Audio Version Of The Blog – 10/25/23
Posted on October 25th, 2023
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Michael Laitman, on the Times of Israel: “Hostages of Our Division”
Two American hostages, Judith and Natalie Raanan, a mother and her daughter originally from Illinois, who were captured by the Hamas terrorist group during its deadly attack on Israel this month were released last Friday. But still more than 200 hostages who were abducted and taken captive remain in Gaza. While we need to make all possible efforts to bring them back, we should also realize that it is ultimately the connection between us that protects us and will liberate us from peril and suffering.
I pray from the bottom of my heart for the well-being of the hostages and hope we will be able to get each and every person out safely. I send condolences to all the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to each of the wounded.
We need to make sure that such horrors will never happen again and look at this war as the last one. We cannot sit quietly and wait to be slaughtered, we need to defend ourselves. At the same time, we should not engage in an endless conflict, but aspire to reach the desirable solution in which we live in permanent peace. However, we will be unable to eradicate war until we first attain peace between ourselves.
It is enough to remember the recent protests and shouts echoing in the Israeli streets and squares right before this war to realize how hatred had filled and clogged our hearts; the demonstrations aimed to cancel the “other side” of our disputes, and this weakened us greatly. While there is no problem in expressing differing positions and getting into disputes, it is imperative to respect each other and always keep in the forefront of our minds that we are one people.
Right now our pain is so overwhelming that our resentments are restrained, but looking back in our history, it is clear that as soon as the external enemies are defeated, our hatred from within will break out once again. And once our separation becomes evident, it plays right into the hands of those wanting to exterminate us, as they perceive us as divided, weak, and vulnerable.
The Jewish people have one particular quality through which we will either rise or fall—it is the potential of becoming “as one man with one heart.” As long as we strive for mutual guarantee, for increasing unity, we evoke a positive force capable of gradually neutralizing hatred and leading us toward a future of peace.
First and foremost as Jews, we must be an example of cohesion, understanding, and mutual solidarity above differences, which will transform us into an enlightening force for the rest of the world. As expressed by Rav Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, “The genuine movement of the Israeli soul at its grandest is expressed only by its sacred, eternal force, which flows within its spirit. It is that which has made it, is making it, and will make it still a nation that stands as a light unto nations.”
Only our thoughts and actions directed toward unity will free us from war and will lead us to a state of calm and prosperity.
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Michael Laitman, on the Times of Israel: “Would You Sacrifice Yourself to Save Other People?”
Many people now contemplate this question as several stories emerge of self-sacrifice to save others in the current Israel-Hamas war.
For example, on the first day of the war, six surviving friends had told how Cpl. Matan Abergil saved their lives by jumping on them to absorb a grenade’s force that had been thrown into their armored personnel carrier. Also, Tali Hadad, a mother of six, drove back and forth to take 13 wounded people to the emergency medical center in Ofakim while the city was under attack.
What goes through the mind of these people putting their own lives on the line for the sake of others?
It is simply that they are doing the right thing. They view saving others as the good and correct action to take in that moment, and this view gives them the strength to carry it out.
It is impressive because it goes against our survival instinct. We do, however, host an inclination to put our own lives at risk for the sake of others. Instinctively, we are like animals—even though the animal kingdom possesses several examples of self-sacrifice to save other animals—but acts of self-sacrifice to save others show us that we have capabilities beyond our base survival instincts.
We should learn from these acts of bravery that it is simply how we have to relate to each other. Every person hosts such potential. It is the potential to completely devote ourselves for the sake of others. In order to create a society with strong unifying bonds, we need to awaken this potential in our hearts.
One of the problems now in Israel is that stories of bravery and self-sacrifice circulate at a time of emergency, but where is our appreciation of these qualities in our day-to-day lives? In calmer times, we brush over such stories in favor of a more divisive discourse, taking sides against each other.
Since unity above division brought us together as a nation to begin with, then nothing will help us until we realize—at all times—that we are in a constant state of emergency until we achieve, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We need to reach a state where we constantly uphold positive connections of mutual support, care and love above all of our divisive inclinations. When we do, we will see the world’s conflicts subside as a new, harmonious and peaceful world opens up.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What can Israeli society do to ensure the safe return of the Israeli hostages in Gaza?“
We should do everything possible in order to increase our unity.
We should not pay attention to other people and nations, but come closer to each other in a way where we will become “as one man with one heart.”
That is what will help us: the connection between us and with the upper force, the Creator.
We will then succeed in getting back all the people who were taken hostage.
Based on “An Inside Look” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi on October 15, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
When thinking about how the catastrophe of October 7, this pogrom, could have happened to the people of Israel, you realize that apparently we ourselves allowed it to happen. After all, there is no unification among us as one nation, we do not strive for unity, we neglect each other, and we do not get closer from year to year. We do not meet the requirements that are necessary to be called the people of Israel.
If we were talking about some other nation, then perhaps this would be a normal state of affairs. But Israel became a nation only after it was united. And if there is no unity, then there is no nation—that is the uniqueness of the people of Israel.
Thousands of years ago we agreed to become the chosen people under special conditions. We must not forget about them because they determine the existence of our people who are obliged to be as one man with one heart and as “all of Israel are friends.” We must strive to become more united with every passing year. But the opposite is happening; year after year, there are only more and more street protests, as if the entire country is engaged in a fight between soccer fans after a match.
