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

Daily Lesson (Morning), April 4, 2024.

Part 2. Baal HaSulam. Introduction to the Book of Zohar, item 66.

Reader: We are reading from the writings of Baal HaSulam, the Introduction to the Book of Zohar, item 66. You can ask questions and find the study materials online.

Reading Item 66: (00:26) Bear in mind that in everything there is internality and externality. In the world in general, Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are regarded as the internality of the world, and the 70 nations are regarded as the externality of the world. Also, there is internality within Israel themselves, which are the complete servants of the Creator, and there is externality those who do not devote themselves to the work of the Creator. Among the nations of the world, there is internality as well, which are the righteous of the nations of the world, and there is externality, which are the crass and the harmful among them.

Additionally, among the servants of the Creator, among the children of Israel, there is internality, being those rewarded with comprehension of the soul, of the internality of the Torah and its secrets and externality who merely observe the practical part of the Torah. Also, there is internality in every person from Israel, the Israel within, which is the point in the heart, and externality, which is the nations of the world within him, which is the body itself. But even the nations of the world in him are regarded as proselytes, since by adhering to the internality, they become like proselytes from among the nations of the world, who came and adhered to the whole of Israel.

M. Laitman: (02:37) Clear? Okay so we will continue.

Reading Item 67: (02:67) When a person from Israel enhances and dignifies his internality, which is the Israel in him, over the externality, which are the nations of the world in him, that is, he dedicates the majority of his efforts to enhance and exalt his internality to benefit his soul, and gives little efforts, the mere necessity to sustain the nations of the world in him, meaning the bodily needs. As it is written, make your Torah permanent and your work temporary. By so doing, he makes the children of Israel soar upward in the internality and externality of the world, as well the nations of the world, which are the externality, to recognize and acknowledge the value of the children of Israel, and if God forbid, it is to the contrary, that an individual from Israel enhances and appreciates his externality, which is the nations of the world in him, more than the quality of Israel in him. As it is written, the stranger that is in the midst of you, meaning the externality in him, rises and soars, and you yourself, the internality, the Israel in you, plunges down. With these actions, he causes the externality of the world in general, the nations of the world, to soar ever higher, overcome Israel, degrade them to the ground, and the children of Israel, the internality of the world, in the world, will plunge deep down.

M. Laitman: (05:15) Okay? Yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (05:22) He writes that he gives all of his exertion to increase the internality in him, and less exertion for sustaining the nations of the world in him, meaning the bodily functions. What are the bodily functions?

M. Laitman: I think that here he is speaking about the physical body, material body.

Student: So what, making a living, your house, your things of this world? 

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (06:03) Is there a certain quantity of the Creator's servants that are in wholeness, like a certain critical mass? 

M. Laitman: Are you speaking about the 36 righteous? 

Student: No, should there be like a thousand or two thousand people that will reach such a degree of the Creator's workers in order to determine the world to the scale of merit, so the internality will control the externality? 

M. Laitman: There are all kinds of calculations, but we don't deal with it. 

Student: Throughout all the time of the exile, 2,000 years, all the Kabbalists worked internally. They didn't show that they're uniting between them and each one did the work in small separate groups. There wasn't something like, let's say, the Sanhedrin that were uniting between everyone? 

M. Laitman: Then too, it wasn't that simple, the connection between everyone but there are all kinds. All of it has to be. It's impossible that among the sages, there will be other relationships, different relationships, than there are among simple people, regular people. It's a kind of a projection from this.

Student: But we have to reach a state that the people in attainment will give an example to the nation. It has to come from people in attainment who show love your friends as yourself? 

M. Laitman: Yes and no. In other words, there are sages who hide themselves and engage in sublime matters, but don't show themselves and there are those who are not so high, but they are intended to run the world of study. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (08:43) The externality is organized for a person only to correct himself, or should the externality also be corrected while man is correcting himself?

M. Laitman: The externality has to constantly change according to a person's internality. 

Student: So man doesn't only correct himself? 

M. Laitman: He corrects himself and as a result of his internality he corrects his externality, and in this way, through his externality he also corrects the whole world. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (09:40) It's written in the end of 66, that the nations of the world in him are considered like proselytes because they adhere to his internality. They are adhering to the whole of Israel. Can you explain that? 

M. Laitman: We have several kinds within the nation and within a person and they take their places, their degrees, through studying and studying and studying through nearing between them, and by nearing the Creator, and this is how they influence one another. We are still, we still don't belong within this structure. 

Student: The part of the nations of the world is corrected through them being in Israel, connecting to the point in the heart?

