Audio Version Of The Blog – 06.13.12

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Gather The Harvest And Feed The Afflicted

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The Creator wants us to be an example for the whole world so we could develop the method and be the transitional link. What changes do we have to make in our desire to attain what we read about in the books of Kabbalists and to really become an example for everyone?

Answer: First of all, we must be the “head.” The letters of the word “Israel” (ישראל) decompose into the expression “my head” (לי ראש). We must check what is happening in the world, what is the Creator’s will, and how we can become an “adapter,” connecting His plans and desires with the world, as well as how to bring the world closer to realization. Let the Creator determine the new state of the world while the world moves forward in order to desire to take on this state. For that I have to be in the middle as an intermediary, mentor, educator, assistant.

That is our work. All that is incumbent upon Israel is to give an example, to “play” with the world, helping it to acquire the right form, to explain what is happening, to speak about the reasons for the troubles. After all, in the spiritual sense, people are “little children,” and we must patiently take care of their development, becoming imbued with their worries.

In the past I was far from this and did not understand why I need a connection with all of humanity. Throughout my entire life in the past, I supposed that I would be closed off in the scientific environment that I liked while providing all of the material necessities for myself. I wanted to attain, understand, and weave together the picture of reality, and I was not planning to lower my gaze to what lies below that level. Why does a researcher of the universe need all those who are merely confused about this question or who don’t care about it at all? This was my position.

However, afterwards I departed from the prideful egoistic scorn towards those around me and reached the opposite position where I am willing to constantly “change their diapers.” After all, everything depends on the realization of the importance, and on the spiritual path it becomes apparent that this is our work, that this is how we facilitate the correction of the world and give pleasure to the Creator.

There is no work higher than this one. It is not an accident that it is written that a person who plows his field to feed the hungry carries out the priests’ spiritual work. We simply do not understand what the task of the Kohanim is. Beneath the external “magnificence,” something completely different is concealed – care for those who are small. In a family, the children are the most important ones and everything revolves around them. That is how we should act as well. This is called “the kingdom of priests” where we don’t have anything else besides this work. We create the correspondence between the Creator and the creatures, adapting their desires to His revelation.

Question: What are we missing for that now?

Answer: We need many qualified people. All of our friends must go through courses for teachers and organizers. We have the resources and we have to realize them more and more, wider, deeper, and higher. We need massive work on education, which will require the efforts of everyone without exception. And then, once we are ready, we have to think about how to come out to a wide audience.

We will have to do this immediately, and we are already lagging behind. It’s a shame that not everyone hears me. This makes me afraid about what might happen in the country in the near future. After all, everything in the world is rigidly interconnected and only we are able to “sweeten” what is happening with our work.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/13/12, Arvut

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The Inexpressible Complexity

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”:

This wisdom is no more and no less than a sequence of roots, which hang down by way of cause and consequence, by fixed, determined rules, interweaving to a single, exalted goal described as “the revelation of His Godliness to His creatures in this world…”

Indeed, if you take the body of a small animal, whose only task is to nourish itself so it may exist in this world for enough time to father and carry on its species, you will find in it a complex structure of millions of fibers and tendons, as physiologists and anatomists have discovered. And there is much there that humans have yet to find. From the above, you can conclude the vast variety of issues and channels that need to connect in order to achieve and to reveal that sublime goal.

The systems are complicated in this world too, because of the infinite items that are connected. We cannot even imagine the complexity of the connections that sustain life in a body, although if only for a limited length of time. This complexity doesn’t stem from the fact that someone just felt like it. It started from the essential form of the atoms and the molecules that connected so that other connections can be formed through which the systems of the body are stabilized: the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the nervous system, etc. Eventually all these systems operate in mutual cooperative harmony.

Thus, the body develops as it should. In order to sustain the physiological life on a minimal level so that it will be possible to rise from it to the spiritual existence, there is a need for a complex, elegant system.

It is the same in spirituality, but here the complexity, the mutual incorporation, is infinitely greater. Conventional science explores only a small part of our world, while Kabbalists attain different phenomena by penetrating to their depth, all the way to their roots, reaching the basic Light and vessel.

Since it is impossible to express this in words so that you will be able to imagine something, Kabbalists limit themselves to the basic rules by describing Partzufim, lines, circles, Lights, vessels, Sefirot, Reshimot, etc. They tell us about the worlds, about the system of Holiness, and of impurity because they don’t want to confuse people by going into great depth, and only tell us about the basic connections with the sources in a suitable language that is understood only by those who have attained spirituality.

