Audio Version Of The Blog – 12/20/21

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“Among All Tensions – The Worst Is The One between The US And Israel” (Times Of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Among All Tensions – the Worst Is the One between the US and Israel

Come December, we start thinking about the year that has passed and what we can look for in the coming year. When 2020 was coming to a close, people were optimistic that with Covid and all, 2020 was the worst we could have, and now that we have vaccines, things would be all good again. But by mid-January, memes started circling on social media saying “We’ve seen the sample, thank you, we want 2020 back.” Since then, matters have gone from bad to worse. If I had to sum it all up in one word, it would be “extremes.” 2021 has been a year of extremes. Yet, there is one peril that is destined to be more extreme than all, though it is still slightly undercover: the tension between the US and Israel. The former allies are on track to becoming hostile.

In the current US administration, there are people who not only disagree with Israel, but in my opinion, they disagree with Israel’s existence, though at this point, they will not admit it. I do not like it, but I cannot blame Americans for hating Israel. Through our own actions, we are turning our lives from pleasant and peaceful to painful and bloody. And because it will be so for us, it will be so for the entire world, as well.

Israel is at the center of the world. I do not say this because I live in it or because I am Jewish. It is at the center because of objective reasons, and history proves it. Mark Twain noted in “Concerning the Jews,” “…The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream stuff and passed away. The Greek and the Roman followed and made a vast noise, and they are gone. …All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”

Similarly, John Adams, the second president of the United States, wrote in a letter to Francis Adrian Vanderkemp, “If I were an atheist, and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations. If I were an atheist of the other sect, who believe … that all is ordered by chance, I should believe that chance had ordered the Jews to preserve and propagate to all mankind the doctrine of a supreme, intelligent, wise, almighty sovereign of the universe, which I believe to be the great essential principle of all morality, and consequently of all civilization.”

Not only those two, but most people who study history acknowledge the centrality of the people of Israel in world events. There is a good reason for it, and one of the wisest people in contemporary Jewish history, Rav Kook, beautifully articulated it. In his book Orot HaRaaiah, he wrote, “Humanity deserves to be united into a single family. At that time all the quarrels and the ill- will that stem from divisions of nations and their borders shall cease. However, the world requires refinement, whereby humanity is perfected through each nation’s unique characteristics. This deficiency is what the Assembly of Israel will complement.”

Indeed, the role of the Jewish people, and the reason for its survival against all odds, is to bring the nations’ unique characteristics into a comprehensive wholeness and unity. Every nation that suffers from division blames it on the Jews because every person who feels hatred toward others subconsciously feels that the Jews are causing it. People cannot pinpoint the reason for their hatred of others—that it is because the people who were chosen to bring the light of unity to the world are squabbling among themselves—but they feel very clearly that somehow, the fact that they hate their neighbor is the Jews’ fault.

Meanwhile, the Jews are oblivious. Instead of working on our unity, we wallow in division and bond with our enemies in order to oust political rivals. When the world points a blaming finger at us, we point to our collaboration with our enemies as proof of our innocence.

But the world does not need our adulation toward enemies; it needs us to connect among ourselves. Internal unity and solidarity are the “refinement” that Rav Kook referred to in his words. This is the deficiency that we must satisfy. The world is looking for us to set an example. The mere fact that it is blaming us for its woes proves that it pins its hopes on us. If we show the way to unity, the world will follow. If we keep fighting, the world will fight, as well, and it will begin with fighting against us.

Yet, the world will not be better off if it decides to “punish” us for our sins the way the Nazis did. It will resolve to do it if we avoid our calling, but it will not make life easier on humanity. In the end, the relics of our nation, who remain after the near annihilation, will have to do what we can do now, before the storm breaks out.
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“Omicron? The Worst Is Yet to Come” (Medium)

Medium published my new article “Omicron? The Worst Is Yet to Come

It’s been a month since Omicron, the new Covid variant, first appeared. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the strain is spreading “at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant.” WHO also warns that although “Seventy-seven countries have now reported cases of omicron … the reality is that omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn’t been detected yet.”

Yet, the Omicron wave does not tell us anything that previous waves did not tell us. The only reason it is here is that we weren’t attentive in the previous waves, so a faster, more unruly form appeared. The more we ignore the message we are getting through the virus, the more damaging the strains will become, and other natural disasters will join them to deliver the message.

We think of creation as consisting of distinct pieces, but in truth, these pieces form a single unit, an organism whose organs operate in inseparable co-dependence. The only part of creation oblivious to this modus operandi is humankind. As a result, we behave contrary to the way all of creation operates, which puts us at odds with all of reality. This is why we feel that nature is hostile and belligerent toward us. If we behaved in sync with the rest of nature, we would feel harmony and peace in everything that happens.

The pandemics and other natural disasters are the consequence of our incongruence with nature. If we dedicate some time and scientific effort building a reciprocal society that is isolated from the rest of society, and whose members strive to build warm relationships, we might see the effects on the health of the members of the group.

Regrettably, I do not see humanity attempting this; we are simply too selfish to be able to do so. In almost every country there are protests and mistrust between citizens and authorities. Even heads of state, who urge people to follow instructions, are caught partying without masks or the required distance.

Nevertheless, the defiant spirit of the people is not necessarily negative, for it indicates profound changes. People today are no longer willing to follow orders of any kind. Drugs that were illicit just a few years ago are now permitted even for “recreational” purposes, and people are generally more pugnacious toward orders from authorities.

