From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 5/21/22

Every moment in our lives begins with the question, “What am I living for?” We normally do not recognize it for what it is, so we manage to keep going even though we do not have an answer.

However, in the following second, the question about the purpose of our lives will show up again. And once again, we will not notice it and continue to the next second in our lives. This is the flow of life, an endless stream of questions about its meaning and purpose.

We cannot choose not to ask about it since the question exists even before our physical body comes into being. It is the first, primordial question and our bodies develop only in order to find the answer. In fact, all of life exists only to answer this first question.

Whether you are a construction worker, a college professor, a street sweeper, a police officer, or what have you, we all have the same inner drive to search for the meaning of our lives in everything we do. We may not be aware that we are driven to do what we do by this essential quest, but we are driven by it just the same.

Even people who seem calm and satisfied, who do not seem to be searching for anything and say they are content with life and do not want anything more out of it, are only convincing themselves that this is how they feel. Nevertheless, if the question did not burn within them, they would not be alive.

The quest is there to make us search for the source of life itself, the comprehensive force in nature. For now, most people search without knowing what drives them in life. Today, however, humanity is approaching the realization of the true objective of the quest.

Each day, more and more people are asking themselves about the origin of life. They are beginning to create a picture of what the force must be like, what are its qualities and how they can approach it, grasp it, and bring themselves to it.

Just as a baby wants to be near its mother and receive from her, when we are drawn ‎toward connection with the superior, original force, we begin to receive from it the answer to the question about the meaning of life. These days, humanity is finally getting closer to finding the answer to the question about the meaning of life. In the coming years, this will become humanity’s main engagement.‎

Filed under: Facebook | Add Comment / Ask Question →

The Sanhedrin existed at a time and in such a society when people were in attainment of the Creator. Therefore, trials and sentences were compensation for the fact that a person stumbled in relation to himself, and could have not stumbled.

The Sanhedrin’s decision was like a recommendation to a person about what to do to ascend spiritually. It was only about spiritual crimes. Therefore, if in the 70 years of the Sanhedrin’s existence (once in 70 years they were assessed as existing) at least one death sentence was passed, then this Sanhedrin was considered cruel, a fiend of hell.

Can you imagine? Once in 70 years! This is only in case when they came to the conclusion that nothing could be done with this person, it was impossible to somehow influence him. But in practice there were no such cases, there was always an opportunity to correct a person.

In those days, there was no death penalty, although the Torah mentions stoning, strangulation, beheading, and so on. All of this is purely theoretical. There was nothing really like that except correction in the right society.

A person should not be isolated from good society but placed there so that he has nowhere to escape. Then he will have no other choice but to pull himself up to the level of this society.
[297306]
From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Outlaw” 12/19/10

Related Material:
The Trial Must Be Public
Then We Will Not Need Judges
The Judicial System Needs To Be Destroyed

Filed under: Children, Education, Israel, Nations of the World | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: You say that a person perceives everything from within himself. For example, Tsiolkovsky perceived everything from within himself. But why, speaking of the will of the universe, did he speak of it as something perfect, harmonious, that treats us with absolute goodness?

Answer: Because each of us has the ability to perceive the world outside of ourselves.

In some people, this ability, which in Kabbalah is called a point in the heart, is more pronounced. They feel pressure and movement from within. For most people, however, this point is deeply concealed. They do not have such a need, such a grip.

Therefore, they try to do it in science first. I have met many such people. I think that in our time a serious reassessment will begin, and these people will come to Kabbalah.

Kabbalah is a wisdom that helps a person look not only deeply into himself, into his feelings, but also to change himself, his feelings, to go beyond himself and see the world unperturbed, as it really is, outside of me, and not the way I feel it in myself.
[297176]
From KabTV’s “Close-Up. The Will of the Universe” 28/11/10

Related Material:
Resistance To The Wisdom Of Kabbalah, Part 1
The Wisdom Of Kabbalah About Depression
A Neutral Attitude To Kabbalah Does Not Exist

Filed under: Kabbalah Study, Perception, Science | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: The greatest scientist in the field of astronautics K. E. Tsiolkovsky wrote about the will of the universe in his works. He said that this will conditions everything that we see and feel. The only question is what is this will?

Does the universe have a will, and can we talk about it?

Answer: Real scientists, physicists, astronomers, and cosmologists feel that the universe is a thought, it is a mind. When they delve into what is happening outside of us at great distances, in great forces, they feel that it breathes with some kind of huge plan, something very great and intelligent, aimed at something mysterious, but having its own power, consistency, maturity, higher logic, that is incomprehensible to us.