Even without this, the Kabbalistic sources that were revealed have caused confusion and brought about great harm since people quoted them out of context and depicted images by trying to connect them to our world. Thus various books describing all kinds of charms were published, which seriously interferes with the correct, serious, and pure understanding of the spiritual world. Eventually, it only confused the general public. The knowledge and the understanding that Kabbalists wanted to convey to one another reached the wrong recipients, were distorted, and became all sorts of different “surrogates.”
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/08/12, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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The Workshops: Not Just Verbal Debates But An Ascent To Unity

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How do I work with the group in order to clarify correctly everything that happens with me?

Answer: First, try to connect with the friends. Leave the clarifications for now; you don’t have the right tools to clarify things. First you have to acquire the means, a spiritual vessel with which you can clarify what is happening. At the moment your attitude to life is distorted.

Today you have to build a new vessel in the group since the clarification and actually everything depends on the mutual relationship a person has with the environment.

Question: We are trying to do it in the workshops. How can we correctly clarify the questions that you are presenting?

Answer: You have to want to connect on the basis of my questions. The question itself isn’t as important as everything you are saying in the discussions. The words are necessary so that we will rise above them and constantly think about how to connect with the friends. No matter what nonsense the friend may say, I rise above it wanting to connect with him. I have to see the friends as the greatest in our generation, and on the other hand, I bestow upon them my part of the general bestowal.

The work takes place on two levels: below—hatred and coarseness, and above—love and purity. If these two things exist, it is already a certain type of vessel. If you attain such a great gap between coarseness and purity then the Light, the Creator, is revealed.

Until then, you constantly work in workshops, in connections and in studying in order to attain this gap, which for us is the goal called “Mount Sinai.”

The Workshops: Not Just Verbal Debates But An Ascent To Unity
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/08/12, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Conditions For Those Who Demand Life

Dr. Michael LaitmanIt says in the Torah that at the foot of Mt. Sinai the Creator said to the People of Israel: “and now if you shall listen to Me, and keep My covenant, you shall be unique people of all the nations.” There is a condition here: “I shall give you the Torah, which means the method of correction, if you understand that you have to fulfill the formula of correction, the plan of the correction.”

The Creator gives everything, the instructions and their fulfillment, but you have to know where you are headed. Here a certain commitment is required on behalf of the lower, who checks himself: Does he agree to that? And if he hasn’t reached the level of agreement yet, then the exile in Egypt can reoccur and eventually we will find ourselves once again at the foot of Mt. Sinai facing the same condition.

The agreement on behalf of the lower symbolizes the need for clarification—he needs to find out that he really wants this and nothing else. Even if he weren’t given such a strict condition, he would still accept it with his heart and soul by asking for it and wanting it. The condition he was given helps him clarify what he actually has to do.

So why doesn’t a person reach the gathering at Mt Sinai with a clear demand: “I want to be corrected! Please give me the Torah and I will keep it, in order to bring You contentment…” the point is that a person reaches this as a result of the shattering. He has a deficiency but he cannot clarify things independently and so the Light has to operate first. By the Light that is revealed, a person feels darkness—his point in the heart rises to Mt. Sinai and at the same time at the foot of the mountain he builds the “golden calf.” Indeed, how can all his other desires agree to rise to the same level in which he is ready to work in bestowal, doing the work of the priests?

A person must discover the field of his future work, all the thickness of the “mountain” from the top to the bottom. Therefore, he faces this condition. He can refuse and “die,” which means to stay in the desire to receive, to return to Egypt. The people of Israel demanded this of Moses more than once during the journey in the desert. The ego constantly calls to return to Egypt since Egypt is depicted as a fertile abundant land. Everything was in abundance there, so what was the problem?

Egypt fills the egoistic desires to their fullest. They never lacked anything there, except for one thing: to the extent that you are developed you feel darkness and sufferings, and enter the “seven years of hunger,” but it is spiritual hunger, a spiritual thirst, when there is nothing to revive your soul, but only your stomach. The desire to receive is full, but for the desire to bestow it is exile and death.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/11/12, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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On The Brink Of A Reasonable Attitude To Life

Dr. Michael LaitmanToday, we feel not only the world around us as inverted, hostile, and threatening, but also our own nature as hostile because egoism puts us into these states, and we can’t tame or destroy it.

