Comment: Many people today, especially young people, are increasingly reducing their degree of consumption. This is becoming a new trend.

My Response: In principle, this is sensible and correct from all points of view. All consumption should be limited. Otherwise, it causes various undesirable consequences. This is first.

Second, we lived already through years when we were just beginning to cultivate the Earth by modern methods. There were abundant deposits and minerals.

Today we are discovering the limitations of such an attitude toward the Earth. This, in principle, is not a bottomless sphere, but a very complex system. What we are leaving for our children is unclear.

Question: It is estimated that if all of humanity rises to the standard of living of the United States, we would need four planets with such a volume of minerals, materials, and production to provide the whole world with the level at which America lives.

I wonder if America will reduce consumption or will there be any other solutions? Maybe a virtual world, where people will need fewer material things, will replace this?

Answer: I am sure that the problem here, of course, is not in America and in the number of people, but in the fact that, unfortunately, we are controlled by great egoists who feel only replenishment of their own pockets. They do not care what happens next with this pocket even though everything is disappearing from it as well.

This is a pure type of egoism where a person feels that he gets more and more of something in banks, factories, and enterprises.

The only thing that we need here is serious re-education. Otherwise, the planet will force us to switch to a different consumption regime. But it will be a forced regime. Look at how hard it is in countries in many parts of the world. People will have to starve.

Question: And this is despite the fact that now we throw away half of the food we produce?

Answer: Yes. People will have to starve not only because of this but because there really will be no food. Look at what is happening to forests and fields. There is no way to reverse it. Half of the people will die out. The other half will understand that it is impossible to live like this and will slowly limit themselves. But they will still not achieve anything by this.

We will have to understand that only our good relationships will give us an understanding of how to treat ourselves and nature correctly. It requires a new attitude of a person toward people and the world around them. And this is our entire egoism.

This scenario of the extinction of half the planet is possible but not necessary. Our planet, as Baal HaSulam writes, can feed tens of billions of people. No problem! But only on condition that we cultivate the land, plant, harvest, and distribute it for this very reason. Then everyone will have enough of everything.

Question: Obviously, it is necessary to re-educate not only ordinary people, but first of all managers who make decisions?

Answer: Absolutely everyone! Absolutely everyone in our world will have to change themselves, their attitude to the world, and not as an individual consumer but as a social unit consisting of billions of people. We will have to perceive all this as one single whole. Then there will be enough of everything for everyone.
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From KabTV’s “Virtual world” 2/9/22

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Question: You said that when a person wins a large amount of money in the lottery, it’s a curse. What did you mean by that?

Answer: This distracts him from his normal path of life and it is not a gift from above, but a curse. ​​That is why the Creator said: “Behold, I give you a reward and a curse, and you choose a good path.”

Comment: But the man did not choose. He just filled out a lottery ticket and won.

My Response: Well, give it away.

Comment: That isn’t easy either. You need to understand whom to give to and how.

My Response: In fact, I would rather not take anything for myself at all, not an apartment, not a car, not what I have created in life or in the world. We need only the essentials for existence. More than that, it can turn into a rejection of the spiritual for a person.

Everything should be measured through the prism of whether it brings us closer to spiritual development or distances us. There is no other criterion.

If a person is in a spiritual search, then he himself determines whether this is a blessing or a curse for him. It is already easy.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 2/8/22

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Question: How does Kabbalah relate to the death penalty? Should there be a death penalty for murder?

Answer: As a deterrent, yes. It was used this way in ancient times. The death sentence was passed once every 70 years, and it was considered a brutal trial. Imagine how rarely this was used!

The death penalty, as such, should exist. A person should understand that other corrections are possible. The execution is not just death, but it also cuts you off from the opportunity to correct yourself because it means we do not want you to achieve correction in this life, with our help, in connection with us. This is, of course, terrible! And it is a whole system.

It may seem to someone that I am saying rather ordinary things. In fact, Kabbalah implies to these things huge layers of influence, education, and decision-making. Moreover, decisions are made by the whole society. The trial should be public and in no case private.

Today, various trial scenes are shown on television. But this is theater! Instead, everything should be in practice. People should take an active part in the education of members of society and definitely including schoolchildren. But, of course, this is a matter of the future.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Presumption of innocence” 3/10/10

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This generation is coming to a state where nothing is left for them to look forward to in this world. On one hand, the world seems to have become so accessible, but on the other hand, so insufficient that I just don’t know what I am doing here.

Therefore, today, the question about the meaning of life strikes everyone.

Almost half of humanity is in a state of concealed or overt depression to the point that depression has become a viral disease that infects both people and the animals living close to us. Antidepressants are now available even for cats and dogs. And from person to person depression is transmitted almost through the air.

In the near future, we will see an even greater descent. It began in the 1960’s when disillusionment and nihilism started to manifest.

