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My new article on Linkedin “To Live in Israel, Be Israel”

Israel, the land, not the state, is a very special place. Over the generations, millions of people from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have praised it, longed for it, and hallowed it. Yet, over the centuries, the land had been scarcely inhabited. Even today, with millions of people living in Israel, not many do so by choice. Many would gladly move to Europe or the United States, if only they were welcome there. There is a good reason for this: You can only feel at home in Israel if you are Israel on the inside—if you strive to live by the principles of the people of Israel: solidarity, mutual responsibility, and love of others.

When the ancient Jews lived here, they were strong when they were united and weak when they were divided. Our sages do not blame our ruins on foreign legions, but only on internal division. They attribute the ruin of the First Temple and the expulsion to Babylon to bloodshed and slander, and the ruin of the Second Temple and the exile that lasted until about a century ago to hatred without cause.

The people of Israel became a nation when they pledged to unite “as one man with one heart.” Immediately thereafter, they were given the task of being a model nation, “a light unto nations,” setting an example of unity to all nations. Subsequently, they were given a land in which to fulfill their obligation to the world.

The unity of the people of Israel was like no other. The first Israelis, known as Hebrews, were complete strangers, at first. The only thing that held them together was their adherence to the three above-mentioned principles that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had taught them. It was an ideological unity, not a biological or a geographical unity, as was the case with other nations.

By forming such a unique, uncanny union, they showed what the future of the world could look like if all the nations united. Because they were the trailblazers, they were given the task of being “a light unto nations,” of setting an example for the rest of the world.

The unity of the ancient Israelites had many ups and downs. When unity reigned, they were on top of the world, so to speak. When division overcame them, they became a horde of bitter enemies fighting each other to the death. But in doing so, they showed the world that peace among the nations was impossible.

Today, too, only those who can live by the laws of unity will feel comfortable living in Israel, and they will be the contemporary people of Israel. If there are not enough people, the country will disintegrate.

As long as there is a State of Israel, the world will look for an example of unity specifically from the people who live in it. If they provide it, they will be venerated and hallowed. If they show division, they will be hated and despised.

If there is no State of Israel, the world will not be a better place. Without the example of unity that Israel must set, the world will be mired in fighting and war.

Only if the people who live here know what it means to be Israel, are willing to take on the task, and strive to fulfill it among themselves, humanity will have a beacon, a compass to follow to the shores of unity, and the world will be spared the looming wars. In the coming years, it will become evident that only people with such a mission in life can call Israel “home.”
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Question: If all the people in the world, every single one would make the same wish for the New Year—one from all—would it come true? What kind of desire should it be that you would also like to participate in?

Answer: What would I wish for people? To open their eyes, to understand the universal formula of nature, that they can feel and see it, enter into this formula, and exist in it.

Question: And if this desire, which you want everyone to have and with which you obviously associate yourself with, would appear in everyone, would everything turn upside down?

Answer: Of course. Then all people would live in “love your neighbor as yourself.” This balances the entire nature at all levels—from small to large.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 12/20/21

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Jewish Ties”

Even before the establishment of the State of Israel, the ties between the Jews in Israel (which was then part of the British Mandate in Palestine) and the Jews around the world were complicated. Many Jews in the Diaspora rejected Zionism and believed it would increase antisemitism. They were content to live where they were and did not want to move to a land that (at the time) had nothing to offer but swamps, desert, and hostile Arabs. Nor were the Zionists keen on Diaspora Jews. The heads of the Jewish settlement in Israel wanted only young, socialist immigrants, and preferably unmarried or with small families.

Since then, suspicion and tensions between Israelis and Diaspora Jews, particularly American Jewry, have not improved. In fact, in recent years, relations have deteriorated rapidly, to the point where many American Jews would prefer that Israel did not exist at all. Many of them even side with Israel’s enemies, while Israelis feel growing resentment toward American Jewry, whose values and culture are often very different from those of Israelis.