We are exhausting natural resources, although we know that in another 20 years they will be depleted. And what will happen then? It’s not important. The main thing is to take advantage to the maximum in order to accumulate “green paper” in the bank. So where is the clever approach here? We manufacture millions of plastic items to throw them out in the garbage a few months later, and then oil with which we manufacture this plastic will be gone, but we don’t even think about that.

All of these hostile manifestations of internal and external nature toward us force a person “to shrink” and hide in some corner. He cannot control either this nature or another, either his own or the external one.

Thus, we find ourselves in need of crossing the bifurcation point. It adds up, specifically, to the recognition of evil in our nature that positions us against the external nature and doesn’t allow us to consider everything wisely, correctly, and sensibly. The ego forces us to be attracted to wealth, honor, knowledge, and control, and we utilize it only in a harmful way.

All of this is the revelation of the damage resulting from what has happened to us in the past 30-40 years. Until then we had developed correctly: People used nature when it was really necessary. I remember that the warranty on the first refrigerator that I bought was 18 years! Today nothing like that exists! Today everything is made on purpose, so that the product will break down as soon as possible. Even if is not out of order you will be called to replace the old for the new at a discount.

It turns out that we crossed the border of the correct attitude to life, to the world, and to nature. And we need to recognize our bad relations to ourselves, to others, and to nature. And only after that will it be possible to talk about the fact that there is a system of reaching harmony.

It will reveal a huge whole world to us that isn’t built on opposites, on absolute slavery and total freedom, but on the correct middle line, which means that everything will be balanced. Then we will see that this is specifically the way that nature functions.

Thus, I think that communications will finally change, the pendulum will shift, the amplitude of its oscillation that deviates in the opposite direction from the original state will come to its middle. Then we will begin to operate mutually, and not through communication devices, but through direct, internal communication with each other, not verbally, not externally emotional, but by creating a mutual field of communication. We have these aptitudes for which we don’t need any devices. We will simply feel everyone and everything as one collective whole.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/21/12

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And Fear Has Overcome All Living Things…

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Global News): “President Barack Obama urged European leaders to prevent a looming overseas debt crisis from dragging down the rest of the world.

“He said European must inject money into the banking system. …

“In his brief White House news conference Obama also mentioned Greece where the elections could determine whether Athens leaves the eurozone, particularly if the anti-bailout left-wing Syriza becomes the largest party in parliament.

“He cautioned Greece that withdrawing from the 17-nation eurozone would mean even greater economic difficulty than the austerity steps already undertaken.

“In his opening remarks, Obama stressed the importance of a strong European economy, saying ‘If there’s less demand for our products in places like Paris or Madrid it could mean less business for manufacturers in places like Pittsburgh or Milwaukee.’”

My Comment: As if they do not want this! But what can they do if they have no solutions, and the solution to overcoming the crisis that I offer through a change in people and human society seems utopian to them.
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Narcissism Is On The Rise!

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Scientific American): “A recent study finds a decline in empathy among young people in the U.S. …

“Empathy is a cornerstone of human behavior and has long been considered innate. A forthcoming study, however, challenges this assumption by demonstrating that empathy levels have been declining over the past 30 years.

“The research, led by Sara H. Konrath of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and published online in Personality and Social Psychology Review, found that college students’ self-reported empathy has declined since 1980, with an especially steep drop in the past 10 years. To make matters worse, during this same period students’ self-reported narcissism has reached new heights.”

My Comment: This is the consequence of the exponential growth of egoism in our time to its maximum value, which can be tolerated neither in society nor in its total opposition and violation of equilibrium with nature.
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Egypt: Abundance and Emptiness

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The Torah describes Egypt as a country of abundance for our ego. Where today is this “Egypt” with all its abundance?

Answer: Indeed, the sons of Israel cried in the desert for that rich food they ate in Egypt. That land was like an overflowing cup. After all, “Nile” is a name for the Light of Hochma, which fills the egoistic desire fully.

In this manner, Egypt offered material abundance, and moreover, rewarded the sons of Israel, the people going along the spiritual path, with the Land of Goshen, the richest of its territories where one could live in prosperity. It is no coincidence that they multiplied in Egypt since egoistic desire lives in bliss and fattens there.

