Audio Version Of The Blog – 12.02.14

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The Mission Of Sages

Dr. Michael LaitmanMarks the fourth: a generation before the coming of the Messiah will decrease the number of Torah Sages, and all the people will languish in mourning and weeping. (“At the end of days. The Jewish predictions about the future of humanity.” Chapter One “The Signs Indicating the Imminent Deliverance”)

Beginning with the twentieth century and beyond, for several generations, sages, the people attaining the Creator, gradually started to disappear.

A sage isn’t someone who knows a lot but the one who sees the true state of the universe, is in contact with the Creator, understands and feels how the universe exists.

Today, such people almost ceased to exist among us. Even if there are some of them left, they don’t want to reveal themselves. They have a different mission, to nourish our world with the Upper Light, to be a conduit between spiritual world and our world, where a little bit of Light is required for the material world existence in a state of a “standby,” ready to be used as electronic equipment, which isn’t cut off but placed in a standby mode.

Question: So is it a state of tension right before the jump?

Answer: No, this state is almost dead, deeply asleep. If during the 16-17th centuries there was an upsurge of Hasidism, in the 18th century came relative peace. In the XIX century there were various revisionist trends, and in the XX century mankind started its fullest descent. So now, at the beginning of the XXI century, the world is plunging into darkness. The Kabbalists’ task is to bring the world out of this state to the next level.
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From KabTV’s “Will the Messiah Come?” 11/14/14

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The Force Of Good And The Force Of Evil, Part 1

laitman_207Question: All religions imagine the world as if its ruled by the two forces of good and evil. An ordinary person perceives the world the same way by feeling he’s being exposed to bad and good forces. What is the good force, causing all the good things, and what is the evil force that brings all the troubles?

Many people dream that in this world there is only one force of good and wonder why there is a force of evil? This duality is a constant struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, destruction and construction; it accompanies us throughout our lives. Why is there a confrontation between the force of good and the force of evil?

Answer: There is no confrontation. It’s just us that feel some forces as good and others as evil. In nature there are no good or bad forces. Indeed, there are opposing forces, the plus and the minus, attraction and repulsion, the light and the darkness.

Life is impossible without the two opposing forces, there is no metabolism in living organisms, no metabolic process, and there is no connection between subatomic particles or between space objects in the universe, uniting them into one body.

Life is always based on the confrontation between the two forces, and flows in the “middle line” that connects them both. Life appears in the subject or body in which these opposing forces interact. When they reach relative equilibrium, then the next step of the renewed life is born.

That is, the opposing forces establish a certain harmony between themselves during their encounter in the material. It turns out, the opposing subatomic forces, the electrons and protons, build the entire atoms, which join together in a molecule.

Molecules of the opposite forces already can decide between themselves what is good and what is bad for their compound. This is why they attract, assimilate, and absorb useful substances, and extract harmful ones. This is how metabolism occurs during which life survives and develops.

All of this is done at the expense of the proper alignment of two opposing forces. There is no development and life without it. Otherwise, there could be no development of our universe consisting only of inanimate matter and especially vegetative matter. The combination of the opposing forces on the vegetative level is even more complex, and on the animate level the complexity is more intricate.

There is a difficult investigation that takes place inside one’s mind and perception, the definition of good and evil on all levels. Our mind is built on the fact that we constantly analyze the struggle of opposing forces and look for the most benefit from any form of their connection.

It’s impossible to use only one force without the other, only in their interaction. That’s the way life goes.

On the still, vegetative, and animate levels the system works fine, is developing well. If sometimes we see some disasters in nature, it’s only because we evaluate their relevancy to ourselves. But in fact, the whole universe—still, vegetative, and animate worlds—are moving under the influence of positive and negative forces that interact with each other and move evolution forward.

Everything is fine until it comes to the human. These two forces of “good” and “evil,” as we call them, also affect a person. If we knew the essence of the program of nature and kept the balance of positive and negative forces, then we would live quietly and peacefully.

The problem is that a person has freedom of choice. One chooses the balance of positive and negative forces at will. This is where our initial spoiled nature manifests itself, and as a result, we make more pleasant and convenient decisions instead of the correct ones.

We are more interested in profit than in truth. This is why we begin to lay a curved path, one that isn’t in the middle between the negative and positive forces that must be equal and properly combined with each other to promote development. Instead, we are always inclined to follow a convenient way, and at the expense of others.

We are all parts of integral nature, and there we must be in total harmony with the inanimate, vegetative, and animate worlds, evolving in the same direction with them. Nevertheless, if we were to maintain a balance between the two forces by exercising the freedom of choice while keeping them in harmony, we would develop properly.

We wouldn’t allow ourselves to use the forces of nature more than we need to in order to live harmoniously with each other and the environment. Our life would be simple, but serene. We’d get what we need for our existence from nature, and we would use the rest of the forces for our own internal development.

All of the misfortunes of mankind began when humanity began to produce more goods than it needed for life. This is the turning point where humanity began to deteriorate. From this point on we’ve lost the balance of forces and started to turn them as was convenient to our egoism.

