From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 10/9/21

According to the newspaper Haaretz.com, “The world’s largest video game streaming site has drawn ire over a new Palestinian third-person shooter depicting the killing of Israeli soldiers.” The computer game, called “The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” is portrayed as “educational,” and the player’s only task is to kill as many Israeli soldiers as possible. The more soldiers you kill, the higher your score. Clearly, there can only be one result from “learning” through this game: the making of killing-intent children. I would be very upset about it if I didn’t know that it is actually we who are giving them the opportunity to think this way and design such games. We needn’t fight against the makers of the game, but uproot the thought of creating such games in the first place.
Tacitly, the world agrees with the Palestinians. The nations, too, want to eliminate the Israeli army, the Jewish state, and the Jews altogether. The only difference between the Palestinians and the rest of the world is that the rest of the world is not acting out its will, yet.

My words may sound harsh, or as if I’m trying to intimidate, but everyone knows they are the truth. Hatred for Israel will continue as long as the Israeli people are contemptuous of their duty to set an example of brotherhood and love of others. Until we demonstrate, through our own society, that “love your neighbor as yourself” is the rule that everyone must follow in order to have a good life and maintain a sustainable society, the hatred of the nations toward us will not subside.

It makes no difference that we are helping other countries or that we are contributing to science and medicine more than any other country. The only thing we need to do is show the world what love is, what is connection, through our own example. This is the essence of being “Israel.” Until we show them this, they will have no compassion for us. All they need from us is an example; they will do the rest.

If we set an example of brotherhood and love of others above all our differences and disagreements, they will love us. If we set the opposite example, as we do now, they will hate us, as they do today, and wish for our elimination.

You can find more on this topic in my book:
The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism

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A person on the spiritual path goes through great descents. And if he does not feel connected with the group, then he can leave this path. He makes great claims to the teacher, to his friends, to the whole world, and to the Creator, believing that he alone is right. But in fact, this egoism covers him.

He could get the strength from the group to overcome this state, but he does not want to, because he feels smarter and stronger than the rest. Pride decays a person to such an extent that he is buried under the thickness of his egoism and dies in the spiritual.

This happens to a lot of people, and they end up leaving. Perhaps they themselves do not realize what happened to them, but on the contrary, they consider themselves right and think that at last their eyes have opened. They regret having entered a society that does such unrealistic things.

In contrast, in all religions and beliefs, students idolize the teacher and the path itself. After all, there is no left line there, criticism is not permissible, there is no growth of egoism at every step. Whereas in the science of Kabbalah we advance on two legs, in two lines, as it is said: “And you will be like Gods who have known good and evil.”

Therefore, only in Kabbalah does it happen that a student disagrees with the teacher or even hates him, and rejects the Creator. After all, we are taught to ascend to similarity with the upper force that we need to comprehend and understand. And not everyone can do it.

It happens that a person is brought into a Kabbalistic group as if blown into it and he is completely unprepared for such work. For now, he is only interested in mysticism, but not in the science of Kabbalah, which leads to real understanding and comprehension of the upper force. Or he wants to be taught to perform some material actions and pray, and limit himself to this.

Among us there are such “random” people because the study is open to everyone. And therefore, sometimes, after a while, a person discovers that this does not suit him; he does not suit us, and we do not suit him.

And such a person leaves. Moreover, it does not depend on intelligence, he can be very smart. It all depends on the readiness of the heart, the maturity of the soul. If a person is ready to go against his egoism and rise above the two forces of nature, reception and bestowal, in order to unite good and evil together in one source, in the Creator, then he can advance in Kabbalah.

But if a person is not capable of this, if he does not have enough patience, does not have enough mind and heart to bind good and evil together with one force, then he leaves and begins to chastise the teacher and Kabbalah.

After all, this is not an easy way but one that requires constant self-nullification, and how can an egoist love that and agree with it? Therefore until recently the Kabbalists hid this method, which did not suit the broad masses. Only in modern times did Kabbalah begin to spread widely, but many start it and quit. And the rest are for the time being those people who are ready to listen to the truth and, most importantly, to realize it in their own lives.

If a person leaves, then we wish him success in corporeal life, and we ourselves continue on the path. And our world shows us day by day that there is nothing to look for in it. What does a person gain by giving up the spiritual path? It is unlikely that wealth, fame, power, and special satisfaction await him in the material world. He simply does not want to make efforts in what nature indicates to him, that is, the science of Kabbalah.

Nature wanted to reveal to him the chances and possibilities of really achieving the correct view of nature so that he could take the two forces of nature, plus and minus, and combine them in the middle line according to the method of Kabbalah.

He had to make this correction within himself, reconfiguring himself internally in accordance with all of nature, in three lines: right, left, middle, that is, the force of receiving, the force of bestowal, and their correct connection. And then he would see, understand, and feel the entire universe above time and space, above all the limitations of one-dimensional egoistic perception.

Purely altruistic perception is also limited because it is not accessible to any dimension—everything is open, everything is in bestowal. Here it is necessary to combine two lines. Only with the help of both of them does a person stand firmly on the path, in the middle between the two lines, and can one give and measure the amount of his bestowal. Thus, he ascends the steps, comprehending the Creator more and more.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/30/21, “Baal HaSulam. Shamati 10. What is “Hurry, My Beloved,” in the Work?”

