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“Faith And Belief In Times Of Crisis” (Medium)

Medium published my new article “Faith and Belief in Times of Crisis

When things go wrong people look heavenward for answers and comfort. Since ancient times people have looked for something to hold onto in moments of crisis and distress, so it is only natural that this pandemic has triggered a search for an upper force, as studies confirm. This outcry will accelerate our discovery of the meaning of life and help us internalize an answer that will be found in the power of love between us.

This outcry will accelerate our discovery of the meaning of life and help us internalize an answer that will be found in the power of love between us.

A quarter of Americans say Covid-19 has strengthened their religious faith, while just 2% claim it has weakened it, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Other studies confirm a direct link between natural disasters and moments of crisis and an increased tendency to turn to a higher power. The number of Google searches for the word “prayer” in 75 countries has nearly doubled since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.

People need to feel that they have an anchor, that there is something to trust or hold on to. Like a child grabs its mother and does not let go because she is perceived as the safest place, we too, grownups as we are, need a source of security. In the world around us we find no such source.

Humanity once turned toward the inanimate forces of nature such as the sun and moon as ruling powers. Today, with nowhere left to turn and nothing left to believe in, only a higher power remains. But exactly who or what this is, we are not sure. There are endless discussions, hypotheses, perceptions, and beliefs surrounding these questions. After all, our hearts yearn for certainty that something is managing and arranging everything in life.

At the end of the day, we may ask whether the exact nature of a supreme power matters, as long as its very existence helps us feel safer in our short lives in this world. As long as our faith calms the weary psyche, we choose to cling to it.

And when one person feels better, it is good for those around him because calm people are kinder to one another. They are less willing to quarrel or hurt others. Although specifics and customs around belief may differ, each of the eight billion people in the world believes in something, and this faith is accepted as normal by almost every person.

This notion of faith is also related to the concept of prayer. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, people’s beliefs have brought them together in common prayers that have been broadcast live to masses on social media. The consequences of collective prayers are also positive because when people believe that they can access a powerful force by uniting in a common plea, they do it through the process of connecting together and asking as one. And if there is some trouble in our lives, this trouble binds us to each another. When we are more unified, our unity certainly draws a response.

When we overcome the distance between us and express willingness to gather to unite in a common request, transcend above the individual ego — the single factor that keeps us apart — we thereby improve everyone’s fate. As long as we ask for everyone’s sake, and not for the detriment of anyone, our prayer is accepted. In the end, it does not matter at all why we believe, to whom we turn, the specific religion or method we practice, or even in what language we pray. What matters is our common desire and request.

As a result of the pandemic, we have reached a new stage in our development, which will propel us to a new degree of life, a new worldview of humanity as one family. The problems we face are pushing us forward. They are helping us discover that the supreme power is one and is for all, and that it can be accessed through the connection between us. Humanity is discovering the power of love that is revealed in our unity.

“When The Levee Breaks” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “When the Levee Breaks

It was not at all surprising to discover that Jacob Blake Sr., father of Black American Jacob Blake Jr., who was shot on August 23 by a White police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has a long history of racist, antisemitic posts on social media. Antisemitism is growing everywhere; the tension is in the air, and even where it is still quiet, it feels as though the ground is shaking under our feet. When the levee breaks and the flood begins, no one will be sorry to see the Jews drown.

The level of antisemitism is skyrocketing not only in America, but the world over. But the US, where the Jewish community is the most prominent and powerful in the world, will be the epicenter of the cataclysm.

It’s hard to tell when the critical point will come, but if the trajectory does not change, it will come for sure and American Jewry will experience what every Jewish diaspora has experienced since the exile began two thousand years ago: extinction and expulsion.

In a world so full of hate and so devoid of humanism, we cannot ignore our obligation to the nations: to be “a light unto nations,” to set an example of unity and mutual responsibility. We do not need to please the nations or appease them. They don’t judge us by how we relate to them; they judge us by how we relate to one another! When we hate each other, they blame us for spreading war among them. Simply, without an example of unity, they cannot unite and begin to fight. And deep inside, they feel that it’s because of us.

We have given the world science and technology, art and culture, knowledge and wisdom, yet the world hates us more and more and does not show us any gratitude. It is time we realize that these are not what it expects from us; it expects from us to set an example of Arvut Hadadit (mutual responsibility).

