The creation initially created by the Creator was very small. But when it continued to develop and grow, it manifested a desire to become like the Creator, which was not its own. This depends on the Creator and is called the point in the heart.

This point gradually grows, which causes the growth of the egoistic desire. This is how we develop to a state called 13 years, 20 years, i.e., nominal years of our development.

Thus, we come to a state of wanting at all costs to move away from our original egoistic desire, which we already feel as opposite to the Creator.

We want to become like Him, that is, to change our egoistic desire to receive. But we cannot change it because this is how the Creator made it. So, what can we add to it? The intention to bestow.

This is our task: to receive from the Creator the quality of bestowal, which will be felt in us as an intention to bestow. It is as if we receive the imprint of the Creator upon ourselves. Our desires remain, but they will be ruled by the intention for the sake of bestowal.

This intention, from zero, called the restriction (Tzimtzum) of the desire to receive, will continue to develop. The desire to receive will grow, and the desire to bestow will grow above it.

Thus, in our nature, in the desire to receive, we will be able to grow always in likeness to the Creator since our intention will be directed toward bestowal. In other words, we will continue to develop as creatures in the desire to receive and as similar to the Creator in the intention to bestow.

This is the process of our development until we can clothe all the egoistic desires that arise in us into an intention for the sake of bestowal. This is the path we must go through.

Currently, we are starting on it gradually. The most important thing is that each of us is ready to help the other. Because, in fact, this is what building oneself in the likeness of the Creator is. By helping others, we build ourselves in the likeness of the Creator. It is not like in our egoistic world. On the contrary, mutual bestowal, mutual help in spirituality is its own structure.
[300995]
From the “Arava” Convention in Europe—Lithuania 2022, Lesson 2, 7/24/22

Related Material:
Desire And Intention
All The Difference Is In Intention
Do Not Make Yourself An Idol

Filed under: Conventions, Events, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Comment: Eyewitnesses say that when the country of Israel appeared, there was a sense of a common family between the Jews who moved here.

My Response: Naturally, as in every young country. First, there were more men than women back then. Second, everyone united in order to survive. The first settlers came from one area, the south of Russia, with a common language and a common mentality.

From the 80s of the 19^th century to the middle of the 20^th century, the whole of Palestine was populating with refugees from Russia and Eastern Europe. Only then, after the country was organized, refugees from Arab countries began to arrive.

But over the years, everything has changed. Today, relations between people have acquired such miasmic forms that only spiritual correction will help correct them.

Of course, it is a pity to look at what is happening. Once they found themselves in one place, instead of jumping up spiritually, the Jewish people fell morally, spiritually, and culturally. I hope that this is the initial stage of development, and then everything will pass.
[300684]
From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Who Rules the World” 2/9/13

Related Material:
The First Settlers In Israel: The Lost Foundation
The Spirit Of The Russian Jewry
Russian Jewry: An Uncompromising Spirit

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

Preparation to the Lesson

Lesson on the Topic, “The 15^th of Av: The Day of Love” 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence”

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 1, Part 4, Chapter 2, “The Words of the ARI,” Item 2

Selected Highlights

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the solution to gun violence without harming the liberty and freedom of gun-owners?“

First, I think that it is unrealistic to disarm hundreds of millions of people. The solution to gun violence is in education. Even if somebody had the power to forcibly confiscate everybody’s guns, gun violence would remain a problem. People who would want guns would find ways to get them.

There is no solution to gun violence other than through society’s gradual and systematic education in relation to what leads us to violence in the first place. We as a society need to reach the realization that killing others is bad. Although this message is already widely understood, for instance it is generally at the heart of major religions and spiritual practices, and it is voiced over and over again in a variety of ways, we nonetheless see that gun violence becomes a greater problem from one day to the next. The reason gun violence worsens is due to the continuous growth of human egoism, where the desire to serve oneself at the expense of others proliferates in many ways throughout society, and some people then grab their guns in order to fire back at this seemingly despicable society of egoists.

Therefore, I see no solution other than serious universal education, which begins from a young age and continues throughout our entire lives. Such education should lead us to a state where there is no room for violence. Anyone who raises their hand against another needs to be punished, and understand that they have no right to exert power over the life of others. We should rather relate to others solely in considerate and responsible ways, and lead by example. Nobody has any right to resort to violence. It is simply not within our rights. That is, we have no right to act against the will of other people. It is true that many have taught such principles throughout history, but we see that there is talk and there is action, and we then see several examples of people doing quite the opposite.

What is lacking in educational efforts to make such principles settle into society’s consciousness is the positive force of nature, i.e. the force of love, giving and connection that precedes and begets our existence. We can truly internalize the principle of doing no harm to others by attracting that force into our lives. Therefore, we need to teach the principles of mutual consideration, care, support and encouragement, or in other words, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” to every person without exception from a young age. Moreover, such education should be regular, on a daily basis, and take place on countrywide scales, with all educational systems and influential media involved in educating and promoting such principles. We would then bear witness to a dramatic decrease in gun violence, as such education would have a lasting positive impact.

