Baal Sulam, “The Peace”: In general examination, we find that there are only two Mitzvot to follow in society. These can be called 1) “reception” and 2) “bestowal.” This means that each member must, by nature, receive his needs from society and must benefit society through his work for its well-being. And if one breaks one of these two Mitzvot, he will be mercilessly punished.

Question: If Baal HaSulam believed that there were only two commandments, then where should we place the Ten Commandments? Are these two are divided in 10, 613?

Answer: We lay this all out depending on our states, relationships, etc. But in reality, what else is there in nature beside reception and bestowal? Nothing!

Question: Is this like the fact that there are 365 days, so many hours, and so many seconds in a year, that is, the two main commandments are divided into auxiliary ones?

Answer: Yes. In nature, there is nothing but plus and minus. But when you start introducing them into relationships between people, you lay out people, their relationships, and each person in relation to yourself and others, and then you get a huge number of conditions—to receive and to bestow. And you must somehow bring this together into one system. This, in principle, is described in the Torah.

Comment: Rabbi Akiva went even further claiming that there is one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

My Response: It prevails over these two so that both reception and bestowal are only for the sake of others.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 12/26/19

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Comment: The Tenth Commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbor…” and so on, repeats the essence of the previous commandments?

My Response: It is as if everything comes together here. That is, you must clearly understand that you are not the master of the world, you have nothing of your own. Everything you have is not really yours, so you cannot want anything.

All in all, work with your desires only for bestowal. If you come to this, then you will become a human being.

Question: Does this mean not only not to use different types of desires of your neighbor, but, on the contrary, to fill them, and then you will become like the Creator?

Answer: Yes.

Question: What can you fill your neighbor’s desires with?

Answer: With what the neighbor desires.

Question: But he wants different things. How can I fill his desires?

Answer: Of course you cannot. Help him in general, direct him to the Creator.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 12/26/19

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What really is the intended meaning of ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’?“

Before the commandment of “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” described the key prohibition in holding a correct relationship with the Creator: that we should not use our relationship with the Creator for self-benefit. Receiving pleasure for self-benefit alone kills our desire.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery” is similar, but viewed from a different angle. It means to not use our connections with others for self-benefit.

The Creator’s quality is love and bestowal, and adultery is an act of receiving for self-benefit alone. If we receive pleasure at the expense of other people, then it is considered committing adultery.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does the 8th commandment consist of (Thou shalt not steal)?“

The eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” is the same as the previous commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” with the sole difference being that adultery and theft relate to two different levels of desires.

Nature is constructed of four levels of desire: inanimate, vegetative, animate and speaking (also, human). These four levels of desire exist in nature in general as well as within us.

Theft is then a similar action to adultery, but it is a prohibition at a different level of desire. Committing adultery is when we use people for the sake of self-benefit, whereas theft is when we use the inanimate, vegetative and animate levels of nature for the sake of self-benefit.

Therefore, where “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is an act of using others for self-benefit at the human level, “Thou shalt not steal” is an act of using the inanimate, vegetative and animate levels of nature for self-benefit.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” mean if not what it says?“

The sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” means to cause no detriment whatsoever to others.

The previous five commandments explain a process that leads to us receiving the upper forces, and we need to become a receptacle that lets these forces act correctly in us, not interfering with the effect that they have on us.

Using these forces correctly means to use them for the sake of bestowal, and thus “Thou shalt not kill” means the contrary, that we use these forces for self-benefit.

In other words, if we use our connection with the spiritual forces, with the Creator, for self-benefit, then this act is called “killing.” By doing so, we kill our desire. Our desire gets killed because it becomes filled with pleasure; the pleasure aimed at self-benefit kills the desire, and the desire becomes extinguished.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does it mean to covet thy neighbor’s wife?“

The states in which we progress should be aimed only at bestowal, and not for self-benefit.

Our state is very interesting regarding our spiritual path. On one hand, we are alone and the whole world is inside us, as it is written, “A person is a small world.”

On the other hand, all of our inner desires appear as characters existing outside of us. The same applies to our like-minded friends: it seems to us that they exist outside of us, and we later gradually start seeing that they are all inside us.

“Neighbors” refers to these like-minded friends of ours.

To spiritually progress, i.e., to discover our connection with the Creator, we need to process their desires, which are called “wives,” from a spiritual degree, i.e., a degree of bestowal. This means that we need to dress into these desires and work on them for their benefit, and not for self-benefit.

This has nothing to do with genders as we understand them in our world. The female part represents desires to receive, the fundamental matter of creation, and the male part represents the desire to bestow, which is the nature of the Creator.

Therefore, by working to benefit the desire to receive, and not to use it for self-benefit, we act at a spiritual degree, like the Creator Himself, and we thus implement the commandment, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” In other words, we operate at a degree of “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Ten Commandments are located at the level of the ten Sefirot. The commandment “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” is the most serious of all the commandments because it deals with the lowest internal egoistic quality, namely using the desire to receive in order to receive for self-benefit alone.

The prohibition on such an intention lets us fully apply an intention to bestow upon our desire to receive, so that we can enter into a mutual connection among each other at a higher spiritual level, where we are not divided by gender.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the ten commandments given in the Bible?“

The Ten Commandments are the laws of our absolute connection to each other and with the force of bestowal that holds our connection together.

The Torah is given at the foot of Mount Sinai, which is a gigantic mountain of egoistic hatred (“Sinai” comes from the word “Sinah” [“hatred”]), after the people of Israel (i.e., people with a common desire “Yashar Kel” [“straight to the Creator”]) accept the condition of mutual guarantee—to be united “as one man with one heart.” In other words, we reach a stage in our development where we discover a mountain of ego, division and hatred above us, and we can climb this mountain only with one point in the heart, i.e., by uniting our common desire for spiritual ascent above all other egoistic desires. This point is called “Moses” (from the word “Moshech” [“pulling”]), because it pulls us out of our ego.

