My new article on Linkedin “A Lesson from the Iron Dome Funding Saga”

This week’s saga surrounding the funding of manufacturing Iron Dome interceptors, which protect Israeli citizens from Hamas rockets, should come as no surprise. Much of the press tried to portray the attempt to withhold the funding as an initiative of a few left-wing liberals within the Democratic Party, and nothing more. But it is much more than that since the real force behind the push toward an anti-Israel policy is the majority of American Jewry, who see Israel as a hindrance to their efforts to dissolve beyond recognition into American society.

Fewer and fewer strings connect the State of Israel with Diaspora Jews. Jews outside of Israel wish to assimilate in the general population, and Israel’s deteriorating international status often causes them to “take the heat” for Israel’s perceived crimes. In many ways, they feel they have become unwitting ambassadors of the Jewish state, when they want nothing to do with the Jewish state or with Judaism. No wonder they resent Israel and want to prove their alienation from the pariah state.

In fact, if anything still keeps them Jewish, it is the one cause that has kept Jews together for two millennia: Jew-hatred. In 2005, when I spoke at Hillel San Francisco and warned Jews about rising antisemitism, they jeered at me. They thought I was delusional. In November 2014, when I spoke about rising antisemitism in the US at the Inaugural IAC Conference in D.C., they still did not believe me, though they weren’t as arrogant and complacent as before. Today, they are stripping their doorposts of mezuzahs to avoid being recognized as Jewish homes. Today, they are no longer confident that the Holocaust will never return. And to secure their future, they want to get rid of the State of Israel, the last reminder of their Jewishness, as they see it.

But antisemitism did not start when the State of Israel was established. Israel was established precisely because of antisemitism and in order to abolish it. While it hasn’t, abolishing the State of Israel will not abolish antisemitism; our history of 3,500 years since Egypt proves it.

If we want to end antisemitism, we need to adopt a completely novel approach. Instead of hiding our identity and trying to blend into the environment like hunted animals seeking to camouflage themselves, we should assert our Jewish identity and live up to our legacy.

Our nation is unique, and so is its role in the world. The Jewish nation contains within it representatives from every nation that existed in antiquity around Babylon, Egypt, and countless other nations from the Near and Middle East. In those days, they gathered around a unique individual who introduced a novel idea to the world: compassion and care for others. His name was Abraham, and he is the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The people who came to him did not know or like each other. They united only because they agreed with their teacher’s idea that the right way to live is with love for one another rather than hate. Hate cannot be suppressed or eliminated; it is human nature. However, we can rise above it by increasing the importance of loving others and mutual responsibility. This is what Abraham taught his students; this is what he bequeathed to his children; and this is what they taught their own children.

In doing so, Abraham and his descendants created a nation whose motto was “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and whose duty was to pass their method of uniting above division to the world. In the words of the Torah, the duty of the Jews, once they achieved nationhood, was to be “a light unto nations.”

Since then, when Jews were united, they thrived and were welcome by all. When they squabbled among themselves and hated one another, they became the world’s pariahs, who sent merciless oppressors to penalize them.

But the Jews, instead of owning up to their errors, condemned the nations for their cruelty and mourned the loss of their freedom and sovereignty. Instead of realizing that all they had to do was reestablish their unity, they tried to hide and become invisible among the nations, and chastised any Jew who championed unity.

To this day, we do not understand that our fate is in our hands. A billion dollars more or less will not create a protective dome above us. If we want lasting and effective protection, we will find it only in our unity. It will not shelter us from missiles; it will open the hearts of the nations toward us with love.

If we love each other, the world will love us. If we hate each other, the world will hate us, too.

For more on this topic, see my book Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour.
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Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel Today, New Publications | Add Comment / Ask Question →

My new article on Linkedin “The Legacy of a Spiritual Giant”

He knew the clock was ticking; he knew they had to move to Israel; he told the Israeli Prime Minister how Israel can truly be independent; and he dedicated his life to helping the Jewish people and all of humanity. This week, 67 years ago, Yehuda Ashlag, known as Baal HaSulam, the greatest kabbalist in modern times, and among the greatest of all time, passed away and left us with a legacy of unconditional love for his people, for all people, and for all of creation. He also left us with books and a road map that can help us become like him.

It was 1921. Ashlag, a brilliant Dayan [judge in Jewish Orthodox court] in Warsaw, the “capital” of Diaspora Judaism, who was appointed to this venerable position when he was only 19 years old, had now been excommunicated for several years. But he didn’t mind the extreme hardship he and his family endured because of it. His only focus was the fate of his people and the fate of the world.

A few years back, he realized that Europe was headed for extreme and lethal antisemitism. He tried to warn his fellow Warsaw Jews, but the Orthodox leadership prevented his voice from being heard. When he insisted, they terminated his position as a Dayan, severed their connections with him, and instructed the entire Jewish community to ignore him. In those days, a boycott was a life threatening situation since one had to rely on the community for work, housing, education, and provision. Without them, one was at the mercy of the Poles, and they were no Jew-lovers.

