My new article on Linkedin “Time for Some Sobriety”

I received an email from a concerned mother who wrote the following, “Today, grownups, too, are insecure and fearful. How can we raise children to be confident? What can we rely on? Laws are broken, basic morals don’t exist, lies, pornography, and filth are everywhere, and everyone is angry and tormented by life.”

She is right, everything is corrupt today, morals do not exist, and pornography, filth, and lies are our daily reality. What she does not realize is that there have never been better times. We have always been corrupt; it is just much more overt today.

It may be frightening to watch, but the sobriety we must endure is an opportunity to break through the smog that has blinded us and clogged our hearts and minds. Now we can finally open ourselves to the true solution to all our problems.

Only when we feel we have no choice but to change will we agree to take the necessary steps. In the case of today’s societal depravity, the only solution is education toward consideration and mutual responsibility. It may seem impossible, but neither is persisting in the present situation, which is only getting worse, so we seem to have no other choice.

It must not be compulsory education, such as was practiced in Communist Russia. Education toward kindness and consideration must come from the realization that we have no other choice if we want a functioning society.

The first step in changing society for the better is the realization by a critical mass of people that the current situation cannot continue as it is. After that, people will become more attentive to a message of mutual consideration, kindness, and other ideas that require thinking positively about others.

Also, it is imperative that the process takes place on a social level and not on a personal level. One person alone cannot change one’s behavior for the better if the social environment is negative. But if an entire community decides to change, nothing will stop it.

There is no question that everyone will eventually realize that we need to change ourselves to improve the situation. The only question is how long it will take us to realize that we cannot help but work on ourselves. It may take a long time, with many hardships along the way, or it may be very quick if we realize that we cannot improve our lives unless we improve ourselves.

An educational process does not mean sitting in a class in front of a teacher or anything like that. “Education” means learning about human nature, about the interconnectedness of the world, and about how we all affect one another. As a result, we will realize that we should be careful not to harm one another because when we harm others, we harm ourselves. It is a learning process, but it should come alongside living our lives and changing as we go, gradually and mutually improving our relation toward others.

The first step toward a positive change, therefore, is awareness of our situation. The next step is to develop mutual consideration and finally mutual care for one another.
[290196]

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

My new article on Linkedin “Hanukkah Celebrates a Victory of a Civil War; Can There Be Another Today?”

Next week we will celebrate Hanukkah, the festival that celebrates the victory of the Jews over the Greeks. This is the story that we tell ourselves each year. It is not the truth. The truth is that the Greeks (actually, the Seleucid Empire) entered the war much later, when their allies, the Jewish Hellenists, were defeated by the Hasmoneans, who were fighting to keep the nation united. The Hellenists pleaded with their patron for help, but to no avail. The Hellenists lost, Jerusalem was liberated, and the Seleucid Empire left Judah in peace.

It is important to remember, however, that the rivals were both Jews and the war was mainly between them.

Just over two centuries later, Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were exiled from Judah. We like to tell ourselves that it was the Romans who destroyed the city and murdered the Jews, but again, that is not the case. The Romans killed many Jews, but not nearly as many and not nearly as savagely as the Jews killed each other. The war against the Romans was really another civil war, but it had disastrous consequences because the splintered nation had depleted its strength by fighting one another.

Today, people ask if a third civil war is possible in Israel. Most of them believe it cannot happen since we must have learned from our tragic past. I, for one, think we have not learned a thing. This is why I think another civil war in Israel is not unlikely.

We are more fractured today than at any time in history. We are divided between secular and religious, Left and Right, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, haves and have nots, and each election, we have dozens of parties vying for seats at the Knesset (Israeli parliament) to prove it.

In addition, we are surrounded by enemies who want to see the end of the Jewish state, and we are divided in our attitude toward them. For their part, our enemies are trying their best to divide us even more.

If this continues, it will not be long before we see the end of the Jewish state. Jews will happily immigrate from Israel and the Arabs will take over the country.

If we want to prevent another meltdown of a Jewish state, we need to start doing what we were meant to do in the first place: unite above our divisions.

We were not meant to love each other from the start. We could not. After all, our ancestors came from numerous tribes that were often sworn enemies, yet they formed a nation by embracing an ideology that hatred must not dictate our actions, that we must rise above it and forge bonds that are stronger than hate.

King Solomon, whose wisdom is celebrated to this day, said, “Hate stirs strife, and love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 10:12). This mode of work should have guided us in building the society in contemporary Israel, as well. Regrettably, we have allowed hate to take the driver’s seat. Is it any wonder that we are headed for an accident?

If we want Israel to exist, we must unite above all differences and declare that this is our calling – to be a beacon of unity for the world to see. Our only justification for being here, and our only source of strength, is our unity.

For more on the importance of Jewish unity, see my book The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism.
[290233]

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

Question: The Torah and other sources use the word “stone” very often: stones taken from the River Jordan, stones from which the altar is built, stones placed on graves. What is it about?