M. Laitman: There are all kinds of, like, shortcuts, all kinds of connections. Yes.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (11:27) I don't understand, is this an internality or externality? There's a direct connection between the greatness of Israel to the nation's attitude towards them. If it's an internality, so there's some kind of understanding. But if it's an externality, I see it opposite, I don't see a direct connection between?

M. Laitman: Yes, there's still no clothing of one in the other.

Student: To observe it only internally for now?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Reading Item 68: (12:13) Do not be surprised that one person's actions bring elevation or decline to the whole world. For it is an unbreakable law that the general and the particular are equal, like two drops of water.

Hence, all that applies to the general applies also to the particular. Moreover, the parts make what is found in the whole, for the general can appear only after the appearance of the parts in it. And according to the quantity and quality of the parts, evidently the value of an act of an individual elevates or declines the entire collective.

That will clarify to you what is written in The Zohar, that by engagement in the Book of Zohar and the wisdom of truth, they will be rewarded with emerging from exile to complete redemption from exile. We might ask, what has the study of the Zohar to do with the redemption of Israel from among the nations? 

M. Laitman: Continue, it's only a question. 

Reading Item 69: (13:39) From the above said we can thoroughly understand that the Torah too contains internality and externality, as does the entire world. Therefore, one who engages in the Torah has these two degrees as well. When one increases one's toil in the internality of the Torah and its secrets, to that extent, one makes the virtue of the internality of the world, which are Israel, soar high above the externality of the world, which are the nations of the world, and all the nations will acknowledge and recognize Israel's merit over them, until the realization of the words and the peoples will take them and bring them to their place. The house of Israel will possess them in the land of the Lord, and also, thus says the Lord God, behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations and set up my standard to the peoples, and they will bring your sons in the arms and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. But if God forbid it is to the contrary and a person from Israel degrades the merit of the internality of the Torah and its secrets, which deals with the conduct of the souls and their degrees and the intellectual part and the reasons of the Mitzvot compared to the advantage of the externality of the Torah, which deals only with the practical part, and even if one does occasionally engage in the internality of the Torah and dedicates a little of one's time in it, when it is neither day or night, as though it were redundant, by this one disgraces and degrades the internality of the world, which are the children of Israel, and raises the externality of the world over them, meaning the nations of the world.

They will humiliate and disgrace the children of Israel and will regard Israel as redundant, as though the world has no need for them. Furthermore, by this they make even the externality in the nations of the world overpower their own internality for the worst among the nations of the world.

The harmful and the destructors of the world rise above their internality who are the righteous of the nations of the world. Then they make all the ruin and the heinous slaughter that our generation had witnessed. May the Creator protect us from here on.

Thus you see that the redemption of Israel and the whole of Israel's merit depend on the study of the Zohar and the internality of the Torah, and vice versa. All the destructions and the decline of the children of Israel are because they have abandoned the internality of the Torah, degraded its merit, and made it seemingly redundant. 

M. Laitman: (17:42) Yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (17:46) This part of the article always shakes us up because we can't read this without seeing it in front of your eyes what's happening today in the world. The world is degrading Israel, seeing it as something redundant, that there's no need for them. And even the ones who are pro-Israel are becoming against Israel, so it's as if he's writing about what we see on the news?

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Student: How should we relate to this? And a moment ago he wrote that even an individual causes this. It's all the internality of those who? 

M. Laitman: Yes, yes. 

Student: Should we really see the world as a mirror of our internal work? How to look at this?

M. Laitman: Why not? Why are you so amazed by what's happening? 

Student: We're very busy in our work between us in the Tens.

M. Laitman: What for? 

Student: Well, the world for now is burning. It's going into oblivion. How should we connect these edges? Should we connect these edges? Should this be a part of our work? When I'm working about the connection with the friends, should I see this as an extension? 

M. Laitman: Everything comes to the innermost point, which is Israel, both in the externality of the world and in the internality of the world. This is why Israel, here, are under focus, and they are the ones who have to give the correct answer to what is happening in the world. Why the world behaves so strangely, because there is nothing here besides our management. 

Student: Management of the internal Israel? 

M. Laitman: No, Israel. It doesn't matter right now if it's internal or not.

Student: What does it mean, our management? 

M. Laitman: That it depends how we relate to the world, to the internality of the world, externality of the world, and this determines how the nations of the world get along among themselves and how they relate to Israel.

Student: You're saying management, so it's to invert the picture. Where does it start inverting, from internality outward always? 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: He also writes so precise, studying the internality of the Torah, the wisdom of Kabbalah, the wisdom of the Zohar. You can't understand this in two ways?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: Should this be the people of Israel here, how much should this be a part of them?

