Audio Version Of The Blog – 08.21.15
Posted on August 21st, 2015
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Question: Which nation is the happiest nation in the world?
Answer: The happiest people are the Papuans (the inhabitants of New Guinea), who walk around half naked and don’t think about anything but hunting in order to eat. It says in Pirkei Avot: “He who has more assets has more worries,” and “the more you know, the more you suffer.”
Question: How can we become the happiest nation in the world?
Answer: The happiest nation is the nation that will be in accordance with the plan of creation: advancing in the same pace, in the same direction, according to the instructions from above that spread in nature and which nature fulfills in us. If we precede the instructions from above and fulfill them by understanding them, nature will not pressure us in any way and will not push us from behind and be forced to place obstacles before us. In that case, we will live in heaven on earth: a wonderful climate, a wonderful socialistic society, abundance, life free of diseases, everything we can only wish for! We will see that people are happy to meet us and we will be happy to meet them, and everything will be balanced. Nature that is totally balanced in all its parts is heaven on earth.
However, all that can be fulfilled only if we understand how the upper law is fulfilled, how it pressures us systematically and leads us somewhere, and if we begin to change by ourselves before it brings down the upper influence on us. Therefore it says in the Torah, that the Creator created the ego that should push us forward, but if we use the force called the Torah or the Light of correction from above, in addition to the ego, we will be able to correct the ego by it in advance, and thus will not feel any impulses or negative pressures in it but only positive ones. You will actually look for how to use and fulfill the ego by yourself, in order to advance independently. This is called freedom!
But it isn’t the same freedom when you don’t know what to do and you jump in every direction like a child who runs around in a room. Freedom means understanding the thought of creation, understanding its wonderful goal, when you can advance towards it independently, by yourself, and not by being spurred to do so.
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From KabTV’s “Conversations with Michael Laitman” 8/5/15
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Baal HaSulam writes in the article, “Inheritance of the Land,” that we inherit the land of Israel when we are accommodated to it and become the people of Israel. This is not just coming to Israel, receiving citizenship, and that’s it, you are an inhabitant of Israel already. An inhabitant is a person who has a place in this land.
“Eretz Yisrael” (the land of Israel – “Eretz,” from the word “Ratzon” – desire) is a desire to be together with everyone, because Israel is a gathering of people who are connected and united together, as it is written: “All Israel are friends,” otherwise, this is not called “Israel.” So we are found in exile, outside of the land of Israel, and we are not called the people of Israel. “The people of Israel in the land of Israel” is a concept of unity, union, and connection because only this makes it possible for us to be in a state called, “The people of Israel in the land of Israel.”
The question is: how can we attain a desire like this, transforming into becoming one whole? And how is it possible to have one desire? After all, each one of us is very different from the others. This is particularly prominent in Israel: there are so many perspectives, extreme points of view. It is like a pie divided into thousands and thousands of pieces. And what can be done with them?
Moreover, to the extent of our development, when we are passing through so many different states, especially in recent years, each one of us feels how much his ego has grown, how far he is from the others. Basically, instead of coming closer, we are moving further away from each other. So when and how can we transform to become, “like one person with one heart,” “all Israel are friends”?
We see that other peoples get along with each other, more or less. But arguments and problems appeared with us even at the moment that we gathered together in this land. And these problems didn’t disappear, on the contrary, they became increasingly bigger and bigger, and we don’t know what to do with them. So our problem is: how can we overcome our ego that bubbles and erupts in everyone? And we see how mutual hatred is out of control.
Here the wisdom of Kabbalah provides a solution. First of all, it explains why nature developed us in the direction of the growth of the evil inclination, the ego, the strengthening of outbursts of anger in every person in his attitude towards others who are not like him. From year to year, all of these revelations only increase. There was a time when the relationships between the religious and the secular, the relationships between the secular themselves and the relationships among all the religious were more peaceful. Today the relationships are becoming worse and worse.
The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that this is a correction from nature. To advance a person forward in his evolution, nature develops the ego in a person, a desire for pleasure, aggression, as these tendencies are necessary for a person to grow, but only on condition that he knows how to use all the extreme things that are awakened in him. So the suffering that we feel when we cannot attain the desired is necessary. And if that is how it is, so how is it possible that each one, having a big ego, can ultimately put up with others and connect with them into a single whole?
