Audio Version Of The Blog – 08.24.15

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The Sinking Of Science: The Past Pride Of Humanity

laitman_538Question: Why doesn’t nature protect us from the abuse of external sciences the way the wisdom of Kabbalah is protected, so that it cannot be abused?

Answer: It is because the wisdom of Kabbalah is beyond the Machsom (Barrier), beyond the border to the spiritual world. If you transcend the Machsom, you can come near this wisdom and use it, but only to the extent that you acquire a Masach (Screen). But you don’t need a Masach in order to use all the external sciences. So why isn’t it forbidden to use all the external sciences the way it is forbidden to use the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Our sages restricted themselves and prohibited the dissemination of the wisdom among the people. Why wasn’t there such a natural restriction to begin with? Why can’t a person use the forces of nature according to his spiritual and mental development? If there were such a prohibition, we could never reach the recognition of evil, which is the purpose of the existence of our world. We have to allow the ego certain freedom so that people who are immersed in it will discover the evil in their existence and wish to ascend above it.

If the ego were limited, a person would have no choice and could not reach the recognition of evil. There would be nothing we could do in such a world. Imagine that we couldn’t do anything bad; in that case, it would be impossible to reach the recognition of evil. We would live like animals; like all the other levels of nature.

A person in our world is different from all the rest of nature because he uses his evil force in order to reach scientific achievements. The force of evil is in his heart, which means in his egoism, and by developing science he uses it for the sake of his ego because the desire to receive comes before the mind and controls the mind. This is the reason that if a person has an evil will; his mind becomes evil as well and he thinks about how he can use science for his own personal benefit, as if for his own sake, but in fact it is in order to harm others.

The purpose of the development of external sciences is to reach the recognition of evil. This is precisely what we exist for: in order to realize that we will never reach a good life through science or by excelling in anything. This is the meaning of the recognition of evil, when we discover that every phenomenon actually harms us because we use it egoistically and cannot do so any other way.

Science has always been the pride of mankind because we have developed it by ourselves and it is the fruit of our intelligence, of our internal development, both spiritual and mental. This distinguishes man from animals. But suddenly it turns out that science actually turns us into poor miserable creatures, below the animal level. This is called the recognition of evil, an outcome we cannot believe. After all the great efforts we have made for ages in the hope of being able to control ourselves and nature, we find ourselves humiliated by the evil in us.

I feel that a donkey sits on my neck and that I carry it on top of me. This is the reason that we don’t want to develop anymore and feel disappointed. We don’t regard scientists and philosophers with the same respect we had for them in the past. There is nothing sacred and no authorities for modern man any more, and we intentionally ignore anything that belongs to the human level, even if it is musicians and writers. We don’t care about anything because we are disappointed by everything and so we don’t expect anything of our development but harm.

This is the feeling that is now spreading in humanity. No one is impressed by different academic degrees such as doctorates in science, professors, or titles like president anymore. There is no respect for any position anymore and this is actually a good thing because it is a sign that we have finally reached the right discernment and have realized that we have used all the good tools at our disposal in order to bring ourselves to the lowest possible level.

Young people today don’t want to study, to work, or to take any responsibility. Ninety-nine percent of them prefer not to get up from the sofa as long as someone turns on the TV for them and feeds them. This is a good and natural thing because this is how we reach the recognition of evil.

There are two periods in the development of science: the first period in which our sages concealed the wisdom; a period which lasted until the 16-17th centuries, until the era of enlightenment. Then the wisdom of Kabbalah came out of its hiding and after the Ari the whole world began to wake up. Time began to advance increasingly faster until we have reached the current crisis.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/09/14, Writing of Baal HaSulam

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A Pyramid Of Love

laitman_528_04Question: What is the mechanism of making the switch from the love of friends to the love of the Creator?

Answer: You have to undergo a series of states in advancing along this path. The previous state doesn’t disappear in the transition from one state to another. Each time the new state is built on the basis of intensifying the previous state. This is how it is in spirituality; it is as if we build a pyramid: the higher we ascend, the more we have to enlarge its basis below.

If the pyramid is low, a narrow base is enough, but if we want to reach great heights, we have to build a very large base for the pyramid.

