Being Chosen Is Determined by Life

Question: Different movements within the Jewish people have a different perception of the term “God’s chosen people.” Some of them believe that the fulfillment of religious precepts is enough, and thereby, they bring joy to the Creator.

Others claim that Jews gave the world economics, morality, science, and art, and in this we are chosen. That is, the Creator gave us brains, and by this we benefit the whole world.

Still others are trying to abolish this concept of the chosen people in every possible way claiming: “We are like everyone else. There is no such thing as a chosen people.”

And Kabbalists argue that God’s chosen people are to teach everyone the correct unity.

How can a person understand what it means to be a chosen people?

Answer: I think that there is no need to think too much about it. Being chosen is determined by our life from generation to generation.

Although humanity is advancing, developing, becoming more reasonable, and understanding that there is nothing of the chosen people in us, we implicitly feel that we are separate from all of humanity, that we are chosen. For better or for worse, it does not matter, but we are. Nothing can be done about it.

Our peculiarity is that we have to bring to the world a great ethical, cosmic, spiritual meaning: why we exist and what we must achieve.

But in order to accomplish this task we ourselves need to attain, to reveal, the meaning of the existence of all humanity and of the Jewish people within humanity: what purpose we must achieve, what role to play, how to spread this knowledge, and how to bring humanity with us.

In principle, this is exactly what humanity expects of us. Let us hope that we ourselves will become aware of this and will be able to explain this to others.
[267514]
From KabTV’s “Systematic Analysis of the Development of the People of Israel” 7/29/19

Related Material:
Opposition To Unity, Part 8
Opposition To Unity, Part 7
Opposition To Unity, Part 6

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

Question: The basis of man is DNA, that is, our genes that determine everything: our physiology, all kinds of inclinations, and even, as they say now, political views. Do you agree with that?

Answer: What is the difference if genes or some other particles, waves, or elements determine our inclinations? Of course, there are properties set for us that guide us, and thanks to which we distinguish the characters of people, their different approaches to life, etc. Call it genes.

Remark: Our genes can manifest themselves as qualities that can or cannot be changed. For example, if a child is born in a family of egoists where the cult of money reigns, then, in principle, he has no chance of growing up as an altruist.

My Comment: No, I do not agree with that. We see in nature opposing properties. Our teacher Baal HaSulam writes that inversion is very often observed. We know that in Russia revolutionaries were born in noble families. This is the eternal problem of fathers and children when the children go against their parents. Thus, it is the properties of the parents that can be inverted in children.

Question: Do you think that character traits can be changed? Suppose a person has a penchant for stinginess.

Answer: There is no need to change anything. I believe that this cannot be done because the data that are in us are the so-called first nine Sefirot in every person, in every Partzuf, in every soul. We just need to learn how to use them correctly.
[267594]
From KabTV’s “The Post-Coronavirus Era” 4/30/20

Related Material:
Is It Necessary To Change Character Traits?
The Spiritual Roots Of A Person’s Attributes
How Can We Overcome Our Instincts?

Filed under: Education, Free Will | Add Comment / Ask Question →

New Life 1251 – Demanding Work Culture
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi

Why have we exchanged life with work when it leads to such frustration? Does it really make us feel important and special? The excessive industry that we have established is destroying the planet and our inattention is destroying the nuclear family. It would be worthwhile for us to advance to a state where technology provides us with what is needed for existence and people are free to develop their spiritual lives.

It is preferable to invest energy in our inner development in life, to learn why we exist, etc. We would develop good relationships between people so we will not live in destructive competition, pressure, and hatred. In the future, people will understand how nature manages us and how we can interact with it; our lives will be full of culture, spirit, and satisfaction on another level.
[266076]
From KabTV’s “New Life 1251 – Demanding Work Culture,” 6/8/20

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Crisis, Economy, Globalization, New Life | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Lesson Preparation

Writings of Rabash, Article 7 “According to What Is Explained Concerning “Love Thy Friend as Thyself” (1984)

Selected Highlights

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson | Add Comment / Ask Question →

From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 7/20/20

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines education as “transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society. …Education is designed to guide [children] in learning a culture, molding their behaviour in the ways of adulthood, and directing them toward their eventual role in society.” But to find that definition, you’d have to scroll down the page. The encyclopedia begins the entry on education by declaring that it is a “discipline that is concerned with methods of teaching and learning in schools or school-like environments.” This is the prevailing interpretation of education, and it’s very misfortunate for all of us that we forgot about the real meaning of the word.

Therefore, I would like to offer a definition that is both concise, yet offers much more than accumulation of notions that are here today and gone tomorrow. The education I am talking about is called “Integral Education” (IE), where “integral” means whole, complete. According to the definition of IE, “Education is the process of man’s adaptation to the laws of nature.”

