Audio Version Of The Blog – 03.23.15

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A World With The Dimension Of Bestowal

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, Introduction to The Book of Zohar, Item 40:  And I know that it is completely unaccepted in the eyes of some philosophers. They cannot agree that man, whom they think of as low and worthless, is the center of the magnificent creation. But they are like a worm that is born inside a radish and thinks that the world of the Creator is as bitter and as dark as the radish it was born in.

But as soon as the shell of the radish [of one’s egoism] breaks and it peeps out [comes out of the egoism, of the intention, “for his own sake,” and enters bestowal and love for others], it wonders [in awe of the upper world that it revealed] and says: “I thought the whole world was the size of my radish, but now I see before me a grand, beautiful, and wondrous world

This is what we feel when we discover a hidden treasure that was always in our possession without our knowing about it. Now we can open the gate and see what is happening beyond the limits of this world in which we have reached a blind alley. When the exit from it is discovered, we see before us a “grand, beautiful, and wondrous world.”

Question: What did the worm see when it came out of the radish?

Answer: It saw the sun, the flowers, and the blue sky. Imagine what a difference this was compared to the dark and bitter radish! We are like this worm when it is disclosed that the world is infinite, that death does not exist, that life here is worse than death, and that we’re in it. The world is revealed before us with absolutely different dimensions. We begin to see the world in a dimension of bestowal and love, and then its boundaries are changed.

We now perceive our world in a rather limited form and our possibilities within it are limited, our lives are so short. Suddenly all of these limitations disappear and the boundaries are expanded. Before then we existed within our ego, and there it was possible to receive only as much as it succeeded for us. But for the characteristic of bestowal that we acquire in place of the ego, there are no limitations and borders. Therefore we feel life as eternal and not limited by anything.

For this we only need to come out of the radish and see the true world.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 2/15/15

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True Religion And The Religion Of Exile

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: As I understand it, the wisdom of Kabbalah came from Judaism and all of the Kabbalists of the past were very religious. What is the real connection between the wisdom of Kabbalah and religion?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah is the foundation of true “religion.” Baal HaSulam writes about this in the article, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose.”

The three major religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—are based upon the teachings of our father Abraham. But Abraham specifically discovered the wisdom of Kabbalah, which is the foundation of all religions, and he described his discovery in the Kabbalistic book, Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation).

The main principle of the religion that was discovered by Abraham is “And you shall love your friend as yourself.” So it is also written, “And you shall love your friend as yourself is the great general rule of the Torah.” In principle, this is meant in every sense. Or minimally: “What is hateful to you, don’t do to your friend.”

The entire Torah speaks about good relationships between people. Relationships of this kind existed among the people of Israel before the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash (Temple) 2,000 years ago, which was destroyed because of the sudden eruption of unfounded hatred.

Everything revolves around only one point: Good or bad attitudes among the Jews determine what will happen with them and the entire world in general. This is precisely the reason for anti-Semitism; it is because the Jewish people cannot reach agreement among themselves and because of this the whole world suffers.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is involved only with how to attain the right connection between us, and this is the foundation of the entire religion. And what has been considered religion in the last 2,000 years is the maintenance of all kinds of traditions that seem to be enough for people.

This is the form religion takes in exile when we were separated from the principle of “And you shall love your friend as yourself,” from the yearning to unite. This is the form in which the Jewish people had to ripen for 2,000 years, to go out to the nations of the world and be mingled with them, and after that to return to their land.

But after we physically returned to the land of Israel, we needed to revive the wisdom of Kabbalah, so that it would live among us and help us build a people and a nation in the same form as it once was: with love and unity between us.

There are no restrictions on this. If a person studies the method of connection, it makes no difference if he is religious or secular, what country or community he came from, or if a person is a man or a woman. Everyone must study this method and as soon as possible because our good future depends upon this.