After all, it is written that the people of Israel can achieve peace and be a strong people accepted by everyone, and the whole world will calm down in relation to us and will stop attacking, pressuring, and hating us, only on condition that we become like a single whole. So how can we transform to become a single whole, both internally and externally, if our ego is growing all the time? At first glance this seems contradictory.
Question: What does it mean that “the ego grew”?
Answer: From year to year I feel that I want more and more, that I am not prepared to accept others more gently, with understanding, with agreement. In every one of us the same perpetrator is concealed, but in some individuals these inclinations are found to a lesser extent and aren’t even felt; they think of themselves as good people; whereas in others they break out, demand action, and so they kill and burn houses. But in principle, this is everyone’s problem. There is no such thing where something happens to one person that is not found in others. All the tendencies, all the characteristics are found in everyone.
So here the question is: how can we ultimately reach correction? The correction is that we become so close to each other that everyone accepts the others, each one is included in the others, even more than today, to such a degree that I understand the sufferings of others, their nature, their necessary behavior, and I accept them as they are.
Question: But isn’t this contrary to our growing ego?
Answer: If we leave everything as it is now, then it will only be worse. There is something to think about here, and we see this from many studies by psychologists and sociologists. So as the wisdom of Kabbalah says, to reach mutual acceptance we need education, a comprehensive education for all of the people. Only with the help of consistent and constant education that encompasses all of the people, that puts all of the problems of the people and the nation at the top, we will discover and know not only how to complement each other, but also to become a single whole.
In this single whole are both the Left and the Right, there are secular and religious, there are gays and straights, there are all kinds of parties and factions; it doesn’t matter who or what. But specifically thanks to this unique and integral education that the wisdom of Kabbalah recommends, we learn not just to complement each other, to concede to each other; rather, we see that all of these differences must exist. For the ego that grew in each and every person became even more opposed to others and wouldn’t accept them to such a degree that each one is ready to kill the other due to unfounded hatred, as it was before in the time of the destruction of the Temple.
But with the help of education the wisdom of Kabbalah recommends to us as a correction, we see how important each one is, like ingredients in a salad. Each one has his place, and specifically with the acceptance and not the correction of someone’s characteristics. Only education will help us; it knows how to connect us. And nobody needs to change; everyone needs to receive this education, so it is called integral. Then we will see how important each one is, and we will not think that if we were to correct someone things would be better for us, as sometimes happens in a family. Suddenly we would see that all of us are one family, everyone has his role and all complement each other. But education is what must give this to us.
Integral Education, which the wisdom of Kabbalah offers, can give us a vision like this, and then everyone gradually, with understanding, will begin to accept each other, will know why our ego grew so strong, for this is the higher program of nature that is realized in us in this form, and in any case, it obligates us to complement each other; otherwise, we will simply kill each other.
That is how we understand why our ego is growing all the time, so that our connection will be much more powerful, strong, conflicting, so that within this conflict we will create the united people of Israel, a single whole. Then we will feel that we exist as the people of Israel in the land of Israel, that we have truly returned to our land as one united people.
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From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 8/2/15
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Opinion (Dr Guy Bechor): “On the fifth year of the Middle Eastern destruction, which is going to last for decades, it’s time to determine that the United Nations has become irrelevant here, except in regards to one country, which is the last remnant of the old regional order – Israel. It’s time to use the UN as an offensive tool, not just as a defensive tool.
“It’s time to move the warfare into enemy territory. From now on, the UN institutions should be flooded with complaints, reports and information about the destruction taking place around us… We should embarrass them, just like they seek to embarrass us… Israel shouldn’t defend itself, it should attack. That way, it will be able to ‘trade’ for the first time in its history in the UN – in other words, reduce the offense dosage in return for a similar dosage reduction among the Arab parties, which know exactly what will happen when the truth about them is revealed in the West…the world will understand that Israel is a fortress of democracy and human rights… . That way, the world will understand where the paradise of the Middle East is and where its hell is.”
My Comment: What naïveté! The world is well aware and completely justifies all these crimes because opposition to Jews and Israel are not crimes, but correct conduct, valor.
The whole world is conspiring to annihilate Israel, moreover they don’t need to reach a mutual understanding in connection to this; it is instinctively understood among the nations of the world as it has been throughout history.
Only through our correction (union and connection between us) can we transfer this state to the world, and then, and only then, will they begin to respect us and come to us because we can give the world what is so necessary, and which no one else can give besides us—the union and the disclosure of the next level of development of humanity within that union.
