Maintain The Connection!

laitman_527_03Question: You say that, when a person feels bad, he can connect his sensation with the Creator. But in that case, am I simply accusing the Creator for not giving me enough Light for me to feel good?

Answer: First of all, it is not that important whether I am blessing or cursing the Creator, whether I treat Him well or badly. The most important thing is not to interrupt the connection with Him.

Even if the connection is back to back—when I am unhappy with the Creator and constantly contradicting Him, struggling, and in conflict with Him—that is not important. The main thing is not to forget that I have a connection with the Creator.

We must always maintain this connection in all cases and circumstances. I should not be afraid to discover that I am not happy with Him.

Always hold Him before you as the only partner. All others are just images, shadows, not people—everyone, without exception, and they are given to you so that by revealing your attitude to the Creator through them, you will reveal Him.

Question: But how can I come to the quality of bestowal from constant anger toward and accusations against Him?

Answer: You will see how useful this is when you are cursing Him constantly.

The key here is the constancy, the continuity of your contact: from morning to night, without stopping. You present your demands and accusations to Him, you blame and curse Him, but through that you do not attribute any of your actions, thoughts, or desires to any other factor except Him.

If this is the case, then you will reveal the Creator that same day. Reveal Him in practice, without long years of delay. We need a strong concentration, focus, whereby you begin to understand how He governs you, and then you will make out His game, what is called “the dance of the groom with his bride.” From there, we begin to manifest intentions.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/22/15, Shamati #241

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Tisha B’Av, In A Vise Between Plus And Minus

laitman_558Question: Why is Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av) considered to be the worst day of the year?

Answer: We are under the management of a system of forces that operates on us and influences us—sometimes in a good and comfortable way, and sometimes in a bad and unpleasant way—to awaken us and make it possible for us to integrate these forces correctly and reach the middle line.

If we balance these forces, we reach a state of absolute good. This is possible! The entire year will be a comfortable temperature of 25 degrees, and everything in life will be good, regarding any topic. The person is ready to balance all of the forces of nature in that he brings everything to balance.

On Tisha B’Av, the forces of judgment act with particularly strong intensity. However, essentially, they are not negative, but aspire to awaken us to reach balance, balancing all of nature.

Question: Are these forces stronger than a person?

Answer: Certainly, these forces are stronger than a person. They force him to carry out what is required of him. The forces of nature work on us and influence us to begin to change. We see what a mess is happening in the world. The world is withdrawing and gradually slipping lower and lower, but this awakens us to action.

Specifically now, there are opportunities to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah to everyone and show that it makes it possible to arrange our lives, because everything is in our hands. Let’s calm down, look at things rationally, and all of us together will decide how it is up to us to bring our lives into balance.

The forces of judgment only seem to us as bad temporarily, depending on how we are feeling, but essentially there is nothing better than them after all they push us toward correction.

It is possible to reach balance only with the help of the wisdom of Kabbalah. We don’t have the power for it ourselves. We must get an additional, unique power from above, above our nature, the power of bestowal, love and union. This power can balance the positive and negative forces, the plus and the minus.

All technological advancement is built on this. Every engine works because we know how to connect plus and minus correctly so that the positive and negative forces will activate it and require it to do useful work for us.

We exist in nature in which positive and negative forces are operating. However, the entire problem is that, in the middle, we don’t know how to use the plus and minus correctly and transform it into a mechanism that acts on the difference between the potentials in the best way for our benefit.

This is specifically what the wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us: how to use the two opposing forces that exist in nature correctly.

These forces are called the evil inclination and the good inclination, hatred and love. It is not necessary to annihilate anything! If we integrate these two forces correctly and use them correctly, we will get wonderful results.

However, a unique wisdom is required for this, because in normal life we don’t know how to balance plus and minus. We either love or hate, whereas we need to integrate both this and that by using the internal forces of a person, our attitudes, to rise above these two forces, above love and hatred. Then we can manage them and balance all of our lives through them.

Imagine that we do something like this in a family, with the children, at work, with friends, even just in the framework of our small physical world—how much happier would we become. Love and hatred must exist together and balance each other.