This is the reason that first we adhere to the Kabbalistic books and their authors, which is called being in adhesion with the study and the teacher. This gives a person the right direction.

Once there is a direction, its fulfillment begins: through the connection and adhesion with the teacher we reach a connection and adhesion with the friends and we build a society, an environment. When we fulfill the building of the society, we begin to discover the need for the Creator’s bestowal in this circle. All this is described in great detail in Rabash’s articles, but a person doesn’t always see that. A person can see what the books say only according to his need for it.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/10/14

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Love Without Conditions

Dr. Michael LaitmanReal love has nothing to do with sex or gender, but in order to come to it, we need serious preparation.

After all, we need to learn to open our hearts, feel the heart of another person, and rise above our own interests in order to enter the desire of our friend, whatever that desire may be.

Here it does not matter who that other person is, whether a man or a woman. I need to rise above my egoism, which yearns to enjoy the entire world, and instead of this, I prefer to provide the entire world with enjoyment.

If this is what love is, then a question arises: Does love even exist at all in our world? It does not! Love exists only in the upper world, to which we ascend above our egoistic calculations and begin to fulfill another and enjoy each others’ joy.

Am I capable of enjoying the fact that I am fulfilling eight billion people? It is written, “love another as thyself.” That is, I need to love others more than myself, and in the same way that I currently love myself more than others. This is why we require a force that is higher than our nature that is capable of correcting our nature and can help us attain true love. 

Nature created me and instilled in me an egoistic desire to love myself. Now I am demanding my own correction from this nature, the Creator. I want to correct myself in such a way so as to love another without any personal interest, independently from whether I feel good or bad from it, and to be above it.

Since I am currently a complete egoist, I want others to treat me with this kind of love and to love me the way that I am, with all my flaws and egoism. Therefore, I should love others with such love without any conditions.

Reply: But I do not want to!

My Comment: This is why you need correction. You will discover in your friend the most unpleasant properties and actions with respect to you and your loved ones, and you will love him nevertheless. True love requires complete correction and covers all crimes.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 7/30/15

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The Power Of The Cave Of Machpelah

Laitman_119Midrash Raba,”BeShalach“: The spies reached the region of Hebron where the cave of Machpelah is found, but they were afraid to go there and pray, since it was common knowledge that giants lived there. Only Caleb ignored the danger and decided to visit the holy place where our forefathers are buried because he thought to himself: How can I not be involved in conspiring with the spies? Moses’ prayers protect Joshua, while I need to ask the Creator for help. This is the reason that he went into the cave to pray. The Shechina also entered the cave with him in order to let the forefathers know that the time has come for their descendants to conquer the land. Caleb fell on the ground next to the graves of the forefathers and prayed for their mercy and for being saved from conspiring with the spies.

A person is always overcome by weakness and fear of the growing ego inside him, and so he asks for powers in order to resist it. Then the Pharaoh in him begins to awaken more strongly and therefore the spies are right when they are afraid and say that they don’t have to power to stand against it. Their only sin is that they don’t understand, don’t feel, don’t perceive, and don’t believe that they can gain power to overcome their internal interruptions from above.

Question: What kind of power does the “cave of Machpelah” give Caleb who enters it?

Answer: The word “Machpelah” stems from the Hebrew word “Kaful” (double). There is a connection between Malchut and Bina in this cave. This is the reason that all our forefathers are buried there, since they have fully corrected their souls. They buried themselves egoistically by ascending to the altruistic level. A cave is a very special, closed place in the earth. The word “earth” in Hebrew (eretz) stems from the word “Ratzon” (desire), which means all of person’s desires are in a state where the attributes to receive and to bestow totally complement one another. Such souls reach the end of correction.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 4/8/15

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Long Way To The Temple, Part 10

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Creator’s Tower in the Place of the Tower of Babylon

Question: Modern Israeli society is torn apart by egoism and hatred. It is completely detached. Its systems are rotten and are involved in egoistic games. Everybody cares solely about themselves.

How can the society based on the most negative attitude among its members be brought to the state of connectedness, unity, and love, taking into consideration that it is extremely far from the picture you draw for us?

Answer: It is true: Israeli society is the most egoistic of all. When the people of Israel rise, they can reach a stellar height. However, if they fall, they fall deeper than the rest.

