Audio Version Of The Blog – 11/12/20

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download:MP3 Audio

My Thoughts On Twitter 11/12/20

Dr Michael Laitman Twitter

We all have to assess what is happening as a result of our state in relation to correction. The #coronavirus is a result of our uncorrected state in relation to nature’s demands.

There are two conditions: each one bestows everything he has, using all his abilities for the common unity. We complete one another, like ants in an ant-hill. Revelation of truth turns the universe into a sphere: everyone becomes included in each other—and the force of bestowal, perfection is revealed inside them.

We must reach unity between us and the Creator, reveal the force of unity, so each one will be ready to bestow with all of one’s heart and soul. That is how we will attain the degree of truth. We won’t count who did more and who did less—each one will bestow 100% and then truth will reign.

It’s as if we want to make up for what the Creator has done incorrectly. The Creator seems to have set up injustice in the world—we see that the world was corrupted from the beginning. We are trying to perform correction from outside, outside of man, instead of correcting him on the inside. This is the whole problem.
From Twitter, 11/12/20

Related Material:
My Thoughts On Twitter 11/9/20
My Thoughts On Twitter 11/8/20
My Thoughts On Twitter 11/7/20

So A New Day Has Come

921It is a bliss to wake up in the morning with a feeling of complete emptiness. Of course, it is the Creator who sends me this state because there is none else besides Him. He wants me to make a scrutiny and check who I am, what do I live for, what is worth living for.

The feeling of emptiness, lack of fulfillment, is a sign of the beginning of a new degree. At the previous degree, there was Zivug de Hakaa (coupling by striking) and fulfillment, but then the reverse process begins and the desire is emptied. The surrounding light presses on the desire from the outside and squeezes all the inner light out of it, leaving it as if empty.

There is no inner light that gives life force today, and the surrounding light also disappears. It turns out that there is no light either in the present or in the future. If an ordinary person gets into such a situation in this world, he is ready to take his own life. The Kabbalist, on the contrary, must be happy!

If there is no light in the present and no light for the future, this is a sign that I am moving to the next degree and I am facing a new state, which always starts from a complete zero. Therefore, we must shut our eyes, get more integrated in the group, and think only about connection and nothing else.

And as a result of connection, a new light will come from above and will start fulfilling me. Then I will feel that I have really broken through to a new state, to a new degree, and moved forward.

It is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” The day begins not with the dawn, but with darkness. First, there will be evening, and only then there will be morning as one day. And so, the second day will come, and the third one, the counting of the new degree always starts from the night.

Emptiness is help from above. The Creator gives me a sense of darkness as if saying: “The evening has come, there will be morning after it, this is already a new day!”

We need to train ourselves to get up in the morning with a feeling of darkness and gradually wake ourselves up, making great efforts, looking for understanding so that we can come to the lesson with new strength. Then it will truly be a new day.
[273626]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/8/20, “Work With Faith Above Reason”

Related Material:
And There Was Evening And There Was Morning
Days And Years Of A Person’s Life
About Light And Darkness

“The Deepening Rift Between Left And Right Is Here to Stay, And So It Should” (Medium)

Medium published my new article “The Deepening Rift between Left and Right Is Here to Stay, and so It Should

We need to realize that the deepening rift between Left and Right is here to stay, and grow. The sooner we do, the better our chances of dealing with it correctly, before it explodes into an all-out war.

People are different. There are different genders, races, colors, and body structures. These are biological differences that cannot be changed without gross interference with nature, and even then with questionable results.

We must also remember that we are dependent on each other, and without seeing that all of us are healthy and contributing our share to the well-being of humanity, we, too, will have no future.

What we are less aware of is the fact that our views, faiths, and the way we think are also, to a great extent, dictated by nature. As such, they are often unchangeable. When was the last time someone managed to totally reverse your opinion about something that really mattered to you? When was the last time you managed to do this with someone else? Leaning left or leaning right is carved within us almost as deeply as the color of our skin. That is not to say that there is no way to change one’s mind through brainwashing or some aggressive reeducation program, or even by planting someone in a totally new environment, but if we’re speaking about changing the views of millions of people simply by appealing to their reason, it’ll never work. Their reason works differently, as do their minds, and they will never agree.

Think of your own body. Within you, there are organs that function very differently from one another. They share the same DNA, but if you put a cell from the heart in the liver, it wouldn’t become a liver cell; it would probably die. Even though it’s created from the same hereditary material, its nature and mode of work are so different that it wouldn’t be able to survive in any environment outside the heart, where it belongs.

