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A Small Boat In A Stormy Sea

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we picture the next state in the group so that we can get closer to it?

Answer: The next state is wholeness. Picture it as you can. Each one has his one idea of the spiritual level and pictures it differently.

You may think that when you attain the spiritual level you will sit like a king on a throne and have all the angels serve you: One will bring you a cigarette, another will light it, a third one will bring you a glass of beer, and they will fix the pillows you sit on. I do hope you don’t imagine the upper world this way.

It is important that you have the right idea of the upper world by constantly holding on to the right intention since without it you are like a sail boat in a stormy sea that is thrown from side to side by rough waves. It isn’t that you just lose the way, but you are actually in a dangerous situation.

You must constantly see the goal before you. If you see it, then you immediately identify different interruptions that come along in contrast to it. Then you have the time to catch them and to overcome them, thus using them to support you.

But if you don’t see the goal, you lose direction and there is nothing you can examine and compare the interruptions to. Therefore, you don’t understand that these interruptions draw you away from the goal: different desires, thoughts, and pictures in which you disappear. They swallow you instead of you swallowing them.

It is very important to picture a clear goal before us, and this is why the preparation is so important. The preparation is picturing the corrected state that we want to attain, only that and nothing less, and without any doubts! Otherwise, I would rather die if I don’t attain what I want!
[111208]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/30/13, Writings of Rabash

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Beyond Yearning To Unity

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Before we attain love is it necessary to attain hatred regarding a friend? What is this hatred in spirituality?

Answer: We never yearn to discover hatred. In no way or manner! Not in a family, not at home, not with the children, not with anyone!

We don’t need to yearn for anything bad! Only through yearning for good can we understand our true nature. By trying to love a friend, we begin to discover that we hate him. Therefore on the path to “And you shall love your friend as yourself,” we discover big problems. And all the time by overcoming them, we fall into hatred again.

If you want to know your nature, you need to direct yourselves only towards love, which is to say, to be incorporated maximally with the other: “What do you want? What are you missing in order to attain the goal?” You try to push him towards this goal, even though you yearn for it yourself. It is not according to your egoistic calculations; rather, it is specifically because he wants this.

By trying to do everything for the sake of a friend artificially, you begin to discover that you hate him: “Why do I need to help him? How can I wish that he achieve this? Where am I in all this?” The hatred appears here very quickly and we need to work on it.

But this first discovery of true hatred beyond the efforts that we made in approaching each other, this is already spiritual hatred. This is not as it is in our world. In our world we don’t take positive or negative emotions into account.

Everything that is in our world comes to a person through his ego, so we don’t take this into account in the spiritual world. And working on approaching the friends in a group, to the degree of our effort to approach them, to fulfill them, and to elevate them, we begin to see how much we are completely the opposite of this; this is our work. And hatred will appear there and this will already be spiritual. All spirituality is attained only beyond yearning for unity—solely and only—both positively and negatively.
[111203]
From the Preparation for the Convention in Krasnoyarsk 6/13/13

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Men, Do Not Underestimate The Desire Of Women!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How important for spiritual advancement are the physical actions of women in a group?

Answer: They are 100% important because nobody can take physical actions from you. All your thoughts are self-deception. All that you transfer through the head or the heart is total ego, the physical actions are real actions.

Invest yourselves even though you have no feelings or negative feelings. Show everyone through your actions and deeds that the goal is important to you so others around you must see this! This is very important! Tell them that you want to see that they are purposeful because you depend upon them.

Question: I said this, but they don’t listen.

Answer: In that case, I must turn to the men: The desires of women are like this, the yearnings are like that, we must not take advantage under any circumstances!

If you reject the desire of a woman, you need to realize that you won’t attain anything. I say this with complete seriousness! We learn this from the correspondence between “Zeir Anpin” and “Malchut.” If, as representatives of “Partzuf Zeir Anpin,” you reject the desires of “Malchut,” then what kind of serious attainment can you be talking about?! Nothing will succeed for you!

You must feel the desire of women and what women expect from you very acutely! You need to expect this pressure because it is specifically the desire of women, called “Mei Nukvin,” which is essential for ascent!

Therefore, if men “don’t listen,” this is very bad and is the most severe accusation that can be directed at them, and not only from women.
[111201]
From the Convention in Krasnoyarsk 6/13/13, Lesson 3

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I Want!

