Question: How does a Kabbalist relate to the world?

Answer: Like a caring mother hen.

Question: You said that the most sensitive and the most developed receive more blows. Therefore throughout history have we seen that Kabbalists have been persecuted and suffered various blows?

Answer: Yes, it is so. But blows were also sent to them in order to force them to develop faster. There is no escape, development in the main part of history was still going under the influence of suffering.

And only in our time do we begin to enter a period of conscious development, when we can understand why suffering is given, where it comes from, and how we can go on with it. Therefore, when we act consciously instead of suffering, which pushes us, we begin to draw ourselves to a good future.
[298628]
From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Branch of Sakura” 5/15/11

Related Material:
The Kabbalists About The Nation Of Israel And The Nations Of The World, Part 15
A Kabbalist And The World
Zionism and Kabbalah

Filed under: Dissemination, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Comment: We are all egoists. But the egoism of some is made such that they frankly rejoice if someone else gets blows.

My Response: Such is our egoism! No one is to blame for this. But to admit to oneself that one is like this must be very painful for a person. But deep down, we absolutely do not care what happens a millimeter away from us with someone else. And even if he’s worse, I feel better. This is our egoism.

When such events occur and I feel that egoism is aroused in me, I must understand that this is evil in me and I would like to somehow get rid of it, to correct it.

And you should not rejoice in the troubles of others. People do not understand that they are only harming themselves with this.
[298621]
From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Branch of Sakura” 5/15/11

Related Material:
The Unruly Nature Of Egoism
Egoism Is The Driving Force
Egoism Poisons Our Lives

Filed under: Crisis, Egoism, Globalization - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why does God exist or not exist?“

God does not exist. What exists is nature with its eternal laws. In the wisdom of Kabbalah, the primary fundamental force of nature is called “the Creator,” because nature creates all life, including us.

We exist in nature as its parts. While it seems as if we can observe and make decisions about nature from outside of it, we cannot. We are nature’s creations, and our uniqueness is in our ability to bring about certain changes out of our free will.

In general, we are in nature, and nature is a whole system and creation that is sustained by a single force called “the Creator.”

Based on KabTV’s “Close-Up. Does God Exist?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on May 9, 2011.
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

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

Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Rabash, Article 9 “A Hedge for Wisdom – Silence 1”

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom” 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 3,” Chapter 1, Item 1

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 →

The ten is a spiritual Kli. Due to the fact that everyone at least in some way nullifies himself before others striving to achieve a common, mutual inclusion, we bring our qualities into some similarity with the Creator. The Creator completely nullifies Himself and if we unite through mutual self-nullification, in this way we build a spiritual model, a form similar to the Creator.

To the extent of this similarity, we will begin to feel how a certain glow descends upon us, that a certain force from above is present between us. And then we will feel that we are coming closer to the Creator, and He is coming closer to us.

After such exercises, we will find that our connection under such conditions brings us closer and advances us to the Creator. Like a small child who is just learning to walk and takes his first hesitant steps, so are we already on the way to Him, and we take another and another step with one foot and then with the other.

We will feel that it is the Creator who is moving our legs like a mother who carefully moves the legs of her baby so that he knows how to walk. Thus, we will begin to distinguish the actions of the Creator over us, that it is He who moves our legs: right, left, and teaches us to move forward. We will feel that the Creator is within our actions. In every action we will want to reveal Him, and we will reveal Him precisely through this work.

I will understand that I do not walk on my own and do not embrace my friends myself, but the Creator does all this for me. And I, while trying to perform the same actions, begin to reveal Him and discover that it is He who moves my arms and legs and fills all the space between us.
[298792]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/9/22, Shamati #48 “Right, Wholeness, and Truth”

Related Material:
In The Zero Point Of Reality
Conditions For Revelation Of The Creator
Conditions For Revealing Actions Of The Creator

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Work, The Tens - No Comments →

Medium published my new article “The Desire to Make It Big”

We all want to succeed, to achieve things. That is what society instills in us from a very early age. Some people end up being very successful, and some simply shuffle along through life. In this endless quest, few stop to think: what should really be considered success in life? With what should we reach the finish line so that we can sum up for ourselves in the last moments the measure of our success and say: “Great! I succeeded in life!”

