Comment: You said that the person who takes a long time to enter spiritual perception, has more to gain because he passes through a large number of states.

My Response: I did not say that, these are the words of Baal HaSulam. This is, in fact, so. Not because a person lingers on this path, but because he has such a soul that must necessarily include within itself the entire universe.

I have exactly this type of soul. I am not rushing forward on the spur of a moment, and I am not carried forward. Until I master this vast system at my level and in breadth in such a way that I will see it from one end to the other, digest it in myself, will be able to retell it, and fully adapt to it and adopt it in myself, I will not be able to rise higher. Although from the highest level, looking down from above, I perhaps could have done it faster and more easily.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The Correct Spiritual Path” 2/17/13

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does it mean to support someone?“

Supporting someone means dressing into their desires. We have to feel what the person-in-need truly needs, what they lack, whether it is an ability, strength or knowledge, so that we can fully realize their need. Then, we can try to provide them with the support they need in a way that they will not reject, but that they will gladly accept, with gratitude and understanding.

To begin with, there can be no connection between the person in need and the supporter, because the supporter needs to integrate in the person-in-need’s problems. Then, the supporter builds a model, an inner template of the person-in-need’s problem, and through such a model, the supporter can support the person in need.

Supporting others thus requires building a form inside ourselves of their needs, problems and lacks. In the language of Kabbalah, such an action is called building a “Partzuf.” Only after we build the Partzuf of the other person within us and work on that image, on how to help them, then after building such an inner model, we have a plan of how to support them. We then can approach the person in need to support them.

In such a process, we need to be precise about truly becoming integrated in their deficiency, and to live out their deficiency inside ourselves. The precision is necessary because it is the model through which we can support them.

More generally, the purpose of our lives is for us all to come together, for humanity to unite “as one man with one heart,” and by doing so, we will reach the image of a complete human being. This is not a physical image of a human that we currently perceive, but an inner one of a perfectly-connected humanity. Building that image of the human being—the perfectly-connected humanity—is the essence of the support that we should wish for each other, as such a state is our final destination.

Based on the video “What Does it Mean to Support Someone?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman, Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Josh Calabrese on Unsplash.

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Preparation to the Lesson

Lesson on the Topic, “The Ways of the Lord Are Straight” 

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

Selected Highlights

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “His Legacy Is Our Duty”

This month, eighty-two years ago, one of the founders of the State of Israel, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, passed away. Jabotinsky was a gifted poet, a celebrated author, and an eloquent orator. But most of all, he was a Zionist leader who had fought his entire life for the establishment of a Jewish state in the historic land of Israel.

From my nation’s elders I did hear,

As He formed every nation and tribe

He vowed that in this land here,

A Hebrew nation will reside…

These lines from the poem A City of Peace reflect Jabotinsky’s passion for Zionism, which he felt was the only way to prevent a Jewish slaughter and annihilation in Europe. He was right about the slaughter, but he did not manage to bring European Jewry into the land of Israel in time.

Jabotinsky was a contemporary of my teacher’s father, the great kabbalist Baal HaSulam. Both were born in Eastern Europe, and both believed that the vocation of the Jews is to come to the land of Israel. In that sense, not only Baal HaSulam, but all the kabbalists were Zionists, as was my teacher, RABASH, Baal HaSulam’s firstborn son and successor.

However, where Zionism sees its end goal in the physical return of the people of Israel to the land of Israel, kabbalists see it as merely the beginning of the fulfillment of Israel’s calling, and not the zenith of it, but rather the basis for the realization of Israel’s vocation: the unity of the world.

As just said, RABASH, Baal HaSulam, and all the kabbalists were avid Zionists. Baal HaSulam even had the words “State of Israel” etched on his Sabbath knife, with which he would slice the bread on the ceremonial reception of the Sabbath. But their Zionism was not an aspiration for physical relocation from Europe to Palestine; it was a yearning to see the people of Israel unite as one, and the world unites along with it. The physical return, therefore, was a significant step toward it, but only a step, and certainly not the ultimate goal.

