Audio Version Of The Blog – 01.15.18

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Outcome Of The Congress “Absorbed In The Upper One”

laitman_938.04Outcome of the congress: the conclusion that “There is none else besides the Creator.” We have to decide this every moment of our lives, being certain that He is good that does good, meaning, we justify Him in all His actions.

This is the very first condition with which the science of Kabbalah begins, with the article “There Is None Else Besides Him,” and all that is required of us on the path is to establish only this. The only things that change are the conditions, our inner and outer states. (In reality there is only one state, but we perceive its division into inner and outer states.)

In order to start living within the principle “There is none else besides Him, the good that does good,” one must work in a group of ten people. And this state starts from the stage of an “embryo” (Ubur) in which I annul myself in everything to the principle “There is none else besides Him, the good that does good”.

It means that I adhere to the upper one in any circumstance that He puts in front of me, completely annulling myself. In this way I become a spiritual embryo.

This is the state that we are trying to achieve, and this is why we spoke only about this during the congress: how to realize this state, what our relationships should be in the group, what each one owes the others, etc. It was all about how to reach the state “There is none else besides Him, the good that does good” on the level of an embryo.

Why did we take such a long time speaking about something that could be articulated in half a minute? The thing is that this state is realized not in a single person, but in the connections between many of us. While inside this connection, problems begin, because this is where we reveal our breakage.

All the work in establishing the principle “There is none else beside Him, the good that does good” is in tying the broken desires into it, so that it would be realized between us. It is between us, not in each one of us.

It is not enough to say that I adhered to the Creator, that I woke up in the morning with the thought of Him and accepted everything that happens as coming from Him. It is sufficient for now, but it is an abstract idea, not a practical action. However, if I want to actually realize this principle in its correct state, I have to fulfill it in the group. This is what the entire work is about.

Therefore it is necessary for us to have a congress for the mutual work. It is not enough to read the articles alone or even learn it by heart because the main thing is in realizing it between us. Together we begin to extract more and more information from the articles, and each time we perceive them anew: more and more deeply.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/7/18, Lesson on Topic: “The Work in Wholeness, at the Entrance of Ibur (Conception)”

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The Connection Between Teacher And Student

Laitman_721.01Question: Does a Kabbalist teacher choose his students himself or does a student pursue the teacher and ask to be taught?

Answer: It isn’t either of those ways. The teacher and the student are determined from above. They are brought closer to each other so that the relationship is established at a certain distance. As they engage with connection to the Creator, the student gets closer to the teacher.

Question: Did Rabash come and take you from your first teacher Hillel?

Answer: Yes, because I could not leave Hillel by myself. I could not tear myself away from him because my egoism received pleasure, answers, and fulfillments that were indescribable.

And with Rabash, it was the opposite. He sat down and opened Talmud Eser Sefirot. I barely understood a word. Rabash, I, and several other people sat and read throughout the lesson. Here we were dealing with the attraction of the upper Light according to our intention. And with Hillel, I was simply engaged in obtaining knowledge.

Question: What are the connections between a student and a teacher?

Answer: There is a connection between them only through the Creator, nothing else. Everything moves through them for the sake of attaining the higher goal.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 10/1/17

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Positive Egoism

laitman_562.02Question from Facebook: Is there a positive egoistic force?

Answer: No. Egoism cannot be positive because it detaches a person from any collective, from community, from connection, from nature. At the same time, the direction of human thought is only for oneself, for one’s own sake. Therefore, it cannot be positive because it is in the opposite direction from the general force of nature—from the Creator.

Question: So is it always destructive?

Answer: Always. It is good only when a person is in the initial stages of his development, like a small child. We allow him everything: we let him use his ego because it is necessary for his development. And then, from the age of 13 to 15, he must already control himself as an adult. And we begin to demand more and more from him.

It is similar to our spiritual development. At first, we were egoistic and went through a long egoistic path for thousands of years.

But now the egoistic progress is already coming to its end and we are obliged to start the next, completely different half of our existence—the altruistic one. Just as a person is considered a child, say, up to 15 years of age and then must lead the life of an adult.

We see that egoism has ended its development.

Question: What is progress now?

Answer: It is only a person’s transformation from an egotist to an altruist, when he will render himself and the whole world as a single whole. Only then can we properly and beautifully exist and evolve. Otherwise, we will lead ourselves to destruction.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 11/9/17

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Answers To Your Questions, Part 201

Laitman_088Question: Society has been trying to create artificial intelligence. The basic laws of the universe clearly regulate this point. The importance of understanding the fundamentals of the programming of reality is simple. Can you explain these simple and important fundamentals?

Answer: This is precisely what the wisdom of Kabbalah is about. But it is difficult for a person to understand this because he is constructed differently. The egoistic mind is incapable of thinking in terms of the spiritual world that is opposite to ours. So only the influence of the upper light will change us, and when it does we will be able to begin to think according to the laws of the upper world.
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Detriments And Benefits Of Fasting

laitman_559Question: Rambam spoke about the dangers of fasting. But we know many modern doctors and other specialists speak of its benefits. Who is right?

Answer: Fasting is an abnormal state for the body. For example, if not eating is necessary to correct their health, animals will stop eating, their bodies dictate them to fast. In all other cases, fasting is not recommended.

Things that are recommended are:

  • Do not overeat because that turns food into poison
  • Eat only when really hungry
  • You should walk at least ten minutes before eating
  • Never eat without any liquids
  • Do not overuse salt and spicy seasonings

Question: Isn’t fasting for spiritual reasons healthy for the body?

Answer: First of all, a fast is not an individual but a group action. In this case, it turns into a spiritual ascent—refraining from using your egoistic desires, which all together are elevated.

Question: But for the body, is it healthy or harmful?

Answer: If you do it together with others, then it is healthy.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 08/20/17

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 1/15/18

Preparation for the Lesson

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Lesson on the Topic: “Entering the Ibur,” (Prep For World Convention 2018)

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 17 

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