Now think of your body without any of its organs. How would it survive without even one of them? If you pulled out even one organ, you would kill or seriously maim yourself. Every organ, however small or insignificant, is vital for our well-being and often our survival. We wouldn’t want the pancreas, for instance, to be like the heart since we would not have a pancreas and would have one heart too many.

Human society is just like our body, but on a macro level. Take out even one of its organs and you have maimed the entire system. The rifts we see between people are not the problem; they only point to people being more aware of their function in society, which is actually good. The problem is that we cannot work as a single system the way our body works with all its organs. We aren’t aware of our interdependence in society the way we are aware of the interdependence of our organs on each other.

Dealing with the rifts between us correctly means seeing the big picture — that everyone is vital, everyone contributes, and humanity will not be what it is without each and every one of us. In the arguments between us, we must never forget that we are all one entity. It’s fine to disagree; it helps us grow, understand ourselves and others better, and do our duty for humanity more successfully. But we must also remember that we are dependent on each other, and without seeing that all of us are healthy and contributing our share to the well-being of humanity, we, too, will have no future.

“American Jews And Israel, The Great Divide” (Times Of Israel)

The Times of Israel published my new article “American Jews and Israel, the Great Divide

The US election was not only the thermometer to measure the temperature of American politics, it also tested the waters between American and Israeli Jews on what they might consider their best common interest. The result was freezing cold. The American presidential race revealed that the alienation between both communities is only growing.

Back in October, an American Jewish Community’s survey revealed that only 22% of US Jews would vote for President Donald Trump and 75% would choose former Vice President Joe Biden. That estimation was close to the 77% support received by the Democrats according to exit polls during the election. Interestingly, that same percentage of Israeli Jews favored the opposite candidate, Trump, who is considered by many to be the friendliest US president toward Israel in history.

The rift between the world’s two largest Jewish communities is not surprising. People’s worldview is marked by the environment in which they live. I am here, in the Middle East, on a small piece of land surrounded by enemies who are constantly thinking about how to slaughter us, to destroy us, so it is natural I think differently than if I were in America, sitting in comfortable physical security. It is clear where the opposite views derive from.

One may ask, isn’t it in Israel’s best interest to work to close the gap between the two communities? As the situation now stands, it is a lost cause. What can Israeli Jews offer that will be appealing to them if they do not care about Israel’s security and future? It seems to Israelis as if we do not exist to American Jews in any real way, not as a nation, not as a country, not as a people. It feels like they consider themselves as part of the people of Israel in name only but without common feelings.

After traveling in America throughout the years and meeting US Jewish leaders multiple times, my assessment is that beyond superficial declarations of being one people, actually drawing closer to Israel is not in their consciousness, in their awareness. They are Jewish people in America only. There is complete disconnection. No wonder almost 6 out of 10 American Jews have never visited Israel in their lives and these statistics haven’t changed for decades.

However, just as the detachment from Judaism did not save the Jews in Germany from persecution almost a century ago, the detachment from the Jewish state will not help American Jewry now. With antisemitism spreading rapidly, Jews are under threat, and distancing from Israel will do nothing to improve the perception of haters toward them. Just as in the past, Jews will be held accountable for whatever problems are on the agenda. This is the nature of antisemitism. Therefore, the only remedy capable of offering real help in this situation is unity.

From an economic perspective, those who still believe the American dream is alive and that their livelihoods are secure should wake up from their sleep. For a long while, America’s hegemony is slowly fading, as did happen with all the ancient empires. The trend is shifting away from the West towards the East, and Asia is poised to take over control of the world’s economy. Not only is China already at the top of the competition, but Japan, South Korea, and other countries in the Far East are also not far behind.

What does all this mean for American Jews? It means that the importance of Jewish unity cannot be overstated as the only safety net to guarantee a good future. Unity must be built with all haste above the split between Right and Left, between Republicans and Democrats, between American Jews and Israelis, above all the differences. Our future does not depend on any particular person or political camp; it depends solely upon our connection as one people.

Clearly, there are many contentious issues between the two communities worthy of addressing—opposite political views, disputes about who is a Jew, how Judaism should be practiced, just to name a few. However, above and beyond our disagreements, the State of Israel and the American Jewry must feel that no matter what, there is an underlying and indivisible bond that connects us together, similar to the way that siblings sometimes fiercely disagree but always remember that they are family.