Dr. Michael LaitmanRabash, “What is the Order of Wiping out Amalek”: And what is more, we see that a person needs to prepare himself in order to enjoy the pleasure that is dressed in the vessel. This means that he can enjoy the Light of the pleasure that is dressed in the vessel to the extent that he prepares himself, which is considered external. This means that we cannot compare a person who drinks water when he is thirsty to a person who drinks water when he is not thirsty. This is because the vessel of receiving pleasure is measured by the yearning for the pleasure.

We know that the difference between “I shall hasten it” and “in its time” is only in the preparation. Eventually a person has to perform the action by himself and say: “I want!” and when he wants to, things will open up for him!

There are two ways of attaining the demand of “I want!” Either by blows that don’t leave a person any other choice and which obligate him to recover after each blow or problem and wake up from his reluctance to do anything. It’s because he is confused and can’t find the powers in him to connect with the friends in order to build a vessel, and it’s only the blows that force him to take a step forward.

But it isn’t just taking a step. He sees that this step is beneficial in both a spiritual and a corporeal sense. The corporeal benefit is that he gets rid of the blows and the spiritual benefit is that he recovers and begins to feel that he has a goal, a process, and a chance to feel something of the path of “I shall hasten it.”

Thus he gains twice: He gains new abilities and a new taste corporeally and perhaps also spiritually. It’s all given to him after the blow since there are two opposites in the blow that he receives from the Creator, in the blow of the Light that operates on a person in different ways and towards the goal. We study that in every state, even in the lowest one, there are ten Sefirot, the Light of NRNHY, Reshimo (spiritual gene) of dressing, and Reshimo of Aviut (thickness).

So we must try to understand that everything depends on our preparation that brings us to the demand of “I want!” We have to reach a state in which we have no desire left but one and that this desire should be the greatest. There are two ways of reaching that: “In its time” (through the path of suffering), or “I shall hasten it” (through the path of the Light). But it’s impossible to come out of Egypt without the desire of “I want!”

On the other hand, a person feels great despair and helplessness in his own powers and at the same time confidence and faith that the Creator can save him, which means that everything is in God’s hands. This versatility has to strengthen a person and not break him the moment he exits.
[111057]
From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/28/13

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The Citizens’ Summit Sets The Tone For The EU Summit

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Euronews): “Some 400 people gathered in Brussels for the first-ever ‘Citizens Summit’ on Monday and Tuesday.

“Delegates included policymakers, journalists and NGO workers. Their aim was to make their voice heard by the EU institutions.

“Monika Kosinska of the Civil Society Contact Group told Euronews: ‘After almost five years now of frustration, the European civil society has decided that we are not happy with the decisions and conversations that are happening in our name, in the name of citizens from across the European Union.’

“Sarah Czichowsky, a member of Ghana Forum in Germany, said politicians should engage more with civil society to ‘make the EU more human.’

“Marie Huguet, an employee of the education NGO CEIPES, explained: ‘It’s easy to complain, but it’s much more difficult to actually act. I hope the people here will share their opinions and ideas.’”

My Comment: Of course, it will help to get together and talk, but there will be no result except the “release of pressure.” While egoism reigns over us, those at the top never cared for and will never be able to care for those at the bottom.
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Jacob’s Secret Is Revealed In Our Days

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe day of the Ninth of Av is the worst and most tragic day of the year since it is the day of the destruction of both the First and the Second Temples. On one hand, we know that Rabbi Akiva rejoiced and laughed when he saw the destruction of the Temple. On the other hand, we experience terrible sufferings, but on the other hand, if you are connected to the goal, you can rejoice in them.

This is especially true when we refer to our times when we have received the chance to return to the land of Israel and now everything depends on us. However, during the exile, these sufferings were absolutely necessary. It’s the same secret that Jacob wanted to reveal to his sons before his death, but eventually didn’t.

If you know exactly what will happen in the future and how it’s connected to the goal, you will not be able to actually suffer and to reach despair, to request, to cry out, or to pray and raise MAN. This is the reason that the wisdom of Kabbalah was concealed for such a long time so that the people will not know why they suffer. The whole world doesn’t understand why the “chosen people” experience such afflictions and they think that it may not be the chosen people any more but rather the persecuted people.

They had to go through all these afflictions corporeally in the most humiliating, primitive, and genuine form, without any mitigation of the Dinim (sentence). The reason is that the mitigation of the Dinim requires the prolonging of the exile and even greater afflictions.

So for ages it was forbidden to reveal that the destruction of the Temple and the afflictions of exile were necessary. If people had known that they had to go through them, they would have felt the connection between the suffering and the goal and wouldn’t have suffered so much. They wouldn’t have felt such sorrow, confusion, and helplessness, and they wouldn’t have felt the gravity and the acute pain of the exile.

