New Study Shows Teens Benefit From The Internet

From Our World, to the Virtual World, to the Upper WorldIn the News (from MacArthur Foundation):New Study Shows Time Spent Online Important for Teen Development” There are myths about kids spending time online – that it is dangerous or making them lazy. But we found that spending time online is essential for young people to pick up the social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age.

My Comment: This positive effect is not actually coming from the inanimate internet network or from the communication that’s stupid and pointless for the most part, but from conformity to the law of Nature, which drives us toward globalization and integration.

If the world wide web will incorporate elements of authentic cooperation, such as games based on interaction instead of virtual violence, simulating the corrected world (even for an egoistic reward – Lo Lishma), then we will advance and reveal the benefits of cooperation. Then, according to the rule, “habit becomes second nature” (Ergel Naase Teva Sheni), we will help the young generation progress toward the quality of Nature – bestowal and love (Lishma).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Internet Pop-up Ads Fail to Understand Human Egoism
Laitman.com Post: The Internet Makes Us All Part of One Community
Laitman.com Post: Technological Connections Are There for Us to Correct Our Inner Connections
Kabbalah Today Article: The One Link Google Can’t Reach
Kabbalah Today Article: Are You Connected?

The Spiritual Meaning Of Names And Titles

titlesA question I received: In one of your books, you wrote that Moses (Moshe in Hebrew) comes from the word Moshech – to pull out. However, the word Moshe ends with the letter Hey, and the word Moshech ends with the letter Kaf. So from the linguistic point of view, the roots don’t quite match.

My Answer: His name was given to him by Batia, Pharaoh’s daughter, who found him in the Nile river and pulled him out of it. This is why she named him Moshe. It says so in the Bible. However, there are also other, additional meanings to the names. In essence, they refer to a person’s actions and predestination.

Baal HaSulam writes, “The mountain of olives (Har HaZeitim) may have been named by regular people, rather than Kabbalists, who saw that this mountain is good for cultivating a plantation of olive trees. But this name also corresponds to the inner, spiritual meaning of the place, and the reason for this is that all of nature is revealed in such a way that people speak and act without understanding what governs them.”

Related Material:
Kabbalah Today Article: What’s In a Name?

Is It Possible To Hasten The Correction?

psychiatry-and-kabbalahTwo questions I received on advancing on the path to spirituality:

Question: I have been watching Channel 66 and the morning lessons for the past few months, and I was at the Congress. But I still can’t understand the purpose of my existence in this world. Is there any sense in hastening the correction if it was initially determined to be completed at the end of this millennium? Is there a way to reach it faster?

My Answer: The program of correction will be completed by the forces of Nature (the Creator) by the end of the sixth millennium. This can happen in 231 years under the influence of the coercive forces, which we perceive as suffering. However, we were given Kabbalah in order to hasten the path of correction and to go through it pleasantly. Kabbalah explains the Creator’s plan, and to the extent we are willing to attain this plan, we proceed along the good, short, and simple path, arriving at same result.

Question: Nature constantly pressures us, forcing us to develop. Theoretically, we can classify the pressure into three types:

  • strong, as when a child develops physically, not by his own free will;
  • weak, such as a person who lives a regular life thinking that he is free in his actions; and
  • intermediate, when a person discovers Kabbalah and acquires the freedom of will to choose to advance by the path of Kabbalah or by the path of suffering.

Is this classification correct?

My Answer: No, because the pressures differ in their nature and quality.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: We Can Develop Without Waiting for the Suffering to Come
Laitman.com Post: The Writings of the Last Generation

The Crisis Is One Of Society, Not Just Economy

laitman_2009-03_7952In the News (from CNN):Record 31.8 million on food stamps” A record 31.8 million Americans received food stamps at the latest count, an increase of 700,000 people in one month with the United States in recession, government figures showed Thursday.

In the News (from Zogby Interactive):Zogby Poll: 70% Have Cut Back On Entertainment Due to Weak Economy” Survey finds 39% have pared down vacation plans, 40% have put off major purchases, and 40% have cut grocery spending, with 70% saying they have cut back on entertainment, recreation and eating out. It isn’t just taking place in poorer households, but also with around 70% of those with more than $100,000 in household income.

