We must somehow cultivate in ourselves a preliminary desire for unity, for love. This is done with the help of the light. Initially, we do not have such a desire. But if you wish, the light will do it.

But how can you want something that you cannot wish for? For this, you are given the group. You can tune yourself so that it artificially influences you.

What does the group want? The group does not want any ascent either. But it will methodically train you all the time, saying: “If you bestow, we will respect you, if you think about us, we will love you, if you are a good friend, we will play with you,” and so on.

In other words, you have no other choice. You are a social being; you cannot exist without an environment. The Creator has ignited a point in your heart—the desire to be in this society. So you must, together with the group, engage in a kind of a game where you deceive each other. But this deception, whether you want it or not, will be perceived by you as absolutely real.

For example, the group might say: “We have now agreed among us to value spiritual elevation, which consists of bestowal and love. If you truly want to bestow to us, to love us, we will value that in you. Otherwise, you are not our friend, and you should not come near us.”

You might say to them: “Guys, but you do not have this either! Do you really love me? Do you promise to be good to me?” They might even reply: “We promise you nothing.”

But if they are willing to position themselves this way before you, then you will begin to desire it: “Why don’t I have the quality of bestowal and love?”
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Virtual Community, Part 1” 5/16/10

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We have yet to establish a living connection between each of us and the group. Sometimes, such mutual inspiration arises at our conventions or for a few minutes during gatherings, but this is not the right way to advance.

Many say: “Why not create a permanent convention?” But you cannot spend your whole life at a picnic, that is not the right kind of development. A convention where everyone gathers and connects is not about moving forward, but about unleashing a previously accumulated potential. The desire that has been formed manifests in this environment like a seed in the soil.

However, we must reach a state where we constantly feel the desire to be connected to the environment, and this environment can continuously influence us. This is only possible by creating a virtual connection between us where a person can connect to others through a computer or personal phone.

These means of communication are available to almost everyone 24 hours a day, and through them, we can provide a person with a simulation of his continuous spiritual connection with us.

We have no other options than to implement what the Kabbalists have written. Their sources are open to everyone. Therefore, from everything I see in our world, the only way to position a person against the group is to make this connection possible 24 hours a day or at specific intervals—say, five times a day—is through the Internet or the phone, which are always with us.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Virtual Community, Part 3” 5/16/10

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Question: By acquiring the quality of bestowal, can a person influence the development of the material world?

Answer: Yes, of course. But it is not about performing some kind of magic trick. The point is that when we acquire the quality of bestowal from our world, our world naturally receives an upper illumination and becomes better.

All problems and actions that occur in it are now carried out through the quality of bestowal, not reception, which makes everything softer and better.

Question: Does this mean my perception, as a receiver, of the world completely changes?

Answer: Not only yours, all the other people on Earth, even those who do not follow the Kabbalistic method, will feel that the world is developing more gently and benevolently day by day.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson, 12/23/18 “What is faith above reason”

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Comment: For some reason, we adhere to the criterion: if someone is in charge, he wins.

My Response: No, not necessarily. Some people can lead, and others know how to present the material.

Rabash, for example, was utterly unable to systematize the sources; he could not adapt to this. And Baal HaSulam was a great systematizer. He even started publishing a Kabbalistic encyclopedia, starting to write: “A-A,” “B-B,” and so on. Rav Kook, on the contrary, could not do this.

That is, every person in our world has specific traits and abilities, but this does not apply to the spiritual level. Not at all! We have people who process and organize material. Are they the best at understanding it or at their connection with others? Absolutely not. It is a purely corporeal trait.

Question: How do you use these abilities effectively? Everyone has some qualities, and if they engage them at 100%, it would be great. But given circumstances let us engage, perhaps, at only 10%.

Answer: We have to try. This is what I keep telling everyone: “Write, process the material, shorten an article, make interesting extracts from it, make an interesting post from the morning lesson, and try to find out how you can process the material and bring it to the world.” We have nothing else anyway.

You can be an artist; write an interesting song or poem about our topics, go ahead. Do it yourself or work on something already created, perform, or dance. This will be your dissemination action. Try to be creative in some way.

Sometimes people respond to it, and sometimes they do not. If not, at least print the newspapers and give them away. This too is work. I do it more for those who disseminate. Or let them go to other towns to give lectures or courses there. We have no other choice. We need to expand the number of people involved in dissemination.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Dissemination Abilities” 4/17/10

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Question: Tell me, please, if a person still feels broken, is on his knees, how can one rise from one’s knees?

Answer: Think, think about who I am, what I am, what I am for, who governs me, and what I am meant for.

And a person will see that all of this prepares him for correction, true correction, when he rises above his nature, and the Creator is waiting for him there.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/7/24

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 83

Why Can Progress Be Seen Only Through Subjugation to Society?

