My new article on Linkedin “America in Search of a “New Normal””

According to a study published by Pew Research Center, two years into the pandemic, “a growing share of Americans appear ready to move on to a new normal, even as the exact contours of that new normal are hard to discern.” Although “the official count of coronavirus deaths in the United States … is now approaching 1 million lives,” writes the research center in another report, and the excess mortality due to Covid-19 stands at 20 percent, Americans desperately want to resume normalcy.

Unemployment has dropped to pre-pandemic levels, children are at school, businesses are open, and sports and entertainment events are running almost as before. But escalating violence, a deepening divide between red and blue, and the plunging popularity of the president indicate that a new normal will have to mean a new society.

The American people are very different from most other nations. It did not emerge from a core group of related people, a clan that evolved into a tribe, which grew into a nation. The United States is a country of immigrants or descendants of immigrants. People of all backgrounds, nationalities, ethnicities, cultures, and faiths inhabit it. Often, these nationalities, cultures, and faiths carried with them centuries of enmity when they came to the “land of unlimited possibilities.”

While in the past, it seemed like the American people have managed to overcome the chasms and develop a distinctive identity, it now appears that the fabric of society is tearing at the seams. The last presidential elections have deepened the division between Republicans and Democrats, and the time since the elections has only made matters worse.

Also, racial tensions have been growing once again, and the Critical Race Theory is being warmly adopted in some states, and vehemently rejected in others. At times, it seems as though America is on the verge of another civil war.

In light of the situation, I think that America should treat the chasms as a calling for its people to finally mend the rifts and glue the individuals into a cohesive nation. America has all the resources, all the know-how, and every reason to exert in this direction since its future depends on the solidarity among its people more than on anything else.

In regards to cohesion and solidarity, I think that American Jews can and should play a major role in fostering unity. Being a nation that emerged much like the American people—when people from different, often vying tribes and clans joined together—the Jews have it in their DNA to connect above differences.

At the moment, Jews are divided more than any other nation, faith, or ethnicity on the planet, but the seed of unity is buried in the unconscious of every Jewish person. It was King Solomon who wrote, “Hate stirs strife, and love covers all crimes” (Prov. 10:12), and it is the Jewish people who were commanded not to hate their brethren and love their neighbors as themselves (Lev. 19). At times when we observed these commandments, we were a light unto nations; when we turned away from each other, the world turned against us.

If American Jewry unites its broken ranks, it will set an example that the rest of America will gladly follow. And if America unites, it will be an example to all of humanity.

It may be ironic, but it seems as though the war in Ukraine has given America something to unite around: their objection to Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. A newly found unity will give America the power it needs in standing up to Russia. If leveraged correctly, it can put the American society back on track toward realizing the pledge of allegiance to be “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
[295391]

Filed under: New Publications, Unity - No Comments →

Question: Is it right to pray for the correction of friends when I know that I must first correct myself?

Answer: In order to pray for the friends, you do not need any personal correction. Praying for the friends is already your correction.

Question: It is said that everything is obtained by the power of prayer. What do the words “the power of prayer” mean? How is this power expressed?

Answer: The power of prayer is expressed by the desire. It is the force of the desire to correct ourselves, to become similar, to unite, and to rise.

Question: Is praying to see the spiritual greatness of my friends the main prayer for the friends?

Answer: This is not a main prayer, but it is a prayer. The main one is connection. And here you are asking for something auxiliary, personal. But it is nevertheless a good request.

Question: Is the request from society for the benefit of society?

Answer: The request of the group should be in such a form that we raise our common Hissaron (deficiency) to the Creator and ask Him to connect us so that we, from our common desire and yearning, can awaken Him to treat us as one single whole.
[294705]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/9/22, “Asking the Creator to Fill the Place Between Us” Lesson 7

Related Material:
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 1/9/22, Part 3
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 1/9/22, Part 2
Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 1/9/22, Part 1

Filed under: Conventions, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Events, Prayer and Intention, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Our world is an imprint of the upper world, but just an imprint. This word includes a lot of various nuances.

The fact is that in our world there is an imprint, that is, some kind of white background on a black background. There is something similar to the nature of the upper world, but all this is imprinted on the matter of our world.

The material world is purely egoistic, opposite to the highest. And we who exist as if between two worlds (the imprint and the original) are very complex creatures in structure and worldview. We do not know what to do with ourselves. Where to go? We do not know. Who controls us? We do not know. What is  on? We do not know. This is the state we are in.

Comment: Our sensory organs depict the reality we live in for us. We perceive smells and sounds and touch various objects. But, as you say, we do not really know what is outside. That is, our sensory organs, which send signals to the brain, can be affected by anything.

