Audio Version Of The Blog – 04.12.15

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In Exile From Connection

Laitman_119Question: A person should feel the darkness of Egypt as an intolerable state so that he would want to exit it. What should he do so as not to simply escape the unpleasant feeling but to accept the domination of the Creator?

Answer: According to our nature we are not able to remain in an unpleasant state, unless we have no choice: if someone pressures me and holds me. I want to run away but can’t, so I remain in the unpleasant condition. This can be physical when someone holds me to give me an injection, for example, like we do with babies. Or society can put pressure on me, and then having no choice I do what is required of me. That is, I am in a condition that I suffer, but I am being pressured and cannot escape.

By nature I run away from anything that I don’t like. This is the desire to enjoy. If I feel even “one gram” of discomfort, I want to get away from it. However, there are different compelling circumstances, problems, and calculations that force me to continue to suffer, having no choice not because I wish to, but because of the pressure that is put on me. This pressure is called exile; I am under pressure and remain in that state and suffer.

You are asking is the opposite: How can I feel greater suffering so I could feel I am in the Egyptian darkness, in such great evil, so I will want to exit it? Then it seems to be no problem if I put myself into a state of suffering.

But I can’t bring myself to such a state of suffering; it must be justified somehow: by public pressure or a cause that illuminates from afar, like a gift or reward. If I am a desire to receive, I cannot cause myself harm unless I will receive a reward that exceeds the pressure I experience or the efforts I make in return. How can I bring myself to feel the exile in Egypt?

First, I bring myself to the exile in Egypt in different ways that are not related to spirituality. This means that I don’t inflict pain upon myself or live a hard life. I cannot do that. Egypt must be a very special state for me in which I suffer because I cannot connect with the other shattered parts of the one soul because Pharaoh dominates us. This state pressures me and there is nothing I can do. I cannot get rid of its presence in the connection between us despite all my efforts. This is called Egypt when I am ready to give anything to kill Pharaoh, to get him out of my system, or to rise above him.

There are many inner discernments here: inside him, outside him, why does it say “Let my people go,” why is it impossible to be free in Egypt, how do we come out of Egypt, and why do we take the vessels with us and only Pharaoh remains in Egypt? Indeed, nothing remains in Egypt except Pharaoh. Everything else is taken out of Egypt. These desires die there or are taken out.

All these definitions have nothing to do with earthly sufferings, but are about one thing only, the connection between us, in order to discover the Creator in it and thus delight Him. After all, the Creator wants us to discover Him. Therefore, we must work continuously on this point in the group and feel that the only thing we lack is connection. If you simply want to exit your ego (and perhaps this is indeed what you want), it is only because it brings you many troubles. Then, you try to switch the small ego to a bigger, more sophisticated ego, but you still want to work for Pharaoh.

Working outside Pharaoh is possible only if you yearn for connection in order to discover the Creator’s attribute and thus delight Him when you take on His form and wish to resemble Him. You must examine this point carefully.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/13/14, The Zohar

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In The Service Of The Creator

laitman_572_03The Torah, “Leviticus” 1:1 – 1:2: And He called to Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, 

Speak to the children of Israel, and say unto them: When a man from [among] you brings a sacrifice to the Lord; from animals, from cattle or from the flock you shall bring your sacrifice.

We need to supply all the desires (still, vegetative, animate, and speaking) for the benefit of the society in a completely altruistic way, without any bestowal to ourselves, directing all our goals and thoughts to concern for others, in the same way that a mother thinks only about the welfare of her child.

If a person can direct himself in such a way, then he partially transfers his desire from the side of receiving to the side of bestowing. However, this is very lengthly work in a society, in a group, with the studying of the system that attracts the Light of correction.

Let’s suppose that I have desires within me with which I previously had tried to receive self-benefit by taking advantage of others, and now with these desires I am working with a certain system where the Light bestows on me and changes these desires from being receiving (egoistic) to being for the benefit of bestowing (altruistic). However, this isn’t the altruism of our world, even though that’s what we call it because we don’t have other words.

Actually, it is absolute bestowal and love toward others without any benefit for self. When a person begins to work on this level, then he “sacrifices,” which means he detaches parts from his egoistic desire and transfers them to the altruistic service of others.