But Ashlag kept on trying. He struck a deal to purchase 300 wooden shacks from Sweden and a place for them to be erected in Palestine. He even managed to secretly convince 300 Jewish families to move there and escape a bitter fate in Europe. Alas, the Orthodox leadership discovered his plan and convinced all 300 families to remain in Poland. We will never know how many of them, if any, survived the Holocaust.

But in 1921, something happened. Ashlag realized that it was time to go. By then, he had been studying Kabbalah for many years, and he has reached a level where he transcended his own teacher. In such a state, there was nothing more to keep him in Poland. That same year, he and his family moved to Jerusalem and he began to write profusely.

Ashlag’s writings testify that he was not only a great kabbalist, but revolutionary global thinker who understood the intricacies of human nature. Using his keen insights, he was able to predict what would happen in Israel and in the world, and tried his best to change things for the better. He was an avid Zionist not for the sake of conquering the land, but in order for the Jewish people to carry out its duty to the world: to set an example of unity and love of others that he knew the world would desperately need.

He did not settle for writing. He met with every influential person in the county at the time and tried to convince them that sovereignty in and of itself is not enough, that if Israel is to thrive, it must set an example of unity and mutual responsibility. He begged those leaders to establish education toward unity above all differences, and establish the society based on people’s care for one another, and not expect matters to work themselves out.

He spoke several times with David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, Moshe Sharett, Israel’s second Prime Minister, Haim Arlosoroff, head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency, Member of Knesset (Israel’s parliament) Moshe Erem, and with many others. He spared no effort. In the 1930s, he wrote a series of essays that detailed his views as a global thinker. In his essays, “Mutual Responsibility,” “The Freedom,” and especially in “The Peace” and “Peace in the World,” Ashlag detailed how humanity can thrive in prosperity and peace.

But Ashlag was first and foremost a kabbalist. It was through his profound understanding of creation, acquired through his study of Kabbalah, that he became such an astute thinker. His dream was for everyone to be as wise as he was, and that everyone would care about humankind as much as he did.

To achieve this, he wrote two monumental commentaries on the most seminal compositions in the wisdom of Kabbalah. His first feat was a six-volume commentary on the writings of the ARI, particularly Tree of Life and Eight Gates. In his commentary, which he titled The Study of the Ten Sefirot, he interpreted the writings of this great 16th century kabbalist so that contemporary people could relate to them and understand them.

His second, and most illustrious achievement, was the writing of an elaborate commentary on The Book of Zohar, complete with four introductions that tell the reader how to understand this vital text. In his commentary, which he titled the Sulam [Ladder], he translated the Aramaic text of The Zohar into Hebrew, and interpreted the meaning of the words so that readers could see how the book speaks not about the physical world, but about spiritual processes that all Kabbalah students go through. As a token of respect, Rav Ashlag later became known as Baal HaSulam [Author of The Ladder] after the name he had given to his commentary.

Humanity has yet to discover what this greatest of men has given us. He begins his introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot with the following words: “At the outset of my words, I find a great need to break an iron wall that has been separating us from the wisdom of Kabbalah since the ruin of the Temple [2,000 years ago] to this generation.”

But why should we study Kabbalah? A few paragraphs later, Baal HaSulam answers this question himself: to find the meaning of life. In his words, “If we set our hearts to answer but one very famous question, I am certain that all these questions and doubts will vanish from the horizon, and you will look unto their place to find them gone, meaning this indignant question that the whole world asks, namely, ‘What is the meaning of my life?’ In other words, these numbered years of our life that cost us so heavily, and the numerous pains and torments that we suffer for them, to complete them to the fullest, who is it who enjoys them?”

In his treatise, “Time to Act,” Baal HaSulam shares his great yearning for everyone to know what Kabbalah is truly about. “For a long time now,” he writes, “my conscience has burdened me with a demand to come out and create a fundamental composition regarding the essence of … the authentic wisdom of Kabbalah, and spread it among the nation, so people will come to know and properly understand these exalted matters in their true meaning.”

Thankfully, today his writings, and the writings of all the kabbalists, are only a click away. At Kabbalah.info, we have made all the material available for free so everyone can study.

But Baal HaSulam’s work is not done. Humanity is suffering and more divided than ever. We, who value his sacred legacy, must pick up where he left off and pass on the wisdom of truth, love, and unity to all.

Filed under: Baal HaSulam, New Publications, Spiritual Teacher | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Prophets, Book of Joshua, 15:63; 16:10: As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

And they did not drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt among the Ephraimites to this day, and they became servants under tribute.

To the extent that the people of Israel do not correct themselves, they will remain dominated by the desires and goals called other nations. It will be so until the final correction (Gmar Tikkun).

Eventually, at the end of days, there will be no other nations left except the people of Israel, that is, all those who strive for the Creator. Moreover, we are not talking about nationalities or any nationalistic properties. Everyone can stay in their traditions and culture. The only thing that is necessary is to strive for mutual connection between them. This is what Baal HaSulam wrote in “The Last Generation” and all his other articles.