If such an educational process entered society, then we would attract the positive force that dwells in nature into our lives, and we would also gain a clearer perception and sensation of who we really are, what goes on around us, what causes our suffering and problems, and where we are headed.

Again, such an education is beyond how we normally think about education. That is, it includes teaching of such principles in our commonly-known educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities, but in addition, it requires influential media creators, filmmakers, radio show hosts, creators of TV series’, journalists and writers of all kinds getting on board. All of our social and environmental influences should be primarily focused on communicating messages that lead us to happiness, peace and harmony. Otherwise, our egoism—the desire to enjoy at the expense of others and nature—will keep conjuring up forms that suit it, and we see the tragedies and the dead end that such an approach leads to.

Therefore, if we organize our education—our complex web of social and media influences—to create a society of mutually considerate, responsible, supportive and encouraging members, then the way we speak, communicate and think would take a positive shift. At the very least, the extreme tragedies of gun violence would cease, because there would be no room for such actions in a society that has increased in its awareness of why it is so important to rise above basic human egoistic drives in order to positively connect. That is, the desire to enact gun violence in such a society would simply not surface in people. The education itself would grow a common understanding and feeling in people that they would willingly restrict themselves from enacting gun violence, because it would go against everything they value and know.

Based on the video “What Is the Solution to Gun Violence?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Jane Palash on Unsplash.

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

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

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

Medium published my new article “Why Longevity”

Engineers at MIT and the Technical University of Munich have designed a new kind of fuel cell that converts glucose (sugar) into electricity. The device is about 1/100 the diameter of a human hair. The sugary power source generates the highest power density of any glucose fuel cell to date under ambient conditions. Since glucose is the energy source of the cells in our body and runs free in our veins, the device can use that same energy source and avoid the need for a battery. “Excitingly,” says one of the fuel cell’s engineers, “we are able to draw power and current that’s sufficient to power implantable devices,” such as pacemakers for the heart. “Instead of using a battery,” they add, “which can take up 90 percent of an implant’s volume, you could make a … power source with no volumetric footprint,” and without the need to replace it, as is with batteries.

Medicine can really boost longevity. In fact, it has been doing so for the past 150 years or so. With technological advancements and scientific discoveries, there really seems to be no limit to what we can achieve when it comes to medicine.

The question is not whether we can live longer, but what for? Why longevity? What would we do with our extra years? Today, we spend the first two to three decades of our lives growing up, two to three more decades working hard and trying to enjoy ourselves, and the remaining two to three decades fading away through illness and old age. Why stretch this over three centuries?

I think that before we go about prolonging our lives, we should plan them better. I do not think there is any justification in living longer unless we use our time here to benefit others rather than indulge ourselves in selfish pleasures for another century or so. The number of years we live should be determined by the amount of good we can bring.

Everything we do needs to have a purpose. This is especially so when it comes to our entire life. The purpose of life is to find the ultimate power of life, the driving force of existence, and tell the world about it so that everyone can achieve that goal, as well.

Currently, we are at war with life itself; this is why our paradigm is “survival of the fittest.” We are in a constant struggle for survival, and our best moments are when we can take a break from the war. But not fighting to stay alive is not enjoying life; it is not even enjoying, but only a temporary relief from the struggles for survival.

Life’s purpose is to be complete, to understand everything, justify everything, be happy with everything, and feel the power of Creation operating behind all things. We know that there is a force that operates all things because if there weren’t, they would not exist. However, we do not feel this force. If we felt it, we would feel how the same force operates everything, all that exists, including ourselves. And since we would feel the same force behind everything, we would feel that everything is one, different faces of the same force.

When you feel that one force, you feel Creation itself, you understand what is happening, where you are, and that this force is within you and envelops you. Sympathizing with Creation opens up all your senses; you feel the world directly, as though you are not wrapped in your skin and nothing stands between you and all of Creation.

Because you now know that everything is one, you justify Creation, justify its creator, and justify the purpose of Creation. And because you feel connected to every thing and every one, and feel that they are all you and you are them, you can only do good to all things, and you feel that doing good for others is doing good for you.

If you achieve this, then life makes sense and longevity is worthwhile. In fact, if you achieve this, you have achieved eternity.
[301399]

Filed under: New Publications - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can we deal with negative emotions?“

Negative emotions awaken in us first in order to signal that we have to advance from where we are to a better place. That better place is an essential change in human connections, which ultimately comes down to mutual relations of love.

We currently do not know what that kind of love is. Love means that we feel what is good for others and try to do that for them, and that others try to do the same for us.

