The transcript has been transcribed and edited from English simultaneous interpretation, thus there may be potential semantic inaccuracies within it.
Daily Lesson (Morning) April 15, 2024.
Part 2: Baal HaSulam. The Freedom.
Reader: We are reading from the writings of Baal HaSulam, The Freedom, we're continuing in the subtitle The Necessity to Preserve the Freedom of the Individual.
Reading Subtitle: (00:20) “The Necessity to Preserve the Freedom of the Individual.”
Know, that this is the one true possession of the individual that must not be harmed or altered. This is because the end of all these tendencies, which are included in the source, is to materialize and assume the form of concepts when that individual grows and becomes knowledgeable, as a result of the law of evolution, which controls that chain and prompts it ever forward, as explained in the article, “The Peace.” Also, we learn that each and every tendency is bound to turn into a sublime and immeasurably important concept.
Thus, anyone who eradicates a tendency from an individual and uproots it from him causes the loss of that sublime and wondrous concept, intended to emerge at the end of the chain, for that tendency will never again emerge in any other body. Accordingly, we must understand that when a particular tendency takes the form of a concept, it can no longer be distinguished as good or bad, as such distinctions are recognized only when they are still tendencies or immature concepts, and in no way are any of them recognized when they assume the shape of real concepts, as will be thoroughly explained in the following essays.
From the above-said, we learn what a terrible wrong inflict those nations that force their reign on minorities, depriving them of freedom without allowing them to lead their lives according to the tendencies they have inherited from their ancestors. They are regarded as no less than murderers.
Even those who do not believe in religion or in purposeful guidance can understand the necessity to preserve the freedom of the individual by watching nature’s systems, for we can see how all the nations that ever fell, throughout the generations, came to it only due to their oppression of minorities and individuals, which had therefore rebelled against them and ruined them. Hence, it is clear to all that peace cannot exist in the world unless we take into consideration the freedom of the individual. Without it, peace will not be sustainable and ruin will prevail.
Thus, we have clearly defined the essence of the individual with utmost accuracy, after the deduction of all that he takes from the public. But now we face a question: “Where, in the end, is the individual himself?” All we have said thus far concerning the individual is perceived as only the property of the individual, inherited from his ancestors. But where is the individual himself, the heir and the carrier of that property, who demands that we guard his property?
From all that has been said thus far, we have yet to find the point of “self” in man, which stands before us as an independent unit. And why do I need the first factor, which is a long chain of thousands of people, one after the other, from generation to generation, with which we set the image of the individual as an heir? And why do I need the other three factors, which are the thousands of people standing side by side in the same generation? In the end, each individual is but a public machine, ever ready to serve the public as it sees fit.
In other words, he has become subordinate to two types of public: From the perspective of the first factor, he has become subordinate to a large public from past generations, standing one after the other. From the perspective of the three other factors, he has become subordinate to his contemporary public.
This is indeed a universal question. For this reason, many oppose the above, natural method. Although they thoroughly know its validity, they choose instead metaphysical methods, dualism, or transcendentalism to depict for themselves some spiritual object and how it sits within the body, as man’s soul. That soul is what teaches and operates the body, and it is man’s essence and his “self.”
Perhaps these interpretations could ease the mind, but the problem is that they have no scientific solution as to how a spiritual object can have any contact with physical atoms in the body, to bring it into any kind of motion. All their wisdom and delving did not help them find a sufficient bridge to cross that wide and deep crevice between the spiritual entity and the corporeal atom. Hence, science has gained nothing from all these metaphysical methods.
M. Laitman: In such a short article, he just buried all the efforts of biologists, zoologists, doctors, no matter who, anyone who can find some source of life.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (08:51) Maybe to say it this way, that the evidence is invested millions of dollars in order to breach the atom and to find the godly substance that he describes here that seemingly connects between the corporeal and spiritual. So this is really the whole thing. What I want to ask is about the freedom of the individual. He writes that we must protect the freedom of the individual, and this is truly destroying and it's a problem if a certain nation will be destroyed or annihilated. We see that throughout history, nations did disappear. Let's see, certain aboriginal and ones that I don't know about. Does this harm, or does this give us a certain deficiency, are we missing something to complete the correction?
M. Laitman: I don't know, but I guess that's what I think, that it is in the process of the development of the world. What can you do? Also, our nation, look how many changes it went through, like he writes, from all the glory we had, and where are we now? That there is a question here, but a solution, an answer, I don't think we can open that up yet.
