Investigating The Source Of All Reality

Dr. Michael LaitmanA person who yearns to discover the true world, who wants to know for what and why he is living on the face of this earth and what is happening here in general, sees himself as an investigator who learns about the world in order to understand and to feel it. But in fact, this is not the right approach, because in the center of the world, the higher power is found and not us. It moves and determines everything. And if we want to investigate the world, then we must always adhere to that higher power.

In order to truly discover the picture of the world, it is necessary, first of all, to see this source of all of reality and all that happens within it. I must know that everything is derived from a single power. And all creatures, including myself, the still, vegetative, animate, and humans, everything that exists in this world, what we know and what is still unknown, is received from this higher source.

Investigating The Source Of All Reality
I must concentrate my attention specifically on that, on the Creator. This means that all the events that happen with me and with others, all of our feelings, all of the past, present, and future—everything comes from the Creator and for only one purpose, to bring us to Him.

But so all of us will come to Him, it is necessary to receive all kinds of observations from Him; it is not important whether they are negative or positive. We need to be always be between these experiences and observations, and so time after time we learn about Him more and more.

These stages of our advancement towards the Creator are called “five worlds” (Olamot), which comes from the word “Alama (concealment)”: Assiya, Yetzira, Beria, Atzilut, Adam Kadmon, after which comes the world of Infinity where we merge with the Creator as a single whole. So step after step we approach Him, let’s say 20% with every stage, until we reach one hundred percent resemblance and equivalence to, understanding and perception of the Creator.

If follows that I don’t ascribe all of the internal feelings of our body and personal experiences to those people around me who seemingly cause them, but instead to the Creator. All of the people, the whole world, including my body and myself, are moved by Him. So I only need to know how to relate correctly to all that is happening: First of all, remember that everything comes from the Creator; second, it comes to teach me to understand Him.

This means that I must draw conclusions from all these states through which I am passing and see a good sign in what I now feel. This is because the Creator didn’t create anything bad and if I am directed towards Him, then I cannot feel anything bad. But if I am directed in some other direction, then it will be bad for me. As I continually follow, like radar, this view of the world and everything that is happening, I absorb the attitude of the Creator, meaning that I see that everything is coming from Him to direct me towards Him and only with what is good.

So it is written: (Psalms 97:10), O ye that love the LORD, hate evil. We begin to discover that when we are aimed in the right direction, towards the Creator, then everything that opposes bestowal is discovered as evil. This is because being directed towards Him requires us to be like Him. This is what we must learn during every second of our lives.
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From the Convention In France “One For All And All For One,” Day Two 5/10/14, Lesson 4

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A New Focus With The Eyes Of The Group

Dr. Michael LaitmanIt is impossible to direct myself towards the Creator alone because I am compelled to go out of my ego. And so I must be connected with other people. It is desirable that we have ten people.

If we unite together to find the Creator, then we begin to see that only through the disengagement of each one from himself and disappearance into our connection can we abandon our old vision and focus on the Creator. This is like stereo pictures that look like a chaotic drawing with lots of lines. But if we look at this picture with unfocused eyes, then we begin to see all kinds of images in the depth of the picture.

That is also how we need to disengage from our egoistic view of the world, which is typical of everyone’e nature. In this vision, we lock ourselves artificially in a very limited world, and to leave it, we need to open our senses.

This is possible only by creating a new focus. It is necessary to see the world, not with our egoistic eyes, but with the eyes of the group, and then a new focus appears in all directions. Thus we enter, not a three-dimensional world, but a world of infinite dimensions, where in every direction and passes some plane coordinate axes. If I want to advance correctly, first of all I need to act through the group. There is no other mechanism for nullifying the focus of my vision and directing it spiritually. Only through the group can I try to feel something spiritual.

If I feel the world through the group, this is a sign that I have focused on the spiritual world, similar to the efforts to see the stereo picture. The main thing is to discern that everything comes from the Creator to teach me to understand Him. The world is His language with which He speaks to me.

Someone screams at me and there’s a set of events that takes place at every moment, while I must try to understand what the Creator wants it to tell me, what kind of reaction is required from me towards Him.

This means that first of all I must understand that this comes from Him. After that, I decide how I must react to what is happening. The reaction must be such that through what the Creator said to me and my desire to answer Him from within, between us we become closer, meaning that I understood Him and I did what He expected from me.

And then with everyone, I will behave exactly in this form: with the children, in the family, with people near and far. The clarification of my attitude towards the Creator, the reception of information from Him and responding to it, is called intention. And after that there can be action. We must be involved with this at every moment in our lives.
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From the Convention In France “One For All And All For One,” Day Two 5/10/14, Lesson 4

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Two Equal Lights

Dr. Michael LaitmanTime after time, as a person works, he connects two types of control: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me” and “There is none else besides Him.”

The principle of “If I am not for myself who will be for me” doesn’t disappear, but rather remains below, while above it, there is a Masach (screen) and the Returning Light, a connection of “coupling of beating” (Mated de Haka’a) with “There is none else besides Him.”