Previously it seemed to us that they were characteristic only of special “golden” youth. However, this is a serious problem that we don’t know how to handle. Drugs, divorce, antidepressants, and private psychologists, one tries anything he can, and in the end, he is glad to be leaving this world.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Uup. Summing Up” 4/7/10

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Preparation to the Lesson

Lesson on the Topic “Pesach (Passover)” 

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

Selected Highlights

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Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What should we learn from the Ukraine and Russia War?“

We need to learn that the reason for war is the hatred that dwells among us all. Also, we need to wage war on this hatred, to push ourselves into the fight against our own ego—the force within us that constantly makes us consider self-benefit over benefiting others—in order to rise above our egos and positively connect to each other. By doing so, we will win and reach a state where there is no war.

At the moment, we see that each side points out the other side as the egoists, the fascists, and it is snowballing. We see repeats of scenes that we thought belonged 100 or so years in the past: from refugee children and elderly people standing outside in the freezing cold, to horrific scenes of the aftermath of battle. However, our ego will show us scenes from even a thousand years ago until we reach the decision that we need to let go of it.

While our ego is our nature, and it is natural to think about ourselves over others, what we miss in such a picture is that we need to reach the recognition of evil. “Recognition of evil” means becoming aware of the inherent evil of our egoistic nature; that our ego lets us feel only ourselves, and instead of ourselves, we need to feel others, i.e. to transition from “me to we.”

Such a transition is called “correction.” Until we undergo such a correction, our sense of self—our ego—will continue making us suffer. We should thus seek how we can make the monumental shift from “me to we” as quickly as possible, and focus our prayers also for this most significant correction to happen.
Based on the video “What Should We Learn from the Russia-Ukraine War?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “AIPAC’s Super Pac Marks Its Course”

According to a story that went up on JTA, the AIPAC Political Action Committee (PAC) is what we would expect from a lobbying group whose stated mission is “to encourage and persuade the US government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.” However, “The ‘super PAC’ that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee launched in December … is more opaque: It’s called the United Democracy Project. Its brief mission statement does not mention Israel nor the powerhouse pro-Israel lobby behind its founding. Instead, it emphasizes the promotion of democracy.” When AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann had to explain why the super PAC does not state that it supports Israel, he avoided the question and “did not directly answer.”

The omission of Israel from the new PAC’s mission statement highlights the course that American Jewry has been on for years: away from the State of Israel. Other than orthodox organizations, there is no connection between American Jewry and the State of Israel, and the new PAC simply spells it out.

It is not because of the policy of this or that Israeli government; it is much deeper than that. American Jewry is divesting from Israel as part of a process of divesting from Judaism altogether. Some people may resent the uncouth statement, but I always choose truth over manners.

I have no doubt that politicians will continue to make pilgrimages to AIPAC conventions and say all the right words, but the rift will continue to widen. Eventually, no one will be able to deny it.

If Israel had any inner strength, it would tell AIPAC, and all the other organizations that pretend to support it, that since they are not true to their words, they will have no prerogatives in Israel. They may come and visit like any other tourist, but nothing more than that.

The problem is that Israel will never do that because it is powerless. Our only source of strength is our unity. Since we have none of it, we have no strength at all. We grovel before anyone who smiles at us, and kowtow to bureaucrats and peddlers who promise us the world, but never deliver. We are so insecure because of our division that we cannot see that the State of Israel no longer needs outside help. We have developed to the point where the country is independent with or without external funds. Regrettably, we will not see it as long as we are weak within—divided to the core.

AIPAC’s New PAC is an opportunity for us to wake up, grow up, and realize that we are on our own. We have no one but each other. It is time for Israel to become the nation it is meant to be.

We can stand up to the bigotry and hatred of the United Nations only if we stand as a united nation. We ourselves are a miniature United Nations. Our ancestors did not come from one place or one tribe; they came from all over the Fertile Crescent and formed a nation through their sole desire to unite above their differences. We were a startup nation from the get go.

Our “algorithm” is unique: Stay different, yet stay together. When we abide by it, we are the strongest in the world and the world admires us. When we abandon it, we are the world’s laughing stock.

For Jews, education for unity is the single most important goal. “Love your neighbor as yourself” was our first “export,” and the most valuable ever. Regrettably, we have stopped producing it, so the world thinks it is a hoax. After all, who would buy a product denounced by its own manufacturer?

If we return to our roots, we will not need any lobbyists pretending to support us. Our unity will be our best promotion and the only one we will ever need.
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Medium published my new article “Being Free and Interdependent”

“Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains,” said Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his time. Who puts the chains on us that deny us freedom? That is the question. Is it the environment or ourselves? Or is it just the nature of life? The answer depends on the depth of our contemplation.

From infancy, people are obliged to do all kinds of things. Babies are born, fed, and nurtured along certain paths as part of their development. Even if they do not want to receive medicine, for example, it is given to them. Then they are sent to kindergarten, to school. They have to get up early, get organized in a hurry, follow a rigid schedule all day, listen to things that do not necessarily interest them, and do homework. As we raise our children and prepare them for life, they have no freedom of choice.

