Question: Where do desires come from to a person?

Answer: Our desires are embedded in the informational gene, the so-called Reshimo, which develops in each of us. This internal informational record came to us from that small spark from which the entire universe was born fifteen billion years ago.

Question: Why do all people have different desires?

Answer: Because the initial desire, which began to develop from a spark of light, first generated a desire around itself at the level of inanimate nature; this is our entire universe. Then vegetative and animate nature, and man. This desire continues to develop in us and in the rest of nature. The universe is changing a little, the plant and animal world much more, but man is changing the most.

In other words, the desire that arose from the spark that gave birth to the universe continues to live and change in us. It passes through inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human nature and pulls everyone along with it like a ray of light to the next dimension, back to its root.

That is, this spark came from above, from its root, created our universe, and carries us all back there.

The only thing we can do is to consciously strive for the same goal. And then we will begin to understand why, how, and what; i.e., we will begin to consciously participate in this process and thus reach the level of the Creator.

By incorporating in the program of creation, which is in the spark that brought about evolution, we will realize this program faster than it would have been realized by itself. We can do this.

If we get involved in this process and with the help of a special environment, books, and teachers we ourselves rush forward, then we will get ahead of this force of development. We will develop independently and purposefully and will acquire knowledge, strength, and everything that is necessary.

Thus, we will realize the entire program of creation, the whole knowledge of the Creator and all His qualities, and become equal to Him. This is the purpose of our existence. So, go ahead! In any case, we will have to come to this.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Does the Creator exist?” 5/9/11

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Question: If humanity has a common repository of knowledge, why does everyone perceive the world in their own way? Will we ever reveal it?

Answer: We will reveal this general picture only if we unite into one common whole.

And how else can we reveal it? If each of us is an individual consumer of general information, then there is no way we cannot get out of this narrow framework.

As long as we remain egoists, we are individually connected to information and by this we only harm each other, we do not understand each other, and we are not in contact with each other at all. Each of us is powered by a different part of the general global information, energy, and thought.

It is possible to understand this plan, the whole course of nature, only if we begin to unite to destroy the barriers between us on the principle of loving your neighbor as yourself, and to connect all together as one single whole to the common information field. That is when we will get out into another level of existence—into eternity and perfection!

We will connect to something that is unchangeable, to something perfect, and we will become the same ourselves. And our animal body has nothing to do with it. We will dwell in a common field in our feelings and minds. This will happen as soon as we destroy the egoism between us.

Question: If we are all connected in a common field, then will everyone know what the other thinks? That is very scary!

Answer: Don’t be afraid of it! We’re adults! Our whole egoism will fall.

We will reach such a degree of interaction where we become like one common heart and one common mind. It is above us. And therefore when we destroy the barriers between us, we will rise, unite with this one single heart, desire, and mind, and find eternal existence.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Hologram” 7/28/11

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Question: You say that the biggest egoists are people who already now do not live for themselves because they pass the upper light to everyone else. Where is egoism here?

Answer: In order to receive the upper light, you need great egoism, a great corrected, but formerly egoistic desire. In principle, the desire remains, only the intention changes.

I wanted to grab the entire world, and I grabbed it. How? I am now receiving the upper light in order to fill this entire world. I feel it as my own, as a mother hen over everyone. I consider it to be mine: “This is mine! I have to take care of it!” And not: “This is mine! I have to suck everything out of it!”

The desire, however, is the same, which embraces everyone. It is just that the attitude to it is either egoistic or altruistic.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Branch of Sakura” 5/15/11

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Kabbalists have always been interested in science and cultures of nations. Even Baal HaSulam and Rav Kook visited libraries, sat there, and studied everything.

We can see from the works of Baal HaSulam how well he knew economics, political science, political economy, and how he spoke of Marx’s political economy, of what is happening here in Israel between parties, and so on. Meaning, he was a person who knew subjects perfectly and often mentioned great scientists and famous people of the past.

It is a natural desire of a Kabbalist to study the upper world from the lower world and the lower from the upper because everything that happens is still interconnected between the two worlds and everything comes from only one source—the upper one. When studying our world, you feel the upper source manifested through it.

Therefore, I am happy to absorb everything that is in this world. I am already over 70 years old, but I feel like a young boy eager to see everything, to learn everything, both the upper and this world. I have a thirst for everything.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Architectural Monuments” 9/17/09

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The question about the purpose of life begins to subconsciously awaken in us even though a person does not ask himself openly. He is constantly trying to bury this question so it would not pop up like a snake. And what is left for the person to do? He is fighting against ecological violations, for gays’ rights, for transsexuals’ rights, for other things.

Yet, if we are to show a person that there is a goal given to us from above rather than being invented by us and that it is coming from the upper force rather than from our low egoism, then it will be possible to lead people in a completely different direction—toward unity instead of division.

Egoism is a narrow space and it cannot embrace the whole world. Then what is it against and what is it for? It has to make itself concrete in a certain framework; it is us and that is all.

