Audio Version Of The Blog – 06.08.14

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The Deficiency Of The State

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Martin van Creveld, Ph.D., Professor of military history at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, author of seventeen books on military history and strategy): “[Martin van Creveld] argues that the state, since 1648 has become a creature different to any previous form of civil government. Before that time, government was identified with some person or group of persons. After 1648, the state lost that personal identification and became a juridical person, a corporation. ‘As a corporation, it has an independent persona.’ All previous governments failed to make this crucial distinction between the person ruling and the ruling organisation. Louis XIV could say with much truth, ‘I am the state.’ Louis Napoleon could not. 

“He defines the state by three characteristics.

“Sovereignty, by which claim the state ‘refuses to share any of [these] functions [waging war, making peace enacting laws, dispensing justice, raising revenue, determining the currency, and providing internal security] with others but concentrates all of them in its own hands.’

“Territoriality,  it exercises such powers over all the people who live within its borders and over them only.

“Abstractness, most importantly, it is an abstract organisation. Unlike any of its predecessors at any other time and place, it is not identical with either rulers nor ruled; it is neither a man nor a community, but an invisible being known as a corporation.

“In the main, the threat to the state does not come either from individuals or from groups of the kind which exercised the functions of government in various communities at various times and places before 1648. Instead it comes from other corporations: in other words, from such ‘artificial men’ as share its own nature but differ from it both in respect to their control over territory and in regard to the exercise of sovereignty. A few of the corporations in question are of a territorial nature, but the majority are not. Some are regional and larger than states, others smaller and merely local. Some are intergovernmental, others nongovernmental. Some are primarily political by nature, others dedicated to different ends such as making money, protecting the environment, spreading some religious message, or propagating some special cause which may range from reducing pollution to animal rights. [Though] all have in common that they are more attuned to modern technology, communication and transportation in particular, than the state. As a result, some of them are able to grow much richer than most states; or take over some of the latter’s functions; or evade its control by establishing colonies and moving their resources outside its borders; or influence the opinions of its citizens more than governments can; or (as in the case of numerous guerrilla and terrorist organisations) successfully resist it weapon in hand; or, not seldom, some combination of all these things.”

My Comment: All of human development leads to the extinction of the state and the establishment of a unified, global social system.
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A Patch

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Arvut” (Mutual Guarantee), Item 18: Therefore, the Tana (Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai) described the Arvut as two people in a boat, when one of them began to drill a hole in the boat. This means that they are already connected and are in one vessel, in a boat, which is already a spiritual level of connection, but still there is a problem, a malfunction in their connection.

“His friend asked, “Why are you drilling?” He replied, “What business is it of yours? I am drilling under me, not under you.”

If he had understood and felt that he is in a collective vessel, then everything would have been fine. And yet once he was  attracted to it and he had built the collective boat with everyone, but now an additional evil inclination has been revealed in him and he doesn’t feel that he is in one vessel and that he is connected to the others. He thinks that he is by himself and doesn’t care what the others do. It is as if he is on a day off, free of the whole business of mutual guarantee. This happens to each and everyone.

So he replied, “Fool! We will both drown together!” He doesn’t just leave the group, but also drowns it since he is also incorporated in the connection.

From this we learn that since those rebels wallow in self-love, by their actions they build an iron wall that prevents the observers of the Torah from even beginning to fully keep the Torah and Mitzvot in the measure of “Love thy friend as thyself,” which is the ladder for reaching Dvekut (adhesion) with Him.

Since we are all incorporated in one another and depend on one another, then of course if someone leaves, he corrupts the whole structure. We cannot glue a patch on the side of the boat instead of him. After all, he is connected to everyone and is incorporated with everyone. Therefore, it is a great problem if someone leaves or even if he is temporarily not connected to the group.

He is severely punished for the harm he has caused to all the friends that he has left, for each and everyone. One should be very careful about the general incorporation.

