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My Thoughts On Twitter 10/29/20

Dr Michael Laitman Twitter

Nature is leading us to a new state. We are obligated to realize what is happening and bring ourselves into alignment with it. Until we do this, nothing will change. We cannot return children to schools and adults to work—we will sit at home until we understand that we have to behave in a new way.

Mutual closeness is able to disinfect the place where the virus lives, inside our hatred of each other. We’re separated by a mandatory distance beyond which we can’t come close to each other—this space is full of complaints and strife. This is a favorable environment for the virus.

The coronavirus is a spiritual virus. It reacts to the spirit that dwells between people. It is nourished by hatred that exists between us. It develops and lives inside of it. The more animosity, conflict, and rejection there is between us, the more comfortable the virus feels, multiplying in this nutritious environment.
From Twitter, 10/29/20

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“The Latest Scheme To Divide Israel – Cantonize It” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “The Latest Scheme to Divide Israel – Cantonize It

The latest whim among those who want to see Israel disintegrated is to split it into cantons. “It makes perfect sense,” they exclaim, “We will be like Switzerland!” And why not? Those who want a liberal lifestyle will live in the Tel-Aviv canton, those who want an Orthodox lifestyle will live in the Bnei Brak canton, and so on and so forth. Everyone will have their way and we will all be happy.

The divisions between us will not vanish; we will never agree. But they must not deter us from striving for unity despite them. If we strive for unity as a value in itself, a worthy goal we must achieve, even if only so as to serve as an example, we will find that our rejection of each other is but the reason and the impetus to form unity and solidarity. Without the hate, we’d have no need to build love. Without rejection, we’d have no need to forge connections. And without connection, we are not a nation.

If we do that, we might as well pack up and leave now. We didn’t come to Israel to live in separate tribes; we came here to reunite the Jewish people. We can’t expect 2,000 years of exile not to leave its marks on all of us, but if we don’t want to revive our common identity, we might as well leave now because it defies the purpose of our coming here, and the meaning of being Jewish.

Jews have never been similar to one another. Our forefathers were outcasts from various tribes, and believed that only when we rise above our differences we can achieve true unity. King Solomon called this motto, “Love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 12:10), and RASHI explained that Rabbi Akiva’s motto, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” is the great rule of the Torah.

In other words, we weren’t meant to let our separateness remain, but to rise above it and unite. The whole world consists of separate nations that have no idea how to unite. They fight each other to death; they’ve been through two world wars; they are well on their way to another one, and no one knows how to prevent it. The only way this can be stopped is if people find a way to unite above their inherent and immutable differences.

We, the Jews, were the only ones who ever attempted it, when we first formed the nation, and the only ones who succeeded, albeit for very short periods and with countless clashes in between. Nevertheless, that successful attempt, or perhaps better defined as “effort,” has earned us the mission to be “a light unto nations,” to show the way to forge unity among different and hostile peoples.

Subconsciously, this is why the nations voted in favor of establishing a Jewish state in the land of Israel in 1947. The Holocaust was certainly an impetus, but we shouldn’t be so naïve as to believe that countries that wouldn’t let in pleading Jewish refugees before and during World War II had suddenly become philo-Semites when it ended.

Despite its innate dislike of Jews, the world has given us a sovereign state, a chance to reestablish our nationhood. And since our forefathers were aliens who united, when we are not united, we are aliens. If we embrace our alienation and divide the country into cantons, we will admit that we are unable to connect, the nations will feel that we have given up on the effort to unite and set the example of unity above hate they so desperately need, and that will be the end of the State of Israel.

The divisions between us will not vanish; we will never agree. But they must not deter us from striving for unity despite them. If we strive for unity as a value in itself, a worthy goal we must achieve, even if only so as to serve as an example, we will find that our rejection of each other is but the reason and the impetus to form unity and solidarity. Without the hate, we’d have no need to build love. Without rejection, we’d have no need to forge connections. And without connection, we are not a nation.

“Why Did Anti-Semitism ‘Switch Sides’ Politically In The US?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: Why did anti-Semitism ‘switch sides’ politically in the US?

In the U.S., anti-Semitism was commonly considered as emanating from the far-right, yet today, it is tilted more to the left. However, the phenomenon of anti-Semitism itself is beyond political affiliation, and in the future, I expect both sides to unify around their common hatred of Jews.

Today, American Jews are a lot more aware about the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. However, the thought of an impending Holocaust is still mostly elusive. They still do not see that anti-Semitism could reach such levels where it can all overturn on them very severely. Indeed, leading up to the Holocaust in Europe, most Jews also disagreed that it could happen, denouncing and mocking those who, in advance of the Holocaust, warned of Jewish genocide.

