Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Do Israeli Jews rely on American Jews to advocate for them?“

Most American Jews feel no connection to Israel. Even if they talk about it, it does not come from the heart. They do not feel it. We do not feel ourselves as belonging to one another.

To begin with, we come from the 70 nations of the world. We were the most egoistic people from the nations of the world, the ones who connected back in the times of ancient Babylon. We were immersed in a common hatred, and we then listened to Abraham’s guidance who guided us to unite above our divisions. By doing so, we became known as “the people of Israel,” and later as “the Jewish people” (the Hebrew word for “Jew” [Yehudi] comes from the word for “united” [yihudi] [Yaarot Devash, Part 2, Drush no. 2]). Today, too, if we unite above our divisions, we will save ourselves from a terrible life worse than death.

Only calamities remind us that we share a brotherly connection. The hatred of the nations of the world toward the Jews can connect us Jews with each other. If we fail to connect, then we will die. It is a law of nature.

Such a connection needs to begin in Israel. What else are we here for? If we start our process of unification above our differences here in Israel, then our stronger connection here will influence our relationship with Jews in the United States, and also with humanity in general.

Thanks to the rising antisemitic climate around the world, we will increasingly find no rest and scurry to seek a solution to the rising hatred against us. And the solution is in our unity.

Based on the video “Do Israeli Jews Rely on American Jews to Advocate for Them?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: Does a person born in our world already have an intention? Is he born not just with the desire to receive?

Answer: Yes, but they are small, micro intentions.

Question: We see that a small child has a desire to enjoy. Yet you cannot even say that he enjoys for his own sake. But when he grows up, he shows such, one might say, cunningness that he does it consciously for himself, he consciously uses others. Do we have a desire, a mind, and another function?

Answer: We have mind, desire, and intention. The most important thing is the intention. It determines where a person aspires in his actions.

With the help of the mind, we can change the intention. Desire itself is purely mechanical. But how we can elevate the intention above the desires and change the nature of the desire itself—for our own sake or for the sake of others—is already a human ability.

The mind is a very important function. Thanks to it, we can change our intentions.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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To bring a person to the degree of a complete righteous means to show him the most terrible, unjust, awful things in the world, and nevertheless, because he ties all that to the Creator as the only force, the only Creator, he justifies them.

It is impossible. Simply impossible! But you must come to this.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 2/17/22

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Question: In The Study of the Ten Sefirot Baal HaSulam writes that four worlds were formed at a point of contracted space. “Olam” (world) comes from the word “Alama” (concealment). Four concealments, four filters were formed. Why were these filters needed?

Answer: The fact is that no one created anything on purpose. But since there is opposition between the Creator’s property to fill and creation’s property to be filled, they form four stages of mutual, interdependent influence in interaction with each other.

Therefore, from the light itself, the zero stage comes the first stage where the light spreads in the desire. The desire begins to feel it and changes to the extent that it gets restricted. And then it still receives all the light into itself. This state is called the world of infinity.

In The Study of the Ten Sefirot, this is analyzed in great detail since knowledge about the four stages of the expansion of light is basic in the science of Kabbalah.

In other words, these are options for combining two properties: the properties of the Creator and creation, i.e., the properties of bestowal and reception. These combinations of connection provide four variants of concealment, which we later begin to discover in ourselves and change in accordance with them.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 10/2/22

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Question: If some deficiency arises in me and I understand that the Creator caused it, should I still add some external words?

Answer: Yes. Speak from yourself and as much as possible. And the Creator will understand and translate everything as needed.

Question: But this is one layer. Is there an even higher level, to ask for some things that are against my desires?

Answer: Against your desires and most importantly for others. If you are asking for others, for the whole world, for everyone, and you want them all to become wiser, better, closer to each other, softer, kinder, and you want to be inside of them, then these are the simplest and most effective prayers.

The Creator is a general force within which we exist. He can hear the prayer of any desire. This is what works here. I don’t have to talk or speak in any language, whistle, or sing. We launch our desires.