Mutual alienation helps neither side. On the contrary, it intensifies hatred toward Diaspora Jews and toward Israel alike.

All Jews, no matter where they live, have the same obligation to the world. Whether we are German, American, Russian, or Israeli Jews does not change our obligation to be a light unto nations and an example of unity above all differences.

The people of Israel does not exist for its own sake. It is unlike any other nation. It is a nation comprised of descendants of numerous tribes and nations who united in antiquity around the idea that unity among all people, regardless of differences, is the most noble idea and the key to happiness and prosperity in life.

Accordingly, the sole purpose of the Jewish people is to demonstrate the value of unity by setting an example. This is why the more hatred and alienation increase among nations, the more the world becomes antisemitic. It is looking for a way out of the entanglement of mutual hatred and distrust, and in the absence of an example from the Jews, it is at a loss as to how to achieve it. Jews perceive the world’s anger at them as antisemitism, but in reality, it is the world’s cry for help out of hatred.

No Jew is relieved from this obligation. Hence, no Jew will be spared the anger of the nations for not giving them what they need.

Therefore, despite the chill between Jews in the Diaspora and Israeli Jews, the one thing all parties can do to assuage antisemitism is increase the level of their solidarity and unity. Even though we have accrued generations of mistrust, the only thing that can help us mitigate the world’s anger toward Jews is to rise above the bitterness and restore our nationhood around the principles of our ancestors: solidarity and mutual responsibility. Even if we do not feel inclined toward it, the feedback from the world once we begin to work on it will convince us that this is the way to go.
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My new article on Linkedin “A Common Culprit Behind the Woes of 2021”

Fires, floods, pandemic, earthquakes, typhoons, tornadoes, drought, inflation, war, abuse and exploitation, we’ve had them all this year, and a common culprit stands behind them: man. Change man, and you have changed the world. The task may not be easy, but knowing the cause and what we need to do will go a long way toward enabling improvement.

When you think about all the bad things that happened this year, it is almost instinctive to say “Good riddance!” But we should be smarter than that. The catastrophes mentioned in the opening paragraph will seem like a gentle breeze compared to the ones that will come next year and in the years to follow unless we are determined to get to the bottom of the crises and solve them once and for all.

When people think of last year, they think of all the things that happened. I think we must go deeper than that; we must look at what induced those things, as well as other negative developments.

We already know that every element is unique and irreplaceable in Earth’s ecosystem. When you deplete even a single element, you throw the system off balance. When you throw a local ecosystem off balance, it affects its neighboring systems, until eventually the entire planet is disrupted. Just as Covid-19 has taught us that any strain immediately spreads around the world, so, too, is the case with everything we do, say, or even think. We are all parts of that one system.

We already acknowledge that we are dependent on each other and influence one another by the way we conduct ourselves as consumers, what we eat, our travel habits, and other aspects of our lives. We see that irresponsible and inconsiderate behavior depletes common resources and everyone suffers as a result. The UN and other organizations have international panels and conferences discussing this topic day and night.

Yet, not a lot is changing. In fact, matters are getting worse. So far, the only thing that has truly managed to contain our reckless behavior is the coronavirus. Once it forced us to go into lockdown, the air was clean, the water was clear, animals roamed where they had never gone before, and people rediscovered their families.

But a lockdown is not a way of life; it is an emergency measure. We need a sustainable solution that will allow us to go on living on this planet, our only home, without destroying it, and without it destroying us in retaliation.

To do that, we must change the core element that is causing our reckless behavior: our selfish human nature. When you look at all the issues plaguing our planet—from natural disasters to human caused crises—they all have a common culprit: human egoism. Therefore, change man, and you have changed the world.

Here lies our biggest problem. We can readily agree that we need to change our behavior. It is also evident that our behavior causes problems. But changing the cause of our inconsiderate behavior has far fewer advocates, since no one willingly admits to bearing the guilt for the world’s problems. Yet, we are all accountable.

