Audio Version Of The Blog – 10.25.16

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It Is Hard To Be Righteous

laitman_741_02Torah, Deuteronomy 11:17: And the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will close off the heavens, and there will be no rain, and the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from upon the good land that the Lord gives you.

If a person is not engaged in spiritual correction, he is left without the Light of Hassadim, without moisture and rain, and he can’t use his egoism correctly.

The sun burns so much that it becomes not a light of life but a withering heat for him. With such an attitude to life, to the world, and to his mission, a person withers without water (the Light of Hassadim). This is exactly what is happening today.

Question: Is such a state of impasse felt on each new degree?

Answer: This impasse must continue for no more than a moment. However, it has to be recognized by a person in order to move forward, as it is written, “There is no righteous man on earth who has done good and did not sin first.” So on each degree he stumbles and then moves forward, stumbles and moves forward. He passes the lowest point of bifurcation, recognition of egoism, and only then he begins to rise.

Moreover, at the lowest point, he completely denies the Creator, doesn’t agree with anything, dives into extreme egoism, and becomes the worst offender of all the laws, meaning he is absolutely opposite to the upper state of the righteous.

Question: Does this apply only to these who advance and not others who don’t reach this point?

Answer: Of course. Normal people don’t experience any internal states. They don’t even know what states the righteous are in.
[194779]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/15/16

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Are There Secrets That Still Haven’t Been Revealed To Humanity Yet?

Laitman_107Question: The wisdom of Kabbalah is an immense book of secrets. Are there secrets that still haven’t been revealed to humanity that could change the world?

Answer: There are no secrets! A secret is what a person doesn’t want to reveal because his ego repels it by saying: “Don’t go there, this is a secret.”

The wisdom of Kabbalah was never a secret. For 15 generations beginning from century zero to the 15th century it was hidden until humanity developed.

However, there are parts of Kabbalah that were always revealed and there were parts that were hidden because people would misunderstand them. Even today it is possible to open The Book of Zohar and not understand even one word. This is because in order to do that, it is necessary to have attained the state the Kabbalists describe.
[195014]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 5/29/16

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A Woman’s Role In The Spiritual Development Of Humanity

laitman_237Question: What is a woman’s role in critical points in the history of mankind?

Answer: At all the critical turning points in the history of mankind, since ancient times to the present day, it was actually the woman who is the most crucial factor. The first great woman was Eve, thanks to whom the ego as the great egoistic force that develops the world was revealed. Hurray to our common matriarch!

The next great woman was Sarah. It was actually thanks to her that Abraham developed when the Creator told him “Listen to what Sarah tells you.” In fact all the great men we take such pride in were great through listening to their wives. That’s a fact!

Then Abraham’s first born son Ishmael was born from his branch; he was the Muslim prophet and the leader of the Arab nation. He became great thanks to his mother, who was Abraham’s concubine, and Abraham blessed him.

Next came the matriarchs Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel who led their husbands Isaac and Jacob. Jacob received the birthright thanks to his mother’s efforts.

Could the children of Israel enter Egypt without the wife of Potiphar, Pharaoh’s minister, if she hadn’t tried to seduce Joseph and hadn’t locked him up in a dungeon from which he was released a hero? It is thanks to his sister Miriam that Moses found himself in Pharaoh’s palace, where Pharaoh’s daughter Batya raised him. Then when he lived with Jethro, Moses married Tzipora who guided him, bore his children, and sent him back to Egypt, telling him that he must go back to his people.

During the exodus from Egypt, the women constantly supported the men and inspired them with their songs. They obliged them to establish good connections with each other. They surrounded the men at Mt. Sinai and pressured them to discover the Creator. With the Creator in the middle and the women from behind it was impossible not to receive the Torah.

When the people of Israel entered the Land of Israel, women prophets emerged who became the leaders of the nation. But they were a completely different type of prophet than Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel. They were on a higher spiritual level than the men. Learned men with white beards used to come to them for serious internal spiritual advice.

We see the same thing when the people were in the second exile in Babylon when Queen Esther managed things secretly and subconsciously. The word “Esther” stems from the Hebrew word “Histara” – concealment, and this is the reason that the great book about the exodus from the exile in Babylon is called The Book of Esther (the revelation of the concealment).

The dynasty of Israel was founded thanks to Ruth who belonged to another nation and joined the nation of Israel saying “this home will be my home.” She became the great-grandmother of the greatest Jewish king, King David. In Israel, the monarchy was not inherited like in other nations, but the king was crowned according to his spiritual level. Therefore, Ruth can be called the mother of the dynasty that was on the highest spiritual level.

