Question: Is a person who is spiritually strong more of an egoist?

Answer: Yes, the higher a person ascends on the spiritual ladder, the stronger are his egoistic and altruistic characteristics. He experiences greater descents and ascents. However, from aside, it doesn’t generally seem that way. All spiritual processes a Kabbalist passes through are not completely seen to an external eye.

Question: Are the operation of a Tzimtzum (restriction) and a Masach (screen) the same?

Answer: A Tzimtzum is my refusal to receive for myself, while a Masach is working with an intention for the sake of bestowal.

Question: What actions does a Kabbalist carry out that a regular person cannot?

Answer: Only spiritual actions. In our world, we can carry out only the same functions that our body makes possible. In this case, a Kabbalist cannot do what is outside the framework of his beastly body.

Question: Is it possible to give an example of a spiritual action?

Answer: Every action through which you want to benefit others, for their sake and not your sake, is considered as a spiritual action.

Question: For whom is the method of the wisdom of Kabbalah intended?

Answer: It is intended for anyone who wants to become familiar with it.

Question: Are there spiritual laws that can be followed in this world that are without consequences?

Answer: Try to be good to people, to protect the world. Then, the results will also be good.

Question: Is it possible to exploit the upper Light not for spiritual purposes?

Answer: It is impossible. The upper Light works with an intention for the sake of bestowal. This is a characteristic that is derived only from your desire to bestow, to fulfill others. Therefore, not using it for spiritual purposes is contrary to its declaration.

Question: What is the intention of inner work in the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: Inner work is a condition wherein I work with my desires within myself, comparing the various desires and intentions, and so forth.

Question: In the past 100 years, we have greatly embraced the use of electricity. In another 100 years, will we be using another form of the power of the Creator?

Answer: Judging by how much we are united and unite more each day, I think that it will be necessary to call upon the power of the Creator for help much earlier than in another 100 years. This is because, otherwise, we will simply “devour” each other.
[228286]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/4/18

Related Material:
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 1/14/18
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 12/31/17, Part 2
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 12/31/17, Part 1

Filed under: Q&A, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

The difference between the most mournful, bitter day, and sweetest and most joyful, is in essence, determined by our relationship to the conditions presented to us. We can look on these conditions and perceive them through our egoism, through the evil inclination, or we can perceive them through the quality of bestowal, through the good; in other words, we can perceive through separation or through unity. The same Light, which should have been revealed within unity, reveals within the shattering and results in tragic effects.

We cannot blame the upper force for our suffering because everything depends only on the vessels into which we receive. What descends to us from above is always the same: the upper Light, loving kindness and mercy, but the result is always determined simply by how much we are in equivalence of form with this upper Light.

During this particular time, the same Light shines as the one that brought about the destruction. However, it was meant to bring about correction if the sin of the golden calf and the shattering of the tablets had not occurred. This is how we must always relate to whatever is occurring—with the understanding that everything depends on our unity. In our unity, we can receive the influence from above in its correct form, in the correct Kli.

If we are not ready for this, then that great Light, which should have filled the correct Kli and brought us joy, advancement, and attainment, brings us destruction and suffering instead. Everything depends on us.¹

The wall does not protect us from the infiltration of evil from the outside because the Light of the Creator is the only thing that is being revealed outside. The wall protects us from ourselves, from our egoistic desires. A desire can be for or against unity; this is considered as internal and external in the wisdom of Kabbalah. In this Light, we must see all such concepts as the “city,” the “wall,” and the “enemies” who attack us.²
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/1/18, Lesson on the Topic: “The Period of ‘Between the Straits’”
1 Minute 16:27
2 Minute 54:07

Related Material:
The People Of Israel In The Land Of Israel
Ynet: “Breaking Out From The Straits”
Between The Straights

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

New Life 1014 – Found And Desirable, Part 1
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

If we know what nature “wants” from us, how it manages us, then we will understand what currently exists and what is desirable. Our present situation comes from the upper force, which develops the ecology, the family, the country, and the entire world. We experience pressures because we make demands of each other that do not get met. We are imbalanced both internally and externally. Ideally, no one will oppress anyone else and we will learn how to flow together with nature.
[227565]
From KabTV’s “New Life 1014 – Found And Desirable, Part 1,” 5/29/18

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: New Life - No Comments →

Lesson Preparation

Lesson on the Topic “From Love for the Created Beings to The Love for the Creator”

Talmud Eser Sefirot,  Vol. 2, Part 6, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Item 15

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download:MP3 Audio

Filed under: Audio Version of the Blog - No Comments →

Instead of masses of workers feeding elite, we see a small number of workers feeding masses of loafers whom they intend to pay a guaranteed income for nothing. But these masses will have to undergo education and in a good, reciprocal connection will all have to reveal the Creator.

