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From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 5/22/20

People’s pockets already face the impact of the biggest economic shake-up since the Great Depression. The distress is real and tangible and has brought about attempts for a speedy return to routine, back to what we have all known from the recent past: full employment, a culture of consumption and shopping spree, and of-course, rapid economic growth. But the financial system crumbled very easily. We should now aim at building a more sustainable and solid economic model.

By mid-March, around 39 million people in America had already lost their jobs. The crisis has stretched beyond the capacity of both governments and central banks to aid businesses, employees, employers, the self-employed, everyone. US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell notes the unparalleled response to the equally unmatched challenge of recovery, “there is no precedent in post-World War II American history that’s even close to what Congress has done. They have passed $3 trillion in stimulus… It is vastly larger than anything they’ve ever done.”

Getting the economy back on track is the hope of everyone, from economists and policy-makers to the common worker. I fully understand them and share their sorrow, but we have to recognize what is happening around us so we know how to face it properly. Otherwise, what we are witnessing today, the confusion and failures in dealing with people and the market, will only increase when further blows from nature appear on the horizon, and they certainly will—as science warns— because there is a corrective purpose behind them.

Building on Solid Ground

The pillars upon which the present economic system is based have been shaky for some time. The future of the welfare state and the safety net of Social Security are foggy. The spending patterns of the younger generation are not living up to the expectations of economists as they refuse to accept the equation of a baseless American dream, and rightly so. The COVID-19 crisis has greatly accelerated such disillusionment, and for good reason.

The present crisis constitutes an opportunity to implement a change in the developmental trajectory, as proposed by the World Economic Forum in a recent essay, “Building Back Better”: It suggests the creation of a more sustainable economic structure. However, in order to generate a solid and real change, we need to consider the underlying goal of a new economic system which must serve man instead of man serving the system.

Even before the epidemic, many were conscious of the defects of the present economy which is based on cruel competition, where one man’s gain is another’s loss. The outworn economic model brought about unprecedented inequalities between people and caused great damage to man, society, and the planet. But this realization was not sufficient to redirect the wheels of change.

Today we can see clearly how, over the last decades, the state of the world has degenerated. The situation of man has changed, but the economy has remained stagnant and out of sync with the world, which has become globalized and connected, a world where each person is dependent on the others in everything. We can already understand that there is no other field in man’s life and society more crucial than the economy but the current model has become anachronistic and remains on life-support by the establishment.

In order to better understand our situation, imagine two people who strive to succeed in their business through merciless competition with each other. Suddenly, a woman shows up and says, “You are unaware of it but you are both my sons; you are brothers!” Clearly, the brothers would immediately change their behavior and attitude towards each other. This is exactly what is happening in the world today—nature has appeared and knocks on the doors of our world saying, “You didn’t understand it before, but you are all one family.” This change in the perception of mankind and his relations with others must be the basis for a new economic system.

Therefore, we can clearly understand that our economy, which is built on exploitation, and lack of consideration for others, must change. We have to construct a new economy founded on a more socially constructive and humane model. The problem is that we do not know how to accomplish that task, which theory to follow. Ruthless capitalism has failed and so has socialism, because every past economic model was built on coercion, corruption, and false promises. Thus, we have to reconstruct it ourselves on a firm foundation of correct relations among us, relations of mutual support and responsibility.

The global integral world demands a new economy based on the premise that we are not separate from one another. If one of us is hurt, it hurts all. When we understand the reciprocal system that exists between us and nature, the correct answers will come from within.

The Change Is UP to Us

Our new attitude will teach us how to behave and produce only those things that are necessary and beneficial for all. And at times of economic distress, the nation will be able to provide every person with a package of services and vital products that will enable him or her to maintain an acceptable standard of living. This will weave an advanced social safety net that is destined to focus on the development of man as the ultimate goal, and will liberate the individual from the yoke of the present egotistical economic system.

People understand and feel the overwhelming pain caused by the present economic framework and the advantages of a new type of economy. If we take the correct attitude upon ourselves, we will discover that COVID-19 is not a blow, but rather a push forward. And finally, the positive change will arrive.

Our new era of meaningful development must take place in our time. In all the previous generations there has never been such a significant need for change, and we are fortunate now to live and participate in an era of worldwide economic and social transformation.

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The Inner Root of the Jewish People

Remark: There is a joke about a person who lands on a lost island and finds one Jew there. The Jew shows him his possessions, including two synagogues. The man asks him: “Why do you need two synagogues?”—”In one I pray, but I am never setting foot in the other.”