Progress can only be seen through subjugation, as otherwise, the work remains unseen. Subjugation lets us receive strength from above and enables us to act more in bestowal. But what does “bestowal” mean? It is confusing. We might gain strength to become stronger, more successful, or more influential and think that we have attained bestowal. But that is false. Such sensitivity requires the utmost subtlety.

We need to maintain Lo Lishma for a while and receive various enticements to help us grow. It is similar to promising a child a bicycle if they study hard and achieve good grades. The child works hard all year, excels, and gets the bicycle. We likewise need to linger accordingly in the stage of Lo Lishma.

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International Kabbalah Convention, “Preparation to the Lesson 1”

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International Kabbalah Convention, “Responsible for One Another on the Road to Lishma,” Lesson 1

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International Kabbalah Convention, “Preparation to the Lesson 2”

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International Kabbalah Convention, “Lishma Out of Faith in the Sages,” Lesson 2

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It is said that envy, lust, and honor take a person out of this world. These qualities are intentionally created within us. And these seemingly most unpleasant, most disrespected traits suddenly turn out to be the most effective.

I suddenly begin to feel how much they can help me, how envy can be positive. I look at my friends, and they are doing something together, discussing certain matters, and I envy them.

They can respect me only when I love and bestow, when I sacrifice myself, when I feel my connection with them. Only in them, only in mutual guarantee, will I find myself and my life. Unexpectedly I begin to value this abstract state as something very necessary for me.

This is what we need to somehow act out among ourselves. But the group is not yet capable of doing this. We need to take action and organize some kind of scene for each friend. After all, we do not just whisper among ourselves in a corner: “Now we will start acting on you this way. Let us see how our experiment turns out.”

One, then another, then a third person begins to work on you, deliberately set an example, and you start reacting. “What do they want?” Sometimes you suddenly justify them, but mostly you do not know what to do.

This is how a person’s complete dependence on the surrounding group and on society is revealed. In novels, it is often said that some hero enters a large society and easily interacts with it. But in reality this is very difficult.

That is why we need to create such a place. I mean a virtual space, an environment, where we could act out this condition, society and each of us as an individual with desires for pleasure, envy, honors, fame, power, everything that defines our relationship with society.

Yet I do not see this society in my friends. For some reason, they cannot organize themselves, they cannot influence me, something is not working for them.

But if I had such a simulator on my computer, I would be required to enter it five times a day, which is something I cannot physically do with my friends. And this simulator would impose certain demands, whims, and conditions, it would impose its influences and questions on me.

It would show me what it wants from me, like a capricious group that demands a certain attitude from its friend: “What is more important to you—this or that? How would you progress—this way or that? How would you act in such a state? In which source is it said that this is so and that is otherwise?” It would pose questions that seem completely illogical. But otherwise you will not succeed, the group demands this from you. Do you agree or not?

Such a simulator is necessary, even just to theoretically force a person to understand what the property of bestowal is and how much they are opposite to it.

Moreover, the daily tasks must necessarily include both states of descent and ascent so that a person can see and determine where they are and how they would react to this in the opposite state.

The computer plays out the relationships between me and the group, and I begin to treat it like a Tamagotchi. It leads me forward, I am attached to it, I am interested in its opinion, its attitude toward me and its evaluation of my actions.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Virtual Community, Part 2” 5/16/10

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Question: What should a person do to be happy?

Answer: Make others less happy. This is what is being done now with the help of wars. If others are less happy, I already feel happier. Everything is attained in comparison.

Question: So, artificial intelligence, in theory, is supposed to program everything in such a way that you will be happy when you see that others will be inferior to you? Will I do everything possible for you to see this?

Answer: Yes. If only we had such glasses that would make us feel that way, it would be great. Everyone would walk around looking down on each other and not understand: “Why are others looking down on each other? Why are others smiling? I am above them in everything.”

Comment: That is an excellent patent for our world! That is what they need to understand.

And ideally, in a higher sense?

My Response: And ideally when you take care of others, that will be your purpose and sense of happiness. And then no one will interfere. You can make everyone happy. And so, each of them can also make others happy.

That is, I feel good because I do good for someone else. Only in this way can it be realized.

Question: Can artificial intelligence reach such a turnaround?

Answer: It will break down along the way. The machine will break.

Question: Yes, it will not be able to contain this. But one way or another, is humanity heading toward this?

Answer: It is moving toward the awareness of evil but not toward the solution of the problem itself.

To solve this problem, they will have to come to Kabbalists. And then, by inspiration from heaven, they will discover that there is such a solution, such a teaching, that elevates them to another level, to another nature—the quality of bestowal and love! And they do not need anything else besides that. With the help of this new nature, they will build absolutely everything!
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/18/22

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