Because a habit becomes second nature, we do not feel like we are handcuffed. We have become accustomed to the boundaries and conditions that have been set, and we feel free within those boundaries. We unconsciously just let life drive us: studies, career, family, status, successes.

There are those for whom the question of freedom and independence does arise. What am I actually living for? What is the essence and meaning of my life? Just buying a house, a car, going on vacation once in a while cannot be all there is to life. Even if there were to be a new discovery of how to prolong life in good health, would that give me a sense of freedom and make me happier? These are the ultimate big questions that each of us will eventually face.

Misery, at its core, stems from the realization that our life is limited and lacking, without a big and clear goal that we can achieve. Exactly this is the feeling of slavery, literally. If in the past people still managed to turn off the internal questioning by burying themselves in all kinds of mysticisms and religions, today this works less and less. It is no longer purposeful.

There are those who believe that being free means being independent and without any reliance on others. Is such a thing even possible? Because whether I am an employee or self-employed, an entrepreneur, a junior employee, or an executive, I am still dependent on many factors that limit me.

And if I could escape from all the limitations and dependencies on others to a desert island, sitting on a beach that belongs only to me, all alone, would I be defined as free? After all, at every moment new desires would arise in me forcing me to pursue and fulfill them at all costs.

So as we delve deeper into the question of freedom, we discover how vague the notion is. Life, however, has its own dynamic and we evolve from year to year. Sooner or later, even if all our material needs were already fulfilled and there was abundance of everything in the world, the question, “what are we living for?” would come to hound us.

Eventually, each one of us will discover that personal freedom can only be achieved by building a new kind of relationship between us: good, unlimited reciprocal relations. Evolution is moving us, the human race, forward toward such an integral connection, and within this connection that we will discover a completely new kind of life for ourselves.

Like children who run around the house in joyful abandon next to their mother who they know will take care of them and prepare everything that is good for them, a sense of freedom will grow within us as we develop love and closeness in the relationships between us. An assurance will grow that I will not have to defend myself against you and you against me; my heart will be open to you and yours to me.

The genuine human connection of mutual care and consideration will free us from worrying about ourselves and rid us of stress, problems, and struggles. The power of love and giving will fill all of creation, and this is the integral force that connects all parts of nature into a wonderful seamless fabric for an ultimately fulfilling existence.
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It is already clear to us that we are in a state of exile; it is called Pesach (Passover) because we need to pass through it (Pasach) in order to enter the spiritual world and come out of the state where we do not feel the Creator, which is exile. Previously, we did not feel that we are in exile at all and that we lack spirituality, bestowal, and love. We just wanted more of the usual corporeal benefits in life.

However, when we enter the exile, the need to reach connection and the quality of bestowal develops within us. We begin to recognize our egoism; we try to reveal the qualities that prevent us from exiting Egypt, and we get rid of them in order to come to spiritual qualities instead: to the land of Israel, to the intention to bestow.

This is the time when a person discovers his egoistic desire and decides that it is evil because it does not allow him to rise from this world in order to become closer to the Creator, to the force of bestowal and love. He begins to realize that in this life he lacks the feeling of the Creator.

These states are revealed in a person gradually, depending on his realization. Sometimes he associates himself with reception, then with bestowal; sometimes he seeks to unite with others, then move away from them. We need to go through all this and feel it in order to give importance to our relationships: to what extent we feel close to each other, that is, ready to exit Egypt, or separated, that is, in exile and far from redemption.

Or perhaps we have not even entered the exile yet because we do not feel that we are suffering from our separation.

We see the states that humanity is going through now: wars, hatred, consolidation, and confrontation between unification and rejection. This is how we live between hatred and love, and we must choose where we want to go. It is said that a person should see himself coming out of Egypt every day, that is, he should check his attitude regarding coming out of egoism, whether he is in Egypt or whether he is close to redemption.

It is impossible to exit Egypt before we connect or at least understand that it depends on our inner connection and that we all have one goal for which we live. If we manage to reach connection in our global Kabbalistic group, then it will spread to all of humanity.

We need to feel how much we are distanced from each other, but want to come closer and closer in order to feel ourselves in one common desire, in one intention and yearning, standing before one Creator who unites us. If we want to connect with the Creator, we must first connect with each other. It depends on our connection how much we can connect to our one, single root.

Until we finish this work, we will not be able to come out of exile. All of us need to connect with each other and with the Creator as soon as possible. Everyone should help others in this because we all depend on each other. To the extent of our inner rapprochement, we come closer to redemption. The difference between the word “redemption (Geula)” and “exile (Galut)” is only in one additional letter “Aleph” which symbolizes the name of the Creator (the first in the world).,

If we add only one condition to the exile, the presence of the Creator within our connection, who will illuminate and fill all the voids and severed ties between us, then we will reveal Him and attain the upper world—spirituality. This will be called the exodus from exile, from the lack of feeling the Creator to His revelation, from our separation to connection.

The connection between us is the Kli, and the fulfillment that is revealed in it is the Creator, the light.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/23/22, “Pesach (Passover)”

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