Preparation to the Lesson
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 9
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Lesson on the Topic: “Faith Above Reason”
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 121
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Selected Highlights
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We must pull ourselves up from the earthly, egoistic level to the spiritual level—from the quality of reception to the quality of bestowal, from the intention to receive to the intention to bestow, from rejection of friends to connection with them, and thus organize an environment that will help us move forward.
It is impossible to achieve the quality of Bina, the quality of bestowal, the quality of the Creator, if we do not help each other. Therefore the most important thing is, once we determine our main direction, which is to achieve the quality of Bina, the quality of bestowal, the quality of faith above knowledge, above Malchut, we need to put Bina above Malchut, faith above knowledge, and strive for love and bestowal despite our original desire to receive and to care for ourselves alone.
Only in this way will we be able to rise to the next degree and keep moving from one degree to another each time.
And to fulfill the condition of adhesion to the quality of bestowal in faith above reason, i.e., to pull yourself up to the upper world, is only possible with the example and the help of the environment. After all if I have an appropriate environment that correctly values unification and yearns to rise above personal and collective egoism, then I can, within this environment just like inside a boat, direct myself to the quality of bestowal, the quality of the Creator.
The most important thing is to understand that one person cannot do anything here. It is impossible to fulfill the condition of “faith above knowledge,” that is, to ascend from Malchut to Bina, from receiving to bestowal, without the support and example of the group.
I cannot care for myself spiritually because I am an egoist. But I can help my friends by giving them the importance of bestowal, the greatness of the Creator, and the greatness of unity. Moreover, it is easier for me to do this with respect to my friends than with respect to myself since, when speaking about the quality of bestowal, I direct it, as it were, not at myself, not at my egoism.
We exist in a broken vessel, in broken desires, but there are many of us and therefore we can help each other. Even egoistically we can show our friends various altruistic examples and thus gradually convince each other that giving and uniting is good.
There is one very interesting factor here. Although I hear a lot of contrasting, undesirable notions from the environment, the fact that the environment is large allows me to gradually become imbued with their greatness, with their correctness. They act on me because this is the law of our collective desire (Kli, vessel).
If I am in it, the environment acts on me. Whatever it may be, it fills me with its notions. I will gradually accept them because I am a product of this environment.
I can encourage my friends, help them rise above themselves, and they can do the same. This is the law of mutual guarantee; even though we are all egoists and there are no inklings for spiritual actions in us, if we work correctly together, if we encourage each other, if we seemingly show an example of how good it is to be united, and if we help one another rise in faith above knowledge, then it will definitely influence each one of us.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/9/22, “Working in Mutual Responsibility” Lesson 6
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Question: What is complete annulment of myself?
Answer: Complete annulment is when I annul my worries, thoughts, and intentions about myself and aim all my qualities, feelings, and forces to the connection with my friends. In this way, I bring all of us closer to the state where the upper force can be revealed.
Question: What should we not annul?
Answer: We should not annul our egoism. I just have to work on it and never hate it so much that I want to destroy it. I must hate the ego so that I rise above it, but at the same time I must appreciate it because I can rise thanks to it.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1
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Question: What makes me keep my union with the Creator? Suppose I have reached contact with Him, but at the next level a new layer of egoism appears that is added to me. How can I comply with this agreement?
Answer: You keep these terms by trying to rise even higher. It’s impossible to stop in place. This is not a contract that we make on the earthly level.
As soon as you correct some part of your egoism, an even greater egoism appears that you must in turn correct again for bestowal, connection, and love. Therefore new egoistic properties, desires, thoughts, and qualities constantly arise in you. And you must transform them into use for bestowal, love and connection.
Question: In principle, am I required to comply with this agreement only at the level at which I entered into it?