The general scheme is as follows: There is a positive force, a negative force, and we are in the middle, the people with our own egoism. If we were to use these two forces of nature in order to balance our lives and if we would implement all of the erupting egoism for our internal, spiritual growth only, then we would rise to the next level called “man.”

Our material life, that is, the life of our bodies on the animate level, with everything they need like food and family would have remained at the bottom in a balanced form, in the same state in which it should be. We would use our egoism to bring balance into the two opposing forces and rise to the spiritual level, to spiritual life.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 6/3/14

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A Dog That Chases Its Tail

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Professional activity attracts a person by the opportunity to create and get renewed. How much comes from me towards this renewal and how much comes from the supporting environment that appreciates me? I want to be proud of myself, to be respected, etc. Can creativity become a trap, like a mousetrap?

Answer: I feel some renewal every time I work creatively. There is another painting, a film, a performance, and a song. I sort of die while working at it, as usually occurs among creative people. I write, make films, compose music, and there’s a certain niche, where a person is like the Creator. One creates and feels renewed with each creative piece. It is a trap.

This is the life for some people involved in creative work. At the same time, they don’t feel pleasure in anything else; they neglect everything else and are ready to write with their own blood. The most important thing for them is to create a new picture or make a new discovery, because this action fulfills their needs. Creation is inside them, and that’s why nothing else worries them.

For a person absorbed in creative works, there’s no enjoyment in food, sex, family, wealth, or power. If a person thinks about that, then he doesn’t produce creatively; he becomes no different than the others. Today people like this are harder to come by. Today creativity is being used for profit and success, becoming a kind of business.

Question: King Solomon concludes at the end of a reflection on labor and work, “And I started to hate all the work which I’ve done under the sun.” You call it a trap. Why?

Answer: Because it doesn’t lead to the goal! The artist, too, like a dog, chases its tail, only feeling pleasure sometimes during the cycles of one’s work. We do the same by changing jobs, family, even our country, and still feel the void, though at a different level.

Question: Solomon, in “Ecclesiastes,” says with a shiver that the next area is personal and family relations. Ultimately, there is no happiness there, and the modern statistics confirms this. What can be more natural than family ties? A person feels happy at one’s wedding and during a child’s birth.

Answer: This is the way nature has it so we continue the human race. The general objective of the development of mankind in the process of evolution is to have each person ask: Why do I live?

This question and its correct implementation separate us from the animals. Otherwise we are animals. I just live, work, save money for a vacation, house, and other things, take care of life’s chores, and it has no beginning and no logical end. For what?
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 5/23/13

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Regarding Terror, Rising Prices And The Unification Of Society, Part 3

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: You suggest contending with the rise in prices with the help of connection and unity of the society so that it will become more equal and balanced? How can the thoughts of people lower the prices in practice?

Answer: In a society, if the general opinion prevails that it requires more equality and balance, this will influence even the capitalists, that this is apparently beneficial and profitable for them. This is because they are also found under the influence of society, and these thoughts are also conveyed to them.

It is not even obligatory to talk about this; they will feel the general desire. This is called the influence of the environment on a person. The main thing is that in the face of this example of lowering prices, each one will understand the principle that is to be used to solve various problems. If we attain unity in society, then we can not only lower the cost of living, but also strengthen security, health, education, and reduce unemployment.

We have a mechanism in our hands which acts in every realm of life. Social consensus is a unique power that makes it possible to solve all problems in society. It even removes the external threats that don’t seem to be directly connected to our inner unity, such as from the intifada and anti-Semitism.

The idea is that here the same principle is at work. All of humanity is nourished by the people of Israel. And the other people feel this and blame Israel for their problems. If the people of Israel unites within itself, then it will be good for all of humanity.

And this must be a good social consensus, and not as it is with the nationalists and the fascists. The agreement is based upon love, concessions, equality, closeness, and warmth.  “And you shall love your friend as yourself” is the basis for the people of Israel. The time has come to remember that “All of Israel are friends.” This is part of the culture of our people that is always concerned about mutual help, although it seems that now we have forgotten this.

Once this system of mutual help was based upon religious tradition, but for some time it hasn’t existed in this previous form. We only need to revive it, return to that form in which the people of Israel always existed.

Question: Do you think that society is ready to have such a strong influence on a person?

Answer: There are many studies that prove that a person is fully found under the influence of the environment. Even apes on an isolated island suddenly begin to behave identically as apes on a neighboring island. We are found in a system of natural laws.

Journalists complain that without coordination between them, they give identical titles to articles that come out on the same morning in different newspapers. Thoughts roam the world and are passed from one to another, for all of us are connected to a single system.

The world has become global and interconnected, like a small village. And this is not thanks to the Internet, but because we have developed to such a state that our desires, thoughts, and inner feelings are connected with all people in the world.

