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Convention In St. Petersburg “Day One” – 07.29.16

Convention in St. Petersburg, “The Essence of Achishena (Hastening),” Lesson 1

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Convention in St. Petersburg, “From ‘Me’ to ‘We’ on the Path of Achishena,” Lesson 2

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Convention in St. Petersburg, “From ‘Me’ to the ‘Group’ to the ‘Creator’ on the Path of Achishena,” Lesson 3

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The Fall On The 17th Of Tammuz

Laitman_632_3Question: On the 17th of Tammuz, after no animals remained for the Kohanim (priests) to sacrifice, the established sacrifices ceased in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple). What were the sacrifices?

Answer: Sacrifice is a very interesting action. If I reflect on the subject of who we are, we are beasts. I exist within my body and constantly think about it. As long as it is alive, I am also alive, and when it dies, I no longer exist either. The sacrifice of my animal indicates that I am truly sacrificing my entire beastly life to the Creator.

Sacrifice (Korban) is from the word “Karov” (close). It symbolizes a person getting closer to the Creator. The person nullifies his egoistic desires one after another and rises above them. In that way he approaches the Creator, the characteristic of bestowal and love, by nullifying his beastly ego. He gradually reaches closeness to Him.

The 17th of Tammuz, the date on which the priests were finished with their sacrificial animals, indicates that they could no longer bring themselves closer to the Creator. They fell from a spiritual level and returned to the level of the beast; they became “beasts” themselves. Today we must raise ourselves from this level since that is also what is said about our world: “They are all like beasts” (see Psalms 49:13).

The 17th of Tammuz symbolizes the downfall of even those great people who were on a spiritual level and those characteristics that were in every person when feeling the Creator fell to the level of the beast. Descent for the purpose of ascent is a mixture of the characteristics of the Creator with the characteristics of the creature.

So the 17th of Tammuz also symbolizes the collective fall of the people, the fall of the highest Kabbalist Kohanim among the people and the fall of every person from his spiritual level so much so that after that nothing remains besides absolute destruction. As a result, we begin to realize the conditions for correction.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 7/11/16

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Depression Among Youth

Laitman_182_02I spoke today with parents who complained about the depressed state of their children. They are perplexed and don’t know what to do. Depression often pushes youth to do stupid things because they are doing everything to blur and suppress depression as deeply as possible.

Depression among teenagers is an international problem. Around 15 percent of teenagers are depressed and in some nations the number is higher than 15 percent.

It is very painful to see your children or your grandchildren in a situation like this. So it is up to us to try to provide them with a meaningful existence because life is colorful, complex, and very profound.

If we “swim” and glide along the surface of life, we are like sewage floating in the whirlpool of life. But if we sink into it and reach its depths in particular, we find the meaning of existence in it, the developmental plan of creation, and we realize that we are in fact the most unique creatures in the universe.

There is great meaning in our lives. We can “rise above the stars,” meaning, we can transcend time and space and attain an unlimited state.

It is up to us to discover and disseminate the knowledge about this not for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren so that they can attain their own happiness. Let’s think about this today.
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From KabTV’s “The Wisdom of the Day” 7/17/16

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Terrorism On The Social Networks

laitman_959In the News (Los Angeles Times): “Israeli and American families of victims of Palestinian attacks filed a $1-billion lawsuit against Facebook Inc., claiming the social network is providing a platform for militants to spread incitement and violence, their lawyers said Monday.

“Shurat Hadin, an Israeli legal advocacy group, filed the suit on behalf of the five families in a New York court late Sunday, alleging that Facebook is violating the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act by providing a service to militant groups that assists them in ‘recruiting, radicalizing, and instructing terrorists, raising funds, creating fear and carrying out attacks.’

“‘Facebook can’t sit in its stone tower in Palo Alto while blood is being spilled here on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It has a social responsibility. It can’t serve as a social network for Hamas,’ said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the Israeli lawyer who is representing the families.

“She compared Facebook to a bank, saying that just as money may be transferred as a service for terror groups, so can content.

“Facebook had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, saying it had not yet received a copy. But in a statement it said people need to ‘feel safe’ when using Facebook.

“‘There is no place for content encouraging violence, direct threats, terrorism or hate speech on Facebook,’ it said. ‘We have a set of Community Standards to help people understand what is allowed on Facebook, and we urge people to use our reporting tools if they find content that they believe violates our standards so we can investigate and take swift action.’

“The suit comes amid a 10-month outburst of Israeli-Palestinian violence that has seen scores of Palestinian attacks targeting Israeli civilians and troops. …

“The case is among the first to argue that U.S. anti-terrorism laws should take precedence over the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the Communications Decency Act, which normally shield online companies for liability for what their users post.