Usually when negative emotions arise, we try to find an escape from such feelings. However, such an approach fails to let us realize the positive change that the negative emotions invite us to make.

In order to not escape from the negative emotions, and realize them positively, we need to learn the kinds of relations that we should have in our world, because our world has to reach balance with the greater system of nature that controls us. Precisely that system awakens negative emotions in us so that we adapt ourselves to it, open it up and reveal it.

How does developing positive human connections adapt us to the greater system of nature? It is because nature is interconnected and interdependent as a single system, and its subsystems are in sync with each other, supporting one another. Therefore, developing relations of mutual love “clicks” us into balance at the human level with nature’s own interconnectedness and interdependence, thereby realizing our part in nature.

Based on the video “How to Deal With Negative Feelings” 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: Can it be said that the light affects me when I consciously seek to know it? Or like a child in this world, can it affect me even without my awareness?

Answer: Light constantly surrounds us and affects us. We exist inside it. But the point is that Kabbalah speaks about the direction of the influence of light from the Creator to us and about how we can cause its influence on us.

A person who is in attainment consciously evokes the influence of light on himself. This is one impact. And there is another effect when the light affects him without his desire for it.
[300966]
From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 7/19/22

Related Material:
The Influence of Light on a Person
How Does The Upper Light Work?
The Light Operates Without Any Days Off

Filed under: Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: There is a very big problem in Israel: a big number of police officers are resigning. It used to be an honor to become a policeman. Today, resignations are coming one after another. They are being given more and more tasks, more and more responsibility. The salary, however, is very low, below average.

They are accused of abusing authority more and more often, they even are being tried for it. When an Israel Border Police (MAGAV) fighter who neutralizes a terrorist is forced to testify as a suspect, of course, he has a feeling that the country has betrayed him, that it is better to find another job and earn more.

Please tell me what our actions should be regarding those who protect us, the police?

Answer: I even feel uncomfortable talking about it. How is it possible that the policemen get so little and are so little protected?! We have to protect them with the whole country and pay them more than in any other job because they deal with riots, with crime every day, every minute.

When I was in Switzerland about 15 years ago, I talked to a policeman there. An ordinary novice policeman receives 8,000 euros a month. It is not easy to get a job there and it is not easy to work there. Yet, what is special about Switzerland?!

Question: Exactly. Who are you really saving there? And here you are always on edge. Does it mean that, by and large, these two points, and there are probably even more of them: respect from the government and the fact that they are engaged in important work and are always protected, should be present?

Answer: Of course, society should protect them.

Question: Is the fact that they receive very little money also a feeling that they have been abandoned?

Answer: Of course. We should raise their salary. Review the laws of resisting police officers, keeping arms, and so on. Give them a little more freedom in their hands. Strengthen them and recruit a normal number of police officers. Then everything will be different.

They should feel that the people are behind them. And the people should feel that they are protecting them.
[301182]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/11/22

Related Material:
The Bitterness Of Inequality
What Will Stop the Violence in Hospitals?
A Safety Net Or An Insurance Policy

Filed under: Israel Today, News - No Comments →

Comment: There is an outbreak of violence in Israel’s hospitals.The statistics relating to doctors, nurses, and guards being beaten in hospitals are incredible. Examples include the doctor being hit on the head with an iron stick because a patient was asked to leave an office, or for rearranging queues for tests or for not being served the right way, etc.

And I’m not talking about insults, as there are a lot of them as well. 48% of hospital employees are insulted at least three times a month and 17% are physically abused. The government’s response is to strengthen police protection in hospitals.

My Response: I don’t think it will help. Firstly, it is necessary to work with the population. And secondly, we still need to make sure that thousands and thousands of people do not generally end up in the hospital and clinics. They should receive some kind of care prior to clinics and especially prior to the hospital, meaning, help at home.

Question: Tell me please, has this surge of violence that is happening now happened before? What is it in us that triggers it?

Answer: People are nervous. They are waiting, maybe for help and they can’t stand queues and so on.

Question: Is it correct to say that you would essentially turn almost all of it back to the ministers?

Answer: Doctors are not to blame here and neither are the patients. The wrong organization of labor is to blame. Whoever is doing this, let them figure it out.

Question: Do you think the police will be able to cope with this?

Answer: No! Some grandfather came, screamed, hit the doctor on the head with his stick. What can you do? He can’t take it anymore. It doesn’t matter that he’s wrong, it is simply a fact.

It is important to sort everything out to serve a person before that so that he does not reach a nervous breakdown.
[301099]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/7/22

Related Material:
Nature Resists Violence
The Reason For The Disappearance Of Languages And Nations
“What Are Some Ways To End Domestic Violence?” (Quora)

Filed under: Crisis, Globalization, Health, Israel Today, News - No Comments →