IE will not teach you social manners; it doesn’t deal with table manners or other social norms. IE teaches how to sync oneself with the laws that govern all of reality. While regular education strives to adapt the individual to society, IE strives to adapt human society to nature. In the process, each person learns the integrality of nature, how everything is connected, what it means for each of us as individuals and for all of us as a society, and how and what we should adapt in our lives in order to be congruent with nature and thereby achieve long lasting confidence and happiness.

Today, nature is manifesting itself as a closed system that surrounds us. It is most evident in the way the coronavirus has emerged as a pandemic within weeks, but it was also evident in the rapid spread of anti-racist protests and basically every trend and phenomenon that manifests today. This omnipresence of phenomena is nature’s way of saying that everything is connected, integral, and we are accountable for one another whether we like it or not. If we grasp this, we will achieve a whole new level of existence. If we do not grasp this, we just might not survive as a species.

According to IE, we can divide the laws of nature into three basic laws:

The first, and most important law, is the “law of integrality,” which states that all parts of nature constitute a single, interconnected system.

The second law is the “law of mutual complementation.” This means that all the laws that appear as contradicting are actually complementary through the interactions between them.

The third law states that “Every being in nature necessarily obeys these laws, except for humans,” who can follow them only according to their level of development, and according to their own free choice.

Potentially, man is the zenith of creation. Man is not only an element in the integral creation, but has the potential to grasp it to the fullest. However, this is only in potential. Before one receives the proper education, which fosters this perception, man is at the nadir of creation: the most vile, ignorant, and noxious element of creation. However, man is created in this ignobility on purpose, since only when one acquires nature’s wholeness consciously, having risen from the depths of detachment to the heights of connection can one appreciate the beauty, subtlety, and true meaning of nature’s wholeness. When one achieves that consciousness, one is regarded as having “graduated” and earned a “degree” in Integral Education. That person will never feel alone, weak, insecure, or unhappy, having achieved the ultimate goal of life—connection with all of reality.

Filed under: New Publications | 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 →

What is the difference between male and female leadership styles and how do you combine them? If the leader, whether male or female, does not know about the purpose and program of creation and how to lead to what nature requires of us, nothing good will happen. First of all, integral education is necessary, and as a result of it, women will take over more important positions in society.

This is the call of time. Before the beginning of the last period, when humanity had not yet entered the stage of final correction through connection and studying the wisdom of Kabbalah, the organization of tens, society was ruled by men. But as soon as we begin to spread the method of integral education and begin to work in tens to restore one common great soul of Adam HaRishon, women come forward.

Men will be more involved in the organization of tens and internal structures of society, and women will take on more external leadership. Therefore, I keep saying that dissemination is mostly women’s work.

The same woman who has always remained in the shadows, suddenly has to go to the forefront and engage in the reconstruction of society. And it is interesting that men agree to this. Nature lets a woman go first, and no one protests. This is a miracle that has never happened in history. And this process has been going on for the last hundred years.

A woman has always had a tendency for leadership, but before that it was on a small scale and did not go beyond the house. A man is not able to manage the house, he never knows where anything is. His way of thinking is not adapted to this kind of work, and the woman has always run the house.

But over time, there was a change. And this is a consequence of the internal organization of the soul, which is gradually approaching correction. As a result, the light passed from above through the Sefirot Keter, Hochma, etc. to Malchut, and began to reach the woman more and more. Therefore, women felt that they are more aware of the changes taking place in the world and are ready to express their opinions on important issues.

This is no longer limited to knowing where the salt and pepper is in the kitchen. A woman is ready to give advice to men: to her husband, to the government, and to Congress, offering a solution. This is no longer about how to make soup, but how to brew politics. And all because the time has come when the upper light is closer to Malchut and gave her illumination.

So the woman feels able to work with it. She is able to restore order in the world better than a man, as she belongs to the last Sefira, and by raising the reforming light, she connects all the Sefirot before her. Therefore, she is able to control them all.

The man remains in his certain role, and the woman gains the power to control everyone, as she does with children in kindergarten. She handles all the chores.

Not everyone can be like Margaret Thatcher or Golda Meir, but nevertheless, any woman has special abilities in management. I think that in our time it is necessary to replace men in parliaments with women. We know that in any place where a woman works, there will be order. The world does not need a man’s explosive power, but a woman’s moderate, balanced leadership, free from all the petty calculations that sometimes characterize women.

A woman who can do everything well, weigh everything correctly, and perceive her country as her home, important and dear to her, is able to reconcile all conflicting currents and parties and balance everything. Only a woman can do that.
[267614]
From KabTV’s “Women in the New World” 6/30/20

Related Material:
21st Century Woman, Part 1
The Last Generation—The Time Of Women
Men And Women: You Cannot Eliminate The Differences

Filed under: Crisis, Globalization, Man and Woman, Women's Spirituality | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: How can we realize our unification after the virus ?

Answer: So that this virus no longer exists. We need the virus in order to form a new unification system. Without it, we cannot do this. It shows what kind of union we must create among ourselves.