A person’s self doesn’t disappear, but actually keeps on growing in a form suitable to the Creator. It says that a person is like the Creator’s shadow that repeats all the Creator’s actions. But by such actions, a person doesn’t become a shadow that has no desire. Even if everything is predetermined by the Creator, it doesn’t erase me, my free will.

It is because I have clarified it by myself, and I have built myself to resemble the Creator by myself, and so I am equal to Him in height. This is actually the Creator’s desire: that I will be a human being, Adam, that resembles Him, and that the two great Lights Zeir Anpin and Malchut will be equal in height.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/15/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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If It Seems You Are Going Backward

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, Shamati #1 “There is None Else Besides Him”: It is written, “there is none else besides Him.” This means that there is no other force in the world that has the ability to do anything against Him. And what man sees, that there are things in the world that deny the Higher Household, the solitary source, the reason is that this is His will.

The Creator wants to give us the feeling that supposedly there are other forces and sources of influence existing in the world: the person himself and many other people.

And it is deemed a correction, called the left rejects and the right adducts, two forms of higher supervision for teaching a person. Meaning that which the left rejects is considered correction. This means that there are things in the world, which, to begin with, aim to divert a person from the right way, and by which he is rejected from Sanctity, from connection with the Creator.

And the benefit from the rejections is that through them a person receives a need and a complete desire for the Creator to help him, because he sees that by himself he cannot hold the right picture of reality. Since he sees that otherwise he is lost, it will be gone, he is lost in this world.

Not only does he not progress in his work, but he sees that he regresses. It constantly becomes more and more difficult for us to keep the connection with the Creator. And so many abandon this way; they think that they may not be suitable for it or that the way itself is not right and leads to an unattainable goal.

We don’t understand that the difficulties are given to us intentionally. It is good that we don’t succeed! For then we feel a need for the Creator and begin to approach Him, and don’t just cleverly overcome some kind of task. The Creator intentionally gives us more and more difficult tasks that cannot be carried out so that we will ask for His help; we will want to approach Him and not struggle with the difficulties by ourselves.

Before we were able to adhere to the Creator, we try to understand and feel what is happening in life. In the beginning everyone burns with excitement and is full of energy. But after this, we gradually cool off and begin to see that it is not easy. And the main thing is to understand at the same time that this is a natural process.

We don’t advance egoistically from one success to a greater success. Specifically the lack of success in perceiving reality, in understanding the world, is a good sign. It shows that we see how much we are not ready to get along by ourselves and we need the help of the Creator.

The main thing here is not to flee but to continue to advance. If a person doesn’t judge what is happening according to his earthly intellect but perceives correctly, then he understands that disappointment, despair, confusion, and lack of success are sent by a higher power, that there is none else besides Him. Then he comes to the decision that no one can help him but the Creator Himself. This causes him to make a heartfelt demand that the Creator will open his eyes and heart, and truly bring him nearer to eternal adhesion with God.

This means that he demands to approach and adhere to the higher power itself and not the solution to his material problems. He doesn’t want to change and understand the world; rather, he wants to connect with the Creator through it. It thus follows, that all the rejections he had experienced had come from the Creator. This means that it was not because he was at fault.

Precisely because the Creator doesn’t give the possibility of advancing, apparently confuses, rejects, and creates disturbances, He presents help to a person by showing him his deficiencies in his present state by sending him thoughts and arguments that are against spiritual work. And this is all so that the person will see that what he lacks is union with the Creator, and not prosperity in this world.

And as much as he overcomes, he always sees how he is farther from holiness than others. He looks at the friends and sees that they all seemingly advance, while he doesn’t. But he, on the other hand, always has complaints and demands, and he cannot justify the Creator’s behavior, and how He behaves toward him. This pains him. Why is he not one with the Creator? Finally, he comes to feel that he has no part in holiness whatsoever… However, this is what causes him to come to realize that only God can help and really bring him closer.
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From the Convention In France “One For All And All For One,” Day Two 5/10/14, Lesson 2

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 05.27.14

Preparation for the Lesson

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Workshop

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Shamati #35 “Concerning the Vitality of Kedusha

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“The Book of Zohar” — Selected Excerpts, “On the Night of the Bride,” Item 130

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Giving of the Torah” 

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 05.26.14

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
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Science Of Humanity

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Efim Reytblat, engineer, founder of the science of gominisologii): “How could it happen that so far there is no science of humanity? There are a few sciences of the human (anatomy, biology, physiology, psychology, anthropology, gerontology); there is a science of society (sociology), and there is no science of humanity! There is a science of animals, and there is no science of humanity! How do humanity and man affect each other mutually?

“The world order (humanity) should be aligned with the Laws of Nature.

“The human system is characterized by the process of self-organization, vertical and horizontal connections. In case of unsatisfactory vertical ties, the control of the system of an individual is broken. In case of unsatisfactory horizontal connections, conflicts between societies arise.

