Audio Version Of The Blog – 04.21.16

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Ynet: “It Seems Like Modern Blood Libel”

Published in my weekly column in Ynet: “It Seems Like Modern Blood Libel.”

The difficult history of the people of Israel has not made us experts in treating the disease of anti-Semitism. Now that the danger is in the doorway but still have the option for action, we must carry out preventative treatment. Rav Dr. Michael Laitman decodes the mechanism that is hidden behind the phenomenon of anti-Semitism of the leaders and politicians against the nation of Israel and challenges us with social experiments to neutralize the hatred against us.

Currently Channel 10 News is airing a documentary series that reveals the scale of the boycott against Israel (BDS) in the academic institutions of the United States. Therefore, it is no longer just the EU or the Swedish Foreign Minister. The venom and hatred against Israel also has permeated the citizens of our best friend, the United States of America. More and more statesmen, political leaders, academics, and key figures in many areas freely and openly express hostile and uncompromising hostility toward Israel.

Leading Experts – Result, None

In order to deal with the wave of virulent hatred, Israel has enlisted a front of information ministers, business executives, and representatives from around the world and has launched high budget Internet campaigns.

However, despite the significant allocation of resources, Israel’s image has not improved and the problem persists. Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is mounting, world public opinion has surrendered to an anti-Israeli perception, and racism against us is intensifying.


(Venom and hatred against Israel have penetrated everywhere) (Photo: citizenside.com)

Anti-Semitism has been our inheritance for years and has never had a logical explanation. The worldwide impression is backed by a strong inner feeling that Israel and the Jews are to blame for all of the troubles and crises in the world. It seems that the urge to condemn Israel, to annihilate and eliminate it, lies in the subconscious of the nations of the world, and in recent times erupts from the mouths of senior officials.

What do they want from us?

Henry Ford, one of the biggest anti-Semites, published a series of booklets entitled, “The International Jew.” Among other things, he wrote, “The Jew has been too long accustomed to think of himself as exclusively the claimant on the humanitarianism of society; society has a large claim against him that he cease his exclusiveness, that he cease exploiting the world, that he cease making Jewish groups the end and all of his gains, and that he begin to fulfill, in a sense his exclusiveness has never yet enabled him to fulfill, the ancient prophecy that through him all the nations of the earth should be blessed.” Ford is one example among many.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is no reason to be surprised. The age-old hatred of Israel is rooted naturally in every person (1). Moreover, there is a direct connection between the hatred of Israel and the system of relationships among the people of Israel. The source for this has its origin somewhere around 3,500 years ago when we agreed to walk in the footsteps of a Babylonian priest named Abraham. Abraham taught the Babylonians how to hold unity as the highest value despite the divisive ego that leads the people to mutual hatred (2).

Against the force that separates, a force that connects is available. Its function is to link the various parts, connect them, and bring unity. The people of Israel are the first who must realize this process. The connection must begin here between us because we are the initiators of the method of connection called the wisdom of Kabbalah (3). The moment we unite, a positive force will spread through the world that is capable of creating wonders (4).

Uniting Against The Anti-Semitism Within Us

At the foot of Mount Sinai, Israel contended with an additional dilemma when an unequivocal choice was placed before them: mutual responsibility or unfounded hatred, all or nothing. With Titanic effort, they conquered the mountain of hatred and connected “as one heart.” From there, the way to the land of Israel—the building of the Temple, and prosperity—was short until the poison of unfounded hatred swept the people, the Temple was destroyed, and we went into exile (5).

Two thousand years have gone by since then, and even though we have returned to the land, we still behave in it as if we were in exile. Divided tribes and communities alienate each other, engage in self-glorification instead of building commonality, emphasizing and sanctifying difference instead of building what unites, and we actually are detached from our spiritual roots (6). The world expects us to be “a Light of nations” (Isaiah 49:6), providing a good example of a model society in which everyone lives in connection and brotherly love above all differences (7).