Now we still do not understand and do not feel it. We look at the virus as a hindrance, as evil, but in fact we will soon rise above it and will work with it. It will indicate where else we need to improve the work in our connection.

Question: All people are only waiting for the end of the crisis. How can we prevent the next epidemic?

Answer: If we begin to behave correctly based on what we have lived through, if we seek warmer relations and mutual assistance, we will prevent the next crisis. If not, then we are beginning to enter it already now.
[267666]
From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 5/10/20

Related Material:
If We Want To Be Healthy
The Coronavirus Is A Result Of Mutual Hatred
Viruses Instead Of The Creator

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

Everyone is waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to finally end. But this is only the beginning. After all, it must change the thinking of all mankind, a huge mass of completely different people. They need time to digest this state, to feel it, to understand where it comes from and why.

It takes time, at least a few more months. By autumn, this condition should already have become familiar. One can even get used to blows, like a chronic disease that a person has already learned to live with. He knows how to deal with it, how to treat it.

The same thing will happen with the coronavirus. The system has not yet stabilized and is reacting to the impact with sharp jumps. But gradually this transition process will subside, and the system will take on a new state. We are talking about a mass of billions of people and all sorts of problems: some suffer from hunger, others from fires, and others from droughts, hurricanes. But we will already perceive these problems integrally, together.

Then there will be a period when there will be a shortage of the most necessary products, food, water, medicine, and electricity. All this will lower the demands of humanity; it will force them to become more modest. No one will be eager to fly around the world in search of entertainment. The coronavirus will teach us the wisdom of life.

We only need to know that we are in an integral system that is moving toward a new state of balance, originally planned in nature. Now this process is developing, bringing us different states. If we support the development process, then the states will be good, and if we don’t support it, then the states will be bad in order to correct us.

Nothing happens by accident, but only for the purpose of correction. If we check what is happening today relative to the final goal, we will find that there is a constant relationship between the current state and the end point. Therefore, it will be easy for us to see that everything is being done purposefully.

The main thing in this process is an ever-increasing connection. Now we are divided, opposite to each other, and therefore we suffer so that suffering will push us to connect. But as we connect, we will come closer to correction. And the final correction is one man with one heart and love of your neighbor as yourself.

We do not want this connection and do not agree with it, but nature guides us from state to state until we agree and are convinced about how good it is. Just as children first quarrel and fight until they grow up and become wiser.

The coronavirus pandemic is given for our cure. At the end of this period, we will be much healthier and our relations will become much kinder both between people and between countries. Now the borders are being closed due to the pandemic. But we will come to the conclusion that all countries will be recommended to destroy all weapons because connection is the only salvation that allows us to get out of the problems imposed on us by the coronavirus.

It turns out that the virus is not a disease, but symptoms of recovery. This is how it happens with every disease, we do not feel the disease itself, but the reaction of the body, which is trying to recover. Painful symptoms are signs of recovery. With the help of the coronavirus pandemic, the Creator shows us the way.

The coronavirus propels us forward. It is only necessary not to evaluate it sensually and hide, but do the right homework with its help. That is, first distance ourselves from each other, as it demands, and then check in what form we can get closer.

If I could consider others and think only about them and not about myself, there would be no problem with the virus. I could easily go outside and go anywhere, because if I care about my neighbor, I will not harm him or transmit the virus. And so it is all around.

People still do not understand it right now, but in a few months it will be clear that the coronavirus wants to organize the right connections between us so that everyone thinks about the others. And then we will all be healthy immediately.
[267564]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/9/20

Related Material:
Coronavirus—A Push To Internal Rapprochement
What The Coronavirus Will Teach Us
How Can We Change The World?

Filed under: Coronavirus, Crisis, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Globalization, Health | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are some of the best skills for the future?“

As our society becomes increasingly interconnected and interdependent, our good future depends on our development and sustenance of considerate relationships.

Also, since our egoistic human natures continually grow, making it harder for us to be considerate toward each other, then caring attitudes will indeed become necessary skills that we will need to learn in order to survive and prosper healthily heading into the future.

Further supporting the idea of the need to develop considerate attitudes to each other is that technology will become increasingly sophisticated, taking over more and more of the jobs that people are required to do today. We will thus have the ability to supply for our life’s essentials with much less time and effort than we currently do.

So as more labor will shift from humans to machines, and more time will free up, we will need to learn how to get a grip on our growing egos—to learn how to manage them so that they will not lash out and harm others, and also to learn how to develop mutually considerate and positive relations above our egos.

By exercising positive relations as a new skill that we regularly develop and sustain, we will discover a whole new kind of harmonious social life that we cannot currently envision. It will emerge not only from our motions to connect above the ego that moves in an opposite divisive direction, but our revamped social connections will surface the force of connection that dwells in nature, since we would then be more balanced with nature.

We would then experience much more satisfaction, happiness, confidence and good health in our lives.

Above photo by juan pablo rodriguez on Unsplash.

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