Audio Version Of The Blog – 1/23/22

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“Satan Speaks In Understatements” (Times Of Israel)

 

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Satan Speaks in Understatements

Eighty years ago this week, the Wannsee Conference convened. It was named after the villa in Nazi Germany where the conference took place, and its purpose was to find a “final solution to the Jewish question” and make it Germany’s official policy. The result: a detailed work plan to exterminate all 11,000,000 Jews living in Europe and the Soviet Union. There was no drama at the conference, no expressions of hatred, just facts and details. Even words like “extermination” or “killing” were absent from the minutes of the conference. The final document simply stated, “Approximately 11 million Jews will be involved in the final solution of the European Jewish question.”

This is the face of institutional antisemitism, the most diabolical form of the most tenacious hatred. Like the rest of its siblings, this genre of hatred did not die at the end of World War II; it simply moved to a more spacious lodging. Now residing on Manhattan’s East Side, it has an entire complex at NY 10017, New York City, and the name of its new residence is the United Nations Headquarters. Everything else, however, has remained the same: The same hatred and the same determination to demolish the Jews.

There are, however, two differences between then and now: 1) The immediate target of the hatred has shifted from the Jews to the Jewish state, Israel. The Jews themselves will be dealt with later, once the Jewish state has been exterminated. 2) The Jewish question is no longer an internal German or European matter, as some countries argued during the war to excuse themselves from saving Jews. Today, the hatred spews openly from the entire world toward the entirety of the Jewish people.

In the worldwide campaign against Jews, every pretext is exploited and every trouble is pinned on the Jews. Not only Israel’s military campaigns to protect against rocket attacks from Gaza are exploited, but every misfortune that happens anywhere is blamed on the Jews. From the 9/11 terrorist attack through the 2008 financial crisis, to the Coronavirus, everything is pinned on the Jews.

We, the Jews, have but one remedy, one “vaccine” to protect us from adversity. Regrettably, for centuries, we have been the staunchest anti-vaxxers and have refused to swallow it: Our vaccine against hatred is internal cohesion.

Every spiritual leader since the inception of our nation has implored us to take it. Every prophet and every sage both promulgated it and warned us of the consequences of avoiding it. We have never listened, and we have always suffered the consequences.

The time is approaching when another round of Jewish anguish will unfold. As with everything these days, it will not be a local torment but a worldwide agony. As then, so now, the choice is in our hands to take the vaccine of Jewish cohesion above all divisions, or suffer the civilized, replete with euphemisms, deadly wrath of the world.

Snow lies in front of the House of the Wannsee Conference. On January 20, 1942, high NSDAP and SS officials met in the villa on Berlin’s Wannsee.

For more on the importance of Jewish unity, see my book The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism.
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“Why Some Great Artists Are Nasty People” (Medium)

Medium published my new article “Why Some Great Artists Are Nasty People

They compose masterpieces that light up our lives, paint pictures that capture the spirit of their time, and chisel out vibrant icons from lifeless stone. Great artists enrich our lives and fill them with emotion and wonder. Yet, some great artists were (and are) nasty individuals. Composer Richard Wagner was a rabid antisemite. Of the seven main women in Pablo Picasso’s life, two went mad and two killed themselves. Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, paid for sex with boys, and novelist Norman Mailer once tried to kill one of his wives. In fact, there are enough examples of obnoxious artists to make us expect them to be nasty rather than the contrary.

Indeed, there is no reason why creative people should be more “righteous” than the rest of us. Art and morality have nothing to do with each other, and if we expect them to be, it is our mistake.

Creative people, who are exceptional by their very nature, are even more prone to moral flaws than the rest of us. Their highs are higher than ours, and their lows are lower than ours. They move between extremes but in the end, they are the same as all of us: self-centered individuals.

We all contain both the highest, most noble feelings and thoughts, and the lowest, most despicable ones. Only when we recognize what we have within us can we grow. If we have only one side of the scale, we will never know the other side and will not be able to choose between them. We will be robots and not human beings.

King Solomon said about this, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does good and did not sin” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). In other words, only when we discover our true nature can we make a conscious choice to be good, and that is what makes us righteous people rather than robots.

Until we are corrected, everything we do is for ourselves. Artists are no exception, yet this does not diminish the greatness of their works. Because they go to extremes, when they are high, they create truly glorious works that we can all enjoy. Nevertheless, we should not expect them to be corrected in their personal lives because they, too, will have to go through the same process of realizing the wickedness of human nature and resolving to rise above it.

At some point, we will all have to reckon with our nature and acknowledge the harm we are inflicting on each other and on all of nature. We will realize that in order to survive, we must become more of the righteous and less of the wicked that we tend to be. But in the meantime, we can benefit from the works of great artists, and if they make us reflect on life and its meaning, it is all the better.
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“Where Fundamentalism Is Leading Us” (Times Of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Where Fundamentalism Is Leading Us

People are attracted to the powerful because in each of us, there is a child who seeks protection and a sense of belonging. Fundamentalists understand this very well and capitalize on it. By growing more violent, they appear more powerful, which increases their appeal. In this way, they succeed in attracting new recruits into their ranks.

