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Not Personal Shortcomings But Material For Work

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe advance only because of falls, crashes, disappointments, and the revelation of unpleasant states that are experienced in our desire to enjoy. First, we believe that all these troubles give us various strengths in this world, then we attribute them to the Creator.

It all depends at what degree a person is, in what disclosure. Perhaps, he has found himself in such concealment that he has completely lost sensation of the Creator and blames the world thinking that it is people who have caused him different problems, both internal and external. All problems are shown on the background of the material world, that is, affecting his needs for food, sex, family, money, power, and knowledge.

A person rises after that. If he is connected with a group, then he can rise by the path of Light, and if he is not able to become included into it, then at least he does so through mechanical participation in the studies, in all sorts of actions. He gets new blows to his ambition and starts to link them with his attitude, to blame himself. First, he accused only others and saw them as the cause of his state. But if he advances, he also begins to blame himself, attributing to himself what has happened.

He beats himself up, experiencing a lot of stress, and this state may take a very long time. Everything depends on a person’s inclusion in the environment. If he is not included in the group enough, then he can experience different conflicts in it and not learn from them. If he manages to achieve a strong connection with the group, he gets the Light that Reforms through it and begins to attribute all the actions to the Creator. The approaching Light gives him this feeling.

Then he sees that all of these misunderstandings, problems, and obstacles have been the revelation of his internal properties. The culprit was not the cruel world and not even his bad nature but just desires that need to be corrected. There is no need to apply them to oneself. They really belong to him, but they are given to him to work on them.

It is desirable to realize that the evil that is revealed to us does not apply to our personal account but is given to us just for correction, as working material. And if we do not want to accept this evil and breaking and strive to unite with Israel and the Creator that are one, then we begin to demand and ask for help to rise out of these states. So we raise all our shortcomings upwards  with the help of the screen and the Reflected Light, which can be clothed in the Direct Light.

All the way from this world to the world of infinity, we will constantly disclose the breaking and the evil. Our goal is to turn this evil into the tools for the revelation of the Light through our work. We have to add our correct attitude, our efforts, to these shortcomings, which are exposed by the Light, and then we will reveal goodness inside them.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/13/13, Shamati #33 “The Lots on Yom Kippurim and Haman”

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The Long-Awaited Guest

Dr. Michael LaitmanOn the still, vegetative, and animate levels, the desire to enjoy acts instinctively by virtue of its nature. But the human being can act in the opposite way unnaturally because he is guided by his attitude to the host, by the feeling of his oppositeness. And thus it produces a contraction in his desire to enjoy as a guest, shrinking in shame at the sight of the loving and generous host.

Shame does not awaken in response to gifts on the still, vegetative, and animate levels, but if the human degree has started to develop in a person, he feels that shame, uncomfortableness, the duty to respond to the host’s love—to respond not to the feast but to the one who gives it! And this makes him contract.

You have to withstand the fulfillment you received and fill yourself with the feeling of the Giver, that is, the quality of bestowal and love from your side, or at least to wish it to such an extent that you would lose all taste for receiving the pleasure itself.

Pleasure remains in you, but you suddenly lose its feeling. It’s as if being in a strange place, you went into an empty room and saw a piece of delicious cake and thinking that nobody could see you, you picked it up and took a bite. And at the moment you’re enjoying its amazing taste, suddenly the host enters.

You are going through a variety of feelings … First, you are overcome with shame from what you took and you freeze with a piece in the mouth. But the owner suddenly says, “No, no, help yourself; I left it especially for you, knowing that you would come! Everyone wanted to take this most delicious piece with a buttercream rose and cherry, but I saved it for you.”

Now, instead of shame that you stole, took what did not belong to you, you are ashamed because you know how the host was thinking about you and deliberately saved the treat for you. He took care of you as the dearest person, letting everyone know. You feel his generosity and love and a different shame awakens in you, not that you stole, but for your oppositeness to the host who loves you.