#Kabbalah is the science of #social cohesion, which does not smooth things out or hide #conflicts. However, it changes attitudes toward them and lifts above them.

No #freetrade has ever existed—protectionism always has, only concealed! But the contradictions of national economies have become so acute that they cannot be mitigated by hidden protectionism. Regarding the #import duties—this is better, because they are playing openly.

To be independent a person must include two opposites
– lifepath with ego and problems
– cover it with “there is none else besides Him,” the force of bestowal
By engaging these two forces we acquire the middle line, their harmony in balance,
So we achieve adhesion with the Creator

Above all the hindrances that come only from Him, we hold on to “There is none else besides Him,” strengthening each other, realizing the need to rise above the ego-sensations: “They have eyes, but they don’t see; ears, but do not hear.” Try to relate everything to the Creator!

We reach adhesion with the Creator with our dual inner nature: the one opposite to Him and the one that maintains Him. So, while remaining His creations, we achieve similarity to Him. And the path to this goal is through love of the creations, and further, to the love of the Creator.

Why is love of the Creator acquired in the love of His creations? Everyone agrees to love the Creator—it’s the ultimate force that created everything and governs everything. For selfish reasons, it’s advantageous for us to be close to it. But closeness is determined by similarity!

There’s no work but to picture yourself in the Creator despite obstacles and to seek connection with the group where everyone sees himself and the group in the Creator. Obstacles in connecting with the group and the Creator are rungs of the spiritual ladder ascending to the loving Creator

To attain perfection, rising to the Creator can be done by receiving His properties over ours. For this we must have both: properties opposite to the Creator’s, as creations, and those similar to the Creator’s, as the goal of creation demands— adhesion in the equivalence of form.

A person must include two opposites: below—the flow of life with its obstacles, above it—confidence in “There is none else besides Him,” the upper force of bestowal. But we acquire the middle line, where both lines are in harmony, and we achieve adhesion with the Creator.

We don’t change anything in the world: in or around us. It is revealed that all comes from the Creator and there is none else besides Him—this where the correction lies. But it is revealed through feeling “out of oneself,” which is acquired in the love of creations (in the group)
From Twitter, 7/8/18

Related Material:
My Thoughts On Twitter 7/6/18
My Thoughts On Twitter 7/5/18
My Thoughts On Twitter 7/4/18

Filed under: Thoughts on Twitter - No Comments →

From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 7/8/18

The world is heaving a sigh of relief. After two gut-wrenching weeks, four boys were rescued from the cave in North Thailand. Yet, tension is still at its peak as eight more boys are trapped in the cave with their coach, where oxygen levels are gradually declining and water levels are threatening to rise.

Two weeks ago this dramatic portrayal would have sounded like a trailer for a blockbuster thriller. But as the script became reality, the media channels around the world are doing their best to keep us biting our nails while watching.

So what is truly driving the explosion of interest in this story? An earnest human concern or curiosity? How much do we truly fear for the fate of the Thai children? Did news about the nearly one hundred Japanese who died today due to record floods also make us similarly anxious? Or did it not have enough drama to reach our awareness?

Surely, we are addicted to sensationalism. Media producers are well aware of it, and knowingly use it to boost their ratings. They will prioritize the story that keeps us glued to the screen. And the rating counter doesn’t differentiate between the Thai cave incident and a popular world cup soccer match.

That being said, a dramatic event of global proportions does capture our common attention in a unique way. We watch, follow and even worry about it together, and without noticing, we are gradually fused into a common humanity. We are getting used to our common life as a global village.

Emotionally speaking, we aren’t there yet. But that is news to come.

Filed under: Facebook - No Comments →

The three weeks preceding the 9th of Av have begun. These days are called Bein ha Metzarim (“between the straights”). Everything happening in this world is the effect of the upper system. Actions and states in our world spread from the upper root to the material branch and materialize in this world as branches, in the inanimate material, vegetative, animate, and people, in time and space. We must study the roots by analyzing their branches.

