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Question: Recently the Israeli Knesset discussed a law that would shorten the workweek from 45 hours to 35 hours proposed by MK (Member of Knesset) Dov Hanin. He thinks that this will help improve leisure time and culture and will reduce unemployment. In your opinion, is this a good move?

Answer: I don’t know if this will be accepted, even though many are saying that it is necessary to introduce an additional day off. It is even uncomfortable that this exists all over the world and in Israel it doesn’t. Moreover, in Israel there is one free day and it is religious, half of the population keeps it, and for them, in fact, there is no “free” day left in the direct sense of the word.

It would be convenient for us to change Sunday into a free day, and as far as it seems, Friday is preferable for our neighbors. So it is possible to make a fluid calendar, Sunday to Friday, everyone according to his choice. The main thing is that people will have two days off.

I am in favor of there being two days because I know that my many religious friends and acquaintances cannot allow themselves to take a vacation for one day and visit relatives who live far away and things like that. This means that it is necessary to bring the conditions for a vacation closer to the conditions of our present life.

Comment: But on the other hand, too much free time is also not that good.

Answer: Why? It is just necessary to know how to employ people. It would be possible to create popular universities, picnics in parks, open all kinds of small businesses for leisure hours; more options would appear for people to go out, to go shopping, and things like that. I think this would be better. It would make it possible for people to feel that they are free, that they are living in a normal nation and not a closed religious nation.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 2/7/16

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New Life 618 – The Status Of Teachers In Israel
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

In the past a teacher was never called by his first name but as “teacher” and was spoken to in third person only. In order to improve the teacher’s status in Israel we need private schools; the state cannot address this issue.

There should be a correlation between the teacher’s salary and his students’ achievements. We [Israel] have lost the title the “nation of the book” long ago, and all we care about now is money. A teacher’s wages should be the same as a doctor’s and even more. The future of the whole society is thrust on the teacher’s’ shoulders.

Why do people leave their job in high-tech in favor of education? Because they feel that they are building something real in education. A child today isn’t not only influenced by his home environment like in the past, but also by the screen that is in the palm of his hand.

If a teacher taught the art of the relations between people in different aspects of our life, he would be greatly appreciated. Parents should be allowed to register their kids in the class of a teacher of their choice. Parents should know everything that happens in school; they should know the teachers and choose the best, etc.

Teachers build the person; they build the next generation. They should be appreciated by all of society.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 618 – The Status Of Teachers In Israel,” 8/30/15

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