My Response: Of course. It may not be what we imagine. The main thing is what is already depicted in our brain.

Comment: Today, scientists who believe that people are beginning to master a new, virtual world in which they will increasingly immerse themselves, are talking about this out loud. This is what prompted David Chalmers, who wrote the book Reality+, to speculate that if we can create a virtual world that we go into, then did someone else of a higher order create it?

My Response: Naturally, we cannot prove anything here.

We exist in certain sensations that are depicted in our sensory organs, in the brain. To what extent this reality is objective or subjective, we cannot judge either. But the fact that our feelings are subjective is certain. And the fact that this reality can be objective is an open question. In general, nothing is clear to us about our world.

Question: Who is this so-called programmer that is pushing us to think of some higher Creator? What exactly did He come up with? What is His purpose? What should we achieve?

Answer: Our goal in this world is to really understand its programmer and find out why He created us and the surrounding space in such a way. Everything happens relative to us. So we do not know what is really going on. But why He programmed everything in this way and for what purpose, we should know this.

Kabbalah says that our most important and in general our only task is to reveal this programmer, His objective, goals, and methodology, discover and master.

What else do we need? If we could only find out who we are, what we are, where and how we exist, and what we live for, this will give us an answer to the question: What to do next? And so, we do not know. We see that our world is completely lost.

Question: How could someone with the ability to create such a reality come up with horrors in which we have lived and live?

Answer: It all depends on how you look at things. It is quite possible that the task of this great programmer, who created us to feel this supposedly existing universe, this great mind in which, in general, we exist, is to bring us to a state in which we feel lost, abandoned, and in absolute ignorance of where we are, for what and why, and eventually to want to know it.

We will have no other choice but to know the upper force that controls everything. I think we are moving toward this and are approaching quite quickly.
[294443]
From KabTV’s “Virtual World” 2/9/22

Related Material:
Illusion And Reality
The Secret Of The Perception Of Reality
World—Reality Or Illusion? Part 7

Filed under: Perception, The Creator - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can we help disabled children?“

School trips are no ordinary experience for 12-year-old Mayan Hanan, who has a rare disease that makes him struggle with severe pain during long walks. His class arranged a special wheelchair capable of navigating through the varied terrains. Mayan shared: “On this trip I felt that I’m like everyone else and that I’m equal among equals. Everyone really made a big effort for me.”

Such is an example that what helps a child with a disability is to support them, participate with them, and identify with them.

To identify with them means to understand their suffering, to accept them as equal and to wish for us to live and participate in everything together. And participation means sharing everything that we have 50-50.

How can we share the disability of another person? We can take half of their disability by adding our strength to theirs. And the disabled person supports the able-bodied person by providing an opportunity to help and feel that they contribute.

What exactly does a disabled person give us? This is the crux of the matter. It seems to us that the able-bodied person gives to a disabled person only because we fail to understand how much the disabled person gives. Participation gives us an opportunity to connect and to act together.

What is the correct attitude toward people with disabilities? For the able-bodied, it is a call from the general forces of nature that we need to take these supposedly disabled persons into our society, take care of them, and bring them to a state where they feel no disability at all. It depends only on our correct attitude toward such people: that there is no disability and that we are equal in everything in life.

How are we equal? We are equal in that we share all good and bad things among us equally. When we reach these feelings, even if only a little bit, then we will feel ourselves in a different state. We will be in a different world, one of true equality, which is worthwhile to live in.

Based on the video “Disability Equality from a Kabbalist’s Perspective” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Children, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is infinite energy possible?“

Infinite energy exists in the attitude of nature toward us, an attitude of unconditional love and bestowal.

As nature is a force of love, bestowal and connection, when we use this force to benefit others, we discover infinite sources of energy, light and beauty.

In principle, we lack nothing on condition that we use everything to benefit others. Why is there such a condition in nature? It is because nature is whole. In order to relate correctly to nature, we as a humanity thus also need to be whole like nature.

We should thus invest in improving human connections up to a point where we relate to each other as nature relates to us: out of absolute love and bestowal. We would then discover infinite energy as we use that energy for the benefit of others.

Based on the video “How to Extract Infinite Energy from Nature” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Question: There was a special period in the history of the Jewish people that lasted 300 years called the period of judges. At that time, there were practically no kings or regular army. Can we say that this was a special spiritual level that people were in?

Answer: Of course. Everything that happens in our world comes from the inner, deep states of man and society. You cannot tear one from the other.

Therefore, the spiritual state of each one and everyone together especially at that time after leaving the Egyptian slavery when people felt themselves under the rule of the Pharaoh (egoism) and could not escape from it anywhere, after becoming free, that is, as if they crossed the border from themselves, from the egoism that enslaved them, to freedom, they felt they were in a completely different world.

