80% of workplaces will shut down as there is no need for them. This may possibly be a chaotic process with enormous losses—or we will make our own rational decision to reduce businesses that are not vitally necessary and will already stop supporting them.
From Twitter, 6/19/20
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Remark: As I understand it, my independence is in the voluntary acknowledgment of my complete dependence on society. However, this is not possible because I do not want to depend on anyone.
Answer: The fact that you are completely dependent on the vast, universal, eternal desire created by the Creator makes you eternal, perfect, and independent. You cannot get rid of the fact that you are a created being. Therefore, acknowledging you are a created being gives you the opportunity to reach the level of the Creator, to achieve adhesion and equivalence with Him.
Question: Still, how can an ordinary person become independent of others?
Answer: Start loving them. Then you will see that your love for them makes you higher than and independent of them, although you think about them and wish them well. This is the only way.
You cannot get out of the integral system. The only thing you can do is to ascend inside it. And to ascend means to take care of it.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 4/19/20
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Question: Perhaps all souls are a single organism. But how can we say the whole of humanity is a single organism? What kind of organism is this? How is it connected?
Answer: We are not talking about physical bodies. We are talking about the inner meaning of creation, where it is headed, the purpose it is imbued with, and what motivations act in it on every level.
The inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human levels of nature have their own inner strength, their own vector. Everything hinges on the direction of this vector, even if we fail to realize that it exists in the smallest grain of sand as it does in a huge, remote part of the universe.
The inanimate, vegetative, and animate parts of nature are subordinate to the human level. If we directed ourselves correctly toward each other, we would suddenly find that all of nature, all the cosmos, change, their objects would become more benevolent toward each other.
We would see that there are no explosions happening randomly, no separation or removal. We would see the meaning of everything that happens in us, within or outside us, in space, in black holes, in everything.
All of nature is not just matter but thought. This thought, on different levels, strives for its perfection, for its realization. This is what Kabbalah calls the thought of creation.
We must try to make this plan of creation come to life so that it reaches its single, final essence, it’s form and realization.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 4/19/20
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We need to understand what nature demands from us and that all of the blows we encounter result from imbalance in relations between people. Our egos are between us and through concessions we can ascend above the human ego and build a balanced connection between us on a higher level. We can get rid of the hatred and conflicts between us by giving up control. We need to hold on to one thought: to act for everyone’s sake. This can only be done when there is mutual support. We need to act kindly toward everyone and make sure everyone feels good, including our partners. If we know how to connect to the internal mechanism of nature, we will balance humanity and build heaven on earth.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 1237 – From New Thinking To New Relations,” 5/12/20
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Question: What are you personally afraid of? Or are Kabbalists fearless?
Answer: No, Kabbalists are not fearless. I am afraid of the Creator.
I am truly afraid of the doubts and barriers that He places before me. And the further I advance, the bigger and more powerful they are, and I fear them. I have to be afraid of them. If there were no fear, then I would not think about them, prepare for them, or try to overcome them.
Homo sapiens consist of fears, what is called awe. And they don’t disappear anywhere. He just knows where they come from and how to work with them.
Otherwise, if, for example, you give him some kind of injection and his fears, feelings of pain and all kinds of other sensations disappear, then how would he work, how would he move, how would he position himself in any situation?
Question: What was the greatest fear you experienced before spiritual attainment and after?
Answer: Basically, these are fears in which you feel the impossibility of overcoming your egoism, laziness, and powerlessness, and you concentrate all your strength and intentions in order to pull yourself together and turn right to the Creator for help.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 4/26/20
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Medium published my new article “The World’s Turning Point”
All over the world, there is a growing feeling that we are in a very sensitive and precarious state. Although the ground is apparently still stable despite the global troubles, everything beneath the surface is bubbling. But, in spite of all the fears and dangers, this situation can be turned to good if we re-examine our outlook on life, as individuals and as a society.
We lack the knowledge, understanding, and sensation that we exist in an interconnected world — we are one integral system, one mechanism.
