New Life 720 – The Splitting Of The Red Sea
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

The development of humanity cannot be described without the Torah that influences it dramatically. Kabbalists don’t relate to the Torah as a description of the phenomena of nature, but as an inner description of a person according to “A person is a small world” (Midrash Tanhuma, Parshat Pekudei, Siman 3).

The truth is that there is no world outside of a person, everything that we see around us is a projection of our interior. 100 years ago we didn’t imagine that there would be television, and in the future, technology will insert the viewer into the movie realistically. When we approach a spiritual perception we understand that reality is portrayed within us. The wisdom of Kabbalah is the wisdom of perception.

The Torah describes how the upper thought, the higher program, directs all of the theater around us. A person lives within himself, yet he has the possibility of connecting to that higher thought, the upper force. Some of us believe that there is a higher power that demands that a person fulfill Mitzvot (commandments) and accordingly gives us a reward in this world and in the next world. Others say that the higher power expects us to want to become aware of it, to resemble it, to love as it does.

Those who are concerned about their privacy in this world and in the next world, remain in the ego, with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And those who are concerned about love of others, to be like the upper force, which is good and does good, leave Egypt. When they want to break away from the control of the ego, egoistic thoughts again “pursue” them, which are called, “He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh” (Exodus 9:20), and they seem to tell a person to fulfill Mitzvot, to receive a reward and be satisfied with this.

The Exodus from Egypt reaches its conclusion with the splitting of the Red Sea (Yam Suf), detachment from the egoistic intention. It is called this because it indicates the end (Sof) of the control of Pharaoh in Egypt. The egoistic intentions in a person are not able to agree with disconnection. Therefore they sink in the sea, and this is their correction. The sea symbolizes the waters of Gevura, and they are opened only for those who are truly ready to break away from self-interest and thinking of oneself as a law of nature.

The splitting of the Red Sea describes what goes on in a person internally. The miracle happens through the power of faith when we are ready to go above our reason, and according to the force of love. The splitting of the Red Sea is detachment from the ego and association to the total system, and this is the answer to all the questions of existence.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 720 – The Splitting Of The Reed Sea,” 4/21/16

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Preparation for the Lesson

Writings of Rabash “Rungs of the Ladder,” Article 14

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, “Good and Evil”

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 6, Part 15, Item 17

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Inheritance of the Land”

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Opinion (liberation.fr): “Imagine the head of the European Central Bank hovering in a helicopter above the major cities and throwing money! Such a step would indicate how strong the doubts are about the effectiveness of the monetary policy that is designed to boost economic growth and prevent deflation.

“The interest rate of the European Central Bank according to which it lends money has gradually been reduced to 0%. The interest rates in France have even become negative. 40% of the debts of the European nations (2.86 trillion Euros) are now traded at a value less than 0%. To prevent the investment of money in bank accounts, they have decided to impose a tax on them hoping that the banks will begin to give loans. But this monetary policy of the European Central Bank has not yielded results.

“The direct distribution of money among the inhabitants is something that must engender a rise in consumption. If money is given to each citizen, he will spend it immediately, but the mass of commodities will remain as before. As a result of this, the money that is distributed will automatically lead to an increase in consumption and a rise in prices. Many economists consider this suggestion to be absurd.

“The proposal for the direct transfer of money to the accounts of the citizens of Europe raises questions of a democratic character, like: Who has the right to make a decision regarding the money? Is it the democratically chosen parliament and not the independent Central Bank who should alone decide without any oversight by the citizens? To whom and how should this money be distributed?

Everything depends on the question of the creation of a true European budget. Companies and families don’t want credit because of uncertainty about the future. The Central Banks are transferring tons of money into the economic conduits in vain, because all of them are missing the target, meaning that they are not influencing the volume consumption.”

My Comment: The era of money is over. We must look for another incentive— the spiritual opposite of money. It seems impossible to replace the distinct egoistic incentive with an indistinct altruistic incentive, but the world is coming to this, and its internal program is required to implement it.

“Kesef” (money) comes from the word “Kisuf” (yearning), meaning a “Masach” (screen) that covers (Mekaseh) the ego, and it speaks precisely about not needing to receive but to distribute, just as the distinguished economists have said themselves.
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Question: Why does a person who begins to go along the path toward correction continue to suffer? And therefore, what is the difference between the “path of Torah” and the “path of suffering”?

Answer: A person who is going along the path of correction must already discern that the suffering that he gets, which attracts him toward correction, is called sufferings of love.

When I give a child small jobs, he or she is not suffering! These are actions the child must perform, and in this manner he advances toward a better state. If he perceives this correctly, the whole path even becomes a way of discovery for him.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/14/16

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Question: You say that we have to take the opportunities that the Creator gives us. Are the sufferings that we feel these opportunities? How should a person who doesn’t have a point in the heart live in a world in which the spiritual ascent has already begun?

Answer: If a person doesn’t have a point in the heart, if he has nothing to do with the wisdom of Kabbalah, he doesn’t owe anything to anyone whatsoever. He can live his life peacefully until this point appears in him.

Such a person suffers because he still advances toward the revelation of the goal of creation, but he does so instinctively, subconsciously, by receiving blows, just as all of nature develops.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/14/16

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New Life 548 – The Holocaust And The New Jewish Identity
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

How has the Holocaust affected our development as a nation? What should we understand from what happened and what is the Jewish identity we have to build so that we will become a model and a source of affinity for the whole world?

The world is advancing not only technologically; we also need to develop a new awareness, a positive attitude to everyone. Today it is clear that we can achieve anything technologically and there is great abundance, but the relations between people are getting worse.