Waves of modern anti-Semitism have visited us. They must be used as a reminder to us of the role imposed upon the Jews to make the world unite “as one man with one heart.”

According to Kabbalah, anti-Semitism is a law of nature that can be measured. Let’s challenge ourselves and arrange a nationwide experimental study, a practical tool by means of which we examine on our own flesh the immensity of the power of connection. For a limited time, we will try to create and adopt a warm, sympathetic, and connected social atmosphere in the relationships between us, above the cold feelings, above the alienation and indifference between us, and we will see how a change in attitudes toward others leads to a significant reduction in the hatred toward us (and improves political relations, productive and friendly attitudes toward us in the world) (8).

References:

1. “It is a fact that Israel is hated by all the nations, whether for religious  racial, capitalist, communist, or for cosmopolitan reasons, etc. It is so because the hatred precedes all reasons, but each merely resolves its loathing according to its own psychology.” Rav Yehudah Ashlag (Baal HaSulam). The Writings of the Last Generation, Part One, Section Nine.

2. “There has never been kindness as it was found with Abraham…and he brought peace between a person and his fellow, for he was the father of many nations, for this is the one who unites and makes peace between all creatures.” Gevurot HaShem, Chapter 6.

3. “Also, it is upon the Israeli nation to qualify itself and all the people of the world to develop until they take upon themselves that sublime work of the love of others, which is the ladder to the purpose of Creation, which is Dvekut with Him.” Rav Yehudah Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee),” section 20.

4. “Through the people of Israel, who are more prepared than all the other peoples to approach the Creator, abundance will be bestowed upon the rest of the peoples.” Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (Rabash), Letters, “Letter 18.”

5. “The house was ruined because of unfounded hatred. Their hearts divided and they were parted and were unfit for a Temple that is the unification of Israel” Rabbi Israel Segal, Netzah Israel, Chapter 4. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-laitman/when-we-are-united-isis-i_b_8717558.html

6. “It is a shame to admit that one of the most precious merits we have lost during the exile, and the most important of them, is the loss of the awareness of the nationality, meaning that natural feeling that connects and sustains each and every nation. The threads of love that connect the nation, which are so natural and primitive in all the nations, have become degenerated and detached from our hearts, and they are gone.” Rav Yehudah Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), The Nation.

7. “Israel brings Light to the world as it is said, (Isaiah 60:3) ‘And nations shall walk at thy light’” Midrash Rabbah, Shir HaShirim, Section 4, Verse 2.

8. “When Israel will be elevated according to its true inner quality, giving the whole world a new and corrected form, then not only Israel will be elevated but the entire world. Then will begin a new era in which there is no mixture of evil filth; wickedness and insurgency will not work against it at all, anger and sadness cannot dominate within it, and worry about the balance of the world will not be able to arise in the heart. Then brute force will be essentially eliminated and the sword will lose its major importance and will become a complete disgrace.” Rav Raiah Kook, Ein Aya, Shabbat 2, Jerusalem 5660, pages 98-99.

9. Ford, H. (1949). The International Jew: the World’s Foremost Problem. Library of Alexandria. Pp. 51-52.
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From Ynet, 4/13/16

What Does The Creator Want?

laitman_276_01Question: How does the Creator want to bring us joy?

Answer: The Creator wants us to rise to the highest level of our development, so that we don’t have the same desires as a cat, but great aspirations that we will be able to fill with the pleasure of the perfect eternal existence.

We cannot perceive what an eternal pleasure is now because we don’t understand what it is. However, when a person begins to engage in the wisdom of Kabbalah and study it, he gradually discovers the infinite possibilities that he has.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/14/16

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New Life 155 – The Passover Seder, Part 2

New Life 155 – The Passover Seder, Part 2
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

How can we live a better life as individuals and as one Israeli family? What do we organize on the Seder Eve? And what can we learn by that in order to improve our life?

What is the Seder: We celebrate the discovery that there is order in creation, a plan, a program of development, a sublime goal.