The first shame was caused by your feeling yourself as the receiver relative to the host, and the second shame, by the feeling of the host as giving, loving, and this produces many new feelings in you and makes you contract and expand, that is, gives you the breath of life.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/11/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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The Eternal Phase Of Dissemination

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: When the dissemination phase passes, will you once again start to talk about unity?

Answer: The dissemination phase cannot end. Baal HaSulam writes: “I am glad that I have been born in such a generation when it is permitted to disclose the wisdom of truth.”

The wisdom of Kabbalah is the revelation of the Creator to the created beings in our world and not revelation only to those who are now sitting in front of me. Revelation to us is the realization of the Creator’s plan in our world because we are just His guides, mediators, an artificial element. Therefore, the revelation by us is not Kabbalah, but only a prerequisite.

When we are talking about the revelation of the Creator in our world, it means His explicit revelation to the 99% of humanity. This is called Kabbalah! The desires of the entire 99 % are your soul, your Kli, your vessel. Thus, you begin to attain the Creator!

But today, when you are doing it within yourself, sitting in a closed room, you just prepare yourself for realization, but you won’t reveal the Creator this way. Our task is to take the desire of the masses, raise them to the Creator, and ask them to be fulfilled. Then the Upper Light will not pass you by, but will pass through you to the masses in order to reveal itself in the form in which they wish to do so. And then you begin to reveal the Creator.

But the Creator will not be revealed to the masses, they will just feel that they feel well due to unity and will advance further and further. Gradually, within the feeling of the usefulness of unity, they will start changing their attitude toward it: “Unity breathes life into us, helps us, and gives the opportunity to better organize ourselves and our families. Unity is great.”

They will begin to admire unity itself, to respect it and the force that is manifested in it, not the result, that is, not the fact that I have recovered but the means by which I have recovered, through unity and with the use of this force that is revealed in it. I now respect this force, I love it, I seek it.

Thus, longing for the force of unity emerges, that is, the point in the heart! After all, I felt good with it. And now I want to identify with it because it brings me good. Let it be egoistical (and in us, in the beginning it happens the same way), but I am already connected with this force and seek it further. And it’s already starting to affect me differently and transform me into an altruist. This is how it works.

But the masses are one degree below ours, so they start with a simple selfish Kli, vessel, in which later the point in the heart appears. And we start with the point in the heart and a simple egoistic Kli, vessel. The lower level, the people who are below us, are as such so that we have to process it through ourselves, and only then we will rise. This special condition is given to us!
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/13, Question and Answers with Dr. Laitman

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Is Our Method Good For People?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: You keep speaking about the importance of dissemination. What can we do if we are not certain that our method is right and that it’s good for people? For example I don’t want people to go through everything I have been through along the spiritual path. How can I disseminate whole-heartedly?

Answer: The people we disseminate to will not go through the same path since they don’t have a double nature: the coexistence of the spiritual embryo, the point in the heart, and the ego. They will not go through all the twists and turns, the problems and the searching, that we have been through. They have a simple unfulfilled ego and we have to explain to them how they can satisfy it. That’s all. We simply bring them a remedy and they only have to take it. The remedy is called unity. So let’s unite and solve our common problems and then everything will be good and simple.

“How can it be good and simple? We know what it was like living in the communist Soviet Union.” Here you explain to them that it’s a different kind of unity, of their own free will, when by uniting according to a special method, we begin to feel the force of unity that is above us, since this kind of unity is the next phase, our next level, when we become one unique whole that resembles nature.

We begin to feel nature to the extent that we resemble it and this force will help us solve all our problems, let’s try. After half an hour you will feel elated and impressed and will also feel the reviving force in the proper connection between us. Thus, they don’t feel demoralized and they don’t go through the same painful phases that you go through. You could also go through them differently if you fulfilled the options that you have.

You are not certain and not confident that our path is the right path since you don’t know it. I want you to know this as clearly as possible. You have to clarify it thoroughly and then decide if you are certain and confident or not. Now you should feel uncertain about what you know and not uncertain about the actual path. This is why you should study.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/13, Question and Answers with Dr. Laitman

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Don’t Avoid Going To The People

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Must we look at the feedback of people, for instance when disseminating on the Internet; or is it enough simply to prepare the material?

