That I have to try to exit myself, and then I'll feel this force of Bina. How do I exit myself? By being included in the friends. So, even though they're egoistic, when I am included in them, as they are outside of me, by that I begin to connect with the common force of Bina, and that's how we attain spirituality. 

Student: That's called their full of Mitzvot? 

M. Laitman: No, full of Mitzvot is a different thing. It's that we have a will to receive that is built from the 613 desires to receive, and above these 613 desires to receive, we try to install an intention to bestow. How do we do that? By appreciating the intention to bestow, raising the importance of the intention to bestow until it comes and dwells on our egoistic desires. That's why we call it the full of Mitzvot. 

Reader: In the next part of the lesson, we will watch another recorded lesson from the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, item 22, from the 30th of May 2006.