Audio Version Of The Blog – 11/27/20

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

The Infinity Of The Creator And His Creation

260.01The Creator made the desire of the creatures small, like the Malchut of the world of infinity. Infinity meant that the desire was completely filled, that is, without boundaries, like a full glass.

But then this desire must develop to infinite proportions. Due to the fact that the Creator created the creation, the desire to enjoy, the opposite of Himself, this gives us the opportunity to reveal the Creator without any boundaries and restrictions, without any stopping on the way until the end of correction and after it.

When we finish all the corrections, covering the whole desire to enjoy with the intention to bestow, then further progress will continue in other forms, no longer due to lack. However, the endless movement forward will continue anyway because this is the only way to reveal the infinity of the Creator.
[274215]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/20, “Connecting the World in the Last Generation”

Related Material:
An Infinite Source Of Pleasure
How Can We Attain Infinite Pleasure?
Deficiency And Fulfillment

“Why I Care (And Write) About The World” (Times Of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Why I Care (and Write) about the World

Recently, I have received some questions about my interest in “worldly” matters. These readers seem to believe that kabbalists should take no interest in the material world and current affairs. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Kabbalists care a great deal about the world, and for very good reasons.

But before I elaborate on the reasons for writing and speaking about the world we live in, it is important to realize that in doing so, I am in no way the first. Great sages throughout the centuries were very interested in the events of their time. They often wrote about it, too. In the 20th century alone, two spiritual giants expressed themselves on various occasions regarding the world around them. When the great Rav Kook saw that the Jews were in danger abroad, he wrote a plea for their arrival at the land of Israel. In a declaration published in the book Essays of the Raaiah, he asked them, “Assemble one by one, wait not for formal words and orders; wait not for permits from renowned ones. Do what you can, flee and gather.” After a few more sentences, he adds, “Amalek, Petlura [anti-Semitic Ukrainian leader], Hitler, and so forth, awaken for redemption. One who did not hear [the call] … for his ears were blocked … will hear against his will.”

A contemporary of Rav Kook, the great Rav Yehuda Ashlag—known as Baal HaSulam for his Sulam [Ladder] commentary on The Book of Zohar, and the father of my teacher, Rav Baruch Ashlag (RABASH)—wrote in great detail about current affairs. His essays “The Peace” and “Peace in the World,” and his extensive composition The Writings of the Last Generation are some of the publications where he expressed his views on current affairs and politics, both in Israel and around the world.

But Baal HaSulam worked tirelessly to circulate his ideas, and mainly his warnings. He published a newspaper titled The Nation, in which he dealt only with current affairs, and predicted the outcome of WWII, Israel’s conflicts with the Arabs, and much more.

In “The Peace,” Baal HaSulam analyzes Russian communism and predicts its downfall. Even though he wrote the article in 1932, he was already convinced of Russia’s ultimate collapse. In his words, “Go and see what has become of [Russia]: Instead of rising and exceeding the achievements of the capitalist countries, they have sunk ever lower.” Note that in 1932, he already wrote in past tense, as though it was a done deal. “Now,” he continues, “they not only fail to benefit the lives of the workers a little more than in the capitalist countries, they cannot even secure their daily bread and clothes on their flesh.” Later in the essay, Baal HaSulam explains that this has happened to them because they failed to educate their people about the importance of unity and solidarity.

Baal HaSulam does not stop his explanation with Russia. In The Writings of the Last Generation, written shortly after World War II, he explains once more why communism did not succeed, and what will follow it: “Soviet Russia has already proven that an insufficiently developed society will invert the cooperative governance into the worst governance in the world. Moreover, [Marx] assumed that the subsequent phase to the ruin of today’s [capitalistic democratic] governance is the governance of the workers, but reality has shown [perhaps a reference to Weimar] that the subsequent governance to today’s governance is the Nazi or fascistic governance.”

We might think that this was a slip of the pen, so to speak, but Baal HaSulam makes his point very clear. In his writings, he mentions the word Nazi, Nazis, or Nazism 27 times, and the word “fascist” or “fascism” 11 times. In the excerpt below, he warns that the Nazi regime is likely to emerge from the Left rather than from the Right: “We should also take into account that all those who are ruining the natural process of the just governance actually came from the proletariat and emerged from their midst, and not necessarily the Soviets, but the majority of Nazis were also initially pure socialists, as well as the majority of fascists. Even Mussolini himself was initially an enthusiastic socialist leader.”

Further below, Baal HaSulam returns to Marx and writes about the danger of Nazism emerging specifically in democratic, capitalistic countries: “[Marx] thought that the subsequent stage to the bourgeois [capitalistic] regime would be a cooperative workers’ regime, but in the end, we are living witnesses that if the democratic bourgeois government were to be ruined now, a Nazi and fascist regime would promptly rise in its stead.” Worse yet, “Whenever the democratic government is ruined, a fascist, Nazi regime will inherit it.”

