Question: I am a Christian. For 2,000 years we murdered Jews in the name of Jesus, and that is our fault.

I am a coordinator of a work group that conducts Jewish-Christian dialogue in Russia. We come together with the “Russian – Jewish Conference” to places where there have been mass murders of Jews and erect monuments there on which, “Forgive Us” is written.

Today is the time to confess and express regret to the Jewish people for what we did. Now Europe is harvesting exactly what it did 2,000 years ago when the Jews were expelled and sent to the gas chambers. So there has apparently been a price of repentance and regret to the people of Israel, the “chosen people.”

Answer: Regarding the Jewish people being the “chosen people,” I would say that this must be justified. If being chosen means earning something, that is what the Jews must do. As to repentance and expressing regret, all of us must rise above our common enemy, the ego, which is really burning inside of us. If we begin to do this, then we will feel that we are on a completely different level of development and there will be no need for any justification.

What you are doing is natural human behavior, but the wisdom of Kabbalah welcomes only deeds that are really directed towards a link between humans.
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New Life #647 – Human Development to the Next Dimension
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Summary

There is a desire within a person for pleasure from everything humanly possible; this desire is divided into 613 different desires. Overall, our lives are an escape from evil and an approach to good in which the definitions of good and evil change every moment.

We get values from the environment that influence us, and we operate according to them throughout our lives. Sometimes existential questions arise in us such as what are we living for at all? It is necessary to remember that our body will live and die, but the spark in us, the inner part, wants to discover the meaning of life.

The wisdom of Kabbalah engages specifically with this. For thousands of years it was concealed, and now it is bursting out onto center stage. The wisdom of Kabbalah makes it possible for a person to ascend to the upper world, to a higher dimension, to build a “soul.”

Psychology, meditation, and so forth serve only as tranquilizers. They don’t lift a person to a new dimension. The wisdom of Kabbalah is the only wisdom that investigates the inner nature of our world, the law of development, and a spiritual person is a person who lives within the mechanism in which all of us are connected together, from within, into a single soul.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #647 -Human Development to the Next Dimension,” 1/18/16

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New Life #648 – Exiting Myself To A New Life
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Summary

We perceive reality through a filter of “is it good for me or bad for me,” but we don’t feel what actually happens. But the human being in us wants more. He wants to know what he is living for, what actually happens in reality. The wisdom of Kabbalah tells us how to do that. We simply need to connect to more people who also want to “come out of the radish.” Together we perform exercises with each caring for the others, and thus we build a network of mutual guarantee and spur the concealed force.

Nature is made of two forces: the positive and the negative forces. This is true on the levels of nature: the still, vegetative, and animate, but when it comes to us, only the negative force operates. When we practice in a circle, we stimulate the positive force toward ourselves, and it balances the negative force in us. The positive force flows among us like a spring, builds a new attribute of bestowal in us, and pulls us out of the radish. This is how a network called “man” is built between us in which there are five spiritual senses.

Once we enter the upper dimension, the negative force among us grows again and separates us, and once again we work against it. A person then gets rid of all of his problems, understands why everything happens, and promotes his advance toward others, toward love. The force of bestowal that we invoke is the plus that balances the minus in us. The human being in you is not inside of you, but in others. When you exit yourself, you discover that the whole world is you.

The upper world means the upper reality, the upper dimension. It is impossible to explain what it is before you feel it. Now we live in the attribute of receiving, and it is the transition to life in the attribute of bestowal. The reality we feel now is false, while the upper reality is real, eternal, the world of truth. The human body dies, but the human being in it, the attribute of love and bestowal that he has developed, is eternal.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #648 — Exiting Myself To A New Life,” 1/18/16

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Preparation for the Lesson

Lesson on the Topic: “Preparation for the Convention”

The Book of Zohar – Selected Excerpts, “Zivug“

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Gatehouse of Intentions,” Item 115

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Love for the Creator & Love for the Created Beings,” “Why Was the Torah Given to Israel”

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Question: The European parliament along with the European Jewish congress in Brussels held a ceremony to commemorate the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The president of the European parliament Martin Shultz spoke in the ceremony and noted that the Jewish community greatly contributes to the culture and the economy of Europe.

At the same time, he also expressed his regret and empathy that the Jews don’t feel safe in Europe because of terrorist acts, violence, and assaults.