The biggest challenge facing humanity as we enter 2022 is not curbing gas emissions, restraining the use of plastics, or reducing the use of fossil fuels. Our biggest challenge, the most obstinate disruption to our efforts to clean up the planet, is our own nature.

We cannot tell ourselves that our own nature is our biggest problem. However, we can create an atmosphere where everyone participates in building a new nature for humanity—where solidarity and kindness win acclaim, and conceit and narcissism induce admonition.

If we do this, all of us together, we will not feel like we are denying ourselves anything, like we are uprooting something from within us. Instead, we will feel that we are adding a good supplement to our lives, something that enriches our lives and gives them direction and meaning. Gradually, the more social mindset will become the dominant one since it rewards more generously than narcissism. If we do it together, it will be an easy and smooth transition.

Therefore, understanding where we are, why our world is the way it is, and how we can spare ourselves the adversities that are certain to come unless we change our ways, is paramount to our survival. As a bonus, we will also win a wonderful life that we did not believe existed until we adopted a mindset of solidarity and cast behind the common culprit of our woes—our own egoism.
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The feeling of your insignificance is a great and honorable feeling because a person bows his head before a higher power. And of course it is important for what purpose and by what means he does it.

On the other hand, it is written: “And his heart was high in the ways of the Lord.” That is, it seems one should be proud, increase one’s desires, opportunities, and the means to advance. How do these two directions fit together?

In fact, both of them guide us toward the same goal. There is not a single property in a person that would contradict the achievement of the goal. After all, we proceed from a perfect state, from merging with the Creator, where we were at the very first point of creation.

The Creator gave birth to us as a black point immersed in the infinite upper light. And from this point we began to develop due to the fact that the light entered this dark point opposite to the light, “created from nothing.”

All the properties inherent in us were formed from the collision between light and egoistic desire. And therefore, in all reality there is nothing but this opposition between egoism and bestowal, light and darkness, the properties of the Creator and the properties of creation.

Therefore we only need to correct our attitude to this and return to the previous state. And for this we figure out our fragmentation, the opposite of light, and feel distant and confused. But at the same time, we have all the data to collect this, like a child’s game of assembling a Lego set, and to put each part in its place.

And in addition, we have an upper force that influences us and all the Kabbalists of the past around us who help us, with what else we will reveal. And inside this circle is our world group Bnei Baruch, and inside it are our little tens. And all this is inside a system that works, heals, and restores itself.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/27/21, Shamati #230 “The Lord Is High and the Low Will See – 2”

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Will there be peace between the Jews and Arabs?“

One of my students recently updated me on an amazing partnership in sports. Adam Badir is a senior physiotherapist from the Arab village of Kfar Kasem. He worked with an Israeli athlete, Artem Dolgopyat, from the Israeli city of Rishon LeZion, who recently won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Adam not only took care of Artem at the Olympics, but he also supported him like a big brother, and when Artem received the gold medal, Adam was so moved that he broke out in tears.

My student raised the question as to whether such a special relationship between an Arab and a Jew who are very close could act as an example to resolve the conflict between the two nations.

While, on one hand, partnering in our achievements brings us very close together, and on a personal level, such closeness allows two individuals such as Adam and Artem to perhaps not feel the conflict due to their friendship.

On the other hand, the particular dispute between Arabs and Jews demands a specific kind of treatment. A life of peace is possible on condition that we Jews will positively connect with each other. Our positive connection to each other will accordingly also positively influence our cousins. They will then feel a special compelling force that attracts them to love and connect with each other.

If we develop strong, internal and deep connections among each other, then we will enable such connections to expand worldwide, and our Arab cousins will also connect with us in the process. It is a law of nature, and the wisdom of Kabbalah describes how this law works in detail.

Based on the video “How Can Jews and Arabs Find Peace?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: Some researchers assert that the tendency of people to believe in miracles can be explained physiologically in that a certain part of our brain is responsible for irrational thoughts and another part is responsible for correcting them.

