Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is the world going to change forever because of the coronavirus?“

The coronavirus is inviting us to make a significant change.

It is up to us, however, whether we will experience the impending change as positive or negative.

What is the major change that the coronavirus comes to spark in us?

It is that we change our attitudes to each other, to think positively about each other in order to build a new society that is better connected and balanced with nature’s interconnectedness and interdependence.

If we saw nature’s tendency to develop us to become increasingly connected, with ties of mutual responsibility and consideration, then we would see that we need only implement more care and consideration for each other in order to positively realize our transition.

Failing to take any initiative to improve our connections would generate more suffering. That is, if we fail to upgrade our attitudes to each other, then we will feel the growing distance between the level of dependence nature requires of us and what we ourselves implement as various pains and complications. Vaccines and other medicines would then be of no use, as the coronavirus operates on a whole new level that we have yet to recognize.

It likely seems far-fetched that the coronavirus requires a change in our attitudes to each other more than anything else, and that we will fail to defeat it with mere physical means, but longer term effects of the coronavirus will urge our discovery of upgraded attitudes to each other out of a lack of other options.

In other words, through the coronavirus, nature has given us new conditions by which we undergo fateful changes. For example, if we want to teach our children a new language, mere explanations of that new language are insufficient in order for them to absorb it. But if we place them in conditions where they encounter the language more and more, such as posting words on post-it notes on various furniture and devices around the home, as well as holding regular times when we speak the new language together, then the practical change of conditions teaches the new language more than any explanations.

Therefore, through the new tighter interdependent conditions that the coronavirus pandemic has revealed to us, we would be wise to try and develop our attitudes, to match our new interdependence accordingly.

One exercise we can conduct in this direction involves masks. As health departments around the world have requested wearing masks in public places, we can check our attitude to such a condition: Do we wear the masks, or ignore the guideline? And if we wear the masks, is it because we don’t want to get infected by others, or is it because we don’t want to infect others in case we are asymptomatic carriers of the virus?

The latter discernment is definitely the most altruistic and closest to nature’s attitude to us.

That is just one exercise where we can check our attitude to others, and seek how to upgrade our attitude to such a level where benefiting others becomes as important, if not more important, than serving our narrow self-interests.

Above photo by Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash

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My new article on Israel Hayom “Don’t overlook message of Tisha B’Av”

We should not be mourning the destruction of the Temple but rather the ruin of our unity, our brotherly love, and the abandonment of our task to unite as one and be a role model for the nations.

This Wednesday, July 29, will be the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av, when the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were exiled from their land. Although historians attribute the exile to the commander of the Roman army Titus, Jewish sources pin the ruin and the exile on “sina’at hinam” (unfounded/baseless hatred), the hatred of the Jews for one another.

The Jewish people gained their nationhood when they united “as one man with one heart” at the foot of Mount Sinai. When they united and became a nation, they were also tasked with being “a light unto nations,” namely to make their unity an example to the rest of the nations, so they, too, would be able to unite.

The demand that Jews would be role models of unity has since become the kernel of all Jewish hatred, both emanating from other nations, as well as from Jews who resented the idea of unity and wanted to pursue individualistic (later to become Hellenistic) agendas.

Two thousand years ago, the hatred within the Jewish people became so fierce that they locked themselves inside their capital, Jerusalem – with the Roman legion camped outside the walls – slaughtered one another, burned each other’s food reservoirs, and made Titus’ work much easier when he finally decided to conquer the city and destroy the Temple.

The day when the Romans marched into the Temple and sealed the Jewish defeat was to become a day of mourning. But we should not mourn the destruction of the walls or the breaking of the altar. We should instead mourn the ruin of our unity, our brotherly love, the abandonment of our task to unite as one man with one heart, and be a role model for the nations.

When Hitler explained in Mein Kampf why he hates Jews, he expounded on his disgust with their dislike for one another. “The Jew is only united when a common danger forces him to be or a common booty entices him; if these two grounds are lacking, the qualities of the crassest egoism come into their own,” he wrote.

Numerous other antisemites wrote and spoke similarly about the Jewish people. They would not dedicate such attention to Jewish hatred of each other if they did not expect Jews to feel otherwise toward their brethren.

These days, once again, division and internal hatred are rampant, both in Israel and outside of it. Jewish anti-Jewish groups and individuals once again decry with righteous indignation that only their way and views are right, that Jews with other views are ignorant and inferior. They do not realize that winning the nations’ hearts, for which they so desperately yearn, depends not on their ideology, but on their unity precisely with those brethren they hate.

From the perspective of the world, nothing has changed. We are still tasked with being a light unto nations by setting an example of unity, and we are still hated for showing the opposite. Vasily Shulgin, a senior member of the Russian Parliament before the 1917 revolution and an avid self-proclaimed anti-semite wrote in his book What We Don’t Like about Them: “Jews in the 20th century have become very smart, effective, and vigorous at exploiting other people’s ideas. However,” he protested, “this is not an occupation for teachers and prophets, not the role of guides of the blind, not the role of carriers of the lame.”