What has changed in Europe since the occurrence of such events 70 years ago?

Answer: Everything has changed for the worse. In the past there was no actual threat to the Jews outside Germany and its allies, but today we can say that there is definitely no safe place for the Jews anywhere in the world and that they are persecuted with great enthusiasm.

Both Europe and the US adopt policies that endanger the very existence of the state of Israel and intentionally act to harm its sovereignty in order to promote their interests in the region.

Although president Obama declared on the Holocaust Remembrance Day that we are Jews in spirit, it doesn’t go along with his open anti-Semitic policy and his attitude toward Israel.

Such an attitude toward Jews today is no longer considered bad manners. Humanity has undergone a phase of internal development and now it simply erupts against the Jews even through statesmen and politicians.

Western Europe is infected by the anti-Semitism virus. I understand their situation since the whole world is nearing the solution of its main problem, ascending to the next level of development. Therefore, the current level the world is in a rebirth crisis.

The world has to overcome the labor pains and be born on the next level of unity in every aspect of life: social, political, and economic, and basically accept a totally new format according to the forces of nature that develop us. The problem is that the world cannot advance to a state of unity at the moment since humanity refuses to change.

The Jews are the first to be blamed for that and it is true. Anti-Semitism stems from the nations of the world’s subconscious feeling of total dependency on the Jews who are not doing their job, and the Jews themselves are aware of the fact that they are the root of all the problems in the world.

Question: Recently it was published that extremist left-wing organizations in Israel received donations of about 260 million shekels. Moreover, most of the donations from foreign European governments. Moreover, the same European parliament that held Holocaust Remembrance Day services donated a large sum to their activities. How can you explain that? What do they want from Israel and the Jews?

Answer: This is an internal resistance to the state of Israel, which stands in their way. When the Jews were dispersed throughout Europe and represent a whipping boy, then it is quite normal. But when they have their own government, army, flag anthem, and makeup like every other country, the European countries cannot get along with it. It is clearly seen that they benefit from the existence of the state of Israel, which enriches Europe and the whole world with its advanced technology and innovations.

But this fact doesn’t change the Europeans’ attitude toward the Jews. They cannot allow the nation they hate so much to exist normally, as much as you can call its situation normal.

The Jewish problem is unsolvable as long as the Jews don’t understand their mission: to show all the nations of the world how to continue their development, and while they do not, the world will suffer and the Jews will suffer even more.

Question: Are there any signs that the Jews are starting to understand their mission?

Answer: This perception is given to them with great difficulty. I would say that the nations of the world even precede the Jews in understanding that. As strange as it may sound, the nations of the world are ready to understand, accept, and recognize their dependency on the Jews. The prophet Isaiah said that the nations of the world will bring the Jews to the right state and will carry them to Jerusalem.

Therefore, I am very hopeful that the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah among the peoples of the world will help them influence the Jews so that the latter will understand and recognize their mission and fulfill it. Then the world will be able to ascend to the next good level of development and everyone will live happily and in equality.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 1/28/16

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Question: Why have all the old values been devalued and the world been turned upside down?

Answer: The world had to change, and it began in the early 19^th century. In the 20^th century, its transformation came in fulll force, and we have reached the point where almost everyone in the world notices it.

The change takes place naturally as part of our evolution, the general development of mankind, and was embedded in nature from the start. Kabbalists foresaw this change more than a thousand years ago and indicated the end of the 20^th century as a turning point in which man’s attitude toward humanity, the world, and the wisdom of Kabbalah would change. Kabbalists said that at this point man would undergo a special transformation.

As a result, it will start understanding the need for the general formula of the development of nature in order to master the situation, not to lose control, and to develop into something that cannot be foreseen or predicted. Today, we are in this state. And the wisdom of Kabbalah is intended to help us to manage this situation correctly and teaches us how to lead this process.

Kabbalists understood the clear evolutionary formula of nature and humanity, and thus had no problem predicting what would happen and when. You don’t need to be a medium or a magician for that.

I began to notice the changes in the world in the middle of the 1970’s and have been seriously engaged in the wisdom of Kabbalah since then. I see how it actually helps understand everything that is happening.