Desires of all the levels participate in this: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. In addition, the levels of still, vegetative, and animate serve man, as in our world, and those of the speaking level (man) serve the Creator. Within man are all the desires of still, vegetative, and animate, and he raises them in his work to complete bestowing and love, without Egypt and not in order to receive a reward.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 11/13/13

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The Good And Evil Pharaoh

Laitman_115_05Question: What is the good Pharaoh who received the Jews?

Answer: We have to examine this concept with regard to a person.

We believe that the ego leads us forward: civilization, expansion, and growth. “We will fly to the stars, attain and know everything, discover! We, we, we!” This is good healthy egoism. It is essential since otherwise we wouldn’t develop.

If we weren’t patient with a child, for example, and continuously limited him, he wouldn’t develop. Therefore we constantly allow him to develop, even egoistically, no matter how, and when he reaches a certain age, let’s say 13, we begin to teach him how to limit himself.

Let’s not forget that until this age a person is immersed only in his evil inclination, and from the age of 13 onward, the good can appear under the influence of education. The age of 13 is a relative term. Baal HaSulam talks about that in the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar.”

I remember that my son who studied in religious schools used to say: “What do you want from me? I am only 9, wait until I am 13.”

This is called the seven years of satiety when the nation is satisfied with everything. We try to unite and at first everything goes well. The ego is patient with us saying: “Cooperate, everything is good, everything is right.” Then disputes and conflicts begin to break out between us.

This is also what happens with people who are in love, when they begin to live together, or in international relations: “Now we will work together and do certain things and achieve something! We, we, we, we!” Everything is fine; egoism is good and everything is wonderful, and suddenly something negative seeps from within. No matter what we do, a hindrance will eventually appear; the evil Pharaoh will arise.

When you start something you should know that if you perform actions that do not lead, with the help of love and mutual connection by using the method of the wisdom of Kabbalah, to balance between good and evil, the evil, which seems attractive and charming at first, will later kill you. The angel of death attracts and entices you, gives you a drop of poison and you are dead.

This is the reason that you should look for the balance point between the two forces of good and evil, everywhere, in every action.
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From KabTV’s “A Talk About Passover” 3/18/15

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Pesach Is A Special Holiday

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we acquire the force called Moses? After all, you say that it doesn’t exist in nature.

Answer: Moses (from the Hebrew word “Moshech” –  to pull) is the attribute that awakens in us and raises us from the bottom of Mt. Sinai to its summit, to the peak of the general hatred. When a person climbs above it, he attains the Creator who is at the peak.

It is impossible to bypass this mountain; we must climb it. This is the way for the entire world. Today, all of humanity is at the foot of Mt. Sinai, surrounded by the enormous hate that separates us. But at the same time, the method called the Torah is revealed. The Torah is the Light that Reforms at the summit of the mountain.

We don’t have to make any special efforts, and there is nothing to fear. When we acquire the enormous hatred, we are at the bottom of the mountain where we receive the method by which we gradually can ascend by mutually complementing and helping one another.

Then, Mt Sinai becomes the temple mount, at the top of which there is the temple, the place where the Creator is revealed.

This is basically the essence of Pesach (Passover). This is the reason that the calendar of the nation, of the new humanity, begins on this holiday.

Before the receiving of the Torah, mankind developed like animals, but from that moment onward, there was a connection with the Creator, with the force that can raise us continuously above the ego and help us climb the mountain of hatred by getting closer to one another.

At the same time, we attain the Creator to a greater degree, because two forces already appear in us, the egoistic force and the altruistic force. When we build ourselves from these two forces a state called the attainment of the Creator or the soul appears between them.

The two forces descend from above, and we make efforts not to mutually annul them but to connect them by placing our resistance between them, trying to recreate the harmony between them by connecting and adding all the disconnected parts. Then this harmony creates our soul, our upper existence.

This is the reason that we consider Pesach to be the major and most important holiday, because symbolizes the beginning of the creation of man, Adam, (from the Hebrew “Domeh” – to resemble the Creator).

There are, of course, many subtleties, laws, and different nuances that only speak of how to properly cover the ego with the attribute of love, and that’s all. Everything comes down only to this!