Basically, such relationships accompany us throughout the history of development.

My Comment: This speaks of the inner root of the Jewish people, which consists of two parts: biological and spiritual.

If, according to the spiritual part, the people should unite, then according to the biological part, one feels rejection from everyone else. They are not his blood brothers and have nothing to do with him on all earthly levels—only on the spiritual one. The spiritual level must be achieved because it is broken, the opposite of the material level.

Naturally in these people there is absolute distance from each other. And only mutual hatred of the peoples of the world keeps the Jews in some framework so that they do not scatter and are not completely assimilated among the peoples of the world. Therefore, thanks to their haters, the Jews still somehow stick together.
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From KabTV’s “Systematic Analysis of the Development of the People of Israel,” 8/7/19

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From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 5/22/20

What haven’t we tried? We’ve had emperors, czars, and kings galore. We’ve had despotism, communism, capitalism, Nazism, socialism, and liberalism. We’ve had monarchy, theocracy, autocracy, and democracy. We’ve had psychiatry, psychology, meditation, and Buddhism. And what did we get out of all our efforts? A crazed planet whose most developed creatures exert frantically to destroy each other, all of life, and the planet itself. And worst of all, even though they know for certain that their destructiveness will lead to their own death, they cannot stop.

We have lost control of our lives because we have lost control of our raging egos. For all our efforts, we cannot simply choose to stop destroying everyone and everything. Why are we like that? Because we’re making all our efforts using our inbuilt engine: egoism. When you use your ego to curb your ego, it doesn’t work. In this, we have no free will.

But we do have free will. Just as there is ego, there is goodness in nature, a positive force. It is in nature, not in us. This is why nature thrives when there are no humans. We can tap into this force by building social systems that use this force as their foundation.

At the moment, we build societies in our own (selfish) image. But if we build a society in the image of the (unselfish) surrounding nature, the environment we live in will change us by itself.

But such a society will not form by itself. We must choose to establish it. Here is where our free will lies—in choosing to build a society based not on our egos, but on the surrounding nature’s positive force. This is the only way we will ever be able to make a free choice, not governed by our inherent selfishness.

[Photo by Sanjeevan SatheesKumar on Unsplash]

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Bearing the Method of Connection

Question: The Creator, the quality of bestowal,  good, created creation opposite to Himself. It is said by Rashi and many other Torah commentators: “The instincts of man’s heart are bad from youth.” What do you mean from youth?

Answer: From infancy. Every person is born an egoist.

Comment: It turns out that our hatred of the Creator is natural because we are the opposite from Him. We like to receive, but we don’t like to give. Or we like to give, but with the intention of receiving.

My Response: And to get as much as possible.

Question: Does it mean that hatred of the Creator comes from our root?

Answer: Yes, the antithesis of the Creator was originally inherent in us; we must correct it to the opposite—to love Him.

The people of the world do not have this root, so they have nothing to correct. They simply join us to the extent of our correction. And if we don’t improve, they feel that we, the Jews, are bringing negative energy into the world.

Question: Even the Talmud says that if the people of Israel repent, they will be saved, and if not, “this will be your burial place.”

The Creator singled out a group of people from all nations, forcibly united them, and gave them a method of connection. And then what?

Answer: In the time of Abraham, the Creator placed the aspiration for Him in some Babylonians, and Abraham united all those who, at his call, aspired to attain the Creator. So the group was formed, which became known as “Israel” (“straight to the Creator”).

Comment: Later, when the Jews gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Creator set a condition for them: either you accept the Torah, the laws of bestowal, the laws of unity, or here will be your burial place.

This means that there is a people who received a cure for all problems, because only by approaching the Creator can we solve them.

My Response: This cure is to rise above our egoism. And you can rise above it if you really ask for it, and not alone, but together with the others. You will gather many people who will turn together to the Creator so that He will rid them of their egos and give them the quality of love and connection between them.

*For more information on this topic, I suggest you to read my books Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour and The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism.

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From the KabTV’s “System Analysis of the Development of the People of Israel,” 7/22/19

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Question: What are the criteria for choosing a Kabbalist husband?

Answer: First of all, he has to seriously engage in Kabbalah and at the same time be sure to suit you according to certain earthly parameters. This way you agree with him on how you see yourself and your family in the future, and his environment would accept you, and your family along with your friends accepting him.

There must still be a certain agreement in the surroundings for both parties.