There is nothing mystical or scary about it. On the contrary, we live in a very interesting era in which we are undergoing a change that totally negates everything of the past. This takes place in accordance with the law of negating the negation in which the previous level must die and the new level is built on top of it. This is the way it always has been through all of the stages of human development. Thus, feudalism replaced slavery, capitalism replaced feudalism, and so forth.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 12/13/15

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Comment: A group of atheists filed a suit in federal court in Akron, Ohio USA demanding the expression “in God we trust” be removed from the dollar bill, claiming that they are forced to use these bills and feel that there is an implication that God intervenes in financial activities, which is contrary to their non-religious belief.

Answer: There is no greater blasphemy or distortion of the idea of the Creator than to print such an expression on currency, regardless of which religion it is. The Americans believe that it helps them and protects the dollar, which means that God protects the dollar since the dollar mentions God.

What can I say about it? It is better to replace money with a plastic card so that people will be able to pay without using dirty pieces of paper. In the future people will need the same amount of money in the bank and will use money only for their basic necessities. It can be 1,000 dollars a month, for example, and if a person doesn’t use all the money, he can use what is left the next month.

The next phase will be a phase without any bank accounts or money. A person will consume only what he needs from special warehouses or stores and everyone will rely on the fact that he takes only what he needs and not more.

Comment: A person has to undergo a special educational process in order to take only what he needs.

Answer: We will have to come to that.

Comment: That sounds like science fiction.

Answer: It will be done by the Upper Light, a special force that corrects us. Of course we will not be able to reach this level of correction by ourselves. It is impossible.

But we will be able to evoke a special, yet hidden, good force into the world, through our unity and connection and efforts, so that it will correct us and make us better, like it is.

We will not take anything more than we need and will begin to produce only what is actually necessary so that everyone will feel equally good and comfortable.

Question: Where will God’s name be written in the future?

Answer: God’s name will be written on the human heart, not on a bill. The heart is the collection of all all human desires; it must transform itself and become His name! All human actions, all desires, the whole system, which is conditional, is allegorically called the heart,  which has to change and to be for the sake of the Creator.

All of a person’s actions, all his desires, the whole system called a heart, has to embody the Creator’s image.

This means that the heart itself is a system and the sum of all its internal relations should similar to the Creator.
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From KabTV’s “Conversations with Michael Laitman” 1/26/16

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New Life 666 – 2015: Good And Bad
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

We live in an era in which we can influence and benefit ourselves and the world, but we don’t know how to do it. We live in a complicated system and only are familiar with a very small part of it. But we can learn how to manage it. This is what makes the Jews special, and this is the reason that the world hates us. The key to the world’s happiness is in our hands.

The bad relationships between us are destroying the world. We have evil thoughts about one another, and this is why our enemies rise to destroy us. Everything will be peaceful and good in Israel and the world when we want to be good to one another here in Israel. The fact that we have evil thoughts about someone is natural, and we must learn how to rise above them.

As it is written, “Love covers all transgressions.” We shouldn’t argue about who is right and who is to blame, but simply rise to connection.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 666 – 2015: Good And Bad,” 12/24/15

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New Life 683 – Between Meat And Milk
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Meat and milk symbolize the two forces at work in nature: plus and minus, the power of reception and the power of giving. Kosher fish have fins and scales, they represent the characteristic of a person who doesn’t receive pleasure for himself directly, but operates according to bestowal. Meat symbolizes the egoistic desire, fish symbolizes a smaller desire, and the milk even smaller, while a pig symbolizes the greatest egoistic desire.

A person who feels the upper system clarifies the internal desires while eating, and the upper system begins to live in him, for inside, within us, there is a power that enlivens us called the “Creator.” If we relate to everything that is around us with love, we feel the power within us called God.

Slaughtering means that internally a person must kill the wild animal in him by using it correctly, which means that its power must be increased to the level of Adam (Man). Our interior, like nature, is divided into levels: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. Kabbalists discovered the upper roots and wrote the laws of Kashrut, according to branch and root, in which the internal butcher is the Light that Reforms, and it is up to the person to summon this Light to butcher the beast in him.

Above the system of forces, there is one inclusive force, and a person asks it to correct him according to the system; there is no power in a person to correct himself; it is all ego, and if he wants to have a soul, it is up to him to accept this corrective force. We are talking about the administrative and supervision system in nature that operates and runs us.

The system doesn’t care what or how a person eats, but the dietary laws indicate what a person, as a Jew, must correct within himself.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 683 – Between Meat And Milk,” 1/26/16

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