If once, food on the table was enough for a person to successfully complete his day, today, life
without a computer, air conditioner, or television is hard to imagine. The technological age has created an artificial environment within the system of nature, providing creature comforts without which human existence is hard to imagine. At the same time, along with all the technological advancements, new dangers have arisen. Conventional warfare is no longer needed in order to paralyze a region or an entire country. One keyboard is enough to launch a cyberattack that jeopardizes the safety of thousands or millions. And in addition to the human threats, the planet teeters on the brink of ecological disasters that loom over our shared home.
At the root of all our problems lies the intensification of human egoism: People are building their self-serving success upon the wanton destruction of others. This is unequivocally the incubator for conflict and war. One’s ego looks to force itself, its interest and point of view, upon others, causing division and friction. Such is human nature, and if we fail to recognize that when we inflict harm upon others, we harm ourselves (since we are all connected in a global village)we will very likely not survive the 21st Century.
We lack the knowledge, understanding, and sensation that we exist in an interconnected world — we are one integral system, one mechanism. In this clear view of reality, a person cannot do anything to benefit himself unless he first makes certain that it does not damage others. In a nutshell, nothing can be good for me unless it is good for everyone.
Foremost kabbalist Rav Yehuda Ashlag, referred in his article, “Peace in the World,” to the need for an integral approach in order for humanity to thrive, “In our generation, when each person is aided for his happiness by all the countries in the world, it is necessary that to that extent, the individual becomes enslaved to the whole world, like a wheel in a machine. Therefore, the possibility of making good, happy, and peaceful conducts in one state is inconceivable when it is not so in all the countries in the world, and vice versa.”
Consequently, he also emphasized, “It thus turns out that the collective and the individual are one and the same. And the individual is not harmed because of his enslavement to the collective, since the freedom of the collective and the freedom of the individual are one and the same, too.”
If the world wants to see a positive future, the individual’s natural inclination to exalt the self at the expense of others will have to be transformed and channeled into positive actions that benefit the entire society. Instead of self-destructive, egoistic competition, the human race can only accommodate those who raise the bar higher for the benefit of the entire society. In such a scenario, people will not look at others with the desire to squelch or belittle them, but will search for ways to raise the standard of living for each and every one, so all will be satisfied.
Taking the broad view, we now stand at a crossroads, and as a result, we must be committed to reevaluate the reckless way we have continually progressed. If we persist in the same form of egoistic competition, it threatens to quickly get out of hand and result in nuclear world war or ecological catastrophes. Therefore, it is crucial that we change course immediately and learn how to guide ourselves and humanity safely to a new way of life, where we harmonize with nature, whose parts are all linked.
At the heart of the change each of us must make is the conscious transition from the pursuit of selfish personal comfort to a quest to ensure everyone’s well-being. In our interconnected world, there is no other way to guarantee security and a good future for us, our children, and our grandchildren. Together we can build a life of truth, a life where the best interest of all is the most highly valued commodity. If we start moving forward together in this direction, we will quickly discover how many more wonderful things open up to us that now lie hidden in the depths of nature.
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Medium published my new article “No More Sacred Cows”
The past years have been one long procession of shattering of sacred cows. From banks, to politics and politicians, through intelligence agencies, and even the police, no institution is sacred anymore and nothing is above ridicule and contempt. Even the sacred cow of freedom of expression, hinged in the First Amendment, has been hijacked and butchered by, well, fighters for freedom of expression.
When there is so much separation and alienation in society, it is clear that the only solution is its opposite: union.
Where does this disintegration leave us? We cannot believe anyone, and we are afraid to say it since there is no freedom of expression. Worse yet, hope that things will improve is quickly fading.
This is a very perilous situation. At the same time, it is the only situation from which it is possible to grow. When there is so much separation and alienation in society, it is clear that the only solution is its opposite: union. America is in a do or die situation. Either people unite above all that separates them, or the last strings still holding the country together will snap and a second civil war will erupt.
The good news is that it is not too late. As long as there is communication, there is hope that people will listen to reason and understand that there will be no justice or peace for anyone if there is no care for everyone. Care, or at least concern, is the basis for building a just society.
Think of parents with their children: When the children fight, the parents might side with one child or with the other, but they will certainly act out of love for both, and therefore justly, trying to accommodate the needs of all the children.
The American people have no parents; no one will tell America who is right and who is wrong in the struggle that the anguished nation is experiencing. As a result, if the American people do not muster the strength to put the common good above self-interest, it will plunge into bloodshed and everyone will lose.
