Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is this pandemic ever going to end?“

We are in a struggle with nature.

We are discordant with the laws of nature, which are fundamentally laws of interconnection and interdependence. At the base of these laws is a single force that develops everyone and everything to increasingly connected states.

We, however, disregard nature’s tendency to connect us.

We currently see no need to unite above our differences. There are absolutely no efforts to come together and build systems that would benefit humanity collectively: systems that would guide us to positively connect upon our divisive drives, and lead us to balance with nature.

Instead, we tear nature and human society apart, living in a constant struggle between different parts of human society and nature. Accordingly, by tearing nature to shreds, we receive negative feedback from it. This negative feedback takes the forms of natural calamities of all kinds, from earthquakes and tsunamis through to pandemics.

Such outbursts are due to our imbalance with nature. Instead of applying ourselves to come together and achieve a higher sense of complementarity and cooperation, we instead become increasingly disparate from one another.

The more we head in an opposite direction to the increasing interconnection and interdependence that nature guides us to, the more we will receive negative feedback from nature. Although it might seem like punishment, it is not punishment at all. Nature’s blows are rather forces that aim to awaken us to correct our inclination: to align ourselves to better connect with each other in order to become balanced with nature, and by doing so, feel ourselves enter a whole new peaceful and harmonious world.

Instead of using these blows effectively, as reminders and impetus to better connect, to become more balanced, and to build a more supportive and encouraging society, we continue our lives in the dark, with no motion to build systems of positive connection above the growing divisive drives. Likewise, we can expect to receive more and more negative feedback from nature until we wake up to the need to correct our flawed modus operandi.

In the past, we also encountered several atrocities, but we were less developed and didn’t feel them as feedback to our actions. However, in our times, we are increasingly receiving terrible blows—on the still, vegetative, animate and human levels—that will lead to a point where they will endanger our very existence on this planet.

I thus stated at the start of the coronavirus pandemic that it would not go away. On the contrary, the pandemic will worsen and possibly evolve into greater crises until we wake up and draw the right conclusions.

Based on “Writers Meeting” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and a team of writers on November 28, 2021. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Question: Once we lived normally, we made plans, plans for five-years, ten-years, and so on. Man had a future. Today is a time of stress, anxiety, depression, and fear for the future. And what is striking is that humanity is getting used to living in fear, knowing that there will be wars, global warming, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, and viruses. Do we need to get used to this state, this is how we will live?

Answer: The human body has a so-called defense reaction. The defensive reaction of our nature, egoism, cannot be stressed all the time, in constant worry, and so on. One is obliged to somehow push off any negative emotion, neutralize it, or even turn it into something else. If there is absolutely nothing, I die and after that I will have a paradise, a future world. It was not in vain that I suffered and so on.

Question: So this is a kind of micro-sedation?

Answer: Of course. If it were not for such a character trait, such an opportunity for a person, then people would commit suicide, having previously invented that after this, paradise awaits them.

Question: Still, there is that the future does not prepare us for anything particularly bright, but we are looking for little bright spots in all this future darkness?

Answer: The future prepares for us what we prepare in the future.

Question: So you say that we ourselves are winding up this future of ours?

Answer: Only you, yourself.

Question: Then tell me, how can we live with this? Can we build a bright future now, and it will be bright?

Answer: If you yourself do not invent your own plans, which were very attractive once, and many people naively believed that this was possible. What I come up with will be.

Question: How should one live? How can we build a different future? What other future?

Answer: Only in accordance with the strict laws of nature. These laws are correct, logical, and ready for execution.

And they will come true, and it will be better for us if we recognize them, and in accordance with them we will build our present. This is what the science of Kabbalah is doing. It talks about all the forces, all the laws of nature, reduces them to a minimum and explains to us what needs to be done in order to influence the future toward its optimization and improvement.

Question: How can I know what nature is preparing for me, what it is leading me to?

Answer: Nature leads you to realize what opportunities you have to change the future and achieve it. It depends on the participation of any person in this future.

Question: What are my options? What should I do?

Answer: You should want to know about your influence on your future. We need to build it up, create it. It is as you make it. You are told the laws of nature, and you must assemble your future from them, like from a construction toy.

Question: What is the basic law of nature?

Answer: The basic law of nature is man coinciding with the law of nature. I don’t twist. The law of nature is the law of universal bestowal and love, universal unification, universal complementarity to each other until an ideal picture of the world system appears before us.

Question: Only toward this should I go?

Answer: Yes. And nothing more.

Question: So I should not fight with anything?

Answer: Fight only in order to fulfill this law.

Question: Who is this struggle with?

Answer: It is fighting with yourself, of course. Only. So there is nothing to blame in the mirror. This is how we must work, and then what we do is what we get.

Question: That is, if everyone is directed at themselves, and not at the other, then will we turn this picture of the future?

Answer: As much as we wish. We will do as much as we want.
[290106]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/18/21

Related Material:
What Determines The Future Of A Person?
The Future Already Exists
The Only Factor That Determines Our Future

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

Question: What is a city wall that protects a city?

