Audio Version Of The Blog – 08.21.17

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My Thoughts On Twitter, 8/20/17

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American Jews argued when I advised them not to rail against #Israel, our home. Maybe it’s time now to come home?

Kabbalah: If the Jews don’t unite altruistically as an example to the world, the world will unite in #fascism against the Jews.

My long-time appeals for #Jews to leave the US and Europe are now being echoed by others! Today it’s Barcelona’s Rabbi Meir Bar-Hen.

When we talk about equality, we erase the person’s individuality. #Google #Social

#Charlottesville Protests: Historical Impact on Jews And Neo-Nazism #Jews #Antisemitism

From Twitter, 8/20/17

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Jpost:“Is It Too Late For American Jewry?”

The Jerusalem Post published my new article “Is It Too Late For American Jewry?

It may already be too late for American Jewry, but uniting the Jews above all the disagreements is still the only thing that can save them from a catastrophe that is now vividly in the horizon.

For more than a year now I’ve been warning that American Jews are putting themselves in danger. I said back then that when America becomes fascist, it would blame it on the Jews. Now that fascism is rising on both sides of the political map, instead of wising up, “Many Jewish leaders,” to quote commentator Isi Leibler, “concentrate more on vilifying Trump than securing and promoting their communal interests. They unashamedly abuse their Jewish institutional roles to promote far-left and liberal agendas, even labeling their opponents antisemites to achieve their goals.”

Jewish leaders and celebrities are racing one another to condemn President Trump for his initial reaction to the Charlottesville ramming. Instead of standing up for unity, they are fueling division. Actress Debra Messing quoted Holocaust survivor and activist Elie Wiesel: “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” So, speaking of taking sides, I would like to quote a comment that one of Leibler’s readers posed: “Where was all of this Jewish American outrage when that leftist shot up a bunch of softball playing Senators and Congressmen a couple of weeks ago?”

“For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind” (Hosea, 8:7), the Torah warns. The more American Jews fuel the hatred, the more it will turn against them. If Jewish American leaders think that the way to tackle alt-right fascism is to defame the President, demonize his electorate, and delegitimize his administration, they have only themselves to blame when the anger turns against them. They are playing with fire.

Judaism has never been about war, and certainly not about hatred. We pride ourselves in the wisdom of King Solomon, who said, “Hate stirs strife, and love covers all crimes” (Proverbs, 10:12). We coined the tenet, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and our own Rabbi Akiva said that this is the whole of our Torah, our Jewish law. How can we call ourselves Jews as long as we exude such hatred?

We made unity above hatred our motto, our way of life, and now we are doing the exact opposite. The Mishnah tells us (Okatzin, 3:12): “God did not find a vessel that holds a blessing for Israel but peace, as it was said, ‘The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.’” The book Shem Mishmuel writes that “When Israel are ‘as one man with one heart,’ they are a fortified wall against the forces of evil.” So why are we fighting hatred with hatred instead of uniting like our sages suggest? Does anyone really think that patronizing half the US population will diminish anti-Semitism? What kind of lame policy is this?

The only thing that Jews must focus on is unity among themselves. And by unity, I don’t mean that they should unite their ranks against the President, but that they unite all factions of American Jewry: all the denominations, the non-affiliated, the intermarried, the LGBTQ, every single one. If Jews, who are always at the center of attention (and today more so than ever), show America that unity is possible, they will be a positive role model to follow, and everyone will thank the Jewish community for proving it.

The book Likutey Etzot (Assorted Counsels) specifies how we should relate to those with whom we disagree: “The essence of peace is to connect two opposites. Hence, do not be alarmed if you see a person whose view is the complete opposite of yours and you think that you will never be able to make peace with him. Also, when you see two people who are completely opposite to one another, do not say that it is impossible to make peace between them. On the contrary, the essence of peace is to try to make peace above two opposites.”

If American Jewry wants to create that “fortified wall against the forces of evil,” they must remove the walls they have erected toward their brethren. I’m not sure American Jewry has not missed the last train, but the approach of uniting the Jews above all the disagreements among them is the only approach that can save American Jewry from a catastrophe that is now vividly on the horizon.
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Age In Our World And In Spirituality

laitman_565.01Question: Are we considered older or younger in the spiritual world compared to our age in this world?

Answer: It is incomparable. A person can be old in this world but may not even exist in the spiritual world; he may not even be considered an embryo and not even a drop of spiritual semen from which he is supposed to develop.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 3/19/17

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When You Attain, Then You Will Know

laitman_547.03Question: How is it possible to know to what part of the soul a person belongs?

Answer: When you will attain, then you will know. If a person is drawn forward and understands that there is nothing else in the world for him besides the attainment of the Creator and his place in creation, this is a sign that everything is in order with his soul.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 3/12/17

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Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 2/26/17, Part 2

laitman_259.02Question: Is there such a concept of collective egoism?

Answer: No, if one is talking about the spiritual development of a person, it is merely individual.

