Daily Morning Lesson. January 10, 2026

The Agenda of the Assembly 2.17(1986)

(01-05-03)

Part 1: Writings of  Rabash. 

Reader: Hello friends, in the first part we will study a lesson of Rav from January 5, 2003. It is based on the article, “The Agenda of the Assembly 2,” which is in the writings of Rabash, first volume, page 267 in Hebrew. We will read it together in the Tens. Tens  that finish ahead of time are invited to start the workshop on the main points. So let's start. 

Reading: (00:46) In Masechet Berachot (p 32), our sages wrote, “Rabbi Shamlai said, ‘One should always praise the Creator, and then pray.’ From where do we have that? From Moses, as it is written, ‘And I pleaded.’” Baal HaSulam interpreted that when one wishes to ask for a favor from another, he must know, a) if he has what he asks of him, because if he doesn’t, there is no point in asking, and b) that he has a kind heart. This is so because he may have what he asks, but not the kind of heart that would give.

Hence, first one needs to praise the Creator, meaning believe that the Creator has everything that one is asking for, and that the Creator is merciful and grants everyone his wish for the best.

It turns out that when the friends gather in one place, the assembly is certainly for a purpose, since when one allocates part of his time—which he would use for his own needs, relinquishing his engagements, and partaking in an assembly—he wishes to acquire something. Thus, it is important to try that when each of the friends goes home, he should see what he came to the assembly with, and what he has acquired now that he is going home.

Sometimes during the assembly of friends, everyone feels good during the meeting. At that time, it does not occur to them to contemplate with which possession they will go home, meaning what I have in my hand, which I acquired at the assembly of friends and did not have before I came to the society. And then he sees that he has nothing.

This is similar to what is written (Deuteronomy 23:25), “When you come into your friend’s vineyard, you may eat grapes until you have satiated your soul, but do not put any in your vessels.” We should interpret it that when the friends gather, this is called “Your friend’s vineyard,” when you sit and eat and drink together, talking about this and that, and the body enjoys during the action. This is similar to, “You may eat grapes until you have satiated your soul.”

But when you go home and wish to see what you have in your Kelim [vessels], to take some livelihood home, when we leave the gathering and wish to examine what we have in our Kelim after all the partying, we see that, “But do not put any in your vessels.” In other words, there is nothing in the Kelim with which to revive the soul after the assembly.

However, when one exerts, he should make certain that it is not without reward. It is as we say in the prayer, “And came unto Zion,” “Lest we labor in vain.” Rather, when one goes to an assembly, he should acquire nourishments there so that when he goes home he will be able to see if he has something to put in the Kelim. Then he will have the nourishments to feed himself until the next meeting. And until that time, he will have from what has been prepared, meaning from what he has acquired during the assembly of friends.

Therefore, first one must praise the importance of the gathering, and then see what to acquire from that activity. It is as our sages said, “One should always praise the Creator, and then pray.” In other words, the beginning of the assembly, meaning the beginning of the discussions, which is the beginning of the assembly, should be about praising the society. Each and every one must try to provide reasons and explanations for their merit and importance. They should speak of nothing but the praise of society.

Finally, its praise should be disclosed by all the friends. Then they should say, “Now we are through with Stage One of the assembly of friends, and Stage Two begins.” Then each will state his mind about the actions we can take so that each and every one will be able to acquire the love of friends, what each person can do to acquire love in his heart for each and every one in the society.

And once Stage Two is completed—suggestions regarding what can be done in favor of society—begins Stage Three. This concerns carrying out of the friends’ decisions about what should be done.

And regarding the praise of society, in Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah), p 137, he introduces the matter of love of friends, that by bonding with the friends he can obtain the greatness of the Creator. The whole world is immersed in self-love, and he wishes to go by the path of bestowal. But this is against the common view because this is the nature we were born with due to the purpose of creation, which is, as was said, “His will to do good to His creatures.”

And all our power to resist it, to act to the contrary—that not only do we not want to receive for ourselves, but we rather want to give, which is considered that all our actions will be only in order to bestow contentment upon our Maker—is because it is within the nature of bestowal that when one gives to an important person he enjoys it. It turns out that without pleasure, one cannot do anything because it is against nature.

However, we can replace the pleasure. This means that instead of receiving pleasure from an act of reception, we will wish to receive pleasure from an act of bestowal. This is called “equivalence of form.” We should say that as the Creator enjoys giving to the creatures, we should enjoy giving to the Creator.

Otherwise, meaning if we have no joy or pleasure while we give to the Creator, we are blemishing the equivalence of form. It is as our sages said, “There was no joy before Him as on the day when heaven and earth were created.” There was no joy before the Creator since the day the world was created like the joy that He is destined to rejoice with the righteous in the future (The Zohar, 1, 115).

