Audio Version Of The Blog – 11.29.14

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio

[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/download/audio/eng_o_rav_2014-11-29_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’29.11.14′]

Know The God Of Your Fathers And Serve Him

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Torah, “Leviticus,” Kedoshim, 19:4: Do not turn to idols and do not make molten gods for yourselves: I am the Lord, your God. An idol is something we obtain a priori,  obtained without any proof and must be taken on faith without trying to comprehend it. This is not done at the level of the human being.

A person must attain the levels of bestowal and mutual love between us, reveal, study, and work with them. He should fully comprehend, understand, and feel the system with one’s heart and mind. Only then can he say that doesn’t worship idols nor accept anything randomly.

Despite the fact that this is a very difficult life, the Creator poses such problems before us so that we reach the level of Adam (human) and don’t remain on the animal level.

So we can’t afford to take anything for granted. The Creator wants us to study Him, “Know the God of your fathers, and serve Him.” That is, the greatest point of our ascent is the perception and the attainment of the Creator.

Comment: Sometimes one wants to disconnect from everything just so one would simply be carried forward.

Answer: This is how our egoism works within us. On one hand, the ego always accompanies us during the correct development. On the other hand, there’s a need for a distinct spiritual attainment, development, and absorption, otherwise one doesn’t quench their thirst or feel oneself.

Bestowal is the source for clean water that quenches the thirst.
[147912]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/26/14

Related Material:
You Shall Not Make Yourself An Idol
The Point Where You Begin
The Spiritual World Isn’t Mysticism

The Secret To A Happy Married Life

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Psychologies): “Observing for 40 years how a couple communicates with each other, psychologist John Gottman can with a 100% probability predict whether they will be happy together years later or their relationship has no future.

“Happy couples see the positive in each other, something for which they can say ‘thank you,’ hug and just be happy that life has brought him or her with such a wonderful person.

“They purposefully build a relationship of respect and gratitude. Unhappy couples, on the contrary, are looking all the time to find faults with a partner, catching his or her every mistake.

“Future unhappy couples look calm when talking about their relationship, but their heart rates were quick, their sweat glands were active, and their blood flow was fast.

“Couples who maintained a happy marriage years later, from the beginning demonstrated low physiological stress. They felt comfortable and confident, which was expressed in a caring, loving attitude to their partner. Even during an argument they can create an atmosphere of trust, warmth and love for each other.

“The main reason for divorce is disregard for the partner. Those of us who are looking for the slightest excuse to criticize and not become used to responding to partner’s requests with respect, miss 50% of the positive things that are created for them, but see the negative where there is none. They kill love. Anger and indifference mean the death of relationship.

“Compassion is the most important indicator of the stability of marriage, and the more we are practicing it, the stronger it is.

“It’s not about gifts, but how we communicate with each other every day: to actively look for a reason to be grateful for anything during the day, not to focus on the negative, not to think badly about the partner if he or she made a mistake.

“The problem of unhappy couples is often that they cannot be happy for each other. To be together and share the joy, the success of a loved one, is as important as to be close during the time of difficulties.”

My Comment: It is puzzling: Is it only in the 21st century that we have begun to understand family relationships? And in the past, was this wisdom not known to our ancestors?
[148346]

Related Material:
“Friendship Is The Key To Long-Lasting Love”
Harmony Between A Man And A Woman
If There Is No Shadow, Then There Is No Sun

Responsibility, The Light, And Predictions Of The Prophets

laitman_627_1Question: On one hand, we have to feel responsible for anti-Semitism around the world and for all bad events that happen because we are not fulfilling our role.

On the other hand, we must relate these issues only to the Creator since “there is none else besides Him.” For me, it is very confusing. I don’t know how to correctly relate to this situation.

Answer: From “there is none else besides Him,” we understand that all the problems come from Him. Who shapes them? The Creator. But why does He do it? It’s because He has to bring us to a state of complete correction (Gmar Tikkun). Why does He send troubles to us and make them so terrible? It’s because we haven’t yet achieved similarity of properties with Him to the degree that we can consider His acts as acts of benevolence.

Unless one attains revelation, one is unable to comprehend the whole picture. By applying efforts without realizing the essence of why exactly we are exerting, we bring even more pleasure to the Creator. We have to accept this state of affairs.

There are several aspects to be considered in this respect. By all means, the Creator organizes everything in accordance with the program that He planned beforehand and through which He wants to bring all of us to unity and make our connection similar to the Upper Light. For that, all shattered fragments of the creation must reconnect and bestow to each other, thus achieving similarity with the bestowing nature of the Light

This is the way all 600,000 fragments should reunite so that the form of mutual bestowal among them becomes similar to the Light that fills them. This kind of bestowal in fact is the Light that fulfills them. There is no other Light! There is only the property of bestowal and love.

When we correct ourselves and relate to each other with love and bestowal, the Light fills our vessel, Kli. There will never be anything besides it! We will build these kinds of relationships among us with the help of the Creator, the Returning Light.

So, it means that we receive energy from Above that lets us connect with each other to the extent of our need to connect; our unity is in fact the Light that fulfills us. We don’t need anything besides it, the overall connection that we build is the Creator. We are the ones who “make the Creator!” We are the ones who have to replenish all the states that we go through. Anything that ever happens to us is a revelation of shattering.

This explains why prophets write about things that are about to happen before the end of correction. They describe wars, massacres, and other terrible events because they saw the general vessel, desire, as completely fractured from top to bottom. At each of its layers, they foresaw what might happen. They sensed the future because they were aware of the terrible relationships among the elements of the broken vessel.