Mount Sinai is enormous, even bigger than the Tower of Babel. Standing at the foot of Mount Sinai means that we agree to unite all parts of our individual egos into one big mountain. Then, instead of fearing this great hatred and division between us, we should instead use it as an impetus to yearn for unity, since the sole purpose of being given an ego is so that we use it to fuel our unity.

When we unite above this mountain of ego and hatred, we demand the revelation of the force of bestowal in our unification. The tendency to unite is the spiritual vessel, the deficiency for mutual love, bestowal and connection, as it is written, “From the love of the created beings to the love of the Creator.” We thus accept the condition of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and receive the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments refer to the correct use of the desire to enjoy. They discuss the limitations that we need to implement on Malchut if we are to establish and sustain a spiritual connection. These limitations are called a “screen” (“Masach”) and “reflected light” (“Ohr Hozer”). When Malchut accepts these limitations, it lets the ten Sefirot, which are also known as the Ten Commandments, dress in it.

A commandment (Dover) stems from the Hebrew root for “utterance” (Dibur), i.e., it is born in the Peh (mouth) of the Partzuf, the Peh of Rosh. These actions are performed in the world of Atzilut.

We receive the Ten Commandments after we unite “as one man with one heart.” Otherwise we cannot hear them. We have to be on the level of Bina in order to have the ear that can hear the ten utterances from Mount Sinai. In practice, this means that we need to first undergo a period of preparation until we can unite at the level of “as one man with one heart,” and only at that stage do we hear the commandments. If we are not at such a spiritual degree, we lack the vessels in order to understand and observe these commandments.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on June 3, 2014. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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The Ninth Commandment says “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” You create completely new conditions in the world and risk distorting the entire harmony between the forces of the world if you pronounce false conditions and enter false parameters.

Question: Do I move even further away from my neighbor in this way and consequently from the Creator?

Answer: Yes. All the rules are built so that man does not move away from the Creator.

Comment: In Kabbalah, the Creator is the purpose. We can only attune ourselves to Him through society. Therefore, if I bear false witness against my neighbor, then I move myself away from the Creator. It is a pity that we do not see it. Then we would observe these laws.

My Response: No. Then we would just be machines. We would not have the freedom of choice.

Comment: It is so hard to observe all this.

My Response: Not hard, but impossible. There can be nothing else in nature . We have to agree with that. We must understand that this is the only way for us to be properly attuned to nature, to its highest law, which raises us above our animalistic nature.

Therefore, we have to agree with this ascent, give in to its forces, and then everything will work out.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 12/26/19

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Question: The fifth commandment is “Honor your father and your mother, in order that your days be lengthened on the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you.” What is it about? Who are the father and the mother?

Answer: Father and mother are the forces of Hassadim and Hochma.

The Creator is the upper force. He is followed by two lower ones: Hochma and Bina. Hochma is the force of the father and Bina is the force of the mother. Then there are another six derivatives that compose Zeir Anpin: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod.

The last Sefira is Malchut, and this is the complete creation.

The phrase “honor your father and your mother” means that we should give Hochma and Bina the opportunity to build, to create, so that everything that exists in them would appear in the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin, in six forces.

Question: What does “to honor” mean?

Answer: To honor means to wait when they are revealed in creation because Hochma and Bina, father and mother, are above the created being and above creation. The Creator creates through them. Therefore the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin are created by the father and the mother, which practically shape the creation.

“Honor your father and your mother” means to give these forces the opportunity to act within you. It is like in our world: can the fetus do anything? Even a small child? Everything is done for him by his parents. And here we are talking about the correct attitude of the lower one to the upper one. A person in our world must allow the upper forces to act, to form him.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 12/26/19

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Question: The fourth commandment is: “Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it.”

Why is it necessary for man to observe a certain day, to rest on this day, and is it so important to the Creator?

Answer: It is important because there is a cycle: every seventh day is a break, as if stopping the entire universe and starting it again. This is called “a week.”

Comment: You said that the work of man takes place during six days that symbolize the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin. Let’s say our entire work is to connect with others. For six days man seems to work on his own, but he must understand that even if he works on the seventh day, it will not bring him any benefit. The Creator must complete the work for him.

My Response: This is not about our everyday work.

It is written that the Creator worked for six days and rested on the seventh day. This means that we are supposed to work for six days and rest on the seventh day. But this does not mean working as the Creator.

His work is creation. It is Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod—six directions.

And our work is to kind of modify ourselves in accordance to these six categories. When we finish it, we come to the last one. But the last category is realized in us by itself. Therefore, there is nothing to do here, just not to interfere.

If you have correctly attracted the six forces upon yourself, then the seventh force, Shabbat, from the word “Shvita” (a break during work), does all the work itself precisely because you do not interfere with the actions of the Creator. You have received from the Creator everything possible in the six stages, the so-called “six days,” which are united in you, and then on the seventh day, you receive their result.

Question: So, are we talking about internal spiritual work? When I pass these six degrees, the next one starts automatically. Does it mean that even if I wanted to, I could not work?

Answer: No, absolutely not. This is the work of the light. The seventh degree is the sum, the result of the previous six degrees. We only need to allow it to be realized.

Question: It means that if a person has connected with another by his own efforts, then pride arises in him. This is not the connection we are talking about. Do we need to make an effort and then leave the work to the Creator?

Answer: Always! Because you will not be able to finish it by yourself anyway.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 12/26/19

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