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Question: What must happen to create a new Kli (vessel) in a person above his present desires?
Answer: For this, first of all, there is a need for support that can be obtained thanks to the group, the teacher, the study, and dissemination.
Submission is the first and principle act regarding the Creator upon which, afterward, all the rest is built. After all, our desire is egoistic, so the first action must be the submission of the ego. Someone who is ready for this tries to implement what the group needs and what the teacher asks, to be stimulated by the learning, and to invest himself in dissemination.
The main work here is clarification through the emotion and intellect. After all, it could be that a person carries out many physical actions, yet doesn’t make any calculations about them, or the opposite, all day he makes various calculations, yet doesn’t realize anything. These calculations aren’t worth anything. This is only philosophy.
Everything begins from submission because without the submission of the ego and the intellect that serves it, it is impossible to begin to work above it. I must pull out my desire to receive, study it, and subdue it. Submission is the first activity on the way to adhesion. After all, with the desire that is in me now, I will not be able to get closer to the Creator in any way.
So, I bend it, criticize it, and clarify with which part it is possible to work and with which part it is not possible. I don’t have anything except a desire to receive, so I begin to learn how it is possible to change it, in which directions. For example, I approach the friends even though I don’t feel anything at all, but I understand that I must do this.
Thanks to this, by implementing changes in my previous state and bringing myself forward a bit, I correct my attitude. I sacrificed myself. I helped the friends. I carried out the advice of the teacher. I passed from the F1 state to the F2 state. Even though these two states are within my ego, there is a difference between them, a delta due to my change. I can learn from the example of the change that I made and the results that were received by using this as the first brick in building my nullification of the self.
I already have something in my hands. The state that I have attained is better than the previous state, and so I call it a “pleasant and kind bride” (Talmud Babyli, Ketubot 16b). I received a higher and more beautiful Kli, and so Beit Hillel (the school of Hillel) doesn’t force me to lie. It only shows me that it is up to me to attain this state.
Beit Shammai speaks about the present situation, whereas Beit Hillel speaks about a desired state, but one that will happen eventually. When I attain it, reach it, then, state F2 becomes the main state for me. This state needs further work so that the F2 state of Beit Hillel will become realistic. It is the point of view of Beit Shammai from which I clarify the desired state F3 of Beit Hillel. That is how I continue and advance further.
However, I first use the delta between the states of F1 and F2 as the unit of measure: a millimeter, a centimeter, and a gram of correction. I use it as a model, as a standard, a scale of measurement, and armed with this, I can advance.
Question: What must be done to advance from state F1 to state F2?
Answer: It is necessary to see the two states from the point of view of Beit Shammai and from the point of view of Beit Hillel, “a beautiful bride as she is” and simultaneously “a pleasant and kind bride.” However, a person himself has no chance of seeing state F2; for this purpose, he is given a teacher and the books that he must listen to. He must accept what is said by the teacher as truth, and the teacher says, “There is none else besides Him,” “the Good who does good.”
If he sees the bride only as unattractive as she is, then it is necessary to continue to work in a group, study, and disseminate. Respecting the teacher means carrying out what he advises regarding your advancement. This means carrying out activities and watching for a response of the Light, similar to a bride who must prepare herself, and only then will the groom come. The right actions will necessarily cause a response from the Upper Light.
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From the preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/12/14
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During their thousands of years of exile, the people of Israel suffered from the destruction of the First and Second Temples, reached the state of a complete shattering, and lost even the slightest memory about the common system that united them.
Starting with Adam, the first man, the Jewish people realized how the system worked. At the time of Abraham, they persistently studied the structure of unity, and at the time of Moses, they even managed to implement it among them.
This state of affairs lasted until the destruction of the Second Temple, until the time of Rabbi Akiva, at which time everything collapsed. The downfall had a great impact on the advancement of all of humanity.
On one hand, the Jews spread around the world. This process allowed them to contribute their form of development to other countries, affecting the development of religion, thought, belief, philosophy, science, and medicine.
The knowledge was transferred through the ancient Greeks and Romans, through philosophers throughout history. The Jews founded a system of commerce and industry in Europe and built the base for modern trade and manufacturing.
The system they created was integral, and in spite of the Jews being scattered around the world, they spoke one language and understood each other well. So they were able to build connections with other. These events took place about 1500 years ago, and were possible only due to the special state in which the Jewish people had attained.