King David attained great heights and became the greatest spiritual leader in our world thanks to his relationship with a special woman Bat Sheba, thanks to whom he ascended to the next level. His great accomplishments and his awe from the Creator are expressed in his book Psalms, which the whole world cites to this very day.
[194790]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 5/29/16

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We Are Living In A Matrix

laitman_929In the News (Business Insider): “In a note to clients out Tuesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said there’s a 20%-50% chance that we’re living in the matrix — meaning that the world we experience as ‘real’ is actually just a simulation. …

“‘Many scientists, philosophers, and business leaders believe that there is a 20-50% probability that humans are already living in a computer-simulated virtual world.’”

My Comment: “We’re living”—and in the past, we weren’t living? Mankind is naïve; it constantly thinks that it has discovered something new! They finally got it. The existence of the so-called matrix suggests we are subordinate to the one law of nature. We are tightly chained to it. Each of our cells, every thought, every desire, all are within nature.

Likewise, a particular thought is sent to a person even before he thinks it. Every desire takes shape within him even before he wants something. Before he makes any move, energy, amino acids, electricity, and everything else is gathered within the body, giving him a direction. A person doesn’t do anything on his own! At best, he feels that he is moving, but actually he is being moved.

The task of Kabbalists is to discover who is moving the person, who is the master of the matrix. And why should it be otherwise? The still, vegetative, animate, and speaking levels of nature develop us: all of our cells, everything around us. How could it be that we are suddenly on our own? What are you talking about? Has the guidance disappeared? Has the force of evolution disappeared? Has the program of development stopped all of a sudden?

This is our illusion. We have become separated from what is happening with us.

Question: Why do we naturally feel that we are independent?

Answer: This illusion was given to us intentionally so that we would discover that we actually exist within the law, and we need to know this law. When we discover the main law of the matrix, then we will become more enlightened people, and then we must move onward.

This knowledge should compel us to understand the behavior of the matrix, what our relationship with it is, and why we were created such that, on the one hand, we would be within it, and on the other hand, we wouldn’t feel ourselves within it.

In principle, the person is like a schizophrenic patient. He has an absolutely split personality. In other words, on the one hand, he is managed, and on the other hand, he thinks that he is the manager. This duality begins to concern him. The world is becoming such that it seems that a person has lost his hold on the reins he previously thought he was holding.

This situation leads him to suffer so that he will search, and from his spiritual search, he finally will decide that he must understand the general law of creation. It is possible for him to understand it only if he begins to discover it on his own. To the degree that he becomes similar to the law of nature, he will discover it and get to know it. But in no way will he be able to do this from the outside as we would like to do.

Question: So, how then will his life change?

Answer: It is according to how much he complies with this law. He will live according to the laws of the matrix: total bestowal, total dependence, and all of us connected through mutual Arvut (responsibility). In fact, this is an immense joy because you acquire knowledge, understanding, and integration within an immense, infinite system that is simultaneously so close.

Question: Will a person lose his individuality with this?

Answer: Absolutely not. On the contrary, he will begin to acquire an individuality that he didn’t have before! So, first we need to be given a good shake to show us that we are not within this system at all. Then, it will be possible for us to gradually enter it.
[194882]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 9/19/16

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The Merit Of Religions

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Primitive tribes that have survived until our day live much more peacefully and in greater mutual altruism than people who belong to any representatives of any religion. Why is religion considered such a good thing? After all, we could all live a quiet peaceful life without it, grazing our goats and living on the fruit of the earth.

Answer: If we lived that way we would remain on the animate level, living in a cave or a hut, hunting mammoths, fishing, and everything would be fine. But the process of evolution is not up to us.

We develop thanks to the egoism that grows in us, thanks to our evil nature. But the additions given to us by religions have tamed our egoism to a certain degree and shaped it in a certain way. And for this we have to acknowledge the merit of religions.

Although they stemmed from human egoism, each religion and its own form, among its own people, in its own sector, was fruitful. Medicine, culture, dancing, and even science stem from religious development.

Science developed from religion in order to prove the basics of the religious beliefs and to explain different situations in our life. Then conflicts and contradictions seemingly emerged between science and the different religions, which continue to this very day because religions were fossilized. We should respect the religions for being the root of human development.
[194787]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 5/29/16

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Land Of Mountains And Valleys

laitman_747_03Torah, Deuteronomy 11:11: But the land, to which you pass to possess, is a land of mountains and valleys and absorbs water from the rains of heaven, …

The land of Israel is described very poetically, but the Torah is not referring to physical images.