And we are in this as little accomplices and the universe has its own will and its own program. Many people have this feeling.
[297101]
From KabTV’s “Close-Up. The Will of the Universe” 11/28/10

Related Material:
The Reality Of The Universe
The Universe: The Mirror Of Man
The Entire Universe is Within a Man

Filed under: Kabbalah Study, Perception, Science | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Can we mitigate the terrible blow in the form of war that evil egoism is now inflicting on the world, on the entirety of nature? First of all, we must remember the simple truth that we are talking about the will to receive, which consists of four levels.

What is felt in the will to receive in its four degrees, inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human, is what appears to us as existing in the world. After all, our entire world is our will to receive.

Therefore, we need to do everything possible to locate and correct the egoistic desire. There is nothing in the world except our egoism, which must be calmed, balanced, brought to an awareness of where it comes from and why, and what its purpose is.

We should see that the state of the world is a derivative of the measure of connection between us. If we connect more, it is good for the world, and if we do not connect, then it is bad for the world. On this basis, we are considered wicked or righteous. We give contentment to the Creator or, God forbid, we give Him sorrow.

The Creator does not want war, He is good and does good, therefore, there are no wars in His plans. Rather His plans are to bring us to the recognition of evil and to the actions of good, so we will become like Him.

This is why there is nothing negative that comes from the Creator, no bad attitude at all. If we do not agree with the corrections and by this bring trouble upon ourselves, then this is already our fault. We should not blame the Creator for this; it is our own fault that we do not correct what we receive from Him.

We receive everything from the Creator through the system in such a way that we are able to accept it, understand it, react to it, and correct it. We can, but we do not want to! Therefore, we receive a descent, which seems to us as a punishment.

In fact, this is a correction that brings us one degree down. After all, if I am in the fourth grade and I am not able to do what a fourth grader should do, then I am returned to the third grade. When I do the work in the third grade, I will go up again to the fourth grade, and then to the fifth, sixth, and so on. That is, everything happens according to the system.
[297813]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/16/22,  Baal HaSulam, “Foreword to The Book of Zohar“

Related Material:
War Between The Creator And The Creatures
How Can Military Conflicts Be Avoided?
The War For Peace

Filed under: Crisis, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Globalization, Spiritual Work | Add Comment / Ask Question →

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

Filed under: Audio Version of the Blog | Add Comment / Ask Question →

My new article on Linkedin “Don’t Laugh about Humor”

How does humor affect our mood? Why do people laugh at other people? How can humor improve relationships?

When someone talks about something with humor, we can empathize with the situation. They can talk about very serious situations, but when told with humor, we can look at them from a lighter or surprising perspective. This takes a lot of the gravity out of the situations, and not only makes us feel better, but helps us cope with them, which might have been very difficult, if not impossible without humor.

Good humor is based on wit, on making surprising links between elements and looking at them from a new and curious point of view.

It is well known that laughter has many physical benefits. Here are some of them, courtesy of Mayo Clinic: Laughter stimulates the heart, lungs, and muscles, and increases the release of endorphins (natural painkillers). It creates a good, relaxed feeling and reduces some of the physical symptoms of stress. Laughter even strengthens the immune system.

Laughter also has many emotional benefits: It increases our overall satisfaction with life, makes it easier to cope with difficult situations, and, most importantly, improves our connections with other people. When you have a good, hearty laugh with a person, you cannot fight with him (or her).

There is another benefit of humor: If used correctly, it can prepare us to learn new things easily. This is especially true for things that are emotionally difficult to accept or deal with.

There are other kinds of humor, too. Some people laugh at the faults they find in others. In this case, it has no benefits. It demeans others and makes the mockers feel superior to their victims. Such humor does nothing but bloat the bully’s ego.

It is very painful when other people make fun of our faults. It is not the joke that hurts, nor the flaw itself, but the ridicule of others. Conversely, when someone shows us that they like us just as we are, then laughing at ourselves together with them can bring us closer and deepen our connection.

At the top of the list is self-humor. Confident people can joke about themselves, talk about their weaknesses, urges they cannot control, and so on. This makes them more approachable and brings them closer to other people. It also allows other people to share their own feelings with them.

At a time when the world is becoming increasingly connected and we are more dependent on each other than ever, good humor is a must. We need to be confident enough to laugh not only at our weaknesses, but also at our very nature – our selfishness.

If we can make fun of everything that prevents us from working with others, building trust, and understanding others, it will help us recognize our true nature. If we can laugh about it with other people, it will bring us closer and foster a shared desire for change so that we can connect.

