New Life 1178 – Can We Make Heaven On Earth?
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

The wisdom of Kabbalah suggests “you will see your world in your life”; meaning, we can open a door to heaven during our lifetimes on earth. Life was not given to us to be merely swallowed and enjoyed. There is a much greater purpose for all our suffering. When something unpleasant happens to a person, if he or she realizes that one can correct one’s egoism, the evil will become good through the power of love. Love is the key to heaven’s doors. When a person feels others and discovers that they are all connected to him or her, one begins to experience the force that flows between the souls, the source of all life. The upper force revives everyone and gives each person wholeness. Heaven occurs when all of humanity comes to a complete and eternal embrace.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 1178 – Can We Make Heaven On Earth?” 11/19/19

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Lesson Preparation

Writings of Rabash, Article 34, “What Are Day and Night in the Work?” (1988)

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 54

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

Selected Highlights

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Until we are properly connected, the coronavirus will not retreat. The right form of connection is when everyone is ready to care about others. I have to go into the street worried about not infecting those around me, as if I’m the only carrier of the virus. Then the pandemic will disappear…!

Returning to the real news, namely, to the truth, requires a lot of hard work. We are used to eating spoiled foods, and have learned to digest them and to feel good. When faced with the truth, like fresh food, we’ll get indigestion of the mind. We need the upper light!

If I tell the truth in a world of lies, I will be known as a liar. This happened in the time of the 1st Temple with King Solomon, whom no one wanted to recognize as king. No one believed his wisdom. But in the Sanhedrin, the sages understood him. Who is left to understand today?

The greatest enemy today—Fake News (false, confusing information). It is transmitted instantly, consciously or unconsciously. Like a child’s game of telephone: the news are passed along the chain, but not a single word said by the 1st person reaches the 10th person. We are deaf!
From Twitter, 7/5/20

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Question: I study the wisdom of Kabbalah. I have a group with which I can share our common goal, but I feel that no one understands me in the group and that they are not strong enough for me. What should I do?

Answer: Still, it is worthwhile being in a group. It is better to be in a weak group than to work alone.

Question: But can freedom help me choose a different environment? Does it all depend on me?

Answer: No, an individual cannot do anything. He has to choose an environment in any case. If you think that the environment is too weak for you, move to another environment, but I don’t think this is the right choice. Fulfill yourself in the environment you are in, and you will see that what was given to you is the right thing.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 11/17/19

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Medium published my new article “Capitalism Is Over, What’s Next?”

It has been dying for a long time but we didn’t know it. We thought we were practicing it; we thought it was the most advanced economic system humankind has ever conceived, while in fact, it has long been kaput, or as Webster’s Dictionary defines it, “utterly finished, defeated, destroyed, unable to function.” Indeed, capitalism has been destroyed by the very force on which it intended to capitalize: the human ego.

We must develop a more inclusive thinking where we calculate our actions according to the benefit of our communities, cities, countries, and eventually the world, instead of only our own.

When it first dawned on humanity, capitalism was the right thing at the right time. It facilitated progress, healthy competition, and in many cases, a chance to build a good life based on one’s willingness to work hard. But for the past several decades, the link between labor and income has been shattered and crushed, replaced by financial wizardry and exploitation of financial power for political gain, and vice-versa. And just to demonstrate the disconnect, ask yourself this: If every industry and every service in the country is breaking record lows right now, how come Wall Street is breaking record highs? This is what a shattered link between labor and income looks like. Very few gain from it.

Now, thanks to the coronavirus, it is becoming evident that capitalism has run its course. I believe that the tide in stocks we have seen after the initial drop when COVID-19 first struck is the Swan Song of capitalism. Like the sudden apparent recovery of a dying man before the final collapse, Wall Street is currently celebrating. But it will be short lived. Very soon, it will begin its final decline. It may be a longer process or a shorter one, but either way, capitalism has run its course.

To me, the more troubling question is “What’s next?” Because if we are not careful, the signs are pointing to a new dark era. Radical forces are becoming increasingly brazen and seek to overthrow democracy and capitalism, and install totalitarianism. It may take the form of communism, fascism, or Nazism, but whichever it is, it will not benefit the regular folk.

Yet, this will happen only if we stay idle. It is evident to everyone that the world today is an integral system whose parts are all interconnected. Everything that each of us does affects all of humanity. In such a system, caring only for ourselves is a prerogative we cannot afford. We must develop a more inclusive thinking where we calculate our actions according to the benefit of our communities, cities, countries, and eventually the world, instead of only our own. If we are aware of this then we have no excuse to sit by and let events develop on their own. We need to spread the word that we are all responsible for one another.

The violent struggles we are seeing now are counterproductive to the cause of mutual responsibility since they only increase hatred and separation. Being interconnected and interdependent means we care for one another. And just as I wouldn’t act violently toward a member of my family with whom I disagree, so I must avoid violence toward others, on whom I rely, even if I do not like them for whatever reason.

I am not endorsing socialism, and certainly not communism of any sort. Nor do I have a particular political affiliation. My interest is the well-being of humanity. Accordingly, I am endorsing caring, mutual consideration, and mutual responsibility.

