Question: Am I demanding the conditions of the mutual guarantee (Arvut) to be fulfilled only from myself or also from my friends?

Answer: From the friends too. You must agree between yourselves because we will implement the conditions in the group that Baal HaSulam and Rabash explain.

But still, we must take into account how difficult it is because people who come to Kabbalah can be very different. I know from my own experience that by the time I realized these conditions and felt their necessity, a lot of time had passed.

Question: In what form can I demand mutual guarantee?

Answer: We make an agreement between us that we are obliged to be in mutual guarantee. If we try to fulfill its conditions, then we begin to attain the Creator.

The meaning of mutual guarantee is to provide each of us with such a spiritual Kli, such a vessel in which one can reveal the entire universe, including the Creator. That is, mutual guarantee means connection of all the broken parts of the soul of Adam.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/9/22, “Working in Mutual Responsibility” Lesson 6

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Medium published my new article “Covid, What Now?”

You can feel it in the air, you talk about it with your friends, the coronavirus is on the wane. Although there are still cases of infection in the world, one after another, countries are lifting restrictions, removing mask mandates, and allowing air travel.

Ministries of Health have updated morbidity data and report continuing declines in all indices, including morbidity rates and hospital capacity. To some degree, the current Omicron burden is under control. It appears that the fifth wave is coming to an end and we will literally be able to breathe again in a few weeks.

Whether the coronavirus subsides completely or not, we are not likely to get rid of nature’s blows so easily. Because if it is not this strain, then another strain, or new problems will appear that we did not anticipate. After all, how can we live without nature’s help?

Not that I wish for sickness and suffering, but as long as we have not implemented what the laws of nature require of us as a human society, we will not be free from problems, we will not be truly free from various limitations.

The current plague and every crisis we know are nature’s reaction to individualism, which cuts the bonds between us and does not allow us to merge in harmony with all parts of nature: other people, animals, plants, and the inanimate matter. Therefore, nature will continue to give us another blow, after blow, to bring us back to the right path.

I cannot ignore the good things that Covid has given us. We have become accustomed to living more at home, spending time with family, doing things together, and not running to different attractions in the world, but learning online and discovering the beauty in the simple things available around us.

The coronavirus has trimmed the superfluous fat of human society; there are fewer unnecessary businesses, less pointless “culture”, less absurd waste, and less pollution. It has taught us to live without going wild. And now, even if it is dwindling with some speed, we must continue the line of change it started and extend the work toward a good and balanced life by our own volition.

First of all, we must provide better education for our children, raise awareness of our human nature, the nature of the world, and the desired connections between them. Secondly, we need to see how we can create the necessary conditions for every person and every family, how we can provide for vital food supplies, and how we can prepare for the looming climate crisis and another series of diseases.

We have been so busy dealing with the Covid pandemic, now we need to put community recovery at the top of our priorities. We must use the breathing space to heal the real disease discovered in society and mend the relationships between us in all aspects of life.

The truth is that it is important to solve our problems together before we take care of all that we have neglected over the years. That in itself is half the remedy. The problem is the lack of good human connection between us; it is the natural disconnect that gnaws at us. If we only deal with the basic and necessary things that we need to settle now, we will probably find that the most important thing is the amicable connection between people and a sense of brotherhood and solidarity. In a close spiritual connection between us, new life is revealed, and when we come closer to each other, we really rise to a new level of existence.

The conditions for fundamental social change are perfect now. In many cases, we no longer have to work physically, spend money as if there is no tomorrow, or even leave the house. With calm and prudent steps, with deliberate and stable thinking, we can transform our lifestyle without experiencing tragic situations. The fatigue, weakness, exhaustion, and burnout that we generally experience now are also to our advantage. They invite us to mobilize more inner forces than the outward connections between us, spiritual forces that will help us to create a happy, satisfying life for ourselves.
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My new article on Linkedin “Diet – It’s Not about Will Power”

From the very first moment of our existence, life hands us difficulties and obstacles. In fact, our whole life is a series of efforts to overcome hurdles. When our strength to overcome them wanes, we pass away.

Being self-centered by nature, we are drawn to do only what we want. As long as we want something, we will have the strength to overcome the hurdles to achieve it. But when we have to go against our will, that’s when the problems begin.