M. Laitman: I don't know to what extent it pertains to the nation, to those who are called Jews, to those who live in Israel, I don't know. I know only one thing, that each one from the people of Israel has to answer to himself how he is directed toward the Creator and toward the purpose of creation.

Student: As long as he doesn't do that, so by that he's destroying the world actually.

M. Laitman: Yes. Yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (22:21) Anyone whose point in the heart has awakened basically comes to Israel. I mean, here each of us, the points in the heart is awakened, otherwise we wouldn't be here. We have to focus on the point in the heart and focus it and concentrate only on that and from it manage our lives and then the externality of our lives will improve as well. The question is, will the points in our hearts connect at some point into one point or are we working in parallel with many points in the heart together or will they become one point?

M. Laitman:  Eventually there will be a connection.

Student: It'll come to it at some point, or? 

M. Laitman: Yes, yes. 

Student: Okay, thank you. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (23:32) He writes here, do not be surprised that an individual causes an ascent or descent to the whole world because it's an unbinding, unreachable law that the general and the particular are as equal as two drops of water. What does it mean? 

M. Laitman: I don't know. I guess that the force that the collective has, also the individual has. 

Student: It's difficult to understand. If they're equal, it's written even that individuals do everything that is in the collective, so it's as if the individual has no freedom to act in a way that lifts the collective because it is, what is, because what is in the collective is what is in the individual, so the individual cannot lift the collective from the state it's in if they're exactly the same?

M. Laitman: So, if the collective is drawn in some direction, so the individual must follow. 

Student: Yes, it contradicts basically what Baal HaSulam is trying to say, that the individual does influence the collective. The individual has to have some sort of a room for action where he can influence the collective to emerge from it and do something for its favor in order to lift it?

M. Laitman: Yes, there must be. 

Student: What does it mean that they are like two drops of water and they're completely equal? 

M. Laitman: We'll see in the next item. We will see soon. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (25:30) I hear these items and I can't stop the feelings of frustration, even anger, complaints to many parts and sections of our people, of our nation on the one hand. On the other hand, I hear that everything is in our inner work. Is there room to complain or accuse parts of our nation, or is it all about our inner work?

M. Laitman: First of all, take it on your own work. 

Student: And then?

M. Laitman: And then we'll see if anything will be left.

Student: In other words, that's what we need to focus on?

M. Laitman: Yes. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (26:23) From what is written here, it's clear that everything depends on me. It doesn't depend on anything outside. How can I bear the fact that I, as an individual, everything depends only on me and not on anything outside? How do I take it into me? I know it's only me and no one else who can save this world the way it seems to me today, without complaining to anyone, because it's impossible not to accuse anyone when you experience it, not even to your children, to your wife, to your nearest people. How do I carry with me in the Ten this sorrow, this pain of the world as you experience it and make it corrected inside of me? 

M. Laitman: Completely invert it from within man to his group, from the group, more and more and more to the whole world and so on, and then it'll all work out. 

Student: Because sometimes it seems impossible?

M. Laitman: That's something you have to work on. That we have to work on. Clear. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (28:00) Can we take it the opposite way? If we see in the news conflicts, quarrels, tears within the people, can we say, where are these tears inside of me? And if I correct them, it'll be corrected there?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: And if we don't detect these tears?

M. Laitman: So, it's not given to you.

Student: But it's supposed to reflect. 

M. Laitman: But, it doesn't belong any more. You see that if it's given to you to take care of a matter or not.

Student: Should we look for it, insist on it? 

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: Because we see that on the outside there are no solutions, it's a dead end? 

M. Laitman: Correct.

Question (Kyiv 1): (29:00) You said that the state of the world depends on Israel's relation to it. We have to think how we relate to the world. What depends on us? How should we think correctly about the world in our present state in my Ten. How should my Ten think about the world in order to influence the world? 

M. Laitman: We need to think of the world that we are the pipeline from the Creator. That's why we need to disseminate the study of Him in the world and teach this to everyone. 

Question (Holland): (29:52) We see that the world is deteriorating more and more. When do we see that the world, let's say, will be in peace? What needs to change, let's say, in our internality, to change the externality into peace? What do we need to do right now so I see the world in peace? 

M. Laitman: Only the connections between us have to be more and more and more. That's it.

Question (Almaty 1): (39:39) The correction of the outside world through the internality is something that is clear, this is how we work. What does it mean to correct the inner part of me in the externality? How do I do this?

M. Laitman: Be an example, be an example for the friends.

Question (PT 13): (31:12) It is written to increase the internality of a person over the externality of a person. Can we interpret this as awakening the Ten?