Baal HaSulam did not settle for writing about his predictions. He participated physically in political assemblies and parades in Poland before he moved to the land of Israel. Here, he met with political and social leaders and tried to convince them to include education toward unity in their platforms, speeches, and writings. He met with David Ben Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel; Zalman Shazar, the 3rd president of Israel; Moshe Sharett, the second prime minister of Israel; Haim Arlosoroff, head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency, renowned poet Hayim Nahman Bialik, and many others. In all those meetings, he strove to promote the agenda of unity above differences. Regrettably, they would not listen, and today we are faced with the consequences.

My teacher, RABASH, Baal HaSulam’s first born son and successor, spoke to me at great length about current affairs and where they would develop. He knew that I would continue his path and the path of his father; we had talked about it many times, and it is my commitment to him and to Baal HaSulam to carry on with my efforts to warn humanity about the approaching cataclysm.

We need to understand that a kabbalist relates to the world in a very different way than other people. A kabbalist’s one and only goal is to help everyone develop the quality of love of others. Kabbalists strive for connection above all the differences, knowing full well that these differences all come from the singular, benevolent force that has created the world, and are implanted in the world precisely so that we will be able to develop the quality of love of others to counter the natural rejection we feel toward those who oppose our views. Were it not for the existence of opposers, we would not feel hate and would therefore have no impetus to develop love in order to counter it. It turns out that even those we hate, the Creator—the force of love and giving—put them there in order to help us grow and become loving individuals.

The countless conflicts in our world are opportunities to bridge hatred by building love between us. This is why these conflicts occur in the first place. If we acknowledge this and work on building love, our bonding strengthens and our society thrives. If we do not seize the moment and succumb to our hatred, the force of giving will have to give us even greater hatred in order to compel us to build love above it. It turns out that the more we avoid our work, the more we bring upon ourselves increasing pain and hardships.

We need to understand that spirituality means giving, love. It is not some parallel universe or an “elevated” state of consciousness where you become aloof and indifferent to material life. On the contrary, spirituality is an approach to life in this world that changes our perception of it. A kabbalist’s task is therefore to help all people see the force of giving acting behind everything that happens, and help them connect with it. A kabbalist must take interest and write about current affairs as a means to explain the operations of the giving force, the Creator, and advise people how to direct their lives, establish their own connections with the Creator, and achieve happiness and confidence in life.

When kabbalists observe the world, they look for the easiest, quickest, and most pleasant ways for people to achieve the positive transformation that they want to advance. If this way requires support for a certain political entity or direction, they will support it. They have no personal benefits to gain as a result of their support, or any other ulterior motive. Their only motivation for supporting any entity or organization, political or not, is the advancement of humanity toward connection, mutual responsibility, and solidarity. Kabbalists will support anyone who champions it, and oppose anyone who hinders it.

Because kabbalists want everyone to be connected and acquire the quality of love, they care about the entire world: all the people, animals, plants, and planets. Rav Kook once said to the renowned author Alexander Ziskind Rabinovitz (AZAR): “I wish the whole of humanity could be placed into a single body, so I could embrace them all.” This is the attitude of a true kabbalist.
[274605]

“Jerusalem, The Heart Of The World” (Thrive Global)

Thrive Global published my new article: “Jerusalem, the Heart of the World

We discover a fresh new purpose to our lives as we come closer to each other in our thoughts and feelings of mutual care and empathy. We align ourselves with the perfect global interconnectedness and reciprocity existing in nature.

South African actors rehearse their “Jerusalema” dance steps as they prepare to shoot a special feature film based on the viral music hit, after an online dance challenge captivated millions around the world, at the Cape Town Film Studios in Cape Town, South Africa, September 24, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

The pandemic’s determination and tenacity to continue its global spread has created a numbness and dulled us to sleep. A general fatigue has expanded throughout humanity, so the urge to find any source of contentment is only natural. Recently, a song in the Zulu language came along with a message of hope—Jerusalema—which transformed into a collective dance that has taken the world by storm. Its wildfire spread shows how eager people are to connect. Now the question is how can that feeling of connection be elevated to a higher level of unity, one that surpasses our physical actions and the distances between us to give lasting joy.

Jerusalem is the heart, the center of the world, the epicenter of all desires and aspirations, a state in which everything is based on mutual love for one another. When we reach such a state through the connection of our hearts, we will not only activate new sensations of livelihood, high spirits and energy, we will also attain boundless and eternal joy.
Michael Laitman

Some of my students asked me about the global sensation “Jerusalema,” explaining that the South African theme became a lockdown anthem as group dances spread in every part of the planet to uplift the spirit during Covid-19 restrictions. My response is that dancing, especially in a group, is a positive activity as it gives a sense of togetherness. At the same time, humanity’s state of desperation will still be waiting to resurface as soon as the contagious beats die down and everyone returns to his own place and concerns about the uncertain future.