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Question: Why are Jews, even if they are searching for the meaning of life, looking for it not in Kabbalah but elsewhere?

Answer: Once upon a time in the distant past, Jews managed themselves with the help of the Kabbalistic method and rose above this world. They sensed the eternal, perfect creation, and dwelt in it with their senses and mind.

And then they fell into the opposite state, opposite to the original one. That is why they have such a rejection of Kabbalah and an unwillingness to return to this state. The properties prevailing in them today are opposite to the higher properties they were in at the time of the Temple because they fell from plus to minus.

And the other nations that came out of Babylon and did not rise spiritually have neither plus nor minus. But now historical development has brought them to the point that they want to know what the meaning of life is and they are completely loyal to Kabbalah. If their religions are not directed against Judaism (after all, many consider Kabbalah to be part of Judaism), then they are interested and perceive it as something true and at least not repulsive.

Although, there are many obstacles here. Some think that Kabbalah is mysticism, a terrible science that can cause dark forces to affect a person. Be that as it may, all these fears gradually disappear and humanity is beginning to feel internally that there probably is some possibility of salvation, of finding the truth in this method.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Expulsion” 12/11/09

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Prophets, Book of Joshua, 18:3: And Joshua said, “How long are you slack to come in to possess the land, which the Lord God of your forefathers has given you?

Question: What does it mean that Israel is too lazy to take the land?

Answer: If people are afraid to go against their egoism, are unable to unite, and master the quality of bestowal and love above themselves, then this is a problem. It is natural because you need to go against the ego, which is the primordial nature of man.

Therefore, friction arises between the children of Israel: who is more, who is less, etc. They no longer work in connection with the Creator but as if who would rise above whom.

Joshua Ben Nun (son of Nun) inspires them and shows them how to take a few more steps for the sake of connection among themselves. Then the Creator is revealed even more between them.

Question: You often say that laziness is good. What do you have in mind?

Answer: Laziness is a good quality when a person clearly evaluates his desires and does not do any other actions, except for bestowal and love. This is commendable. But egoistic laziness, when you want more for yourself, must be overcome.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 8/16/21

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Comment: You wrote a haiku:

Move from the foe—warmth.

Move closer to the friend—warmth.

Heat is deceiving.

My Response: It is so. I cannot determine who is the enemy and who is the friend. If that were correct, it is warm here and cold there, or cold here and warm there …

And here and there, and there it’s warm. And I can’t define it, I can’t do anything! If we do not have a clear definition of where our inner warmth is and where it is cold, then we cannot understand who the enemy is and who the friend is.

Question: And why should it be warm and why cold, so that I face such a truth?

Answer: Before the truth! It should be warm to her.

Question: What do you call the truth?

Answer: Where you feel warmth.

Comment: We are going in a circle …

My Response: You can’t do anything. For this it is necessary, as it is said: Buy the truth and do not sell. (Proverbs 23:23)

Question: Who is my enemy and who is my friend?

Answer: It depends on the person himself. Anyone who is looking for the truth, although it may not be warm and not attractive, is simultaneously looking for people who will help him be in this state, even if it is not attractive. These are friends. And there is warmth here.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/29/21

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We have no other choice: we must acquire the force of bestowal in addition to the egoistic force of reception given to us by nature. And then we will have in our hands two reins with which we can control the world and our lives.

But where do we get this force of bestowal? It exists in nature, but it is absolutely alien to us. Man was created with the sole force of egoism and cares only about receiving.

We need a second force, an altruistic one, in order to build a complete system with the help of two forces and to be able to control the world with two reins, like a rider of a horse.

And there is such an opportunity! The second force is present in nature; you just need to learn how to use it. If we want to attain the force of bestowal, we can act by combining two opposite forces—just like nature works where there are plus and minus, heat and cold, etc. All of nature except man consists of two opposites: the entire still, vegetative, and animate world, as well as the still, vegetative, and animate level in man himself.

And only man, in his inner intention, acts with the sole force of reception. There is no force of bestowal in him at all. Even if he gives, it is only with intention to receive something; that is, his giving is a hidden reception.

This is our problem and because of it we cannot build a normal society or family. We cannot perceive reality correctly because it is woven from two forces. We are in a spiritual, infinite world, but we do not feel it. We lack only one more organ of perception for us to sense it, the organ of bestowal in addition to reception.

And then, we will feel a complete, perfect system, and understand where we exist and how to live. We will discover that we are actually eternal and perfect! We are not so temporary and mortal as it seems to us now when we observe everything with only one sense, which is so tiny, short-sighted, and does not see beyond the degrees of this world.

The universe is much bigger and higher, but we cannot even feel it with this desire to receive that we have; it is so pitiable.

All systems of nature consist of two balanced forces: reception and bestowal, plus and minus, absorption and segregation. And the human system contains only one force, and we always face shattering because we want to use only the power of reception and not the power of bestowal. We lack a second force. We are obliged to establish systems of bestowal between us. Yet, we are not capable of this by nature, and therefore we need to build a new relationship between us.