Our inner engine is a desire to have pleasure and enjoyment. That’s why we want to achieve all kinds of things, and when we succeed in achieving them, we feel satisfied. We have existential desires like the desire for food, sex, family; human desires like the desire for money, honor, control, and also a desire for knowledge and education.

The mix of desires we have at any given moment is influenced by our personal inclinations and the environmental influences we absorb. As a result of all these, we set goals for ourselves. On the way to their conquest, we usually encounter competitors and try to win. Achievements and successes are measured in relation to them, of course.

Margaret Thatcher was the daughter of a small grocery store owner. At the age of 24, she ran for a seat in parliament and lost. Thanks to her adherence to her goal, she finally managed to reach the position of British Prime Minister and became known as the “Iron Woman”. For many, she is a symbol of a person who built her success from scratch.

In contrast, those born with a golden spoon in their mouth and who reach high positions through the arrangements of their parents, are treated as less personally successful in life. This is to say: success is measured by one’s degree of investment, effort, and achievement. As we proceed through life, the desire to succeed becomes increasingly clear, sharpens, focuses, and overcoming obstacles on the way to the goal requires that we go through internal changes, building ourselves.

Throughout history there have been people who have aroused a desire to be unique — a desire to realize life to the very fullest. They set themselves the goal of exploring the secret of life itself, the secret of success from a top-down perspective.

These same individuals asked themselves: Are we born to live, and die like all other creatures in the world, or is there something higher we can achieve during our existence on earth? Is there some eternal goal which will remain in our hands even after the death of the body? After all else — family, wealth, respect, status, expertise, education — all of these things that we cannot take with us when we leave this world?

Usually, people do not think about success at such a level for the simple reason that there are no apparent answers to such big questions. And if this is the case, then why should I delve into such matters? It is better to flow with what unfolds without over scrutinizing. Just set goals for ourselves, invest, achieve, succeed in life like everybody. Eat, drink, enjoy as if there is no tomorrow, because tomorrow we may die.

This is how we have lived from generation to generation, but today we are already beginning to see a change. More and more people are asking themselves, what is the point of all this success if it is clear in advance that we all have an expiration date?

The most advanced discoveries of science, too, reinforce the sense that there is something beyond what we are now able to perceive in our senses, beyond what we now describe as a solid reality. They explain that the image we perceive is completely subjective, and if we were different, we would probably perceive a different picture of reality.

The real space of success is open to those who do not agree to continue living only for the sake of living, but to those who aspire to reveal a wider picture, a higher reality beyond our narrow existence. Gradually, through this research, we are able to attain true success: When we learn and understand that there is a colossal mechanism surrounding our life and our world, a great system which operates and guides us. This goal prepares us in great depth to develop from the animate level to the human level, to enter the wide world of eternity and to understand why it exists.

Filed under: New Publications - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Disinformation in a World without Truth”

Not long after the announcement that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is setting up a Disinformation Governance Board (DGB), its intended czar, Nina Jankowicz, announced her resignation. Several days later, the Biden administration announced the disbanding of the entire board and the abandonment of the whole idea. Apparently, the criticism that the DGB drew, including some that “likened it to the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s book ‘1984,’” and Jankowicz’s assertion, “I am eligible for it because I’m verified, but there are a lot of people who shouldn’t be verified, who aren’t, you know, legit, in my opinion. I mean, …they’re not trustworthy,” contributed to the decision to shelve the initiative.

I think that no one can truly claim to know the truth because truth is not at all a matter of opinion or a statement, or even this or that action. Truth is what exists, and falsehood is what does not exist, and the only thing that exists is the unbreakable connection among all people and all things.

