Avoiding Armageddon – Laitman Unplugged

“Woman” And “Man” Are Two Forces Leading To The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanThere is nothing in the universe besides two forces: the Creator and creation. The force of bestowal is the Creator, while the force of reception is creation. These two forces are combined together inside of creation in order to enable creation to attain the Creator’s degree.

In other words, creation has a desire to egoistically fulfill itself and an altruistic desire to bestow. The only question is: What is primary, the desire to bestow in order to receive fulfillment for itself, or the desire to receive pleasure for the sake of bestowal? Everything depends on what we use reception or bestowal for.

When a person is at the beginning of the path of his correction, he is unable to hear about anything other than how to earn something for himself. Until he passes the Machsom, until he performs a restriction (Tzimtzum) on his desires, he sees everything only as an opportunity to extract benefit for himself. He simply cannot operate in any other way.

Therefore, all of his advancement takes place by the principle of “bestowal for the sake of reception.” He works in the group, comes to lessons, works on dissemination, and he is sure that he will be able to receive the whole world in reward. That is how a person advances, and this is called that he uses the force of the “woman” in him.

Gradually, if a person carries out the teacher’s advice, then inner changes take place inside him under the influence of the Light that Reforms. His progress is accompanied by alternating ascents and descents, states of uncertainty and confusion.

That is how he gradually comes to understand the value of the quality of bestowal in and of itself, rather than in order to extract benefit from it. Yet for now this only happens from time to time. The Upper Light brings him the sensation that bestowal is a great quality by itself.

Then he starts thinking less about himself when making all his actions and attributes greater importance to the group and the Creator. He thinks more about the state of the world and shifts from caring for himself to caring for the common good. This is called that the “man” in him, the force of overcoming (in Hebrew “man,” “Gever,” comes from the word “Hitgabrut,” overcoming) rises above the “woman” in him.

That is how a person gradually goes from Lo Lishma (actions for his own sake) to Lishma (for the sake of bestowal). This revolution happens drastically and suddenly, but the path to it is very slow and gradual.

When a person completely replaces the “woman” in him with a “man,” which now determines the path of his spiritual development, advancement towards bestowal for the sake of bestowal and then to reception for the sake of bestowal, then he is already working with the male force.

In the meantime, the “woman” is inside of him. She can either be his helper or help against him. Everything depends on his state. Then the right combination of the male and female forces occurs within him.
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From the lesson on 2/11/11 on Writings of Rabash

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The One Who Makes All The Difference

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: In the “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 3, Baal HaSulam writes: “We distinguish four divisions in the Speaking species, arranged in gradations one atop the other. Those are the Masses, the Strong, the Wealthy, and the Sagacious. They are equal to the four degrees in the whole of reality, called “Still,” “Vegetative,” “Animate,” and “Speaking [human]…. It follows that the value of one person from the Speaking equalizes with the value of all the forces in the Vegetative and the Animate in the whole of reality at that time, and in all the past generations.”

Is it correct to assume that it is enough to have one person who, by having made his free choice, can open the path of further development to all other levels of nature, which cannot evolve further without it?

Answer: Certainly, by using his free will, one person can open the path to and ensure further development of all the still, vegetative, and animate levels of the human pyramid if all of them unify with each other and join this human degree. This is how Rashbi, the ARI, and Baal HaSulam opened it for us. One person can draw and lead all the others if he is at the “speaking” level of development, whereas they are at the still, vegetative, and animate ones.

We see this in practice. How would humanity evolve if not for certain outstanding individuals who open the door to a new world for the others?

But after such a person makes a breakthrough, reaching balance is up to all others who follow him. The former has done his job, as for instance, Baal HaSulam who revealed to us the entire method of the wisdom of Kabbalah; now it is up to us to actualize it. Until our work is complete, we won’t achieve equilibrium.

He merely explains to us that the problem lies in our imbalance with nature and it’s necessary to come to balance. Nature in its integral form is the Creator. It is with Him that we must harmonize ourselves, meaning to reach equivalence of form, oneness. This is what we must implement. It is necessary to engage the whole world into it, which will require a lot of work.

You may ask who is this person that makes all the difference and must use his free will? You are this person! It is every person who received spiritual awakening within and heard about the method of its realization from the outside.

Only the initial awakening occurs within, and because of it, a person hears a call to him or her from the outside. As a result, one comes to a place where it is indeed possible to realize one’s free will.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/17/2011, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot

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New Rules Of A Global World

Dr. Michael LaitmanHistory shows that ultimately not a single dictator brought his nation anything good, but only suffering. Thereby they pushed the world toward development. Today, however, our state is completely different: We live in a global world.