No one is born with the force of bestowal. Everyone knows that small children pull everything to themselves and do not agree to let it go from their hands. This is our nature. And how do we build systems that will fulfill us and balance our relationships?

We need to achieve a balance. No one forbids us to use the power of reception, but it is necessary to balance it with bestowal, and then the human system will begin to work correctly like metabolism in the body, like all natural systems.

Otherwise, we exist in nature as a hostile, foreign body, like a cancerous tumor.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/6/21, Writings of Rabash, Note 919, “Concerning the Environment”

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To Revive the Spiritual Body

Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”: Four attributes are provided for that purpose: mercy, truth, justice, and peace. These attributes have been used by all world reformers thus far. It is more correct to say that it is with these four attributes that human development has advanced thus far through the government of heaven, in a gradual path, until it brought humankind to its current state.

The Creator controls us through four forces, four attributes, four qualities—mercy, truth, justice, and peace. He causes them to manifest in us both in a positive and in a negative form. As a result we are adjusted by these four attributes to our perfect state in which we complement each other like cells in the body.

Take, for example, the human body, disassemble it into the smallest cells and try to fit them together. How will you compare them with each other? How can they connect, complement each other, interact, integrate? This is an incredible job!

But this is how it happens. However, if we could see our physical body operating, then we will see that we do not have such a spiritual body, it is broken.

We begin our journey by Adam being shattered, and he must be assembled together piece by piece through mercy, truth, justice, and peace. This is the work of a person in our world.

It has already been written that it would be better for us to take the law of development under our own hands and government, for then we will rid ourselves of any torment that the developmental history has in store for us henceforth.

If we took this law into our own hands, we would understand that each of us has absolutely broken qualities of mercy, truth, justice, and peace. We have nothing in common with them, and therefore, we cannot communicate with each other. After all, we can connect only based on these four categories.

This is our job. Let’s study them and try to put them together. Each of us consists of all parts, but we need to understand how we can connect them.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 7/28/19

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First of all, I live inside the ten, my small group of friends, as if I grow in a capsule. And only when I grow up will I be able to get out of it into the open world and be freely connected with it.

In the meantime, I can only work in the world to provide for corporeal needs and take care of my family, which means, I communicate with it on a physical level. But beside that, I have a part of the upper world, a part of eternity, and this is the group that determines my eternal spiritual state.

I will have to say goodbye to this world anyway because we will all die one day and lose all connection with it. But I will not lose touch with the group because I am building an environment in it with which I will continue on. This is my spirituality.

Therefore, do not confuse one with the other. And let’s decide what is more important to us.

The importance of the goal, the spiritual path, gives us strength. After all, what could be more important in life? Is it worth focusing on material ties that will break sooner or later when I leave this world, or on a career, on money? The world is shifting to such a state that soon we will all be left with nothing. And then, what should we worry about except spirituality?

The Creator gradually brings us closer to understanding that there is nothing to think about except spirituality. Ultimately, we have no freedom of choice and ability to change anything. Even before we die, we already realize that there is nothing significant left in this world except actions of bestowal, connection, and to reveal of the Creator.

Nothing else remains even in our material life, nothing remains for our ego. Under the blows of nature, we will gradually come to this awakening. All egoistic fillings in this world disappear: there is no money, no honor, no power. A person loses everything, and this is a lesson from above. Only emptiness remains.

Therefore, we must correctly prioritize life, find out what is important and what is secondary in it. Being human means weighing what is more important, what is less important, and what is not worth wasting time on at all.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/6/21, Rabash, “Environment” Article No. 919

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How does culture influence us negatively?“

Without any connection to how the general culture influences a person, the result of being parts of a culture that values materialism and consumerism is that it gives us a heightened sensation of emptiness, which leads us into more and more problems like depression, loneliness, stress, anxiety, drug abuse, suicide, extremism and crises in families and in our upbringing. The negative effects of living in such a culture generally leads us to a global crisis, and we could even reach such states as a Third or Fourth World War, or the threat of annihilation resulting from an ecological or nuclear catastrophe.

We are developing to a whole new peaceful and harmonious state of existence, but on the way there we need to experience our egoistic nature as an evil and negative force. It is undesirable to feel this realization of our egoistic nature as evil through suffering. On the contrary, it is desirable to reveal our ego as evil by means of a specific form of education and awareness.

However, for the time being, we are developing from a smaller ego to a bigger one, and from small pains to greater suffering. Nature is purposefully formulating a menacing feeling and environment around us so that, whether we want it or not, we would feel that our egos are the source of the evil that evokes all problems and suffering in our lives. Through such a realization, we will discover that egoism itself functions in order to compel us to see its evil and to annul our drive to serve it.

In the same token, there is also a possibility for a short, positive and painless path to a peaceful and harmonious world not via suffering, but via the realization of evil. We can do so only with the help of disseminating the wisdom about how nature works on all of its levels—still, vegetative, animate, and of course, human—and how to achieve the final state nature is guiding us toward peacefully and harmoniously. It is possible and much more desirable to achieve a change of human nature by means of awareness and connection-enriching education instead of by suffering.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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