Student: Yes, and if we can also ask, as far as mapping a small world, what does it mean that there are unique qualities in a person that you can destroy or not destroy, meaning how does that work within a person? It's like one of the things that the Kabbalist writes that is not clear how it is in internality, I can't understand.
M. Laitman: In internality, by education, by influencing a person from the environment, we can grow in him certain qualities and the opposite. Destroy other qualities in him, and that's how it changes.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (11:31) So, from what Baal HaSulam writes here, the question does arise, what is the answer? He says that there is a deep and broad gap between the corporeal matter and the spiritual atom. He's basically saying that the atom is operated by the spiritual, it's not what they thought. How can a corporeal matter have some contact with the physical atoms in the body to cause them some movement?
M. Laitman: Yes.
Student: Okay, so he's telling us what not. The question is what yes?
M. Laitman: We still have stuff to read before us.
Question (Petah Tikva Center) (12:23) What he's actually saying here is that a person is under two kinds of public, the hereditary things that are from him. And the second thing is his generation, meaning he is actually a product of both those things and he shows that there's really no choice here, really. But in the previous ones, he said that there is an environment and there's the influence and he gave Rabbi Yossi Ben Kisma an example. Is there choice or not?
M. Laitman: We'll see. For now, I don't see, I just see he didn't finish everything he wanted to say.
Student: He just now led us to a place where he says, okay, we're in a tolerable state that there is?
M. Laitman: Yes. Well, let's see.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (13:17) Can I try to maybe scrutinize what he's saying? He says it causes to be lost from the world, and exalted wondrous things if you harm the individual and destroy his existence? How can something even disappear from the world, and why won't it return?
M. Laitman: Because you influence him in a way that he doesn't want to be connected to part of his desires or intentions or thoughts. To be connected to some kind of process and then it disappears from the world, supposedly.
Student: Why does the world lose this high knowledge and exalted matters? It'll emerge from someone else, somewhere else, no?
M. Laitman: I don't know if it will emerge or not, but he writes that it could happen.
Student: What does humanity lose when they harm the freedom of an individual?
M. Laitman: By that, it kills him, destroys him, erases him.
Student: That's him, that individual?
M. Laitman: But that individual could be someone who brings a development, a very unique development.
Student: Can you give an example of what it means to destroy or to annihilate a tendency of a certain individual? What does that mean? An example for that maybe?
M. Laitman: We'll learn that soon. It's that when you come to an individual and perform actions on him in a way that by that he neutralizes what he had before in his opinions and in attainments, in his knowledge, and that's what you cause.
Student: It turns out that also today we're all influenced by the media, by governances, many things that develop us incorrectly?
M. Laitman: But all in all, it's in the hands of the Creator. It's not the individual, the individual is a lot more dangerous.
Question (Petah Tikva Center): (15:46) In another place he talks about the world reformers. He says that if we were to give them, they would straighten us all to the line that suits them. But the Creator doesn't let them and that's why the reformers of the world will be passing from the world. And so, does he give them freedom to the world's correctors or reformers, or will he let them control or not? I mean, does a person have the ability to destroy things altogether?
M. Laitman: Yes. You saw like there was Hitler and all kinds.
Student: What does he say in another place, that he doesn't let the world reformers do whatever they want?
M. Laitman: Yes, but still they do something, but the Creator won't let them finish. He stops them.
Student: Here, too, we see in this place that very different people come here and it's like one of the friends says, and let the light work, and the light straightens us all and does make something unified between all of us. I mean, all the external changes, so what does it mean to preserve individual freedoms and qualities?
M. Laitman: I don't think it's speaking about people like us, because none of us has his own opinions, that he can develop them until they become in the height of the world. I don't think it's speaking about people like us, as if there are such individuals here that can rise up above humanity and determine for humanity a way they develop.
Student: What opinions does he say that it's important to keep and its knowledge, there's potential for special knowledge there?
M. Laitman: That there were such, in our times, who can you point at? I don't know. There was Baal HaSulam and Rav Kook, all kinds of those. But today, I can see anyone that we can follow, and learn something from them. I don't have such a thing.
Student: I misunderstood this, that the freedom is to protect each and every one. So you're saying you're the freedom of the individuals to the Kabbalists, to those who are the leaders that the Creator chose to lead it?
M. Laitman: It's actually upon everyone, you're right. But the fact that we, also today, we can't, how do you see humanity respecting someone and following him?