My Comment: The same thing is happening in the entire world. Of course, this exacerbates the crisis, yet this is exactly what will accelerate people’s recognition of the crisis, making them realize that it is a crisis of society, not just economy.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Way Out of the Recession Is to Change Our Attitude
Laitman.com Post: Top Financial Analysts Now Realize: The Global Crisis Demands a Global Solution

The Wave Of The Crisis Will Wash Away All The Nonsense

immerse-into-the-waters-of-bestowal-and-you-will-become-pureA question I received: I am discovering that people don’t understand what it means to “treat others well.” No one feels like they are doing anything wrong. Everyone says, “I treat everyone well. I have a family, and I treat them well. And I don’t lie or steal from anyone.” They don’t understand that they need correction.

My Answer: The crisis will gradually bring us to the understanding of what it really means to treat others well. It is when I make sure that everyone else has what is necessary. This is called treating others well. I repeat: I am concerned only with what is necessary for them! And in addition, I have to concerned with attaining adhesion with the Creator, together with everyone. This will be revealed in the world absolutely clearly.

The wave of the crisis will wash away all the nonsense in the world. This will begin to be revealed very soon and very rapidly. Never before has humanity and the world been in a situation like this. You will see how, with the aid of various outside forces and means, people will wish to free themselves of all excesses because they’ll feel that this gets in their way and deprives them of something. Eventually, people of power and influence will feel embarrassed of their power and financial strength. They will reveal that these phenomena are harmful and negative, and society will hold them in low esteem, even despise them.
(From the lesson based on Baal HaSulam’s article, “One Precept,” on 03.05.2009)

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: As a Result of the Crisis, Only the Necessities Will Remain
Laitman.com Post: Soon We Will Realize That Having “the Bare Necessities” Is for the Best

The G-20 Must Hear Kabbalah’s Message Before The Summit Begins

lawsA question I received: Many economists and leaders, particularly Gordon Brown, are talking about the need for unity. Why doesn’t nature lead him and other leaders in the right direction?

My Answer: Why can’t they discover the science of Kabbalah? It is written, “The hearts of the kings and rulers are in the Creator’s hands.” They find themselves in a shameful position before the whole world because they cannot find a way out of the present economic and industrial situation. For the first time in human history, a situation has come about where humanity is standing face to face against Nature, and Nature is doing anything It wishes to people. And for the first time in history, everyone is throwing up their hands in despair, not even the smartest, bravest, and most confident people are able to do anything about it.

They are bewildered, like children who have lost their mom. People have never experienced this before. Egoism has always won; it was always in control and attained new achievements. However, today we are not driven by egoism anymore. We are now finding that nothing can be achieved through egoism. On the contrary, egoism brings on a disaster that humanity has never before experienced: it elicits blows, similar to the Egyptian plagues.

Therefore, the leaders are incapable of doing anything – they are in the position of the miserable Pharaoh! Everyone understands that egoism is evil, but what next? There is only one solution: to get Kabbalah’s message across to every person as quickly as possible and in the simplest, most positive form! It is worthwhile to try and deliver this method to G20 before the summit begins. Then, the world might have a chance.
(From the lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article, “One Precept”, on 03.08.2009)

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Changing the Information Supplied by the Mass Media Is of Prime Importance
Laitman.com Post: Gordon Brown Outlines Plan to Shape the First Global Society
Laitman.com Post: The Current Crisis Is “The First Plague of Egypt”

Kabbalah Is The Most Precise Language For Expressing Spirituality

there-is-no-time-in-the-torahTwo questions I received on the study of spiritual texts:

Question: Can your teaching replace the study of Gemara? What is the connection between Gemara and the science of Kabbalah?

My Answer: Gemara is the continuation of the Mishna. Both are part of the Babylonian Talmud. All of these texts speak about the Creator and the creation, creation’s correction and attainment of the goal – similarity to the Creator. Other than this, there is nothing for a person to do in this world; it is the reason why he is here.