M. Laitman: Yes, let's say that it's at least like that. 

Question (Latin 4): (31:43) In the spiritual work, we feel more and more the work in the Ten, and our lives revolve more and more around the Ten. We feel the ten. We feel the Ten more than the outside world. Is this correct? Is this good this way? 

M. Laitman: Yes, Yes, all right where are we?  

Reading Item 70: (32:38) This is what is written in the Tikkunim, Corrections of the Zohar. Awaken and rise for the Shechina, for you have an empty heart without the understanding to know and to attain it, although it is within you. The meaning of the matter is, as it is written, a voice says, call. As in, call, is there anyone who answers you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? And she says, what can I call? All that is flesh is hay. They are all as beasts that eat hay, and all their mercies are as the flower of the field. Every mercy that they do, they do for themselves. The meaning of this is, as it is written, a voice says, call, that a voice pounds in the heart of each and every one from Israel to cry and to pray for the raising of the Shechina, which is the collection of all the souls of Israel.

It brings evidence from the text, call, is there anyone who answers you? For calling means praying. But the Shechina says, what can I call? That is, I have no strength to raise myself from the dust, for all that is flesh is hay. They are all like beasts, eating grass and hay.

This means that they observe the commandments mindlessly, like beasts. Every mercy that they do, they do for themselves. Meaning that in the commandments they perform, they have no intention to do them in order to bring contentment to their Maker.

Rather, they observe the commandments only for their own benefit. And even all those who exert in Torah, every mercy that they do, they do for themselves. Even the best among them, who dedicate all their time to engagement in the Torah, do it only to benefit their own bodies, without the desirable aim to bring contentment to their Maker.

At that time, the spirit leaves and will not return to the world. It is said about the generation of that time, a spirit leaves and will not return to the world. This is the spirit of the Messiah, meaning the spirit of the Messiah, who must deliver Israel from their troubles until the complete redemption, to fulfill the words, the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

That spirit has left and does not shine in the world. Woe unto them who cause him to leave the world and not return to the world, for they are the ones who make the Torah dry and do not want to engage in the wisdom of Kabbalah. Woe unto those who make the spirit of the Messiah leave and depart from the world and not return to the world and not be able to return to the world. They are the ones who make the Torah dry, without any moisture of sense and reason, for they confine themselves only to the practical part of the Torah, and do not want to try to understand the wisdom of Kabbalah, to know and to learn the secrets of the Torah and the flavors of the commandments. Woe unto them, for they cause poverty and ruin, looting and killing and destruction in the world.

Woe unto them, for with these actions they bring about the existence of poverty, ruin, robbery, looting, killing, and destruction in the world. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (37:14) What does it mean the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord?

M. Laitman: Revelation of the Creator to all created beings. That's what I understand. 

Student: What will be its expression? 

M. Laitman: The revelation of the Creator to all the created beings. 

Student: What will it reveal? 

M. Laitman: That there is an upper force, and it simply governs everyone, obligates everyone, manages everyone.

Student: Obligates to what?

M. Laitman: Obligates that eventually they will advance towards the correction. 

Student: What is the knowledge of the Lord?

M. Laitman: Knowledge of the Lord is the middle line in attaining the Creator.

Student: Should all the people attain it?

M. Laitman: That I don't know.

Student: The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord?

M. Laitman: Also the earth will be full. I don't know who and how much and what you're thinking about, humans or who they even are.

Student: That's what I'm asking? 

M. Laitman: So I don't know who you see as humans and who not.

Student: The complete redemption, the earth will be full of the knowledge of the world. What kind of world will it be? What kind of humanity?

M. Laitman: I don't know. You're asking me about things that we haven't attained yet, that are in the plan of creation and I can't say anything about it.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (39:24) In the book, I think we read these items, maybe the most out of any text. And in previous years, I remember that there was this fire with regard to our responsibility and to dissemination. My question is, I see we're seeing things differently now. So my question to you is, when Baal HaSulam published his paper but said it's not the time and he stopped. Is there something similar that happened to us because of the reactions to the dissemination that we did? So we kind of held back because it's like a sign from above that we received?

M. Laitman: We felt that the world still isn't awakening, that it's not affecting them. 

Student: Today, when you see the situation in the news in Israel, and you see how it's affecting our friends, is it still not?

M. Laitman: It's still not. There's the matter that people even more want to go into their bubble and keep going in this way. And whatever will be, will be.

Student: What will be the sign that we should come out?

M. Laitman: They don't see themselves that they can be partners with the Creator.

Student: The general public?