Answer: Of course. At each level, you prove yourself that you have fulfilled the conditions of similarity to the Creator, and you go to the next level, to greater egoism, in order to achieve greater similarity to Him. And then on to the next level, and so on. All contracts are included in this. That’s how you have to ascend.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 12/28/21
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Rabash, “Article 17”: However, it is impossible to receive the influence of the society if he is not attached to the society, meaning if he does not appreciate them. To the extent that he does, he can receive from them the influence without any work, simply by adhering to the society.
This means without any effort. I do not need to make an effort that I am not able to do. I need to make the efforts on which my attitude to the group depends. Our ascent happens only to the extent of our connection in the group. And the connection depends on the greatness of the group.
To the extent of my appreciation and my submission to the friends, to the extent of my connection with them, I enter the spiritual world, spiritual qualities. As much as I annul my egoism and tie my friends to me, I become similar to the Creator and everything opens up to me. That is how it is on every degree.
This is how we have to work on ourselves: connection with the group, connection with the Creator. Because the connection with the group is the building of a Kli (vessel) and the connection with the Creator is the filling of this Kli with light. And we move on! On the next degree, the same thing happens: connection with the group, connection with the Creator, and we move on! And this is how we advance all the time.
Question: Is the measure we see our friends greater than ourselves necessary to make our ego suffer? Do we need to continue more and more so that this pain intensifies until we reveal the Creator?
Answer: You have to accustom yourself to the idea that this should not cause you suffering, but, on the contrary, gratitude to the Creator for doing this to you and you can ask Him, for the fact that you have a direct degree here, by which you can rise.
To the extent that you come closer to the group, you come closer to the Creator. To the extent that you lower yourself, you can come closer to them. Here you have to pray and ask the Creator to raise their importance in your eyes, and then it will not be difficult for you anymore.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3
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My new article on Linkedin “Respect the Venom ”
Many toxic events have been happening in the world recently: Extreme weather events, intensifying political tensions, soaring inflation, revolutions and coups, not to mention new strains every other day. As countries fall apart and nations implode, relationships that were the foundation of society no longer hold, as well, as even the structure of the family is being erased. It seems as though people are treating each other with spite and venom.
However, venom does not have to be harmful. There is a good reason that the symbol of medicine features two snakes coiled around a staff. When used wisely, the venom itself becomes the remedy, the antidote for the poison.
We can turn venom into medicine by processing it correctly. We need to adjust the amount and administer only what the body can tolerate, and as a result, we grow stronger.
Therefore, when venom appears between people, we should not be alarmed. We should process it correctly and turn it into a remedy. Were it not for the venom between people, we would not know that our society is ill and needs our attention. Now that we are aware of it, we can begin to take the venom one drop at a time and use it to heal ourselves and our society.
Each drop of venom is a drop of hatred that we feel for one another. When we acknowledge it and acknowledge its toxicity to society, we can rise above it and by strengthening the bonds of mutual concern between us. In this way, the venom makes us stronger rather than sicker.
The human ego is the snake within us. It is ever growing, becoming increasingly cunning and insidious. The bad thoughts about others it instills in us are the venom we must turn into a medicine. We take tiny doses of it and build closeness with others on top of our aversion.
We therefore see that the purpose of the venom is to build love between us. Without the hostility, we would not need to strengthen our relationships, to deepen them and tighten them until they become love.
A mother’s love for her child is natural, but we do not feel this way toward people who are not family. Therefore, the way to develop this feeling is to feel the need for it, to create an impetus that will make us work on building closeness and affection. The only incentive that will make us work on developing love is the revelation of our mutual dislike. This is why the venom is essential for building love, why it is the remedy.
Indeed, we must respect the venom of our egoism and hatred toward others. But while we respect it, we must use it to build a layer of love over each and every drop of ego that appears between us.
Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “World’s Misconception about Jews, and the Jews’ Misconception about Antisemitism”
Not long ago, The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed by Conrad Myrland, CEO of a pro-Israel group in Norway. In the column, Myrland referenced a survey by the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority, which stated that “32% of Norwegians think it is correct or somewhat correct that Israel treats the Palestinians as badly as the Jews were treated during World War II.” To Israelis, this sounds horrific. We, who live here, know how far this view is from the truth. But to many people around the world, not only to Norwegians, it seems perfectly reasonable. I cannot blame them for thinking this. Antisemitism will not pass until we make it pass by carrying out our obligation to bring unity and brotherhood to the world.