For all these reasons, the worst is yet to come. In my opinion, we are approaching a time when such a violent virus emerges that will force us to stay home, seal the window, filter the air we let in, wash the food we eat with soap before we touch it, and (somehow) clean our drinking water.

At the moment, a spiritual connection, where we all feel that we are part of a single mechanism seems far-fetched. However, it is what lies at the basis of nature. Hence, as nature’s blows grow more frequent and intense, it will make us turn to the connection between us as the only recue. At that point, we will agree to learn how to form solidarity and unity, and how to make room for others in our hearts.

At that point, when we have inverted our nature from receiving to giving, we will discover the beauty and joy in giving. In such a state, no pandemic will bully us. Moreover, we will learn to appreciate the ego, which, in its crooked way, has led us to reveal the good and pleasant in creation. It is as our sages said, “As the advantage of the light from within the darkness.”
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“What Are A List Of Good Opened Ended Questions To Ask People (First Time Meeting Or Talking) For Starting A Conversation?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: What are a list of good opened ended questions to ask people (first time meeting or talking) for starting a conversation?

What is a human being?

How do we perceive our environment?

How do we perceive life?

How do we change throughout life?

How can we change our perception of life, to see a happy life instead of a sad one?

How can we know more about who we are?

We unfortunately lack complete understanding about life and the world, and in order to better understand them, we need to understand human nature, which is also unclear and unknown to us.

If we hold more conversations on such topics, we will find that life is full of phenomena that we previously paid no attention to, and which will then start opening up to us.

Based on the video “How to Have More Meaningful Conversations” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Children Must Play Together

503.02Comment: More and more adolescents suffer from depression, hyperactivity, and sleeping problems these days, which means that more and more children are less happy.

According to psychologists, this is because children do not have the opportunity to play anymore, it is not about computer games, but about games that we used to play in the past like hide and seek and tag, games that help kids develop important skills.

My Response: These games develop communication between children, which is a crucial phase in their development and growth. It happens through games because the whole world is a game. We always play, but different games. But when a person is at home and does not communicate with others, he will grow up to be an ugly person in the human sense. He will not be able to communicate with people.

Children will grow up to be miserable because they have no natural, normal communication with their peers. We will not be able to do anything about this because it is simply impossible to replace communication with anything else.
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 11/18/21

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What Does The Book Of Zohar Allow Us To See

65Question: Why does the special force contained in The Book of Zohar allow a person to reveal his true state and wake up faster?

Answer: Because The Book of Zohar causes us to look at the upper world through our world, see it in us, lay upon ourselves all the objects of the upper world, and be able to perceive everything that really exists. Now we perceive only a small part of the creation that is revealed to us. But how can we attain the hidden part?

Through this world, The Book of Zohar reveals the external world to me, and then I feel that what I perceived before was really just a dream.

Question: Our distorted perception of the world gives us the feeling that the world is outside of us. Does a person actually reveal all these levels inside?

Answer: In myself and only in myself. Today we feel the world inside of us.

Do you exist? I feel that you exist. Whether you really exist outside of me, I do not know. This is a question that science, psychology, and philosophy engage in.

Kabbalah answers it very simply and The Book of Zohar allows you to see it and feel it with your own eyes.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Individualist” 1/15/10

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Engage In The Eternal Part In You

294.3Question: There is an unwavering goal of development, and all the suffering directs me only to the highest goal. Therefore, should I be aware that by simply helping others in everyday life and not directing them toward the goal, I seemingly am taking a painkiller and the disease continues to progress?

Answer: Of course. If you asked me what to do with humanity, I would answer: “Let them work two or three hours a day to earn a living and nothing more. And the rest of the time, put people in class to engage in their spiritual development, in their eternal part.”

Develop it while we are still alive in this world so that each of us begins to feel his eternal perfect state before the death of the physical body.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Fate and The Book Of Zohar” 2/5/10

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The Magic Number Seven

507.05Question: When I was looking for information about miracles, the number seven appeared in all the lists. For example: seven wonders of the world, etc. Why exactly seven? What is this number magical?

Answer: Seven is a magic number that emphasizes we are talking about something above nature.

Right, left, front, back, top, bottom—six sides in which we are enclosed as in a cube, and the seventh one is beyond it. That is why number seven is so symbolic. It defines something that is beyond our world.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 11/30/21

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“What Is The Significance Of Eating Together?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: What is the significance of eating together?

When we are together, we can enjoy an atmosphere of mutual connection, giving and helping.

There is thus an immense growth in the reception of spiritual fulfillment. Why? It is because we open our hearts to each other.

Spiritual fulfillment is felt in our hearts. The more we wish to benefit others, the more we open a place in our hearts that can become filled with a spiritual sensation, i.e. a pleasurable sensation of giving and bestowal.

Our inclination to eat together extends from our spiritual root where we are connected as a single whole: the soul or system called “Adam HaRishon” in the wisdom of Kabbalah. What we can learn from such a state is that if we wish to reach a complete and whole sensation of fulfillment, i.e. spiritual fulfillment, then we should devote ourselves to connecting positively to each other.

Based on the video “What Is the Spiritual Meaning of Eating Together?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman, Tal Mandelbaum Moshe and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12/20/21

Preparation to the Lesson

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #175 “And If the Way Be too Far for You”

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Love of God and the Love of Man”

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Selected Highlights

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