This year, 2020, is a critical year. Three factors have converged this year, each of which could dismantle any society: COVID-19, the George Floyd protests, and the presidential elections. Together, the three form a perfect storm that will require a truly brave nation to overcome.
Even where the police have not been disbanded, it is difficult to see how they alone can restrain people from an all-out eruption of violence. Unless people resolve to restrain their frustration, anger, and mainly hatred for the other party or color, no police or National Guard will help. It is the choice of each individual to set an example of restraint, respect, and ultimately care for others, simply because everyone, every single person, is a human being. And as I would want others to treat me, so must I treat others.
Once this level of restraint is achieved, it is possible to talk about bringing people closer. Once people respect each other’s right to dignity, it is possible to start looking at how the beauty and strength of America comes precisely from its diversity. America is home to all the races, all the colors, all religions, and every political view. Were it not for this diversity, America would not be America. But to see this, Americans must put the nation before the faction, the whole before the parts. Then, and only then, they will be able to unite and be the role model that they can and should be, the leader of the free world.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is there racism?“
Racism is rooted in our self-centered human nature, which makes us identify with and like what is similar to us in others, and detach from and hate what is different.
We all share a variety of physical and psychological differences, which we inherit from birth and from our surrounding society.
These differences pose no problem in and of themselves.
The problem is the egoistic attitude running like a motor within each of us, which seeks to elevate itself above others.
Our egoistic attitude prioritizes self-benefit over benefiting others.
It looks at others’ differences as a means for putting them down, in order to make ourselves feel better about ourselves.
The more we develop, the more our egos grow, the more we see others as different from ourselves, and we can thus expect hatred for others’ differences—whether racial hatred, or hatred due to conflicting political, religious or other ideological views—to increase and continue tearing away at society.
There is hope to mend our rifts if we learn the nature of our hatred and differences, and how we can rise above them peacefully.
What Is the Nature of Our Differences?
The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that human differences are sourced in the interactions between two fundamental desires: giving and receiving.
Every item in reality contains a specific blend of four phases of giving and receiving, and our many physical and psychological characteristics also contain these four phases.
Without delving into details about these four phases (which is done extensively in the study of Kabbalah), in general, this tells us that our differences are nature-given.
It is interesting to note how we are drawn to the beauty of nature’s complementarity when we observe it from aside, for instance, nature’s cycles on biological levels that include a rich diversity of processes, species’ and objects harmoniously operating in myriad give-and-take relations on inanimate, vegetative and animate levels to sustain the ecosystems we inhabit.
In human society, however, we struggle greatly with our differences.
One way or another, our differences lead us to division—the identification with what is similar to us in others, and detachment from and hatred of what is different.
The more we will remain divided, the more we will experience negative phenomena in our lives, from a general distaste in the social climate to conflicts and violence.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Regardless of how aware we are of the fact, nature guides us to increasingly intricate connection, and we will have to make some serious decisions about how we relate to our tightening bonds sooner or later.
As evolution biologists have shown, evolution leads organisms through a process of diversity and individuation, through conflict, which is then solved by collaboration and more advanced connection.
Likewise, the process by which our planet has become an increasingly interconnected and interdependent web of influences shows us that nature views us as a single connected entity, above the fact that it hosts us with many individual differences.
If we only tweak our attitudes to our connection, spreading the idea of our fundamental oneness as a human race, and promoting ideas of mutual support, consideration and contribution above our differences, then our differences would each serve to uniquely express and uphold an umbrella of love over society.
We are being driven to realize that we all make up a rich and diverse humanity, and we can all play a role in striving to look beyond our divisive drives in order to envision the tremendous connection we all share.
We would then revere and accept our differences since we would love each other.
We would see how we each offer the immense interconnected system we are parts of, different flavors and colors that we otherwise would lack, that each person can make a unique contribution to society.
The key is in adjusting our overriding intention above our differences: that we aim to strengthen, contribute to, and grow our common possession of society, praising the various expressions that aim to build an atmosphere of love over our many differences.
Above photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.
Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can America survive without police departments?“
Following the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent heavy criticism on police departments around the US, we now see motions to disband and lower funding to police departments.