For example, no one wants to get up in the morning and go to work, even if we work from home. We must remind ourselves that we have a family to take care of, a mortgage or rent to pay, and other such incentives that eventually get us out of bed.

The same is true with food. No one wants to be on a diet; we want to eat what we want, when we want, and as much as we want. We may also want to feel good and look good, but if the desire for those two is not as strong as the craving for sweets and carbohydrates, we will not be able to resist them and persist with the diet. In other words, we break a diet not for lack of will, but for indecision about which goal is more important.

To succeed with a diet, as with anything else in life, we must first determine why we need it. If we do not understand the benefits of being lean, light, and healthy, we will never muster the determination to eat healthy foods and stick to healthy amounts.

It is a constant struggle to direct cravings, question what we want, adjust our intentions and goals, and strengthen them where we become weak. We do not focus on the desire itself, but increase the importance of the goal: to be healthy and good looking.

The best way to increase the desire for anything is to surround ourselves with people whose goal is the same as ours. Together, we can reinforce and encourage each other when one of us grows weaker. Moreover, if we focus on encouraging others to achieve our common goal, we will not focus on our own weaknesses, and the encouragement we give them will come back to us as additional strength. In this way, we will not find it difficult to succeed in dieting, or in any other goal we may set for ourselves.

The purpose of life goes far beyond maintaining a good physique. Its purpose is to elevate our spirit above the material existence and take us into a new and expansive realm of perception. We are meant to reveal our connections on far deeper and more meaningful levels than any worldly engagement. The purpose of our lives is to experience all of humanity as a single organism whose cells, which are us, know and feel each other as clearly and as vividly as they feel their own bodies, if not more.

But the path to achieving this perception is exactly the same as the one we use in order to lose weight. If we surround ourselves with people who seek that same sublime goal as ours, we will encourage and support each other along the way, and reaching that goal will become easy and quick. If we try to achieve the goal alone, we will not stand a chance, the same as with a diet.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do I prevent social exclusion?“

Orphie, a 14-year-old girl who was socially excluded at her school, experienced violence for several years, and eventually became the head of a boycott patrol. The aim of the boycott patrol is to support others harmed by social exclusion. For instance, the patrol gave a girl, Elian, whose entire class shunned her, a birthday surprise, comforting her with the warm words that they are her family, and that she will not be alone anymore.

We have built a society where a lot of children and youth share this miserable situation, feeling that there is no place for them in the world.

I would advise anyone who feels the problem of social exclusion to work according to the lines of such examples as what Orphie’s group did for that girl, Elian, and to give rise to similar frameworks for helping children, as well as educating about the phenomenon. I would support their growth to become the most significant force in our society, so that no one feels worse off than others, and to show that the most potent weapon against hatred is love. If such a force strengthens, then we will be able to prevent social exclusion as we head toward a much more positively connected society.

Nobody needs to feel alone or excluded. To make that a reality, we just need to develop mutual support in society.

Based on the video, “The Solution to Social Exclusion,” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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And the most important is the prayer. That is, one must pray to the Creator to help him go above reason, meaning that the work should be with gladness, as though he has already been rewarded with the reason of Kedusha, and what joy he would feel then (Rabash, Article No. 12 (1991), “These Candles are Sacred”).

The main thing is the appeal to the Creator. Do everything you can. Imagine our world filled with the Creator. Act as if you are inside Him. This is how you treat your friends but not everyone else.

Raise yourself to the level of faith above reason and develop it within the group.

Ask the Creator to help us rise above our state in the quality of bestowal, above what we see in our world and in ourselves within reason. This is called faith above reason. And this work should be in joy as if it had already been awarded.

Question: What is the point of prayer if you believe that the Creator is good and does good? Who am I to disagree with this and see it differently?

Answer: Why disagree? It is precisely based on the fact you assume that He is kind and does good that you can ask to be given states where you could be like Him.

Question: If I ask to see my friends as the greatest of the generation, does the Creator answer such a prayer?

Answer: Sure. Asking to see your friends as perfect is the best prayer.

Question: What does it mean to pray all day? Is it a thought, an approach, a feeling, or an action?