There is nothing superfluous in the world. Rather, it is only necessary to balance these forces. This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us.
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From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 7/14/15

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Right-Wing Extremism In Europe, Part 5

Laitman_419Europe: United and Separated

There are two wide-scale conflicts that lead to animosity and hatred:

  • among locals and immigrants;
  • among different countries of the European Union because its stronger members tend to benefit from its weaker members.

Both types of conflicts are triggered by the economic crisis and lack of integral education which should have been chosen as a basis for European unity. It’s not feasible to reach unity only by promising vague potential benefits in the future. People are different; they are either hostile and hateful or totally indifferent to each other.

Unity is not about the absence of entry visa regulations among European countries. It’s not an issue at all, nor was it ever a hard procedure. Unity requires much more.

Question: What awaits Europe as a result of its internal conflicts? What will happen in the future?

Answer: One of the two:

  • either Europe will realize the evil that it faces and will find out how to correct the situation, or
  • it will go through devastating disasters, wars and other afflictions. In this case, the European population will come to realization of the evil later, thus postponing its correction.

Question: What is evil? What exactly do Europeans have to understand?

Answer: They have to comprehend what the common global problem of Europe and the world as a whole really is. Why have they reached such a state? What’s going on? Once again, we approach another world war; yet again, we hate each other. Currently, we are close to a new war. People must comprehend the essence of the processes that take place in the world and find out what can be done to stop them.

Europeans should admit that mixing various nations who lacked genuine interconnectedness and were not close spiritually, culturally or religiously was a huge mistake. Any union has to meet certain criteria. Random decisions of European politicians and economists are very far from reality and have nothing to do with authentic unity.

Question: Does it mean we will come to recognition of the evil the hard way?

Answer: Yes. The crisis and potential collapse of the world are on the way. Europe is not an exception. Governments are incapable and incompetent to accept the idea of correction.

There is a chance this message will go through the general public. It will happen if common people will create a movement that will later transform into a party that will put forward correct requirements to their governments and will eventually become a part of governmental cabinets. Yes, politics is dirty and messy, but it is the only way to reach the decision-making level and attract voters who will give their ballots to those who can launch qualitative changes in culture and education. New balanced economic is possible only under this condition.

At this time, nobody can cope with it, as with the economy, because it’s a derivative of social relationships. It means that before anything else, we must correct the relationships between us.

As an example, a mini-economics of a normal, friendly family is about every family member having everything they need: children must have enough special baby-food; the elderly should have necessary medications. Do you agree that contemporary governments take good care of their citizens? Not at all! Modern economics is based on the advantage of the strong, on how much one can “grab and run away with.” People don’t care about others. Family economics would collapse if it were built on such an attitude, whereas so far, modern economics somehow has survived even though we clearly see their distorted structures.

So, first of all people have to reach a state when every member of the society feels that “we all are one big family.” Then, based on this new type of relationships and mutual positive attitude, it will be possible to build a new type of economy with the help of integral education.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 9/9/14

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Three Generations, Three Levels

laitman_232_04The Torah, “Numbers” 10:33 – 10:34: They traveled a distance of three days from the mountain of the Lord, and the Ark of the Lord’s covenant traveled three days ahead of them to seek for them a place to settle. The cloud of the Lord was above them by day, when they traveled from the camp.

The Ark of the Covenant going before the camp symbolizes a person’s intention, which is followed by the desires. It goes “three days’ journey  ahead” because after three levels the connection between the intention and the desire is totally lost. This distance has to be kept so that the uncorrected desire will follow the intention but will not be able to use for its own sake. It is about a person’s spiritual advancement as he constantly changes his desires into increasingly more altruistic intentions.

Question: What happens if the distance between the Ark of the Covenant and the people grows smaller?

Answer: We would begin to use the desire with the intention of for our own sake. Three levels is the distance after which the connection disappears. In our world, for example, there is a connection between three generation: ours, that of our parents, and that of our grandparents. We don’t feel the generation of our great-grandparents. This is the reason that if a person wants to learn about his roots it is enough if he knows whom his grandparents and his parents were and all the others are irrelevant. In our world this loss of connection happens naturally.