In other words, a group activity for entertainment will act as a sort of therapy and escape from reality, but it won’t allow us to close our eyes like scared children without sharpening our minds with meaningful questions about what the tiny virus is trying to teach us. The pandemic calls for a deeper scrutiny of the state of the world, what we have wrongly built until now, and what needs to be flipped for humanity’s betterment—that the virus is stirring up the need for connection between us toward the goal of a better life.

Interestingly, the song’s theme of Jerusalema as home, as a special place in life, can be explained with a profound perspective from the wisdom of Kabbalah. In the Ari’s book The Tree of Life, it is written that if a person reaches the revelation of the upper force through the right attitudes of love and bestowal toward others, he discovers a special quality called “Jerusalem,” which refers not to a physical place but to a state of perfect unity.

Therefore, today’s Jerusalem, which is a holy city for the three major world religions, is not the real Jerusalem written about by prophets and sages. Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) represents the “perfect city” (Ira Shlemah) in which we all achieve perfection in the relationships between us, complementing each other. We discover a fresh new purpose to our lives as we come closer to each other in our thoughts and feelings of mutual care and empathy. We align ourselves with the perfect global interconnectedness and reciprocity existing in nature.

Jerusalem is the heart, the center of the world, the epicenter of all desires and aspirations, a state in which everything is based on mutual love for one another. When we reach such a state through the connection of our hearts, we will not only activate new sensations of livelihood, high spirits and energy, we will also attain boundless and eternal joy.
[274611]
— Published on November 26, 2020

“What Is Freedom Of Speech And What Are The Limits Of Free Speech?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: What is freedom of speech and what are the limits of free speech?

Freedom of speech and freedom of expression definitely require limits. The first limit is that we should not hurt or offend anyone.

Causing no harm to others should act as an inbuilt “constitution” that first and foremost determines the limits of our free speech. It is similar to how we consider it a criminal offense to break into another person’s home and cause damage to its property.

Suppose I have a neighbor whose father passed away, and I start making fun of his father. It would be disgraceful and disrespectful to my neighbor, and I would awaken hatred by doing so. How could I let myself do that? It is completely irrational.

If we want to hurt and offend others, then it is precisely these desires that require correction. Their correction initially needs a restriction of their outward manifestation. Afterward, we need to bring ourselves to a state where we hold nothing against anyone in the world other than our own self, and we can then truly be considered free. In short, we can be free in every aspect of life on condition that we each refrain from harming each other.

In such a state, we can have criticism, disagreements and arguments, but we would need to learn how to not awaken hatred in each other while doing so. We would therefore need to regularly engage in connection-enriching learning, to elevate our sensitivity, empathy and inner intelligence so that our common goal to live harmoniously, peacefully and happily with each other would envelope all of our thoughts and aspirations.

In short, we cannot let ourselves hurt each other. On the contrary, we have to respect each other. We each feel different ideas, people and objects in differing levels of importance according to where, to whom, and how we were born and raised. One person considers something to be very important, and another person considers something else to be very important. However, above what we each consider as important, we should try to see what we all have in common.

New Life 449 – The Phenomenon Of Emigrants From Israel, Part 1

New Life 449 – The Phenomenon Of Emigrants From Israel, Part 1
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

The people of Israel are a group of people who are associated with our ancestor Abraham in Babylon on the basis of kindness, connection, and love. They were a group of strangers who interacted with love in order to go Yashar-El (straight to) the upper force. The land of Israel is a spiritual place to which people who have a desire for connection with others and with a higher power are drawn. People who abandon the importance of being connected together with others in the land of Israel emigrate from the land.

The people of Israel must live in the land of Israel, but in order to do this they have to return to living in connection and love. If we were “like one person with one heart, ”they would feel that in this land there is a force that belongs to them. If a spiritual revolution doesn’t happen in the land of Israel, the entire Zionist enterprise will fade away.
From KabTV’s “New Life 449 – The Phenomenon Of Emigrants From Israel, Part 1,” 11/11/14

icon for podpress Video: Play Now | Download
icon for podpress Audio: Play Now | Download

Uniting For The Sake Of Uniting

275Question: There is a law that  a person in a crowd falls under its influence. He begins to lose control of himself and can easily lose his “I.” But why, when I am in a group of people who want to unite and reach a new level of attainment, this law doesn’t seem to apply?

Answer: Because egoism does not push you to unite, you must act against it! And you enter the crowd with your egoism and realize it like everyone else. It’s very simple, very easy.