Answer: Stones are unchanging objects of nature. A stone is considered something that does not change, something that is unshakable.

From the perspective of Kabbalah, stones are parts of Malchut that a person works with; he either builds buildings with them, shoots them from a sling, and so on.

Comment: It is written in the Torah that the Creator threw stones at their enemies and thereby helped the Israelites. You explained it as a burdening of desires.

My Response: This is also true. However, a stone itself is something unshakable, a part of Malchut.

Stone (Even) comes from the word “Havana,” understanding. If we are talking about the part of Malchut ascending to Bina, then we are talking about understanding when we already realize which part it is.

But if we are talking about burdening, then by stone we mean addition of desires, addition of egoism.
[289941]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/20/21

Related Material:
Altar Of Whole Stones
Under A Hail Of Stones
Turn A Stony Heart Into A Live One

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

Comment: The head and heart of a person who is seriously engaged in business are completely there. Practice shows that such people included in our community do not give themselves completely to the spiritual idea. They still have material interests and needs.

My Response: It’s just their job. There are solid businessmen in our community who have been devoted to the group for many, many years. I don’t see how they can leave their jobs. They will not live on a lower salary, they have a certain standard.

There are certain conditions for each person. Therefore, it is considered normal for him to maintain the level at which he lives.
In the Talmud there is a story about Rabbi Akiva and his rich friend. Usually the rich man moved in a palanquin, in front of which people ran, clearing the way for him.

And when he went bankrupt and started walking, it became a terrible state for him. Therefore, Rabbi Akiva specifically hired people to run ahead of him. But when Rabbi Akiva did not have the money to hire people, he himself ran ahead of his friend, clearing the way for him.

Of course, this example should be understood much more deeply. But, in principle, we can conclude from it that a person should be treated according to the level that he considers normal for himself.
[289876]
From KabTV’s “Through Time”

Related Material:
Tested By Wealth
And The Rich Will Weep
Cyber Monday

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

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can we cross the barrier between this world and the spiritual world?“

To cross the barrier that separates our corporeal world from the spiritual world means to feel the reality within, and it is done by developing our desire for spirituality to a point where it is ready to resemble a certain portion of the spiritual world.

Our desire for spirituality, which is called the “point in the heart” in the wisdom of Kabbalah, emerges in our lives when we are ready to shift beyond corporeal fulfillment of food, sex, family, money, honor, control and knowledge, and embark on a spiritual path.

Such a desire becomes characterized by us questioning the meaning and purpose of our lives, when we feel an underlying dissatisfaction in our daily lives, and long for a certain “something else” that we cannot yet pinpoint.

Depending on the intensity of this sensation, we seek through various environments, such as books, teachers and groups, until we eventually come across the wisdom of Kabbalah. The wisdom of Kabbalah was created as a method specifically for answering our existential questions by guiding us to a clear perception and sensation to the purpose of our lives.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the purpose of our lives is to attain the higher reality. The higher reality has several names, including the “spiritual world,” and it is characterized by a quality of bestowal, love and connection.

The more we apply ourselves to the method of Kabbalah, the more we develop our spiritual desire until it eventually gains the minimum “volume” necessary in order to resemble and enter the spiritual world. This minimum “volume” for crossing the barrier between our world into the spiritual world is called “the ten Sefirot.”

In the ten Sefirot, we start perceiving and sensing the higher reality. We feel how the quality of bestowal, love and connection, also called “the light,” enters and exits us, bringing about various sensations.

It starts with small changes in our perception as we start sensing and relating to the causal level of reality. We then start seeing our world amid a backdrop of a much vaster and more complete spiritual world.

By crossing the barrier into the spiritual world, while living in this world, we understand and feel the connection between the two worlds as causal and consequential levels of reality. These two levels of reality are called “root and branch” in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

During our application of the method of Kabbalah, we attract the light from the higher spiritual world to ourselves, and it repeatedly enters and exits our desire for spirituality, giving us the sensation of what is known in the method as “ascents and descents,” i.e. closeness and remoteness from the spiritual world. Before we cross the barrier between our world and the spiritual world, we feel these sensations in a relatively unclear way, similar to how a newborn baby experiences our world, yet without knowing clearly what is going on.

For instance, if the baby is in a room where the light is turned on and then turned off again, it does not know how to define that phenomenon as light turning on and off, but the baby nonetheless experiences the phenomenon. Likewise, as we apply the method of Kabbalah and enter the process of drawing the light from the spiritual world closer to ourselves, then that entrance and exit of the light provides us with a sensation of the spiritual world (as the light enters) and our world as its mere imprint (as the light exits).

In later stages of development, we start orienting ourselves in this light more optimally to the extent of our abilities, and we develop qualities that resemble the light more and more, entering into increasing balance and harmony with the spiritual world. Such a process continues until we eventually reach the completion of our soul, a state of eternity and perfection.

Based on “Ask the Kabbalist” episode 7 with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Joseph (Asaf) Ohayon. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Question: Is a Kabbalist a better judge of character than a psychologist?

