Wanting To Be Independent

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What can we wish for the people of Israel on their Independence Day holiday?

Answer: I wish for the people of Israel to be independent. There is nothing more important to a person than a feeling of independence. Independence means that we have all of the necessities: power, knowledge, and means, everything we need, and we know how to use it and for what purpose. We are confident about the goal and how to attain it, meaning that we are independent in this as well.

All of this feeling, this collection of conditions, is called “independence.” Independence is not just a lack of external pressure and freedom from everything. Something like this cannot be, and the world is advancing to a state where none of us can be independent, all of us depend upon each other and hold each with a vice.

Being independent means that we know what we want to attain and how to attain it, and we have all the means for this. It is possible to wish this for the people of Israel. But to have all of this requires a higher wisdom.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/4/14, Talk on the Unification of the Nation

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The Exodus From Egypt, Then And Now

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why does it say that the last redemption will be different from the exodus from Egypt?

Answer: These are the same principles. There cannot be anything that is basically new because the laws of the Light and the desire do not change. But the last redemption will certainly be different from the exodus from Egypt.

We should compare the conditions we are living in now and those of the past. The vessel of the Israeli nation that went down to Egypt wasn’t shattered. It was small but whole. This is how it began to join Egypt and enter the desire to enjoy for one’s self without the shattering, but while keeping its intention to bestow. Therefore, it says that the children of Israel didn’t change their name, their language, or their customs.

This is the reason why their exit from Egypt wasn’t an exit from the shattering. The Light operated and revealed who is who, separating Moses from Pharaoh, the right line from the left line, the rod from the serpent.

The nation of Israel remained Israel even in exile, which means that the connection between them was maintained. They wanted to tighten it even more and then they found out that it didn’t work, but the connection itself remained.

After the destruction of the first and the second Temples, however, the nation of Israel was shattered and mixed with the nations of the world, which means with the real Egyptians to such an extent that now it is under the domination of Egypt, which controls every step they make, every thought, every desire, all their manner of life. They have totally dissolved among the nations of the world in Egypt and have become totally assimilated. The ten tribes are lost and no one knows who and where they are. Even they don’t know anything about themselves. This is our state today.

So the current exodus from Egypt will be totally different from the previous one. Then there was the nucleus. The Israeli nation was under the domination of Pharaoh, but they knew that they were enslaved. The nation was in exile, but they understood that it was exile.

If we tell the Jews today that they are in exile, they will not believe it. Today redemption is considered getting a new Mercedes or a higher salary. In the past they were on a level where they understood that they lack the power of bestowal. They lack this understanding today.

So today’s exodus from exile first requires the recognition of the exile and the establishment of the nation in it. When we are in Egypt, we begin to feel that we are in exile, under the domination of the ego that doesn’t let us connect, which is called Pharaoh. Thus we begin to establish the nation of Israel among us from our group.

Afterward we will have to start working with the public, explaining to them that we are in exile, that connection is a good thing, and that it will help us become a nation. The more we see ourselves as a nation, the more strongly we will feel how our ego dominates us and doesn’t let us be together. This work precedes the exodus from Egypt.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/27/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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The Heart Of The World

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Book Of Zohar, “Pinchas” item 152: Israel, the Creator made them the heart of the world, and this is the way Israel are among the other nations, like a heart among the other organs. And just like the organs of the body cannot exist in the world even for a moment without the heart, the other nations also cannot exist in the world without Israel.

There are no differences in the world of Ein Sof (infinity). There everyone is equal since the upper Light has created everyone equally according to its nature.

Then there was the first restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph) one and the Light disappeared equally from all the borders of Malchut of Ein Sof, and concentrated around a middle point. That’s the way it actually was until the shattering of the vessels.

After the shattering, the vessels fell and were arranged from the top down, and since then, the vessels with the smallest Aviut (thickness) are on top.

In the world of Nikudim there were already ten Sefirot. Its upper part was Bina and the bottom part was Malchut. So the vessels of the root phase, phase one, and part of phase two are the vessels of bestowal (Israel) and the vessels of Aviut three and four are vessels of receiving (the nations of the world).

Thus the vessels of Bina are clarified first. Abraham started this process back in ancient Babylon. As the first point, the right line, Abraham turned to all the Babylonians, to all the vessels, but those who joined him were the vessels of bestowal who felt the Light that illuminated from Abraham when he spread his message. Therefore, they are called Israel according to the Reshimot (spiritual genes) that were revealed in them.

The others dispersed all over the globe and today they make up all of humanity, which is seven billion people.

Later, we have to understand that there is a great difference in the inner essence of the people who belong to these two categories: Israel and the nations of the world. In Israel, there is Reshimo of Malchut in Bina, and in the nations of the world, there is the Reshimo of Bina in Malchut, accordingly.  Malchut dominates the nations of the world and the level of Bina is in it, and Bina dominates Israel with Malchut incorporated in it.

Thus the Reshimot of Malchut and Bina were integrated as a result of the shattering, and this integration exists in every person, since we are all products of the shattering of the common soul of Adam HaRishon (the first man). However, in some people, Malchut dominates Bina, and in others Bina dominates Malchut.