The past decade served to normalize anti-Semitism in the U.S. as well as in other parts of the world, with regular accounts of anti-Semtitic vandalism, distribution of anti-Semitic flyers and posters, anti-Semitism entering various musicians’ songs and social media posts as well as artists’ artworks, anti-Semitic attractions at carnivals, as well as an increasing amount of people questioning the Holocaust’s occurrence and not knowing about the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. In addition, last year (2019) marked the previous decade’s yearly peak in the amount of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S.

If last decade represented anti-Semitism increasingly seeping into the mainstream, then I expect anti-Semitism to become an all-out trend this decade. At the moment, both political sides still use the mainstream condemnation of anti-Semitism as a tool to blame each other for the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S., but the more their conflict intensifies together with more acceptance of the idea that Jews stand behind their polarization, then they could indeed reach a point of agreement to unite against the Jews.

This is also why American Jews can expect to see dropping support from the government, because if they can be scapegoated as the cause of the country’s problems, then it serves to shift half of the American population’s negative focus away from the government and onto the Jews. In such a state, since the Jews are vastly outnumbered in America, the idea of their ostracization would also become increasingly popular, until one morning it could very well become the reality of the day. History is rich with examples of leaders who capitalized on growing anti-Semitic sentiment in the public at times of various crises to direct the public’s negativity onto the Jews.

Also, while the horrid past experience of the Holocaust spurs many Jews today to combat anti-Semitism in many different ways like no other time in history, we can already clearly see how the increased efforts to counter anti-Semitism fall short of stopping the forceful anti-Semitic tide, which rapidly outpaces the numerous efforts to fight it.

In short, we need to see that a grave disaster lies ahead for American Jews. However, we also need to see that it can be stopped and even inverted into a positive, supportive and even loving attitude toward Jews, on one condition.

What is that condition?

It is that a dramatic shift in attitude toward Jews should be sought in no place other than the unification of the Jewish people. In other words, the disaster is laid out on a path that we walk without making any strides to change to a different and more unifying path. If we unite above our differences and divisions, then we will be a conduit for unity to spread to others. Then, when the public feels the increased happiness and other benefits that stem from Jewish unity, they will herald the Jews as those who initiated the process. If we fail to take any step toward our unification, then hatred will continue rising against us, and we can experience that hatred to erupt in a terrible way.

Photo by Robert Ruggiero on Unsplash.

“Is It Too Late For American Jewry?” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Is It Too Late for American Jewry?

American Jews used to think that antisemitism in America existed only on the fringes of the Right. But currently, you find more of it in the mainstream Left. In all likelihood, however, the Left and the Right will unite around the one thing they have in common: hatred for Jews. American Jews are waking up, but by the time they realize that they are reliving the pre-Holocaust days, it just might be too late.

A recent AJC survey highlighted two points indicating that Jews are finally waking up from the illusion of safety. 1) “More than 93% of Democrats, 87% of independents, and 75% of Republicans say antisemitism infects the nation. At least 80% of Jews of all denominations … point to the uptick, as do at least 86% of Jews of all ages.” 2) 31% of American Jews “say they have tucked their Star of David pendant into their blouse, removed their kippot [yarmulke], and avoided publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying other things that might help people identify then [sic] as Jewish.” Additionally, “A quarter of respondents say they avoid certain places, events, or situations out of concern for their safety.”

Antisemitism has been creeping from the fringes to the mainstream in America for several years, but the pace has picked up in the last year or two, and I anticipate that after the election it will become “in vogue” to hate Jews. When that happens, progressives and liberals from the Left will suddenly find common ground with Neo Nazis from the Right, and everyone will agree that they do not need to fight among them since the Jews are the source of all their troubles, Jews are the ones setting them apart, and from here on they’ll know what to do.

If the Jews expect the government, any government, to protect them, they’ve got another thing coming. There is no political sense in supporting Jews: If they restrain antisemitism, then the half of the nation that’s lost the election will turn against the government. But if they can pin the nation’s troubles on the Jews, then what better way is there to unite the nation? This is the exact same ploy that Hitler and numerous rulers before him used in order to unite the nation and divert criticism from the government to a vulnerable minority that everyone hates and envies anyway. The Jews, once more, will become expendable.