Therefore, Kabbalists have forbidden the revelation of the wisdom of Kabbalah since it explains why things happen. They were forced to do so despite their sorrow in order to shorten the exile.

But having returned to the land of Israel where we can build a state according to spiritual laws and set an example for everyone and draw the whole world to the same form of life, we now have to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah to its fullest and explain it to the whole Israeli nation and to the whole world. It’s because we are on the verge of the complete redemption! Of course, the correction will be through the Israeli nation to the whole world. But there is no reason to prolong our sufferings since it’s time for the end of correction!

Today, the wisdom of Kabbalah has to be totally revealed. We have suffered throughout the exile and we had to suffer, but now there is no reason to go on suffering. The previous sufferings were enough in order to start the correction from now on. This is the reason that the wisdom of Kabbalah was concealed for so long.

During the 17th and the 18th centuries, Hassidim had the custom of going into “exile,” besides the fact that they were already living in exile in different remote places where they suffered afflictions and pogroms. In order to shorten the exile, Kabbalists used to leave their villages and towns and roam around. Thus they hastened the end of the exile. We have to learn the laws of the general development of the vessels and thus understand our whole history and the reason for all the events we went through.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/27/13, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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The Son Should Grow To His Father’s Delight

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot” Item 7: Now you will understand their words that Divinity in the lower ones is a high need…It is like a great king who had a son when he was already old, and he was very fond of him. Hence, from the day of his birth he thought favorable thoughts about him, collected all the books and the finest scholars in the land, and built schools for him.

He gathered the finest builders in the land and built palaces of pleasure for him, collected all the musicians and the singers and built him concert halls. He assembled the best chefs and bakers in the land and served him every delicacy in the world, and so on and so forth.

Alas, the boy grew up to be a fool with no wish for knowledge. He was also blind and could not see or feel the beauty of the buildings, and he was deaf and could not hear the singers. Sadly, he was diabetic, and was permitted to eat only coarse-flour bread, arising contempt and wrath.

Now you can understand their words about the verse, “I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.” The Sanhedrin (98) interpreted, “Not rewarded—in its time; rewarded—I will hasten it.”

Thus, there are two ways to attain the above-mentioned goal: through their own attention, which is called a “Path of Repentance.” If they are awarded that, then “I will hasten it” will be applied to them. This means that there is no set time for it, but when they are awarded, the correction ends, of course.

If they are not awarded the attention, there is another way, called “Path of Suffering.” As the Sanhedrin said (97), “I place upon them a king such as Haman, and they will repent against their will,” meaning in its time, for in that there is a set time.

In our case the King controls every state. The son is born with certain attributes and abilities in certain internal and external conditions, according to the initial thought of the upper that is meant to bring him to the ultimate goal. He has to attain the right vessel according to his emotional and mental development and to get to know his Father in order to be like Him according to the plan that the King has prepared with absolute love and care for his beloved only son.

There is no doubt that we will attain this goal but in order to attain it we have to develop our vessels and it has to be voluntary. We will surely want it since the goal obligates us to acquire a desire and a yearning for it. The only question is how we attain the desire and whether it will be by blows, having no choice and being driven by pleasures or pain, or by trying to establish an environment and to attain the right deficiency by ourselves despite the fact that we feel pleasures or sufferings.

It’s a deficiency without a deficiency and so our work is done “above reason,” above the mind and the emotions that control us now. We have to constantly yearn for this supernatural state which is above our nature. We can do that only with the support of the environment and the group that should impress us with more sublime values that are closer to the spiritual goal. Thus we approach the goal step by step.

Everything depends only on the right environment, and so a person who chooses a better environment each time is praised, which means that he advances by the path of “I will hasten it,” by himself, of his own will, and thus hastens time and spares himself the blows, and this is good in his eyes and in the eyes of the Creator. If he doesn’t, then the opposite happens and his whole development is only by hastening the blows. We have to advance in either case but it will be without a feeling of delight not on part of the Creator and not on the part of the created being, but by prolonging time.
[111006]
From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/25/13

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“The Bookshelves Of Creation”

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How do we connect the worlds and the souls?

Answer: The entire creation is like a cabinet designed for books. And we put books into it. This cabinet is called a “book shelf.” This structure must be composed of ten Sefirot. And every still, vegetative, animate and “speaking” must fill these “shelves,” these ten Sefirot. The levels of the still, the vegetative, and the animate fill these “shelves” according to their structure and are called a “world” with regard to the person.

