A Time For Reflection

Dr. Michael LaitmanToday, the entire world is in crisis, and we are slowly approaching even greater problems everywhere and in every area of life. All we have done in this world was done poorly because we grew under the rule of our egoism. We cannot expect good from anywhere because we have always worked just for the sake of our ego.

Now, evil is gradually revealed, drop by drop, at different locations and at any opportunity so as to prevent us from being withdrawn into our own pain. If the pain becomes too strong, we will not be able to think about anything else except how to get rid of it. We will no longer be interested in its cause and effect; we will want only to stop this pain.

However, if the pain comes in waves and all the time either subsides or becomes more severe, leaving me enough time to reflect on it, then I start seeking from where and why it comes and how to get rid of it. The Creator plays such a game with us, and as a result, we find a solution.

First of all, we need to study the cause, and it is in the oppositeness of our nature. Our properties are opposite to the Creator, and therefore, as He gets closer, we feel bad! And the closer He approaches, the worse we feel! It is like in the case of the thief whom it is better to keep away from the treasury and not to give him an opportunity to commit a crime. The same is with us.

Therefore, especially now, in our time, the Creator is revealed very slowly and gradually, in order to give us time to think. He is revealed slightly, and we feel bad. For example, a couple of years ago, a crisis erupted, and now people say that it is allegedly over. But it did not pass; we are simply given time to think and explore! Soon, another blow will strike, at several levels and of several types. And then a period of calm will take place.

Thus, the Creator teaches us and gives us opportunities to look for reasons so that ultimately, we would reveal Him as the source of all that happens. And in relation to our egoism, He appears as the source of all evil. Then, we will understand why we feel bad: It’s because of our oppositeness to the Creator.

What can we do to feel good? The Creator is perfect, and we have to change only ourselves. Thus, gradually, we will realize that we must correct ourselves. Humankind will certainly arrive to this under the methodical, periodic blows that will come in all forms to any nation, to any person, teaching us thereby.

However, we have to reveal the method to people so that they learn sooner from where and why these blows come. By this, we will facilitate the development of entire humanity. This is called “bringing the Light to the nations,” that is, to people who still do not understand why they get hit.

To develop consciously, people need to discover the cause, necessity, and purpose of the blows. As a result, the whole course of development changes very much. Those who possess the method of correction must do this for the entire world.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah World 6/24/2011, Shamati #241

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Be Jealous Of Your Friends

Dr. Michael LaitmanComment: In our age of satiation I know in advance that I need not exert effort to buy a Mercedes because in a month or two the charm will evaporate and I’ll begin to want something else.…

Answer: That’s true, but we’re talking about a spiritual goal now, not a Mercedes. If there’s something more important for you than the goal, then you will stray off the path. That’s obvious.

Comment: But the spiritual goal itself isn’t clear to me. I don’t even know what it is.

Answer: This begs a question: Does that prompt you to search for the truth? If it doesn’t, then you’re not advancing. Every day you need to conduct an inner calculation: “What do I have on the one hand, and what do I lack on the other? And when will I obtain that which I lack?”

Otherwise, if you’re missing the direction and the pressure, how will you advance to achieve your desire? If you don’t set a goal before yourself at every moment, you will not achieve it. Or do you presume you’re riding in a train with a paid ticket?

In other words, you’re being lazy like the others, waiting until suffering starts spur you forward and convincing yourself that simply putting in the time will have an effect. Is that it?

Comment: Naturally. But how do I compel myself to conduct these daily checks? It’s not like I have power of my thoughts.

Answer: Ask your friends to egg you on. They are one thousand degrees above you, so why aren’t you jealous of them? Why aren’t you ashamed before them?

There are people around you who have crossed the Machsom. Granted, you don’t know what that is, though you’ve heard the word before. These people sense spirituality, to a small measure, but still. And what about you?

But you don’t see this and that is why you aren’t jealous of them. That is correct. But you don’t see it because the intention to bestow reigns in them. If they were to reveal it to you even a little, you would run right back to your Mercedes. And that is why they don’t reveal themselves. Still, try to be jealous of their attainment somehow. You simply must.

The Creator is ready to give us Infinity, but we’re unable to receive anything but the thinnest illumination that He sends to sustain our present existence. You need to think about how to achieve shame, and for that you need exercises between you and the group. Otherwise nothing will happen.

Until you build a system of relationships with the group as you would want to have with the Creator, nothing will happen or will be revealed to you. It’s like you were given a construction kit with lots of little pieces to put together into a certain structure. If you do it, you’ll be given a more grown-up challenge.

But without it there is no advancement, for better or worse.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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When Evil Will Disappear From The World

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It is said: “Do good.” But how can we do good if only evil is created, and we still know nothing about good?

Answer: Evil is purposely created in our sensations so that we turn it into good. In reality, there is no evil. Our perception is turned inwards, and because of that everything good that we receive appears to us as evil. Everything that is perceived inside us is felt as evil because we compare ourselves with what exists outside of us. That is, evil is the division between me and others.

Evil does not exist on its own. Namely this paradigm, this method of egoistic fulfillment, this inward direction is evil. As soon as we change it, it immediately disappears and so does our sense of all evil in the world.
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From the Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah 6/19/2011

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What Is The Light Of Hochma?

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 1, “Table of Questions and Answers for the Meaning of the Words”: Question 18. What is Hochma? This Light is the basis of the life of the emanated being.

From the perspective of the emanated being, the upper Light which has created the desire to enjoy is divided into two forms because two types of attitudes arise in the emanated being: 1) the attitude toward fulfillment and 2) the attitude toward the Giver of this fulfillment. Therefore, when speaking about the Light which has created the desire to enjoy, fills the desire, and cares for it, this Light is called Hochma (Wisdom). And when we are talking about the Light of correction which fills the emanated being with the quality of bestowal, it is called the Light of Hassadim (Mercy).

In truth, the Light outside of the emanated being is uniform. The upper Light always remains at absolute rest. And all the qualities and phenomena in it, such as the “round Light” and a “line” or “Inner” and “Surrounding” Lights, are nothing but the creature’s impressions from the influence of that same Light.

When referring to the life of the emanated being, this Light is called the Light of Hochma, and when speak of our bestowal to the Creator, it is called the Light of Hassadim. These are the two main types of Light, which further divide into many sub-types.

In conclusion, the Light that acts through the creature’s desire to enjoy is called the Light of Hochma.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/21/11, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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