Unlike Germany in the 1930s, American Jews, remembering the Holocaust, are very active in resisting antisemitism. They protest, establish defense organizations, and lobby on Capitol Hill. But none of it will help. American Jewry has come to symbolize capitalism in its worst form, where money is all that matters, and when you’ve got it, you “make the world go round.” As long as this is the image of Jews in America, they don’t stand a chance against antisemitism.

Jews should engage in one thing and one thing only: connecting with each other. They have to connect among themselves in order to be an example for the rest of the world. Jews have given the world the most important motto of all, the epitome of altruism: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if they don’t exercise it, or even try to move in that direction, the world has no need for them and it will opt to carry on without them.

I have been warning American Jews for nearly two decades that their fate would be horrible unless they united and became an example of solidarity. I have written two books about the consequences of disunity and its essential role to the people of Israel, 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, Historical facts on anti-Semitism. I published hundreds of articles and essays, and given dozens of lectures, live and through the internet, throughout the US and Canada. Despite all the historical evidence I had presented, and despite all the quotes where I had shown that our sages throughout the centuries cautioned that unity is our only hope, hardly anyone listened, much less embraced unity as a solution to our problems.

Now, finally, American Jews accept that there is antisemitism, but they still refuse to believe that they have a solution to it. They think that antisemites can choose not to hate Jews, and don’t realize that it’s their hatred of each other that excites the world’s hatred of them. By the time they realize that all they need is not to hate each other, the world might be too engrossed in accusing Jews, too excited about the discovery of the cause of its troubles. I pray that I am wrong, though history, I’m afraid, is on my side.

“Jews Can Be The Key To American Unity” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Jews Can Be the Key to American Unity

Could anyone imagine the day would come when Jews in America would need to hide their religion and cultural background? In America—the land of freedom and endless opportunities, the melting pot where people from all walks of life could converge and coexist in mutual respect—as the Founding Fathers conceived it. How can we now come to terms with the fact that 24% of American Jews say they avoid wearing a Star of David pendant, kippah, and any other Jewish symbol in public out of concern for their safety? This is the disturbing reality revealed by the most recent survey on attitudes of American Jews about antisemitism. Food for serious thought.

“Deep anxiety among US Jews & lack of awareness among the general public about the severity of antisemitism in the US” is revealed in this year’s report conducted by the American Jewish Committee. The survey’s release coincides with the second anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. The still-bleeding wounds of hatred against Jews are evident in the ongoing attacks on college campuses and hate crimes committed across the country. In fact, nearly nine out of ten respondents believe that the cancer of antisemitism is a worrying problem in the US.

Would trying to avoid being identified as Jewish help us escape from being the target of antisemites? No, because the number of haters is bound to multiply. Divisiveness, clashes, and increasing hostility within American society are the breeding ground of a deep crisis at all levels. America is a very dynamic nation. The effects of the pandemic have damaged and destabilized the economy. Public health and social instability are only some of the concerns afflicting the American public. The mass media in the US is powerful and very influential in heating up the environment. All these elements combine to create an unstable situation in which people’s nerves are so frayed and circumstances so volatile that any issue could ignite the powder keg in the blink of an eye.

In such uncertain conditions, it is entirely feasible that we will see in the near future, unanimous agreement in the entire American population that Jews are to blame for the severe blows the nation may suffer in both the political arena and in the socioeconomic spectrum. Current trends indicate that street protests and pogroms may not be a rare occurrence. It seems less and less farfetched that a new Holocaust is looming on the horizon. I say this in all seriousness. Certainly, some may be in a state of denial, just as it was in Germany when the majority of Jews refused to believe the Final Solution was imminent.

How could another Holocaust be possible? History has taught us the hard way that when things go wrong in society, sooner rather than later, Jews will be blamed and persecuted. However, before the situation comes to this, Jews have the ability and opportunity to apply a special preventive treatment: to rise above all differences and unite. And this must take place regardless of any political preference or other consideration. Instead of allowing politics to divide us, we must come together in solidarity and cohesion. As it is written in the book Maor VaShemesh, “The prime defense against calamity is love and unity. When there are love, unity, and friendship within Israel, no calamity can come upon them.”