Student: But if in the individual freedoms, we're talking about those people that the Creator sends to lead humanity like Baal HaSulam, etc, then the Creator cares for them. There's nothing to worry about someone being able to bend them or change them or block them.
M. Laitman: We will live and see, we still have what to learn.
Reading Subtitle: (19:37) “The Will to Receive Existence from Absence.”
To move a step forward in a scientific manner here, all we need is the wisdom of Kabbalah. This is because all the teachings in the world are included in the wisdom of Kabbalah. Concerning spiritual lights and vessels (in the commentary on Tree of Life, Branch 1), we learn that the primary innovation, from the perspective of creation, which He has created existence from absence, applies to one and only aspect, defined as the “will to receive.” All other matters in the whole of creation are not innovations at all; they are not existence from absence but existence from existence. This means that they extend directly from His essence, as the light extends from the sun. There, too, there is nothing new, since what is found in the core of the sun extends outwards.
However, the will to receive is complete novelty. Prior to creation such a thing did not exist in reality since He has no quality of will to receive at all, as He precedes everything… so from whom would He receive?
For this reason, this will to receive, which He extracted as existence from absence, is complete novelty. But everything else is not considered an innovation that could be called “creation.” Hence, all the vessels and the bodies, from spiritual worlds and from physical worlds, are deemed spiritual or corporeal substance whose nature is to want to receive.
M. Laitman: (22:10) Okay.
Re-reading: (22:24) The Will to Receive, Existence from Absence.
To move a step forward in a scientific manner here, all we need is the wisdom of Kabbalah. This is because all the teachings in the world are included in the wisdom of Kabbalah. Concerning spiritual lights and vessels (in the commentary on Tree of Life, Branch 1), we learn that the primary innovation, from the perspective of creation, which He has created existence from absence, applies to one and only aspect, defined as the “will to receive.” All other matters in the whole of creation are not innovations at all; they are not existence from absence but existence from existence. This means that they extend directly from His essence, as the light extends from the sun. There, too, there is nothing new, since what is found in the core of the sun extends outwards.
However, the will to receive is complete novelty. Prior to creation such a thing did not exist in reality since He has no quality of will to receive at all, as He precedes everything… so from whom would He receive?
For this reason, this will to receive, which He extracted as existence from absence, is complete novelty. But everything else is not considered an innovation that could be called “creation.” Hence, all the vessels and the bodies, from spiritual worlds and from physical worlds, are deemed spiritual or corporeal substance whose nature is to want to receive.
Reader: (25:17) Lesson Summary: Dear friends, we are now going to do a lesson summary and summarize everything we have received from Rav on the first part, on the second part of the lesson. Please, lesson summary.
Student: (25:43) Yes, it's hard to summarize, we got so much in the first part of the lesson, what got me especially was the scrutiny, what do we actually want, what is the help we're asking from the Creator, because there are a few stages on the path of development. I also heard the friends asking about it, or we're asking about the state of the exile, because without the exile we don't have a vessel, we don't have a need and we need that need, or we're asking for the correction to have a desire to bestow. Not only that, we'll actually have the desire itself to bestow, or we might even need to ask for the goal which eventually is the purpose, to enjoy bestow. What I understood that whatever happens, we need to concretely ask to have a common plea, that we'll want something together and for that, we need to be connected and to exactly scrutinize what our request is.
Student: (27:38) It's interesting that it connects to the second part, where we're talking about the freedom of the individual, and that we're all made of a desire to receive, which is existence from absence. And if we really discern that we're made of a desire to receive and each of us is so important, and from each being this way, also, we could be in the society in the Ten, and each can contribute his part. And we together, from all the individual parts, come to the request of this scrutiny of the correct request, the more and more scrutinized request, especially in Pesach. And really, what do we want? We want to emerge out of Egypt, and do we really want to really, can we really help one another? There are very deep scrutinies in Pesach, or towards it.
Student: (29:05) The Creator created to do. We got the will to receive, we need to do everything for the will to bestow. For that we need to demand from the Creator to give us the desire, not even the desire, the intention. And that is only from the environment, of deficiency for it, that's why we're here.
Student: (29:48) This isn't such a simple thing, because you discover that the Creator created the desire to receive, and by a person working to attain the desire to bestow, it's seemingly against the Creator each time it goes against the purpose of creation. But we discover that it's the Creator who wants for us to work towards having a deficiency to bestow.