Norwegians, like many others around the world, cannot sense, much less sympathize with what the Nazis did to the Jews. Being antisemitic, they exploit every opportunity to slander Israel.
We need to understand that antisemitism is far from over. The misconceptions instilled in Norway’s youth today will create tomorrow’s Nazis, at least in terms of how they will treat Jews.
The struggle against antisemitism does not end. It needs to be tackled every single generation.
However, it is important to realize that tackling antisemitism means far more than forbidding antisemitic displays. Censorship is like aspirin to cancer; it may relieve the pain for a while but it will not cure it. Focusing the struggle only on curbing antisemitic displays is a strategic mistake and a lost cause regardless of the budgets we will pour into it.
The only way that we can mitigate, and even dissolve antisemitism is if we begin to take our obligation to the world seriously. We need to realize that the only reason we exist is to be a model society.
We were created as a nation that is held by unity, and whose nationhood depends on the level of its unity. All other nations have natural affiliation among their members, but the builders of our nation came from different tribes at different times, and the only thing that held them together was the idea that unity and love of others should transcend all divisions and hatred, even among rival nations. This is why we were tasked with being a model nation, to show humanity how to create unity even in the absence of natural, biological affinity.
Accordingly, when we mistreat each other, the world blames us of mistreating others not because we treat others the way the Nazis treated us, but because we are denying it the example we owe it. It may be counterintuitive but when we are kind to one another, the world is kind to us; and when we are cruel to one another, the world is cruel to us.
The numbers speak for themselves: If you look at condemnations that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has issued, it is apparent that the world’s most tyrannical regimes get away with very little criticism, while Israel is constantly reproved. Between 2015-2021, for example, the UNGA issued 121 critical resolutions against Israel compared to 45 such resolutions against all other countries combined. Clearly, Norwegians are not alone in their critical stance on Israel. The world agrees with them.
If we are serious about “combatting” antisemitism, we have to combat the division within us. Unless we begin to strive to unite above the hatred and contempt we feel for one another, no efforts to lessen the world’s hatred toward us will succeed. Israel’s future depends not on its policy toward other nations or its efforts to explain its position to the world. It depends only on how Israelis treat each other, because when we deride each other, the world disdains us. When we support each other, the world approves of us.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the spiritual meaning of the color white?“
First, white is not a color because it does not absorb anything. A color absorbs something, but the concept of white is that it receives nothing from the outside.
Therefore, white is felt as nonexistent. White is seemingly transparent. It demands nothing, and it draws no attention to itself.
If we adjusted our attitudes to each other and to nature accordingly, i.e. with no demands to receive anything for ourselves, we would find ourselves living in a harmonious and peaceful world, free from the problems we encounter today.
In other words, when we do not want anything from nature on any of its levels—the still, vegetative, animate and human—and wish only for everyone’s benefit, then it means that we act like white.
What would sustain us in such a state? We would then find that we receive from everyone and nature exactly what we need in order to exist. We then use any surplus that we receive for the benefit of others and nature.
We then develop ourselves in our service to others, which is possible if society mutually operates according to such lines—where each member of society thinks about how to serve the others their respective needs.
That is the spiritual meaning of white. By contrast, the spiritual meaning of black is self-centeredness, to show us that by prioritizing self-benefit over benefiting others, we ruin our lives.
It is necessary to see the black part of our lives, because if we would not see it, then we would not want to turn it into white, i.e. we cannot rise above our self-centered nature into a new altruistic, harmonious and peaceful reality if we do not feel living in our self-centered nature as a major problem that requires correction.
Based on the video “What Is the Spiritual Meaning of White and Black?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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