Deep inside, every Jew feels indebted to the world. Deep inside, we feel the call of our vocation. But we will never live up to our task by hating one another. We will do so only if we show the world that above our fierce disagreements, we love each other like family. Although we cannot agree on anything, we form a union that is stronger than any dispute.

The divisions between us are the vehicle through which we can show the world what unity means, but only if we rise to the challenge and unite above them. If we do so, the world will see that unity is possible however deep the chasm between people and nations. If we keep avoiding unity, the world will keep blaming us for spreading division and will make us pay for its suffering.
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How can tension in society be relieved?

Question: If in the past Jews were a homogeneous mass and lived in one place. Then, in the era of Enlightenment, secular, religious, ultra-religious, and various reformist movements appeared. Today we see how the split between the left and the right, the ultra-right and ultra-left, extremists, and all others is going on.

I understand that this is how nature pushes us toward development, toward diversity, but how can such different movements get along? It is not clear how this is going to happen. What is the next stage?

Answer: The next stage is the realization of the evil of our nature, our state, the society that we have created proceeding from our egoism, and how to rise above this, correct and raise ourselves to the next level of development: communication, connection, and ascent to the level of the Creator.

Comment: But it is not that all these movements do not understand each other, they do not even confront and do not want to hear each other!

My Response: We have again come to a state when a huge internal tension has accumulated in society where each movement does not understand what is in front of it. We only understand our final component: nothing good will happen if this continues. There will not even be the existence that used to be before. We are heading for some kind of a disaster.

Therefore, I believe that people are internally ready for big changes. However, on the other hand, they are scared and do not want it.

Question: Take, for example, the secular, ultra-religious, and reformists. They have to unite somehow. What will be the essence of this unity?

Answer: They will not be able to unite.

Comment: But you say that the people of Israel must become one.

My Response: This is a gradual process. I believe that this is possible only if non-religious people and perhaps partial reformists begin to study Kabbalah and understand that it addresses a person: how one should correct oneself and society. Proceeding from this, they will be able to attain the upper world and reveal their upper predestination for themselves and for the whole world.

And the ultra-religious circles will come to this in the last turn, against their will, by diffusion, slowly being included into them. But this process is gradual and consistent since all of them at once will not be able to get together.

Question: In the human body, all organs differ from each other in their function. But if there is some upper goal, for example, the maintenance of life, then all of them adjust to each other and work in unison.

And for this to happen at the level of society, it is not clear what sublime idea can really equate everyone?

Answer: It is unity. Because in unity the Creator, the upper force, is revealed.

Question: It turns out that without clear revelation of this force there is no chance of getting to reconciliation?

Answer: Without movement toward the revelation of the Creator, there can be nothing. Everything proceeds from the problems that arise in society, and we see how dead-end they are, how they do not allow us to develop, to achieve something. Therefore, all of humanity consciously and inevitably goes to some kind of precipice, beyond which there is emptiness.

And the science of Kabbalah helps to understand why all this exists—to lead us consciously or unconsciously to mutual reconciliation and revelation of the Creator within it.

Comment: That is, the fact that nature pushes us toward such diversity is good, it should be so. But without revelation of the upper force of nature, some kind of initial cause, there can be no unity or even movement toward it.

My Response: There can be no meaning of existence.
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From KabTV’s “Systematic Analysis of the Development of the People of Israel” 8/5/19

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Principles of Forming a Team: Stop Gossip

Remark: Seventh rule: Any kind of gossip is prohibited in the team. Even criticism is possible only at a predetermined time, with special preparation.

My Comment: This is obvious. According to the previous condition that we see only ourselves and not others, what criticism can there be? It means that I criticize myself. Or I criticize the way I see others in myself. It is because I never see anyone else.

Question: How often do you recommend having meetings where we start criticizing each other and making claims?

Answer: Sometimes, as an exercise. Maybe once a month. No more than that.

Question: And until then should I keep everything to myself?

Answer: And until then do exercises: Everything I think about the other, I think about myself.

Remark: You said that in the early stages of team development, it is best to express criticism not directly but through responsible individuals. After all, if I tell a person directly, as an egoist, he will not accept it, and there will be a conflict.

My Comment: Yes. It is better to do this indirectly.

Question: Isn’t it better to have direct honest relationships between colleagues?

Answer: Maybe. But it depends on the stage of training.

Question: So, would you not advise criticizing directly at the initial stage?

Answer: No. Only when you have accumulated a sufficient number of mutual clarifications, collisions, and connections, when you begin to understand each other deeper, better, and the goal becomes more obvious and necessary, then you can move to this level of relationship.

Question: Do we need to determine in advance some topics that we will not talk about since we know they will cause conflicts? For example, politics, religion, and family. Or, on the contrary, should we reveal all this between us?