For example, in Minneapolis, its city council announced plans to disband its police department and invest in community-based public safety programs, and in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio publicized plans to divert funding initially planned for the NYPD instead to social services.
Disbanding and cutting funding to police departments demonstrates the authorities’ growing awareness in the public’s loss of trust in the police. The positive aspect of such recognition is that it highlights a broken aspect of our lives that needs fixing. However, building trust in anything that is soaked in doubt and suspicion is no easy and fast task.
Since times are changing fast, the authorities would be wise to revise how they protect and serve their respective publics to keep up with the pace of change.
The recent coronavirus pandemic as well as George Floyd’s killing show us two clear examples of how an incident that takes place in one place of the world ends up having global repercussions, affecting masses of people in many different ways.
In the coronavirus’ case, a tiny particle that started infecting people in Wuhan, China, spread to become a global pandemic, infecting and killing people in the millions around the world, as well as affecting many millions more socially and economically. Also, in terms of George Floyd’s killing, a single unjustified murder and act of police brutality caught on video sparked a US-wide response of protests and riots.
We clearly live in interdependent times. Therefore, any move by authorities to build trust with the publics they serve should seek to raise public awareness of how to realize today’s quickly-surfacing interdependence positively, as well as provide a supportive and protective layer in society to deal with the variety of crises emerging.
Simply put, if people would feel good, happy and safe, then the authorities that serve to bring about such sensations would gain their trust.
What, then, could the authorities do in order to activate positive sensations in the public?
What I propose is a renewed focus in the field of education.
Since our times are changing fast, and we make swift strides from a past paradigm of competitive individualism to a new paradigm of interdependence, we all require an upgrade in how we think about and relate to the world, to nature and to other people.
What is that upgrade?
It is that we develop relations of mutual consideration, responsibility, support, encouragement, love and care above our divisive drives, thereby realizing our interdependence positively.
Authorities could play a major role in such an upgrade by funding the creation of educational programs that aim to bring about these positive outcomes and better connections in society.
I have written extensively about providing basic income in exchange for participation in educational programs, which teach how to manage ourselves in an interdependent world, and how this idea is supported by the expectation that unemployment will grow immensely in the coming years.
Such a system would serve to provide people’s essential needs, as well as tools for people to improve their connections, and manage their lives and homes in an interdependent world.
Basic income in exchange for participation in connection-enriching education would aim to upgrade everyone’s sense of responsibility and concern for their surrounding societies, and due to a newfound positive atmosphere sweeping through society that the authorities served to establish, trust in the authorities would also be revived.
If we look at our current state, after the coronavirus illuminated our mutual responsibility toward each other in terms of adhering to maintaining good personal hygiene, social distancing conditions and wearing masks in order to stop the virus’ spread, we see that when the vision of George Floyd’s murder angered millions of people, our emotions breached many restrictions we held toward each other as many resorted to taking their aggravation out by looting and causing destruction to many small businesses.
In other words, there is still a strong sense of detachment, indifference and hatred in society that we should seek to mend if we wish for more just, safer and positive conditions.
Connection-enriching educational programs coupled with basic income would aim to heal such social division by increasing our sense of mutual responsibility and consideration.
As a result of improved social connections, we would also be on the way to solving many personal and social problems, such as depression, loneliness, stress, anxiety, and many kinds of abuse, violence and conflicts. Therefore, much of the budget that goes into dealing with those problems could eventually be redirected to further strengthening the services that benefit society. That is, the authorities could consider such a system as an investment, not merely as services.
In short, instead of discussing whether the US could survive without police departments, we would be wiser to ask:
What could help the US survive and prosper heading into the future?
Also, what changes would the US need to implement in order that American society feel safe, confident, and ultimately, happy together, while also regaining trust in the police?
The system I proposed here of providing for people’s essentials in exchange for participation in connection-enriching learning, which would seek to shift society’s values from individualistic and egoistic to mutually considerate and responsible, aims to bridge our social divisions with the positive atmosphere described.
I therefore very much hope that American society will start implementing a major transformation toward more positive connection among its citizens. In addition to the myriad benefits for America’s citizens, the benefits would ripple worldwide, because the world’s eyes are on America, and it has the potential to inspire other countries to follow suit.
Above photo by ev on Unsplash.
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