Answer: This is the perception of the world in which the Creator rules. If I treat this world and the Creator this way, this is prayer. I want to be in this world filled with the Creator and constantly connected to the group.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Going with Faith above Reason” Lesson 5

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Question: What advances my friends in the ten in the best way: my internal work on annulment or my concrete actions in the ten as a result of it?

Answer: Annulment in the ten is a concrete action.

Question: How does one leave all imaginary pursuits and work together? How can we combine this?

Answer: Consult with the rest of the friends and you will see how you can solve this. There is no need to turn to me anymore for solving problems. I gave you the keys to their solution.

Question: The connection between us in the ten as “one man with one heart” is the quality of the Creator (“one”). Does the stage of adhesion allow us to reach the connection with the Creator according to the common quality of one?

Answer: Yes, exactly like that.

Question: When I feel the greatness of the Creator, then I turn to the Creator with the needs of my friends. Is it the adhesion to the group or is it adhesion to the Creator? Do I do some additional action toward the group in order to adhere to it?

Answer: No. If you adhere to the group, feel what it wants, and turn with this desire to the Creator, then this is already a complete action.

Question: How does one work with anger correctly?

Answer: I think that the problem with anger is a problem with the center most part of egoism that we cannot contain and that controls us. Therefore, try to work on it anyway. Anger is a manifestation of extreme egoism.

Question: If I discover that my friends neglect the external framework recommended for us to observe, for example, they go for a walk during the lesson, how should we work with this?

Answer: There is no need to work with this. What can you do? It is a pity that they do not participate together with the group in the common work. Of course this is not good. Of course this weakens the group and pushes them away from the group. They are drifting away with the current and who knows when they will come to us again. But they do not feel it yet.

Question: If all the work of revealing the Creator takes place only in the ten, in the group, then why did the Creator create the entire external world? How should we treat it?

Answer: We must connect this external world to us. And we will do it. First, we will pull ourselves up, and then we will pull it up to us.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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Question: We are very close in our ten, but sometimes there are disagreements and friction between us. What should we do to grow closer?

Answer: You should have even more friction. Otherwise, what will you rise above? In spite of what will you get closer?

We cannot just get closer, we have to see the obstacles and rise specifically above them. It’s just like lovers: if they don’t argue, then they have nothing with which to renew their relationship. This is how we are made.

Therefore, our life always consists of black-white, black-white. And if we correctly build our relationship on the contrast of these two elements and rise above them for the sake of a third element, a more important factor, then our relationships continue and flourish.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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Question: You tell us that when we bestow to the society, the efforts come back to us. How does that work?

Answer: We have no means to influence our development other than  taking part in the development of a ten, our common Kli. A person cannot pull himself out of the swamp.

Therefore, we need to realize the state we are in, clearly understand and feel it. Then you will see the law of Arvut (mutual guarantee) as a vital condition for transitioning to a better state.

Question: When I bestow to my ten without mutual guarantee, it seems that nothing is coming back to me. Is this the case?

Answer: Of course not. But we must try to ensure mutual guarantee. Then the effect is much greater and more potent, and the progress is faster. But even if you bestow to the ten without feeling mutual bestowal from it, there is still advancement, both yours and theirs.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/9/22, “Working in Mutual Responsibility” Lesson 6

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Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee],” Item 17: On the negative side, if a part of the nation does not want to keep the Arvut, but to wallow in self-love, they cause the rest of the nation to remain immersed in their filth and lowliness without finding a way out of their filth.

Mutual guarantee assumes that everyone in the ten more or less understands the necessity to observe this mutual guarantee and move toward common connection. Only in it will they find the property of Bina—the property of revealing the Creator, the upper world.

If a part of the nation does not want to keep the Arvut, this means that they do not understand its importance.

There are people who do not realize that this is important. They need time. I know for myself how difficult it is. I also did not immediately begin to understand the need for spiritual guarantee because before that I had studied all sorts of theories and all that repelled me from studying this topic.

Every day, even every moment, we must again raise ourselves in faith above reason to the property of bestowal, exit ourselves, raise above ourselves (Malchut), and thus secure this guarantee from our friends.

Therefore, Baal HaSulam writes that if a part of the nation does not want to keep the mutual guarantee, they force the rest of the nation to sink into egoism and remain in it.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/9/22, “Working in Mutual Responsibility” Lesson 6

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