Question: Why can only the intention determine the resting place?

Answer: It is because only by the intention can we determine which places are ready for correction, according to their attributes.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/11/15

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 07.30.15

Lesson on the Topic: “Questions About Working in the Ten”

[media 1] [media 2]

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, “Prayer,” “Prayer for the Poor”

[media 3] [media 4]

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 6, Part 16, Item 67

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings,” “Why Was the Torah Given to Israel?”

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 07.29.15

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio

[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/download/audio/eng_o_rav_2015-07-29_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’29.7.15′]

Names As Symbols Of Connecting Properties

laitman_557The Torah “Numbers” 10:29 – 10:32: Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’s father-in-law, We are traveling to the place about which the Lord said, I will give it to you. Come with us and we will be good to you, for the Lord has spoken of good fortune for Israel. He said to him, I won’t go, for I will go to my land and my birthplace. He said, Please don’t leave us, for because you are familiar with our encampments in the desert and you will be our guide. And if you go with us, then we will bestow on you the good which God grants us.

Comment: Even before the exodus from Egypt, Moshe’s father-in-law Jethro came with his selfish wisdom to his son-in-law and told him how to best organize the people. The same is said about Hobab: “You know encampments in the wilderness.”

Answer: Each time, we bring up new properties out of our selfish desires in order to correct them. They are necessary for our advancement.

Just as Jethro, Hobab the Midianite represents our egoism, which we constantly have to address in order to correct; otherwise we won’t be able to move ahead.

However, it is said that he “returns to his homeland,” meaning that we take from our selfishness only what is necessary, but give it a different name since it already is a different property, the one that is coupled with altruism.

The same property flows from Jethro to Hobab. In fact, the Torah lists not too many basic names of various properties. When moving from level to level the properties mixes together, thus forming transitional “structures” suitable for correction. Therefore, there appear a greater number of names.

The same is observed in the wisdom of Kabbalah. It describes only five Sefirot, five parts and five lights. However, when we disclose them, they produce multiple additional names and definitions.

The “Great Commentary” says: “Jethro was among the children of Israel, Moses’s father-in-law, who after his conversion to Judaism got a new name—Hobab.”

It means that a part of the property named “Jethro” went through correction, and the other part returned to Klipa (impurity, selfishness).

Further, the “Great Commentary” states: “After Jethro heard that the people returned to the land of Israel, he told Moses that he would go back to his homeland in Midian.” Moshe tried to convince him to stay: “The Creator commanded us to love all Gers, but you deserve special love and kindness.”

Any selfish desire that wants to be corrected is called a “Ger.

Ger also refers to anyone, irrespective of one’s origin, who starts to use the wisdom of Kabbalah to reach the level of “love thy neighbor as thyself.”
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/11/15

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Right-Wing Extremism In Europe, Part 4

laitman_426Europe Partially United

What is to be done if the European Union has no common denominator? Some kind of common basis that connects everyone is required here.

But the political leaders haven’t preceded union with shared information and education; new values have not penetrated into their minds and hearts; they have not brought their ideas to discussion so that the people themselves will think and consider how to unite in the best way.

The concept of “union” itself requires clarification, familiarity, and there even could be the creation of all kinds of public committees. Methodological television programs are required; a unique educational program for schools is required,; all of Europe must learn the principles of connection and union, and also examine this.

In short, a complete educational process would be required for Europe before forcing the arrangements of the European Union on the continent. But instead of this, a decision was accepted and it “descended” from above; certainly it was in a nice democratic envelope, but solely and only on the basis of economic benefits. And the economy is unstable: today it is this way, tomorrow another way…a crisis arrives and all the cards are reshuffled.

Besides this, union without a common program is “crippled”: it makes it possible to profit in one thing at the expense of something else. Suppose that we provide security but lose in the economy, or we provide for the economy but lose in education. In fact, all areas must be balanced.