The resulting economic system after the demise of capitalism will be something we have never tried before, since we have never cared for one another unless they were family (and even then, not always). There is no clear outline to this new economy, since we have yet to begin to care for one another, but as soon as we start caring, we will know what we should do.

It is a bit like a first time mother. Until she has her first child, she has no idea how to be a mother. But as soon as the child is born, she suddenly knows. She feels what she should do because her love guides her motherhood.

The same is true for a society that is based on caring. Until we begin to build it, we will not know what it should be like. But once we take our first step, the knowledge will come through our care for one another.

It is possible, and it is urgent. If we wait, the radical, totalitarian forces will gain too much traction and set society off on the complete opposite track.

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The Creator can be revealed only by dissolving in the friends and rising to the level of the Bina. It is similar to a device that is needed to detect an invisible magnetic field. This device will show that there is a certain force acting on it and deflecting its dial. That is, it shows us not the force itself, but its reaction to this force.

We make ourselves a device for revealing the Creator, which works on the same principle as all measuring instruments of our world. We only have to organize everything correctly within us, and we will be able to discover the Creator.

The device must perceive the phenomenon and react to it, and then its reaction can be measured and the device can be used to estimate the force that caused it. We do not know what electromagnetic forces are, but we know how they act; they cause current to flow in a wire or the movement of a compass needle. We always see the reaction of the device, not the force itself, and we draw conclusions, naming it by the phenomenon itself.

In order to reveal the Creator, we need to build such a compass from ourselves, an induction circuit, a device that will reveal the upper force. The Creator is twirling everything inside us now as well, but we are not paying attention to Him. What change must one make inside oneself in order to discern Him?

All our work consists in this calibration, in tuning to the Creator. The problem is that I feel my own reaction to the influence of the upper force, and I need to decrypt it in such a way as to find the Creator in it. I respond to His influence within my desire, my body. Therefore, I need to calibrate myself so that my desire allows me to correctly understand the actions of the Creator.

And for this I need to annul myself to zero, so as not to demand anything for my egoism. Every device is first calibrated in such a way, set to zero, and then it can be used for measuring.

Our initial calibration is to want nothing for ourselves, so as not to be bribed and not to judge with bias. We carry out such calibration in the ten. If I try to join the center of the ten and want to connect with all my friends, I reset my device. Now, from this zero, I can begin to respond correctly to the Creator, to His impact on me.

Zeroing is already a starting point allowing one to get nothing for oneself, but only for the ten. I have no indicator other than my ten to verify that I receive nothing for my egoism. If there are friends in front of me who I think of, then I annul myself in front of them. It turns out that I personally become neutral, that is, zero.

In this way we build the correct device for the perception of the Creator. Under the influence of the upper force we begin to awaken to mutual bestowal in the ten. The Creator gives us the power of bestowal by which we reveal that He is between us. After all, we began to relate to each other in this way in the ten and we received the property of Bina, bestowal, the strength of faith above our resistance, our knowledge.

Resistance also begins to be felt more because a force comes to us that flows inside the ties connecting us, as if in an electronic device, and we feel resistance within ourselves. In this way we measure the difference of potentials: between bestowal—above, and reception—below, which are called “faith” and “knowledge.”

And these steps of faith and knowledge begin to rise: The strength of our egoism grows, and the strength of bestowal grows, and in this way we rise. The difference of potentials between Malchut and Bina, as it were, remains the same—the seven Sefirot of Zeir Anpin.

At first it was just zero. But then it gradually grew to seven Sefirot. Zeir Anpin is the Partzuf of my soul that has just been born. The soul grows in Bina’s abdomen due to its connection with Malchut, which annuls itself in relation to Bina.

Seven Sefirot of ZA—this is the place where I reveal all of reality. In this gap between knowledge and above knowledge are all the worlds, the whole universe. There is nothing else. Above Bina are already the properties of the Creator: Keter, Hochma, Bina. Below Bina are the properties of ZA, which has just been born. And Malchut is the desire to enjoy created by the Creator. Therefore, besides these properties that I develop between Malchut and Bina, there is nothing else—this is all my reality.
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From the 2^_nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 6/25/20, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 15

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Baal HaSulam, “The Peace“: Thus, I have evidently proven from the perspective of empirical reason—out of the practical history unfolding before our very eyes—that there is no other cure for humanity but the acceptance of the commandment of Providence: bestowal upon others in order to bring contentment to the Creator in the measure of the two verses.

The first is “love thy friend as thyself,” which is the attribute of the work itself. This means that the measure of work to bestow upon others for the happiness of society should be no less than the measure imprinted in man to care for his own needs. Moreover, he should put his fellow person’s needs before his own, as it is written in the article, “Matan Torah” (Item 4).

Question: How can we move from some pragmatic calculations that now in the time of crisis no one can put together, to understanding the connection and higher level we must take upon ourselves, which involves complying with the laws of the upper governance, becoming included in them, and helping everyone feel some kind of support?

Answer: Rising to the next level of perception of reality comes down to the fact that we enter the sensation of eternity, perfection, infinity, and most importantly, into a single, common, perfect, integrated reality.