The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to realize this unity, and in a practical manner makes feeling this possible during the workshops and in the connection in the discussion circles that we have brought everywhere. Thousands of people have already participated in our roundtables, and they feel that within half an hour of discussion according to the method of the wisdom of Kabbalah, they suddenly experienced an unusual feeling, an illuminating, an awakening of inspiration and warmth. And this feeling spreads to all the participants.

Comment: I was able to participate in these roundtable workshops that were transmitted according to the ancient wisdom of Kabbalah. And I remember that in the beginning the people who gathered were very skeptical and even cynical, they regretted the time they were wasting. But at the end of the evening, people simply floated from excitement and emotion, they were moved to tears and embraced each other. This was an outbreak of vital force and warmth that melted all of the ice and indifference that separates our hearts.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 2/15/15

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A Sabbath Of Solemn Rest In The Seventh Year

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What does the following refer to? Leviticus 25:3 – 25:4: You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce, But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard.

Answer: All six years of working the land are six years of correcting our desire when we constantly work on it. And in the seventh year the corrected desire will be filled with the Light of the Creator.

Then we don’t need to do anything since the Light fills the general desire and connects, weakens, and dominates it in such a way that the main thing for us is not to interfere.

Which is to say, all the actions that are incumbent upon us must be directed in such a way that we don’t disturb the Creator from sinking into us, filling, connecting, and placing us together as one single package in which all the characteristics of the Creator on the levels of the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking are connected by the one and only Light into a single whole.

And this is called the seventh year, which is the year of solemn rest. Therefore, this is called Shabbat (the Sabbath), the freedom and cessation from work. But actually there is very strong inner work, only it is directed in the opposite direction as I nullify myself and don’t do anything, making it possible for the Creator to act.

At the same time, I am together with Him in full accord and unity with Him. I work, but my work is summed up in synchronized action with the Creator, and this is very complicated and difficult.

So I must prepare myself for rest so that all of the density of the ego, the entire six years during which I corrected it, will bring me to the seventh year, the year of solemn rest, the year of the Shmittah (letting go).

After that will come the eighth, ninth, and tenth (millenial) years, which correspond to attaining the level of GAR, the levels of Bina, Hochma, and Keter. In them I attain the mind of the Creator, His plans, and He, Himself. This is the highest level, which is called the secrets of the Torah.

What is meant by the secrets of the Torah? After I attain the seventh millennium, all of my images, the entire apparatus of my understanding and consciousness is so transformed that only then will I be able to understand what the three upper levels symbolize: the eighth, ninth, and tenth millennia.

Question: Is it possible to say that the six years of working the land are plowing, elevating, and transforming the ego?

Answer: Yes, I transform the ego like we transform the ground when we plow it before sowing. The spiritual seeds of the person cannot grow if he doesn’t transform his desires (the ground). This is realized during the six years, and in the seventh year the fulfillment happens through the Light of what was planted.

Question: Is it only then that the sprouts appear?

Answer: No, they come out every year. It is just that during the six years (Hesed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, and Yesod) I work the ground in such a way that in the seventh year, all that I attained in the work, that I dug into my ego, is ready to be filled by the Light.

So the Light realizes this without my actions. I now finish my work through opposite actions since  I must help the Light do this from its side and not from the side of the ground.

Question: What does “fulfillment by the Light” mean?

Answer: When the desires of the person completely transform to be similar to the Light in quantity and quality, he then feels that the Light is found within him.

In fact, the Light was always in him, except now the person begins to feel it because he prepared his senses, his understanding, for this. He sees that even before then, he was in the world of the Creator, and that everything was filled with Light, “there is none else besides Him,” but now he feels it and discovers it. This is the seventh millenium.

So Shabbat is called a sacred day because it is the sum of all of the immense work that a person passes through to attain the Creator, to discover Him within himself.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 8/13/14

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The Mistake Of Those Who Don’t Care

Dr. Michael LaitmanHumanity has reached a dead end that is already making itself felt. We live in one global modern village and we reluctantly discover that we have to connect, to begin to think and talk about that. It is time to take our place on the human level within the general system.