“It is not clear whether the lawsuit will succeed. In addition to the ‘safe harbor’ protections, the court may rule that freedom of expression precedes anti-terror laws. Facebook has its own code of conduct and often removes content deemed objectionable. …

“The suit comes as Israel is considering how to contain what it sees as rampant Palestinian incitement on social media. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan is preparing a bill meant to rein in content seen as incitement on social media, and earlier this month he said Facebook had become ‘a monster,’ adding that the company had ‘some of the victims’ blood’ on its hands.”

My Comment: The network administrators need to demonstrate their independence and it is particularly important for them not to anger the Muslims and terrorists because this is an uncontrollable force and everyone is afraid of it. People who don’t like the situation and try to oppose it will encounter the strongest Facebook lawyers.

The conclusion is simple: raise a wave of protest on Facebook and competing social networks. And, the influence from above, through the unity of all in the network of our methodology of unity —this will invoke the positive force of nature—and terrorist activities on social media will dissipate!
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A Letter To The Pope

laitman_212In the News (Catholic Herald): “Christians in Europe must break down ‘walls of fear and aggression’ and try to understand people of other faiths and backgrounds, Pope Francis has said.

“In a video message on Saturday to participants at the ‘Together for Europe’ gathering in Munich, the Pope insisted that ‘invisible walls’ are being strengthened and dividing people from one another. 

“’These walls are being built in people’s hearts,’ the Pope said. ‘They are walls made of fear and aggression, a failure to understand people of different backgrounds or faith. They are walls of political and economic selfishness, without respect for the life and dignity of every person.'”

“Pope Francis told representatives of some 300 European Christian organisations, movements and communities from different churches that they and their fellow Christians need to find new, more vibrant ways to offer Christian values to European society and to the world.

“’Europe is called to reflect and to ask itself whether its immense heritage, so permeated with Christianity, belongs in a museum or is still able to inspire culture and to offer its treasures to the whole of humankind,’ he said.

Question: Pope Francis is an extraordinary person. Is this warning about the lack of awareness of a person of other religions dangerous?

Answer: No, this is not a dangerous warning. He is simply stating a fact. Within the religions there are thousands of different “walls.” For example, if the “wall” that exists between Christians and Muslims is clear, the impulses that burn within each one of the religions are much stronger passions.

Question: Is Europe, as the Pope appeals: “still able to inspire culture and to offer its treasures to the whole of humankind”?

Answer: Europe is a tired continent. It is not ready to do anything.

Question: The Pope also said:“’Every authentic unity draws on the wealth of diversity which forms it – like a family which grows in unity in so far as its members can fully and fearlessly be themselves.’

“For Europe to be a family, he added, the good of the human person must be the central concern and groups and nations must find ways of working together that “are not only economic but also social and cultural” (Catholic Herald).

Answer: All of these words are right, but many of the inhabitants of Europe can say this; what is important is do they have a method for realizing these words? If not, then these are only beautiful expressions; it is like sitting next to our grave and crying.

The inhabitants of Europe have no faith in their power and essentially have no faith in the method of correction, the change. So Pope Francis is indeed looking at everything correctly and is saying the right things, but what is next? In fact, he is just lamenting over Europe. The Pope is the spiritual leader of not only Europe but also a billion other people. He must offer an educational method.

In the past, in their evolutionary development Christians became savages. Today, Christians and all of humanity must be educated to become human, connecting to become united, resembling nature, creating a single harmonious whole. Through connection like this, everyone can feel happy and balanced, and peace will dwell in Europe.

Comment: He also says, “Unity is like a family.”

Answer: Indeed, it is up to society to live as one big family. The Pope is correct that this situation doesn’t exist in Europe. The ancestors of European society didn’t set this goal for themselves. But he can now show them the way. He can turn to the entire continent of Europe as their spiritual leader.

We must write to him and actually spread before him a series of explanatory applications, documents, and materials. This should be his appeal to Europe. The Jews, and in their hands the wisdom of Kabbalah, exist to help the Pope to turn to the society of his European friends correctly. For after all, the wisdom of Kabbalah is derived from the same source from which Christianity is derived.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 7/4/16

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New Life 738 – Decision Making

New Life 738 – Decision Making
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

How can we make the right decisions? What motivates us to reach a certain decision and why is it easier to make rational decisions when we have an important goal in life?

People find it difficult to make decisions because generally they have no clear guidelines in life. Our mind helps us decide where there is no room for emotions, but a person must balance the two.

A person needs to make major decisions when he tries to find out the meaning of life and then he has to listen to his inner voice. At the peak of his development, a person has to reach a point in which he critiques his decisions from above. In order to do so, the wisdom of Kabbalah teaches a person what his nature is and what the nature of the world that surrounds him is, and where he is headed.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 738 – Decision Making,” 6/28/16

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