Audio Version Of The Blog – 01.20.13

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Fundamentals of Kabbalah – 01.20.13

A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah

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Between Two Intentions

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is an intention an independent element?

Answer: An intention is what you want of the desire to receive. Today we don’t have a real intention; today we can only judge where it is better to “steal” something, where it is possible to enjoy more: from what, from whom, by what, etc. It is imprinted in our desire to receive as a result of the shattering. But we cannot consider the two options, the two intentions: in order to receive and in order to bestow. We can only calculate the greatest personal benefit we could get from the options we have. I check my desires and choose the most promising option. As far as I am concerned the question is what I can use for my own benefit and where I make a greater profit.

An intention of in order to bestow is above that. By it, I check myself with regard to others. Then my question is different: How can I serve others in order to bestow upon them as much as I can? This is a totally different calculation. How can I do that? In order to do that I have to feel the other and not myself: What is good for him? What does he want? What does he need? I have to be mutually incorporated in him since how else would it be possible to weigh all the options?

So in order to fulfill the desire to bestow, we have to constantly advance towards incorporation with others until we reach actual love. We always face a dilemma on the spiritual levels as to the two ways of clarification—we fall into the shell and we rise again to Holiness.

Today, during the time of preparation, being below the Machsom (barrier), we have not entered this level yet. We study and we play in a group, but later it will actually become a holy society for us. This is where we advance to, by advancing towards the “Exodus from Egypt“,in order to rise from an egoistic clarification to an altruistic one.

Between Two Intentions

This will be our spiritual birth. It is the same with a baby who is born and begins to breathe, to eat, and to feel his body. After the birth, the body begins to operate according to a new clarification that did not exist before—a more conscious one. We too want to move into a new clarification in our body, in our desire.
[98215]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/8/13, “600,000 Souls”

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An Argument Between Two Desires

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is the point in the heart connected to our corporeal body?

Answer: The body is controlled by desire. Sometimes I lie powerless, asleep, unable to force myself to move. At the same time, I am physically healthy, my blood pressure, my blood sugar level, my heart, lungs, everything is just fine, so why can’t I move? Because I have no desire. I don’t want anything, and it is a kind of melancholy feeling. Sometimes, even if I have a high temperature and I feel dizzy, I run around madly all day in order to solve a certain problem.

The desire leads the flesh into action. This means that we turn to the wisdom of Kabbalah and come to the lesson not with our body but with our desire.

The body is just an “animal” that we bring with us. The dog lies on the carpet near the chair of his owner, and so I settle my body on a chair. I, however, am the desire. The way I work with myself, the way I “format” myself” is how I operate my body. It is merely a “biological machine,” and if it is given enough motivation, then even with a high temperature it will advance towards the goal together with me.

In any case, the desire decides and determines what to do, while the body carries out the order. So first and foremost worry about the desire and not the body.

Besides, you can penetrate more deeply and work with the point in the heart above the desire and above the body. By that you work “against” them and the point determines all your actions by choosing what is most important.

An Argument Between Two Desires
Thus the desire and the point in the heart constantly argue inside you. The argument stems from the fact that the point is another desire, the yearning for the Creator. Eventually, there is a constant struggle between them, but the body does not “intervene.” It acts according to the desire of the winning side, either the desire of the heart or of the point in the heart…

This point has already awoken in some people, and in others it is still asleep in the depths of the corporeal ego. Being in the center of the heart (•), it has to “emerge” and rise above the heart. Just like the worm, in the example Baal HaSulam gives, has to come out of the radish. The time of preparation lasts for thousands of years on the levels of the “nations of the world,” until the point rises by the sufferings. At the end of the ascent the real work with it begins, and at this point people come to us, to Bnei Baruch (BB).

As for the “nations of the world,” these are simply stages along the way. Everyone belongs to the general system, but today we are given the chance to advance consciously. This is what the Light that Reforms has done (the Surrounding Light). Why? We don’t know, but in general, the process takes place according to the order to the emergence of the Reshimot (spiritual genes).

During the shattering, the high Reshimot fell to the lowest place. Now the awakening is starting and here everything depends on which Reshimo a person belongs to, on the root of his soul. Then he will discover this root and will know all the details of his path. In any case, it does not depend on anyone personally. Everyone is operated and has to perform his role.