Answer: A Kabbalist understands the essence of people better than a psychologist. But on the other hand, it is possible that a psychologist can solve a person’s small specific problems better than a Kabbalist.

Question: In what cases would you recommend applying to a psychologist?

Answer: I would recommend applying to a psychologist to any person who does not study Kabbalah if he feels any difficulties in communicating with others or, maybe, in understanding himself.

But people who feel that they need to find out what they exist for, what purpose they need to achieve, already need a Kabbalist teacher.

Question: How can one figure out where psychology ends and Kabbalah begins?

Answer: If a person lives within the framework of our world, can cope with it, and is satisfied, then he does not need Kabbalah; psychology is enough for him.

But if he understands that without attaining and understanding the inner forces, those of his own and of the surrounding world, he cannot develop correctly, it attracts him, and he is hindered by the lack of knowledge about the internal mechanism of humanity, then he already needs the science of Kabbalah.
[289509]
From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/15/21

Related Material:
The Sphere Of Kabbalah And The Sphere Of Psychology
Kabbalah And Jungian Psychology
Philosophy And Kabbalah

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

Question: How should we organize the work of people responsible for integral education?

Answer: It should be mutual work where everyone is an expert in his own business but all are tied in one team. How? As far as I bend to my friends, in this I am great, despite all my personal searches. The unification should be just above this.

But in our business it happens that a person suddenly falls, for a day, for two, etc. He is unable to speak, he has inner experiences, and his spiritual muse disappears somewhere. Here you need to come to the rescue, look for a temporary replacement.

Question: How can you convey to people with structured thinking, who do not have endless torment and  doubts that these are just properties that can also be useful?

Answer: Do you really think that when I go out to class every day, I have no inner searches, worries, assents and dissents? But my students don’t see it! You can never tell by looking at me what my inner state is like. And, believe me, it is thousands of times more complicated than yours.

You have to own it. At first it is very difficult and may even become an excuse to say: “I cannot do anything now,” they will understand you. But it shouldn’t go into the system. Then it will be easier.
[289914]
From KabTV’s “Through Time”

Related Material:
The Cure For The World Is In Integral Education
Through Integral Upbringing To Mutual Guarantee
Humanity As An Integral System

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

Question: What should a person learn from understanding two terms: “existence from existence” and “existence from absence”?

Answer: Existence from absence means that before that there was nothing that could be pointed out as existing. And what exists is matter, desire, which arose out of nothing.

By our efforts, we must create such conditions that this matter (our egoism) is transformed from receiving into altruism. In this way, we, as if, correct our nature, which the Creator deliberately broke.

We are special creations of the Creator, consisting of an egoistic essence that does not exist in any kind of nature except man. It is due to the fact that egoism is in us that we can change it to the quality of bestowal and love, as if turning it inside out.

And then we will get beings similar to the Creator instead of ourselves.
[289767]
From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/19/21

Related Material:
All Of Creation Is The Creator’s Game
This Life Is For Creation And The Creator To Meet
Two Sides Of The Thought Of Creation

Filed under: Kabbalah Study, 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 →

From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 25/11/21

Sometimes I feel that we will never learn to sympathize or care. Instead of feeling compassion, we will become so alienated that we will destroy ourselves one person at a time until we’re all gone.

If we consider our true nature, this is what is supposed to happen. When I think about it, I become so pessimistic that I think it would be best to convene the plenary of the United (and pathetic) Nations and agree to all push the red button at the same time and blow it all away once and for all. At the very least, we would clean the earth of humans.

If you look at the world, you see everyone—politicians, scientists, money moguls—working toward a single goal: to destroy others and not be destroyed themselves. There is no cure for our disease because we ourselves are the pathogen. Humanity is sick because we are sick in spirit. When our minds are evil, everything we do, say, or think is evil, and so is the world we have created. When I’m in such moods, I just want to fall asleep, forget about everything, and never wake up.

At the same time, I have no choice but to keep doing what I feel is my assignment, my task—to tell the world that there is a completely different way. I feel that I must make people aware that suffering is not mandatory. We can exist in a completely different way and be in a completely different state than where we are today.
We must remember that nature consists of opposites. If there is black, there is white; if there is darkness, there is light; and if there is absolute evil, and there is, then there is absolute good.

And so, for all the pessimism I sometimes feel, I know that after the darkness we are in, the light will come. We will become the opposite of who we are today.

If we are not aware that the opposite of darkness exists, it will take longer to find it. It will come one way or another, but our sages tell us that we do not have to sink all the way to the bottom to get all the way to the top if we make a concerted effort to get there sooner. We just need to recognize the evil in our nature and toil and pray to become the opposite: absolutely loving and absolutely loved.

Image Caption:A cat runs past burning barricades during a metalworkers’ strike in Puerto Real, near Cadiz, Spain, November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

Filed under: Crisis, Facebook | Add Comment / Ask Question →