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Weekly Torah Portion – 01.16.13

The Book of Zohar, Weekly Torah Portion, “HaShavuah” Selected Excerpts

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Desires Know No Barriers

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How should we prepare for the Arava convention in the days we have left?

Answer: First, the desire is not corporeal so you don’t need a cable to connect to with the friends in order to exchange impressions or to build a network of pipes through which our desires could flow from one to another. The mutual connection already exists in reality, and although the men don’t feel it yet, they are all filled with the female desire and feel the results of the female convention that took place yesterday.

Desires know no barriers, and so all our successes are passed on to a collective vessel without any delay. After all, we are all one desire, one soul. If we unite, if we attain a certain equality, then it spreads not only among us but everywhere. It isn’t by chance that Rabash kept abreast of the news. We will see how the spiritual events are reflected in our world; by our aspiration upward, we activate spirituality and from there activate corporeality, and as a result new conditions are formed in this world.

Today, before the Arava convention, we have to feel as if we are approaching Mt. Sinai. During these three days a person cleans himself and should cut himself off, as much as possible, from all the daily interruptions. Then, of course, new interruptions will come his way, but they will already be according to the connection for which he prepares himself.

Here we must limit ourselves and draw a line, a real cut between the worries of this world and the worries about the convention. We have to be clean of all the corporeal accounts with the world, which can be very simple if we go there and turn off our cell phones. But it can be more complicated with the group. Eventually you should be left with only the spiritual accounts with the friends, and we already start preparing for that, or more accurately, it is not the preparation but already the fulfillment.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/14/13, Writings of Rabash

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Correction By Combining The Incompatible

Dr. Michael LaitmanDuality makes our work very difficult. I tried to explain yesterday at the “One Global Women” convention that on one hand, women need to prepare a collective, huge desire to pass it to the men for their work. They must be sure that their desire rules the world, controls the men, and starts the process of correction.

But on the other hand, in order to do it with the right attitude aimed at bestowal, they also need to know that at the moment they reach the correct desire, they will feel in it that everything is corrected and the men are complete righteous, not needing any correction.

It was difficult to explain these two seemingly incompatible opposites, but I still tried to make them clear and to bring this idea to the workshop.

Baal HaSulam writes in his letter (No.41): “Spiritual attainment is based on two opposite forms that are immediately revealed in man: one is from the part of the body and one is from the part of the soul,” that is, the desire to receive and the desire to bestow. The desire to receive is called the body, and the desire to bestow—the soul, and that is why a person experiences this dichotomy.

“Due to his nature, a man is not able to simultaneously analyze the body and soul as two parallel concepts and tries to tie them together in one concept. And therefore, it is difficult for him to attain spirituality as two opposites that cannot be combined into one object.”

Indeed, we sometimes feel that we are just torn apart and do not know what to do with ourselves. The heart contradicts the mind, and the mind does not agree with the heart; such conflicting thoughts and feelings are overcoming him that it is impossible to tie them together into any stable picture.

“It is like the story of Abraham, who was told that all his offspring will come of Isaac, but now the Creator ordered him to sacrifice him. And of course, nothing is changed in reality on the side of the Creator, and these contradictions are formed only on the side of the receiver. And that is why Abraham rejoiced …”

All our sufferings stem from the feeling of two opposite things that we cannot combine. The basis of any discomfort is an insoluble contradiction between two incompatible opposites. And you have to accept them in this conflicting form and be glad that we can rise above them and continue until they merge. In fact, this is the entire correction.

Indeed, one may ask: what do you need to correct? “Existence from existence” (Yesh Mi Yesh) and “existence from absence” (Yesh Mi Ain—to be able to glue them together: the Creator and the creature. This is the basis of correction, of all our work. That is why this work consists of little by little, by tiny portions, gradually getting used to accepting, understanding, feeling, and being glad that we carry out this work to connect two opposites.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/14/13

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A Correction In “Couples” On All Levels

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why do we connect during the convention? Is it in order to prepare a vessel for the revelation of the attribute of bestowal or only in order to support the men?

Answer: First, there is no separate male vessel and female vessel. Malchut of the world of Atzilut includes all the souls in it and if the men and women don’t connect in it, we don’t evoke Zeir Anpin and Malchut to connect in order to draw the Light from Above to correct us.