Therefore, if we have no joy while we are keeping the commandments of the Creator, then if one aims in order to bestow, it is not considered equivalence of form because one can only be glad where there is pleasure. It turns out that if he has no delight or pleasure in giving to the Creator, it is still not regarded as equivalence of form, that he has room to receive the upper abundance, since he is still lacking the pleasure that the Creator has while giving to the creatures.

It therefore follows that the whole basis upon which we can receive delight and pleasure, and which is permitted for us to enjoy—and is even mandatory—is to enjoy an act of bestowal. Thus, there is one point we should work on—appreciation of spirituality. This is expressed in paying attention to whom I turn, with whom I speak, whose commandments I am keeping, and whose laws I am learning, meaning in seeking advice concerning how to appreciate the Giver of the Torah.

And before one obtains some illumination from above by himself, he should seek out like-minded people who are also seeking to enhance the importance of any contact with the Creator in whatever way. And when many people support it, everyone can receive assistance from his friend.

We should know that “Two is the least plural.” This means that if two friends sit together and contemplate how to enhance the importance of the Creator, they already have the strength to receive enhancement of the greatness of the Creator in the form of awakening from below. And for this act, the awakening from above follows, and they begin to have some sensation of the greatness of the Creator.

According to what is written, “In the multitude of people is the King's glory,” it follows that the greater the number of the collective, the more effective is the power of the collective. In other words, they produce a stronger atmosphere of greatness and importance of the Creator. At that time, each person’s body feels that he regards anything that he wishes to do for holiness—meaning to bestow upon the Creator—as a great fortune, that he has been privileged with being among people who have been rewarded with serving the King. At that time, every little thing he does fills him with joy and pleasure that now he has something with which to serve the King.

To the extent that the society regards the greatness of the Creator with their thoughts during the assembly, each according to his degree originates the importance of the Creator in him. Thus, he can walk all day in the world of gladness and joy, meaning he enjoys every little thing that he does concerning the work of the Creator. This is so because if he remembers that he should contemplate spirituality for even a minute, he immediately says, “I am already grateful and praising and glorifying the Creator,” since he believes that now the Creator has called him and wishes to speak with him.

And when a person imagines that the King is calling him and tells him that he wants to play with him, what joy would he experience then, and what high spirits would he have? Certainly, in that uplifted state, he would not think any trifle thoughts. He would only be a little embarrassed at not knowing the King’s laws and manners—how to behave when the King speaks to him.

But he considers what he does know how to do for the King as a great fortune, since he nonetheless knows some rules by which to keep the King’s commandments, which he learned at school when he was young. And now that he has grown and wishes to serve the King, he will certainly miss the knowledge of the King’s laws.

It turns out that his concern is that he does not know what gives the King more pleasure, which act or which intention. And other than that, he lives in a world that is all good. While gathering for the assembly, this is what the society should think, and to speak of the greatness of society, as it is written, “One should always praise the Creator, and then pray.”

It is the same with the society. When we wish to demand something of the society, and this is called “praying,” we must first establish the merit of the society, and then “pray,” meaning demand of the society to give us what we want from it.

Thus, first we need to see what the society has, which possessions they have, which we can receive from them by bonding with them. Perhaps we do not need the possession that the society has, but moreover, we runs as far away from it as possible.

Accordingly, when one comes to the assembly of friends, he should always see whether or not the friends have the goal that he craves, that each of them has some grip on that goal. And he thinks that by everyone bonding together for one goal, each will have his own share, as well as the shares of the whole of society. It follows that each member of the society will have the same strength as the whole of society together.

Each one should seriously consider the purpose of the gathering—that it should bring about a sensation, following the assembly of friends, that each one has something in his hand which he can put in his vessels, and that he is not in the form of, “But do not put any in your vessels.” Each one should consider that if he does not sit especially attentive during the assembly, not only does he himself lose, but he also corrupts the whole of society.

This is similar to what is written in the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah, Chapter 4): “Two people went inside a boat. One of them began to drill beneath him making a hole in the boat. His friend told him, ‘Why are you drilling?’ And he replied, ‘Why should you care; I am drilling under me, not under you?’ So he replied, ‘You fool! Both of us will drown together with the boat!’”

And after they speak of the importance and necessity of the society, there begins the order of correction—how and with what can we reinforce the society to become one bloc, as it is written, “And there Israel camped before the mount” (Exodus 19), and it was explained, “as one man and one heart.” The order should be that anyone with a suggestion that can improve the love of friends, it should be discussed, but it must be accepted by all the friends, so there is no issue of coercion here.

Thus far we discussed the connection between man and man, which is to bring us the connection between man and God, as it is written in Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah), p 137.

 It follows that as they speak of the importance of love of friends, and that its whole importance is that it leads us to the love of the Creator, they should also think that the love of friends should bring us into the importance of the love of the Creator.