An Argument Between Two Desires
Question: Sometimes I perceive myself as superior to those who have not been “awakened” yet…

Answer: This is because the Light has not operated on you sufficiently. You are still judging by your ego. In fact, you will not be able to feel superior to any one else, not even an ant. On the contrary, you will feel the Creator in everything. He is behind a certain person or another, He is before you and you cannot have any complaints or disrespect regarding anyone. Even in the greatest enemies who cause the greatest troubles and threaten the nation and the state, you will only see the Creator; they force you to wake up and to correct the connection with Him above the current obstacle. It is He who has placed the obstacle before you, and the intensity of the interruption indicates how strongly you can be connected to Him.

Therefore it says: “Even if a sharp sword is placed on one’s neck, he shouldn’t despair of mercy.”
[98209]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/8/13, “600,000 Souls”

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The Whole World Suffers Because You Are In A Bad Mood

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe must constantly take care to be in a good mood. And not because you have heard something funny or because you have had a drink, but because you were awarded to justify the Creator in everything that happens, in every state, at every moment, for any question that may come up in your heart or your mind. Then you are in a good mood.

You justify the Creator for having created a wonderful world. And the more advanced your view, you see the world in greater scrutiny and depth, the more you see the wisdom and benevolence of the upper Providence, and you justify the Creator and judge the whole world to the scale of merit. Thus you become a beneficial, active part of the general soul of the world.

However, whoever has a “sour face” condemns the upper Providence with regard to himself and especially with regard to the whole world. By that he lowers not only himself but also the whole world and tips the scale against himself and the whole world.

This is the reason for all the evil in the world, for all the sufferings. After all, only the Israeli nation, those who yearn for the Creator (Yashar—El) (straight to the Creator) can change anything. They are the only ones responsible for justifying the Creator’s Providence in the vessels of the whole world, and if they don’t do that, then they are clearly the first who get hurt. The punishment also begins with the righteous since they are responsible for the world being in this state.

So we have to understand that this is a closed system and everything depends on the desires that are part of the general vessel that the Creator has created; they need to correct everything and to justify it, and bring the whole world to a perfect state. They must help the desires, which cannot correct themselves, be corrected and bring the Light to their lives until everything is finally corrected.
[98202]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/1/13, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot

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One Word: “Love”

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: In our group there is still no clear, transparent, understandable declaration. What should we care of in making a declaration because its scope could be more or less strict?

Answer: Write one statement: “Love thy neighbor as thyself” and then everything that Rabash recommends for achieving this condition: to lower yourself before the friends, feel them as great, high, and yourself as completely dependent upon them, to be all together in one desire, and to help each other in everything.

Feel that you benefit from the fact that you agree with it, that you annul yourself. The only exceptions are the questions in which you have to express your opinion as an expert because you are sure that something is a detriment and there is a better option, etc. This applies to dissemination, repairs, something that relates only to this world.

As for the relationships between friends, they are all described by Rabash, and it’s best to define them in one word, “love.”
[98146]
From the Novosibirsk Convention 12/9/12, Lesson 7

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Only Responsibility, And No Excuses!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The conventions force us to connect and to unite, to act quickly and efficiently, to reach incredible results. What can help us do this everyday?

Answer: A feeling of responsibility. Imagine tired parents or even sick parents whose child is crying and asking for something; they still get up and do everything for him. It isn’t easy since no one wants to do that; there is only the obligation. It’s the same in the group where everyone must feel the obligation and the responsibility. I have to feel that I am in the same boat with them and I can’t drill a hole in it.

Of course I can say, “Friends, I don’t feel well today, please excuse me I am sick,” and sleep some more, but how can I do that if I know that they are waiting for me? If you think that no one will notice your absence since you are not that important and not outstanding, you are wrong.

I am telling you this from my own experience of feeling the upper world: Each of you is no less important than I am. So your inaction is a lack of investment in the general vessel. You should understand this, and not forget; remind one another of this responsibility so that it will always be your priority.

It’s the first condition since the Creator created one man, me and all the others, only so that I will be able to stabilize myself with their help. On the other hand, the Creator created my friend and me so that I will help him and only will serve as a means for his ascent to the Creator. It is indeed so!