We became a nation only once we united “as one man with one heart” at the foot of Mt. Sinai (the mountain of hatred). Immediately thereafter, we were ordered to be “a light unto nations,” to bring the world the unity that we have gained. The absence of that light of unity is the cause of the chaotic world we live in, and our obligation is to bring that unity by setting an example.

We can deny it but denial won’t discharge us from our duty or convince the world that we are not to blame. So we can choose to unite above our hatred, do what the world expects of us, and win its favor for the first time in history, or take the flogging of humanity as we did in Europe eighty years ago.

Health And Medicine, Part 8

751.1Maintain Homeostasis with Nature

Question: Why is it not enough just to be in harmony with nature and society and thereby ensure good health? Why do you still need to take care of your body, lead a healthy lifestyle, eat right, and so on?

Answer: Naturally you need that. Who will support your physiological system if not you? You are a biological machine! Therefore, you must maintain biological homeostasis with nature.

Question: Yes, but my physical body is a consequence of my desires, thoughts, and psyche. Is this related?

Answer: So work on your desires and psyche so that you automatically have the right relationship with the surrounding nature to keep you in balance with it.

Question: And then I will achieve harmony at the level of the psyche?

Answer: To do this you must perceive the world around you as a global system with which you have absolute communication.

Question: Then you no longer need to engage in the body and do physical exercises?

Answer: You will perform certain exercises, take this or that form of life, based on your properties.
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From KabTV’s “The Post-Coronavirus Era” 5/14/20

Related Material:
Health And Medicine, Part 7
Health And Medicine, Part 6
Health And Medicine, Part 5

New Life 1157 – Know Yourself

New Life 1157 – Know Yourself
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Today, we ask soulful questions like: Who am I? What I was born for? Where do I go? Some say to let go of the big questions, find a hobby, and enjoy it, while others explore the moon and Mars. The most internal part of man that builds emotion, the mind, and thought remains unknown to us and hidden. The inner nature of man or the soul drives us to develop to the highest level and discover the upper force.
[251945]
From KabTV’s “New Life 1157 – Know Yourself,” 8/20/19

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Time Of The Day And Brain Function

631.5Question: Scientists say our brain is able to solve more complex tasks in the morning. In the afternoon it is on decline and in the evening it is better to perform some creative tasks. Do you think that the time of day associated with the physiology of our body can somehow affect our work?

Answer: Naturally. When I was studying with some of the great Kabbalists, I observed to what extent they were not able to study seriously in the evening hours.

Yet at night, getting up at twelve or one o’clock in the morning, they worked normally, connecting to the upper levels of the universe.
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From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 7/2/20

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Can I Use 100% Of My Brain?
The Brain: A Secret That Is Inaccessible To Science

Before And After The Internet Age

959Question: Psychologists say that the biggest gap exists between Millennials (people born in the 80-90s of the 20th century) and their parents. Scientists call this gap a digital conflict.

We are talking about people who entered the era of the Internet, and there is a huge gap between them and their parents. What is your opinion? What happened during this period other than the digital gap?

Answer: We, those who lived in the pre-Internet era, know how we existed: We went to work, returned from it, bought food, carried it home, cooked food, and went to bed. And the next day the same thing happened again. Like in Charlie Chaplin movies.

Today, everything is completely different: We live in the Internet, in integral communication between each other, between all parts of the Earth. We don’t even know from where we are being written to or where we are writing; it doesn’t matter to us because we have moved to a completely different level of communication. If you cut off Internet connection between people now, you can imagine what chaos would reign on Earth.

Imagine that there was an alleged explosion of solar activity, the plugs burned out, and all communications failed. All management systems would ceased to function: military, civil, ministries, banks, and so on. Devices would stop working in hospitals, everywhere, anywhere.

In other words, now if we break the connection between us, which did not exist 50 years ago, we would cease to exist because we would not have any means of communication. Everything is tied to this.
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From KabTV’s “The Post Coronavirus Era” 5/21/20

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New Life 136 – The Internet Revolution And Human Connection
The Internet Goes Through Chaos To The Light
25 Years Of The Internet

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 9/6/20

Preparation to the Lesson

[media 1] [media 2]

Lesson on the Topic of “Work With Faith Above Reason” 

[media 3] [media 4]

Lesson on the Topic of “The Law of the Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” 

[media 5] [media 6]

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “From the Mouth of  A Sage” 

[media 7] [media 8]

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar” 

[media 9] [media 10]

Selected Highlights 

[media 11] [media 12]