Reader: Now we will enter a lesson with Rav from 2003. 

M. Laitman: (24:54) We read an article, The Order of the Assembly 2, from the rungs of the letter, Volume 5, a part called the articles written about the Babylonian Talmud, blessings. So the Order of the Assembly. Order means what we have in the beginning, what do we work on in the middle, and what should be the result. 

Our whole work is called a meal, a meal of the Creator, a meal that the righteous enjoy, a meal of the skin of the whale, there are many names for it. In the Torah, we also see all the time, it's either wars or meals. The connection between people, the connection between man and the Creator, receiving in order to bestow, a connection between two is called a meal that one receives from the other. Our work begins to be in that we enjoy reception. Those are our vessels, even though we received some inner drive from the point in the heart, and we are searching for something, but the distance is still great, and the way is far from understanding that pleasure from reception is pleasure that cannot really be realized. 

The vessels of reception were blocked to begin with, there is the first restriction over them, they can never be filled, except for the tiny illumination that can shine in them only for a very short moment. When a person begins to understand that he needs to have a little bit of understanding of the path, so he needs to prepare himself to receive a different view than what he has. He can receive a different view only from the environment, from the society. Well it depends on which view he wants to receive. If it is a view that is close to the Creator, so then it is a view that is opposite to him. 

Therefore he has to find a society so that this society will change him in some way. By himself he cannot change, he must have the society to change him. When, after all of his thoughts, he reaches a state where he already understands that he needs a society, then he prepares himself. What should he bestow to the society, what should the society bestow to him or influence him? 

This is called a preparation for the assembly. Without that, it is impossible. From that feeling that he wants something, and the scrutiny that his desire is for something that is outside of this world for spirituality and you can get the forces and the drive for that only from the outside, it's impossible to get it from himself. From himself means from the Creator, it will come from the Creator, meaning to walk in the path of suffering. 

If he will go by himself in a pace where he keeps on adding, this is considered to be by the society, by the environment. From that, he reaches the feeling of the necessity for the society, and he prepares himself for the assembly.

M. Laitman: (29:48) What is an assembly? A connection with the people around him who have the right view, that he can reinforce them in that view and receive reinforcement from them. Certainly, from this whole preparation, it becomes clear to us what kind of an assembly we should have. What should we talk about there? An assembly doesn't mean necessarily that we get together once a week. 

An assembly is in general, all of the connection between us during all of the time that we are together, maybe not even together, that doesn't matter. So the assembly should be about the topic of the praise of the society that gives praise to the Creator. Why praise? 

I exist in a will to receive and I enjoy whatever I'm receiving, and I don't care about anything else but that and I hear that I need to reach a state which is the opposite of my state. My vessels do not change, they demand pleasure, and the pleasure that they receive is the fuel for them. Besides being a filling, it is also a fuel. This means that if I will know that I'm going towards the reception of pleasure, then for that I have fuel, I have energy, motivation to advance, I have the possibility to move myself. 

If I don't see ahead of me any possibility to receive, to fill myself, then I can't make any movement. 

Therefore, in order to supply ourselves with fuel, we need to replace the pleasure from pleasure from reception to pleasure from bestowal. Baal HaSulam writes in the article Matan Torah, The Giving of the Torah, that this is a psychological matter, that you can truly do it on our plane. 

So, the society should provide me with the knowledge, the praise about the fact that it is great, and its goal is great, and that these actions of bestowal are special actions, they're spiritual, they're exalted, and it is worthwhile for me to connect with the friends for that, because otherwise I would not acquire this quality. And that the Creator is great. What does it mean that He is great? He's not great because He rules everything with His control, with His dictatorship.

Rather He's great in His qualities, the quality of the Creator, which is called to do good, and He's good and doing good, it is great. Each and every one can give all kinds of grades to the Creator and see Him in all kinds of different manners. 

The greatness of the Creator means the greatness of the quality of being good and doing good, the greatness of the quality of bestowal, so that I will want to resemble Him. By that, the society positions itself against the surrounding world, and from that certainly, it needs to draw all kinds of conclusions. 

How should it be organized, structured, so that the world won't influence it and corrupt this view, and so that it will be able to influence in the most beneficial way to its members, the greatness and praise of the goal of the Creator, of the quality of bestowal, and that this will provide fuel to each and every one. 

M. Laitman: (34:40) When a person already receives from the society the greatness of the Creator, then a new state begins to be established in him, which is called Lo-Lishma, not for her sake. That he wants to bestow to the Creator, along with the fact that he thinks of how will he get some benefit to himself from that, that he exists in both of these goals simultaneously. 