This process started a hundred years ago. We were given a chance to return to our land and to re-establish the connection between us. But because we didn’t do so, the world was thrown into maelstrom of wars, revolutions, and finally the Holocaust.

After the Holocaust we were given the chance to build ourselves in the land of Israel. Today, the world is collapsing and the ego is destroying everything. Before the Holocaust we survived in exile and kept the religious customs. But because we did not advance to a new consciousness of leading the world to love, we receive a negative push.

All the afflictions we have undergone since establishing of the State of Israel stem from the delay in our advancement toward a new consciousness. The true internal Jewish identity is that we are all one bundle. We have to correct our egoism.

Our nation has been divided into two groups in Israel, religious and secular, and there are numerous factions within each group. We have to build an umbrella that will protect us from hatred, rejection, and detachment. We must awaken the connecting force. Let’s spur the positive force in the nation above the negative force of egoism and hold the two reins.

The revelation of the force of connection and love between people is called the revelation of the Creator. This is the goal of our life. When we were in exile we kept the traditional Jewish way. But in Israel, the negative force and hatred erupted. Today we have to add the positive force that will lead the nation to connection. We need people who can lead and educate the nation to this end. Then the positive force, the force of love, will spread among us and will put in every human’s heart the care for the well being of others.

The future Jewish identity is to lead humanity to love and connection, and will thus become a spiritual nation.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 548 – The Holocaust And The New Jewish Identity,” 4/7/15

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Question: In the course of human history, there has hardly been a day without war in the world. Even in our day, many cruel wars are happening. Why do even advanced people like Kabbalists suffer from this?

Answer: The Kabbalists suffer even more than others because they feel responsibility toward everyone. They sense the huge mass of suffering that war carries with it. In addition, they also experience a huge mass of pleasure that humanity could get instead of the suffering were it to invest a bit of effort to correct itself.

A Kabbalist in relation to an ordinary person is like an adult in relation to an infant. An infant who is ill only suffers because of the illness whereas the adult close to him suffers much more and is ready to take all of the pain of the infant upon himself.

About this it is said, “he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Because of this, we must unite, quickly overcome this period of suffering and war, and enter into the feeling of the upper world.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/14/16

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Question: Israeli Deputy Minister of Health Jacob Litzman called the people of Israel to cut down on the consumption of fast food and even wanted to ban the McDonald’s fast food chain restaurant. He suggested teaching children to avoid unhealthy food. He emphasized that the goal of the health ministry has changed and that now it will focus on curbing the popularity of fast food.

Answer: The Americans already have realized that they should give up fast food since it is only beneficial for those who produce it.

But people still must grab something on the way and have no idea, for example, what a hot dog is made of, and they don’t really care as long as it fills them up. A person eats a hotdog, drinks a coke, and feels good. The fact that he later must spend his wages on doctors and medications doesn’t matter, he doesn’t see the connection here.

I am for removing all the junk food and sweets, of course. They are merely the product of our latest technologies. If you told a person 150 years ago that you have candies, he would not understand what you are saying. Candies, just like sugar, do not exist in nature. There are, on the other hand, fruits, honey, nuts, and so on.

Question: But the body craves it.

Answer: This is because it is easy for the body to receive an immediate supply of fats and carbohydrates. The body gets used to such foods very quickly and becomes too lazy to get it any other way. This is very harmful, so such foods should be forbidden in children’s institutions and on every street corner. It is better to consume foods like falafel because it is a vegetable product. If you don’t fry it in oil, it is certainly healthy.

Question: Should we ban such foods?

Answer: Of course I would love to keep all of the sweets and junk foods far away from our children. See how the French live. They live longer because everything that they consume is natural. They don’t consume hot dogs and cokes. I believe that we should not adopt the worst there is in humanity. I support the health minister’s proposal.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 4/14/16

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Question: The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted the heartbreaking news about more mass suicide attempts among the Native American population.

Answer: The Native Americans in Canada and South America feel isolated from the modern world and feel that they don’t belong to it. They find our world threatening, feel that they don’t understand it and cannot be part of it. Very few manage to overcome this barrier and adapt to the modern world to some extent.

Today, it is even hard for us to adapt to it, although we are the ones who actually have created it. It is not easy to live in today’s world.

Canada provides the First Nation’s population with everything that they need. They live in large and rich reservations where the cost of living is low. They pay no taxes and can do whatever they want. But they still feel emptiness and cannot fill their natural desire to merge with nature by living a modern life.

The invasion of this strange lifestyle has detached them from nature and destroyed the relationships between parents and children and with the land. They don’t feel the wide-open spaces, they don’t hunt. They no longer have the mutual relationships they had in order to communicate in times of war, peace, or truce. They cannot overcome this loss.

This is what happens when people lose their spiritual root. We can provide them with everything they want on the material level, but it is impossible to replace their yearning for their spiritual root. This stops the natural development, which should occur in this nation.

This is the reason that Baal HaSulam wrote that civilized nations bring huge misfortune to indigenous tribes since they destroy their relationship to the land. What can be done? I believe that it would be possible to start working among them to unite, if we have the strength and resources. Internal union would begin to lift them, to nourish them, and to reconnect them.

That’s what I talked to the Indians during my trip to South America.

I had a chance to speak about that to Indians in South America during my visit there. And they understood me, approved, and they agreed that this is what should be done. However, in order to do this, we must be near them and show them how to unite, not in the lodge or a fire, but in a more sublime and spiritual way. They understand and feel it, but this requires extensive work.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 4/13/16

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