In the beginning our forefathers were idol worshippers. Terach, Abraham, Egypt, and the connection to the upper force. This isn’t history. We celebrate the possibility of revealing the order to exit slavery and be liberated.

Humanity is led like a herd and does not perceive the order (“Seder” also means order in Hebrew). Very few understand and actually manage the order. Connecting to the inner software that operates nature makes everything go and leads to a good life.

Israel demands a new social order but doesn’t really understand what it is. This is exactly the feeling of darkness. The new order has to be compatible with the level of development defined by nature.

Moses understands the Seder since he knows how to connect to the upper force, and therefore he is the only one who can draw the people forward. He leads them to come out of the ego, ascending to a brotherly connection and discovering the upper force of love and bestowal among us.

We discover a common mind and heart through integral education, by learning the system of connections and through connection workshops. We are the slaves of the current social order: working, purchasing, spending, being in a constant chase! We are not able to escape this enslavement yet, but there is already a feeling of inner bitterness,

There are two trends today: growing external problems, multi-faceted crisis, and inner distress.

We will not be able to lead a good, healthy, joyful life without changing society. We need to connect and feel mutual guarantee among us. We are slaves to the social system we have built, to Pharaoh that forces us to live the way that we do.

Questions to think about: What manages me? What affects me?

We are the slaves of society, and therefore only the upgrading of our social values will help each of us. There is only one change we have to make: adding  the love of Israel to society, so that we will feel as one nation. We need a social-educational process: sitting together several times a week. We can also do it through the media.

Lesson # 1: The world is connected and integral today; all of nature is in a state of mutual complementation. Only man disrupts the balance in the world since he consumes much more than he needs.

What causes natural disasters, revolutions, and wars? It is actually we who are the lords of creation that are the most miserable. Why? It is because we cannot manage our ego. There are two conditions for managing our ego: rational consumption and good communication with others.

How do you communicate correctly with others? You rise above all the criticism that you feel toward others. In this way we reach peace, mutual complementation, and a truly good life. There is abundance in the world and the only thing we lack is connection. We can attain it by educating ourselves to live a new life, together, not under pressure or coercion.

A workshop for the Seder: Imagine that you have ascended all your egoistic feelings and that you are relating to others differently. Describe the new attitude out loud. We feel a new atmosphere among us.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 155 – The Passover Seder, Part 2,” 3/12/13

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New Life 154 – The Passover Seder, Part 1

New Life 154 – The Passover Seder, Part 1
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

What are the hidden meanings of Passover and the figures in the Haggadah and why do we keep the tradition for generations and celebrate the Seder?

Nimrod symbolizes the ego that erupted and separated people. Terach was a supporter of Nimrod. Abraham, his son, was against him. He realized that advancing according to the ego is a mistake. According to the ego a person who is more successful succeeds more. The opposite form is connection and mutual relations.

Abraham’s method was to use the ego in the opposite way, which allows a person to get to know his nature. A person begins to feel the force that builds the egoistic desires in him and to discover the Creator.

Nimrod and Terach realized that Abraham was ruining things for them. Abraham left with thousands of his followers. Abraham’s group moved to the land of Canaan. The ego grows and there are great disputes, but they try to keep connected above them. Ego and anti-ego: there is endless work that leads to the recognition of the source of life, of a new life.

Jacob’s sons represent different methods of working above the ego. Joseph represents the most advanced method. They went down to Egypt where there are the seven years of satiety, then the ego grows and Joseph’s method is exhausted.

These periods are called the levels in a person’s work above his ego, which are his help against him. Then there are the seven years of hunger in which a new king rises who doesn’t know Joseph. The ego has nothing more to gain.

The new ego called Pharaoh is very cruel. He doesn’t let us live and connect. A new force called Moses is revealed and says: “We have to fight Pharaoh!”

Nimrod is a level of the ego and in contrast to it there is Abraham’s method, Pharaoh is a level of the ego and in contrast to it there is Moses’ method. Moses is a special upgrading. We need the force that constantly builds a new ego in us, the Creator.