This is why it is still considered Lo-Lishma, but nevertheless in his picture there is already bestowal to the Creator, an inclination towards that. For that, we need a great fuel in order to bestow. The society should already provide the person a lot of the importance of the Creator and the importance of bestowal, so that this state of Lo-Lishma will be formed in him. Then he already exerts in Lo-Lishma more and more, so that all his thoughts and all of his desires are for the Creator, that he longs to Him and he wants to enjoy from Him. 

So here is both giving and also reception from this longing, and he reaches the maximum measure, so that he filled his quota, as we call it in this longing, as Rabash writes in the letters. 

Then by that he reaches a stage where it is already, I labored and I found. And then he is given from above light that corrects the vessel, and he enters the first spiritual degree, he crosses the Machsom, the barrier, and he reaches Lishma. Where his intention even though it's the smallest intention, but he's already with an inclination for the sake of heaven, for the Creator. 

It turns out that this whole process depends on how much we will receive the importance of the society, how much it will be fine in our eyes, because this is the source of the power. How much the friends will be important for me in that they are truly my supporters, and without them I'm like a very ill person that cannot rise to life. That my whole life depends on that, to such an extent as he’s describing to us, that if someone does not give his investment to the society, then he's seemingly drilling a hole in the society, in the boat. 

And it doesn't matter even if there are thousands of people there, but one makes a hole, the ship begins to drown in the ocean. The ocean is the light of Hochma, and the ship is seemingly the screen, the resistance. So in such a way we can be in the ocean, and we can even be saved and even advance towards the goal. And if someone makes a hole in that then certainly our whole attitude towards the light of Hochma, towards the screen, changes. 

From that we can extract all of the laws of the society, and the behavior between the friends, and the behavior between this society and the external world how much we need to be shielded against it, truly isolated from it, in terms of being influenced by it.

We need to be close to it in terms of bestowing to it and giving it all the good, whatever we understand is good, but not receiving any foreign views, which go against our path of making the Creator great and equalizing with Him. This is actually what the article says. Any questions? 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (40:04) What can I begin to do on my level as bestowal?

M. Laitman: This is what he writes. Also, the student from Paris asks, in a group of beginners, how can we begin to increase the importance of spirituality? 

Student: So what can you do? What actions? 

M. Laitman: Well, think. First of all, you need to think, which actions can I do, what for, and where, and with whom? Think about all the questions that awaken accordingly and start scrutinizing them. And if you can't, or you don't know, or if you can and do know, it doesn't matter, start scrutinizing them from the beginning of the question, without knowing or not knowing, start discussing it with the friends. This is already a topic. Where to begin? He says, start with that. Through the assembly, we need to reach the praise of the society. What is the praise of the society or the praise of the Creator? Which quality are you going to praise in the society? It can be a group of criminals. 

So what exactly are you going to praise? You are going to praise that source of power that supplies us with fuel to reach the purpose of creation. This exists in the society. And I pray for this generator because I depend on it. If it gives me nourishment, I'll have the power to continue on the path. If it doesn't give it to me, I won't have it. So I praise the fact that in the society, in this thing that is next to me and I'm in it, there are truly forces we've reached to reach the goal. That the Creator placed in this world a power station, a power supply. He himself is hidden, but He gave me this power supply so that I can reach Him. And from there, I can draw forces.

Student: The friend is always like an embodiment of the Creator to me? That's how it'll be? 

M. Laitman: Well, the relationships between the friends are built in all kinds of different manners. There are many manners to that.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (43:04) How to relate what you're saying now and all this article with our dissemination work? 

M. Laitman: Our dissemination work, our framework, it's not some framework where we just work. It's not necessarily related in its structure according to the group of friends. It's an enterprise. We created our enterprise for the creation of materials and the dissemination of the materials of Kabbalah so that first of all, it will serve as a basis for all of our connections. That in that, whether we want to or not, it doesn't matter on  which degree we are, we're nevertheless obligated to come and carry out all kinds of things. 

It's like having a clock or a board where there is a certain order of work written on the wall that compels me to come and work. It's simply a framework. How will I live that framework, what will I fill it from within? That's already our inner spiritual work. But the factory, the enterprise itself is just a framework in which we can put spirituality. 

Student: Where are the friends here? 

M. Laitman: Well, the friends if you relate all of those that you work with, like employees, workers, and you're also just working, then it's just a group of workers. If you start to relate to them above that, according to your development, according to your necessity, then the factory becomes according to your demand, according to the way you look at it, it becomes a group of friends who is advancing towards the goal.

And then your work also supports and helps that, in that your work is also in the same direction. And then you also fill your work with spirituality. But this is already your work, it depends on you. You already have a framework, the vessel is there, the pipelines, the relations, they are there. You just need to revive them, to put a spirit of life in them. This is what you need, but at least you have that. You see, so there's a body, but it lacks the spirit of life. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (45:42) If I understood the article... 