Throughout millions of years of existence we have narrated all kinds of myths and fairy tales to each other in order to connect all kinds of natural phenomena. Therefore, the belief in miracles and the attempts of science to explain them logically is probably inherent in us at the genetic level.

Do you also think that believing in miracles is a physiological tendency? Where does it come from?

Answer: A person wants to learn, to believe, and to feel what is beyond one’s comprehension. A person keenly listens, closely looks, and tries to go beyond the boundaries of his feelings. This is why miracles attract us so much.

Question: From your point of view is this good or bad?

Answer: It is good! This is a human attribute! One does not run away, but on the contrary, tries to get closer, to understand this “miracle” if, of course, it does not repel him.

Question: What if he just believes in miracles and does not even try to explain them? Let’s say he has a tendency to believe.

Answer: This already depends on his calculations, what he wants to achieve from such an attitude to miracles.

I would not say that we should be afraid of miracles, try to run away from them, limit them, or put them in some kind of religious framework. We just need to look for a scientific, real explanation for everything that seems to us to be a miracle.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 11/30/21

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In the News (itv.com): “UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told leaders at the COP26 climate change conference the world is at ‘one minute to midnight on that doomsday clock’, …

“Humankind is ‘treating nature like a toilet’ by continuing to use fossil fuels, the UN secretary-general has warned, after Boris Johnson told the COP26 summit that immediate action is needed to ‘defuse that bomb’ of climate change.
“The prime minister warned the climate change conference’s opening ceremony that humanity has “run down the clock” on climate change and must get serious about action, before rising sea levels swallow entire cities forever.”

Question: The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow concluded. How do you think it ended?

Answer: It ended exactly with what it started.

Question: That’s right, nothing. Nobody made a commitment to cut emissions. Everyone had in mind how to restore the economy after the pandemic; the environment and climate will wait. The result was summed up by Prince Charles: “I just can’t believe how many times over the past 40 years I have made such speeches in all parts of the world, and everything is useless.”

Why does it all start and happen as always?

Answer: They have nothing in their hands. No strength. They can’t do anything, even against all these emissions. There is no way they can stop it. No way! To do this, they need to close all of industry in general. First of all, computers.

Because of all this confusion, all this attitude to the world, it all originates from the fact that people have created an evil connection between themselves.

Comment: Not even production, not carbon dioxide…

My Response: This should be dealt with later. But as long as we have such a terrible egoistic connection between us, nothing will help. We do not know how to create the right connections, and therefore, everything that they bring us is evil.

Comment: They will say that you are against progress.

My Response: I am against progress. Naturally! And they themselves say that progress in the form it is in is digging our grave.

Question: And what should we do? Cancel computers today or somehow change the direction of work?

Answer: We must use them, but only correctly. And that’s right; this is only if we cut off all these wrong connections between people. You see how they harm people.

Question: The main problem and the main reason for poor ecology, climate and so on is?

Answer: Wrong connection between people. And today it is through computer networks.

Question: And if we direct them to communicate correctly between us, then everything will be fine?

Answer: Good. And if not, then they will destroy us.

Question: Are they, in principle, directed against such communication?

Answer: They are directed against people. I’m not against the machines themselves, it’s metal. It is iron with silicone.

Question: Are you against such use of them?

Answer: Yes. But this is a means of communication between us. And therefore these means of communication between us must be changed! But how can this be changed if they are in the hands of all sorts of businessmen? And on top of everything these businessmen don’t care about anything. Anything! They only count money. And it’s crazy money, and for the sake of what is not clear.

Question: And why do they need this money?

Answer: For the sake of power over the world.

Question: There are so many problems! What is it for a man?

Answer: No problem. This is ecstasy.

How the world will deal with this, I do not know. But now it is slowly starting to get clear that if we don’t break this evil computer connection, if we don’t change it, then of course we will all be in very bad shape. A computer is simply a communication implementation.