Does the person identify with this structure, the “bookshelf” itself? No. He only feels the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate. He doesn’t see the inner structure of the world that must be arranged according to the HaVaYaH, he only sees what fills it. I see the books but not the shelves. The shelves are a structure that come and are extended from above. If I begin to fill these shelves in the right way, then I discover that there is a particular order here. And before then I didn’t discover this.

The same thing happens with us in our world. We evolve and discover all kinds of phenomena. Suddenly, it is discovered that musical notes must be arranged in a particular order, that even colors are arranged in a unique order, also sound waves are arranged with particular wavelengths, and so with everything. For every unknown phenomenon that I investigate, I begin to discover in it a particular, unique order, unique laws. I discover how this phenomenon fills the original HaVaYaH, the shelves. But I don’t discover these shelves from the start.

Imagine a person who doesn’t understand anything about music even thousands of years before the development of listening to music and the creation of musical instruments and musical compositions. He begins to compose a tune. He doesn’t know what this is, he simply begins to play it in a natural way.

It is the same thing with languages. From where could I know that the Hebrew language is composed of 22 letters and another five final letters and that its structures need to be arranged in a form like this? I don’t know this. However, I exist within nature so I develop the language from it, I fill the shelves. Then the shelves are themselves called a “world.” The HaVaYaH was prepared for us; it extends from above to below. And with our efforts, we need to fill these “shelves” from below to above with books that we write. This is called our need to write the book of Torah on the board of our hearts, on the desire.

Question: Are the “worlds” something alive and changing?

Answer: No. This is a permanent structure, 125 levels.

Question: And the souls?

Answer: The souls also don’t exist; we need to cause the formation of the souls. There are 125 empty shelves and there are shattered sparks, vessels, Kelim. You need to organize and fill all of this.

You need to divide your desire into “Mocha,” “Atzamot,” “Gidin,” “Bassar,” and “Or” (marrow, bones, tendons, flesh and skin). You need to “slaughter” yourself, to remove the “Or” (skin) from yourself, to separate its inner layer (parchment) from the outside and begin to write on the parchment, the inside of the outer “Or” (skin) being the inner part of our “Or” (skin). And to write the Torah there, but not on the external part itself, rather on the inner part of the external part. And by writing this, you begin to fill all these shelves from the first words, “In the beginning God created…” to “Israel” at the end. With this you fill all 125 levels.
[110740]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/13, The Zohar

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Judgment And Mercy In The Family Kitchen

Dr. Michael LaitmanI recommend the workshops, joint discussions, and practical exercises for married couples. Start with the question: “What does, ‘one is included in the other’ mean from the aspect of judgment and from the aspect of mercy?”

Judgment means to act for the good of my ego and mercy means to act for the good of my wife’s ego. My task now is to clarify what the “middle line” means, where I constantly try to maintain a balance between judgment and mercy. That is, I try to bestow to my wife as much as possible but I do this in order to get a good example from her, to receive a good reaction, meaning a good relationship from her side.

If I am concerned only about myself this is called the “left line.” And if I take into account my wife’s ego and am ready to fulfill all she asks of me, this is called the “right line.” In other words, the left line is judgment and the right line is mercy.

The left line or judgment is all of the demands that I present to my partner and want her to fulfill. The right line or mercy is all of my wife’s demands regarding me. Therefore, it is clear that judgment and mercy, the right line and the left line, contradict each other.

And when will they stop fighting each other and be able to receive complete fulfillment? This is possible if one becomes the servant of the other. That is, with a unilateral decision where I get my wife to be my servant and beat her so she will obey me or she does so to me.

But there is an opportunity for both of us to fulfill each other in a perfected form, very many times greater than through the servitude of the partner. For this it is necessary that each one include the ego of the other. It makes sense that we need to work only on the connection between us. And then the more that I can fulfill the ego of my wife and she can fill my ego, the more we fill ourselves.

How not to lose the balance? In order to do this we need to hold ourselves in a shared feeling of connection between us, at a particular point of balance, as if we situate ourselves on the tip of a needle. We require a point of connection like this, a drop of unity, that requires reciprocity so as not to go overboard and out of balance.

Here we require a shared feeling called “coupling” in which both are joined with a single desire for mutual bestowal for the sake of a reciprocal connection. We grasp the ego of each as a means where through its fulfillment we build the connection between us. And then the shared point that connects us is called a “screen.”

Both of us are connected together with a mutual desire to fulfill each other and we try not to lose the balance by feeling ourselves as a single whole all the time. And this feeling is renewed and strengthened in us all the time: New thoughts and feelings are always appearing in us, moving us forward. We never just walk in place.
[110511]
From KabTV’s “A New Life #46” 8/1/12

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