Audio Version Of The Blog – 08.15.16

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Most Of The Time Devoted To Spiritual Work

laitman_559Question: What is a suitable way for a person who is advancing toward the goal of creation to spend his time?

Answer: I am interested, for example, in music, comedies, and witty jokes. I love traveling in the world. Besides the fact that I travel to conventions, twice a year, I take a vacation with my wife in some country where we walk a lot. That is all.

Question: It is understandable that each person has a favorite way of spending his time. In this regard, what can you recommend according to the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: If a person is involved with studying the wisdom of Kabbalah, he cannot have great materialistic hobbies.

For example, I don’t see that any of my students are involved with stamp collecting.

Kabbalists respect physical exercise and sports. Movement is imperative so that one’s head will work well. But what sport? Simply walking or swimming is good. But everything else—is dedicating yourself to spiritual work.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 4/10/16

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Where Should The French Jews Go?

Laitman_419In the News (Jpost): “French Jews contemplating aliya should take the initiative, and the Israeli government should provide them with the benefits once afforded Soviet immigrants, according to Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky.

“’I believe many French Jews are planning to leave,’ Sharansky told The Jerusalem Post ahead of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors gathering in Paris from Sunday to Tuesday. …

“Sharansky noted that according to a survey conducted last year by Étude IFOP, more than 40 percent of France’s estimated half a million Jews are considering immigration to Israel.”

At present the immigration of the French Jews to Israel is continuing to grow. In the not too distant future we can expect a wave of immigrants from the Ukraine, Russia, and the United States. The two hundred French immigrants who came not long ago, met Minister Sharansky who said that during these recent summer months around another two hundred thousand will come to us.

Question:  Do you think that all of the Jews will leave France?

Answer: If half a million Jews leave France, nothing will remain of the nation. I heard from senior French officials that they believe that the departure of the Jews will be a real disaster for France. In their opinion, even if a thousand Jews were to leave the nation selectively, among them would be scientists, diplomats, politicians, and managers upon whom the French economy is based. And then the nation would cease to exist in its current form.

The Muslims will replace the Jews.

Now there is a big boom, even the French are beginning to seriously study the Arabic language, to get a job. It takes a lot of workers with knowledge of the Arabic language because it is necessary to serve these populations.

Question: Does this mean that you tend to think that the Jews will leave?

Answer: They will have no choice. But in Israel they will have no choice either, because if they arrive in a very large numbers, it will not be possible to employ everyone. We just shout: “Come to us! We love getting immigrants so much,” but where?

Comment: Mr. Sharansky’s view is different. When addressing 200 recent arrivals from France in Israel, said, “‘There is a great future for French Jews in Israel. Every one of you has made a huge step forward. This is a step for you, for the sake of the future of your children, for the sake of the future.. the state of Israel.’  According to Army Radio, about 9,000 new immigrants from around the world are due to arrive in Israel this summer.” (MIGNews)

Answer: As a politician, it is very good to say this, but what will happen when an immigrant tries to find work in his profession? I hear from many French immigrants that they don’t know where to find work, and this in addition to problems that they are having with integrating into life in Israel, we are very different from France.

In France the situation is completely different; Israel is not Italy, Spain, or Germany. It is very difficult for immigrants to live here; they don’t feel the atmosphere here. So for them it is not a very simple transition, in particular when looking for work.

It is not easy just to absorb 9,000 people in one summer, arranging initial conditions for them so that the future will be bright for them. Receiving them with flowers at the airport is very nice, but the question is, what’s next?

Question: Will Israel potentially be able to absorb all the Jews?

Answer: This could be done without a problem. If there were a friendly atmosphere here, if everyone understood that this is a national, popular, and worldwide task that is derived from the goal of creation and that we must organize people as one, united whole, if we wanted to do this, then this would certainly be something great!
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 7/24/16

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Catch Pokemon, Attain the Creator

laitman_527_03In the News (Pravda.ru): For me, a very interesting experience is Pokemon Go. Until recently, there was a period of immersion in the virtual world, and now it is moving to a desire to get out into the real world. And this Pokemon Go – it’s just about wanting a real dialogue, real reactions, dating is a way of attracting attention and a way to say that I did not do something as an Avatar, but I’m a man and I want to be seen, heard, I want to interact with others, even in such a strange way.

“People also do not have enough positive emotions and some purpose, meaning in life.”

My Comment: A person is playing all the time since he is searching for the meaning of life and self-realization. I am not against the Pokemon game because everything that appears in our world ultimately leads us toward correction.

Question: Can a person find the meaning of life through a game?

Answer: Obviously! The entire wisdom of Kabbalah is a game. It is written that the Creator plays with Leviathan, so we also play with each other. A game is an activity in which I imagine a state in which I am not yet found, like in a theater. We gather together and begin to simulate our spiritual states that are specifically discovered in the connection between us. Even though we have not yet attained that connection, we imagine to ourselves how it will be, how a future society will look in which everyone is connected together, to begin to feel the start of spiritual states. So in this way we attract a unique energy on ourselves that moves us forward physically.