Currently, people think that only their view is correct, and everyone else’s opinion is wrong. But since all the views are part of the network that connects us, all the views are inherently incorrect when they are viewed separately, and inherently correct when viewed as part of the network. This is why the network itself is the truth, and nothing else can be regarded as true regardless of its place and function in the network.

To make it a little clearer, think of the liver and the heart in a person’s body. From the perspective of the heart, everything that the liver does is false, wrong, and deleterious. From the perspective of the liver, everything that the heart does is equally absurd and detrimental. However, when viewed from the perspective of the person’s body, which connects the two and derives benefit from both, the two are priceless, indispensable. The truth, therefore, is visible only from the perspective of the network.

As our bodies, so are we. We are living in a network that determines everything that happens to us—good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. The course and the events of our lives do not depend on any single person or action because we are all part of a network of connections, and the network determines everything for those within it. In other words, no one thing or element determines anything, but the connection among the elements determines their attributes, value, functionality, and longevity. Put differently, the connections between the elements determine everything.

Returning to the statement about what is true and what is false, what exists, and is therefore true, is that which enhances the connections in the network, the connection between people. This connection in the network is what we call “the upper force,” the “Creator,” or “God.” This is the truth. Accordingly, falsehood is anything that contradicts connection.

We can easily tell that the world is currently based on falsehood because it is falling apart, disintegrating. Currently, we strive to dominate, abuse, disengage, alienate, and divide. Because of it, we are contradictory to nature and are living in a lie.

As a result, however hard we try to curb CO2 emissions, deforestation, and use of plastics, we will not reverse the downward spiral of the world. As long as we do not strive to enhance connection among people, above all differences and antagonism, we will keep going in the wrong direction, a false path that will lead to nothing but defeat and agony.

It turns out that if we want to know the truth about the world, we must look at it only from the perspective of the network, the entire system that is our world, and even our universe. To do that, we must first rise above our narrow self-centered vision, as if we are liver cells judging the universe from the liver’s perspective, and adopt the perspective of the person where the liver and the heart reside. From that transcendent perspective, everything that we will see will be the true and actual reality.
[298912]

Filed under: Crisis, New Publications - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “On the Defendant’s Stand Once More”

A couple of days ago, the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, established by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC ) on May 27, 2021, submitted its first report. To no one’s surprise, the report is completely one-sided. In fact, it did not even pretend to be anything else. Navanethem Pillay, the Commission’s chair, stated bluntly, “The findings and recommendations relevant to the underlying root causes were overwhelmingly directed towards Israel.”

Although accustomed to being the perennial defendant, it seems that the Commission’s statements touched deeper this time. Rather than explain how the Commission is one-sided, apart from its self-explanatory title, I would like to quote a somewhat lengthy but very apropos passage from Israel Hayom’s senior diplomatic commentator, Ariel Kahana: “Russia invaded Ukraine and is committing war crimes there. China locked down cities with tens of millions of people, is menacing Honk Kong, and oppressing the Uyghurs. In Ethiopia, hundreds of thousands more have died in a war no one cares about. In Venezuela, mass protests were forcibly suppressed; and of course, in North Korea, the regime continues to abuse its citizens and threaten its neighbors,” writes Kahana.

“As for these ‘minor’ issues,” he continues, “the international body known as the ‘United Nations Human Rights Council’ either doesn’t address them at all or only partially. When it comes to Israel, on the other hand, the UNHRC has all the time and resources in the world … ‘special investigators’ … and professional, unbiased reports that somehow show that Israel is responsible for every atrocity across the globe. If it weren’t so sad, it would be funny.”

While this report is clearly another step in the campaign to delegitimize Israel, I must say that regrettably, we are complicit in this crime. We are allowing it to happen, even though we can prevent it.

I will say more than that: While every word Kahana wrote is true, the report is correct, as well. By failing to make the necessary changes within Israel, we are making ourselves “responsible for every atrocity across the globe,” as Kahana put it.