Previously, the world existed due to the very top of the pyramid, the individual personalities endowed with unlimited sovereign power, and everything run according to their word. A few hundred years ago, such rulers were still able to make beneficial decisions. But today, in a global world, if someone tries to put into practice his personal opinion, he will only acknowledge his own ignorance.

It’s because in a global world, decisions cannot be made by a single ruler or government, or even by governments gathering together. Nothing will come out of it! One has to be familiar with the general system, while a president is not; he is a bigger egoist than anyone else (this is why he became a president in the first place).

Hence, not a single ruler or government will be successful: They will come to power, keep hold of it for a few years, and fall. This will happen throughout the world. We will see that governments will degenerate more and more. One day millions will come out onto the streets, as it is happening in Egypt now, and the government will collapse.

Why can’t the government defend itself, where is the army? Its glory days are over, it doesn’t work this way anymore because the world manifests as an integral, global system, and the people below no longer obediently accept everything that the ruler says from above.

Today the world operates based on different principles, while we do not acknowledge this yet. No rulers will help us, no matter who comes into power. In previous times, the rulers advanced the world through suffering, yet they nevertheless advanced it. For instance, Alexander the Great wanted to introduce Greek culture into the entire world and had scientists and advisers assist him. He had an entire program of what he wanted to do with the world. But today, advancement due to a ruler is no longer possible.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/11/2011, “The Freedom”

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Open The Door To Tomorrow

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe world is reaching the state of wanting to become unified! It has to become unified as a result of the revelation of our inner desire due to nature’s demand. That is why our mind is starting to develop and we invent things that help us hear each other from a distance. That is how we invented the radio 150 years ago. It was just 150 years ago! Then the television appeared less than 100 years ago and people invented the cinema in order to create the illusion of motion. Then, around 25 years ago we reached the developed of the Internet connection.

All of this is a result of our desire which develops and demands greater integration and unity among us. This desire develops and we cannot stop it. It demands constant, unceasing, and universal interconnection, 24 hours a day, all over the world.

200 years ago a person would travel to somewhere and then he would return. During his absence of a month, for example, he did not know what was happening back home. But today this is impossible! In addition, books have disappeared. It takes too long for someone to write, print, and send it, and then for someone to read it…. Newspapers, the news, and everything will happen at the speed of light, at the speed of electronic connection. All of this is caused by the need for our correction!

Our nature is being revealed as a single, integral system, forcing us to be connected together. What happens in one place is immediately continued in another place and everything around begins to be set aflame. Who throws the match that ignites the whole world? No one! It’s happening because we are connected among each other in our inner desires.

If you compare the beginning of the year to its end, you will see the whole world totally interconnected. After all, we have to advance towards the general correction, to become as one man with one heart, to attain the state where we are in the world of Infinity, to reveal the single force of connection among us.

That is why we have to develop our Kabbalistic television and Internet resources in this way, so they would be as interactive and live as possible. Live broadcasts must take place around the clock and people should be calling each other from the whole world in all the languages so no one would feel any separation or difference between anyone. This has to happen live, rather than being recorded ahead of time and pulled out of the archive. That way the information won’t be perceived as “dead,” but everyone will feel that it is live! Your desire lives in the present and no longer perceives what you did yesterday. It has changed, but you are trying to sell it something that’s already dead.

People will feel this so acutely that they won’t be able to watch movies! You will feel that you are not impressed by a movie that used to excite you or make you cry. You will see that this does not affect you because it was filmed several months ago, so it’s no longer live! Everything has to happen at this very moment. I am giving you my sensations, while the external form that helps us be virtually connected with one another is just a means to attain the inner connection from heart to heart! If we could do things in this way, we would achieve success in disseminating the science of Kabbalah!

This is what the whole world is yearning for. It doesn’t even know that yet, but this is exactly what it desires. A person who understands this and knows how to tell the world the right things from his heart, how to tell the world about the things it aspires for, and to do so in a way that’s not only current today, but also tomorrow to some extent—that person opens the door to tomorrow!
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From the lesson on the weekly Torah portion on 2/10/11

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 02.20.11

Writings of Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam, “What Is A High Priest Who Takes A Virgin Wife in the Work”
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The Book of Zohar — Introduction: “The Seventh Commandment,” Item 228 , Lesson 3, “The Eighth Commandment”
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Talmud Eser Sefirot 3, Part 8, Item 82, Lesson 48
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Rav Yehuda Ashlag, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Lesson 4
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