American Jews from all sides of the political scene have become so alienated from one another that each faction feels that the other behaves against the interests of the Jewish people and against our core values. Ironically, the greatest of Jewish values is unity above differences! It is famously stated as the greatest law of Torah, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

The inability of Jews to rise above differences of opinion plainly shows how distanced we have become from our true heritage. This colossal lapse must be mended quickly not only because it is our true goal as a people, but because our error in oversight puts us in grave and immediate danger. We may have different political opinions, but we are all Jews, and for antisemites, that is enough.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that it is the historical purpose of Jews to demonstrate unity and to model corrected societal relations for others. We became a nation at the foot of Mount Sinai only after every person present accepted the condition of being “as one man with one heart.” Jews practiced the method that allowed them to rise above their differences and lived under principles of true equality and mutual concern. But then unfounded hatred and disunity arose causing the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Since then, we have forgotten that unless we are in brotherly love and unity, afflictions will continue to fall upon us until we remember and carry out our mission.

Today, as antisemitism increases yet again, Jews must finally provide the model of social cohesion that only we can. Our ancient calling has become so pressing and relevant in these precarious times that ignoring it will have horrendous consequences.

The threats towards Jews signal an imperative change that needs to happen, a change that Jews must initiate and play the decisive role in it. We must see that our true Jewish power, both to protect our communities and to contribute to the world, lies in our ability to unite above all differences, and that the wisdom of how to do this is more than a simple mechanism for fending off threats and safeguarding our people. It is deeply ingrained in our core values and heritage.

The Future Of The World Depends On Women

961.2We are born in this world, the worst of all worlds. Nothing is worse than it. Therefore, you can calm down—it will not be worse anywhere else than here. All other states are much better than this. And so, it is worth thinking about how to get out of the sensation of this world. To do this, you don’t need to die, you just need to change the sensation, sometimes a state of despair suddenly gives way to happiness and joy.

Let’s try to rise to a better state. The Creator wants us to rejoice so that through connection we would reach the world of absolute good, the upper world full of light, where there is not even a memory of evil left. We should try to establish this spirit in the group.

Otherwise, the Creator will not come close to us. He comes only where they try to establish joy and happiness in the group and a good attitude toward each other.

The world is entering difficult times. It gradually is descending lower and lower, into bigger problems and conflicts between everyone. But despite this, we must try to establish a connection between us around the globe. This will protect us, give us confidence and joy and increase our immunity against the coronavirus and all other diseases.

Not a single bug will be able to approach us because everything depends on our relationship. If there is a Klipa between us, a selfish desire, then viruses will get there. And if there is a place for sanctity between us, a good attitude toward each other, then not a single harmful virus can get there. This is against the law of nature.

If there are good relations between women in the group, it will affect the whole world because a woman is the foundation of the world. For the sake of a good future, for the sake of your family, for the sake of your children, try to treat each other well. Be the way you teach your children when you persuade them not to quarrel, not to fight, but to play together. This will affect everyone, and men depend on you too.

We want every heart to feel everyone else like they feel themselves. Let everyone enter my heart, it can contain the whole world. And then, I will feel that I live in the world of infinity.

The world is facing a difficult period. The Creator wants to push us toward the goal, and He pushes us harder and harder. It seems to us that everything happens around us; but in fact, it is all inside us. Let’s try to keep the connection between us as strong as possible and this will certainly help us move quickly and easily to the goal. All the evil and the good that will be revealed to us, we can use for proper advancement.
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From the Lesson for women 10/24/20

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A New Perspective On The Horizon

294.2The world is entering a new stage of the coronavirus epidemic. People are gradually beginning to realize that the virus and all the associated restrictions will remain with us for a long time, and gradually are changing us. We are starting to get tired and to despair because there is nowhere to strive to, nowhere to run to. There is no opportunity to earn and compete like before.

All of life seems to have fallen asleep, which has led to a feeling of general fatigue and discontent. In some strata of society, this manifests itself in an explosion of indignation, in others in a silent depression. Some destroy and plunder, some go to demonstrations, and the unrest threatens to escalate into civil wars, as it has happened in history.

If people do not have a clear perspective for the future and a goal for which it is worth living, they begin to degrade, not knowing what to do with themselves. The absence of a future takes away all strength from a person because he has nowhere to strive to, nothing to do. Therefore, in all countries, people will begin to feel themselves without strength, without purpose, without any interest in life, in a state of apathy, from which it is impossible to get out.

But maybe there is a way that the Creator wants to show people? Life has not been too purposeful before. We just made up goals for ourselves, like in a child’s game—if only there were something to play.

But now, when the Creator has taken this game from us and does not allow us to continue like we did before, can we understand where we actually ended up? What kind of life was it? A useless race from morning to night to earn and spend everything, and earn and spend again. We were spinning like a hamster on a wheel.