Student: (30:08) In the first article he's speaking about the desire to bestow, which is Israel, against the sons of Israel and Esau. He's explaining the process, how will we know that we will inherit. And actually the will to bestow, if it gets the desire to bestow, so he'll be satisfied. So, that's why I have to do the opposite action to increase the will to receive. And then from that he'll get a true demand to come out to the will to bestow. And then there's a direction to acquire the will to bestow. The Creator created one against the other.
Student: (31:05) Correct. It's interesting, also the first part and also the second part. It all went around the creature, basically. And the Creator being Israel, the desire to receive, and its work in this correction is truly, well seemingly to invent, because he doesn't have such a desire, to invent the desire to bestow. And that's his work. We are ready to do all the things and look for all kinds of sophisticated ways to do it. Basically what he's doing is finding the deficiency in him, and he can't do it unless it's through the request. But to reach this request, it goes through many stages of development, where this deficiency will truly be missing in him. And that's what he's lacking in life. This deficiency is truly not one that is found, but in the mutual work between the created beings, they create it, so it becomes truly lacking. Then there's room to turn to the Creator, and actually a true demand for the Creator to give them this deficiency, which is actually not there, and by this they will discover wholeness, even though it's opposite them. This is kind of like correction for creation. Everyone will receive the correction of the goal.
Student: (32:53) Well, first of all, deficiency is a deficiency. We need, he's not speaking of a filling to bestow, he's speaking about a desire to bestow. So we need to exchange the desire, and it's not exactly to exchange it. It's also the intention, that I understood that the desire to bestow on its own doesn't exist, but it must be against the will to receive, that when you tame the will to receive, only then it starts developing against it.
Reader: (33:37) Dear friends, we're continuing with our workshop. We heard from Rav, that it is very difficult for us to connect our prayers together to one common prayer. For this, we need to become as one man in one heart. Again, it's very difficult for us to connect our prayers together to one common prayer. It is for this, that we need to become as one man in one heart. So now each and every Ten will make an effort and build its common and one prayer, please.
Student: (34:33) We really feel that the most important thing we're lacking is that we will be in a request and a plea that we'll keep coming back to it and think about it. We always say, how will I think of the purpose of creation of the friends? And we see many times that if the friends are thinking, so we are thinking and we need to create that direction. So maybe in our plea, we'll think about the friends, prayer of the many, that the friends will be in the right intention throughout the day.
Student: (35:44) Yesterday there was a very powerful feeling in the meal when we sat together, all of us. It was really a very strong feeling that we are truly as one man in one heart, the whole world Kli and the meal really connected us. There was one prayer which I think is most correct, that we are all together with all of the world, all of humanity will sit around one table and eat the meal that was created by the Creator.
Student: (36:38) From all our actions and yearning, the quality of bestowal will develop as a result.
Student: (36:48) We want to implement the purpose of creation, to take this desire, existence from absence the Creator created and implement it, change our common intention and implement the purpose of creation and receive all of that and bring it back to adhesion to the Creator with that same intention. And we do this as all the different desires to receive, make room for this and return to one point. And we're all incorporating and trying to feel everyone, feel the others. And let's hope that this request will be one common request, a sharp one that rises to the Creator with the demand to be in adhesion, in equivalence of form with Him.
Student: (37:45) That one request, it's interesting. We supposedly say that it's in a person, he asks, he wants, but the request to bestow is built, supposedly from a lot of bodies, but supposedly a lot of bodies but actually it's all one body. As the parts and organs that are on one body, put that body together. So in this way, every request and each and every one belongs to the general public that wants to put one plea together. So on one hand, we want to all feel incorporated in one body. On the other hand, we want to use that body to give it to that one body, to devote ourselves to it. And also to demand from the Creator that he unifies all these parts into one desire, that we can't really build it. Like the life that exists in a body, that you supposedly have all organs but there's a Creator who gives a life in that body. So we want that life, we want to ban from the Creator to implement each one's desires to actually bare life, that the Creator could dwell in there.
Student: (39:30) Maybe that's our request, for us to have a common request, for us to be incorporated and truly be included in feeling the deficiencies of one another. Yes, we're impressed by them, they're important to us, and we want them to be realized.
Reader: (39:56) Okay friends, we'll end with more words we heard from Rav. The right Ten is when all the Ten friends understand that in their mutual adhesion, they build the Ten. That they have a special force to bestow to the Creator and through them, to Gmar Tikkun, the end of correction.
Reader: (40:34) We'll end with a song.
Song: (40:35)