In order to explain this, Kabbalists used four languages: Tanach, Alachot, Agadot, and the language of Kabbalah. The language of Kabbalah is the most precise, and therefore it’s the one Kabbalists use most. Only occasionally do they resort to other languages. All of these texts speak only about the Creator’s actions. This is why these books are called “holy.” See Baal HaSulam’s article, “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence,” the section, “Four Languages are Used in the Wisdom of Truth,” and my article, “The Language of Kabbalah,” the section, “Four Languages.”

Question: After listening to your lessons for a long time, I finally reached the conclusion that you repeat the same thing over and over, just phrasing it differently. Do you do this intentionally, or is it just more convenient and acceptable for you not to reveal new things from the primary sources? For example, I have never heard you try to reveal new aspects of the Mikra (one of the Biblical primary sources). But you are a Kabbalist and should therefore see the inner meaning in these writings.

My Answer: At our lessons, we follow a certain program, just like Rabash‘s students did. You can verify this with any of his students. I also discuss the weekly chapters of the Torah on my TV shows. All of these programs are available on the Internet.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How to Read the Torah
Laitman.com Post: To Pray Means to Reveal the Quality of Love and Bestowal Inside You
Interview: “Who is a Kabbalist”
Article: “The Secret Meaning of the Bible”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Introduction to the Book, The Tree of Life”, Item 1

The G-20 Will Not Find a Way to Unite Without Kabbalah

withoutA question I received: The  G-20 summit reminds me of the famous story when the residents of a Kibbutz prayed for rain in the middle of the desert. Is this a good comparison?

My Answer: You’re saying that the Kibbutz members prayed for rain from the bottom of their hearts, and the rain finally came, and so if the G-20 and all of humanity in general will wish for goodness, will it come? Well, the people who lived in the Kibbutz were already united! They were willing to sacrifice their egoism in regard to each other and to annul themselves in regard to the Kibbutz. They had a common desire, a prayer that came from their unification, and this is why it came true.

But what unification do you have here? On one hand, we can say that people are united by a common problem, like nuts in a sac. However, this is not enough, because what’s required is true unification. It won’t help to just try and escape the woes. This will not redirect people toward goodness. They can be directed to goodness only under the condition that they understand how to create this goodness.

In essence, the question is: can humanity find the path to a happy future naturally, without the science of Kabbalah? The answer is: no, it cannot, because it does not have the Force that’s capable of uniting egoists. They don’t have the channel that draws the Upper Light, which can fill the vacuum between egoists and “glue” them together. What’s necessary is a connection with the Upper Force; this is why the science of Kabbalah was revealed in Ancient Babylon and why it is now coming back.

(From the lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article, “One Precept” on 03.08.2009)

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The G-20 Leaders Are Like Children Trying to Build a House
Laitman.com Post: The G-20 Leaders Have Much To Fear
Laitman.com Post: You Have to Know How to Ask

Families Should Stay Together

laitman_2008-11_wife-olga_1001

Two questions I received on love, marriage and divorce:

Question: I’ve heard someone say that a couple’s sexual relationship is an indication of their standing in the spiritual world. But surveys show that 65% of people lose their attraction for their partner after two years of living together, although some of them still maintain a wonderful relationship. It seems that 65% of families should be “broken up” in spite of the kids, but divorces cripple our children!

My Answer: Families should stay together, and the way to do this is to make compromises to one another as much as possible.

Question: My wife is 14 years younger than me. She is not Jewish and has never been interested in spirituality, but she converted to Judaism in order for us to get married. We have a two-year old son. We split up because of her stubbornness: she always thinks she is right. She is materialistic and likes anything that “shines.” I gave her everything I could, and even more because right now I am on the verge of bankruptcy.

In spite of everything, I still love her and she loves me in her own way, but our egos won’t let us make up. Plus, I am afraid of getting another divorce. Yet, despite everything, just seeing her smile makes me happy. Is this love or am I just satisfying my own ego? Maybe your advice will help me.

My Answer: It’s best to do what you did before: be together, in love, and with your son.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Man’s Relationship With the Creator Is Like a Dramatic Love Story
Laitman.com Post: How to Compromise With Your Partner
Article: “Kabbalistic Texts Contain a Unique Quality that Ensures a Successful Partnership”
Lecture: “Unconditional Love”