We critically lack unity. It’s obvious! It is good that our drawbacks are openly shown to us. It is wonderful that we know how terrible our state is and how desperately we need unity. The good thing is that we also have the “instruction book” that explains how to achieve it.

The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us steps to attract the higher force of benevolence. It is the science of the Creator’s revelation in this world. The Creator is the power of love and mutual bestowal, the force of unity.

The main thing is to attract and reveal the force of bestowal, love, unity, and mutual inclusion among us. Then, the opposite force, the power of detachment, egoism, in conjunction with the benevolent force will give additional energy.

Strength always comes as a result of the joint work of opposite forces. The bigger the potential difference is, the stronger the discrepancy between a plus and a minus is,  one hundred volts, a thousand volts, a million volts, the greater the power.

If we add a positive power to the huge minus that we have today, we’d connect the entire universe in one unified, joint structure.

Question: Israel is the country where people have the biggest egoism in the world, isn’t it?

Answer: Israel is not just a country. Israel is a nation that previously attained a spiritual level, but then lost it. That’s why it fell so deeply into materiality and has the greatest egoism compared to other nations.

Question: Do we really have a chance to unite considering we have such huge egoism?

Answer: The Jews are the biggest egoists who have a potential to reach unity. There is no other nation that is as egoistic, cruel, shortsighted, and blind when it comes to its mission. This is why we are capable of self-correction and push the entire humanity forward.

It was not an accident that Israel was elevated to a spiritual height and then fell in the abyss of egoism, thus acquiring a chance to correct. When the Jews correct themselves, the entire world is also corrected.

At this time of our historic development, humanity has returned to the state of ancient Babylon, to the Babylonians who nowadays have become the multi-billion of Earth’s population. The people of Israel are not at all numerous; on the contrary, this nation is still quite small, but the Light and abundance can be transmitted through it as through the eye of a needle and can be delivered to all of humanity. The Jewish people possess an enormous power.

The only thing that should be triggered in this world is the power of unity, the upper force of connection and love. It will fill our life with happiness and abundance. The power will balance the existing minus and make the world harmonious, undivided, and benevolent.

The mourning day of the 9th of Av will transform into a day of joy and love, as it is said in the Prophets. Whether it will happen or not depends only on us. We can transform the dark day that stems from a spiritual root of a complete darkness in which the destructions took place: the shattering of the first tablets, the collapse of the First and Second Temples, and endless disasters that happened throughout the Jewish history.

By bringing the power of unity into the existing darkness, we will correct prior destructions and build the Creator’s power, thus elevating the entire humanity to the state of unity. Then, all our world will ascend to the upper, spiritual height. We will ascend to eternal life, the transition to the next dimension. Let it happen!
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 7/5/15

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Europe, The Point Of No Return

Laitman_419Opinion (Boris Gulko, chess-player, writer): “We have passed through the point of no return. The Muslims have arrived, replacing these dying people, moving from Africa and Asia to live in the West.

“If the settlement of the dying Roman Empire by barbarian settlers took three hundred years, the present population of Europe will change its identity within a hundred years. In the background of all this pessimism is found one culture and one people who live separately and hidden among the peoples, as the prophet Balaam said in the Torah about the Jews. The Europeans have invited Israel to take part with them in the process of surrender and decay when faced by the Muslims.

“Why is decay happening in the European culture, whereas among the Israeli Jews a revival is happening? It is possible to understand this by comparing the religions that nourish these various cultures. The decline of Europe and the flourishing of Israel were already predicted in the Torah, teaching us which of the religions of the world will become the religion of life.”

My Comment: There is a solution to our common problem, the transition to the next stage of the development of civilization: all participate in this transition together, i.e.,  implementing a universal united civilization, the unity of the entire world, each one on his level, as described in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

And then nobody will suffer; rather, everyone will rise happily to the level of discovery of the Creator: “…and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2), “…for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them” (Jeremiah 31:33), “…for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7).
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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 08.24.15

Preparation for the Lesson 

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Writings of Rabash, “Rungs of the Ladder,” Article 8

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The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, “Divinity,” “All the Dwellers of the Worlds Are Included in Malchut” 

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 6, Part 16, Item 108

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Lesson on the Topic: “European Convention,” Lesson 5

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