Question: Are we children?

Answer: Certainly! If we realize that we are children and we truly are like children who have long since already become serious adults. We gradually grow when we come into the game because in the future life on a higher level is expected for us, a very good and warm life in which we are no longer just playing a game but a real Pokemon.

This is because the pursuit of Pokemon is a pursuit to discover the Creator! This is essentially what the wisdom of Kabbalah engages in. Within us and in our connection with others, we are constantly directing ourselves toward a greater revelation of the Creator. We pursue this until we reach a state in which the Creator begins to be revealed more and more. These are 125 levels of attainment and the discovery of a higher perfected and unlimited state; this is not a pursuit of some kind of ghostly image. Rather, it is a state that changes our lives and takes us out to another dimension.

Question: What leads us forward in this game?

Answer: When a person directs himself toward the inner connection between himself and others, he changes all of his senses this way. We enter into another reality more and more. It is impossible to compare this to running in a park searching for something.

Comment: In spite of it all, this is a tiny additional step for humanity.

Answer: Without a doubt! Various phenomena in our world always give us some kind of advancement. So let’s direct ourselves toward a real search.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 7/21/16

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The Unemployed Do Not Want To Work

laitman_926_02In the News (Quartz): “The most recent US jobs numbers masked a dark story. Unemployment held steady at 5.1%, but only 59.2% of Americans have a job. The difference is the unemployment rate only counts people who don’t have a job and are actively looking for one. The labor-force participation rate is perhaps a more accurate gauge of the economy. It includes people who’ve given up, don’t want to, or can’t work, and it fell to 62.4% last quarter. …

“Most of the decline in participation came from fewer young people working. Older Americans are more likely to be working, while everyone else is working a little less. Why are younger Americans not working? …

“Older American workers are more likely to be working these days. That’s probably because early retirement is no longer a viable option for many of them.”

Answer: The older generation lived in a society that had to work in order to survive, whereas the young do not have to work to live because human labor has been replaced by various machines and mechanisms.

There are also people who, according to their psychology, want to work, feeling that they must work. There are those who have no need such as this, and it is becoming clear that humanity is getting along very well without them.

Question: Does it follow that those who need to change are not the ones who don’t want to work but those who believe they have to work?

Answer: Yes, it is not necessary to pressure those who don’t want to work. In any case, there are no jobs for them. We artificially create workplaces and produce absolutely useless products, taking natural resources from nature, throwing them out, and polluting the planet!

So, we need to let time take its course and leave the children alone, and don’t lament: “We don’t understand how this could be.” Children don’t want to work and don’t need to! They have a different perception of life.

Do they get along? They get along. They aren’t going to be lost.

Question: Do we need to be involved with the education of children? There was a time when you spoke about the educational process that must exist now.

Answer: The educational process is essential, but not for acquiring a profession or making money, where you do work that is absolutely unnecessary and is even harmful to the world.

The educational process is necessary for making an Adam (Man) out of a beast. It is written this way in The Zohar: “…[from] a wild donkey a man will be born” (Job 11:12). So, he is another evil beast! You can see how children relate to each other.

So, we must convey a process of education to each and every one, and this is what will occupy humanity.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 6/19/16

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New Life 325 – Forgiveness

New Life 325 – Forgiveness
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

How is the desire for pleasure connected to vulnerability in us and a desire for revenge, how can we learn to be immune from vulnerability, and is it possible to forgive everything?

Our natural aspiration is for pleasure. We invest energy in attaining what is desirable in our eyes.

Imagine a situation in which I worked hard to buy a suit, and someone throws a few negative words about how I look…I am very hurt. Now, if he will not compensate me on all the damage that he has caused, I will want to take revenge on him.

Forgiveness is when you feel that the chasm that is gaping between you has closed and you have no urge to harm that person. If I hurt someone, and I want him to forgive me, it is up to me to come and do all kinds of good things for him. If someone hurts me, sometimes it is worthwhile to try to forget, so I won’t destroy my health. If you hurt someone in the past, and you want to reach love with him, say directly that you want to appease him. Ask him how you can fill the void from the harm that you caused him.

In a society whose goal is to achieve love of others, I need to say that everyone has been corrected except for me. I want to be like the general force of nature that is completely love and giving, so I make peace with everyone.

“Delighting in Mercy”: The one thing that is important to me is to benefit others, and then nobody can harm me. “Delighting in Mercy” is a state in which we balance our ego, meaning we direct it towards the good of others. “Delighting in Mercy” is caring that things are good for everyone. It is aware of human nature and relates to everyone with understanding.

When we are talking about the ego, this refers to a desire to benefit myself at the expense of others. Our egoism ultimately brings us to unpleasant situations, we harm ourselves.

Identify with the pain of the injured person, explain to him that the offending acts are from the ego, and that it is necessary to correct it.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 325 – Forgiveness,” 3/23/14

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 08.15.16

Preparation for the Lesson

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Writings of Rabash, “Rungs of the Ladder,” Article 12

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 6, Part 16, Item 108

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “A Handmaid that Is Heir to Her Mistress” 

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