But the problem is that one day a “new king” rises over Egypt and suddenly I discover that egoism reigns over me, and its power is my yoke. And it is then that the sons of Israel cried out from their work: “Take away all this abundance, I don’t want it, for me, this isn’t life. What do I get from all these fortunes if I’m sinking into despair and helplessness and don’t know what I live for?” One would think, just forget about it and enjoy. But no, I cannot. And it’s not that I’m not trying: I simply can’t, and that’s that.

And this is the “new King of Egypt” that now reigns over me and shows me that my life is bad. In this way Pharaoh brings the sons of Israel closer to the Creator. They themselves cannot move a single step, but Pharaoh causes them to feel empty, to despair of life with all its fortunes. They build the cities of Pithom and Ramses; in other words, they try to succeed by working in an egoistic desire: a new car, an exotic vacation, and so on. But the result is an even greater void of emptiness. It gives nothing to the “sons of Israel” inside me.

If a few hundred years ago you gave to a common person what the poor have today, to him it would’ve seemed as wealth: You have a place to live and sleep, you have a table and a chair, you have bread and some food in the refrigerator, you’re not dying of hunger and can at least somehow feed yourself. However, the egoistic desire grew and now does not feel satisfaction from material things. Instead, it ends up in “Egypt,” in spiritual need. It’s no coincidence that in the prosperous Scandinavian countries there’s such a high rate of suicide, while in Africa, people die of starvation but they don’t try to kill themselves.

Thus, Egypt is abundance over which reigns a growing feeling of emptiness. This is exactly what is happening with our world. In essence, the world is moving towards exodus from Egypt, since it no longer needs this Pharaoh who brings misfortune, with whom it is impossible to cope, and who brings one into despair and helplessness. Seemingly, everything is in abundance, but we feel helpless in the face of modern problems. As a result, people are ready to exit Egypt, even though they don’t understand what they’re exiting and where they’re going.

In the same way, the people of Israel weren’t aware of what was happening and screamed to Moses “Where are you dragging us? What are you plotting against the Pharaoh? Why do you force us to run away through all this misfortune?” They didn’t want this escape at all, but Moses and Aaron, that is, the Cohens, arranged it for them from above.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/11/12, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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Recognizing Evil In A Good Way

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: There is news from Europe about the growing economic crisis. There are talks about establishing new governing authorities. Is this “and there was a new king in Egypt” what the Torah tells us about?

Answer: The problem isn’t the politicians. It says, “The hearts of ministers and kings are in God’s hand.” The weathervane shows us the direction of the wind and only we can change its direction—the world Bnei Baruch group that works very hard experiencing descents and ascents.

Question: What would we like to happen in Europe?

Answer: We would want for them as for the whole world to recognize evil in an easy way. After seeing and reaching the recognition of evil, people will also see the direction to goodness.

Therefore we have to disseminate as widely as possible the message about the real reason for all the troubles in the world and about how to correct the situation. The world is actually in the state of the recognition of evil, and how exactly this will happen depends on our work. We are the middlemen who can direct humanity to the good way or to the bad one, or to something in between.

No one can imagine what disasters may be expected. The crisis indicates that it isn’t just a collapse but the global integral system that is clearly revealed opposite the egoistic system. The circles are opposed to the straight line, and the link between them is missing. On the whole, humanity will not be able to sustain itself—everything is in abundance, but there is no food. This is already a spiritual problem.

Now there is everything in abundance and enough for everyone, but look at what is happening in the world—disparities between people, inequality, and suicides. Every few seconds a child dies of hunger. This doesn’t happen among animals, but it does with humans.

Humanity desperately needs the revelation of evil, but in a good way. I hope that we will lead the world in this direction. Otherwise “blind fate” will send us such disasters and blows, which stem from the Lights and the vessels facing each other. When there is no “adaptor” between them, it leads to war and destruction. It is scary to even think about such events, especially if we are responsible for them.

We shouldn’t wait. We should start connecting as soon as we can.

Baal HaSulam says in the “Writings of the Future Generation“: “I have already expressed my views in 1933, I have also spoken with the leaders of the generation and my words were not accepted by them, although I screamed and warned them about the destruction of the world, it didn’t leave much of an impression. But now, after the atomic and the hydrogen bomb I think that the world will believe me, that the end of the world is very near. Israel will be the first to get hurt, as it was in the previous war. Therefore, it is better to spur the world so that they will receive the only medicine and thus shall live and exist.”

This is our work. Only we can change the news.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/11/12, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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