Answer: It’s necessary to look not only at the feedback of people on the Internet, but also these people in front of you, physically, and their serious reaction to your message. Only then do you begin to be integrated in their desires.

You subconsciously flee from being integrated with the rest of the world all the time, you weaken yourselves. Ultimately it follows that you will not absorb anything from the general desire, from the fear, from the desires of people; you don’t experience feedback from them. In fact, it won’t matter to you what hurts them. So nothing will happen.

In which desires do you think you will discover the Creator? It’s said, “I dwell within My people.” Where are the people? In you? In general you are detached from people. You don’t belong to this world. Those people who have an inclination and yearning for the Creator don’t belong to this world. They are physically found in our world in order to come in contact with the others. But according to their inner structure they belong to the spiritual world.

Therefore you need to go out to the people, mix with them, and feel their desires. And you raise these desires up to the Creator. These are called MAN. MAN is the elevation of the desires of the people through you to the Creator.

And so you will transfer fulfillment from the Creator to others through you, and the people will receive what they want: health, success, and all that they require. And together with this, you will get spiritual Light. For by passing through you, the Light will be realized both in your desires and in the desires of the people.

But if you don’t accept the most primitive and egoistic yearnings from the people, you won’t have anything to elevate. If you want to elevate something from yourselves, then you are still big egoists even more than the people. You won’t get anything!

Question: What is the difference between MAN for the friends and MAN for the nations of the world?

Answer: The difference is very great. MAN for the friends is the creation of the Kli, vessel, and MAN for the nations of the world is its realization, the action.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/13, Question and Answers with Dr. Laitman

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The Basis Of The Spiritual Advancement

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It has become clear that dissemination is an irreplaceable element of our spiritual advancement. How can we strengthen ourselves in it?

Answer: Dissemination is not simply an element but the foundation of our spiritual advancement.

In order to strengthen ourselves in it everything should be directed toward it. It is necessary to talk, discuss, take our example, and come to conventions. In general, we have to do everything possible. Otherwise there will be no advancement.

This is the way your egoism works on you. It wishes to mislead you: “There is nothing bad, sit in your office in front of the computer, study by yourself or with your friends. Everything is nice, that’s the way it should be.” This is completely wrong! Nothing will happen. This is the way you are thrown back.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/13, Questions and Answers with Dr. Laitman

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The Universal Formula Of Happiness

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from DailyMail): “Research into what makes people feel happy has led renowned professor, Dr Todd Kashdan, to produce an equation called the Feel Good Formula.

“In it, he identifies six factors which, when put together in the right combination, make a happy soul.

“The factors are: Live in the moment (M), be curious (C), do something you love (L), think of others (T), nurture relationships (N), and take care of your body (B).

“The winning formula is Feeling Good = (Mx16 + Cx1 + Lx2) + (Tx5 + Nx2 + Bx33). …

“Whilst it may not appear obvious how a combination of letters and numbers will make you feel good, Dr Kashdan believes this formula is the perfect prescription for a happy soul.

“He said: ‘There is no single secret to feeling good, but when these six ingredients are carefully attended to, in the right doses, you will be on target for a happy life.’”

My Comment: Artificially, it is impossible to reach such a state on one’s own. For this, a person has to re-educate himself, to correct. Psychologists themselves say it is impossible. But the method of integral education makes this possible for everyone because this method uses the force that created us as a means of our correction.
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Essential Vaccine For The Ego

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is the thing that the Klipa (shell) wants most?

Answer: The Klipa wants most to confuse us so that within this confusion we will want to turn to the Creator, to make us feel that we need faith, devotion. The Klipa brings us to these states, to such confusion, that it’s impossible to bear. And in the end, you agree to give up on everything. You are confused to such an extent that then you will understand that it’s worthwhile to be completely annulled in order to just cling to the Creator and not in order for the confusion to end, but because the Creator is the higher one, the source of everything.