M. Laitman: Yes, the public.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (41:25) From what we read here, it seems like matters are dependent only on those who study Kabbalah, or those who study Torah. Because he says, woe unto those who study in a way that doesn't give any moisture, they are the ones who cause it. So, why, in regard to dissemination to the general public or to the world, is there any connection between this and the correction of the world? Because he writes that the whole correction is engaging in reading the Zohar and the Kabbalah?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: Is dissemination to the general public or to the world, or to the people of Israel in general who live in Israel, is there any connection to correction? Is this what we should focus on? 

M. Laitman: They still need to believe that by reading the books of Kabbalah, they correct the world.

Student: That’s for the general public. But the main thing here is, that is woe unto them, is those who study without searching for the essence of the study itself?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: By trying every lesson to learn it by this, are we supposed to influence this public so they too will go with the right direction? Is this something we can do on our part?

M. Laitman: We do what we need to do. I'm not saying that 100%, but we're doing it correctly.

Student: I understand this, but do you think that by this we influence the internality and externality until it kind of seeps through to the rest? 

M. Laitman: Yes, I don't know what else we could add. Please. There are people with a lot of opinions, yes.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (43:40) Why is it correction of internality, why must it happen in the physical land of Israel? 

M. Laitman: I think that this is the place that demands it the most.

Student: There's no doubt, but it's also very difficult. Maybe it would be easier to be in groups, to study the internality of the matters. Why do we need the external mess, so to speak? 

M. Laitman: Without that, there won't be internal pressure, right?  

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (44:45) Why is he saying that there are people who are at fault? Why is he taking the responsibility of the Creator? Why is he saying that there is a group of people who can, you know, woe unto them, for they cause all the ruin and looting and destruction? 

M. Laitman: Because the Creator did what he was supposed to do in order to still leave an area to work for us. And more than that, he can't. The rest depends on us.

Student: He says, those who do not engage without delving in the internality?

M. Laitman: Yes.

Student: Are we delving in the Torah without dealing with internality?

M. Laitman: He's not talking only about us. There are those who engage in the Torah, that you need to do external actions and that's it.

Student: How can it be that there is an area where people are free from the influence of the Creator, that they can do whatever they want?

M. Laitman: The Creator gives it freedom, the Creator gives that freedom.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (45:58) It feels like the Creator is playing a joke on me.

M. Laitman: So what?

Student: Many times a day I forget about the purpose of my life, many times I fall asleep. Every time I hear it like, I keep whining all the time but when is it enough? When will he stop putting me to sleep? We want together, I get feelings from  sensations from the whole Kli, from the friends that we want to awaken the whole of the people of Israel, the whole world. Every point in the heart to be together, wanting the Creator to enjoy, but how will the Creator enjoy our situation, our present state? Are we all in exile or only me?

M. Laitman: Only you.

Student: So, take me out of the exile. I want to be, I want to bestow. I want to finally, I want this, what more can I do besides wanting it? Again and again I'm kind of dancing in front of the microphone, it's nonsense already. I want to have a desire to bestow. I asked for it, I asked several years ago to be the last, that all the friends will enter the kingdom of heaven, and then I too can come in, but it's clear when I see around me everyone is, they're waiting, they're just like waiting for me, they're looking at me. How can I correct my desire so the Creator will take me out of Egypt, out of the exile in my own will? 

M. Laitman: Why? 

Student: Why what?

M. Laitman: Why should He take you? 

Student: That's the purpose of life, no? To be able to return to serve Him. But how many times a day do I have to? Okay, in the lesson, finally, after some time, I'm building a desire, I'm learning from the friends, I want, I want, but what about the rest of the day, after this moment? I'm afraid of stepping out of my home, because the real desire can do something?

M. Laitman: Calm down, calm down, and try and organize yourself internally in a way that from day to day, you can see your work as much as it works, and more than that you don't need. More than that you don't need. 

Student: I don't need what? Each day I read the news, a situation, all the nonsense, you know, this side, that side, within the people of Israel, and I only get angry. But it doesn't move me, it doesn't make me do anything besides returning to the morning lesson, thank you very much, to the Creator, but how? What's the action? Through the day, so that I don't just sit, I'm just waiting to be awakened. Everything is for me?

M. Laitman: So here, he's awakening you, we see it on you, that you're sensitive to awakening.

Student: I'm happy, but I guess it's not enough.

M. Laitman: It's not enough, it's not enough.

Student: I want more, I can ask more for the friends, but they are already, they are the Creator. They're just waiting for me, I can't move, I'm frozen. Sorry.

M. Laitman: That's all right. 

Reader: (53:48) We will end with a song.

Song: (53:50)