A Jew could travel from Italy to Holland and speak with local Jews without any problem, attend a synagogue and make trade deals. And vice versa, Jews from Holland traveled to Italy or other countries and did the same thing. In the fragmented world where countries were isolated, Jews served as a link of connection.
The Jews were a united by common culture, education, language, and Kashrut (religious dietary laws.). When a Jew came to another country, he could eat only in local Jewish homes, never anywhere else. This tradition also strongly promoted inter-Jewish connections since travelers attended local synagogues. This type of conduct stimulated the growth of industry and commerce in the world.
This is how the Jews contributed to the overall advancement in the world, as they were exiled to deliver technologies, science, industry, commerce, and religions to other nations.
Originally, all religions served the purpose of moving humanity forward, and thanks to religions, paganism ceased to exist. People stopped worshipping trees and stones and stopped associating material objects with supernatural powers. They became more spiritual.
Thus, a good basis was created for the development of arts, painting, music, etc. The arts stimulated people’s internal, spiritual advancement and reached the common people through their religions. The nations of the world do not have a clue that their success in the arts and sciences was made possible by the Jews who received this knowledge only because at some point they attained the upper spiritual force hidden in nature.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 7/0515
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Question: Why is it said that it was refusal and rejection that later become a new receptive Kli?
Answer: I have nothing other than an appetite, hunger, a feeling of lack or fulfillment. This is our essence. This is the unique characteristic that I can use. Also within me is that point from Bina, which helps me change my attitude towards the desire to receive and the feeling in it, the feeling of lack or the feeling of fulfillment. The desire to receive with the feeling of lack or fulfillment is Malchut. The point from which I can observe and examine it is the point of Bina. Because Malchut is an offspring of Bina; this ability exists within it.
When I use the point of Bina and identify with it, I can see how Malchut suffers or enjoys fulfillment or the lack of fulfillment. I now want to take Malchut and change it so that it will be like Keter. To do this I must bestow, like Keter. So I summon all of the Light that there is in my Malchut, but I don’t enjoy feeling this within me but through passing it through me to others. In this way I will be like Keter, like the guest who makes himself like the host.
I enjoy the Light that I receive—not the Light itself, but transmitting it to others. If I were simply to return the Light to the Host, I would not give Him contentment. I must enjoy the Light within my Kelim by giving pleasure to the Host, and this is the enjoyment that I transmit back to the Host.
And here we can already see what the NRNHY is. I simply receive Light, and to the degree that within me I am ready to feel the pleasure that I am giving to the Host, it receives the form that is called Ohr HaNefesh, Ohr HaRuach, Ohr HaNeshama, Ohr HaHaya, and Ohr HaYechida. This depends on how much I allow myself to enjoy it and whether I can transmit this to the Host and feel how much He enjoys the entire extraction that I am prepared to bring out from this enjoyment, and how we connect together in the same enjoyment. The Light is shared between us; otherwise we cannot connect. Here my desire and His desire are connected into one. All of this is done using the receptive Kelim, yet not in their usual form, but above them, meaning, above their usual significance and usage.
Question: How do I know that the Creator has pleasure?
Answer: For this you need to feel Him. So you demand revelation. You demand revelation not to enjoy it, but only to know if you are giving Him pleasure. This is the right request. This is exactly what we must demand in order to work.
Question: In the physical world, how must I feel pleasure from the Light within my desire?
Answer: There is no this world or next world; they differ only in the different attitude to pleasure, where it is felt. If you enjoy giving pleasure to others, this is called “the spiritual world.” If you cannot enjoy transferring it to someone else, it means that you don’t feel him as yourself, so you are still found in the material world. In your eyes, the system is still not connected.
Question: What force can keep me on the way because it is impossible to exist without any pleasure?
Answer: Help from heaven—only the Creator can help. It is good when a person depends on the Light that Reforms. This is called “help from heaven.” It is written that after death when a person reaches the heavenly court, he is asked: “Were you engaged in Torah? Did you expect salvation?” “Engaged in Torah” means, did you attract the Light that Reforms and “you shall love your friend as yourself” meaning, did you realize the great general rule of the Torah?
When you were involved with this, did you expect salvation, that the Light that Reforms would come to you and give you the power of bestowal and love of others and through that the love of the Creator? A person is only asked about this.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/10/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam
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Preparation for the Lesson
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