The system of the Klipot is very sophisticated. It needs to be the exact copy of divinity and is actually composed of a mixture of holy forces and forces of the shell. This is so since it cannot confuse us if it’s only bad and shallow. Thus, it must be very sophisticated and diverse so as to teach us also what is correct and what is not correct according to the sensation and the intention.

In holiness, there are no forces of the shell that are revealed. They are already there in the inverted form through our preparation, which enables us not to ever be wrong. And then we are allowed to work with the Light. But all of this is on the condition that we have already included within us all of the impressions of the darkness and the Light, as it is written in The Book of the Zohar: “Whoever inverts darkness into light, the bitter to sweet, then enters the Palace of the King.”

This means, from the beginning we must equip ourselves with the whole system of the Klipot as a result of the inclusion of the opposing situations, a Kli (vessel, desire) emerges which is ready to be divine. The work of divinity is very simple in comparison to the study of the Klipa. Thus, the time of preparation takes a very long time.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/13/13, The Zohar

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Spiritual Operating System: Approaching The Next Window

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “Exile and Redemption”: The Creator will evidently show us that Israel cannot exist in exile, and will find no rest as the rest of the nations that mingled among the nations and found rest, and assimilated in them, until no trace was left of them.

Physically, the people of Israel carry a spiritual duty and must work on themselves in order to implement their mission in life. Today, the concept of “Israel” is defined not by birth but by the inclination of a person to reveal the Creator. Those who have this predisposition are named in accordance with their vector, Yashar-El, directly to the Creator. Those who aspire to fulfill their mission stand apart from the general masses.

Also, due to two thousand years of exile and mingling with other nations, this part has expanded by adding the ones who, in the material sense, come from other backgrounds.

Thus the inner “core” is surrounded by those who happened to achieve spiritual attainment in their prior lives. They retain special Reshimot and are guided by the “unpleasant” upper governance that sends predicaments and hardships to them.

Finally, the external circles consist of “the nations of the world” that are arranged in accordance with their spiritual roots.

The entire structure, in essence, is spiritual. However, so far, we can see only the bodies rather than the souls. We associate people with their bodies, which are born, live their lives, suffer, multiply, and then die and turn to ashes.

In fact, bodies are a simple projection of a spiritual process at its lowest material level. As an example, imagine an operating system chain that is comprised of 125 windows. At this time, in our perception, we only can see the first window that displays just physical objects: stones, trees, mountains, animals, the sun, the moon, stars, and much, much more, including people.

We see the entire world that is just a depiction of the upper realm. That is where the roots i.e., the forces that draw the current picture on our screen, are planted. Using neurobiological terms, I’d say that the picture on this material plane is being created in the back of our brains by electric impulses. This makes possible the projection of the deeper worlds that take the shape of this material externality and we can view only one window, one level, at a time. Our five senses do not allow us to discern anything beyond that.

If we want to see the cause, the true picture, we must develop five bestowing senses. This transition is made by the Surrounding Light, which we trigger with the help of the group, by studying the wisdom of Kabbalah, and doing everything it takes. The path is open.

In the meantime, we live in only one “image” of our world, and we reincarnate in it until we reach the next level. At this point, each part separately and all of them together are “tuned” to elevate us internally and bring us closer to a screen that shows a deeper image. Everything exists only for this purpose. Everything is coordinated. In other words, whatever goes on in the world is synchronized with each one of us. A transition to a higher level is the purpose of everything that ever comes about.

Which elements of the picture that we currently see can facilitate this process? At each level, we see parts of inanimate (I), vegetative (V), animate (A) and speaking (S) nature. So, our task is to choose the speaking level and split it into components that can be used.

In general, there are three components. We already have named all of them: 1. those who aspire directly to the Creator (Israel), 2. the Jewish people, and 3. the nations of the world. In order to ascend, one should keep a close connection with Israel since this part pursues the same goal as all of us do, that is, transitioning from one screen to another.

Spiritual Operating System: Approaching the Next Window
As to “the Jews,” their Reshimot are still asleep;  the Reshimot exist, but have not appeared, whereas in the “nations of the world,” these Reshimot remain in a potential, they have never appeared since they received them solely as a result of a mutual inclusion with the people of Israel that scattered throughout the world after the destruction of the Temple, that is, after the shattering of vessels occurred.