As of today, the upper branches have already materialized in our world, all except the final correction (Gmar Tikkun). Everything that had to be revealed has been revealed; all that is left is the final correction. That is why Baal HaSulam says that we are living in the times of the last generation that will have to correct the shattering, which has already been completely revealed. We now only need to apply effort in order to rise above it.

But the ascent upward is impossible without a clear understanding of the malfunction that exists in the system and a correct relationship to it, as being a necessary initial condition. Essentially, it is not a sin. The creation of the evil inclination was necessary. Both the “sky” and the “earth” are necessary because “He created them one against the other,” as if the evil force has been created against the good force.

In reality, it only emphasizes the positive. It is because, as is later revealed, there is no evil. There is only a lack of the good. Also, the good will be revealed in multifaceted ways as a result of the role the evil played against it. There is no evil, there is only the revelation of the good in its opposite form.

We need to learn that there is a connection between the root and the branch. This means that in our time, as was during the course of our entire history, the root appears through the branches on particular dates, repeating in the same points in time; for example, the 17th of Tammuz, the 9th of Av. These dates always brought suffering to the nation of Israel, while the time around Purim was usually joyful and happy.

That is why during these days we need to be especially careful, even in our material concerns, and avoid risky actions until the end of day of the 9th of Av. Right after it, we already begin to feel that we are exiting from a mourning period and can rejoice and aspire toward the final correction.

The 17th of Tammuz is the beginning of the days “between the straights,” associated with the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple wall, and the destruction of the Temple itself, symbolizing the existing connection in the nation of Israel after entering the land of Israel. This connection becomes possible thanks to the reception of the Torah, the preparation for which was the 40 years of wandering in the desert and the correction of Malchut with the help of Bina. Bina is the letter “mem – מ” (forty).

After that, as soon as they built the First Temple, they immediately began to fall. They built the Second Temple, already lower than the First, but it was also destroyed. That was already the final destruction. All of this destruction occurred on the day of the 9th of Av.

For us, today, the immediate goal is to re-establish the Shechina (divinity). In other words, the correction must occur specifically on the same dates. Where hatred and shattering were revealed, unity and the love must also be revealed.¹
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/1/18, Lesson on the Topic: “The Period of ‘Between the Straits’”
1 Minute 0:20

Related Material:
The Path Toward The Light Passes Between The Straights
Be Prepared For The 9th Of Av
The 9th Of Av

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

New Life 1013 – Complacency And Lack Of Responsibility
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

To the degree that I transform myself into a conduit between the higher power and society will I be able to have confidence in a positive future. Every person should feel responsible for attracting the positive force and bringing society to a state in which a higher power is taking care of it. This requires internal sensitivity to others and to society as a whole. The heart must have a supreme value. When disaster strikes, the responsibility ultimately belongs to the complacent and negligent society that failed to educate people adequately.
[227569]
From KabTV’s “New Life 1013 – Complacency And Lack Of Responsibility,” 5/27/18

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: New Life - No Comments →

Question: What is work in the wisdom of Kabbalah? Who is the employer and who is the employee?

Answer: Work in the wisdom of Kabbalah is called “the Creator’s work” because the Creator implements all of our actions according to our invitation. In this way He forces us to invite the right invitations.

Question: Working for myself in opposition to others is bad, and is this not in opposition to others?

Answer: Working for yourself in opposition to others is bad, and not in opposition to others is a beastly state. It is an unconscious ego.

Question: How is it possible to correctly apply the principle that it is preferable to make a mistake with the group rather than being right on one’s own?

Answer: Be in the group all the time. Any time, wherever one may be, at work or at home, you will feel that you are among friends, and then you will not make a mistake. It is a mistake that you are making along with the friends, which is actually a good thing.

Question: If good and bad come from the Creator, then how does the wisdom of Kabbalah teach us to balance them in everyday practical work?

Answer: In everyday practical work, it is up to us to remember constantly that we are in an integral system in which everything is interconnected. It is necessary to be absolutely equal in this system, balanced in it such that our relationship to it, we will be maximally capable of resembling the Creator.

Question: How can I goad and encourage myself to advance more rapidly? Can the goal become the main incentive?

Answer: The goal is the goal; while an incentive is a movement toward the goal. It must come from recognition of the greatness of the Creator by the group. The greatness of the Creator is the incentive. That is the energy.
[226719]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 3/12/18

Related Material:
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 12/3/17, Part 1
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 11/26/17
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 11/19/17

Filed under: Spiritual Work - No Comments →