If we begin to feel nature as an absolutely integral system, we will also know our place in it, where my cell is located in it. In this way, I will understand the meaning of my existence in relation to the great union of individuals, and everything will become clear to me.

The main thing is to separate yourself from your individualism, your egoism, and look at nature from an integral aspect so that you see the whole picture as one unified whole. This is a completely different perception of reality where I do not feel separate objects and phenomena but see the entire picture.

Then I can understand myself in a completely different way: Where am I in this picture? And I am not in it. I feel separated from everything. So, I am experiencing it incorrectly. It means that I am in a kind of unconscious state, detached from true life, from the whole vast picture of nature. How can I perceive it correctly? This is what I want.

And if I begin to perceive it correctly, I will see my place in it and discover what I lack to become integrally connected with everyone. It will become clear to me what my job is, what my duty is, what my connection is with the others, and how others are connected to me. I will come to the level of this eternal, perfect, integral, unified nature and  understand the meaning of it and my existence.

And right now, I absolutely do not understand what all this is for. I look at everything: it exists, it turns, and I am with them. But why, I don’t know.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 5/17/20

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As expected, the coronavirus will stay with us for a long time.

Many countries, seeing a decline in the number of cases, began to relax restrictions and remove quarantines. But as soon as this happened, a new wave of illnesses immediately arose.

There are many examples of this: the United States, Russia, France, Israel, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Germany, South Korea, and many others. Wherever the economy opens, the virus returns.

We need to prepare for the fact that we will have to live with the coronavirus for years, and therefore, we need to rebuild the economy accordingly. First of all, we need to find out which industries are absolutely necessary for life since we must provide food for all.

But 20% of the working population is enough for this, and the rest do not need to work. There is no need for designer clothes, expensive cars, or travel. The world should return to a normal modest life as it was before the 20th century, before the explosion of consumption and the development of many industries that are not necessary. If we don’t do it, then nature, the virus, will do it for us, and we will pay a much higher price for it, both in terms of money and in human lives.

80% of jobs will be ended one way or another, the only difference is whether it will be a spontaneous process, accompanied by huge losses, or we decide in advance that we are starting to reduce unnecessary production.

We see that people have stopped using and buying luxury or fashionable things that used to cost a lot of money, but were not necessities.

It’s okay if these businesses remain closed for a few months; still no one is buying anything. So why try to resuscitate them artificially? I’m sure people won’t rush into jewelry stores right now, even if they open them.

The state is trying to compensate everyone for their losses, but in a few months the money will run out, and then what will we do? Therefore, it is better to do the research now and understand that this is not a temporary problem, but a new form of life for a new society, a new family, a new state. It should not be like now when all sorts of interested circles put pressure on the state, and it opens the treasury to them and hands out money.

If we pay for the jewelry stores losses today, tomorrow there will be no money left to feed the hungry, which will be 50, 60, or 70% of the entire population. Now the main thing is to mobilize all forces and funds to provide everyone with the necessary food.

Water, electricity, gas, and food must all be completely accessible. Then you can think about clothing for those who need it. Open free public kindergartens and schools instead of paying for the jewelry stores that lost customers. Otherwise, we will empty the treasury in a few months, and that would be the end.

We also need a program that helps young families buy housing at an affordable price. It is necessary to build housing for ordinary citizens, and not speculate in apartments and land. This must be a real revolution, and it will happen anyway. The only difference is whether it will happen gradually, according to a well-thought-out scientific plan, or under the onslaught of an angry crowd that went out into the street to destroy everything around and establish a new order.

There have been no planned revolutions in history that were carried out on the recommendation of scientific experts. But now we see that there is no way out and we need to do something because it is obvious that if not 80%, then 40% will probably be out of work.

Those who will remain working must be provided with safe conditions so that they do not infect each other with the virus. After all, they are our breadwinners. The rest of us will stay at home and learn how to live in the new society. This new life is now years ahead, and we need to get used to the fact that we are not working, but learning. Study will be work.

This is an inevitability that we will have to accept, whether we like it or not—the coronavirus will bind us to it. We need to explain to people where this is coming from and why human society must undergo such changes, metamorphoses.

Humanity is changing and growing. We have already gone through a lot of changes and social formations in our history, and now it is time for such a change, which has not yet happened. And we must actively participate in it ourselves.

Before, formations were replaced spontaneously, because the time had come, from slavery to feudalism, then to capitalism. And now we are moving to the next stage, ceasing to live for the sake of earning, and starting to live for the sake of building a new person. This is a big revolution, because we are egoists and used to living by earning from each other. Now we will have to live to help each other—and this is a radical change.
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From KabTV’s “Global Perspectives,” 5/14/20

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Question: Did nature plan a pandemic to restore order in the world?

Answer: The fact that the coronavirus comes from within nature itself, like all other viruses, is clear to us. But the fact that we allow it to manifest itself is already our problem. After all, by our bad relationships, we ourselves cause all the imbalances in nature, and then viruses appear.

It does not matter how it started. Why do we need to know? If we are in more corrected states with each other, no negative qualities of nature will have control over us.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 5/3/20

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