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Thrive Global published my new article: “How A Trip To The Moon Makes Everything Clear”

To see ourselves realistically means to see ourselves as parts of a globally interdependent system. It means to see an ideal and holistic picture of mutually influential relationships.

I like listening to astronauts describe their feelings after looking at the Earth from space. What’s interesting is that astronauts are generally quite mechanical, not openly displaying their emotions. But when they travel into space and see the planet as one small nest full of little chicks, then these generally unemotional people express very deep and touching feelings, as they paint a vivid picture of the integral system we share.

“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.” — Neil Armstrong

“The biggest joy was on the way home. in my cockpit window every two minutes — the Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and a whole 360-degree panorama of the heavens. And that was a powerful, overwhelming experience. And suddenly I realized that the molecules of my body, and the molecules of the spacecraft, the molecules in the body of my partners, were prototyped and manufactured in some ancient generation of stars. And that was an overwhelming sense of oneness, of connectedness. It wasn’t them and us, it was — that’s me, that’s all of it, it’s one thing. And it was accompanied by an ecstasy, a sense of ‘oh my god, wow, yes,’ an insight, an epiphany.”– Edgar Mitchell — In the Shadow of the Moon

Therefore, to see myself realistically means to try and see the planet as one nest that everyone shares as chicks. I then need to be concerned that the nest won’t become unstable or break.

It’s a completely different sensation to the one where we feel “grounded” here on Earth. It’s a different dimension, because you feel it as a place detached, dependent on air. Your nest doesn’t rest on any tree. It’s simply in space. Beyond that globe and its atmospheric layer… nothing.

Humanity needs to grow up and see its true integral form. How much longer can we keep letting ourselves behave like wild children, flexing our pride and power muscles at each other? It’s the worst and most irresponsible form of childishness.

“I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of, let’s say 100,000 miles, their outlook would be fundamentally changed. The all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument suddenly silenced.” — Michael Collins, Apollo 11

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Question: When reading Talmud Eser Sefirot, I fall asleep, but when I hear The Zohar, it fascinates me. Is it worthwhile to continue reading The Study of the Ten Sefirot, or is it intended only for men?

Answer: If you are a woman, then generally you do not have to read The Study of the Ten Sefirot; instead, read the articles and letters of Baal HaSulam and Rabash.

Question: In the Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot, it is said that if a person learns Torah and doesn’t attain what is necessary after 3 to 5 years have gone by, he will no longer see success on the way. Why is the study of the wisdom of Kabbalah a last resort?

Answer: These things were said so that those people who truly yearn to learn the Torah will know that it was given to a person for the correction of oneself and the revelation of the Creator to him in this world. Therefore, if a person studies Torah for 3 years and doesn’t see any result, this means that he must move to the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Question: Baal HaSulam said that the soul of the great Ari was clothed in him. Was this the same soul or did he just achieve the same degree as the Ari?

Answer: No, it is the same soul. This is called the “Conception of the Souls.”

Question: The wisdom of Kabbalah is also an inheritance, a heritage. From whom did Baal HaSulam inherit it? Who was his teacher?

Answer: His teacher was a Rabbi from Porosov, a small city near Warsaw, which is where he lived. But when Baal HaSulam understood that he had gone beyond his teacher, he decided he should leave Poland and travel to Israel, and that is what he did.

Question: Thanks to the scientific approach, I read Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Kabbalistic texts with a feeling that I don’t even understand a single word in them. Isn’t this terrible?

Answer: This is terrible. You should read with feeling and understanding. It is said that “the heart understands,” meaning that there should be a particular combination between feeling and understanding, from understanding to feeling and from feeling to understanding. One supervises and defines the other.

Question: When one reads a book of Kabbalah, does it mean that one experiences the states of the author while reading?

Answer: I suppose so. As is understood, you cannot experience what the author experienced, but you can to a small degree.

Question: Can a student immediately approach the study of the writings of Baal HaSulam? Or must he first grasp and understand, meaning approach them?

Answer: I would begin with the articles of the Kabbalists above all, which were written for the wider circles of society. These are “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah),” “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee),” “Peace in the World,” and so forth.