Unity does not mean erasing our unique opinions or demanding that all think the same. (That would erode the very essence of the Jewish people who fiercely debate on anything.) No, all the differences remain and we just build a connecting bridge above them from recognition that our connection is far more important than any other issue.

As foremost Kabbalist Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) wrote,

“It is also clear that the immense effort required of us on the rugged road ahead requires unity as strong and as solid as steel, from all factions of the nation without any exceptions. If we do not come out with united ranks toward the mighty forces standing in our way then we are doomed before we even started” (The Writings of Baal HaSulam, The Nation).

Unity is the prime commodity and the bedrock of the people of Israel in that we possess the priceless method for bringing people together—families, nations, and all of humanity. When we begin to implement this method first and foremost between ourselves, the positive impact will reverberate forcefully around the world and our common destiny will be safeguarded.
[273776]

“What Do You Think Of The News About The Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Being Over 90% Effective?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: What do you think of the news about the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine being over 90% effective?

Pfizer’s announcement that its vaccine against the coronavirus is effective in 90 percent of cases has given hope to many people, but other than a shot of optimism, I see no long-lasting cure to the virus emerging from this vaccine.

My impression from various experts is that an effective cure to the coronavirus will take another four to five years. Moreover, according to my understanding of nature’s purpose and plan, which comes from over 40 years of studying the wisdom of Kabbalah, the world’s readiness for a cure depends on our readiness to positively connect.

Nature evolves to greater and greater states of connection, and when we realize the connection that we are being guided to positively, then we will experience life as perfect and harmonious.

If we align our drives to connect harmoniously with the interconnected and interdependent laws of nature, then we will experience health in the fullest sense of the term, i.e., balance on individual, social, global and ecological scales. However, if we fail to take our positive connection into account and let divisive drives separate us from each other, thinking badly of each other, then viruses will continue infecting us.

Currently, for instance, most people wear masks with self-serving motives, i.e., that they protect their own health by doing so. However, masks during this pandemic are an exercise from nature in disguise. They, in fact, protect other people in the mask wearers’ vicinity a lot more than the mask wearers themselves. We would thus be wise to treat mask wearing as an exercise in mutual consideration: to wear masks in order to protect and care about other people. However, even without any consideration of others, the more we endure the pandemic and wear masks whenever we encounter society physically, the more nature habituates us to at least unconsciously add a layer of sensitivity toward others upon ourselves.

In general, however, I trust that the Pfizer vaccine is positive in its brief surge of hope and the sigh of relief it brings to many people. Yet, in the same token, we do not need health experts to tell us that improving our attitudes to each other will improve our lives.

The coronavirus pandemic is nature’s way of communicating with us. If we shut ourselves off in our individual corners and make no moves to rise above our divisive drives and harmoniously connect to each other, then we can expect nature to respond accordingly.

We would thus be wise to think about what nature ultimately wants from us, and how we can improve our attitudes to each other. By infusing human society with a positive spirit of unity above the division and polarization that itches away at us from within, we will see an end to the pandemic, and a new beginning in which we will discover how to truly live healthily, happily, confidently, safely and harmoniously, in balance with nature.

I discussed this topic and answered questions about it in my Q&A with writers. Watch the video here.

Photo by GR Stocks on Unsplash.

How To Avoid Civil War In America?

448.8Question: There was a notion that on the evening of November 3rd civil war was anticipated to break out in the US. Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon predicted the Democrats would refuse to recognize Trump, as they had previously stated, and will take to the streets starting discord; after which the social networks will kick in, and so on and so forth. Complete civil disobedience. The Democrats would incite this war.

People were stocking up on guns; those who do not know how to shoot, are learning to. People are buying canned goods and leaving big cities so as to not be there during any riots.

If it were possible to turn around Trump’s way of thinking in face of the current situation, what do you think the message should be with which he addresses the American people? What would you say in his place?

Answer: I would tell them, “We are Americans! All of us! We are all part of the same nation. There is no difference between us. Let’s stop playing black-and-white, Latinos or Europeans, anything at all! Let’s address each other as Americans!

And anyone who will try to cause a biased attitude among us will have us all express our hatred toward them. Let’s make this correction between us now that all the people would feel that they are treated equally by everyone!”

And then we can vote for an idea that doesn’t relate to color or any such things. And the idea is rather simple: All people want to live freely and confidently, without undue pressure, and to prepare a good future for their children.