Question: To bestow to the Creator must we feel hatred toward Him?

Answer: If a person feels hatred toward the Creator, then to the same extent, really a moment before, the feeling of the Creator, or even thoughts about Him, disappear from the person.

Question: You usually say that the egoism of humanity develops with each passing day. Have we already reached its last phase or are there additional big surprises waiting for us?

Answer: We have already reached the last phase of the development of egoism, but we haven’t fully attained it yet.

Question: Baal HaSulam divided the wisdom of Kabbalah into two parts: the concealed part and a revealed part. In the future, will everyone discover the revealed part while only select people will discover the hidden part?

Answer: Everyone will be selected. At the end of our development all of us will attain a completely identical level: full altruistic spiritual development.

Question: Why is it impossible to reach the point of truth without the feeling and recognition of evil?

Answer: It is because the point of truth includes both evil and good within it, as two absolutely identical and equally valued components.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/26/17

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The Basis Of The Future Society, Part 3

laitman_942Practical Kabbalah Tools

A Kabbalistic group is a laboratory for the study of nature as one single system. Thanks to the fact that we are building new altruistic desire in the laboratory—that is common to all of us—we see another world: not in the Light of reception, but in the Light of bestowal.

Man ceases to feel himself as a separate individual, but connects with a group of people, and within this connection feels reality as one single system—great and perfect.

Question: What tools can we use to make this change?

Answer: To do this we need to implement the methodology of Kabbalah in practice. Kabbalists discovered this method almost 6,000 years ago and wrote a lot of books about it. There is a clear program that we need to accomplish in ourselves. When we enter this “laboratory,” we get complete instructions and books—everything we need to do this experiment.

This technique is unique and only the people of Israel have it. They used it many thousands of years ago, but then they forgot about it. And today it is time to update this method, not only within the Jewish people, but also to pass it to the whole world.

After all, the world has evolved to such states when it needs this technique. The next stage in the development of humanity is to achieve connection in tens around the world.

Question: How and by what means does our connection take place?

Answer: We go to a group and with the help of all sorts of exercises, we begin to move closer to each other. We understand that it is impossible to break through into a new dimension alone.

After all, we remain egoistic, and to rise above an egoistic nature into the opposite, other nature, which apparently exists as a plus against the minus, can only be achieved by uniting in a group. Only in the group can we discover the power of bestowal.

Question: What are these exercises that enable us to reveal the power of bestowal?

Answer: My teacher, the great Kabbalist Baruch Ashlag, wrote articles about the work in the group. By studying these articles we understand what needs to be done. All exercises are directed to uniting in a circle. The circle means that everyone is equal. Everyone tries to annul his egoism and serve others. Everyone cares about the common connection and tries not to think about themselves but about the friends.

Together we study Kabbalistic books to understand how to become more connected and close to each other. In essence, these are very simple practical exercises; you just need to follow the Kabbalists’ advice and work on it every day.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 7/4/17

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The Great Goal – To Bring Enjoyment To The Creation

Twelve Tribes In One Nation, Part 1Torah, Deuteronomy 26:8 – 26:11: And the Lord brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great awe, and with signs and wonders. And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which you, O Lord, have given to me.” Then, you shall lay it before the Lord, your God, and prostrate yourself before the Lord, your God. Then, you shall rejoice with all the good that the Lord, your God, has granted you and your household you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.

“Brought the first of the fruit of the ground” means to bring intention for all. By bestowing to all, I bestow to the Creator.

Naturally, the Creator, in fact, does not need any fruit. In the corporeal world, they were brought to distribute among the people.

Question: But man exists to enjoy…?

Answer: The Torah does not address a person who wants to enjoy. It requires a completely different attitude.

One can refer to it only if one wants to reach the meaning of life. Otherwise everything is useless, one will only distort it! If one starts interpreting it in his own egoistic manner, he will receive a completely different Torah.

Question: So do I come to the Torah with pain, with a broken heart?

Answer: You do it only with a desire to comprehend the meaning of your existence and to reach its root—the force that guides you! Otherwise, you will “rewrite” it and you will end up having thousands of religions.

Question: Then what does the goal to bring enjoyment to the creation mean?

Answer: To bring enjoyment to the creation is a great goal of a person who knows what to do, how to help others, and how to lead them to adhesion with the Creator, with the quality of bestowal and love that will live in a person and guide his actions. Then a person starts to feel he is at the next level of existence in a completely different world: unlimited by time, life, or death.

Question: Is it hard work?

Answer: If you do it alone, then it’s incredibly hard work, but if you do it together, then it’s very easy. Psychologically, a new approach is required here.

The most important thing is not the work itself, but the right attitude to this task. When a person comes to understand that everything is resolved only together, then everything becomes easy at once.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 11/9/16

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 8/21/17

Preparation for the Lesson

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Preparation for the Convention “The Future Begins Here” in Europe, Lesson on the Topic: “Europe at a Crossroad” 

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 61

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