Water, symbolizing the life-giving force, is the Light of Hassadim. This is exactly what is missing in order to revive everything, because the Light of Hochma—the Light of knowledge and power—is a very strong, tough, hard light. Clothed in the Light of Hassadim—the light of mercy and mutual connection—it connects the right and left lines.

They complement each other so easily and simply and interact with each other in such a way that we begin to feel ourselves as existing in another dimension in which almost all of the physical sensations of our world—distance, weight, and height—disappear.

An entirely different measure appears, a measure of the correct interaction is when you dissolve in two opposite forces, move between them along the middle line, and all of itself is revealed before you.

Question: Why is it written that this is a land of mountains and valleys?

Answer: The mountains symbolize the height of the Light of Hochma, and valleys are the expansion of the Light of Hassadim. These two parameters must be balanced with each other.
[194552]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/15/16

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The Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)

Laitman_003.jpgIn the News (Science Daily): “‘You missed out.’ Is there another sentence that could strike such anxiety in the hearts of young people? … It’s true, though, and we need to talk about fear of missing out. Known as FOMO in millennial-speak, fear of missing out is quickly taking a toll on Generation Y — and it’s probably causing damage to your own life. …

“The average college student spends eight to 10 hours killing time on their cellphone each day, and when we consistently believe we are ‘missing out,’ anxiety and depression may set in. It’s no surprise then that anti-depressant use is very high and grows each year.”

Question: How do you relate to that?

Answer: In the past, before I discovered the wisdom of Kabbalah, I also suffered from this fear to a certain degree. In my time there was no Internet, and I scoured all the magazines, libraries, practically everywhere because I feared missing something important in the world about myself, about life, and I feared missing an opportunity to fulfill myself. This fear is rooted in the fact that a person wants something meaningful in his life, to attain something, not to miss what’s important, to know the meaning of life. But eventually a person runs around until he grows tired and accepts the fact he will somehow arrive to the end of his life.

Question: Does this mean that suddenly a positive fear of not living his life in vain arises in a person?

Answer: Of course, a person wants to leave his mark, do something meaningful, so that people will know about him, will appreciate and remember him.

But a person who reaches the level of the wisdom of Kabbalah begins to understand that the most important thing for him is that people should change for the better, and this is what he invests his efforts in. It is like taking care of children: it makes no difference to a person what his children may think about him. What’s important to him is that they should succeed and think correctly about their children.

A Kabbalist only thinks about how to fulfill himself by educating others so that they will advance without having to follow him all the time. This is the main thing, and his reward is the fact that people should follow the right way to fulfill themselves by resembling nature, without even knowing about him. In other words, the fear of a Kabbalist is that he will not be able to fulfill himself as an integral part of all nature. This has to be his attitude and the fulfillment of his attitude to everyone else.

Question: Do you have any fears?

Answer: I don’t have any fears, but I do aspire to fulfill my mission, which is the feeling that I have to justify what I have been given by my teacher, and I feel his pressure on me even at the moment. It isn’t fear but a feeling of responsibility. What fear can there be in a world where the Creator manages everything? I feel responsible for revealing the legacy of the great Kabbalists to people so that every human being will have the chance to totally fulfill himself by using this knowledge.
[193639]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 8/31/16

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New Life 443 – Simchat Torah

New Life 443 – Simchat Torah
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

What is the Torah, what makes us happy on Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah), how do we reach this unlimited happiness, and what do we discover when we reach it?

Torah means the Light of the Torah. It is a unique force that reforms a person, changing the evil inclination to good.

  • The Light in the Torah locates the evil in us and then transforms it into good.
  • When the Light transforms the evil in me to good, it makes me similar to the Creator.
  • A person who reaches this exalted state, merits to feel what Simchat Torah is from a spiritual aspect.
    Simchat Torah comes after Sukkot, which symbolizes the seven Lights that come to correct a person.
  • At the end of the process of correction, complete bestowal and love for everyone are built in a person, and through them to the Creator.
  • But aren’t there those who study the Torah in whom we don’t see love for others? Right, that is because there are special conditions for this.
  • One must specifically learn Torah from books of Kabbalah that are designed for our generation, and with the right teacher. Kabbalah is called the hidden Torah because it makes what is hidden in me visible.
  • In  the period of exile, Kabbalah was concealed from the general public; today it is again revealed to everyone.
  • Simchat Torah today is from our having received the possibility of revealing the Light that Reforms to the entire world.
    [145264]
    From KabTV’s “New Life 443 – Simchat Torah,” 10/5/14
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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 10.25.16

Preparation for the Lesson

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Igrot,” Letter 18

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 54

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 6, Part 16, Item 214

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