Therefore, we are very quickly moving toward either good or bad things in the world. Countries will start to unite between themselves, these against those, and those against these and so forth. It will be a big mess.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Energy around us” 10/20/09

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the highest cause of cancer?“

Cancer is an outcome of the human ego, which is a desire to enjoy at the expense of others and nature. It is a phenomenon that is very close to spirituality: cells suddenly begin to consume their own environment, and then they themselves die. Nonetheless, however, they begin to consume their own environment. Usually, we more or less correctly relate to the environment that we live off, but then without being aware of it, we destroy our environment as if to our own benefit, and then we die. We can see how such a scenario sometimes plays out, whether between countries and neighbors.

Similarly to how we relate to each other egoistically, the ego also dwells in each and every one of our cells, and it can turn some cells against others.

As long as human society behaves egotistically, we will continue having cancer. Moreover, among all illnesses, cancer will especially continue developing among us. However, it does not work in a direct manner. That is, just because someone is a bigger egoist than others, it does not mean that such a person will have cancer. It could happen to the best of us without any apparent reason.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, a cure for cancer requires dealing with our ego. Also, the ego is behind literally every negative phenomenon, problem and crisis that we suffer from. Therefore, by correcting the human ego, i.e. by inverting the desire to enjoy at the expense of others and nature, to a desire to enjoy by benefiting others and nature, we would not only cure cancer, but we would enter into a harmonious, peaceful and healthy existence free from disease and every other problem.

Based on the video “What Is the Highest Cause of Cancer?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash.

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Preparation to the Lesson

Lesson on the Topic “Fear”

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah” 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 3,” Chapter 7, Item 9

Selected Highlights

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My new article on Linkedin “Growing Up with Roe v. Wade”

Being the child of two doctors, the dedicated kind, who bring their work home, and with my mother being a gynecologist, I often witnessed first hand the complexities that come with a decision to terminate a pregnancy. My mother, who was often asked to testify as an expert witness in court, regularly discussed those cases with my father, and I was privy to the deliberations for and against abortion. In a sense, I grew up with Roe v. Wade, as these cases were a part of my formative years. Because of it, I understand why the topic is so sensitive and so difficult to resolve.

Through my background, I came to believe that at the end of the day, a woman should make her own choice about whether or not to have an abortion. However, I also believe that because people do not have sufficient knowledge about the consequences of such a decision, what it means for the mother, for the fetus, and for the people around the pregnant woman, how it might affect, or not affect her health, under what circumstances the woman conceived, and countless other considerations, it is very difficult to come to a wise and educated decision.

Needless to say, in extreme cases, such as in situations of sexual abuse or rape, as is happening today in Ukraine, there is no question that abortions should be permitted. Therefore, there should certainly not be an absolute ban on abortion.

But there is more to this issue than dealing with emergencies. Roe v. Wade was intended to give women the right to decide about their own bodies. This is a completely sensible decision. However, in order to come to a decision that truly helps her, a woman needs to have all the information before she decides what to do.

Currently, there is no system that provides that information. People are ignorant about the consequences of their actions and decisions. In other words, before we decide about the right to make an abortion, we must educate people about everything surrounding the whole process.

It is not only abortion that is discussed here. People have no knowledge about sex education, birth controls, parenthood, childbearing and child-rearing. A decision concerning the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion should be part of that entire complex, that complete education system, and not a separate issue.

Clinically, having an abortion is a simple procedure. However, it is a very emotional process. The emotional and mental consequences of it appear only after the fact, when the woman, and sometimes her family, has to live with her decision. This is why it is so important to allow women to make educated decisions, and this requires setting up an educational process that will see to it.

Additionally, the state should not leave women to deal with the consequences of their decisions on their own. The government should set up a mechanism for assisting women in going through with their decisions, whether it is to have the child or to abort the pregnancy, and to recover from it afterwards.

I can understand the uproar that the ruling of the Supreme Court has caused. Moreover, I am certain that people will go through with abortions despite the court’s ruling. The problem is that in states that ban abortions, women will do it illegally, which might expose them to inadequate sanitary conditions, treatment by unauthorized personnel, and prohibitive costs.

Therefore, the only solution that I can see is a systemic solution that takes into account the needs and views of all the people involved, provides comprehensive information and covers all the angles of the issue, and offers systems that assist in making the right decision and dealing with it afterwards. Once such a system is in place, I believe it will be natural to leave the choice in the hands of the women who must make the choices concerning their own lives and the lives of their unborn children.
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Question: What is the difference between the concepts of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life? You said that good and evil are the work along two lines.

Answer: The fact is that the Tree of Life symbolizes our attainment of the Creator. His attitude toward us in accordance with our attitude toward Him is called the Tree of Life.

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is a system of our interaction with the force of the Creator when we learn how we can connect with each other and with the Creator in order to use the qualities given to us as correctly as possible.

That is, the very process of attaining the upper force goes along two lines of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. A person begins to ascertain the correct actions regarding the Creator and he calls this good, and calls the wrong ones evil. When he comes to the final correction, this state is called the Tree of Life.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 6/14/22

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