Answer: No. We do not talk about anything that might be received poorly by others. We should not bring up such topics until we have done so well that we simply stop seeing others as something other than ourselves. Then all this will go away. There will be no reason for restrictions.

Remark: Indeed, the difference between genders, between man and woman, national and religious differences are seated so deeply in a person that until he rises above them, it is better not to touch these topics. This can destroy any team: in business, in sports, everywhere.
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From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 6/18/20

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Question: Why does a person not understand how short his time is?

Answer: This is done specifically so that we can still exist properly and normally without being depressed all the time. If we were constantly thinking about death, it would be better to die than to live like this.

Question: Why are we prisoners of our inner emotions? How can we free ourselves and put them into practice for the common good?

Answer: This holds primal importance. I would even say the first task that we face when we study Kabbalah and want to implement it. How we raise our emotions, study them, express them, and then make sure that they are properly used by us, this is what we study in Kabbalah.

Question: If I don’t know my boundaries, how can I advance and correct myself?

Answer: To do this, you must be in touch with like-minded people. And then you will set boundaries between yourself in which you will do good to each other and try to extinguish the inner evil in yourself.

Question: How can we increase our egoism so that we feel rewarded?

Answer: Don’t worry, it will come to you. Everything will be revealed. Just move with us and we will study everything together.

Question: Where can I find a group of egoists who want to advance to the purpose of creation?

Answer: Look at everyone you see on the screen right now. They’re inveterate egoists. And most of them agree to correct themselves. Look at how many of them there are. They even smile. But they are egoists. You must love them.

Question: Is suicide selfishness or a protest to the Creator?

Answer: Suicide is an escape from responsibility for others.

Question: What signs will make me understand if I’m growing?

Answer: By how close you are to others.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 5/10/20

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Question: The evolution of our soul goes through the comprehension of egoism. So only when our ego is at the point of self-destruction can we fully become self-aware and switch to the side of light?

Answer: No. We do this long before that. It is a gradual, step-by-step development of a person, when he realizes his egoism and understands that by applying it, he comes to nothing. However, he should not get rid of it. Egoism cannot be destroyed; it is a force of nature. We only need to change the purpose of its application.

Question: You said that Kabbalah teaches a person to rise above egoism. The bigger the ego, the higher he rises above it. So this is his evolutionary growth.

Is the correct cognition of egoism one of the elements of our development when you increase it, artificially or under control, and you give it an altruistic inclination?

Answer: Yes. You tame it like a wild animal and it becomes more or less tame.

Question: It turns out that you do not need to fight it, but you need to understand it?

Answer: That’s right! Manage it correctly. Then it will be your assistant.

Question: So it is not a struggle, but rather an immersion, knowledge, and use of this inner power where you begin to realize an altruistic impulse through your sense of happiness, and transmit this state to the world?

Answer: Yes. For you, altruistic impulses are actually the best. In principle, in our world, altruism is understood as giving something to someone for free. No! You just see that by this you are beginning to interact with the greatest forces of nature. This is good.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 5/24/20

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Question: You said that the journey to the first spiritual level takes about 25-30 years. How did you manage to attain spirituality with Rabash after only 11 years?

Answer: It takes at least 10 years to attain the first spiritual level. If a person studies seriously, it can take about seven, eight, up to 10 years.

But today, those who enter our group where people have been studying for 10-20 years, they can catch up with them in 5 years. If a person integrates with the friends and does everything together with them, he will enter their vessel, and they will engage in spiritual correction together.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 8/19/18

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Lesson Preparation

Writings of Baal HaSulam,  Shamati, Article 1 “There Is None Else Besides Him” 

Lesson on the Topic “Principles of Spiritual Work in the Top Ten” (Preparation for the Virtual Convention 2020)

Writings of Baal HaSulam,  “The Freedom,”  (Subtitle:  “One Law for All the Worlds”)

Lesson on the Topic “The Obligation of Bnei Baruch to Humanity in the Last Generation – Selected Excerpts From the Sources”  

Selected Highlights

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Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
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Question: How do we find out the ultimate goal of our existence? A person is limited to living in a certain country and has certain financial and physical capabilities. Where should he start the shift? Is this some kind of internal process, an internal decision?

Answer: A person will be unable to see, define, understand, or realize his final state. For example, if a two or three-year-old child suddenly saw himself as an adult on the stage of a theater conducting a huge orchestra, he would not understand what kind of person was standing there and waving a stick, while the rest were pulling strings or blowing horns.

We don’t see our final state because we don’t have any predisposition to it. We can only read about these final states, we can only imagine them in a very limited way, with certain conditions that Kabbalah sets before us, saying that we should not rush too far ahead.

See what is in front of you, the final states will be explained to you, and you will get an idea of the overall picture. But most importantly, these are the states that you must gradually realize in your spiritual progress.
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From KabTV’s “Together about Important Things” 7/14/20

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