Today, we, the men and the women, which means the shattered souls, have to raise MAN (a request for correction) to Malchut of the world of Atzilut. It should be incorporated of the collective desire of the men and the women and in contact with its upper, Zeir Anpin (ZA). Then they activate an even upper couple called “father and mother.”

A Correction In "Couples" On All Levels
Thus, there are three couples operating here, which are similar stages of development or regression. By our “initiative” we evoke the second couple, and it evokes the third couple, and the fourth couple already belongs to Arich Anpin, to Ein Sof (Infinity).

This means that we have to stabilize ourselves correctly with regard to the spiritual levels Kabbalists tell us about. There are two “halves” here, male and female that perform a spiritual action, totally complementing one another in order to bestow. If we operate in the exact same way, we will be adapted to the upper and then we will discover ourselves in ascent towards Him.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/13, Shamati #7

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“It Is Not Good For A Man To Be Alone”

Dr. Michael LaitmanA woman can connect with another woman to one whole (1) only if they both rise above themselves, above the points in the heart (•). On the current corporeal level, a connection with a friend is impossible. This means that if a woman connects with another woman, it is clear to her that this state is already very close to a spiritual connection. In other words the goal obligates the women.

“It Is Not Good For A Man To Be Alone”
On the other hand, men connect more easily between them, since they see a reward in our world. They can come together on the basis of business, sports, or sitting in a pub.

“It Is Not Good For A Man To Be Alone”
But we must remember that behind the men who connect there are women who thanks to this connection are also ready to connect somehow.

“It Is Not Good For A Man To Be Alone”
This is the nature of things, and it cannot be condemned or praised. We can, however, use it, since for many women it is easier to organize a spiritual vessel and if the men support them, it will be the right direction to spirituality for all of us.

This is the meaning of the expression “help against him” that we still have to understand to its full depth. A man was given help and if he uses it correctly, he will reach the goal. Therefore the Creator said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis, 2:18), or in other words, it isn’t good to live without the Creator. “I shall make him a help against him” so that he shall reach Me (the Creator).
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/13, Shamati #7

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The Strength Of A Group: Sustainable Altruism

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from National Science Foundation): “Drug resistant bacteria are a problem in many environments, especially healthcare institutions. While the ways in which these cells become resistant are understood at the cellular level, until now, the bacteria’s survival strategies at the population level remained unclear.

“A new study by James Collins and colleagues at Boston University and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reveals that a surprisingly small percentage of bacteria actually become highly resistant ‘supermutants.’ In fact, most of the bacteria in their study survived without being resistant to the effective dose of antibiotics in the environment. That is, the individual types of bacteria were not as resistant to the antibiotics as the entire population was. …

“Further experiments revealed that, in addition to being drug resistant, the rare supermutants produced high levels of indole, a signaling molecule produced by healthy bacteria. Indole can also promote survival in harsh environments. When bacteria experience antibiotic stress, the dead and dying cells stop producing indole, which likely contributes to further cell death. By overproducing the chemical, supermutants can protect the more vulnerable bacteria by making enough to support a larger population of cells.

“However, this indole production is costly for the supermutants, who grow more slowly than mutants that do not produce it. ‘This altruistic behavior supports a growing body of evidence that suggests single-celled organisms act as communities. We think study of these population-level behaviors will provide important new understanding of evolution dynamics,’ Collins explained.

“These results confirm observations made by health practitioners everywhere: treatment of drug-resistant bacterial infections is more complicated and challenging than anyone thought. According to Collins, ‘Bacterial communities have an extensive arsenal of techniques to deal with antibiotic assault. By understanding the various strategies they use to survive, we may be able to develop more effective medical treatments.’”

My Comment: Nothing will help people against diseases; they are all the result of our separation. Until we start acting as bacteria, together, we will not overcome them. And it is so in our world with everything. Unity at every level is the trend of development of all the parts of nature, and if we do not agree with it, we lose in all the areas of our lives. Antibiotics will not help! To help our health, we need to become more united than bacteria. After all, any manifestation of evil is intended to help us rise above ourselves.
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Working At The Creator’s Farm

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can the right intention be achieved?

