The Power Of Silence

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: This weekend we will hold a “quiet Saturday.” What should this silence be?

Answer: This custom of being silent came into the world from none other than Kabbalists. It is used as an exercise in various practices which don’t relate to our path, and generally, in the field of psychology.

When a person wants to understand something new, to focus on something new, he needs solitude. He can run away from everyone to someplace, which would be physical solitude. Or he can find solitude within, where I find a certain space inside and hide there from others’ eyes, although physically I am surrounded by many people. This relates to all levels of a person.

So, we want to carry out a similar exercise, a “silent pledge” where we refrain from speaking. There are special periods when people study the Torah more, delve deeper into the material, observe various fasts. These methods pull a person out of the usual order, the routine, and help him look at the world and himself slightly differently. They allow him to concentrate or focus inside.

“A quiet Saturday” does not mean that no one opens their mouths. But when we do talk, we talk only about the study and what it contains. And we only talk inasmuch as it is necessary. If there is no need, then we think about the same questions instead of talking about them. After all, words lay bare a person’s soul, revealing the innermost secrets of his heart. And therefore, one shouldn’t talk unless it is for the sake of correction.

That is how we will hold this Saturday. All lessons and meals will take place by the regular schedule, and every person will limit himself as much as he can, trying not to speak but only to think.

Concentration in thought, inner focus has a much greater effect in the world than words. After all, thought is a much higher force than speech. This is the highest force in a person, and therefore it is the most effective in the general system of reality. It is precisely the beginning of the chain, “thought, speech, action”.

Therefore, we hope that by cutting conversations down to the minimum, we will rise to a higher level of bestowal.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/11/12, “The Freedom”

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Silent Pledge
Roaring Silence
Purification Of The Heart In A Boiling Cauldron

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