Compensation Through Love

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Torah, “Exodus,” Mishpatim, 23:8: You shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe will blind the clear sighted and corrupt words that are right.

This is relevant with regard to everyone today, from simple workers to heads of governments.

From a spiritual point of view, “to bribe” means tempting a person through his ego. Every filling our ego receives is called accepting a bribe.

Question: So it turns out that we are all bribed in this world.

Answer: Not bribed, but thieves. A bribed person receives something that he doesn’t deserve, but he doesn’t take it from others by force. We are thieves since we steal from others, sometimes by force. We even can be called robbers, although we don’t feel that since it is standard behavior for us.

It turns out that all of this world’s laws are laws of thieves since the entire world is based on the ego. This is how the ego operates. We are not speaking about the fact that a person finds a million dollars on the street and doesn’t give the money back to anyone, but about the fact that we consciously steal and enjoy the theft.

It isn’t only about receiving, but, as it is written, “Stolen water is sweet.” Remember the story about the Italian princess who sits on the balcony on a hot summer day, eating ice cream, who said,” I wish it were a bit forbidden too!” This means that the feeling of theft sweetens the ego since this is what we consider sweet.

If it is just food, if I feel like it, I just take it. However, when I take what belongs to others, intentionally and without permission, then it is a totally different feeling! If I just take something, there is nothing special about it, but if I steal, I rise above everyone. I must feel a void that is created in them through that and its filling within me. Thus, I rise above them, and the ego thus feels superior.

Arkadi Raikin (a Russian comedian during the Soviet regime) used to say, “If you don’t leave a certain deficiency, then the income tax inspectors will simply remain engineers,” which means that there must be a certain pleasure in being superior.

The greatest superiority is, of course, being cleverer, wiser than others. Feeling superior is a terrible thing in spirituality, and only love can correct this.

When you take care of others like small children, they indeed are smaller than you, but you must cover your attitude toward them with love. Then they are not smaller anymore but rather greater than you since you depend on them, and so they seem greater than you just like a baby seems to his parents.

Question: However, the feeling that you are smarter than this baby still remains.

Answer: It makes no difference! Since he controls your mind, you are great, strong and clever, and, if he cries, you pick him up and bring him to the place he points at, which means that you are his servant. Thus, you compensate for your superiority.

These states can be between a teacher and his students, or between friends since people are different. We must constantly keep the balance and compensate for any feeling of superiority through love.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 5/24/13

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