Therefore, we must mutually complement one another and constantly hold on to that since by that we create mutual guarantee among us. We mustn’t forget that. I can’t allow myself any concessions; I can’t pretend that I am sick or make up any excuses for my inaction. On the contrary, despite the obstacles that the Creator places before me, I have to participate as much as I can in everything. On His part, He will add different excuses for my ego, of course, but the group must remind me that this is how the Creator plays with me.
[98143]
From the Novosibirsk Convention 12/9/12, Lesson 7

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USA…!

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from The Guardian): “America may be one of the richest countries in the world, but its people are less healthy and more likely to die early from disease or accidents than those in any other affluent country, a damning official US report has found.

Even the best-off Americans – those who have health insurance, a college education, a high income and healthy behaviour – are sicker than their peers in comparable countries, says the report by the US National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine. …

“For many years, Americans have had a shorter life expectancy than people in almost all the comparator countries and for the past three decades the gap has been widening, particularly for women.

“The US does badly in nine specific areas. It has the highest infant mortality rate of any wealthy country and also does poorly on other birth outcomes, such as low weight babies.

“Deaths from injuries and homicides are far higher than elsewhere and a leading cause of death in children, adolescents and young adults. US adolescents have had the highest rate of pregnancies of affluent countries since the 1990s and are more likely to acquire sexually transmitted infections. The US has the second highest HIV rate and the highest incidence of Aids among the 17 countries.

“Even taking out drunk driving, Americans lose more years of life to alcohol and other drugs than people in other affluent countries. The US has the highest obesity rate and, from age 20, one of the highest levels of type 2 diabetes. The death rate from heart disease is the second highest in the 17 countries. There is more lung disease and more deaths from it than in Europe and older people report more arthritis and other limitations on their activity than in Europe or Japan.”

My Comment: Nature makes no exceptions to anyone, and everything has to be paid for, even a feeling of superiority, which leads to such disastrous results.
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Revelation Of The Mutual Connection

Dr. Michael LaitmanStarting now and going forward, we need to advance independently. And here a very interesting point is revealed. Up to a certain moment, I felt that I was completely influencing my students. During that time I taught my students according to the same system that our spiritual fathers learned.

But lately it is revealed that without support, without connection, without general mutual work, I can no longer teach them. For this, the students’ efforts, their assistance, and mutual work are required. All of this is essential. If from their side, there is a desire, a deficiency, then I can speak and explain in an approachable way. If there is an effort, then accordingly we can advance forward. This means that here an exact process of correction is taking place. We have arrived at this point.

Revelation Of The Mutual Connection
It turns out that we are dependent on each other. Thus I turn to the entire world group since I am not able to do anything alone. If in the past I pushed you and could do something, now everything is closed. The general desire transforms into being truly mutual, and unity and connection are revealed in it.

This is not yet our attainment since in the meantime everything is taking place without any connection to our desire. But we must understand that it’s only through the general mutual effort, both yours and mine, that we will be able to advance forward. There will appear before us new opportunities to express our ideas, new explanations, and although the system remains the same since everything comes from the Light and the Kli, a new form of submission and recognition will appear, its sensation.

Thus, I very much request for you to be more active, to participate more in everything, to connect to the lessons. The general advancement depends only on our mutual actions! Let’s solve this problem together since acts of correction are possible only through our efforts that are aimed at taking charge of our ego and rising above it through an opposite attribute. If there is no effort, then there is no correction.

Under no circumstances should one annul the ego. We must rise above it. Suppressing the ego means not allowing it to command us, but together with it to feel it, live with it, and rise above it in our actions. This work must be aimed only at my worldwide group and at the Creator.
[98080]
From the Novosibirsk Convention 12/9/12, Lesson 5

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Helping The Creator’s Beloved Children

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Whom should I aspire to bring contentment to: the group or the Creator?

Answer: You cannot bring contentment to the Creator without bringing contentment to the group. This is a necessary condition. Otherwise you will be deceiving yourself that you are aspiring to bestowal when in reality you care about your own pocket rather than about the benefit of others.

Imagine it so that you can please the Creator only on the condition that you bring contentment to His children, who in fact are the group. You cannot do anything for Him since all of His desires are focused only on the creature.
[98257]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/10/13, TES

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