Perhaps, from hopelessness, a person will agree to change the principle, and if there is no strength to take care of himself, he will begin to care for others? Then others will take care of him, and we will receive the right fulfillment from life. The main thing is that I have strength, a reason to move and do something. We will begin to live for a common goal, support each other, and then the future will shine upon us and give everyone strength.

There will be something to live for! Moreover, we will gain an eternal goal, not such a fleeting one as we have today. We will reveal the perfect form of nature, a higher power and will be able to control our lives; this will be real life, and not a game as it was before.

We are facing a difficult winter and very serious states that can explain a lot to us if we are sensitive and try to understand the Creator’s intentions, what He wants.

Try to feel where the Creator leads all of humanity, how we can understand His play with us with the desire to enjoy that was created by Him. According to what the Creator awakens in people, it will become easier for us to assimilate new concepts in our life, in nature, and to come closer and closer to the Creator.
[272889]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/25/20, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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When We Will Get Second Wind

567.04The main reason for the unrest is not that people are left without jobs and without means for living, but that they lost their future. This despair is spreading like an epidemic from family to family, from city to city, from country to country.

A sense of hopelessness, apathy, and loss of perspective for the future has already engulfed the entire globe, covering it from all sides. It is as if an engine has stopped because there is no need to spin, businesses are closing.

No one except us understands what is happening and how to deal with it. People should understand that it is impossible to work for their own fulfillment anymore; it is a deception because it does not provide fulfillment. Fulfillment disappears and I become disappointed in this work.

But here we find a new method of fulfilling ourselves from fulfilling others, and we get a second wind. We simply all together reconfigure ourselves and receive real infinite and limitless pleasure from being able to take care of each other. The purpose of creation is to give us pleasure, a true one, not temporary and disappearing.

We are now at this transition. It is difficult to say how long it will last, but apparently, it will last for an extended period of time, which humanity needs to understand this change and to implement it.

Today we live for the sake of fulfilling ourselves, and tomorrow we will live for the sake of fulfilling our friends and the ten. I will be devoted to the ten because only through it can I fulfill the Creator and humanity. Such internal transformation takes time.

Yet, it all depends on us. Maybe we can change that quickly. Look at the huge changes in human nature and its thoughts that the pandemic has made in a matter of months. I did not think it could happen so quickly.

Day by day there are changes in different places of the world as if waves are rolling across the ocean rising in one place, then in another. The upper light affects the entire depth of the desire of creation and changes it from the highest layers to the lowest ones, including the Klipot and desires that are not yet ripe for clarification and correction.

The process is very complex. However, the common despair and apathy and the unbearable feeling of emptiness that leads to an explosion show that the Creator is leading us to very serious steps.

The feeling of emptiness is the worst. A person is ready to do anything, even die, just not to feel empty. This is the structure of desire, Kli.

The Creator cannot do anything if we do not ask. The upper light is constantly approaching us like a meteorite approaching the Earth from the depths of the universe. It may take years for it to reach us and enter the layers of the atmosphere; however, already today scientists can say that in twenty years it will fall to Earth. For twenty years it will be approaching us, but what can we do?

This is how we need to understand that the Creator, the upper light, is approaching and wants to be revealed. He will be revealed either in the opposite form since He is opposite to the will to receive, and therefore will be accompanied by problems and troubles. Or He can be revealed according to the similarity of qualities, and then we will meet Him “face to face” and adhere to Him according to the good will of the receiver and the giver.

It all depends on us whether we can establish the correct connection between the vast desire of humanity and the Creator each time. We are responsible for this contact, and I hope we will be ready to do our work correctly. Otherwise, the contradiction between the Creator and the will to receive will become so great that it will lead to very serious consequences.
[272880]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/25/20, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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New Life 1283 – The Tenant Landlord Dilemma

New Life 1283 – The Tenant Landlord Dilemma
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Tenants are finding it hard to pay rent during the coronavirus crisis and are asking for a significant discount. Landlords should agree to lower the rent temporarily since humanity is facing an economic blow as a single family. This means that the landlord will profit a bit less, but if such a move leads to expenses, he should relate to it differently. From the perspective of the state, it must ensure everyone’s basic necessities. Everyone should ask himself in what way he is contributing since we all have a responsibility.

We are actually at war. Nature is forcing us to connect to each other differently in an integral way since otherwise, the situation in our country will be very bad. We are all in the same boat and we depend on each other. Having no choice, everyone will warm his heart and relate to others as to his own family and relatives. In this war, whoever is ready to sacrifice himself will gain more and will open up a new reality for himself.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 1283 – The Tenant Landlord Dilemma,” 10/9/20

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