The children of Israel need to understand that the new ego is ruining them, and the ten plagues develop this recognition. They reach the state of darkness, the necessity and inability to connect. We drown in the swamp…the night of the exodus from Egypt.

We have no power to connect, but we have the power to escape from Egypt by a small force called Moses. This is an internal journey of developing the method of connection, the growing ego, and the gathering at Mt. Sinai.

The children of Israel begin to recognize God, the force of nature that is everywhere and develops everything. Pharaoh is the most cunning ego that requires the revelation of inner software that builds the ego. At the gathering at Mt. Sinai, the mountain of hatred is revealed, the Pharaoh that is among them.

Passover is when we begin to be a nation that is connected to the inner force that builds our nature, the upper force. The connection we feel among us is called the general soul, and so the evening of the exodus from Egypt is considered a birth.

So why do we clean for Passover? We clean ourselves of our ego. Hametz (leavened food) equals ego; Matza is the force of bestowal.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 154 – The Passover Seder, Part 1,” 3/12/13

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Passover

Dr. Michael LaitmanPassover means transition from the feeling of our world, inherent to every man in this world, to the feeling of the upper world. Only a Kabbalist can master it.

Passover, like all other Jewish holidays, is a purely Kabbalistic holiday. It recounts man’s leap from the state of not being able to unite with others to the state when his ego allows him to do it.

Men’s exit from the control of the ego to the unity with like-minded people is called “Passover.”

Question: What enables him to undergo such a leap?

Answer: The desire. After all, from the arriving to Egypt until exiting Egypt the enormous egoistic desire is continuously growing, not allowing the people of Israel to unite between them.

The people of Israel have to unite in order to reveal the Creator,  the quality of love and bestowal, in the connection between them. And when they see that they don’t have any ability to do so, they feel that they are in the darkness of Egypt. And now they are ready for anything just to break free from there! And this is called flight, escape from Egypt.

And if we consider it in the light of what happens to a person, because usually Kabbalah talks precisely about it, then we are talking about man’s property. A person is ready to do anything, even jump into the sea, just to break free from his ego, to rise above it and to reach the quality of the Creator, which is love and bestowal.

He throws himself into the sea and the sea parts before him. He crosses it, cutting himself from the ego and this way he, by being above the ego, becomes ready to start working with it, transform it into altruism.

This is the exit from Egypt we celebrate during Passover.
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New Life 714 – Seder Customs

New Life 714 – Seder Customs
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

What do the customs and symbols of the Seder stand for? How are they related to the developmental process we have to undergo as a nation? What is the exodus from exile to redemption that we should reach?

The Seder symbolizes the summary of the Egyptian bondage, the enslavement to the ego, to capitalism, to the endless chase. People don’t want to get married and to have children any more, which indicates that humanity has reached a dead end and we need a new way of life.

What do the symbols and the Seder customs stand for?

The Passover Seder plate contains the symbols of the states we went through in Egypt and that we have to undergo on the day we are liberated. The four glasses of wine symbolize the ego that develops in four phases, where the wine represents the Light of Hochma. The glass for Elijah symbolizes the force that brings us to love and connection, the peak of our development.

The verse we read in the Haggadah, “pour out Your wrath on the nations that did know You,” refers to the egoistic forces in us, that a man is a small world. The Afikomen, which must be eaten until midnight, symbolizes the upper force that corrects us that appears at the darkest moment.

As long as we think that improving our bank account is our redemption, we are not headed in the right direction at all, and so we are still in exile. We will be redeemed when we feel that we lack love and connection and we have to work in order to attain it. Instead of criticizing one another, we have to criticize ourselves, and to examine where we stand with regard to the rule love thy friend as thyself. So on the Seder eve we should think about the exodus from unfounded hatred and disrespect of others to connection and brotherly love.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 714 – The Seder Customs,” 4/12/16

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 04.21.16

Writings of Rabash, “Rungs of the Ladder,” “They Helped Everyone His Friend”

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