A Hazard to the System

All of nature, the levels of the still, vegetative and animate, is global, integral and mutually connected in all its parts. All the created beings from reeds to the biggest predators are welded into one system, and together, sustain the general order. On the other hand, we are not part of that picture. Man is the only true and harmful part in nature. It is because we have no limits in the satisfaction of our needs. This is typical of the whole human race in every aspect of life, including family, work, social relations, etc.

The rate of divorce, for example, is growing and so is the abyss between parents and children. Young people find it increasingly hard to find a mate and start a strong family. These extreme changes have taken place in the last 50 years or less. They have even had an impact on the Jewish people who always cared about helping young people marry and helped with their starting a home.

Inseparable Individuals

The reason for all that is our ego, which has reached its last phase.

Egoism refers to the fact that I cannot identify with others. I feel others only to the extent that I can benefit from him or her. Ideally, I wish to squeeze everything I can from others. This isn’t an accusation, of course, but a psychological fact about human nature. This is our nature.

However, on the other hand, we have locked the whole world into mutual ties of a single network that cannot be broken, in the global economic, financial, social, family, and political development. The problem is that this network is full of hate, conflicts, confrontations, egoism, and pride.

Consequently the world shakes as a result of the continuous obstacles, worries, and threats. The lack of unity between us invokes inadaptability to nature on the whole and so the world suffers terribly.

Not My Business?

Question: Most people live an ordinary life and although they profit at the expense of each other, they don’t set any special traps and don’t plot against those around them. So where do they go wrong? It is hard to see yourself as an absolute egoist in the continuous flow of daily worries, in the constant battle to survive.

Answer: That’s true. But if you justify yourself that way, you still suffer. So you should find out why. This requires a sound scientific approach even before we refer to the wisdom of Kabbalah, which sums up and includes the whole world.

A rational scrutiny indicates that we suffer because we cannot get along, cannot get along with one another.

You may ask what can you expect of a poor man who goes to work in the morning and comes back in the evening. But, these miserable poor people have created a network of seven billion parts that lack the right connections between nodes. This is the reason that we are all opposite from the unity embedded in nature.

What is required of us today is the correct unity and connection. We will not end this war if we don’t understand the problem.

But each of us shuts himself off in his little corner:

– I don’t know anything, what do you want of me?

– You feel bad. Don’t you want to correct and change things?

– I want to, but it isn’t my fault; I simply live my ordinary life.

This is no way to deal with problems. We gradually sink more deeply into dangerous situations and the pace of events is accelerating from one year to the next. Some of these events are already behind us and we should learn from them. We have to finally realize what is going on instead of hiding in our den, pretending that it doesn’t concern me, since humanity is made of such people who say that they have nothing to do with such things.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 2/15/15

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Unseen Reward

laitman_534Question: What reward do I get for my efforts? After all, we don’t see the way ahead, and the past is already gone. So where is the reward that makes it possible for me to continue to advance?

Answer: You receive an enormous reward, a very respectable reward. If people were to see what you get, they would be very envious of you. This would embitter their lives. However, you must learn to appreciate this reward, because even though it is right in front of you, you don’t notice it. The upper world, the spiritual state that you receive, is really close, but you don’t feel it. You don’t have the tools through which you can appreciate it.

If you were to give a child a red rattle and something of value with an unattractive color, he will grab the rattle and throw away the valuable object. We also don’t feel what we get.

You made the effort; you came to the lesson from a distant city. So, you need to feel that a large sum of money has been put into your account, at least a hundred thousand dollars. If you were to feel this, then you would come every day, for you would have enough incentive! However, in order not to increase your egoistic desire and think only about the compensation and count the bills every day, you can’t see the payoff. Even though there is a payoff, you aren’t shown it so that you won’t run after it. Therefore, your payoff is being poured constantly into your hands and is gathering into a big pile. You don’t need to be worried; nothing will be lost. You will get everything once you know how to use it correctly. Then, you can take the entire payoff that you received during the period of Lo Lishma and use it in order to bestow. The main thing is to understand how we get to Lishma, in other words, how we attract the Light that Reforms. Therefore, as it is written, “I have created the evil inclination, I have created for it the Torah as a spice, for the Light in it reforms it, for the illumination in it will bring him back to the good” (Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin, 30b, Eicha Rabbah).