Answer: For the right intention, first of all you have to tie yourself to the whole world, which is an outcome of the Creator’s actions. Through this world, the Creator shows you His actions, so that through the right relation to the world you will be able to draw near Him.

Suppose, I am the owner of a big farm where I own land and horses. And I take you to work on this farm because I see that you treat me well and will be a loyal worker or even a loyal slave. It turns out that I check you not according to your attitude towards me, but towards my property, according to how you treat my house, fields, and gardens, meaning “my world.”

In the same way we also come, and thanks to the desire given to us from Above, we want to become the Creator’s workers. As long as this desire hasn’t awakened in us, we live like the horses on this farm. And those whom the Creator gives this desire become workers on the farm. And there are different workers: There are loyal workers who are totally devoted to the Creator like slaves, and there are workers that are not so loyal.

The Creator finds the person in whom the point in the heart was awakened that wants to adhere to the Creator, but he cannot be raised instantly to a minister’s position. Therefore, He gives the person all sorts of opportunities, smaller jobs, through which he very slowly ascends. Precisely such an opportunity is given to us now: By the actions that we perform on ourselves, we can show the Creator how much we want to draw near Him, to adhere to, and live with Him in one thought and intention, in one action.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/1/13, The Zohar 

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A Kaleidoscope Of Spiritual Forms

Dr. Michael LaitmanWhen we move toward correcting ourselves, all our intentions must be oriented to unity, and none of them can be of a personal nature. Our points in the heart are the only personal thing we have. What can this point in the heart worry about except reaching unity with the rest of our collective body from which it will eventually receive spirituality?

That’s why our attempts to join our collective body reveal to us its various forms and characteristics that we read about in the Torah: Pharaoh, an angel, Moshe, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and many others. Who are they? They are the images that all of humankind, the group, and the world acquire to the degree of their attainment.

The picture described in the Torah is a form of the general soul that constantly changes and reveals itself in a new shape. However, it discloses only on condition that we continually aspire to unity. The Book of Zohar speaks about it. Each word and every line of The Book of Zohar represent an in-depth, gradual revelation that goes on until it fully discloses itself to “the eyes of all of Israel.” It’s not an accident that these words are the final phrase of the Torah.

We only reveal spiritual forms when we are connected.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/1/13, The Zohar

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Responsible For Humanity

Dr. Michael LaitmanWhat is the future of humanity because every day it feels itself more and more confused? Underneath the external bravado there are small, perplexed people who don’t know what to do. They rush from side to side, trying to eliminate the causes of all the problems: social, political, economic, and environmental. And the problems will keep on growing because at the center of them is the human being who is not adapted to the new system, a new world.

That is why we are faced with an enormous task of telling humanity about the new world and how to match it. We have to feel responsible for this.

There is no need to wait until suffering accelerates the development of humanity; on the contrary, it slows down this process. People hide from suffering, shrink, and can accept nothing. Instead of expanding, understanding, and correcting, people begin to regress backward. Only the proper awareness of the problems will speed up their development. That is why we need to make every effort to bring our message to humanity.

Integral education, integral upbringing, the integrality of all the levels, sectors, nations, and states is the future of humanity; there is no other method. It depends only on us, our global group, which way will take there: being forced or by a kind and short path. Therefore, I urge you to think about this and develop clear plans for our dissemination.

Dissemination consists of two systems:

1. Internal dissemination: the connection between us who study the science of Kabbalah and strive towards unity, as well as between us and the world;

2. External dissemination: through the Internet, books, lectures, workshops, etc.

But one should not be at the expense of the other! The proportion should be the following: internally, we have to expand constantly educating teachers and organizers. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people will need us!

You will soon see that this need will arise. Even today, if we were ready, we could find the employment of our forces in the field of integral education. You can do everything! You have no idea how important each of you are to the world! You have to bring yourselves up as teachers of the world. This is the guarantee of the good future of humanity.

I hope that we will be able to bring a new approach to the world, especially through our inner part, through internal dissemination, through the common network, linking all the people in the world. It depends only on us. And here of course, our personal obstacles will either help us or hinder us from accomplishing this mission.
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From the Novosibirsk Convention 12/9/12, Lesson 6

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