This is, in fact, what should concern all people, the government, and all of humanity. What else can we do? We must make our lives and the lives of our children pleasant and convenient. This is within our power.

We will not be able to adhere to all the alleged freedoms that exist in America, though. We will not be able to allow a person to earn freely according to the current framework of laws, nor to let a poor person fall into a state that he can no longer rise from.

We must educate the population first and foremost. The problem of educating the masses is the most important one. America can set an example to the whole world and then the whole world will realize that in this lies its greatness.

Question: Knowing that there are two parties that hate each other, what should Trump speak of now?

Answer: “I propose unification, a truce, and a general program for improving the country. For us to gather together and start deciding: What is not working between us? There are no Democrats or Republicans. There is only a single nation, a single government.”
[273237]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/12/20

Related Material:
The World’s Common Problem
The Problem Of The Growing World Population
The World’s Problem Is My Problem

Which Will Prevail—Human Egoism Or Love

962.1Question: There is a term “vaccine nationalism.” It is when a vaccine is developed exclusively for one’s own without common agreement to create a vaccine for everyone. Everything is kept secret, and all is done not for the sake of people’s speedy recovery, but for political or national interests. This is what is happening in the world right now.

If you think about it, why can’t we gather the greatest human minds together and have the whole world work for them so that they can create a vaccine as quickly as possible? Everyone would work for their benefit, helping them and thinking about their success. For example, lock everyone up at Oxford so that the focus would be on them. Clearly, the vaccine would have been produced a hundred times faster than it is now.

So why, even in times of such danger like we are facing now, can we not come together and make this decision?

Answer: Everyone wants to take advantage of this moment. We are talking about billions of dollars, Nobel Prizes, all the honor, power, everything you could want. Who would give that up?

Question: This means that health is not even considered here. The vaccine, in principle, is created not even for people to be healthy but in order to show off?

Answer: Only for that! Who cares about health?! What can we expect from people if God (the Creator) turned Himself inside out and made us opposite to Him? There are no boundaries here.

Question: What if everyone felt the danger that each one of us could get this virus and that we would be on our deathbed tomorrow. Now go and make a decision whether to gather all the minds for the vaccine to be ready tomorrow. Would people make this decision in such a situation?

Answer: No.

Question: This is unbelievable! I will die tomorrow. But if I make this decision now, then I and everyone else will live. And even in this circumstance would I still not make the decision to combine the efforts with the rest of the world and develop the vaccine together?

Answer: Well, in general, we see that the world is facing the threat of a thermonuclear war and other problems and nothing can be resolved. On the contrary, they think of how to use it before others in order to suppress, kill, and destroy others.

Human egoism is boundless, equal in magnitude to the Creator’s love for people. And that is why you cannot do anything about it.

Question: So, these two forces are in opposition to each other? Egoism and the Creator with His love.

Answer: Yes. That is why there is no limit to our hatred for each other.

Question: How do we get out of this?

Answer: I don’t know. I talk about it all, I try to convey and explain this to everyone as much as I can. But the fact is that people do not consider it, do not take it in, and I really do not see the future as bright as others do. I think that after this virus there will be major problems. We will be squeezed.

Question: Squeezed against the wall with no way out?

Answer: Yes. But anyway, somewhere, somehow, we will come to the realization that we have no other choice, and it will come with great suffering unless we decide to do something with ourselves before that. Therefore, I think that at some point, we will decide that we have to change ourselves.

Question: What is this “hole” in us that needs to be punctured so that we realize that the evil of nature exists in us?

Answer: It is the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart. We need to make a hole in it so that a drop of light would enter. It will do the rest.

It will corrode the egoism, make it soft, malleable, receptive, and willing to realize what it is, what is happening with it and with others as well. Otherwise, it would be very difficult.

Question: So, thoughts about others appear only if this drop of light penetrates the person?

Answer: Yes.

Question: I did not quite understand: what is this place in the heart?

Answer: Our heart is enclosed in a shell. And this shell is so hard, so heavy.

Question: That is, the light will pierce it a little bit and enter it. And then the work will begin. Your personal task is to help the light make this hole in a person. What does it mean for you?

Answer: A hole is a lack (Hissaron). When a person feels that he absolutely must have the quality of bestowal, the quality of love, enter his heart because otherwise he does not feel others, and he cannot do anything about it even though he would like to, he cannot. And this feeling of hitting a wall (I cannot do anything!) will cause this opening to appear.