In western countries, fundamentalist Islamists find fertile ground for amassing followers since people have no direction, spirit, or purpose in life. This makes it easy for them to win them over to their ideas. By offering them membership in a powerful club, and even to God, they give them a sense of meaning and purpose and make them feel that their lives have value. This is the case not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Russia, India, and even China.

Where does this lead us? First, it will lead to bloody conflicts. Eventually, it will expose the emptiness behind the promises of radical religious dogmas.

Once fundamentalism exposes its futility, people will find the true meaning of the term religion. In The Writings of the Last Generation, Baal HaSulam writes, “The religious form of all the nations should first obligate its members to bestowal upon each other … as in ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ …This will be the collective religion of all the nations.”

What, you may ask, will become of our traditional religions? Baal HaSulam continues and writes that besides following the tenet of loving others as ourselves, “each nation may follow its own religion and tradition, and one must not interfere in the other.” In other words, as long as we care for one another, each of us will live according to our own way and tradition, and our different ways of life will not disrupt the harmony and union we will have achieved having developed love for one another.

The evolutionary process just described is not just for a few of us; it is the future of humanity. We are all destined to achieve unity and mutual concern by following the law of loving others as ourselves. This is the meaning of the ancient prophecy, “And all the nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2).

Abraham the Patriarch, the Babylonian trailblazer who broke the news of our collective unity to humanity, was the first teacher. He taught how to unite on the basis of mercy and kindness. His progeny, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and so on, polished and adapted the method of connection to their times. Moses did the same with his book of laws, which we call Torah, and so did Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai with The Book of Zohar.

Now we, too, must find our way to apply the law of love of others to our time. Especially today, when hatred and self-absorption are corrupting and destroying human civilization, it is time to rise above our petty selves and find a common union that is higher than all of us and unites all of us. Only in that higher realm will we find a way to make our world livable, and our lives with one another pleasant, safe, and with a true sense of belonging.
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The Intention Behind Any Desire

051Question: What is the intention of an annulled desire?

Answer: The intention of any desire if we try to start to scrutinize it is aimed at feeling the Creator in it.

To do this, you need to change its form, content, maybe even its strength. But in the end, this is where we start.

How does a person begin the path of spiritual development? With the purpose, the goal, to reveal the Creator.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Climbing The Mountain Of Egoism

631.1Question: Do I understand correctly that we start working in faith above reason and then after processing our desire we see the friends within reason in our corrected properties? Then a newly revealed Aviut (layer of egoistic desire) again erases everything and we again need to go by faith above reason?

Answer: Aviut does not erase but simply raises you to a higher egoistic mountain, and you must again go by faith above reason, but already a new reason.

Question: If despite my egoism I keep convincing myself that my friends are superior to me, is that enough? Or do I need some more help?

Answer: Start with that and then you will see how to proceed. You will be guided from above. But this is the most correct attitude toward the world. You will begin to see the world correctly, not distorted by your egoism.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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The Creator Will Take Care Of Our Needs

934Question: All the needs of a baby are provided by the womb. Should the group also provide for all the needs of a friend?

Answer: Not all the needs of a friend, but rather his spiritual needs.

Above the group is the Creator. And if a friend annuls himself before the group, the Creator will clearly take care that he receives everything that is necessary for his spiritual development from it. That’s how everything is arranged.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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This Is How You Become A Human

534Condemn first yourself,
Learn this art,
And only then judge your enemy
And neighbor on the globe.

First learn yourself
Not to forgive a single blunder,
And only then shout to your enemy,
That he is the enemy and his sins are grave.

Not in the other, but in yourself, conquer the enemy,
And when you succeed in this,
You will no longer have to play the fool  –
And you will become a man.
(Bulat Okudzhava)

Question: This Russian poem still spreads over the Internet, which means that people feel it is relevant. How do you become a human in such a difficult world today?

Answer: This is a problem. I see that this is impossible without the help of the Creator.

You can admit your lowliness, the lowliness of your nature, anything. But if you admit that you have been given this from above for correction and you have to turn to the same source, to the Creator, who created you this rude, egoistic, etc. way, and you admit that you need to correct yourself, this can start helping in some way.

What’s the use of what Okudzhava summons? We see that humanity cannot do this. If we are only within the boundaries of our nature, we can keep on saying anything. There’s only one thing left for us to do—get drunk. What else? Drugs. Do you see what humanity is doing? Nothing!

Question: So you think that to learn practically the art of “condemn yourself first” is difficult?

Answer: I think it’s impossible. I even think we should not condemn ourselves, after all, we are created that way. And then a person stumbles upon some kind of internal contradiction, “What can I do if I am created worse than animals?”

Animals don’t act like us. We are ready to destroy everyone, animals don’t. Any animal eats another because it sees it as a source of food and nothing more. Therefore, whenever it destroys, it does not really destroy the other, it feeds.

This is a completely different attitude to life, to another, and to the world than our perspective. We destroy the other, not because it is necessary for us to survive, but to be above him. And our desire is not limited by anything.

We see that the world is not moving toward a better state. It can’t move to a better state. We have to get worse and worse. Our egoism is growing more and more, and no one and nothing can help us in this except the awareness of where it comes from.