If you come to the lesson and you sleep, it means that you don’t add your intentions. This isn’t a serious transgression as yet, and it does happen sometimes. However, there are much more serious transgressions.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/02/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Guarantees Against Leaks In The Boat

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It turns out that I depend upon everyone and anyone can make a hole in our common boat? This is a serious problem!

Answer: What did you think? This is called mutual guarantee. You sign guarantees for everyone and everyone signs for you, all of those who are in mutual guarantee.

You make a hole, and then correct it. After that, you make a hole again and repair it again. This is our work in strengthening and maintaing the boat.

Since our boat is at sea, water enters into it through some openings, or the waves are high and they enter over the sides of the boat. And we must work constantly to get this water out. All of this happens with any ship. Even though it seems that the ship is quite tight, there is always seepage of water through some openings in the body of the ship.

Question: What does it mean that I fall into narcissism throughout the day? How am I making a hole in the boat?

Answer: You simply forget about your mutual connection with the friends, you stop being concerned about it, scrutinizing and praying for it, meaning for the friends. You don’t yourself exist; you are a result of what happens with them. This is called guarantee.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/2/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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There Is No Cruelty In The King’s Palace

Dr. Michael Laitman“Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Night of the Bride,” Item 132: When this happened to King David, fear enveloped him. Right then, Duma ascended before the Creator, and said: “Master of the world, it says in the Torah (VaYikra, 20:10): ‘And the man that commits adultery with another man’s wife…’ David broke his covenant, is it not so?” The Creator replied to him: “David is righteous, and his holy covenant remains pure, for it is known to Me that Bat Sheva was destined for him since the creation of the world.

You are not allowed to bring death upon him….” Then Duma immediately gave up his complaints, and returned, despondent, to his place.”

Question: Why did the angel Duma want King David to die so much that he “returned, despondent, to his place” when this was unsuccessful?

Answer: Duma only helps in making clarifications. He is an angel of the Creator, he is a spiritual force.

It is written that Duma “returned, despondent, to his place” because a Klipa (shell) must also grow to be in balance with Kedusha (sanctity). Otherwise we won’t have free choice or the power of clarification. How can I clarify something if facing me is nothing that opposes me, not even someone who is as wise and strong as I am and who has nothing against me?

Duma acts against Uriah and not against David. While thanks to both of them, David clarifies his true state.

Everything that Kedusha receives, Klipa can suck and extract from it afterward. The benefit here is enormous. Thanks to this, we clarify more and more new Shevirot (shatterings). So we are compelled to perform transgressions thanks to which the Kli, vessel, the desire, is revealed to a greater depth, greater density.

This is somewhat like a well full of water. This water is Ohr Hassidim (Light of Mercy), Hesed (mercy), and the well is the Kli, the desire. As long as the desire is full of Hassadim, we don’t see it.

But when we err, we are performing a transgression and the Hassadim disappear, meaning that the water leaks out of the well, and then we see its walls. And it turns out that there are still other cracks through which we are drawn to a greater depth. The water streams even further away and you sink more deeply into desire and that is how the Kli is discovered and that is how you become familiar with it.

It is impossible to investigate the Kli while it is full of Hassadim. For Hassadim is Hesed, mercy. So the entire desire is full of Hassadim and everything is wonderful. The Hassadim cover everything like the water and don’t make it possible to carry out clarifications. Even love can be blind.

So transgressions specifically help in examining our desires. We see this in particular in regard to the wanderings of the people of Israel in the desert where they committed transgressions every step of the way. They hauled these transgressions from Egypt because they took the Egyptian vessels from there.

If your sack is full of silver and gold vessels, then you discover one vessel after another, another bad desire, and yet another. The discovery of an egoistic desire is called a transgression, yet then it becomes possible to correct it.

So the angel Duma carries out very good and great work by revealing the desires. We need to understand that “there is no cruelty in the palace of the king”; rather, all help and support each another. Yet without the understanding of Kabbalah it is impossible to understand this story that happened with King David, who seems like a criminal since he murdered a husband in order to take possession of the man’s wife.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/28/14, The Zohar

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A Losing Competition Against Time

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It isn’t easy to live in the present modern reality which gallops along at great speed and constantly keeps us under pressure. How is it possible to withstand a life like this in which changes are taking place at every moment?