M. Laitman: The transition, this transition is through your desire, through your attitude. If you have a framework, which is called the factory, the enterprise that works on creating the materials of Kabbalah and the dissemination of the materials of Kabbalah. 

So now there's a question, what am I doing it for? Why am I doing it? What's my goal? What's the purpose of the society? What are they doing? What do they want from me, and what do I want from them, and so on. 

So, if you ask that then your attitude to everything that you do and what everyone is doing will be a purposeful attitude. And if you don't ask, then you advance nevertheless. For example, in the form of the still of Kabbalah, of Kedusha, let's say, you nevertheless are advancing because you're doing so. But it's just that you lack the intention. So the intentions follow the actions also. 

Nevertheless, a person asks, what is he doing it for? Whether you want to or not, you are connected to other people here, and maybe nevertheless, someone gets this question in his head. What am I living for? What is the benefit from me being here? And then you have this exchange of thoughts, and we pass it from one to the other without even speaking, because we're connected together in the same act. So there is already some sort of participation in the same flows, same currents. 

That is, if we want to or not, anyone who is inside, he advances somehow. Even if he's the most lazy, he does get these questions, and he can’t just sit quietly. But of course, he's not hastening the time. Only if someone is truly going against this message, this is considered that he's drilling a hole, and he should simply be removed. He should truly be removed from here. 

You remember there was this guy here, what was his name? Who said, what is this society? What is that? Suddenly this thing erupted from him that he can’t take it. I don't want it. Before that, he didn't have this thought. Before, this whole issue never awakened in him. Suddenly, he was mixed with us in all kinds of things, and suddenly it became very clear to him that this is completely opposite him. And then he truly couldn't hold himself, and he erupted. 

Well, that's a very nice scrutiny. I'm not saying anything about him. He scrutinized it, and he went away. This was a very conspicuous example. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (48:58) Externally, this shape of the dissemination work is okay, it doesn’t need to be changed? 

M. Laitman: No, we need to change the dissemination work as much as possible, so that its form will resemble the spiritual form. Then the work in dissemination will advance us faster towards questions and problems and spiritual issues, along with the fact that we will be doing corporeal things. Meaning, in the dissemination work, we're acting even in the level of the still.

What does it mean still? Still means without a connection, without an intention. Without an intention it's called still. With intention, we already have the vegetative, or living or animate, or speaking, it's already alive in some form. So even without an intention, without any connection to the Creator, without any relation to Him… Well, there is a relation, but let's say it's unaware. 

So, we need to determine in our dissemination work all kinds of laws that will be as close as possible to spirituality. Our order, our relations, the work, the demand, giving, all of these things should be as close as possible. 

You can't demand from the other that he will think about the purpose of creation, that he will have intentions, that he will pray. You can't demand such things. And besides it all belongs to the framework of the society, the framework of the dissemination work. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (51:00) In terms of my dissemination, bestowal in the lesson…  

M. Laitman: We'll see in a bit. Oh, we have friend from Minnesota asking. 

Question (Internet): (51:25) How can we know that there's a hole in our boat? Who's drilling it? 

M. Laitman: How can we know that? That's a problem. We don't know. Perhaps I myself am drilling a hole, and I'm not aware of it. And maybe I know it, but I can't stop myself. Perhaps I need to alert the friends to stop me because I don't want to harm, but I am. And perhaps I'm not seeing, and the friends should see it, but they too are apologizing or they're being lazy or not organized to see it, and then they have to see how to deal with it. 

So there's many issues here, many aspects. The hole means that if we need to speak of the greatness of the assembly of society and the Creator, that anyone going against that weakens the society in that, and each of us. He is drilling a hole. And there's outcomes from that in many ways of what it means to drill a hole. 

Where do we see the praise? Where do we see the greatness? From looking at others how they work, how they study, how they are on fire, then I have to see that it’s truly so. 

If someone barely comes once a week and disregards and weakens me when he comes as if he's doing me a favor and participating with me in the lesson, then that would be drilling a hole. If someone comes, but even though he's coming, he's coming in order to benefit himself and fill his egoism here, rather than contributing and showing how much he participates, then he's also drilling a hole. So anything that disturbs me, hinders me from being inspired by the greatness of society, that brings me the greatness of the Creator, that's called drilling a hole, and that phenomenon or person needs to be corrected. 

So, like Rabash said, frivolity ruins everything. So, first of all check according to that. There's another question from a very distant place.

Question (Internet): (54:31) Is there room for a virtual society, a virtual group, and how realistic and effective is it? 