Most importantly, you agree and understand that life is built on mutual concessions. Not on love, but on concessions!

As soon as you don’t like something, you immediately stop seeing it. You want to see only good and kindness in each other. If you tune in to the mutual perception of each other in this way, then you will succeed. I wish you that.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 3/8/20

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It makes no difference who we are, since wherever we live, each of us has a record of data, Reshimo, of where he is, and his state in the general soul of Adam. This is the reason that the Reshimo is called the point in the heart.

Taamim means one who wants to taste a good taste in life, should pay attention to his point in the heart, to the embryo of the soul, the spiritual drop of semen.

Every person has a point in the heart, except it does not shine. Rather, it is like a black dot. The point in the heart is the discernment of Nefesh (soul) of Kedusha (holiness), whose nature is a vessel of bestowal.

However, she is in a state of Shechina (Divinty), in the dust, meaning that a person regards her as nothing. Instead, to him she is as important as dust. This is called Nekudot (dots/ points).

The solution is to increase her importance and make its importance as Tagin (crowns), like “a Crown in his head.” That is, instead of being dust, as before, he should raise her importance to be as a Keter (crown) on his head.

At that time the Nefesh of Kedusha expands in Otiot (letters), meaning in the Guf (body), for the Guf is called Otiot. In other words, the Kedusha spreads from potential to actual, called Otiot and Guf.” (The Writings of Rabash vol. 3, article 34, “TANTA” (Taamim, Nekudot, Tagin, Otiot)

…except it does not shine. Rather, it is like a black dot. A person doesn’t even feel that he belongs to something or to someone. But if he does begin to feel this, it is already a step forward. A person is given some basis of a feeling that he lacks something, and if he begins to develop his yearning, he can move forward.

The point in the heart is the discernment of Nefesh (soul) of Kedusha (holiness), whose nature is a vessel of bestowal. As long as a person does not develop the desire to bestow internally, he feels his yearning as a black point. This is how we begin our spiritual path in this world, when we feel that we are at a dead end because of the circumstances that have led us there, and nothing attracts us and nothing pushes us. The black point pushes us forward, but it is by sufferings and doubts and not by yearning or the light that shines ahead.

However, she is in a state of Shechina (Divinity), in the dust, which means that the Creator is wrapped in black, in a cover that we don’t understand, and do not find attractive, and which a person doesn’t value at all, meaning that a person regards her as nothing. He doesn’t see anything in it, and quite the opposite, his whole life begins to seem pointless, tasteless, and meaningless. Eventually he is pushed forward as a result of uncertainty and emptiness, and he wants to find a meaning in life, but nothing illuminates for him in the meantime. This is how the in utero development of a person’s soul begins.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 2/16/20

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The Creator dwells only inside the group. To the degree that the ten is tuned to the proper connection, mutual bestowal—the Creator is revealed between us. He starts to play on our violin, Malchut, which is King David’s. This is the Creator’s revelation to the creatures.

The Creator is an Absolute—He does not change, and is revealed to us as the force of absolute goodness. Our perception, desire, changes—and we say that the Creator changes, although the changes happen only in us. To reveal the Creator, we must bring ourselves to a state of equivalence with Him.
From Twitter, 5/22/20

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Question: Does the point in the heart awaken by itself or does anyone help it?

Answer: The point in the heart awakens by itself when a serious attraction to the attainment of the upper world, to one’s fate, and to the system of the upper providence is revealed in a person. Questions such as, “What is happening to me and how does the world go round?” stem from the point in the heart.

Question: Are there any specific signs according to which we can be certain that the point in the heart has been revealed?

Answer: The revelation of the point in the heart and its opening are expressed by a person’s attraction to the attainment of the meaning of life. It is when he is not satisfied by watching a movie or by reading a novel or so on, but by attaining the meaning of life more seriously.

If a person must really know what he is living for and if he doesn’t there is no meaning to his life, that is the point in the heart.

Question: Corporeal sciences have evolved over time. Hunger has forced man to observe the vegetative world and to explore it, and this is how botany developed. Diseases and the ways of healing them led to the development of medicine. Building houses and establishing useful mechanisms led to the development of mechanics, and this led to the development of physics.

Does the same process take place in the wisdom of Kabbalah? Do we attain this knowledge by our exertion and our experience and does it develop together with us?

Answer: Of course. This is how we have revealed the wisdom of Kabbalah throughout all this time, as a result of our great desire to attain the world in which we live.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 2/2/20

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