Answer: Everything depends upon how people perceive this reality. If he thinks that it is very important for him  and he needs to have time to be successful, he wants to exploit everything that is happening and be more successful than others, to be the first in society, in science, in achievements, in the eyes of people. And so it is understandable that this wretch is in competition with others all the time without a moment of rest, and he never has enough time.

But there are people who are not included in this competition. And this is not because they are lazy; rather, they simply understand that all these successes are subjective. I don’t want to run in order to be the first among those who always lack the time. In general I want to rise above time, motion, and space and exist not within this phenomenon called “life,” but within that force called the source of life. And so I am already searching for how to rise to the source of life.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 4/17/14

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Angels Of Destruction

Dr. Michael Laitman“Introduction to The Book of Zohar, “Night of the Bride,” Item 131: And so it says, ‘And several myriads of angels of destruction are with him. And he (the angel Domeh) stands by the door of Gehinnom. This is because the thoughts that he brings to a person are several myriad without end. And all of these are by the door of Gehinnom.’

Question: What types of desires are called “angels of destruction”?

Answer: The angels of destruction are the desires that remove me from the environment. After all, I have no other work. The choice of the person, all of his work, is only to arrange an environment and invest as much as possible in it so that the environment will help him to give contentment to the Creator. This is mutual work and is expressed in his praying for the friends so that they will be able to give contentment to the Creator through his efforts.

This means that a closed system is created. The prayer is from him and the Kelim (vessels) are theirs. This puts him in a position where he is greater than they are since he is responsible for them, their “father and mother.” So he reaches repentance first, for this truly raises him to the level of Abba ve Ima (AVI) (father and mother ) in regard to ZON (which is the Kli, vessel, the deficiency of the others, of the environment).

And this is how each one must act: In his deficiency in regard to others, he should feel himself as small, like a mother who bows down towards her baby to feel what he is lacking. Her deficiency must be greater so that she will be able to feel his particular deficiency in her general deficiency. She must then be greater in order to bestow to him. This is how we work.

From here it follows that we don’t have anything more important than work with the collective, with the public.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/27/14, The Zohar

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Pioneers In Correction Of The World

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn our time, other than the Kabbalists, nobody remembers the principle that once proclaimed the essential rule of the Torah, “And you shall love your friend as yourself.” Among the people of Israel, this principle disappeared in the days of the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash (temple), which is in fact the destruction of this principle.

Going into exile means departing from the general rule of, “And you shall love your friend as yourself” to indifference and even unfounded hatred. But in our day, when we come to the period of correction, all those who belong to the descendants of Israel must return to it again along with all the others who feel within them an inclination towards correction of the world. This is a sign that spiritual Reshimot (genes) have already been clarified in them.

In ancient Babylon they appeared in only a small portion of the Babylonians, five thousand people out of three million. But today these Reshimot are awakened and clarified more and more.

For both these and the others, both Israel and the nations of the world, have become mixed together since then. They have developed and become perfected, and by passing through many different states, they have reached the recognition of evil and also some of the recognition of good. So today they are ready for correction.

Now in our state, that inclination, that Shevirah (breaking), that once was only in Babylon is appearing. Only toda.has Babylon spread over all of humanity. We need to pass through correction, and it is specifically Israel that must begin it.

So in the Book of Zohar it is written, “Happy are Israel among all the nations of the world.” This is because someone who receives an awakening has a wonderful opportunity to give contentment to the Creator. While for others who are not with this inclination, it will eventually come to them also.

The uniqueness of the people of Israel is that first they must begin the correction. They accept upon themselves the most difficult work, but they are happy about it and thank the Creator for having chosen them for the difficult task of being pioneers and going forward with correction of the world.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/29/14

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Effects Of The Upper Roots

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Book of Zohar says that there is a general rule: similar to the ten upper Sefirot of faith there are ten Sefirot of dirty witchcraft below. All animals on the face of earth belong to either of these two parts.