It comes from the Creator specifically so that we understand why we were created in such a terrible, egoistic, uncorrectable, incorrigible nature.

Question: You are speaking such a bitter truth, and yet the Creator’s script is for us to try to get out of this nature?

Answer: When we begin to realize that nature, meaning the Creator, which is the same thing, created us like this and precisely for some purpose, and we realize ourselves to be so vicious, then on the one hand, we are somehow lost. What can we do if we are like this?

We need to accept that we are like this and cannot be different. And then we have the only opportunity to turn to the same source that develops this evil in us all the time: “I created the egoistic desire. I created egoism.”

Then we need to ask Him to give us the opportunity to at least somehow limit this evil, somehow occupy it.

Comment: Then this last stanza of Okudzhava: “Not in another, but in yourself, conquer the enemy.”

My Response: But it’s not us, it’s through the Creator again, through the same source.

Question: So the victory over the enemy is to turn to the Creator?

Answer: This is a victory over ourselves, over our own limitations, so that we turn to Him and always urgently demand from Him that He change us. For this He created us so creepy, terrible, egoistic, and limited so we could understand that our egoism cannot be corrected or changed in any way.

We do not need to blame ourselves, we do not need to blame others, and we must admit that we are the ones who are worse than the rest of the world, both vegetative and animal, and anything else, and we must turn to the Creator to change us.

Comment: And then, as Okudzhava writes: “And you will become a man.”

My Response: Yes!

Question: Then what does “man” mean?

Answer: A person is one who wants to do good, like the Creator. Then we will see that the Creator is not the one who created egoism, but who created egoism so that we turn to Him for correction.

The first part is the awareness of egoism. The second part is an appeal to the Creator to give us the strength to correct it and to teach us how to correct this egoism. And then proceed to this practical work on correcting egoism. Thus gradually, gradually, from oneself being opposite to the Creator, to make oneself similar to the Creator.

This is what is called human, this is our mission. And what will become of him, will be called a man, Adam, from the word “Edomeh – similar.”
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/25/21

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Raise The Friends In Your Eyes

592.04Rabash, Article No. 21 (1986), “Concerning Above Reason”: This is why they said that when the evil inclination comes and shows him the lowliness of the friends, he should go above reason. But certainly, it would be better and more successful if he could see within reason that the friends are at a higher degree than his own.

I must not forget that everything that I feel in my five senses is depicted by my egoism. It shows me what kind of world surrounds me and what the group is. And I perceive it only through my egoism.

Therefore, if I yearn to see the world differently than my ego depicts it, and I can do this only with an external effort, with the effort of the group, then I can rise above this egoistic picture and begin to feel the world of the Creator instead. And this is very simple to do.

When the evil inclination comes and shows him the lowliness of the friends, he should go above reason. That is, above what he sees, although he can see each friend in an unattractive form, he must use his efforts to raise his friend as high as possible.

But certainly, it would be better and more successful if he could see within reason—within his reason—that the friends are at a higher degree than his own.

But if he does not see this in his reason, then he must imagine in faith above reason that his friends, contrary to his opinion, are above him.

Hence the conclusion: the only correct way out of any state is to raise the friends in your eyes. At any given time, I have to think about how to keep them higher and higher in my feelings, mind, and impressions. This should be our permanent work. And then I will reach the state where I see the Creator through them.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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Save Yourself Or The Child?

560Comment: You received a letter from a young man.

Hello, Dear Michael!

I know that you will help me. I subscribe to all your programs. May you be healthy! That is the main thing.

I have been bedridden since childhood. I have a rare disease, which is progressing. My beloved parents and I have been fighting it since childhood. But it has gotten worse lately. It is painful to move. And recently, just six months ago, a new method of treatment appeared that has already helped many recover. But it requires an organ transplant from a close relative.

My dad immediately decided to become my donor. He was tested, and everything checked out. But I found out that it is very dangerous for my father. He is not all that healthy and nobody knows how the surgery will affect him. When I found out about it, I told my father that I do not agree, that I do not want the transplant, but he insisted. He does not want to hear anything. What should I do? How to convince him? I do not want it! I am afraid. Naturally, I want to get well, but I am afraid for my father! My mother is not saying anything and neither is my sister.

I am writing to you. Help me! I am exhausted thinking about it! In the meantime, I am getting worse.

My Response: You must give your father the opportunity to give you life again. I feel for you and for your father. This is something you must go through together.

Question: But what will he feel if he accepts it?

Answer: They are going through this together, through this surgery, together!

Question: Meaning, as if the father is giving him life again?

Answer: Yes! And the boy already understands, you can tell by his letter, that otherwise he will have a tragic end. How will his father be able to live on if the boy dies?

Question: So he is actually saving his father, among other things?

Answer: Of course. He should give his father the opportunity to help him.

Comment: No wonder he wrote both my mother and sister are quiet.

My Response: Because this is his personal decision.

Comment: He will instantly mature, he will become an adult as soon as he makes this decision.

My Response: True.

Comment: Such mature questions for these children!

My Response: Life is full of challenging decisions.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 11/1/21

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