Question: Is this feeling of hitting a wall a joyful or a terrible one?

Answer: It is a feeling of dire need. It is a prayer and a cry, and the appeal to others with calls of urgency, cries.

Question: Does every person have to come to this? Or maybe a team, a small group to begin with?

Answer: I don’t think that everyone has to. At least a group like our group, our team.

Question: What will attract the rest of humanity to it?

Answer: They will see that there is something happening in this group that suddenly reached out to the Creator and managed to attract Him to itself.

Question: Will this group start radiating hope for all of humanity?

Answer: Yes, and everyone will see that.

The group is Israel, which has an inner connection with the Creator through which they understand that they are obliged to bring the quality of bestowal and love to the world.

Question: Is this the hole that will be made?

Answer: I think this is what we will do.

Question: Do you have this confidence?

Answer: Confidence, I cannot say. There is such hope and some inner feeling that this is possible, that the Creator will do it to us.

Question: It is still all Him, one way or another. Do you think that sufficient effort has been almost made for it to happen any time now?

Answer: Effort is all the qualitative and quantitative years, and in general, everything that humanity has done up to this day. It is all adding up.
[273103]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 9/7/20

Related Material:
The Epidemic Will End When We Finish It
All Of The People In One Infinite Circle
The Creator’s Desire Is Directed Toward The Nations Of The World

Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 7/24/20, Part 2

294.4Question: What did you learn at school and in university that helped you in life?

Answer: I acquired knowledge in certain areas from my studies so that I would be able to understand and to explain, but they actually helped me very little.

Question: What has life taught you?

Answer: That I don’t know and don’t understand anything, and that basically I am nothing.

Question: What did you learn from your teacher?

Answer: That I need not worry that I am nothing.

Question: Do you learn from your students? If so, what do you learn?

Answer: I look at them and I understand that their path is the same as I underwent, and this makes me happy.

Question: What else would you like to learn?

Answer: To be a man.

Question: What skills are required for that?

Answer: To love and to bestow.

Question: Do you only teach or do you also study when you have the time?

Answer: I study independently when I am alone. I don’t need any books for that. Sometimes I read something on my computer. But the study is actually an internal process.

Question: Does this mean that you don’t read any books in order to acquire knowledge or certain skills?

Answer: Of course, there are the books of the writings of Rabash and Baal HaSulam and I read them.

Question: Which question don’t you have an answer to?

Answer: Who am I?

Question: Which question would you like to ask a wise person?

Answer: No question. I had such opportunities. I know that wise people simply sit and keep quiet and that is enough for them.

Question: How do you restrain yourself from passing on unnecessary information to your students?

Answer: I love them.

Question: What can you recommend to your students who see constant paradoxes in your answers?

Answer: Wait.
[272842]
From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 6/24/20

Related Material:
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 7/24/20, Part 1
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 7/2/20
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 6/25/20

Respect The Environment

423.02Remark: You constantly say that all the problems of humanity arise from the fact that we are not united. And people can’t connect why unity between them can somehow stop an earthquake or a coronavirus.

My Comment: It’s not easy to explain. This requires an appropriate environment. When people around you think a certain way, you inevitably start thinking the same way. This is how we were created.

Basically, we are one single system called Adam. Therefore, what the society around me accepts as true, I will eventually accept as true.

Question: What would you recommend, other than the environment, as a factor that develops and increases motivation?

Answer: Deep reflection. Nothing more.

Question: What exactly should a person do in the environment? What is this technique?

Answer: The technique is very simple. If I want to change my aspirations to new ones, they must be necessary and important for the people I respect. And then it will be very easy for me to change my direction.

Remark: So it’s not the environment itself that matters, but how much I value it. If these people are important to me, they will influence me.

My Comment: They can be completely ordinary, not outstanding people. Let’s say that if my little son or grandson wants to do something that is interesting for him, then it inevitably becomes interesting to me, and I begin to respect and welcome his occupation.

Question: And if a person does not find such important people from whom he could draw energy, then is it necessary to artificially exalt them?

Answer: Yes. He must find a society that does what he needs to do. Kabbalah says this: if you want to be a good tailor, you must get into the company of tailors who respect their work, their specialty. And you’ll see that it sticks to you.
[273597]
From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 8/28/20

Related Material:
What Determines The Motivation To Live And Work?
The Only Motivation
Will Connection Between People Change In The Future?