I have no wish to blame anyone in the world since, in my opinion, they have no free choice, while we, and only we, do have the choice to do what we must, yet we are not doing it. This is why we are treated as we are.

What is our choice? We have the choice to correct our relations here in Israel, transcend division and hate, and solidify our nation as one unit. We have the choice to place mutual responsibility and solidarity above all other values. We have the choice to practice “That which you hate, do not do unto your neighbor,” and we also have the choice to practice loving our neighbors as ourselves.

We have the choice, but we are doing none of the above. This is why the world says that our country “feeds resentment and fuels recurrent tensions,” to use the words of the report. We are not doing this by mistreating Palestinians; we are doing this by patronizing and hating one another.

Israel must show the world what it means to be a corrected society, a properly organized country based on mutual responsibility and genuine mutual concern. Then, and only then, will humanity accept us. Until we set such an example, the world’s attitude toward us will keep worsening, to drive us to do what we must.
[298909]

—

You will find more on the link between Jewish unity and hatred of Israel in The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord.

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel Today, New Publications - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Iraq – Ties with Israel Punishable by Death”

On November 30, 1947, one day after the League of Nations (precursor to the UN) announced the end of the British Mandate in Palestine and the establishment of two states—one for the Arabs and one for the Jews—Palestinian Arabs began to attack Israeli settlements. That was the beginning of Israel’s War of Independence. On May 14, 1948, when the British officially left Palestine, David Ben Gurion announced the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, namely the State of Israel. The very next day, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt (joined by Saudi and Sudanese forces), and Lebanon, declared war on the fledgling state and their armies invaded the country. On July 20, 1949, the final armistice was signed (with Syria), and the war was over. Israel was now a fact. The only country that never signed an armistice with Israel is Iraq.

The War of Independence was not the end of wars for Israel. Nevertheless, following many years of frequent clashes, all the countries, including even hostile Syria, are now in an official state of peace, or at least an armistice with Israel, if not complete normalization of relations. There is no love lost between Israel and its neighbors, as much as Israel would like there to be. However, there has also not been a state of active war with any of them for several decades.

Iraq, however, remains the one exception. To his day, it is in an official state of war with Israel. Recently, it underscored that point when Iraqi lawmakers have passed a bill criminalizing any ‎relations with Israel, including business ties. According to the legislation, violation of this law is ‎punishable by death or life imprisonment.‎ A ‎parliament statement also said the legislation is “a true reflection of the will of the people.”‎

Israel has no border with Iraq, no conflict of interest over water, oil, or waterways, and no religious conflict as Iraq is not particularly fanatical about its Islam. Iraq’s policy toward Israel is driven by one and only motive: hate. It simply hates the fact that Israel exists, and this is all the reasoning it needs.

Hate is a very powerful engine. With hate, you can keep a nation united. Every politician knows it, and Iraq is no exception. Its hatred of Israel keeps it together.

However, we can change Iraq’s attitude toward us if we choose to. We may not know it, but Israel holds the key to the world’s attitude toward it. If we change how we feel about each other, Iraq, and in fact all the countries that hate us, will also change how they feel about us for the better.

Israel is always at the center of attention. Just look at the latest report by the UN Human Rights Council. Other countries may commit the worst atrocities, but only Israel has a mandatory agenda item aimed at condemning Israel in every single commit of the council.

Because we are constantly at the center of attention, the hatred between us makes the world detest and despise us. This is how the world is built, and there is nothing we can do to change it.

Therefore, if we want the world’s attitude toward us to improve, we must improve our attitude toward each other. This is how it has always worked, and it will never change.

Moreover, when we fight among ourselves, the world accuses us of inciting wars throughout the world. When we make peace with one another, the world thinks of us as peacemakers. Until we accept this fact and act accordingly, nothing will improve in the world’s relation toward Israel.
[298830]

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel, New Publications - No Comments →