We can study this holiday down to the smallest detail, about why eating certain things is allowed and why eating other things is forbidden, about why Pesach is seven days, why we drink four glasses of wine, and why there are other customs that are described in the Haggadah.

However, these are merely actions that we must perform on every level to create the right connection between plus and minus, which are the attributes of receiving and bestowal, hate and love. We cover the hate with love, and together they will give us the sense of attainment, adhesion to the Creator.

Thus, we don’t simply come out of a small ego to love, but from our world to a perfect eternal world. This is the reason that Pesach is indeed a special holiday.
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From KabTV’s “A Talk About Passover” 3/18/15

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Passover Shows Us There Is No Room For Separation

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe beginning of this post can be found in: Passover Is A Reminder Of The Future

Abraham’s group moved to Canaan.The ego then grew from one generation to the next, but the main thing was to keep the general connection, the spiritual brotherhood.

Later, the disputes and conflicts grew to such an extent that even Jacob’s sons, the brothers, couldn’t overcome them. This process is described in the Torah as the beginning of the famine. The brothers sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt, (Mitzrayim), which symbolizes one’s evil nature (Yetzer-Ra). When they fell from the level of brotherly love, they found themselves under the domination of the ego, Pharaoh.

At first this domination was good: Pharaoh raised Joseph and life was full of different pleasures, but then things changed and people began to feel that corporeal benefits and pleasures were not everything in life.

They felt a deficiency for a spiritual connection, which Pharaoh, of course, objected to and resisted. Now all the ego’s efforts were not to allow them to maintain even one bit of inner unity.

It seemed as if there was no way out, but it is actually the despair that generated the force that pulled them to unity—Moses. He was brought up in Pharaoh’s home, the ego, and was therefore ready to confront the king of Egypt. This spark that kept the essence of the Jewish soul lives in each of us. It is the general, inclusive perspective of a united world in which there is no room for separation.
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Like A Bundle Of Reeds—Living In An Integrated World, Part 7

Like a Bundle of ReedsLike A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 10: Living In an Integrated World
An Integrated World Requires Integral Education

Our Privilege, Our Duty, Our Time

One last thing needs to be mentioned regarding education of adults, youths, and children. No form of Integral Education will succeed if it aims only to improve our material lives. While this is a desirable goal, it will not be achieved without a profound understanding that all of humanity is moving toward an era of interconnectedness and interdependence because this is the Law of Nature.

People do not need to call it “the Creator.” There is no need for anyone to aspire to attain a higher, deeper, broader level of perception unless it is their will. However, people will have to know that equivalence of form, being like the Law of Nature, meaning interconnected, behooves us to adapt our way of life accordingly.

The ones who set the curriculum and design the study programs will have to be as just described, meaning Kabbalists. That said, Kabbalah studies will never be mandatory because only those who wish to transform themselves, to dedicate themselves to the service of others, and genuinely wish to acquire the quality of bestowal will devote themselves to this vocation.

Granted, such a social transformation is a hefty task. And yet, we Jews have been transformed before, and whether dormant or awake, the reminiscence of that transformation exists within us all. No other nation has been given the task of redeeming humanity, as have the Jews, and no other nation has been given the inherent tools to do so. It is our calling; it is our privilege; it is our duty; and it is our time.

It is out of that sense of commitment that the above suggested education method has been devised. It may sound like a rather unorthodox method, but its foundations are rooted deep within our history and deep within our souls, and its “tenets” have been tested successfully by other doctrines. It will succeed if we unite, and it will fail if we do not. As our sages said, “Great is the peace, for even when Israel idol-worship but there is peace among them, the Creator says, ‘It is as though I cannot govern them because there is peace among them.’”[i]

I would like to end with a reference to the words of Baal HaSulam at the end of his “Introduction to the Book of Zohar.” He concludes his introduction with a statement that if Israel should carry out their mission and bring happiness to the world through unity and acquisition of the quality of bestowal, the words of Prophet Isaiah will come true, and the nations shall join us and help us in our mission. As Baal HaSulam quotes, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my standard to the peoples: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried on their shoulders’” (Isaiah 49:22).

[i] Midrash Rabah, Beresheet (Genesis), Portion 38, Paragraph 6.

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 04.12.15

Writings of Rabash, “Rungs of the Ladder,” Article 18

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Nation”

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Nation”

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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