We illustrate this with the structure of a vessel that consists of two major parts: Galgalta ve Eynaim (GE) and AHP. At first, (1) GE is in a primary state of bestowal. It corresponds to Israel before destruction. AHP stands for the nations of the world, which are in the state of receiving.

In its second state, Israel descends to the nations of the world, and throughout two thousand years they mingle with each other.

Spiritual Operating System: Approaching the Next Window
Then, the Light that Reforms (the Surrounding Light, Ohr Makif – OM) begins its work. It influences a pile of broken vessels and they begin waking up.

We don’t know where they come from: the ten missing tribes of Israel, the captive parts of the people of Israel, or the nations of the world. Actually, it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that they want to rise and become Galgalta ve Eynaim. That is, they desire to bestow. It’s as if one suddenly wakes up and this mission becomes more important to him or her than all the “quagmire” of this material existence.

At that point, those who ascend to bestowal are called Yashar El (directly to the Creator) according to their intention and to what they cherish.

Others split into two parts: “Israel in exile” and the nations of the world. The Surrounding Light primarily influences the parts of Israel since it’s their responsibility to correct others.

Spiritual Operating System: Approaching the Next Window
Consequently, our work with the world must be coordinated with this pyramidal structure. On the top are those who aspire to the Creator (Israel), then come the “Jews.” Both parts have Reshimot, either in their explicit or “silent” forms. The upper part is already walking its spiritual path, whereas the other part will join them only under pressure or out of desperation since these are the two parts that are contrary to the nations of the world and that bear the burden of correction.

Generally speaking, today the entire system is transitioning to a new phase. Previously, the Jews excelled others in many spheres of life. Currently, other nations have started prevailing. The situation constantly changes. The nations’ desires manifest now more openly with each passing day, and that’s why they succeed all over the world. In a little while, we’ll see the Jews gradually fade in the endeavors of this material realm, whereas the nations of the world, on the contrary, will prevail. They will replace the Jews in things that are associated with material success, while the Jews will continue attaining a higher level.

This explains why the people of Israel anticipate disasters that are of an internal nature; if they want to change and are not able to do this on their own, they will need the Creator on the correct path of acceleration, or, God forbid, there will be further misfortunes imposed by the nations of the world.

In this world, Israel will stay in pretty good shape with the exception of experiencing animosity from other nations. This is the way the upper governance manifests Itself. If one doesn’t correct what one must, then it turns into a factor of coercion. This means that if Israel doesn’t correct its interpersonal relationships and doesn’t bring people to unity, which, in fact, is a place of the revelation of the Creator, then it will become the source of troubles and misfortunes that will come from the nations of the world in their worst and yet unprecedented forms.

It’s a law. There is nothing we can do about it, unless we do our job properly. The job is to self-elevate and then pull others forward by disseminating the wisdom of Kabbalah and by spreading the methodology of integral education that will unite people and teach them the ways to love their neighbors as themselves.

The duty to correct automatically falls on those who aspire to the Creator and whose Reshimot already have woken up. They have no chance to escape since the law is preordained. Besides, this duty is imposed on the Jews as a nation.

Moreover, in the course of correction, when it reaches a certain level, the Jews who bear the Reshimot that are associated with the destruction of the first temple and not the second temple will emerge, the ten lost tribes. They have never experienced further shattering and thus comprise cleaner vessels, whereas we belong to a heavier part since we went through the shattering twice.

The Light descends to the vessels of Galgalta ve Eynaim and then through the Jews reaching the nations of the world. On the other hand, we must conduct dissemination not only in Israel but in other countries as well, directly among other nations since, as Baal HaSulam writes, without doing this the Jewish people won’t get out of the exile.  After all, their only goal is to deliver the Light to others, to be a “Light to the nations.” So first we must awaken a desire in the nations of the world (1). Only then will the deliverance of Israel take place (2).

Spiritual Operating System: Approaching the Next Window
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/1/13, “Exile and Redemption”

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