All of Infinity fills everything, even though we don’t feel it. In the meantime, we still need to use it as the Light that Reforms, and then it will build a Tzimtzum—Masach, Ohr Hozer, Rosh, a new Partzuf—in us and will teach us to receive the Light within the Partzuf.

The Light does everything, and I only invite it. It is only up to me to know what action must be done, and the Upper Light will bring me even that intelligence. It is up to me to be in constant contact with the Light and demand it, step by step, action after action.

In this way, I adhere to what is higher, building my soul, my Kli of bestowal, from within my desire to receive.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/23/14, Shamati #8

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The Day Of The Revelation Of The Creator

laitman_933Question: The weekly Torah reading Shemini (eight), speaks about this, that after seven years of dedication, on the day of the start of the service in the Tabernacle, Moses calls to Aaron and his sons to make special sacrifices. Moses and Aaron go out to bless the people, and the greatness of the Creator appears before all of the people of Israel. What is the meaning of the “eighth day?”

Answer: The first seven days correspond to the Sefirot: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod and Malchut, whereas the eighth day is attainment, the elevation of Malchut to Bina. Bina is the discovery of the beginning of divinity among us.

In the Pirush HaGadol, it is said that the people were concerned about whether the Creator would be revealed. It depended on how they would go through the first seven days, in other words, the absorption of the lower characteristics that are found in a person (Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod), which enter into Malchut, and how Malchut reacts and absorbs these characteristics, as a result of which Bina will be revealed in it. This is called the revelation of the Creator because the Creator doesn’t exist on His own; He doesn’t exist.

We must understand the relativity of our discernments, our perception of reality. When we say that the Creator doesn’t exist, we mean that we cannot perceive Him, that we cannot define Him. From our point of view, He doesn’t exist as long as we haven’t become equivalent to Him with the characteristics of bestowal and love through the connection between us.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 12/18/13

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Repentance Through The Group

Laitman_524_01Question: What does it mean to look at all problems through the “center of the group?”

Answer: Anyone can say that everything comes from the Creator. This is not a problem. The question is how does this obligate me and how do I react from my side?

We don’t need a group to humbly accept blows. And we don’t need a group just to ask about the Creator. But to be directed towards Him, we require a group.

So, as soon as we begin to ask ourselves about the meaning of life, we are brought to the group somehow. All of our work is done in a group. And this is not done in order to receive bestowal from the Creator. I get it this way from the outside world also. But the group makes it possible for me to react to this bestowal. For the problem is not about how to receive His bestowal; rather, it is how to respond to it, how to create contact with the Creator from my side.

I need to correct myself from within in order to be connected with the Creator. This is because the levels of ascent on the spiritual ladder are my gradual changes, levels of integration into the attainment of greater and greater resemblance and equivalence. I need to speak His language, to carry out the same actions, to approach His understanding, to be more and more congruent to Him.

Repentance Through The Group
Everything depends on me. He will reach me from anywhere; there is no doubt about this. Besides Him, there is nobody who operates on me. But without a group I have no possibility of responding. I simply don’t enter into the same dimension, the same space, the same matrix, and the same conditions in which He is found.

If I want to transform into being like the Creator, then I can do this by adhering to the group more and more. I need to create His image, and for this I need to connect the group with me until I ultimately transform to be like Him. It is necessary to pass through all the stages, 125 levels, in order to resemble the Creator. And all of this happens through the group.
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From the Convention In France “One For All And All For One” 5/11/14, Lesson 5

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 03.23.15

Writings of Rabash, Letter 66

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 6, Part 15 “Histaklut Pnimit,” Item 1 

[media 3] [media 4]

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Inheritance of the Land” 

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