Answer: These are intentions of people that they surround themselves with in order to unite within these intentions and hold on to the upper force.

Comment: But we are talking about cities in which seven nations lived.

My Response: It doesn’t matter. All the same, they and even the sinful cities also held on to the upper force. All these properties felt the need for the upper force.

Question: If we say that such desires as “sinful cities” exist in us, then are they the ones surrounded by the city wall?

Answer: Yes. But you want to control them. You do not fully relate to the Creator and do not completely place yourself in His hands. Therefore, these cities are sinful.

However, this does not mean that they are all that bad. We are far from them. To reveal the “city of the sinner” in us is a great height. So it is said that all sinners in the Torah are great personalities.
[289794]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/13/21

Related Material:
Cry-Out From The Depths Of The Soul
The Siege Upon Egoism
How To Interpret Numbers In The Torah?

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

Question: What does it mean to “rend one’s garments”?

Answer: This is a sign of sorrow. Garment means a screen, covering. This is a correction. However, if this correction turns out to be insufficient, incorrect, or bad, then it is as if it were torn apart.

Or, on the contrary, when a loved one dies, we rend our garments. This is a symbol that the force that was with us while he existed has disappeared somewhere.
[290339]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/27/21

Related Material:
Spiritual Attire
Clothes For The Newborn In The Spiritual World
The King’s Clothing

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

Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #79 “Atzilut and BYA“

Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #73 “After the Tzimtzum“

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”

Selected Highlights

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson | 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 →

The things happening in the world will obligate us to restructure #society and the #economy. Otherwise we will be obliterated. We should see the things that are happening as a challenge from the Creator, and the need to provide an answer—by changing every person and society as a whole, towards #unity. But for now, everything is moving backwards…
#Sustainability

From Twitter, 12/5/21

Related Material:
My Thoughts On Twitter 12/4/21
My Thoughts On Twitter 12/2/21
My Thoughts On Twitter 11/18/21

Filed under: Thoughts on Twitter | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: In Kabbalah, the most fundamental spiritual state is restriction. What is a restriction? What are we restricting?

Answer: We restrict using our ego to the point where we can begin using it in the direction of bestowal and connection rather than in the direction of rejection and reception.

Egoism is our nature. If we want to begin sensing the spiritual world, meaning, what is not clothed in inanimate, vegetative, and animate matter, but seemingly beyond it, then we need to reorient ourselves and change the direction of using our qualities from reception to bestowal.

Question: Does this apply to all kinds of desires, particularly the basic ones: food, sex, and family?

Answer: A person must reach a state where he uses all his desires, both the basic and the rest of them, not for self-enjoyment. If these desires are necessary for our existence, which is called “neither praised nor condemned, “then we can use them.

The truth is the restriction is placed on the intention. Therefore, I can use everything necessary for the functioning of my body, there are no restrictions on this. It will not hinder your entrance into the upper world.
[290095]
From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 11/16/21

Related Material:
The Basis For Spiritual Work
The Vessel Of Intention
Living In Intention Instead Of Desire

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

At our stage of development as a human race, nature expects us to unite so that we realize, at least for our egoistic benefit, we are on the same planet, frantically rushing somewhere in a huge space, and are dependent on each other. There is no one else to help us, we have to organize our own life on this earth.

This is our home, a small village. And if we do not establish this life so that all the inhabitants of the globe can live in peace in a kind world and if we do not care for our planet, we will not be able to survive on it.

This is a problem because nature’s program will not allow us to try again, start over, and correct our mistakes. We are always obliged to move forward according to the program of nature, which in the course of our development will require us to comply more strictly with the laws of connection, in increasingly multi-faceted, high-quality communication.

We will have to meet these requirements. As long as we do not deviate very much from the form laid down for our level of development, nature forgives our mistakes. But if we strongly violate it, we get blows from nature: drought, volcanic eruptions, etc. If our separation crosses all boundaries, then nature reacts with a global pandemic.

And of course, this latest “omicron” virus is just one link in a long chain. There are ranks behind it, a whole army of such negative impacts on man and human society that we will not be able to survive. Nature will beat us until there is a small handful of people left on earth who will understand that there is no way out and who will build the right relationships among themselves.

Each new wave of the pandemic is perceived as an unpleasant surprise. It seemed to us that the virus was almost defeated, and suddenly it hits us even harder. But why did everyone think that the virus would disappear? After all, it came with a specific purpose to shake us up and help us understand that we lack unity.

And if we are working on mutual, friendly connection, we can fix the situation with this. Only this is the real medicine. And if we have not done anything in this direction, then, as is usually the case with a neglected disease, more severe conditions are revealed. If the patient does not receive the right medicine, then the disease progresses, it will not go away by itself.

The disease goes into a chronic stage, and it seems to us that it is over. But no, this is only a leap to an even more serious level of the disease.

The same story begins again: quarantine restrictions, fears, new vaccinations. After all, we have not learned anything during the two years of the epidemic and have not understood the main thing: for what purpose did the coronavirus come to us and what we should oppose it with (besides medical treatment and everything else).