Today we need to come to a state where we overcome these nations in us and guide them toward the intention to act and build everything for the sake of the Creator. Then there will be no need to expel anyone. We banish our intentions and everyone remains in this new world.

The Torah does not say that you need to kill, destroy, or bury. All wars that were fought were mostly spiritual wars. The spirit of the people had to win in connection with others despite the egoistic opposition of the enemy.

Now the world is in such contradiction and fragmentation so that all this would be very quickly realized. And although it is still puffed up and we still want to subdue, conquer, and capture, inside it already manifests a huge emptiness and a sense of futility of any conquests.

This means that we are approaching the land of Israel in order to realize that only the Creator, the one and only, is the upper guiding force for all who want only one thing: to be able to reveal Him in unity between us, and then all egoistic desires will become altruistic. This will be the conquest of the land of Israel.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 8/9/21

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Filed under: Israel, Nations of the World, Spiritual Work, Torah | Add Comment / Ask Question →

And when a person passes away from this world, that Nefesh will never move from the grave, … (The Book of Zohar, “Lech Lecha,” Item 98)

The grave is the force of the quality of judgment that a person died from. “A person died” means a transformation of our egoistic inclination. What does it mean that we came out of the womb? We turned upside down, left all the previous egoistic calculations and started new ones, altruistic ones, and entered a new world.

In the spiritual world, as in our world, the embryo passes through a narrow passage. “Narrow” in Hebrew is “Tsar,” “Tsarot” (suffering). This is a result of the absence of the light of Hassadim when only the light of Hochma, a force without mercy, acts on a person to give birth to him.

Otherwise, he will not be able to pass through this narrow passage and be born in the upper world, because he himself does not have the strength to create a quality of mercy from himself.

Question: So he must necessarily experience these Tsarot, this hardship of birth?

Answer: There is no caesarean section in the spiritual world. You can be born there only by going through a state resulting from the light of Hochma acting upon you. This light is very sharp, very heavy, and complex.

This state is called fleeing Egypt. A person must go through it because the light of mercy, the so-called quality of Hasadim, does not come from above but develops from the person himself. But one is still unable to develop this quality, therefore only the light of Hochma affects him, which causes his birth. In spirituality this is called crossing the Final Sea (Yam Suf). This passage is very dramatic.
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From KabTV’s “The Power of The Book of Zohar” #19

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And if there is some malfunction in the wheel, the malfunction is not evaluated relating to the wheel itself, but according to its service and role with respect to the whole machine. (Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World“)

If any of us commits an immoral, improper act, if he causes society or nature harm, he actually causes harm to the general system.

We need to feel all of nature. Suppose I uproot a bush in my garden, I cause harm to the ecology of the world by that. So I can be approached and asked: “Why did you act this way?” or perhaps ask myself that.

This means that each one of us should feel the benefit or the harm we cause the surrounding society, the world, the universe, all the worlds. This feeling gradually develops in a person. When a person begins to feel the world around him and the mutual cooperation within it, they become higher than corporeal life and death. They feel the existence of the eternal upper. The meaning of the natural corporeal body decreases because they ascend above it.

We need to reach this level. The wisdom of Kabbalah demands a very serious attitude toward all of reality from us.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 7/21/19

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Filed under: Body and Soul, Crisis, Globalization | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Preparation to the Lesson

Summary of International Kabbalah Convention “Entering Impregnation – Revealing a New World”

Lesson on the Topic: “Everything Is Obtained by the Power of Prayer”

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 53

Selected Highlights

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Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
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Choosing an #enemy for ourselves, we give the world meaning. Without enemies, the world becomes vague, undefined—but #hatred puts the surrounding world into focus, invigorates us… how good it is, to have someone to hate?
The greatest deficit in the world—is the lack of support, willingness to help, genuine empathy. We cannot even fathom the value of such an attitude…

From Twitter, 9/26/21

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What would affect the future of humanity most likely in a positive way?“

In our world, there is just one force that governs everyone: the will to receive pleasure. No matter what we do, we are constantly searching and choosing that which will ultimately bring us the greatest pleasure in the most optimal and safest way.

Humanity develops through intellect and emotions, which are sufficient to gain knowledge to better succeed in this world. There comes a time when humanity feels that it is not enough anymore, and finds itself in trouble, seeing that there are problems and obstacles. This pushes humanity toward the search for different methods, ideas, inventions and gadgets to mitigate life, to seek how to better advance. However, what we start finding is that our technologies and scientific discoveries bring us more harm than good.

We have reached a state where the development that we aspired for and respected suddenly becomes increasingly dangerous. From various harmful elements being released into the environment, to many countries possessing nuclear weapons, or toxic chemicals in our food, and even our actions toward each other have become increasingly toxic.

An inner enemy, our ego, stands in the way of positive further progress. The wisdom of Kabbalah reveals and teaches that our salvation is in developing positive human connections. Our connections, the connections between all of us, are all that we need to fix.

Based on the video “What’s in the Way of Humanity’s Future Progress?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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