And in Europe the major work of cultural union was not done on time. So the Germans remain Germans, the French remain French, and so on. As in the past there was no true and warm connection between them, today there is still no connection like this.

All the threads that connect Europe pass through the banks, and this is called an “alliance.” Yes, a financial community is concealed behind its facade, but it is accompanied by internal struggles over these or other “slices of the pie.”

A structure like this will not sustain its position. It costs a vast amount of money, and ultimately a game that promised a gain becomes a loss.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 9/9/14

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laitman_933

Birth of the Methodology of Connection

Abraham learned from Kabbalists who lived before him, starting with Adam, the first man. Abraham understood that human egoism expands from generation to generation, thus making us even bigger egoists; it detaches and forces us to exploit each other.

This is why we eventually approach a state in which we start using our egoism correctly, i.e., make efforts to rise above it.

Still, we remain complete egoists unable to ascend our egos even though we realize that our selfishness is the reason for all our troubles. Ancient Babylonians suffered a lot from their selfishness; humanity continues to suffer to this today. Our egoism ruins our life.

Abraham’s discovery made him gather a group of disciples who were ready to rise above their egoism that burnt in each of them.

He found many people whom he gathered in a group and who were willing to ascend above their selfishness because they were not complete egoists as our contemporaries. Their egoism was much weaker than ours. Besides, they remembered how good their life was before they started hating each other, i.e., before the erection of the Tower of Babel.

When hard times began, there was nothing left for them but to split and spread around the world. Many of them felt that Abraham really offered them a true solution to their problem, so they joined him and Abraham started teaching them the methodology of unity.

This is how a group who called itself “Isra-El” (meaning “directly to the Creator”) originated. They strived to reveal the upper force that connected them and dwelled among them. While exploring the upper force, they realized what the world they live in is like. The network that we build among us is in fact the upper force.

Later, Abraham’s group grew and formed a nation named “Israel.” Israel are the people who strive for unity and who work on building connection among them above their detachment.

They value the power of separation because it gives them a chance to apply more efforts in their pursuit of unity, thus allowing them to recognize the force of nature—the system of the upper governance.

The force of detachment and the power of unity are two opposite essential forces of nature, like plus and minus, north and south. One cannot exist without the other.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 7/5/15

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Joy And Sorrow On Lag B’Omer

laitman_293Question: I am a bit confused about the concept of Lag B’Omer. All of the celebrations and the bonfires and potatoes and happy children, but at the same time, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai died, so I don’t understand the connection.

Answer: A person is found in this world until he finishes his task, if he has enough time to finish it. As is written in The Book of Zohar itself, with his friends, Rabbi Shimon reached all 125 levels to the completion of correction of the soul (Gmar Tikkun), and so we are not sorry about his departure from this world. Rather, on the contrary, it makes us happy, for he was a person who revealed to us the entire way to the correction of the soul, and he prepared this way and the Lights which would come and correct us for us. And so we celebrate the day that he finished the work and departed.

If a person doesn’t know what he is living for, he cries when he dies and others die. For the Tzaddikim (righteous), their entire lives are for correcting their soul, so they have no problem in passing from one world to another world. I once gave an example that Rabash told me; I asked him about death, so he said that just as in the evening you take off your shirt and throw it into the wash, people dying is the soul discarding its wrapper, called the body, but the soul remains. The main thing is that the soul dresses in a new body each time, just as you dress in a new shirt each day.

The soul is a force that is found in the same volume in which we exist. Only you don’t feel these dimensions. Do you feel radio and television waves, all kinds of phenomena like these?  Not all phenomena do you perceive with your senses. Only if you have, for example, a radio can you catch the radio waves; you don’t feel them yourself.

It is the same with spiritual phenomena. You have nothing to catch them so you don’t feel them.

The soul is a special kind of energy that exists here. If by studying Kabbalah you become like its properties, you will feel it; you will begin to discover that there is a soul in you. As long as you don’t, you don’t discover it. And if you don’t discover it, it means that it is not in you, for only what you perceive can be given a name or a word and so in the meantime, you don’t have a soul.
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From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 7/12/15

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