This leads to a great difference during the awakening. Israel awakens when the Light that Reforms affects them, while those who are under the domination of Malchut cannot awaken by this Light. They can only join Bina as Malchut. When Malchut annuls itself before Bina, it builds itself.

This is what we base our dissemination on. After all, even in Israel, there are those who are similar to the nations of the world, and in the nations of the world, there are those who are similar to Israel. Those from the nations of the world who resemble Israel come and join us. Those of us who resemble the nations of the world join the nations of the world. This is how the diffusion takes place, about which it says: “Israel went to exile only in order to attach the souls of the gentiles to them.” This process determines our work and we understand that the law, according to which the correction is done, from the lightest to the more serious part, operates here. This is why we start with people who are attracted to us and then we expand the circles of our dissemination.

Moreover, according to The Zohar, Israel are the heart of the world. This means that the Light can only come to the world through someone who is connected, someone who can be a pipe, an adaptor, a link, between the Creator and the vessels, which are the nations of the world. It is the role of Israel since they are connected both to Bina and to Malchut as Malchut is connected to Keter in its upper part, and in its lower part, ZAT of Bina is connected to Malchut.

Therefore, Israel is a special group that we have to gather all over the world. By this kind of work we establish the passage in this world between humanity and the Creator.

But the goal of creation, on behalf of the Creator, is that humanity will come in contact with Him. We are merely a passageway and we serve both the Creator and humanity. Our honor and our destiny is actually in establishing this contact. If it weren’t for the connection between the Creator and the nations of the world and if we didn’t think that we would delight Him by bringing all of humanity to Him, we wouldn’t fulfill our role.

So we have to treat the nations of the world very nicely and care about what happens to them. Today we see that they have problems, troubles, and afflictions and this should be a sign to us that we are not succeeding in our work.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/2/14, The Mission of the people of Israel

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Eternal Life Within The Integral Connection

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe are at the beginning of the way of the correction of human nature and the correction of the world. The method of Abraham teaches that a person must rise above his nature and connect with others in such a form that we create a circle.

If each one were to abandon himself and adhere to the center of our common general connection, with this we would create a unique power, a special additional sense. It is as if we were to wear new glasses that would make it possible to see the world through integral vision that doesn’t belong to me personally.

In normal life we are built in such a way that I see what is useful or harmful to my desire to receive. And what doesn’t affect my ego doesn’t concern it, so I don’t see, don’t feel, and don’t discover this.

Around us there are an entire creation of systems and worlds, but we don’t feel them. Our senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch don’t perceive this reality, because they are found on a completely different level.

But when we connect together, each one with the others, then we acquire the shared integral sense of one for all. This sense is called the Neshama (soul). And then we begin to feel life in another dimension that doesn’t depend upon the body or its life and death.

I acquire an integral sense that is not found in my body; instead, I am found within it! And so it makes no difference if my body lives or dies. Nothing makes a difference to me, for indeed I have risen to another level of existence.

In the beginning we developed on the level of the still, and after that, the level of the vegetative. Then we reached the level of the animate and we are living in that level in the meantime since we receive everything through our bodies. Now we need to rise to the level of the speaking, but we still don’t know what this level is. But to rise to it is possible only on the condition that we all connect and unite. This makes it possible for us to go outside of ourselves and rise above our bodies.

So the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks about our general connection in the central point of our relationship. This is how each one of us acquires the sixth sense.
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From the Convention In France “One For All And All For One,” Day One 5/09/14, Lesson 1

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 05.14.14

Preparation for the Lesson

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Thou Hast Hemmed Me In Behind and Before”

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Workshop

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“The Book of Zohar” — Selected Excerpts, “Emor,” “Counting the Omer

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 39

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Giving of the Torah”

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 05.13.14

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2014-05-13_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’13.5.14′]

The World Is Becoming More Interconnected

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Slon): “The world is becoming more connected – 35% of goods cross borders, compared with 20% in 1990; more than a third of financial investments are international transactions; 20% of the Internet traffic is international; total trade is 36% of the global GDP (but it is still below 52% in the pre-crisis 2007). Russia was ranked 9th out of 131 countries in the ranking of connectedness with the world economy.” 

My Comment: All reports show how everything is interconnected, although in fact, our interconnection is much greater because connections between people, cultures, and the mixing of populations are not considered.

Nature programmed further development of humankind in growing unity, and we cannot avoid this program. The more we resist it, the more we will be forced to obey it through more suffering. The laws of nature are inevitable.

In previous stages of development (evolution), nature developed matter from still to vegetative to animate. We also belong to the animate part of nature because we developed unconsciously. But on the next degree of “the speaking human being” (Adam – from the word “domeh,” similar to nature, the Creator), we have to rise consciously, attracting the force of nature on our own accord.

In this way we become equal to it, as partners, rather than those who instinctively follow its orders from within. The wisdom of Kabbalah talks of how to rise to the next stage of development. That is why it was hidden until our time, waiting for the end of our instinctive  (unconscious ) development.
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How To Rise At Once With Little Effort

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How do you pray through the center of the group if you don’t feel this center?