The virus requires us to come closer and unite. It came as an invitation to connect to one system. The virus hit everyone; we were obliged to help our neighbors, which would have eliminated the epidemic. The virus invited everyone to take care of everyone. But did we do it?

We put masks on everyone and dispersed to a safe distance, which was also good. Although it is against connection, it is also against our egoism if we physically distance ourselves from each other. If everyone has a negative desire for the other, then the further we are from each other, the more isolated, the better. This calms the situation, which is confirmed by tests.

But still this is not a solution. Nature obliges us to find a real solution. But we were not looking for it, but only veiled our egoism with masks.
[290490]
From KabTV’s “Conversation with Journalists” 11/28/21

Related Material:
Nature Speaks To Us Through The Coronavirus
Listen To What I, Nature, Am Telling You!
Where Is Salvation From The Coronavirus?

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

My new article on Linkedin “Jewish Unity – OK; Responsibility – No Way!”

An email I received regarding one of my op-ed columns on Times of Israel read as follows: “I think you are 100% correct that the biggest problem Jews face is their constant infighting and lack of unity. HOWEVER [caps in the source], I think you are making a very serious mistake when you end up, in fact, blaming the Jews for all the world problems including antisemitism.” I understand where this view is coming from, and I think this email merits an appropriate reply.

First, the idea that Israel are responsible for their fate, for better or worse, is not mine at all. It has been the view of our sages and spiritual leaders throughout the ages. It is actually the idea that the nations that afflict us are blameworthy that is quite recent. If you read the Talmud, Midrash, The Book of Zohar, and countless other authentic Jewish texts, you will find very few statements (if any) that place the blame on foreign kings and nations.

Below are a few notable examples of our sages placing the responsibility for our woes with us rather than with our enemies. These quotes only scratch the surface of what actually exists, but there is a word limit to newspaper columns. For more information, as well as ideas on how to foster unity, I recommend reading my books The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism and Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour.

We attribute our woes in Egypt to evil Pharaoh. Yet, we conveniently ignore the words of our sages on this matter. Midrash Rabbah (Shemot 1:8) writes, “When Joseph died, they broke the covenant and said, ‘Let us be as the Egyptians.’ …Because of it, the Lord turned the love that the Egyptians loved them into hatred.” In other words, Pharaoh and the Egyptians did not turn against Israel because Joseph died, but because after his death, the Jews wanted to abandon the unity they had obtained under him and disperse among the Egyptians. This brought upon them the hatred of the Egyptians.

Here is another example from later in our history: In the days of the First Temple, Nebuchadnezzar II conquered the land of Israel and destroyed the Temple only after Jews became spiteful toward each other, slandered each other, shed blood, and “stabbed each other with the daggers in their mouths” (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 9b).

The page just mentioned in Masechet Yoma (9b) also mentions the reason for the ruin of the Second Temple. In simple words it states, “The Second Temple … why was it ruined? It was because there was unfounded hatred in it.” Elsewhere, the Talmud writes (Yevamot 63a), “No calamity comes to the world but for Israel.”

In one of the most scathing texts ever written about Israel’s obligation to the world, The Book of Zohar details what happens to the world when Israel shun their obligation to set an example of unity to the world. In the part known as Tikkunei HaZohar (Corrections of The Zohar), correction no. 30 is probably the harshest: “Woe unto them,” the disunited Israel, “for they cause poverty and ruin, looting and killing, and destruction in the world. Woe unto them, for with these actions, they bring about the existence of poverty, ruin, and robbery, looting, killing, and destructions in the world.”

On a more positive note, here is what happens when Jews unite. During the period of the Second Temple, when Jews were united, the nations would “go up to Jerusalem and see Israel … and say, ‘It is becoming to cling only to this nation,’” writes the book Sifrey Devarim (354).

More recently, the book Maor VaShemesh writes, “The prime defense against calamity is love and unity. When there are love, unity, and friendship between each other in Israel, no calamity can come over them. … [If] there is bonding among them, and no separation of hearts, they have peace and quiet … and all the curses and suffering are removed by that [unity].” Similarly, the book Maor Eynaim stresses, “When one incorporates oneself with all of Israel and unity is made … at that time, no harm shall come to you,” and the book Shem MiShmuel adds, “When [Israel] are as one man with one heart, they are as a fortified wall against the forces of evil.”

The last example I would like to share is an inspiring quote of one of Israel’s greatest contemporary sages, Rav Kook. In his book Orot HaKodesh, which contains assorted writings penned at different times after World War I, Rav Kook writes, “Since we were ruined by unfounded hatred, and the world was ruined with us, we will be rebuilt by unfounded love, and the world will be rebuilt with us.”

I hope now it is a little clearer why I place the responsibility for our future on our laps, and stress that we can determine our fate through our choice between unity and division. I hope you read my books and appreciate the historic examples contained in it, but most of all, I hope we all unite and put an end to the troubles of our tormented nation, and the troubles of our tormented world.
[290622]

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, New Publications | Add Comment / Ask Question →