M. Laitman: Well, in fact, a virtual group, where a few friends connect that way, could be sometimes more effective than a non-virtual group, which is working in the same space. Because in the virtual group, they connect to each other to their desires without bodies. And they connect among them with a view and a goal that is already relatively abstract. And so, that connection could be a lot faster, stronger. Of course, it's lacking this kind of connection, the disturbances that happen in an ordinary society, because it's still lacking the work through the body of each and every one. But it'll come. What's important is to start this work in a virtual group. And whatever you need to get as disturbances so as to increase your desire and overcome each and every disturbance and go forward, you'll get what you need. There's no prevention for a person who is alone to connect with people like himself and be with them in a group that can be successful in the work. Today, we're advancing to a state where even if we are not physically close to each other, we can work together in disseminating and preparing materials. We can certainly help each other with praise, and greatness, and strengthening, praise of our society and the Creator, and this mutual strengthening. The connection that we can develop today through the communication lines and channels, through our inner desire expressed through this kind of communication, does allow the development of virtual groups with no limitation. No limitation. If I see my friend here before me, and I'm with him in a lesson here, or I see him on the screen, and I feel that he's with me in the lesson, just like now we have from Minnesota, Paris, Odessa, and all kinds of people around the world. So if I know them, if we exchange as if we're in a single boat, yeah, we're carrying the same thing and ourselves towards the Creator. So, I don't think there's any kind of prevention here and that truly this can be viable not less than a non-virtual group. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (58:43) How can a Person bring himself to a maximal state of inspiration, to be impressed from everything that is happening around him? 

M. Laitman: How can a person bring himself to maximum inspiration from the environment? He can't. If the environment influences him in such a way that he will want to be inspired to the maximum from the environment, then he will. 

Student: How do you break through this circle? 

M. Laitman: To break the circle, you'll start. Very simple. You're asking now, so start. Start bestowing to society so that it wants to bestow to each and every one to be inspired to the maximum from the society so as to reach equivalence of form and closeness to the Creator. 

Student: Are there any tactics we can use? 

M. Laitman: Tactics? Whatever you want. Buy them gifts, make them committed to different things, talk to them, to each and to all of them together. Start! That is free choice. All right? Go ahead, do it. You don't know what to do? It doesn't matter. Do what you don't know. It's free choice. The only free choice. To the extent that you will have praise for spirituality from the society, only to that extent you can advance to the Creator. You're not going to have any other fuel. You won't. 

What's the question? It says either group or death. It's simple. 

But you have people around you who want the same thing. So, talk to them. Start organizing a society, not your dissemination work but the relationships in the dissemination work that will be flowing through your activities as workers in dissemination. You will infuse spirit of life. 

This is also what people in our ordinary world want to do in their organizations. You know, that besides the people working for money, that they will want to invest in the work and really want to do it well and, you know, put their heart into it, and more than what's just plan, and so on. 

And so that's why they do all kinds of contests and group activities and all kinds of things. Baal HaSulam writes about it, that we needed to praise the people who give us a good example. Yes. Oh, they probably already have some work. They're asking if we can divide the groups to good ones, and bad ones, and all that.

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:02:08) So, isn't the result of that that there is a strong connection within each department regarding matters of work?

M. Laitman: Yes, certainly working in one of the departments, whether it's video, or internet, or design, or kitchen, working together creates conditions for such a connection, yes. But certainly it is not a must. It doesn't have to be that way. It is a condition that perhaps makes it easier to start there and discuss, but not necessarily. 

It's as if business issues, work issues, and spirituality is something else. No, I don't think this is so. I'm not really deep into it. But I don't think. Still, it doesn't matter. 

There are many possibilities to bestow through the department or through the general management, or in a gathering of friends where there's no management, and no meeting, or with heads and responsible people, or anything. Just friends. Everyone's equal. Just each time someone else organizes the gathering for the sake of order, but everyone is equal. And then you could be without any departments, or organization, or anything, and just start working on everyone. 

Perhaps you're saying that by working in a certain department and putting all my time there, I'm quite limited in working in a different way with others, in a spiritual way with others. He's in some other place, some other time. Who knows? True, but you can't take a hundred people and always keep them in your field of view. I can't be connected to someone because I now feel some emotional closeness to him, and I have it, it's going well with him, and tomorrow it won't be the case. So, then I each time just… So, we still have some still-level basis that holds the structure. Meaning, a spiritual group, the structure of a spiritual group doesn't have to be similar necessarily to the structure of our dissemination organization. That has to do with professions. If ten people have a certain profession, they are all compatible to work in a certain department, but I myself may be connected to other people, even though it's kind of a challenge that I'm far from them in terms of action and time. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:05:40) You said that anything that hinders me from connecting in the society, it's considered that I'm making a hole. I'll give an example. If a person sleeps in the lesson, I find it disqualified, but on the other hand, I need to imagine to myself and say that I know that he must have been working during the night, so what is a hole? Do I determine what is a hole? 