Therefore, the first protest against Facebook and other networks, when they begin to openly manifest themselves as the selfish power of their owners over humanity, is, of course, incredible! I wonder where this will lead next.

Question: Do you not believe that a person can create something global with the thought of uniting humanity, doing good to people?

Answer: No. At this level, even more so. There must be completely corrected people with the correct understanding of the right methodology, the correct connection between mankind. They don’t have this at all. They have money, politics, influence, and power.

Question: How can we get around this? How can this connection be arranged?

Answer: Just as in the past there was a revolution against machines, now there should be a revolution against computer communications. Limiting it seriously and doing it only for the benefit of people, which I think, of course, is simply incredible. But in this direction.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 11/4/21

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In the News (The Atlantic): “Why Are People Nostalgic for Early-Pandemic Life?”

Comment: Some conclude that today we are even lonelier.

My Response: Of course!

Comment: Today we have come out of our apartments where we were imprisoned and we are lonelier and the future is more uncertain.

My Response: Still, the pandemic taught us, it did not allow us to use our huge egoism. Otherwise, we would have driven ourselves into even greater stagnation. I believe that the pandemic has brought great benefits.

Question: So you have a very clear understanding that it came with an absolutely precise purpose?

Answer: Naturally. How can such a phenomenon pass without a goal, without a definite internal plan? Nature has everything according to plan. It has a beginning and an end connected together, and clearly goes from one end to the other. Depending on the reaction of humanity, we go through these states. We could have gone faster, better, and more easily with a much kinder result.

Comment: I want to reconstruct the events a little bit. We were connected, we worked, we flew to visit each other, we somehow moved around. And suddenly we were told: “Enough!”

My Response: Yes. We’ve had fun and that’s enough.

Question: We were separated, put in our apartments, the work places closed, tourist trips to each other, and so on. And all this was for what?

Answer: For us to try and realize whether we needed the kind of life we were in. Now the problem is whether we will return to this or not. There are those who resist and do not want to return. We hear and see it. And there are those who seem to agree.

Question: For us to return to the old connections?

Answer: Yes. But it will no longer be the same connections, it will no longer be the same pursuit and competition.

Question: Will there be any caution?

Answer: Not only caution, there will be a thing of doing everything at half strength, from the inability to do otherwise because we are practically forced to work. Just as slaves were forced to work in the fields, so we are forced to work in all these modern jobs today. We are struggling, but in general, we will have to return to our offices.

Question: You think that the question will arise, why is all this necessary at all?

Answer: This question is already arising.

Question: Was it important for the pandemic to lead us to this question?

Answer: This is the result of the pandemic, what it wanted to achieve and achieved. We’ll see what’s ahead of us. All this is just the beginning.

Question: Why do people have nostalgia for the beginning of the pandemic? They say: “We didn’t know what would happen then, but there was some kind of unity.” Why was there unity in the break?

Answer: Because we all found ourselves facing some kind of external threat that worked for all of us, against all of us, it doesn’t matter. And in this we felt together. It united us somehow, put everyone together in front of this whole disease, the virus. And it felt good.

Question: Does a person need this record? It shows that this is written in a person now.

Answer: Entrepreneurs and others are fighting to erase this record. But along with this, another wave rises, which says: “We don’t want to erase it, it’s good for us. We are in this state closer to each other and are more pleasant to each other.”

Question: Are you more for this wave?

Answer: Neither for this nor for that. As much as the second wave is more pleasant, the one that does not want to return to its metal machines, I think neither this nor that is correct. We must first realize what kind of future we want in general. And, first of all, what kind of relationship we want between us. And then we will choose.

Question: So the most important thing is awareness?

Answer: Yes.

Question: What will we choose then?

Answer: If we are aware, then we will choose life, life where we help each other in connection with each other and exist for this.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 11/4/21

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