Answer: Pray as much as you can for the time being. A person is born lacking any understanding, like an animal, three kilos that come out of the mother and begin to develop. Gradually he grows and becomes wiser as he understands and feels more.

Everything always starts from zero. The main thing is the quality and the exertion. “One may acquire his world in an hour.” This means that a person restricts and focuses his small exertion in the right place, and creates a lever. Although he has little power and cannot lift a heavy load, he can lift it if he increases the handle length of the lever.

This means that a wise approach can shorten the time and help one gain power. In the past, loads were lifted onto ships by a system of chains and a pulley block. Many chains had to be pulled, but they were able to lift tons of cargo.

It is the same in the spiritual work. I cannot directly approach Pharaoh and this whole confusion. But I am given a chance to organize a circle of physical bodies in this world, in a state where I am totally detached from spirituality and don’t belong to it. Then I am able to start thinking about physical connections with my corporeal brain, practically from zero, but not yet from a mental or spiritual perspective.

I am given such an opportunity on every level. If I focus on the center of the group, by mutual guarantee, mutual responsibility, care, and support of others, in the connection between us, together with the teacher and the Kabbalah books, I can focus the relatively small effort I can make on one small point and thus break through.

But if I disperse my efforts, it will lead to nothing; the outcome will be a serpent. This small point determines what the outcome will be, whether a serpent or a rod. This point is the focus on the center of the group, where we want to delight the Creator.

Dissemination is based on being one man in one heart. The center of the group is our one common heart. We have to think about this option, about this form. But if I wander in endless directions, nothing will work. I will perform many actions, which will also eventually accumulate, but very slowly. I don’t gain anything and don’t shorten time.

Question: What does our concentration on one action depend on?

Answer: It depends on mutual work, on focusing, and on mutual support when everyone focuses in the heart and mind in our center and in our mutual connection.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/20/14, Shamati #59

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“Independence Day”: ARI Institute’s Article Featured In Aliya Magazine


ARI Insitute‘s article on Israeli Independence Day was published by Aliya Magazine. Below is the article.

“As another Israeli Day of Independence has been celebrated, the all too familiar chants (not to say rants) about Israel’s need to be strong and self-reliant fill the media. Perhaps the chanters know something most of us do not; otherwise, how can you explain their insistence that independence is possible? This is true for all countries, not just for Israel; independence is a myth; interdependence is the reality of our lives.

Today, a country that wishes to be independent must focus its attention on the society rather than on the economy. The only way a country can be independent is if the people within it feel solidarity and mutual responsibility toward each other. And here lies our strength as the Jewish nation. We are the unproud proprietors of the motto, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

It is a shame we take no pride in it. If we recognized its value, we would embrace it as our social code and our troubles would end. It may sound like a simplistic, perhaps naïve statement, but it works. Today’s reality is one of connectedness and mutual dependence, yet we fail to accept it as a way of life, and instead try to step over one another on our way to the top of the heap. But even once we get there, if we ever do, it only lasts a minute before someone else becomes the short-lived king of the hill.

No other creature behaves this way but us, humans. And no other nation is as zealous about this game as us Jews, and especially the Jews in Israel. And since Israel is always at the center of attention, much to our dismay, we should at least embrace the opportunity to steer things in a positive direction. As proprietors of the abovementioned motto, it is our prerogative to employ it.

We may be a fractured and disjointed society, but these are mere facades to our common origin. In the eyes of the world, we are Jews regardless of attire and demeanor. Let us show that we can therefore rise above the superficial, and display unity above all differences, without eliminating them. We can, and perhaps should, remain who we are—religious, secular, or completely non-denominated. But above all that disparity, we should embrace the motto of unity. If we only dare, we will achieve not only independence, but will eliminate the anti from anti-Semitism and from anti-Israelism.”

Center For Correction Of The World

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: All world problems are created because of separation among the people of Israel. The Bnei Baruch group is the center for correction of the world. What does the central group lack for connection in Israel itself?

Answer: I don’t think that the problem is only in our group. It cannot be connected and united with the rest of the groups if they don’t help it and begin to be integrated into it. So this is not just about Israel, but about the one common world group.

When we say that in Israel there is a unique atmosphere, we mean that here, in this nation, in this territory, there is an obligation first and foremost to offer people the method of the wisdom of connection. And in this, the central group, whose mission is to serve the people of Israel, is united.

But around it there are other groups that must join us to help us and to push us.

 

We need to receive power from each other. But first and foremost, we require the support of the other groups in order to disseminate the wisdom of connection among the people of Israel. And the rest of the groups must be doing this in their own territories.

So the main thing is unity among the people of Israel. If we actualize the idea of unity here, this will spread further and encompass the whole world.

For the inner network of connections between all people in the world are derived from here: The egoistic is derived from Babylon and the altruistic is derived from Israel. This link doesn’t exist now. Our mission is to create it.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/24/14, Questions and Answers with Dr. Laitman

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