The Scriptures allow us to consume animals that belong to the ten Sefirot of sanctity and prohibits eating those animals that are a part of the ten Sefirot of wickedness.

Naturally, we are not talking about witchcraft in this world since anything that is considered witchcraft here is just a psychological impact on people and nothing but that. A prohibition to consume certain types of animals stems from the spiritual roots.

The spiritual roots bear both egoistic and altruistic sides. The egoistic part is called impure or harmful, i.e., it is not cleaned of the egoistic filth. At the same time, inanimate, vegetative, animate, and speaking properties that are based on bestowal and love of our neighbors are called pure and corrected and are suitable for further use.

In corporeality, only certain types of imprints of the upper qualities are considered impure. However, all of them are just conditional. Let’s say it is prohibited to eat pork or camel meat because they are impure. This fact can be explained by the notion that the upper forces that correspond to these animals are of an egoistic nature.

Other upper forces that resemble, for example, a chicken, a goat, or a cow are altruistic. These animals have special signs that work as imprints of spirituality in them.

In the upper world, in order to turn a desire (Malchut, the property of reception) into an altruistic quality, this desire has to be attached to Bina (the intention to bestow).

That’s why digestive systems of the majority of ruminants symbolize receiving for the sake of bestowal. Intestinal tracts of these animals and the way they consume food consists of chewing-burping, chewing-burping. It is similar to “Malchut-Bina, Malchut-Bina.

Obviously, there is nothing spiritual in these ruminants, but their way of food consumption is a physical consequence that stems out of the upper properties. This is the first point.

Secondly, the intention to bestow and the will to receive exist separately and represent the right and left lines. Our reception is limited to the amount of the intention to bestow we have. That’s why the cloven hooves of these animals represent a splitting of the right and left lines.

This explains why only those animals who have cloven hoofs and a specific type of digestive system are considered kosher in this world.

As to water animals, only fish that have fins and scales that symbolize the screen are considered kosher. There are certain restrictions on consumption of birds, and they also derive from the upper roots.

The Torah concretely lists the fauna representatives that carry a so-called “Godly seal” on them. It is said: “Know that I created them; I created nothing of the same type. You will never find it.”

Interestingly, the Torah is three thousand years old and whenever we try to find anything that is not mentioned in it, we do not succeed. Such a thing has never been found so far.

All inanimate, vegetative, animate, and speaking desires of the spiritual realm materialize in this world through physical objects or phenomena. Each of these levels is accompanied by specific requirements that are enhanced from level to level.

At the inanimate level, it is possible to consume anything at all. Practically, all that is used at this level is salt, water, and soil (there are certain types of soil that are suitable for consumption).

At the vegetative level, there also is a special type of Kashrut. Kashrut stands for the suitability of the products that symbolize different types of desires. Practically every plant is considered edible. However, there is a rule that prohibits eating fruit for three years after a tree begins to bear fruit. Only after three consecutive years of fruit bearing are people allowed to eat the fruit. Unripe or overripe fruit are prohibited to consume, etc.

The biggest restrictions apply to the animate level. It is extremely important to correctly drain blood out of animals and cut off the parts that are not good for eating. Next, it is essential to cook meat in a certain way and to a certain degree, not more, but not less. Everything is clearly explained in the Scriptures.

By the way, these rules are very good for establishing normal digestion in humans. The great Kabbalist Rambam, who attained the roots of these phenomena, wrote a cook book that is based on these rules. If we lived in accordance with these laws, our existence would be compatible with the upper world, the upper laws. Thus, we would benefit from everything around and so would our corporeal body.

If we put the above in Kabbalistic terms, everything is based on the connection between Malchut and Bina. Malchut is the property of reception, whereas Bina is the intention to bestow. When correctly connected, they represent receiving for the sake of bestowal. This type of food consumption is called kosher, since it means for the sake of bestowal, through the environment to the Creator.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 12/18/13

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 06.08.14

Preparation for the Lesson

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Mutual Guarantee”

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