Question: For a Kabbalist, what is the significance of the disappearance of the beastly part (death)?

Answer: It has no significance. If something happens to me, I will accept this with absolute calmness. The only thing that concerns me is to give a good lesson with full intensity and shaking up the lazy students that are with me all over the world. Nothing else worries me. I hope this will be for a while longer. At least, that is what I am living for.

Question: Can I show someone summaries of the books that I have written in my own words or should I burn them?

Answer: You can leave them with you. Even if someone would see them or hear them, it is okay.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 3/10/19

Related Material:
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Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 1/27/19
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 1/20/19

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How could modern America become anti-Semitic? “

It is becoming anti-Semitic in many ways, not the least of which is through the education system. Colleges are notorious for fomenting hatred against the Jews.

I spoke about it many years ago, that the next Holocaust would be in America because it is the most developed, modern and multicultural country in our times. As America was still becoming established, it endured its labor pains through struggles with African Americans and Latin Americans. However, when America more or less became established, then anti-Semitism started appearing more and more.

When I visited America 20 years ago, I spoke with American Jews, explaining how anti-Semitism was going to ignite in the US. They all exploded in laughter when I said that. Today, the same American Jews I spoke to clearly see and agree that anti-Semitism is an intensifying problem in America. However, today I’m saying something even worse, that the next Holocaust will be in America. They still don’t understand that and say, “in the meantime, it’s still okay.” That’s also what the Jews in Germany said as they were being escorted to the trains to Auschwitz.

I have extensively spoken and written about the reason for anti-Semitism, which is that the Jewish people need to perform a special role in humanity—to unite (“love your friend as yourself”) and be a conduit for unity to spread to humanity (to be a “light unto nations”)—and anti-Semitism appears as a force to pressure the Jews to perform their role if they make no moves in that direction by themselves. This is the role that the Jews acquired when they gathered from all parts of Babylon some 4,000 years ago, under the guidance of Abraham, who led them to attain spiritual unity, where from unity among themselves they reached unity with the upper spiritual force.

The Jews lost connection to their spiritual unity some 2,000 years ago as they entered the period of exile. In our time, there is a renewed sense of urgency for unity to reawaken in humanity. As such, all fingers point at the Jews, albeit subconsciously, for them to implement the method of connection that they received in Abraham’s time. This is the reason for the exponential rise of anti-Semitism in our time, and especially in today’s most developed country, America. As myriad problems hit people around the world due to a lack of social cohesion, the need for unity above divisions becomes more and more prominent, and the more people feel pain in their lives, the more they subconsciously feel that Jews are behind that pain—for failing to come forward with the method of unification of all peoples.

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Afterword

Question: Can you summarize the material covered for those who are hearing it for the first time.

Answer: Firstly, I have often explained the stages of the development of the direct light. Other descriptions are worth seeing too. I strongly advise doing so because each time the material is expressed somewhat differently.

Secondly, people still need to get acquainted with the terms in Hebrew since Kabbalah is described in Hebrew and Aramaic. But for now, at least Hebrew is enough.

It is necessary to process this topic well because it is the main one. All worlds and everything that happens next are based on the four stages of direct light. Why four? Because Keter (the zero stage) bestows, and all other four stages (Hochma, Bina, Zeir Anpin, Malchut or 1, 2, 3, 4) are received from Keter. You need to know that.

Next we go through how these five stages are reflected in the development of matter, in our human development, in evolution. They determine absolutely everything that is in a small microscopic particle of nature or in all of nature in general, including society, family, and each person. Whatever we take, we can always say: There are five stages in the development of desire, and therefore, we know how something happens or even how something will happen.

Question: Is the interaction of the desire to receive and to give creation and the Creator is imprinted as a stencil on the relationship between people?

Answer: It is imprinted on all forms of matter and its development. Any interaction includes all five stages.
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From the TV program “Basics of Kabbalah,” 11/27/18

Related Material:
The Structure Of The Universe, Part 7
The Structure Of The Universe, Part 6
The Structure Of The Universe, Part 5

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Lesson Preparation

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 11

Lesson on the Topic “To Learn From the Descent During the Time of Ascent” 

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