Question: Is it a kind of physics? Is there a single huge force and each of our desires also a small force? And is it felt?

Answer: Of course, physics. And why should it act somehow in a special way? We can direct the forces of nature ourselves, nurture them, and concentrate them. We can manage all of nature.

Comment: When you read prayer books, it seems like some kind of lyrics, and you are talking about forces.

My Response: The prayer book says what we should desire. And to really come to this, we need explanations and education. It is necessary to study.

I suggest reaching out to us to learn how we can change our lives with the help of prayer. Good luck!
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 9/25/22

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Question: What do you think about the phrase “do not carry insults in your heart”?

Answer: This is important. But this is natural. If we accept everything as coming from the Creator and everything that is being played between us is the picture of the world that He is playing, then the attitude toward this becomes correct and businesslike.

Question: Is it not an insult anymore?

Answer: It is not an insult. It is attracting you to the correction of the world, to the absorption of the world, and to the reification of the world.

You, together with the Creator, begin to engage in this system. You do not just look at everything, absorb it, and are horrified by it; rather you realize that this is done for you, this is the way this is processed in you, and this is how it seems so to you. This picture is individually, absolutely personally yours, and you have to do everything in order to justify it. This is where the work is, and this is where our problem is.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 2/17/22

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Question: What does it mean to live one day?

Answer: This is correct, live one day. But this is in the sense that today is my day; I make it; I fully receive my impressions from what the Creator gives me and I process them within myself. I constantly adjust myself, my impression, and my reflections of the world in myself, and I do it all in order to justify the Creator at all levels of my perception.

Question: Is this called living one day?

Answer: Yes, this is a very difficult condition. You see the world in a certain way and you have to process it in yourself as if it is perfect. It seems to be impossible.

Question: You are given certain evil, and you turn it into good, as it were. Is it as if good has come to you even though it is complete, absolute evil?

Answer: Yes. And you have to bring it to such a state that you will not even see and feel that there is so much evil in the world and that it is all absolute evil.

After all, when you are engaged in correcting your perception of the world, every step you take forward will show you the world as more terrible, and even more, and even more terrible. The pictures will be scary. The Creator has such a film factory and the scariest tapes will be spinning in front of you, and you will have to justify all this.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 2/17/22

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do you think of the Diderot effect?“

After living a life of poverty and not caring much about material wealth, Denis Diderot received a fancy new red scarlet satin robe as a gift. Afterward, he noticed that his chair was just an old straw chair, and changed it to a beautiful new leather one; and he then also spotted that his desk was shabby, and replaced it with a large gorgeous table. Eventually, Diderot fell into debt over the fulfillment of his newly-discovered material desires, and he wrote that where he was once the absolute master of his old robe, he became the slave of his new one.

Generally speaking, he was right—that we would be better off living in our “old robes.” There is nothing wrong with living our lives without investing energy into materialistic acquisitions.

We need to have everything in order to comfortably pursue our goals, but beyond meeting those basic needs, we should make sure not to become slaves to our possessions or to the changing times we live in. Why should we work for new robes, chairs and desks, i.e. for material possessions? We would be better off to not waste our lives in such a way, and stay in our “old robes,” so to speak, while taking care of ourselves.

In such a context, “taking care of ourselves” means doing what we deem as important, and not what our surrounding society projects to us as important. We should never fall into such traps as valuing surplus materialistic acquisitions.

We should instead focus on our goal at the basic human development stage that is called “the animate level” within us, i.e. to not follow any goals and habits that society projects onto us, but to live for ourselves. Choose a goal and live for it. People need to validate their paths; to direct and shape them in ways that bring no harm to anyone, including themselves.

Based on the video “The Diderot Effect – A Kabbalist’s Response” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Rabash “Why Is the Torah Called ‘Middle Line’ in the Work – 2”

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Gatehouse of Intentions”

Selected Highlights

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