Any person who joins a crowd becomes like it. He finds justification for his egoism, feels big, great, like the crowd. It is very difficult, almost impossible, to be in a crowd and not obey it.

Comment: But I spend a lot of time among people who want to unite for the sake of unity. And they don’t influence me.

My Response: This isn’t a crowd! The crowd is an egoistic rabble who decides to combine their individual egoistic impulses for some even greater gain. And so it goes, breaks, hits, and rampages. It affects your egoism, and you start acting like them. The crowd drags you along.

And when you want to unite for the sake of unity, it’s a completely different matter! You are part of a group that works to rise above its ego, to annul it, to deny its animal nature. There is a lot of work going on here. An outsider won’t even know what you’re doing.
[274179]
From KabTV’s “Communication Skills” 9/25/20

Related Material:
Society As An Individual
The Technology Of The “Wisdom Of The Crowd”: Motivation
The Duty To Follow A Guide

The Meaning Of Life Is Here And Now

222Question: Many different schools of self-improvement offer such concepts as living consciously, living in the present moment. They promise that this state will allow you to enjoy life, feel it more, and manage it. How does one live exactly here and now?

Answer: Begin to comprehend the meaning of life here and now. Nothing else is needed! I want to comprehend the meaning of my existence, the connection with an upper force that controls me.

And we are governed by nature; it is the highest power. Let’s comprehend what it requires of us at every moment of time, how we can be with it in mutual connection, in such communication so that I understand how nature affects me and how I should react to it correctly.

Then my life will be full of meaning. In nature I will find a partner and begin to feel my interaction with the outside world here and now.

Question: Does this aspiration somehow neutralize thoughts about the future?

Answer: I want this future to be embodied now, on the spot, here. This is my future.
[274183]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 11/6/20

Related Material:
Enjoy Life Here And Now!
Expand The Meaning Of Life
New Values

Who Will Have To Pay The Bills?

259.01Question: There is speculation that future generations will pay for the coronavirus. In addition to debt, we leave them two huge problems: looking after us when our pensions are left without funding and solving the problems of climate change, which we did not solve and passed on to them. On top of that, we have limited investments in their health and education. In short, the next generation will feel bad. We have robbed our children and grandchildren.

But in principle, I still keep thinking about my children and grandchildren. Why does a person suddenly become disconnected from this? They will live in some kind of environmentally dirty, broken world, with a supply of nuclear weapons, whatever you want. We do not even think about what kind of future we have arranged for them.

Answer: Nobody thinks that he leaves it to his descendants. Why should I think about it? This is natural for a person!

Question: To not think about future generations?

Answer: No. This is his real face, Homo Sapiens. “Knowing man”!

Question: Is this what intelligence is about, to think only of yourself?

Answer: Of course. To snatch for yourself as much as possible. I live while I am alive. That is it, nothing else! “After us the deluge.”

We can do nothing with our nature; it is higher than us. Nothing! There is no natural desire in us to do something with ourselves for the sake of our descendants. We know that we are putting them right under nuclear bombs, climate problems, whatever.

Question: How does one start a dialogue with nature so that it gives us a feeling of both guilt and responsibility that we must do something for future generations?

Answer: This can only be done through the realization of the evil of our nature and the way to get out of it; is there still a way out? But humanity is not suffering enough to seek this way out.

Question: But what is the solution?

Answer: Only dissemination of Kabbalah, which talks about how to correct human nature, reveals all the ignominy, all the improbability of this nature, its horror! It reveals the emptiness in a person, so that he realizes that he needs to fill it.

Question: What is this emptiness revealed in?

Answer: In hopelessness.

Question: Is there no future? Does my nature allow me no future?

Answer: It will not allow you anything. A man is the most terrible creature.

Question: Then why did the Creator create us in this way?

Answer: In order for us to realize our evil and correct it, to ask Him for correction. And then we will become participants in our new, spiritual development.

Question: If He simply did it without our request, then we would receive everything simply for free and would not appreciate it? And here we do have to appreciate it?

Answer: We should achieve it. And then we will feel that we received the opportunity to work with this new sensation, with these new forces.

People should know this. People should understand that they are faced with a very serious task to correct their own nature. We can do this.
[272999]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 9/7/20

Related Material:
The Collapse Of The Climate Conference
Natural Disasters And The Role Of Humanity
That Loud Word “Nature”

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 11/27/20

Preparation to the Lesson

[media 1] [media 2]

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

[media 3] [media 4]

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot, ‘Histaklut Pnimit,’ Vol. 1, Part 2, Chapter 5, Item 51″ 

[media 5] [media 6]

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Connecting the World in the Last Generation”  

[media 7] [media 8]

Selected Highlights

[media 9] [media 10]