“The system of humanity is an open system. The basic principle of an open system is observed – a constant intensive exchange with the environment – with the system of society and the system of the future reality.”

My Comment: Humanity cannot understand itself. We can understand only what is below us. In order to jump on a table, it is necessary to jump above the table.

Therefore, the science of animals exists and there is the science of our animal body. But there cannot be a science about people, their communities, and even more so about humanity as a unified system of communities. We cannot have such a science and such precise knowledge before we rise to the level above our present state and from there, from above, begin to study ourselves.

These are the possibilities and scope of the science of Kabbalah. Only through its methods is it possible to rise above our current level and reveal the true system of connection of humanity, its path and its goal.
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The Great Value Of Lo Lishma

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe state of Lo Lishma isn’t just an ordinary corporeal ego. Being in a state of Lo Lishma (not for Her sake) means that I try to be in a state of Lishma (for Her sake) and to perform actions of bestowal, and to discover time after time that I still perform them for my own benefit.

The time during which I make efforts in order to ascend above my ego and to reach an action of bestowal but am still unable to do so is called the period of Lo Lishma.

Question: Perhaps one time isn’t enough in order to invert my nature from Lo Lishma to Lishma.

Answer: Of course it doesn’t happen all at once. There are 125 levels and each of them is divided into many more states. Baal HaSulam says that we don’t understand how great the state of Lo Lishma is. It is even much greater than we can imagine and think that the state of Lishma is.

It is because the real state of Lo Lishma means that I do my best to perform an action of bestowal, with all my might, but eventually I discover that I still act as a result of the desire to receive, in order to receive an egoistic profit.

Question: Is there a certain structure or an environment where one can enter in order to perform the necessary inversion?

Answer: Yes, this is the role of the group.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/23/14, Shamati #8

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A Long Way To Connection

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why did the Creator choose one nation for a special mission, and is this choice related to religion?

Answer: The true religion is to love your friend as thyself. This is the rule that Abraham publicized in ancient Babylon, and he gathered the people around him according to this rule into a group called Israel, which means Yashar El (straight to the Creator).

Only some of the people of Babylon followed Abraham; those who had greater vessels of bestowal. All the others had vessels of receiving. This was intentional so that they would have a chance to help one another.

First the vessels of bestowal are corrected so that they can ascend to a spiritual level. When Abraham collected them, they had nothing. So first they had to go through the hardening of the heart called Egypt, that is, they don’t ascend but rather descend.

A Long Way To Connection

After the exodus from Babylon, they go down to Egypt, then come out of Egypt and ascend to the receiving of the Torah. They then cross the desert, build the first Temple, and fall. They ascend again to the height of the second Temple and go through another descent to the corporeal level. This is in order to be mutually incorporated with the nations of the world and get ready for the end of the correction of the world.

The whole process, starting with the exodus from Babylon and everything that follows, is in order to reach greater connection. This is what Abraham taught. The moment they started to connect, they felt that they were in a greater and greater descent.

The Light that shone on them made it possible for them to descend more and more deeply into their ego and to see that they were far from bestowal, from the Light. Therefore, they felt the gap, the delta between the state of the exile in Egypt and the level they were on when they left Babylon, and they would have remained on that level if it weren’t for the Light. This is the gap between the Light and our ego.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/19/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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The Main Thing Is Not To Divert From The Path

Dr. Michael LaitmanRabash, Letter 22: Therefore, if you write that you live a life of sorrow, it is a sign that you are following the path of the Torah. This means that you have black and white, since the Torah is written in black on top of white. But you have to try to have a black fire on top of a white fire, which means that everything that you feel will be as flaming fire.

We should feel constant tension, be under pressure, and inclined with all our might to yearn for the goal. It makes no difference what happens to a person as long as he is focused in the right direction. Whatever happens on the way depends on the way itself, and I only need to adjust myself according to it,

The road itself, how many twists and turns are on it and how many failures we have, is not up to us, but rather depends on the structure of our soul.

Since the Creator wants us to receive the Torah, we must feel the deficiency for the Torah ourselves, since one is not given luxuries from Above, but only necessities.

I will not receive what I ask for from Above unless my request is solely for necessities without which I cannot exist. Otherwise these are merely powerless requests.

Of course, it takes a long time until a person comes close to a real prayer. First there should be the intensity of the request by which it can be heard. Second, it has to be for the right thing that is exactly on the path.

A person should grasp onto a real part of the string on the path each time. If I ask for something now, my outcry may be correct, but perhaps it isn’t mine, and is instead arranged by the Creator.

I attribute everything to myself, and this is totally wrong. I have to search myself more deeply and find out who directs me, who arranges a good action, my prayer, or the desire to connect to society. If all this comes from Above, then what do I ask for?

And the greatest reward is that a person needs the Creator, which means the giver of the Torah. Therefore, when a person feels his lowliness, it is a reason for him to need the Creator. However, if he feels that he can help himself and that he doesn’t need the Creator, then he is separated from Him.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/20/14, Writings of Rabash

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