They no longer had to obey their inner instructions, habits, and inclinations, but could be free from their nature. Thus began the period of judges. It meant that people could judge themselves, rise above themselves, and feel what states they should be in.

Each person could separate from egoism and objectively judge himself and others. But, in addition, there were judges who personified a measure of responsibility and a measure of understanding of what state the people were in.

Question: Did the judges have such a moral level that it allowed them to rule the nation even without executive power?

Answer: People had their own power. They were at the mercy of their forces, thoughts, and decisions. They were their own judges. Therefore, this period is called the period of judges.
[294486]
From KabTV’s “Spiritual states” 1/11/22

Related Material:
Our Own Judges
In Righteousness Shalt Thou Judge Thy Neighbor
Who Are The Judges?

Filed under: Israel, Nations of the World, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: In Vladimir Zhikarencev’s book The Path to Freedom, he writes that all diseases are the result of reflections on the question: “What is all this for?” and that you should drive such thoughts away from yourself. Is it really necessary to drive them away?

Answer: The problem is that humanity is constantly trying to get rid of these thoughts, but by very bad means and by this it is increasingly sinking. After all, in principle these thoughts come to us in order for us to rise above them, and they could become a lever for us with which we would achieve greater development.

Today, many in the world say: “Why do we need industry and technological development? Look what we have come to, we litter and kill the environment and we are destroying ourselves. What is this for?”

But we cannot stop nature and we cannot stop man. We just have to know how to use everything correctly.

Therefore if new voids open up in us, some new desires, and we don’t see how to fill them, what is here is not enough for us; we want something more, but we ourselves don’t know what, and when it will be, “more” doesn’t shine for us and we don’t see it in front of us, then we enter into depression, into some kind of problems. There is an absence of life guidelines.
[294244]
From KabTV’s “Close-up. Summing Up” 4/7/10

Related Material:
When Life Becomes Meaningful
Depression Is Characteristic Of The Times
Depression—A Result Of An Internal Request

Filed under: Crisis, Globalization, Health, Meaning Of Life - No Comments →

Preparation to the Lesson

Lesson on the Topic “Winning the War (Against the Evil Inclination)”

Selected Highlights

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

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

Filed under: Audio Version of the Blog - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “America and World’s Interest to Calm the War’s Turbulent Waters”

The war in Ukraine unfolds miles away, but Americans follow it very closely. Concerned with rising gas prices, among other repercussions of this conflict, 86% of US adults considered the situation with Russia and Ukraine either very or somewhat important, according to a recent YouGov/Yahoo News poll.

The war on the ground is also reflected as a war of words. Speaking in a Republican National Committee podcast, former US President Donald Trump recently said that the war in Ukraine “Would never have happened” on his watch.

On the other hand, US President Joe Biden insists that he tried to prevent the war in Ukraine in every possible way. The tendency for presidents to become more popular in times of war does not apply now. Multiple polls reveal that on average 51.4% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s presidency, which is one of the lowest approval ratings since he took office.

Could the war have been avoided? Most likely it was inevitable. The forces operating in the world are changing very fast and the global scenario looks like a stormy sea. Heavy winds blow in all directions causing huge tides of conflict flooding the world on various levels.

I do not want to predict in what form the current war will end for the Russians or for the Ukrainians, but there is no doubt that the world is not getting better. Both the US and Europe see some benefit in the current conflict as it changes the balance of forces and strengthens their hegemony.

In fact, the current state of affairs exposes the true root cause of wars. It is human nature, the egoistic desire to benefit at the expense of others, which is already overblown and growing constantly. We cannot fix the war with the same egoistic powers at our disposal that incited the way or in the way where one side prevails by overpowering the other. In a global village that we all live in no one will succeed as a result of wars, everyone will lose.

World peace seems like a far-fetched utopian concept when we look at today’s situation, but we have no choice but to aspire to that ideal. We need to exert the utmost efforts to calm the rough waters of war by rising above our divisive nature that drives a wedge between people and nations and tears them apart. We will get closer to peace only when we recognize that nature is an interconnected and interdependent system and that we humans are the only disrupters of the sensitive balance in nature. As a consequence we inflict harm on ourselves and reach an unsustainable state.

Increasing the importance of solidarity and the necessity to unite the hearts of the nations in conflict above mutual hatred should be of everyone’s interest. Rav Yehuda Ashlag explained this critical goal as a means to achieve world peace as WWII erupted: “Do not be surprised if I mix together the well-being of a particular collective with the well-being of the whole world, because indeed, we have already come to such a degree that the whole world is considered one collective and one society.”
[295060]

Filed under: Crisis, New Publications - No Comments →