However, their predictions will come true only if we do not correct the evil that is gradually revealing in us. The evil is disclosed in accordance with our readiness to correct it. When we are ready, we’ll go through the process of revelation of evil in us with delight, as Baal HaSulam wrote: “I am happy to see emerging sinners.”
[148065]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/19/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
Preventing A Third Intifada, Part 3
The Kabbalists About The Nation Of Israel And The Nations Of The World, Part 11
Regarding Terror, Rising Prices And The Unification Of Society, Part 1

Two Forces That Create A Human Being

laitman_232_08In general, our developmental process is about expansion and consolidation (“breathing”) that combines both forces. They oppose each other and at the same time preserve mutual harmony.

The same natural mechanism can be applied to human relationships. We too feel detachment and closeness, cooling down and burning.

Thus, we go through the same developmental forms as the universe. The difference is that we are at a higher level of consciousness. It is obvious that we cannot “devote ourselves” only to one of these major forces since we won’t survive by only inhaling or only exhaling.

Life is a contrast of opposites. If everything is good and wonderful, if sweetness is not punctuated by at least a drop of spice or bitterness, we lose the sense of taste and fail to find the essence in life. It is an unbearable condition.

Only a combination of both forces (positive and negative) gives us a correct sensation and then a spark of life surfaces between them. Otherwise, everything vanishes, dissolves in monotony.

Question: How do both forces, the processes of expansion and consolidation, manifest in the history of humanity?

Answer: On one hand, we settled throughout the world, we are separate and detached from each other, we hate others, and fight with them. We go beyond the former boundaries of the previous limitations, no longer wishing to observe them, we break our agreements, contracts, unions, thus “liberating” ourselves of our responsibilities.

The force that pushes us towards this kind of behavior is egoism. The higher it is, the less we are willing to be connected with anybody or anything. Nor do we want to owe anything to anyone.

On the other hand, the force of consolidation and togetherness also impacts us, making us connect and group together, promoting a feeling that we need each other, forcing us to look for the reasons to unite, find parallels, and experience closeness.

There is a reverse opportunity: the force of expansion opens our hearts to the entire world, whereas the force of consolidation comes out of the egoism and makes us seek personal benefit in connecting with others.

Everything depends on which one of these two forces form our world outlook: bad or good.

One way or the other, it is the interaction between both forces that originates a sensation of life in us. That’s why it is very important to balance these energies out so that both of them are oriented toward the right direction.

For example, we are prone to idealizing our fantasies about a “correct” couple that resembles two “doves.” However, in the real world, families are usually based on conflicts. They need “spice” without which their marriage becomes bland; it is about “logs” that should be added to the fire of love.

So, both forces have to be fully implemented; although, both of them should lead to achieving one, unified goal. Their combination has to be based on equilibrium and provide maximal effectiveness that comes from a joint power.

Question:  How can we create and maintain the balance between the two forces?

Answer: We should settle on one goal for both of them.

In essence, they are the forces of bestowal and receiving, attraction and repulsion. It is not important, at which level or in what sphere they are implemented—whether it is mechanics, electricity, or other fields of human activities.

At this time, we are talking about the influence of both forces inside us and among us, at a sensual level. Accordingly, we should balance out the intensity of our egoism with the altruistic force of bestowal.

Initially the force of reception dominates us: We want to attract and have in our possession everything that might be beneficial for us. Moreover, we don’t want others to have anything that is good for us. This is our original, genuine state. We should find ways to balance this bad force.

Our efforts to equalize the bad force within us will lead us to a system in which we maintain an internal harmony as a healthy cell of an organism. Together, vigorous cells replenish each other and take good care of their neighbors. If this happens, we are allowed to receive so that we can further benefit others.

Thus, we are forming a general organism, all parts of which are integrally connected. We generate a new “body,” a new life at the speaking level, above the inanimate, vegetative, and animate.

In other words, the human level is not about us the way we are today. At this time, we only occupy the top of the animate level. When we build a correct system, it will be called “a Man” (Adam). To the extent it contains both forces that are balanced with each other, we’ll start sensing nature in more depth and breadth.

Question: What do we lack today to be able to create a system that is adequate for the human level?

Answer: There is a deficiency of the bestowing force. At this time only the will to receive is acting in us.

Currently, we are transitioning from the animate level to a human level. However, it is only a force of receiving that we cultivate. Any of our bestowing actions are meant only to receive more and more. If not for that, we would not be able to give away anything at all.

So, no matter what we do, everything about us is just receiving, whether it is obvious or hidden. The will to receive rules everything, whereas we don’t have the force of bestowal at all.

However, if we find the way to generate a force of bestowal among us, to balance out the energy of receiving with the power of bestowal and then maintain the balance between both forces, they will turn us into a new creature called a “Man.” A new type of consciousness will grow in us. It will be built on both forces that allow us to form a system of bestowal above the receiving structure. When we manage to build both systems, we’ll sense the upper level of nature, the speaking level.

Today, we haven’t yet reached this level. We lack the second part of it, the force of bestowal. As a result, we cannot actually be connected and now we resemble a bunch of nuts in a sack that are held together only with the help of the external pressure; otherwise, they would just scatter.
[147999]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” 3/2/14

Related Material:
A Contradiction That Brings Balance
Between Plus And Minus
QuantumQuantum Entanglement Affects The Past