Indeed, we should take humor very seriously; it can be a vital tool in moving us out of narcissism and isolation into connection and friendship.
[297997]

Filed under: Health, New Publications | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do you think of Israel announcing that the Iron Beam laser defense system was tested successfully shooting down drones and rockets?“

Against any good thing, there is always a bad thing. So you will not find me jumping with joy that we have rid ourselves of our problems and threats.

I do not think that this laser defense system can give us a real sense of security in Israel. Things will get worse. Our problems will rise to an even higher level.

In order for us to truly have a sense of quiet, there is a simple idea that we must adhere to—that of connection, or to reach “Love your neighbor as yourself” among the Israeli nation.

This is no innovation of the defense industry. It is up to us people to implement. If we fail to upgrade our attitudes to each other, then no sophisticated technological, scientific or military equipment would help us.

Developing ties of love between us would protect us from all harm. If we had a very strong sense of connection, then this force of connection would reject all evil forces.

This is because thought and desire are forces much more powerful than laser beams. They are similar to laser waves, only sharper, operating beyond time, space and motion.

We need to establish a network of love between us, love that comes from the heart, and then we would see those same inclinations starting to surface in our enemies’ thoughts and desires. We can make this much-needed innovation in human connection, and sooner or later, we will have to.

Based on the video “Kabbalist Responds to Israel’s Iron Beam Laser Defense System” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Umberto on Unsplash.

Filed under: Israel Today, Q&A, Quora | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Moses (the point in the heart of a person) was brought up by Pharaoh for forty years, then he ran away to Yitro, and only then, for forty years he was pulling the entire nation out of the slavery of egoism. It is the same in our state, when we begin to study Kabbalah, many years pass until we begin to understand what is happening to us.

Question: Did Moses live most of his life in egoism?

Answer: Yes, yet this is not just egoism but a preparation to get out of it. Moses symbolizes the force of faith, which pulls a person out of the ego.

Question: You always say that faith is bestowal. What does bestowal mean?

Answer: Bestowal is when a person feels that everything that is outside of his egoistic qualities are the correct qualities, and he must reach them.

That is, bestowal does not mean our usual understanding that a person should give something, but a special perception of the world.
[297221]
From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 4/19/22

Related Material:
Understanding The Importance Of Bestowal
Turn Your Face To The Wall—Discover Bestowal Really Exists
Bestowal Should Become Fashionable

Filed under: Spiritual Work | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: Why do the Jews not have such servility and deep reverence for each other like other peoples?

Answer: Yes, we really see it today. And if you looked into the depths of the centuries, you would see that even 100 years ago there was no such thing and could not have been. Absolutely in no way!

In the army, in enterprises, anywhere, fraternity is characteristic of Jews—everyone is the same. This is so deeply embedded within the people that even when we began to take an example from the West in the organization of the country and everything else, even then the relationship remained the same.

From time immemorial, everyone has been absolutely equal. A person has never been respected for wealth, only for knowledge. There has never been any subservience to anyone. This inner brotherhood still does not go away, since then it has been in everyone.

And although there is no strong connection anymore, equality that I am no worse than another, reigns everywhere.

There is no slave in a Jew—something that practically exists in every nation. As all other nations have passed the slave-owning period, when some were masters, others were slaves. There was no such period for the Jewish people. There was a so-called slave to his master. But it has always been said: whoever buys a slave, buys himself a master.

These are the spiritual laws. There are whole volumes in the Talmud telling how to treat a slave. The slave lived as if under communism. You were obliged to take care of him, you could not force him morally or spiritually.

He worked as if for hire, and was only considered a slave, since the owner made a contract with him that he would buy him for a certain time. For six years he worked and in the seventh year he could leave the owner. This law is called “Shemitah” when everyone returns to freedom.

According to this law, in the 50th year of the use of land, it is returned to free use and does not remain assigned to anyone forever.

We do not understand how these laws provide a completely different basis for people to connect with each other. What does it mean that you are given land for only 50 years?! This is practically a small human century.

There is the same thing in slavery: a contract for 6 years. You were obliged to give a slave the opportunity to marry, a bondwomen, to get married. And if you used her as a concubine, you had to take her as a wife, buy her clothes and jewelry, which means, give her a completely different status.

This is completely different from the system that other nations had. Therefore, today it still exists in the blood.

And now we are already at a stage where we have to understand that there is nothing valuable, nothing to save, nothing to store, nothing to buy, nothing to stock up on. The world will turn over anyway, and the earth will swallow everything up.
[296969]
From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Who Has Longer” 11/3/09

Related Material:
A Different Approach To Life
Give Your Pillow To Your Slave
Modern Slavery

Filed under: Israel, Nations of the World, Q&A | Add Comment / Ask Question →