Jabotinsky’s dream was to see the Jewish people dwelling in the historic land of Israel. I believe that if the people of Israel focus on their unity, and intend for it to be a model for humanity, a proof that people who hate each other from the bottom of their hearts can unite as one man with one heart, then Israel’s unity will spread throughout the world without any borders whatsoever.

When kabbalists speak of “the final correction,” they mean the final correction of hatred, the abolition of enmity, and the establishment of complete and undying love among all people. In such a state, no borders are needed, and no borders are erected between people or nations.

Like my teachers before me, I am a Zionist. Like my teachers before me, my Zionism is dedicated to the unity of our nation as a model for the unity of the world. Like my teachers before me, I believe that the place where the people of Israel can unite and become that model of solidarity and love of others is here in the land of our fathers, the land of Israel, where Rabbi Akiva said, “Love your neighbor as yourself, this is the overarching rule.”

Jabotinsky’s anniversary is a good time to reflect on Zionism, what it means for us today, and what it should mean. Today, Zionism is disintegrating. To many people, the very word has become derogatory. However, if people only knew the real meaning behind the word, the love for all of humanity that was the cause of the establishment of the Israeli nation, I believe that they will change their attitude.

That said, unless we Jews rekindle the spirit of unity that is the basis of our nation, no one will understand what Zionism is about or why we need a Jewish state. We, Israelis, through our choice of unity or division, determine our own fate. Zionism must be taught at all the schools and educational institutions, but it must be the complete version of it, the one that sees its end in the unity of the world, and the unity of Israel as a means to the final end. If we do this, we will have no enemies to worry about. If we do not do this, nothing will prevent Israel’s decline.
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Medium published my new article “Climate Gone Mad”

A firefighter walks past the flames of a forest fire near Belin-Beliet. French officials have warned that the forest fire could spread further in the southwest of the country. Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH / Reuters

A few days ago, the papers warned that Europe is facing the worst drought in 500 years. They described the dry and hot weather and the fires that broke out all over the continent and spoke of an apocalypse. Today, they are reporting flooding in London and violent storms in France causing catastrophic flooding, where in some places, more than an inch of rain fell in less than 30 minutes, and in Paris, a storm with 65 mph wind gusts and nearly 2 inches of rain that fell in just 90 minutes flooded the Metro. Clearly, the climate has gone mad.

In the closed system that is the world we live in, everything we do affects everything else, and that effect returns to us like a boomerang. When we pour so much negativity into the system, it becomes dysfunctional, and this summer, we are experiencing this dysfunction through the smoldering heat waves and torrential rains. If we continue to flood the system with hatred and intolerance, we will not need nuclear weapons to wipe us out; plagues, natural disasters, fires, and floods will extinguish us long before we extinguish each other.

However, the climate did not go awry by itself, but because of our madness. Nature’s erratic behavior merely reflects our own agitation toward everything. Our growing narcissism drives us to treat everyone and everything with utter indifference to the needs of others. In fact, we even enjoy hurting others. We think that if we can use others and not see the consequences for our actions right away then there are no consequences, but there are very serious consequences for our wrongdoing toward others.

In the closed system that is the world we live in, everything we do affects everything else, and that effect returns to us like a boomerang. When we pour so much negativity into the system, it becomes dysfunctional, and this summer, we are experiencing this dysfunction through the smoldering heat waves and torrential rains. If we continue to flood the system with hatred and intolerance, we will not need nuclear weapons to wipe us out; plagues, natural disasters, fires, and floods will extinguish us long before we extinguish each other.

When the summer is gone, winter will come with its own perils, and lack of gas and power will wreak havoc in Europe. Eventually, we will have to accept that we cannot defeat nature; we cannot outsmart it. We will have to learn to be an integral part of nature, connected to each other and to nature. We will not survive otherwise.

Since the only element in nature that has bad intentions and an exploitative attitude toward others is us, we must begin to change our relationships. Our attitude toward the rest of nature stems from our attitude toward each other. Therefore, if we are considerate toward each other, we will be considerate toward nature. It turns out that the correction of our tormented planet begins with the correction of our broken ties with one another.