Therefore, it is not surprising that disaster befalls us. Before it happened, a massive political dispute broke out in the country and stirred up many emotions and aggression. This was the critical point of the internal split.
We need to rise above all disputes. Even though our opinions differ, we maintain good relations. Disagreement does not hinder our good relationships because we feel close and related, like a family in which there is love. Otherwise, we cannot be considered one nation.
From above, there is a desire to show us that nothing will help us if there are no heartfelt relationships between us, the people of Israel, i.e., when I am close to you and you are close to me and so we are all close to each other.
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From KabTV’s “An Inside Look” 10/15/23
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Question: Why aren’t there two separate states in people, love or hatred, so that a man can work between them, but there is also such a Klipa (impurity) when national love becomes fascism and chauvinism that unites people out of hatred for others. Why does this third form exist?
Answer: This is an extreme form of egoism. People just often confuse it with love for their people.
Question: If you ask your neighbors whether they love their people, they will say: “Of course we do, but in order for us to live happily, we need to destroy our enemies.” Why do people confuse this with love?
Answer: Because if you love someone who is against you, then you are an enemy of your people. And if you hate him and destroy him, then you are a hero for your people.
Question: It turns out that there is some kind of confusion in the world. Why did the Creator not make it so that there were simply two extreme states: hatred and love? Then you could choose.
Answer: People get confused and think that they are in love, although it has nothing to do with love at all. But if love and hatred were separate, then you could not transform hatred into love. It would be just like you tame animals, and they sell themselves to you for food.
Our goal is to transform hatred into love. That is the whole point.
Therefore, the hatred that develops among nations toward other nations must exist. It must be recognized as the wrong hatred and must be transformed into the right awareness of what I hate and what I love.
Question: Is it possible that in the corrected state your neighbors, who are now firing rockets at you, will love you and say: “We love our neighbors”?
Answer: This does not happen right away. This cannot be done in one step. But we know of cases when former mortal enemies became devoted friends.
Question: So, you see that sooner or later this will happen?
Answer: I am sure that this is the way it should be because the more hatred is manifested, the more love will be manifested. We need to explain to people that this is the law of nature.
Question: Should it be a global universal love so that a person can rise above all differences?
Answer: Yes. Ultimately, this will be so because from unity in the ten we come to unity with the Creator. And therefore, we rise above all the forces of nature in unification and love, and all the forces of nature unite within us: both love and hatred.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/14/23, “The Nation”
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Question: What should we do if we make an hourly effort to love our friends, but the heart of the friend does not awaken? Does this mean I am not putting in enough effort, or is the effort itself incorrect?
Answer: There is no Creator in this effort. The Creator must be with you in your desire to get closer to the heart of your friend. Do not forget about the Creator in any of your actions. Only then will they be successful.
Question: I have a desire to combine self-hatred and the desire to love friends into a single whole. How can I connect these two states?
Answer: This can be done, but gradually. Try it once, then another time, and you will slowly get used to it.
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From the 2nd part of the Lesson of the International Kabbalistic Convention “Opening Hearts” 9/30/23, Lesson 2 “Connecting As One Man with One Heart”
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In light of everything that is happening in the outside world and within us, we need to connect even more strongly and unite around the principle “There is none else besides the Creator.”
In this way we can awaken a connection with the common force of nature that will help us and give us reason, feelings, strength, and opportunities for greater and greater unity in order to constantly move toward the complete correction of the entire world.
It is known that in our world there are two forces: plus and minus, the force of good and the force of evil, good and bad states. But in fact, this is not so because there is no evil force directed against the Creator.
“There is none else besides Him”; that is, there is no force opposing the Creator, and everything that happens comes from only one force, from the Creator. Everything He does is aimed at bringing us closer to Him despite the resistance of the evil force that He also controls.
It turns out that two forces supposedly emanate from the Creator. But one should not think that there are two Creators, one good and one evil. It is just that the force that acts to our detriment is our own egoism that lives within us. Therefore, we need to separate these two forces within ourselves so that the good force that we can attract from the Creator begins to rule over us. Otherwise, we will be ruled by the force of evil, as the Creator said: “I have created the evil inclination.”
This is our work: all the time, in any state, try to discern that there is only one force in the world and that our egoism acts against it and does not allow us to cleave to this only good force of the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/23, “Reinforcing Ourselves with There Is None Else Besides Him”
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Question: You said we should try to be ready for changes. What does it mean to be ready for changes?
Answer: The fact is we will never be ready for changes because they are always new and we cannot foresee them in advance. But when we all want to grow the connection between us, we very quickly feel the state we are in and what we can change to come to mutual guarantee.
But we can never be ready for the next degree because new qualities get revealed in us. Therefore, we must help each other constantly to figure out together the states we undergo and what is left for us to do.
Trying to be ready for changes means that everyone is in internal connection with their friends and that no matter what happens, we are always determined to help each other. No matter the differences between us, we always try to support each other, be closer to each other, and stay interconnected.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah lesson 10/03/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”
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Question: One should always see oneself as half guilty and half innocent. Is it the same for Israel and the nations of the world?
Answer: It is for those who advance toward their correction.
Question: How can we prevent the inner part or quality of Israel from sinking lower and lower?
Answer: Raise it higher and higher by uniting with each other, and the connection between us becomes stronger and stronger.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/10/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”
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