M. Laitman: Yes, a person who's in the lesson and he's asleep, he doesn't provide his part in upliftment, of course. During the lesson we should aim that by the study the surrounding light influences us, the light that reforms. In the lesson, it's the main time where we need to demand this light, and one who doesn't feel committed to that doesn't feel that he's sick, and he doesn't feel that he thus harms society. 

There are two things here that we need to work on in advance, not during the lesson itself. During the lesson, it's not going to help me if I'm just going to tap him each time and wake him up, and he'll fall asleep again, and wake up again, and so forth. That's just torturing the friend. So, what if he wakes up? So, he'll sit like this with half an eye open because of you, and then what? 

We have to work on the upliftment, the awakening of the heart even before, as I said, regarding the society, that he first needs to see that he's only in reception while the goal should be otherwise. The Creator is in a different quality, and he doesn't have the fuel to get there, and for that he needs a society, and then he begins to praise the society. 

If he'll have such a society that will give him power, and desire, and other thoughts, and just replace his whole internality, then he already relates differently to the society, that it's the doctor that saves him, but without recognition of evil, he'll never need the society. 

Same thing with the lesson. We first have to work on the deficiency. It's not a deficiency if he just wakes up physically. So that's why if someone who's falling asleep it doesn't bother me that much. So, he doesn't have a deficiency right now. What can I do? So, if I tap him, he'll open his eye, but he won't open his heart.

Student: Maybe it's possible externally? 

M. Laitman: No, in the lesson it's too late to discuss that. Sometimes you can kind of awaken, but it's not going to work systematically. Do you understand? There's no coercion in spirituality. It's coercion. It's not from the side of Kedusha. You have to work to cause first a deficiency in the person. You know what? Five minutes before the lesson, sit together, or five minutes in the lesson, sit together and talk about the importance in some way, or sing together, or dance together, jump. I don't know what. It doesn't matter. 

But first, you have to awaken a deficiency so that your action will not be a corporeal external action. You can't draw reforming light, surrounding light, by him opening his eyes. He needs to open his desire. So, if you relate that way to your role, that's also not good. Meaning, your wanting to awaken them, you know how to say it with a stick to bring them to happiness, you know, it doesn't work. It doesn't work. You need him to want it.

Student: Is he drilling a hole by that or not? 

M. Laitman: It's not a hole. If someone's sleeping during the lesson, it's not so much of a hole. Because even if he wakes up, he can't do anything. He doesn't have a desire. He's not adding to your inspiration, excitement, upliftment, prayer. Whether he's sleeping or not, it's the same investment with respect to the upper. There's nothing. It's zero. So he'll sit with open eyes. So what? 

Student: Even when he's sitting, maybe he's just sitting. How do I know? 

M. Laitman: You're right, except for one thing, that you think that you can do something in the lesson itself. You know that if you're in a battle, that's it. In a war, that's it. You no longer work. I've been to such campaigns where you've—that's it. There's an operation. Whatever you have, you have. All right, Gilad. Everything you prepare. All the preparation happens beforehand. At the time of action, that's it. Whatever you have is what you have. Okay. We have questions here that— From Vienna says that they're listening to a lesson together in Vilnius. And Vince is from Vilnius, and Oleg from Estonia, and Timothy from Latvia. And today they have a gathering. About 50 People are gathering in Vilnius. And at around noon, there's also a group from Minsk in the morning that's coming. Groups from all those Baltic countries, and Belarus, and other places. And there's a big gathering there. I think he's writing about 50 People. I think it's going to be even more. So, yeah, we want them to succeed. It's the first kind of gathering in these countries. 

Question (internet): (01:12:41) What can a person do if he's only listening to lessons online and he comes once a week to Bnei Baruch? 

M. Laitman: So he has both a virtual connection and a physical connection, meaning there's no problem. He can easily find himself here. Just like I come once a day, he comes once a week. Okay. It's not—if that's what he's able to do, that's considered that he's there all the time.

Question (Vienna): (01:13:15) What to do if a friend suddenly doesn't feel like coming to a lesson? What to do with such a friend? And he gives a lot of excuses of why he's not coming. 

M. Laitman: In Vienna, they have a difficult situation there. Everyone's all too important. So, what to do, Ephraim? Same thing I told Mushi. You need to work on the importance first. If you don't want to come to the lesson, it's not important. The Gemara says that when a person gets such a thought that it doesn't matter to him, he has to read Shema Yisrael, Her o Israel. And to go to a cemetery, he has to think about the day he dies. Well, we're speaking in spirituality, not corporeality. But it also hopes to do that in corporeality, according to the Gemara.

We need to first work on the deficiency. If he doesn't want to come to the lesson so don't take him forcefully from bed because by that you can just awaken hatred. There's a limit here. You have to work on the desire. Society can influence. If not. So you really need to think. Why isn't society able to project to the friend the product? The product is the Creator, the importance of the Creator. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:15:14) What should a person do in a state that he thinks that the friends are disregarding him, trying to lower him? He thinks that. There are such states. 