This also helps in the development of external connections: McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, the Internet, and the English language are in every corner of the world. This unification fulfills all the hard work for our unification. As a result of this, we are beginning to understand and feel each other to a greater degree, and to have more influence over each other.

And here the crisis erupts; the ego doesn’t let us maintain good connections, rather only bad connections. If in general there were no connection, this wouldn’t be so bad since there wouldn’t be any dependence on each other, neither good nor bad. But today, a connection is created between us and this connection is bad, causing a general crisis throughout the world.

And the Jews, the people of Israel, are responsible for the emergence from the crisis. Only they can change the general manner of connection. These connections are already impossible to rend, and it is possible only to correct them into good connections.

We must gradually get used to unity and connection being the mechanism, the means, for any changes. And the changes can take either a good direction or a bad direction, for unity can also be Nazism. “Fascism” is translated as unification, but such unification is not for the good of society. If we don’t want the world to unite on the basis of fascism, we must present it with an example of a good connection.
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From a Talk, 4/13/14

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Opening The Channels Makes It Possible For The Light To Work

Dr. Michael LaitmanSpiritual work is called serving the Creator, for it is He that carries out all the work. I don’t work in the spiritual world; rather, I only invite the Light to work, activate some connections, and make it possible for the Light to pass through them and organize everything.

So it is enough for me to think about correction. Even a seemingly regular person in this world attracts the Light through his thoughts.

Only the Creator, the Light, acts and influences, whereas we only correct the connections, open the channels, and make it possible for the Light to work in all parts of the system. So dissemination is the only possibility of bringing the system to correction.

Baal HaSulam writes that nobody can carry out the work in someone else’s place. “Just as faces are not the same, so opinions and characteristics are not the same.” So we must not lose even a single person in this world. If he were to disappear, nobody could carry out this work in his place.

Through our dissemination, we bring a person out of the dung into which he delves his whole life. We attract him to real work, to the same place in the overall system where a channel of Light is opened for him.

After this, he does the same thing by activating within himself the channels that come out from him. But because he stands behind this chain, everything that he does passes through me and I enjoy all of his work. So the more the quantity and quality of the students grows, the higher the teacher rises.

Think about how the group can rise in this way. With its help we organize complete circuits that are involved with the wisdom of Kabbalah or Integral Education.

Essentially, we disseminate the same principle in both the wisdom of Kabbalah and Integral Education: “There is none else beside Him,” and there is nothing else to disseminate. The entire wisdom of Kabbalah speaks only about this. And the integral method also speaks about the same thing, only in other words.

There is no difference between Integral Education and the wisdom of Kabbalah. Simply stated,  if a person doesn’t have a point in the heart and he doesn’t yearn to attain the upper world, we explain everything to him in the concepts of this world by speaking about the general integral system and about the world as a single global village.

This is speaking about the same thing, only the words are chosen according to the audience. But even for these people, and for others, our intent is to convey the principle of “There is none else beside Him.”
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From the Congress In Verona “Day Two” 11/22/14, Lesson 4

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Why Is There No Answer Still?

laitman_571_02Everything depends on the efforts exerted by a person. It’s natural that every time we discover a bigger desire. This is why a bigger effort is required of us, more desperation for which there is no answer.

Again, we make efforts, and again reveal a greater desire. So again and again until we employ the full measure of effort and frustration.

As a result of all these efforts, they remain unanswered; a realization comes to us signifying that we have nothing to depend on! Everything is in the hands of the upper force, and if only it will have mercy on us then we can start working towards bestowal.

We change and become more aware of what a true prayer is, adhesion, and dependence upon the upper force at every stage of these efforts. It becomes clear why there is no answer still: because our prayer is impure. It hides an egoistic intention for oneself.

It’s impossible to reduce the number of these unsuccessful attempts because every penny is added to the total bill. We are obliged to go through them all one by one, and it all depends on the speed of our commitment towards this sprint, it depends if we don’t apply brakes when the Light is beckoning ahead or pushing us back, or doesn’t work.

Finally, we come to a genuine prayer, knowing what we require while agreeing with this request and desiring it. It already emanates from us, because we really want to achieve bestowal, without any regard for ourselves, desiring such bestowal with all our heart and soul. We believe that there is no better state than the power of devotion to bestowal, to the Creator, and we ask only of this.

Because all of these actions, our request transforms from egoistic to altruistic, then it reforms and becomes a correct cry, which receives an answer that comes from above.

It’s impossible to get anything without a need for it. All of our work and all of the states we find ourselves in are essentially intended for us so we ask for the correct things, which previously had already been prepared for us. As soon as we ask for them, we immediately get an answer.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/26/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.02.14

Writings of Rabash Shlavei HaSulam,” “Come Unto Pharaoh-2”

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The Book of Zohar “Introduction,” “General Explanation for All Fourteen Commandments and How They Divide Into Seven Days of Creation,” Item 6

[media 3] [media 4]

Talmud Eser Sefirot Vol. 6, Part 16, Item 54

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Mutual Guarantee,” Item 23

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