To mend them, we must put our heads together and discuss solutions on a global level. These solutions must be inclusive and take into account everyone’s needs. At the same time, everyone must accept that they cannot receive more than is necessary, since they, too, must be considerate toward others.

To get such a global initiative off the ground, there needs to be an open discussion about it all over the global media. People must know that we really are running out of time, and unless we ‎ change now, it will be too late afterwards.‎

I do not know how to keep this move clean from politics and politicians, but it has to be a ‎genuine effort to save humanity and the planet, not a ploy to take control of it. Perhaps a panel of scientists will be able to make this happen, but they, too, must work without ulterior motives.‎

I realize that this idea may sound naive, but I also realize that if we do not take global action to sincerely improve our connections, the approaching annihilation is certain and near.‎
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Question: There is always some kind of struggle and mutual rejection between us. How can people introduce mutual complementing between them and begin to actually coexist together, really together? What role does the concept of true love, which you always talk about, play in this?

Answer: People need to be taught. They need to be constantly taught how important it is to be connected with each other, how much they need support from each other. The most important thing is the purpose.

They should unite and constantly feel that from day to day they are getting closer and closer to each other. This getting closer to each other raises them increasingly higher to the Creator, to the one single force of nature. They should feel their future in this.

Practically, this is what we exist for, in order to take several steps toward the Creator during our life. And we will continue further. It does not matter how or when.

This is what we need to take into account. Therefore, we must further develop those basics that we can receive from our mother and from school.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 8/5/22

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Question: The Ari described the system of relations between souls. It is called the system of lights and screens. Did he, in principle, do something that no one before him had done? I mean, were the language, the approach, and the system itself new?

Answer: Everything was new: the system, the methodology, the approach. The Ari made a revolution in the attainment of the one single upper force in the world that governs everything and with which we can interact, reveal, and understand.

Comment: Let’s say, I have a certain desire and you have a certain desire. The Ari described the connection of how my desires can connect with yours, how my fulfillments can correspond to your fulfillments as well as to other people, everyone included.

My Response: He described the laws of commutation between man and the upper single governing force of the world.

Before the Ari Kabbalists felt and described what was happening to them. He, in addition, revealed the reason for these sensations. This is the most important thing.

Therefore, by studying him, and following his methodology in the course of our lives, we can develop such qualities in us that will help us attain the world in its entirety, not just be passively impressed by it, but become active participants in it.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 8/2/22

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Make an effort to connect with your friends and you will feel that in the gap between you there is no room where the Creator can be revealed. When we come closer to each other we do not narrow the space by doing so, but on the contrary, we discover the space for the revelation of the Creator. After all, this obeys opposite laws.

There is no space in spirituality; it is zero! Therefore, if we unite so closely that we completely adhere to each other, we create a space for the Creator. The spiritual space is the need to reveal the Creator in a common desire, in one Kli.

We need to connect our desires in such a way that they become as one desire.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/10/22, Writings of Baal HaSulam. Letter 38

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Question: Were there any other methods before the teaching of the Ari beside the method of suffering?

Answer: No. Mostly, it was about the method of suffering, which allowed people to rise above egoism, because we feel bad in it. A person even deliberately drove himself into egoistic suffering in order to force himself to rise above the ego, run away from it, and thus awaken altruistic qualities within himself.

Question: Does it mean that suffering softens egoism and it is easier for a person to run away from it?

Answer: Yes, but only at very small levels of egoism because this method does not work at higher levels.

Question: Why? If I have a high level of egoism, will suffering not affect me? Or on the contrary, does a person with a huge egoism become more sensitive?

Answer: No, you cannot force yourself to approach such suffering. Previously, people consciously approached them. That is why it was said, “Eat bread with salt, drink plain water, sleep on bare ground, and study Kabbalah, and then you will succeed!”

But there is a limit up to what level of suffering a person can go against himself. This does not mean simply to cut yourself into pieces. This means that he must live this way.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 8/2/22

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