M. Laitman: No, that's something else. What should a person do if he feels the friends are disregarding him? By this, he's not getting fuel from the friends? So he gets fuel from just filling him up with air? 

Student: Question. He has to understand what his purpose is. 

M. Laitman: The fact that the friends disregard him, so that's the opposite. He has a concealment. That's how he feels that they are disregarding him. What they truly are doing, he can't say. He feels that this is how they're relating to him. That means he has to understand that this is the concealment. They are relating to him this way, either they're doing it on purpose or from above. They let him see that on purpose, so he can start going above reason, and connecting to them, and checking them in other ways. That it is definitely not what it seems to him. Why do we care how people are really relating? They don't even know how they're relating. I care how I respond to what it seems to me that they are relating to me. That's important. That's called that I'm correcting my vessels. So, I need to receive everything that comes to me as an opportunity to correct and rise above. So, why is it important? Right, sometimes it doesn't work out. Sometimes I fawn, get mad. Sometimes I'm in despair. I don't instantly remember and can deal with this thought even though I remember it came from above. I can't still, I can't deal with it. This is my bodily reaction more than knowing. But whichever it may be, eventually I need to gather forces, and knowledge, and such an attitude that whatever comes, it comes. What can I do? Now, everything to take is an opportunity for an ascent. Why did it come to me? So I'll start going down into all kinds of calculations. I don't understand. What does that help me? It helps me that by that, I can make my relation to the Creator better. If there's None else besides Him, so what friends, and what can I even talk about? It's the Creator between us. But for the future, I will make this state better. Why? I'm bestowing to society that they will treat each other even better. Not that I want to be related to in one way or another. No, I want that in society, the general level will be even higher. Not connected to anything I had. What I had was it gave me an opportunity to remember, to turn to them in such an approach. 

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (01:19:08) First, he has to see what they have from society in order to connect with them. So, my question is, how can we receive? 

M. Laitman: I didn't understand what he was asking.

M. Laitman (Source Text/Commentary): Rabash writes: a person needs first to see what society has, what assets do they have that I can receive from them by connecting to them. This asset the Creator has - maybe doesn't need it. On the contrary, he runs away from that and stays as far as he can. Why did I choose this society and not a different society? You choose a society, you don't choose the Rav. I'm telling you seriously: the Rav gives the general direction, but the force and the support, the fuel, you only get from society. According to that, you have to choose a society. I once asked Rabash, "Am I in the right place, in the right Rav, in the right society?" He answered, "You're 100% correct. Your questions are to the point. You're asking correctly. So, go and check." And I asked him, "Where can I go?" He said, "Go anywhere. I don't know. Ask all kinds of places. Go here, go there, and check. Then you'll know if it's for you or not." And I really did go he pressed on me that I go and check a few places. I told him what I found. That's how I met Ginsberg and some group, and Holon - all kinds of stuff. 

So, what does that mean, that a person has to see what the society has? I have to know why I'm connecting to them, who I'm connecting with, what I'm getting from this. If I want to be an artist in something, and they are dealing with physics, can I connect to them? I need to know if they will supply me with the importance of the goal. Do I want that goal? Is it their goal? They could put me in Greenpeace or something for the sake of the animals, or all kinds of society. You'll get in there, and you'll start getting importance from them. That's all they're speaking about. They think it's the most important thing, that without it, the world is going to be lost, and they are saving the world. They want for the benefit of all of society, and they have nice leaflets and dissemination. And if you choose such an environment or not you have to know in advance what you're getting into. Maybe you'll get in there, and they'll brainwash you, and you'll stay there for the rest of your life, and you'll think, "Whoa, I don't have a good home for my dog," and that's all you're going to be concerned about. You're going to start writing the government: "Why are our dogs living in such a way?" And you won't be able to change yourself, because they're going to influence you by that opinion. 

We're always thinking thoughts that aren't ours. So, obviously we always need - he says that in “The Freedom” article - that's why one who every time chooses a better society, a better environment, by that he implements his freedom of choice. 

What does that mean that I choose every time? That if in general, if society is in the same direction, so I just have to make sure that that direction will be more precise, straight, without any deviations, that all the energy will go in there. Because I'm in that boat; either it goes one way in the sea, and maybe sometime, maybe I'll die in that boat before we even reach that place that we're going towards. I have to see, I have to be concerned about it. Now everybody has to be ready according to that.

He's using that allegory of the boat on purpose. There are a lot of examples from the Torah about a boat. Yam is the sea of light of Hochma, where everybody can drown in? And all these laws of reaching the right state, the right purpose. Only under the conditions that we really do everything correctly.